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Turkish Press Review, 06-11-13Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning13.11.2006CONTENTS
[01] ECEVIT LAID TO REST IN STATE CEMETERYFormer Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit was laid to rest in Ankara on Saturday with a state ceremony. The funeral saw tens of thousands of people bidding farewell to the 81-year old journalist, poet, and statesman Ecevit, a beloved politician in the country for his social political stance and his honesty during a half-century in Turkish political life. The "Conqueror of Cyprus" was buried at the State Cemetery under a new law designed specifically for distinguished former premiers such as Ecevit. /All Papers/[02] AKP HOLDS SECOND CONGRESSThe Justice and Development Party (AKP) held its second general congress on Saturday in Ankara . Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was re-elected to the helm of the party, as expected. Addressing the gathering, Erdogan said that Turkey needed to be a country where all citizens are at peace with each other irrespective of their language, religion, race, beliefs or gender. "This is the force that will eliminate separatist terrorism once and for all," said Erdogan. Stressing that the AKP's conservatism is opposed to extremism and radicalism and is based on people, not religion, Erdogan also warned AKP members not to be easily provoked. "We all need to be patient," added the premier. /All Papers/[03] SPANISH PM ZAPATERO: "I WILL SUPPORT TURKEY AT NEXT MONTH'S EU SUMMIT "Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, in Turkey in order to attend the Alliance of Civilizations meeting and to meet with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, yesterday said that he would support Turkey at December's European Union leaders summit. After a meeting held at the Prime Ministry office at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul , the two leaders signed a cooperation agreement. Erdogan told a press conference afterwards that he told his Spanish counterpart Ankara 's stance on the Cyprus issue. For his part, Zapatero reiterated his support for Turkey to continue its EU negotiations and stated that Ankara 's political efforts should be taken into consideration. /Cumhuriyet/[00] UN SECRETARY-GENERAL ANNAN VISITS TURKEYUN Secretary-General Kofi Annan yesterday came to Turkey for the Alliance of Civilizations initiative meeting. Annan met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at his office at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul . Erdogan's meeting with Annan, who will today receive an action plan report prepared by the alliance's high-level group, lasted about an hour. /Star/[04] GUL: "FUTURE GENERATIONS SHOULD NOT BE RAISED WITH HATRED"Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said yesterday that the international community should not stay silent in the face of critical developments in the Middle East . Speaking to reporters at Istanbul 's Ataturk Airport , Gul said that the region needed peace. Stressing that future generations should be prevented from being raised with hatred, Gul said that such hatred jeopardized the future of the region. The foreign minister said that he would discuss the Cyprus issue with outgoing United Nations Secretary- General Kofi Annan, who arrived in Istanbul to attend a meeting of the Alliance of Civilizations. Stating that Ankara wanted to ensure a smooth handover on the Cyprus problem from Annan to his successor, Gul said he would brief him about the recent developments on the island. Commenting on the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) General Congress over the weekend, Gul said that AKP had made sweeping reforms in Turkey, adding that the AKP organization was enjoying that with pride and honor. /Turkiye/[05] AKSU TO VISIT CHINAInterior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu is set to travel to the People's Republic of China tomorrow. Aksu will pay a five-day official visit to the country at the invitation of Public Security Minister Zhou Yongkang. /Sabah/[06] SWEDISH FM BILDT: "THE GREEK CYPRIOTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CYPRUS DEADLOCK"Amid rising pressure on Turkey to open its ports and airports to Greek Cypriot vessels, Swedish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Carl Bildt weighed in by saying that the Greek Cypriots are responsible for the deadlock on Cyprus . In a guest column published in The International Herald Tribune last Tuesday, Bildt pointed to Ankara 's strategic importance. On Cyprus as a crisis between Turkey and the European Union, he wrote, "One of the most painful failures of the international community in recent years was the 2004 failure to achieve a solution to the division of Cyprus , and it was obvious from that day that it would complicate the accession process of Turkey . We should not forget that these efforts did not fail because of Turkey , but because key parts of the Greek Cypriot leadership refused to accept a plan by the UN secretary general that had the clear support of the European Union. As the Finnish presidency of the EU tries to overcome the present difficulties, we must neither ignore our long-term strategic interests nor forget where the key responsibility for the 2004 failure lies. To close the door to Turkey , to the western Balkans or to the East is to open the door to instability in Europe itself -- on the very threshold of the European Union. We must understand that if you close one door you risk opening other doors. That's the way history works." /Milliyet/[07] EDUCATION SUMMIT CONVENESThe 17th Education Summit will start in Ankara today. During the five-day gathering, some 800 education professionals are expected to discuss problems plaguing the system in Turkey . The main topics to be taken up will be university and high school entrance exams and the state of the education system with respect to Turkey 's European Union membership bid. /Sabah/[08] ANTALYA HOSTS TURKISH-GREEK TOURISM FORUMA Turkish-Greek Tourism Forum was held in Antalya 's Serik district over the weekend. Speaking at the meeting, Tourism Minister Atilla Koc said that cooperation on tourism would develop friendship between the two countries. Koc then signed a cooperation statement with his Greek counterpart Fanny Palli-Petralia. 7Star_FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... [09] THE NEXT PRESIDENTColumnist Yaman Toruner comments on next year's presidential election. A summary of his column is as follows:"Parliament will choose the president next spring. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) will choose the president as long as it is the majority in the Parliament. If the AKP doesn't split and nothing unexpected occurs, then the president will be from the AKP or someone close to the AKP. So the possibility that his wife will wear a headscarf is high. Even if she doesn't, she will favor this group. Some ask why this shouldn't happen when we already have a prime minister whose wife wears a headscarf. After the spring presidential elections, the AKP will have a say even if it loses future general elections. The AKP thinks that it can get control of the military with its efforts for EU membership. So it will have close relations with the EU. Now we can easily see that the real aim of not holding early elections is the AKP choosing the next president. This means that for the AKP, the presidential election is more important then maybe losing general elections. They even think that a president from the AKP will attract more votes to the party. They think that people will want stability over everything. From another point of view, if someone prevents the AKP from choosing the president then they will also prevent the AKP from winning the next coming general elections. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seeking others opinions, but he's already decided to become president. Such an opportunity comes only once. And if he decides not to become president, then some will say that he lacked the courage and question his leadership. In short, the presidential election is more important then the general elections. Erdogan will be president if everything goes as planned. The military will continue to make them afraid and the opposition will continue its harsh criticisms, but that's expected. Erdogan's plan won't go awry as long as the AKP doesn't split and there's no economic crisis. The greatest risk in the economy is the current account deficit, but it would be difficult for things to get really bad before spring. As a result, Erdogan will be our next president." [10] NEW PROBLEMS ON CYPRUSColumnist Ferai Tinc comments on problems on Cyprus . A summary of her column is as follows:"The Greek and Greek Cypriot foreign ministers will start to hold contacts in Brussels today, and Finland will try to find a solution before the European Union leaders summit to be held on Dec. 14-15. Actually, this isn't the problem I'll talk about today. If the Turks and Greek Cypriots don't cooperate, something will cause problems. When I read the news about Cyprus , I saw that certain things rarely seen before are now appearing more frequently. Some of the headlines are about students using drugs, people arrested with fake IDs, 35 refugees caught red-handed, etc. Both sides of Cyprus have recently become centers of human trafficking, women smuggling and drug traffic. If the fight against this problem can't be waged determinedly on Cyprus , which is considered a transit and target country, certain social problems and lack of solutions might be experienced. How can such a place battle international organized crime? Actually, both sides have non-governmental organizations which seriously work on this issue. However, it's very difficult to get anything done without international cooperation, because the gangs don't hesitate to cooperate. It's hard to talk about international cooperation. Even the desire for rapprochement which enlivened both nations five years ago now is nowhere to be seen. Everybody says that except for a few groups which push for peace, international relations hardly exist. When hopes for a solution faltering, the nations have low spirits. The Papadopoulos administration and certain press agencies have so convinced the Greek Cypriot people that the problem will be solved with the European Union process that efforts at international rapprochement and cooperation are spurned. When the Greek Cypriot Democratic Rally Party (DISI) asked what could be done for a solution, it was almost branded a traitor. I can also sense this weariness on the Turkish side as well. Don't you think that more efforts are necessary for cooperation to fight organized crime? This issue is on the radar of international organizations. The US and the EU are also following the issue closely. In a period when organized crime groups are the greatest threat to stability, cooperation should be emphasized. However, the island's current situation -- in other words, ignoring the problem and freezing relations -- is a danger for everybody. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) should make international cooperation in this area more visible and convince the Greek Cypriot administration to work together. This work is necessary not only on the technical level, but also for raising the nations' awareness." Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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