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Turkish Press Review, 05-02-03
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
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Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
03.02.2005
ERDOGAN: �SENDING TURKISH SOLDIERS TO
INDONESIA MAY BE BROUGHT TO NSC�S AGENDA IF SUCH DEMAND
ARISES�
ERDOGAN TO OPEN TURKEY�S THIRD STOCK
MARKET
GUL MEETS WITH CHINESE PM, TRADE
MINISTER TO DISCUSS TRADE TIES BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES
ALGERIAN PRESIDENT VISITS TURKEY
PALESTINIAN LEADER ABBAS MEETS WITH
ARINC
ANKARA TO HOST RICE-LAVROV MEETING
EU URGES TURKEY TO INITIAL PROTOCOL
EXTENDING CUSTOMS UNION TO COVER GREEK CYPRIOTS
ITF�S TURKEY REPRESENTATIVE: �TURKEY
HAS THE RIGHT TO HAVE A SAY ON THE KIRKUK ISSUE�
GREEK CYPRIOT OPPOSITION LEADER TO
VISIT ANKARA
DYP�S AGAR: �PARLIAMENT SHOULD TAKE UP
ELECTIONS IN IRAQ�
TUZMEN: �FAR EASTERN PRODUCTS ARE
SUPERVISED CLOSELY�
FISCHER PRAISES THE TURKISH ECONOMY,
SAYING THE PROGRAM�S CREDIBILITY INCREASED
INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR PRAISES
TURKEY�S EU MEMBERSHIP BID
IMF�S DAWSON: �TURKEY CONTINUES TO
HAVE SUCH AN IMPRESSIVE PERFORMANCE�
FROM THE COLUMNS�FROM THE COLUMNS�FROM
THE COLUMNS�
DIPLOMACY IN MIDDLE EAST
BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN: �SENDING TURKISH SOLDIERS TO
INDONESIA MAY BE BROUGHT TO NSC�S AGENDA IF SUCH DEMAND
ARISES�
[02] ERDOGAN TO OPEN TURKEY�S THIRD STOCK MARKET
[03] GUL MEETS WITH CHINESE PM, TRADE MINISTER
TO DISCUSS TRADE TIES BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES
[04] ALGERIAN PRESIDENT VISITS TURKEY
[05] BAYKAL VISITS HAKKARI
[06] PALESTINIAN LEADER ABBAS MEETS WITH ARINC
[07] ANKARA TO HOST RICE-LAVROV MEETING
[08] EU URGES TURKEY TO INITIAL PROTOCOL
EXTENDING CUSTOMS UNION TO COVER GREEK CYPRIOTS
[09] ITF�S TURKEY REPRESENTATIVE: �TURKEY HAS
THE RIGHT TO HAVE A SAY ON THE KIRKUK ISSUE�
[10] GREEK CYPRIOT OPPOSITION LEADER TO VISIT
ANKARA
[11] DYP�S AGAR: �PARLIAMENT SHOULD TAKE UP
ELECTIONS IN IRAQ�
[12] TUZMEN: �FAR EASTERN PRODUCTS ARE
SUPERVISED CLOSELY�
[13] FISCHER PRAISES THE TURKISH ECONOMY,
SAYING THE PROGRAM�S CREDIBILITY INCREASED
[14] INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR PRAISES TURKEY�S EU
MEMBERSHIP BID
[15] IMF�S DAWSON: �TURKEY CONTINUES TO HAVE
SUCH AN IMPRESSIVE PERFORMANCE�
[16] FROM THE COLUMNS�FROM THE COLUMNS�FROM THE
COLUMNS�
[17] DIPLOMACY IN MIDDLE EAST
BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
[01] ERDOGAN: �SENDING TURKISH SOLDIERS TO
INDONESIA MAY BE BROUGHT TO NSC�S AGENDA IF SUCH DEMAND
ARISES�
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that sending Turkish soldiers in
order to organize assistance to Aceh, Indonesia, which
recently suffered from tsunami disaster, wasn�t on the
government�s agenda, adding that he would decide on the
issue after visiting South Asia. �We can bring the issue on
the agenda of the National Security Council [NSC] if such
demand arises,� added Erdogan. In related news, Erdogan
yesterday attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the Second
Organized Industry Region in Ankara, which would be
established by Ankara Chamber of Industry (ASO). Addressing
the gathering, Erdogan touted the economy, saying that the
government reached its inflation target last year. �We�ll
work very hard to achieve this year�s 8% inflation target,�
he said. �Our goal is to reduce this rate to 5% next year.�
Also addressing the gathering, Industry and Trade Minister
Ali Coskun said that the government had lifted most of the
bureaucratic obstacles to industrialists. /Cumhuriyet/
[02] ERDOGAN TO OPEN TURKEY�S THIRD STOCK MARKET
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to open
Turkey�s third stock market tomorrow, namely, The Stock
Market of Forward Transaction and Option (VOB). �The VOB
will provide investors with new opportunities,� said the VOB
Director Hamdi Bagci. �The transactions will begin once the
market is opened by the Premier. A new window will be opened
on Feb. 4 for Turkey�s financial markets.� /Hurriyet/
[03] GUL MEETS WITH CHINESE PM, TRADE MINISTER
TO DISCUSS TRADE TIES BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, who is currently in
People�s Republic of China for an official visit, yesterday
met with his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao and Chinese
Trade Minister Bo Xilai to discuss a number of issues,
including bilateral relations. During the meeting, Gul said
that the trade volume between the two countries was $4
billion, but complained that $3.5 billion of this
constituted of China�s exports to Turkey. �We can overcome
this imbalance through investments,� said Gul and called for
Chinese businessmen to further invest in Turkey. For his
part, Jiabao said that there were several opportunities for
cooperation between the two countries, adding that he would
encourage Chinese firms to invest in Turkey. Touching on
Ankara�s European Union membership bid, Jiabao said that his
country supported Ankara�s EU bid and predicted that
Ankara�s EU membership would help improvement of strategic
partnership between the two countries. Xilai called for
Turkish businessmen to invest in his country. He complained
that Turkey putting quotas against China could also lead the
US and the EU member states to do the same, adding that
Chinese businessmen were uncomfortable concerning the issue.
Gul stated that economic ties between the two countries
covered a number of fields, but trade constituted a little
part of this. /Aksam/
[04] ALGERIAN PRESIDENT VISITS TURKEY
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika accompanied by
Foreign Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem and Energy and Mining
Minister Chakib Khelil yesterday arrived in Ankara to pay an
official visit. On the first day of his three-day visit;
Bouteflika met with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Necdet
Sezer, Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc and Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss bilateral relations and
international issues including prospects for peace in the
Middle East. The visit is considered to have high importance
for Turkey-Algerian relations, as it�s the first-ever
presidential visit to Turkey since Algeria gained
independence four decades ago. Bouteflika is also expected
to meet with Turkish businessmen in Istanbul in bid to
strengthen economic relations. /Cumhuriyet/
[05] BAYKAL VISITS HAKKARI
Opposition Republican People�s Party (CHP) leader Deniz
Baykal yesterday visited Hakkari recently hit by a series of
moderate earthquakes, the strongest of which measured 5.5 on
the Richter scale. Baykal was accompanied by several
deputies from the CHP. Addressing the gathering, Baykal
criticized bureaucratic obstacles to assistance to the
province, adding that an efficient work couldn�t be done to
help people. �People living in the tents are facing
difficult living conditions,� added Baykal. /Cumhuriyet/
[06] PALESTINIAN LEADER ABBAS MEETS WITH ARINC
On the second day of Turkey visit, Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas accompanied by a delegation, yesterday visited
Ataturk�s mausoleum (Anitkabir) and then met with Parliament
speaker Bulent Arinc. Pointing to Turkish people�s ongoing
support to Palestinians, Arinc underlined that Ankara would
do its best to contribute the peace efforts in the Middle
East. For his part, Abbas said that Turkey was a model for
the Palestinians. He added that Turkey had an important
position in the region and could play an important role to
find a settlement to the conflict in the Mideast. /Star/
[07] ANKARA TO HOST RICE-LAVROV MEETING
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary
of State Condoleeza Rice are set to meet in Ankara this
weekend. Rice is arriving in Ankara this Saturday as part of
a tour of the Middle East and Europe. Rice and Lavrov will
put layout for a summit between US President George W. Bush
and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Bratislava,
Slovakia, later this month. Meanwhile, Rice�s talks with
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul are expected to
focus on Turkey�s concern over presence of terrorist PKK
militants in northern Iraq and status of oil-rich city of
Kirkuk. In related news, daily International Herald Tribune
said yesterday that Rice�s Ankara visit had a key importance
to test her capability to repair relations. Turkey-US
relations were damaged last spring due to Ankara�s fail to
lend support for US� Iraq operation. /Turkiye/
[08] EU URGES TURKEY TO INITIAL PROTOCOL
EXTENDING CUSTOMS UNION TO COVER GREEK CYPRIOTS
The European Commission reminded Turkey that it must
initial a protocol extending its customs union with the EU
to cover the Greek Cypriot administration before it can
begin membership talks with the bloc as planned on October
3. The Commission sent a letter to Ankara on this issue,
said Leopold Maurer, Commission�s director general for
enlargement. Maurer met with Greek Cypriot and Turkish
Cypriot politicians in the Greek Cypriot administration to
discuss implementation of the Green Line regulation. �This
is the first step that Turkey must take,� he said. �And,
there will be others prior to Oct. 3� /Sabah/
[09] ITF�S TURKEY REPRESENTATIVE: �TURKEY HAS
THE RIGHT TO HAVE A SAY ON THE KIRKUK ISSUE�
Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) Turkey Representative Ahmet
Muratli yesterday said that the Kirkuk issue was no longer a
domestic issue of Iraq but had already become an
international problem due to the Kurdish groups� attitude.
�Turkey has the right to have a say on this issue,� he said.
�Ankara must continue its initiatives on Kirkuk.� Turkmen
groups harshly reacted to recent Kurdish allegations that
they obtained 68% of the total votes in the elections.
Muratli accused Kurdish groups of fabricating the election
results. �The targets of the Kurdish groups are clear,� he
added. �They�re planning to expel Arabs and Turkmens from
Kirkuk. Their designs aim at seizing the resources of the
oil-rich city.� /Hurriyet/
[10] GREEK CYPRIOT OPPOSITION LEADER TO VISIT
ANKARA
Greek Cypriot main opposition DISI leader Nikos
Anastasiades is planning to pay a visit to Ankara next week.
After returning from a visit to south Asia, Erdogan is
expected to meet with Anastasiades. During his three-day
talks, the DISI leader will discuss the Cyprus issue with
Turkish officials. /Turkiye/
[11] DYP�S AGAR: �PARLIAMENT SHOULD TAKE UP
ELECTIONS IN IRAQ�
Opposition True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar
yesterday criticized the ruling Justice and Development
Party (AKP) government�s policy on Iraq. Speaking at a press
conference in Parliament, Agar urged the government to play
a more active role in Iraq. �Turkey has become a country not
decisive but is rather a bystander in terms of foreign
policy-related issues,� said Agar. He also called on the
government to bring up foreign policy issues including Iraq
in Parliament to be discussed. /Turkiye/
[12] TUZMEN: �FAR EASTERN PRODUCTS ARE
SUPERVISED CLOSELY�
State Minister Kursad Tuzmen yesterday said that the
products imported from the Far Eastern countries were being
supervised closely in order to prevent unfair competition in
the markets. The border gates are monitored around the
clock, he said. �We�ve reached the highest number of
smuggled products seized in the history of Turkey.�
/Hurriyet/
[13] FISCHER PRAISES THE TURKISH ECONOMY,
SAYING THE PROGRAM�S CREDIBILITY INCREASED
Former International Monetary Fund Deputy Managing
Director Stanley Fischer yesterday praised the Turkish
economy, saying that Turkey�s high inflation was reduced and
fiscal stability was achieved thanks to the successful
implementation of the IMF supported economic program. He
further stressed that Turkey�s economic program gained
credibility due to the implementation of right economy
policies. Fischer added that continuation of determined
implementation of the program was very important. /Aksam/
[14] INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR PRAISES TURKEY�S EU
MEMBERSHIP BID
International finance magazine The Institutional Investor
praised Turkey�s recent performance on its path towards the
European Union membership. �Prime Minister Erdogan's
turnaround efforts have brought Turkey to Europe's
doorstep,� the magazine wrote. �Now, the real work begins to
get his country inside.� The magazine also described Economy
Minister Ali Babacan as the young and energetic minister of
Turkey, applauding Erdogan government�s lobbying efforts in
the EU capitals. / Hurriyet/
[15] IMF�S DAWSON: �TURKEY CONTINUES TO HAVE
SUCH AN IMPRESSIVE PERFORMANCE�
Director of the IMF�s External Relations Department,
Thomas C. Dawson yesterday told a press conference in
Washington that he was not concerned about the delay in
Turkey�s program. �Delays happen and this is not a long
delay by the standards of what we've had previously,
particularly as Turkey continues to have such an impressive
performance,� he said. �The Fund mission in December
concluded discussions on a new program with Turkey. The
authorities are requesting a three-year, US$10 billion
Stand-By Arrangement to support the program, which aims at
continuing and building on the sustained growth, further
entrenching low inflation, and working toward debt
reduction. The main elements include the 6.5 percent of GDP
primary surplus target, containing and reducing social
security deficits; improved tax administration, bringing
banking supervision more in line with EU standards, and
encouraging foreign direct investment. There are a number of
steps in the above areas that are needed to facilitate the
Board discussion of the new program. These include
submission of new social security and banking reform
legislation and passage of a new tax administration law. We
essentially are waiting to see how this progresses in
Turkey.� /Hurriyet/
[16] FROM THE COLUMNS�FROM THE COLUMNS�FROM THE
COLUMNS�
[17] DIPLOMACY IN MIDDLE EAST
BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
Columnist Sami Kohen comments on the situation in the
Middle East. A summary of his column is as follows:
�The timing could never be better. Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas� visit to Turkey coincided with a time when
hopeful messages came from the Middle East concerning peace.
In addition, Ankara hosted Israeli Chief of General Staff
Gen. Moshe Yaalon at the same time. These two visits are
important due to their contribution to Turkey�s bilateral
relations with Palestine and Israel and Ankara�s possible
contribution to the peace in the Middle East. When Abbas
became the president, a new period entered in the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Frozen contacts were
reestablished between the two parties, measures and new
steps started to be taken for the end of violence and in
favor of the peace process. Abbas showed his determination
for the end of violence and tried to convince such groups as
Hamas and Islamic Jihad. At least, now there is an actual
cease-fire for now. Another important step taken by Abbas is
that he charged Palestinian security forces with the task of
ensuring security in the Gaza region. In addition, the
Israeli government announced its decision to discharge the
settlements in Gaza and withdraw from five centers in the
West Sheria.
When these steps are being taken, the statement made
concerning Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak�s initiative
gave the good news of a serious beginning in the peace
process. As a result of the silent diplomacy carried out by
Egypt recently, Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon will meet in Sharm al-Sheikh in Egypt next Tuesday.
Even this is a historic development. If both sides can agree
on an official cease-fire and common security measures
during this summit and reach a consensus on starting a peace
process in which basic principles will be discussed, this
would be a great success. Obviously, it won�t be easy for
leaders to reach an agreement on such problems as security,
cease-fire, etc. Both sides will face the opposition and
resistance of their own militants and need domestic and
foreign support. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul promised this
support during his visit to the region last month and this
was repeated during the visits paid by Abbas and Gen. Yaalon
to Ankara.�
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