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Turkish Press Review, 06-09-01Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr><LINK href="http://www.byegm.gov.tr_yayinlarimiz_chr_pics_css/tpr.css" rel=STYLESHEET type=text/css> <style type="text_css"> <!-- .baslik { margin-right:0cm; margin-left:0cm; margin-top:1cm; font-size:12.0pt; color:#000099; text-align: justify; } --> <_style> e-mail : [email protected] <caption> <_caption> Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning01.09.2006CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN ADDRESSES THE NATION ON PLANS FOR LEBANON TROOP DEPLOYMENTBacking away from our responsibilities would be a betrayal of our history, our future and the higher interests of our nation, said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a televised address to the nation yesterday. "We shouldn't forget that we cannot escape the fire by shutting our doors." Erdogan said. "Nor can we avoid dangers by shutting our eyes." Erdogan stressed that the only way to protect Turkish interests is through not being a bystander to incidents occurring in the region, but by stepping in as an active player. "If you keep yourself out of the matter, you become a bystander when innocent people are getting killed and you risk your own future," Erdogan said. Erdogan noted that just as Turkey was not a bystander to what was happening in Kosovo and Bosnia, it cannot and should not be a bystander to what is happening in Lebanon either. "The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) should be part of the United Nations peacekeeping force to protect innocent women, children and the elderly," said Erdogan. According to Erdogan, humanitarian and historical responsibilities coupled with real political conditions make it important for Turkey to send troops to Lebanon. Prime Minister Erdogan reiterated that those who don't think big actually underestimate the power of the country and the TSK. "The force we will send to Lebanon will be involved in peacekeeping and it won't get involved in military clashes," he said, underlining that disarming Hezbollah is a matter to be handled by the Lebanese government as it does not fall under the UN force's responsibilities. Erdogan also stressed that serving in a peacekeeping force will not make the TSK weak against terror, just as past missions did not weaken it. He remarked that Turkey will take all measures essential for its own security on a timely basis. "We ask all friendly countries and our neighbors not to provide safe haven for the terrorist PKK on their territory," said Erdogan. /All papers/[02] TAN: "TURKISH TROOPS WILL BE SENT FOR PEACE"Speaking to reporters yesterday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Namik Tan said that Turkish troops in Lebanon would not have a mission to disarm any group in the region. Stating that if the government sends troops they would serve humanitarian concerns only, he added the soldiers would help the people in Lebanon to return to their normal daily lives. Commenting on the PKK issue, Tan said that Ankara welcomed US Gen. Joseph Ralston's appointment as a PKK coordinator, and they were carrying out work on the matter to appoint a counterpart to Ralston. Asked about reports that Turkey was lagging on its road to full European Union membership, Tan said that the efforts towards that goal and Turkey's determination to be a full member were continuing as much as before. /Turkiye/[03] WILSON: "WE'RE WAITING FOR TURKEY'S DECISION ON DEPLOYMENT IN LEBANON" US Ambassador to Turkey Ross Wilson said yesterday that the US is watching Turkey for its decision on sending troops to a planned UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon. "We encouraged Turkey to play such a role," said Wilson and stressed that Turkey is a democracy and so its elected representatives will decide. "We are waiting for Turkey's decision," Wilson said. /Milliyet/[04] BAHCELI: "FOCUS ON KANDIL AND KIRKUK, NOT PALESTINE" Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli said yesterday that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has a great wish and rush to send Turkish troops to Lebanon. "Leave aside Palestine, the primary interest is in Mt. Kandil and Kirkuk," both in Iraq, said Bahceli. Addressing people in Mersin, the MHP leader criticized the government's foreign policy and called for early elections. /Star/[05] AGAR: "THE DYP CAN'T SUPPORT OUR TROOPS GOING TO LEBANON WITHOUT CLEAR CONDITIONS" True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar said yesterday that his party would not lend support to the government's plans to send troops to Lebanon unless all conditions are made clear. Not opposing sending troops in principle, Agar stated that the mission of the Turkish troops should be clarified, and that the government should inform the public on the matter. He added that Parliament should debate the issue, including all details. /Turkiye/[06] UN SENDS ANKARA DETAILS ON ROLE OF PEACEKEEPING FORCE The UN has sent Ankara details of the working conditions of the expanded UNIFIL in Lebanon. According to the rules set by the UN, the peacekeeping force's troops will have the right to open fire if the other side does so or if they see a threat from the other side. /Cumhuriyet/ [07] ANTI-PKK COORDINATOR RALSTON TO VISIT ANKARA US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said yesterday that Joseph Ralston, a retired general newly appointed as special representative for the fight against the terrorist PKK, would visit Turkey in the coming weeks. During a daily press conference, denying recent speculations that the PKK was serving US interests in northern Iraq by preventing other terrorists' activities, the spokesman stated that the PKK was a terrorist group. /Star/[08] AIR FORCE SCHOOL, NAVAL ACADEMY HOLD GRADUATION CEREMONIES The Air Force School and the Naval Academy yesterday held ceremonies in Istanbul to celebrate this year's graduates. Present at the gatherings were President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, Education Minister Huseyin Celik and Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit as well as other top commanders. /Aksam/[09] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS�[00] IRAQ SYNDROME AND SENDING SOLDIERS TO LEBANONBY HALUK SAHIN (RADIKAL) Columnist Haluk Sahin comments on Turkey sending soldiers to Lebanon. A summary of his column is as follows: "You can't expect comparisons made with wrong examples to be correct. The wrong example causes mistakes. It's like discussing sending Turkish troops to the peacekeeping force in Lebanon through the example of sending soldiers to Iraq and thus misleading ourselves. We can call this mistake the 'Iraq syndrome.' Unfortunately, it seems that this syndrome dominates the Turkish public. When you look at newspaper front pages, slogans and the remarks made by political party spokesmen, you would think that somebody was about to declare war against Turkey and cross the border with a half- million-man army. However, this is a limited peace operation under the United Nations umbrella, and only 1,000 soldiers will go there. I'm sure that some are laughing, because the people are afraid that Turkey is sending 1,000 soldiers to a place where Italy is sending 3,000. You would also think that everybody in Lebanon is just waiting for Turkish soldiers to come, some as saviors and some as the enemy. But none of this is true. Maybe Turkish soldiers will go there as a symbolic force, not as a military force due to its number and formation. However, nobody is listening and people are blowing up the issue due to the Iraq syndrome and certain ideological reasons. What I mean by the wrong example is Turkey's rejection of US troop deployment for the Iraq war in March 2003. Actually, it was a good thing to reject that motion. However, that was different, because it included supporting an illegal occupation and it wasn't a UN operation. This time everybody is being careful to lay a proper legal basis and all the parties want this force to come. The European Union's general stance about that operation was negative, but this time there's almost full support. Nobody in Europe can say that Turkey is acting as a bully. Turkey will perform its duty with its recently forgotten identity, in other words, as a 60-year member of the Western alliance. It should perform this duty. There's no reason to worry. It won't be the end of the world just because Turkey sends 1,000 soldiers to Lebanon. However, this symbolic gesture will make it easier for Turkey to defend its vital interests. All the people who love our country should evaluate the issue in terms of Turkey's priorities. Be careful. Consider the issue not from the Iranian-Syrian-Hizbullah axis or from the US-Iraqi Kurds-Israeli axis, but in terms of Turkey's priorities. The bombs which exploded at certain tourist towns in Turkey obviously show our country's problem with priorities. The place to solve this problem is Turkey. However, we can't ignore the fact that it has a military dimension as well and Turkey can make certain gestures to draw advantage from this. The actual problem isn't sending 1,000 soldiers from Turkey to Lebanon, but where and how Ankara will pass through the doors opened by this." ARCHIVE <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript" src="http:/_www.byegm.gov.tr_statistic/countcode.js"> </script> Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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