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Turkish Press Review, 07-03-05
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
05.03.2007
CONTENTS
[01] IN ANTALYA , ERDOGAN TOURS HISTORICAL BUILDINGS UNDER RESTORATION
[02] FM GUL: "THE MIDEAST WOULD BENEFIT FROM A REGIONAL ORGANIZATION"
[03] EDUCATION MINISTER CELIK: "WITHOUT SKILLED WORKERS, WE CAN'T COMPETE GLOBALLY"
[04] HISARCIKLIOGLU EXPRESSES SUPPORT FOR GOVT SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM PLANS
[05] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[01] IN ANTALYA , ERDOGAN TOURS HISTORICAL BUILDINGS UNDER RESTORATION
Over the weekend, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on the last day of
his visit to Antalya , toured historical buildings undergoing restoration
in Kaleici. Antalya Greater Muncipality Mayor Menderes Turel briefed the
premier on the Kaleici project. Erdogan visited Kaleici Church , which is
currently undergoing restoration, accompanied by his wife Emine Erdogan and
Culture and Tourism Minister Atill Koc. Erdogan said that the historical
structure of the church should be protected. /Milliyet/
[02] FM GUL: "THE MIDEAST WOULD BENEFIT FROM A REGIONAL ORGANIZATION"
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday said that a regional organization
covering a comprehensive range of areas would be beneficial for the Middle
East . Speaking as a guest at the foreign ministers meeting of Arab League
member states in Cairo , Gul said that it was not possible to solve the
region's problems on a piecemeal basis. He said that the Palestinian issue
lay at the center of the problems and was creating pessimism and the ground
for fundamentalism in the region. Gul also underlined the importance of
maintaining the territorial integrity of Iraq . After his meeting with Arab
League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, Gul said, "It would be out of the
question for Turkey to attack any of its neighbors." /Star/
[03] EDUCATION MINISTER CELIK: "WITHOUT SKILLED WORKERS, WE CAN'T COMPETE
GLOBALLY"
Speaking at a conference entitled "Globalization and Education" over the
weekend, Education Minister Huseyin Celik said that there is a direct
correlation between education and global growth and the economy, adding
that if Turkey fails to produce and educate skilled, qualified workers,
then it won't be able to compete globally. He stressed that although Turkey
was allocating most of its resources to education, there was still much to
do to sharpen Turkey 's competitive edge. Celik further stressed that
debating globalization was meaningless, adding that smart people would act
in line with globalization. He further said that globalization was like a
water current. "You can't stop the flow of water, but you can regulate it,"
he explained. /Turkiye/
[04] HISARCIKLIOGLU EXPRESSES SUPPORT FOR GOVT SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM PLANS
Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges (TOBB) head Rifat
Hisarciklioglu yesterday met with the members of the Adana Chamber of
Industry (ASO). Addressing the group, Hisarcikliogl expressed support for
the government's stated desire to change the social security system.
Stressing that the current social security system constitutes the biggest
obstacle to employment, Hisarciklioglu stated that the system was going
into deficit even while imposing a crushing tax burden. /Turkiye/
[05] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
TURKEY IS WATCHING BY SEMIH IDIZ (MILLIYET)
Columnist Semih Idiz comments on the role played by Turkey . A summary of
his column is as follows:
"The meeting between Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Saudi King
Abdullah in Riyadh shows that new developments are coming in the region.
The meeting set to be held in Baghdad this Saturday between the US
secretary of state and her Iranian and Syrian counterparts is another sign
of this. This meeting between Iran and Saudi Arabia also relaxed those
people worried about a serious Sunni-Shiite conflict, because these two key
countries of the region are for the first time pushing a constructive
initiative to calm the atmosphere. Of course, Turkey isn't outside this
activity, in which efforts are being made to build new bridges. As part of
this, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul will take part in the meeting in
Baghdad . However, it's debatable whether we're at the center of this
activity, because it's still a problem for Turkey to produce policies
according to new regional realities, just like as we did with the Iraqi
Kurds. In this situation, we're painting ourselves not as an active player
which opens the way, but as a reactive regional power which is trying to
hold back truths that we don't like. Thanks to journalist Sedat Ergin, we
now know more about the role played by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer in the
Iraq crisis and here is a clear example of this: Sezer ignores the Kurdish
leaders -- one of whom is the president and the others, the region's
governors -- in accordance with the country's Constitution, and the
military wing has embraced this situation.
Last week I learned from the official Iranian news agency IRNA about the
message sent from Ahmadinejad to Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, who is now
undergoing medical treatment in Jordan . The news stated that Ahmadinejad
praised Talabani, whom some say will intimidate Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds.
He not only wished him good health, but also praised him for his �struggle
for democracy and freedom in Iraq .' Obviously, these warm words are the
result of Talabani's visit to Tehran . Likewise, Talabani made it felt that
he liked this message the most. Meanwhile, as if highlighting the conflict
in Turkey , he said that he also received a get-well soon message from
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Clearly Erdogan is trying to dispel
the negative atmosphere caused by the absence of any such message from the
Cankaya Presidential Palace. Perhaps he was successful, because nobody in
the region knows Sezer, but everybody knows Erdogan. However, this isn't
important. What is important is that we stay outside the equation in terms
of developments occurring next to us and that such countries as Saudi
Arabia and Iran snatch our role with more flexible approaches. As always,
we're trying to shape our world not with objective realities but with
subjective perceptions, and meanwhile the world is making us sit in the
back seat. This situation cannot change without a serious change of
mentality."
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