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Turkish Press Review, 06-11-23
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
23.11.2006
FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN CALLS ON ISLAMIC WORLD TO TAKE CONCRETE STEPS ON INTERNATIONAL ISSUES
[02] BAYKAL: "WE AIM TO COME TO POWER SINGLE-HANDEDLY, SO TALK OF A CHP-MHP COALITION HAS NO PLACE"
[03] TOP BULGARIAN COMMANDER VISITS ANKARA
[04] FOREIGN MINISTRY: "THE PKK CAN'T TAKE SHELTER IN NORTHERN IRAQ"
[05] 16 TURKS RUN FOR SEATS IN DUTCH PARLIAMENT
[06] EU PUTS PRESSURE ON GREEK CYPRIOTS TO LIFT EMBARGO FROM TRNC
[07] SCHROEDER: "I BELIEVE THE CYPRUS ISSUE CAN BE SOLVED WITH A JUST APPROACH"
[08] MASKED GREEK CYPRIOTS ATTACK TURKISH CYPRIOT STUDENTS IN BRITISH SCHOOL IN NICOSIA
[09] AN UNWANTED VISIT?
[01] ERDOGAN CALLS ON ISLAMIC WORLD TO TAKE CONCRETE STEPS ON INTERNATIONAL
ISSUES
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday attended the 10th
International Business Forum Conference organized by the Independent
Industrialists and Businessmen's Association (MUSIAD) in Istanbul.
Addressing the gathering, Erdogan said that the Arab world had abandoned
Lebanon and Palestine. Stressing that Turkey was making significant
contributions to global peace and prosperity, the premier urged the Arab
League to take concrete steps to find settlement to problems. "The Islamic
world should not only talk, but begin to act on these issues," said
Erdogan. In addition, the premier said that he would probably visit Lebanon
next month, adding that he planned to meet with his Lebanese counterpart
Fouad Siniora and also visit Turkish peacekeeping troops deployed in the
southern part of the country. Erdogan also stated that Turkey was one of
the markets where global capital has begun to flow, characterizing Turkey
as a country of opportunities and possibilities. He added that his
government was determined to maintain its policy of encouraging
international investments. /Sabah/
[02] BAYKAL: "WE AIM TO COME TO POWER SINGLE-HANDEDLY, SO TALK OF A CHP-MHP
COALITION HAS NO PLACE"
Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal said
yesterday that his party aimed to come to power single-handedly in next
year's general elections, adding that comments speculating that the CHP and
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) could form a coalition had no place.
Baykal stated that although the two parties shared similar views on such
issues as national sensitivities and criticisms of the government, they
also had differences on many issues. "The two parties have their own
programs and policies," said Baykal, adding that comments that the CHP and
MHP could form a coalition were ill-timed and baseless. /Milliyet/
[03] TOP BULGARIAN COMMANDER VISITS ANKARA
Bulgarian Chief of General Staff Gen. Zlatan Stoykov, on a visit to Turkey,
yesterday met with his Turkish counterpart Gen. Yasar Buyukanit. During
their talks, the two top commanders reportedly discussed bilateral military
relations and regional issues. After completing his contacts, Stoykov is
expected to leave Turkey tomorrow. /Turkiye/
[04] FOREIGN MINISTRY: "THE PKK CAN'T TAKE SHELTER IN NORTHERN IRAQ"
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Namik Tan yesterday said that they were
expecting concrete steps to counter the terrorist PKK's presence in
northern Iraq, adding, "The terrorist PKK can't take shelter in northern
Iraq. You will all see this soon." During his weekly press conference, Tan
said that work has been going on for some time to apprehend and extradite
150 PKK militants in northern Iraq. Tan also said that claims about Turkey
and Iran establishing a joint commission against the terrorist PKK were
untrue. /Cumhuriyet/
[05] 16 TURKS RUN FOR SEATS IN DUTCH PARLIAMENT
Parliamentary elections were held yesterday in the Netherlands. More then
10,000 Turks with Dutch citizenship also voted in the elections, in which
16 Turks -- half of them women -- ran for seats. Turkish candidates Nebahat
Albayrak (Labor Party), Coskun Coruz (Christian Democrat) and Sadet
Karabulut (Socialist Party) are all expected to win seats in Parliament.
/Hurriyet/
[06] EU PUTS PRESSURE ON GREEK CYPRIOTS TO LIFT EMBARGO FROM TRNC
European Union countries including Britain, Finland, Italy, Sweden and
Spain, supporting Ankara's stance that its ports and harbors can't be
opened to Greek Cypriot vessels before the embargo on Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is lifted, have now begun to put pressure on Greek
Cyprus, as they are uncomfortable about its veto threat. These countries
have reportedly told the Greek Cypriots it they want Turkey to open its
ports and harbors, they should lift the embargo from the Turkish Cypriots.
A high-level diplomat from the Foreign Ministry said, "Turkey and the TRNC
evaluated Finland's proposals and conveyed their sine qua nons to Helsinki.
But the Greek Cypriot administration put the issue completely aside. So now
Italy, Spain, Sweden and Britain, in addition to Finland, are trying to
spur the Greek Cypriots." Meanwhile, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli
Rehn said, "Turkey is a difficult issue," adding, "Some think that Turkey
is moving backwards. But I don't agree. For me, Turkey is on the right
path. But the pace of reforms has slowed down." /Star/
[07] SCHROEDER: "I BELIEVE THE CYPRUS ISSUE CAN BE SOLVED WITH A JUST
APPROACH"
Speaking at the 15th Quality Congress in Istanbul yesterday, former German
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder commented on the Cyprus issue, saying that he
believed the issue could be solved with a just approach. Stressing that the
Turkish Cypriots had proven their positive stance by voting for the Annan
plan in a referendum in 2004, Schroeder added, however, that the Greek
Cypriots got into the European Union despite turning down the same plan.
"The Turkish Cypriots were punished for their positive stance," added
Schroeder. /Milliyet/
[08] MASKED GREEK CYPRIOTS ATTACK TURKISH CYPRIOT STUDENTS IN BRITISH
SCHOOL IN NICOSIA
A group of masked Greek Cypriots this week raided a British school in part
of Nicosia within the borders of Greek Cyprus, attacking students from the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). TRNC Prime Minister Ferdi Sabit
Soyer said that he had urged the Greek Cypriot administration to find the
perpetrators of this attack and bring them to justice. "If it doesn't do so,
then it will prove that it not only encourages racism but also protects it,
" added Soyer. "The European Union doesn't tolerate racism." /Aksam/
FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[09] AN UNWANTED VISIT?
BY SEMIH IDIZ (MILLIYET)
Columnist Semih Idiz comments on Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Turkey next
week. A summary of his column is as follows:
"It seems that Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Turkey will be troubled, and
the government is experiencing uneasy days due to this visit. Some people
say that it comes from the Justice and Development Party's (AKP)
unhappiness with this visit. According to the latest news, negative
interpretations in the West of this situation caused Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan to belatedly schedule a meeting with him during the visit.
But it's not certain if this will happen or not. We can see the visit is
worrying the government as well. The main reason for this is the pope's
visit to Patriarch Bartholomeos. If the state could, it would block the
visit. But it can't. The reason is very clear: The whole world will pay
attention to this visit. Ankara knows that such an action would damage
Turkey's international image and so would be more serious than the
drawbacks of the pope-Bartholomeos meeting. So why is the visit being paid?
Firstly, let me remind you of something. The pope was supposed to come to
Turkey last year at Bartholomeos' invitation for St. Andreas day, the
holiest day of the Orthodox church. As the head of the Catholic world, his
aim was to meet with 'ecumenical' leaders of the Greek Orthodox world and
continue the process of rapprochement between the Eastern and Western
churches.
Meanwhile, although we say the opposite, the world considers Patriarch
Bartholomeos to be the ecumenical leader of the Greek Orthodox Church.
Ankara, which was disturbed that Bartholomeos invited the pope, sent a
state invitation on behalf of Turkey to the pope. As he wouldn't be able to
reject the state's invitation, the pope accepted it but postponed his
meeting with Bartholomeos. In other words, Ankara faced a visit that it
never wanted. Meanwhile, new dynamics emerged and this visit started to
gain new meanings. The pope opened his mouth and enraged the Muslim world.
Erdogan himself made some of the harshest criticisms. So the pope's visit
to Turkey took on a meaning of �creating consensus between civilizations.'
However, for that the pope shouldn't be meeting with President Ahmet Necdet
Sezer, but Erdogan, who is considered the �leading Muslim politician in
Europe,' so that it would be meaningful. If Turkey had been a normal
country, the pope would have been received at the Presidential Palace in
Cankaya, and Erdogan, the Religious Affairs Directorate head, the Greek and
Armenian patriarchs and the Jewish chief rabbi would have been invited to
the banquet given in his honor. This way Turkey's secular character would
have been emphasized and it would have promoted interfaith tolerance. But
since this didn't happen, now I can only hope Ankara will come through this
visit without any problems."
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