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Turkish Press Review, 07-11-20Turkish 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 morning20.11.2007CONTENTS
[01] PRESIDENT GUL TELEPHONES MUSHARRAF TO OFFER TURKEY’S SUPPORTIn a telephone call to his Pakistani counterpart Pervez Musharraf yesterday, President Abdullah Gul reportedly offered Turkey’s support for Pakistan’s fight against terrorism and its democratization. Gul also stated that if Turkey can do anything to aid Pakistan’s stabilization and well-being, it stands ready. /Cumhuriyet/[02] TOPTAN: “TURKEY WON’T MAKE CONCESSIONS FROM DEMOCRACY, ANTI-TERROR EFFORTS OR THE ECONOMY”Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan said yesterday that Turkey would never forsake democracy, the fight against terrorism or economic progress. Addressing a panel in Parliament on non-governmental organizations’ contributions to the legislative process, Toptan said that Turkey is going through a difficult period, but it will manage to face down all its challenges. Pointing to the importance of NGOs in a democratic country, the Parliament speaker urged the public to establish more NGOs to help promote the development of society. /Turkiye/[03] ERDOGAN PRAISES TOP TURKISH CONTRACTORSPrime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan yesterday attended an awards ceremony held by the Turkish Contractors Association (TMB) for 22 Turkish firms ranked among the world’s 225 biggest contractors. Addressing the ceremony, Erdogan praised the firms’ owners, managers and workers, saying that Turkish contractors are working under tough conditions in places like Afghanistan and Africa. He said that his government listens to the problems of investors, workers and employers inside and outside Turkey and has found solutions. Turning to the law on public procurement, Erdogan said there are some problems in the law which his government is trying to fix. State Minister Kursad Tuzmen also addressed the ceremony. /Aksam-Sabah/[04] CICEK: “THE GOVT HAS NO PLANS FOR A TERRORIST AMNESTY”Following a nearly six-hour Cabinet meeting yesterday, Deputy Premier and government spokesman Cemil Cicek told reporters that the government was not planning any amnesty for PKK terrorists. Cicek stated that the Cabinet ministers had discussed the terrorist PKK and other current issues. He also reiterated the government’s determination in the fight against terrorism. /Milliyet/[05] TURKIC CONGRESS IN BAKU CONCLUDESThe 11th Turkic State and Community Friendship, Solidarity and Cooperation Congress in Baku, Azerbaijan ended yesterday. A declaration issued at the end of the three-day gathering said that the Turkic world condemns foreign parliaments’ passage of resolutions on the Armenian allegations. Pointing to the importance of cooperation on global peace and security, the declaration stressed that Turkic-speaking countries have always stood for peace and friendship. It also urged the Turkic states to help end the international isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and give support on the issues of Upper Karabakh and Iraq’s Turkmen. /Turkiye/[06] AKP’S BAGIS: “A NEW RENAISSANCE CAN BE SEEN IN TURKEY”Speaking at a forum titled “Turkey in Europe” in Trieste, Italy, ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy leader Egemen Bagis yesterday said that even as Italy has changed governments, its support for Turkey has not wavered. Stating that prejudices can be dispelled through dialogue, Bagis said that a repeat of the Italian Renaissance is now being seen in Turkey. He also stressed that the AKP is the most liberal, reformist ruling party in Turkey’s history. /Sabah/[07] EUROPEAN TOURISM GIANT SET TO EXPAND IN TURKEYA European tourism giant yesterday signaled that it’s ready to expand in the Turkish market. Michael Frenzel, the CEO of German-based TUI, said that his company already has hotels in Turkey and is ready to make new investments if they see opportunities. Pointing to Turkey’s enormous tourism potential, Frenzel said that if Turkey wants to further capitalize on this, it should prioritize protecting the environment and keeping quality high. In related news, another leading international tour operator, Thomas Cook, chose the Xanadu Hotel in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya as the world's best hotel in the select category. The British-based firm selected Xanadu from over 10,000 hotels, based on customer satisfaction surveys. Thomas Cook serves 19 million tourists every year. /Star/FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... [08] WHAT SHOULD BE DONE ABOUT THE DTP?BY HASAN CELAL GUZEL (RADIKAL)Columnist Hasan Celal Guzel comments on the terrorist PKK and the pro- Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP). A summary of her column is as follows: “In modern democratic systems, public opinion is mostly set by the mass media. Actually, this is why the media is called the fourth estate. In politics, if an incident is ignored by the media, it comes to nothing. Politicians know this very well, and so try to use the media for their ends. It’s important for a political movement to get media coverage, no matter whether favorable or unfavorable. If it’s an issue and people are talking about it, this serves political activists’ ends. The PKK and the Democratic Society Party (DTP) have used this state of affairs to their advantage. One of the most important reasons for the PKK’s terrorist attacks is staying on the media radar. The reasons for the DTP’s radicalism can be found here as well. In light of this, we can conclude that the most effective way to fight the enemies of Turkey’s prosperity and integrity is to starve them of attention. A bunch of terrorists in a country with a population of more than 70 million, or 20 deputies (3%) of a 550-set-Parliament, should be ignored. Is there really any good reason to show posters of the ugly terrorist leader’s face and a so-called flag on TV screens and newspapers for days on end? Of course, we feel deeply sorry for our fallen soldiers, but who benefits from watching sad families for hours in the style of a slapped- together ‘reality’ show? So coverage of the PKK and DTP should be dropped. In short, the PKK_DTP should be subject to political isolation. The current political system and the media should be aware of their great responsibility towards this end. As I wrote last week, the PKK_DTP want their parties to be closed down and so flout the law for this purpose. This way they hope to halt their attrition and decline and have the opportunity to spread anti-propaganda abroad. Then they will complain that they were excluded from the political system and had to go to the mountains. But officials shouldn’t parrot this propaganda as if it were true. Weren’t phrases like ‘bringing the PKK down from the mountains’ disproved by the DTP’s presence in Parliament? What would happen if officials set aside valid legal provisions and thought like politicians; how would we make up for the degraded understanding of a state of law? In addition, those who see the concessions on these issues will be encouraged to more radicalism, won’t they? Members of the current ruling party, who have experienced the problems of party closing, haven’t altered the provisions of the 1982 Constitution or the Law on Political Parties. On the other hand, Article 38 of their new draft Constitution says that political parties will not work against the state’s indivisible integrity. It also tells how a political party can be closed. So even if the Constitution is changed this way and the Law on Political Parties is reworked, the end result will be no different. The matter has now been passed on to legal experts, who will do what’s necessary. Right now it’s not right to speculate on the issue. The way to blunt the impact of terrorism is to end media coverage of the PKK_DTP and separatist activities. Meanwhile, security forces will do their duty and the ruling party will continue to do all it can to support the people living in the region.” Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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