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Turkish Press Review, 05-12-08
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
08.12.2005
PM ERDOGAN: �HEADSCARVES
ARE A PROBLEM�
OIC CONVENES IN MECCA
BAYKAL: �THE PRIME MINISTER
IS COMPLETELY CONFUSED�
BAYKAL TO TRAVEL TO
SEMDINLI TO CLARIFY �IDENTITY STANCE�
MUMCU CRITICIZES ERDOGAN�S
�SHARED IDENTITY� ARGUMENT
DYP DEPUTY CHAIR: �BABACAN
ISN�T WORKING HARD ENOUGH�
REHN BACKS TURKEY�S EU
MEMBERSHIP
TRNC�S TALAT DUE IN
ISTANBUL
INDUSTRY AND TRADE
MINISTER: �WE�VE SIGNED AGREEMENTS WITH CROATIA
ON FREE TRADE, BOOSTING INVESTMENT, AND
ELIMINATING DOUBLE TAXATION�
FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
ARMENIAN LAWSUIT IN THE US
BY SEMIH IDIZ (MILLIYET)
CONTENTS
[01] PM ERDOGAN: �HEADSCARVES ARE A
PROBLEM�
[02] OIC CONVENES IN MECCA
[03] BAYKAL: �THE PRIME MINISTER IS
COMPLETELY CONFUSED�
[04] BAYKAL TO TRAVEL TO SEMDINLI TO
CLARIFY �IDENTITY STANCE�
[05] MUMCU CRITICIZES ERDOGAN�S
�SHARED IDENTITY� ARGUMENT
[06] DYP DEPUTY CHAIR: �BABACAN
ISN�T WORKING HARD ENOUGH�
[07] REHN BACKS TURKEY�S EU
MEMBERSHIP
[08] TRNC�S TALAT DUE IN ISTANBUL
[09] INDUSTRY AND TRADE MINISTER:
�WE�VE SIGNED AGREEMENTS WITH CROATIA ON FREE
TRADE, BOOSTING INVESTMENT, AND ELIMINATING
DOUBLE TAXATION�
[10] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[11] ARMENIAN LAWSUIT IN THE US
BY SEMIH IDIZ (MILLIYET)
[01] PM ERDOGAN: �HEADSCARVES ARE A
PROBLEM�
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday
addressed representatives of the Turkish
community in Melbourne, Australia. �I�ve been
criticized for coming to New Zealand and
Australia,� said Erdogan. �This logic would have
Turkey retreat into itself. We see Turkey as a
country forging bonds with countries of the
world.� Asked when the headscarf issue would be
solved in Turkey, the premier said, �Whether one
accepts it or not, headscarves are a problem in
Turkey. In order not to cause tension in the
country, social and institutional consensus is
needed to solve the problem.� Erdogan also
delivered a speech at Melbourne University where
he touched on the terrorism issue. /Star/
[02] OIC CONVENES IN MECCA
The Third Extraordinary Organization of
Islamic Conference (OIC) summit began yesterday
in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Parliament Speaker
Bulent Arinc and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul
are representing Turkey at the two-day
gathering. The OIC summit is convening to
discuss reform efforts and is expected to
endorse a 10-year action plan setting out a
reform agenda for the organization and the
Muslim world. The gathering also decided to soon
hold a women�s conference in Turkey, which will
be the first of its kind for the OIC. /Turkey/
[03] BAYKAL: �THE PRIME MINISTER IS
COMPLETELY CONFUSED�
Main opposition Republican People�s Party
(CHP) leader Deniz Baykal, speaking at a party
meeting yesterday, criticized recent speeches of
the premier on the notion of identity, saying,
�The prime minister is completely confused. The
Turkish nation is a nation which people of all
beliefs and religious sects become a part of
through their own will. The prime minister�s
ideas will drag Turkey into a dangerous
situation.� /Star/
[04] BAYKAL TO TRAVEL TO SEMDINLI TO
CLARIFY �IDENTITY STANCE�
Opposition Republican People�s Party (CHP)
leader Deniz Baykal is due today to travel to
the southeastern Anatolian town of Semdinli to
assess recent incidents there, and he is also
expected to voice his opinions on the �primary
identity� argument. Baykal will travel to the
province in a private plane and will meet with
state officials and representatives from civil
groups during his stay. He is expected to
explain his stance on the identity issue while
telling citizens of Kurdish origin there that
Turks and Kurds are united. /Turkish Daily News/
[05] MUMCU CRITICIZES ERDOGAN�S
�SHARED IDENTITY� ARGUMENT
Opposition Motherland Party (ANAVATAN) leader
Erkan Mumcu yesterday criticized Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan for saying this week that
the nation�s �shared identity� was religion.
Addressing his party�s group meeting, Mumcu said
that the government had become a source of
instability, adding that not only the
government, but also politics and trust in
democracy had failed. /Aksam/
[06] DYP DEPUTY CHAIR: �BABACAN
ISN�T WORKING HARD ENOUGH�
Nuzhet Kandemir, deputy chairman of the
opposition True Path Party (DYP), yesterday said
that Turkey�s chief European Union negotiator
Ali Babacan wasn�t working hard enough on
membership talks with the EU, citing Babacan�s
current 10-day Australia and New Zealand visit
during an intense stage of the EU process.
Kandemir said that Babacan was devoting his
office hours to matters other than the EU, and
that the clearest indicator of this was his trip
abroad at a time when complicated issues like
agriculture and free circulation of goods were
being debated with the EU. �The EU isn�t used to
this. Needless to say that they had expected a
different negotiation process,� he added.
/Cumhuriyet/
[07] REHN BACKS TURKEY�S EU
MEMBERSHIP
European Union Commissioner for Enlargement
Olli Rehn yesterday lent his support to Turkey�s
EU membership. Addressing French
parliamentarians at the French Assembly�s
Foreign Affairs Commission, Rehn pointed out
that Turkey is situated in on a strategic
region, adding that when it is stable,
democratic, and respectful of human rights
Turkey would serve the interests of the Union.
Stressing that Turkey�s membership process would
be long and difficult, Rehn highlighted the
importance of the implementation of reforms.
Reiterating that the accession negotiations were
open ended, the commissioner called on member
countries to give Turkey an opportunity to adapt
itself to the bloc�s values and regulations.
/Turkiye/
[08] TRNC�S TALAT DUE IN ISTANBUL
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)
President Mehmet Ali Talat is expected to arrive
in Istanbul today for a two-day
business-dominated visit. During his stay in
Istanbul, the president will meet with
representatives of the Turkish Cypriot community
as well. Talat is scheduled to hold meetings
with officials from the Independent
Industrialists� and Businessmen�s Association
(MUSIAD) and the Tourism Investors� Association
to discuss investment opportunities in the TRNC.
He will also take part in a conference on the
Cyprus issue at Istanbul�s Sabanci University.
/Turkish Daily News/
[09] INDUSTRY AND TRADE MINISTER:
�WE�VE SIGNED AGREEMENTS WITH CROATIA ON FREE
TRADE, BOOSTING INVESTMENT, AND ELIMINATING
DOUBLE TAXATION�
Industry and Trade Minister Ali Coskun said
yesterday that Turkish and Croatian officials
had signed several agreements on free trade,
boosting bilateral investment, and eliminating
double taxation. Speaking at yesterday�s meeting
of the Turkish-Croatian Business Council, Coskun
said that Turkey�s relations with Croatia had a
long history, adding that these ties would be
strengthened since Ankara began its accession
talks with the European Union. Coskun added that
he hoped new agreements would be signed between
the two countries at the business council
meeting due to be held in Zagreb in March.
Croatia�s president visited Turkey this week.
/Sabah/
[10] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[11] ARMENIAN LAWSUIT IN THE US
BY SEMIH IDIZ (MILLIYET)
Columnist Semih Idiz comments on a lawsuit
filed in the US concerning the so-called
Armenian genocide. A summary of his column is as
follows:
�A recent report by Yasemin Congar in
Milliyet about a lawsuit filed over the
so-called Armenian genocide shows a possible way
to end our headaches. Obviously, the policy of
categorically denying the Armenian claims has
brought no benefit to Ankara. Parliament�s
initiative to refute the �Blue Book� is the
latest example of this. As for the lawsuit, one
student and two history teachers in
Massachusetts are arguing that excluding from
history textbooks the Turkish view against the
so-called Armenian genocide claims is a
violation of academic freedom. Probably the
court will agree. Interestingly, the people who
filed the suit have no relation to Turkey. In
sum, they argue the following: �Whether a
genocide was committed or not is a separate
issue. However, the right of Turks and such
scholars as Bernard Lewis and Justin McCarthy to
express their views about the issue can�t be
taken from them.� Meanwhile, giving equal time
to Turkey�s thesis in history classes is a
nightmare for the Armenians as well, because
they want everybody to consider the issue from
their point of view. Up to now Turkey�s
�categorical denial� policy aroused a backlash
in the West and helped the Armenians. However,
if the suit in Massachusetts is successful, it
would set an important precedent.
Actually, there are interesting developments
related to the issue in Europe as well. For
example, British historian David Irving, a
Holocaust denier, has been in prison in Austria
since Nov. 11, a situation presenting a sharp
dilemma for European academics. Even those who
despise Irving for calling the Holocaust a �huge
lie� say that what�s being done to him violates
academic freedom. The future of the campaign on
the issue and what sort of example it will set
in Europe is uncertain now. Meanwhile,
�categorical denial� advocates won�t like it if
the lawsuit in Massachusetts is won. If it�s
successful, we could sum up its message as
follows: �The Armenian claims should be given
equal time in Turkish textbooks alongside the
Turkish view, just like in US text books.�
Actually this is in line with Turkey�s approach
that the issue should be left to historians.
However, it�s questionable if Turkey is mature
enough to adopt such an approach at this stage.�
ARCHIVE
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