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Turkish Press Review, 09-05-25Turkish 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 morning25.05.2009CONTENTS
[01] DAVUTOGLU: "A GEOSTRATEGIC, GEOPOLITICAL AND GEOECONOMICS CULTURE IS EMERGING IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD"We need much more peace and dialogue, said Foreign Minister Ali Davutoglu. Addressing the 36th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Damascus over the weekend, Davutoglu underlined the importance of mutual dialogue, communication and stability. Stating that a culture geo-strategy, geopolitics and geo- economics is emerging in the Islamic world, he added, "We need to draw a new vision in line with expectations of our times, traditions and values." Touching on the Palestinian issue, Davutoglu urged Israel to take serious steps towards the resolution of the Palestinian issue on the basis of a two- state solution. On the sideline of the meeting, Davutoglu held bilateral talks with his Iranian and Iraqi counterpart to discuss regional and the global issues. Syrian President Bashar Assad received Davutoglu and praised him for his shuttle diplomacy during Israel's attacks to Gaza earlier this year. Davutoglu will proceed to Baku today with his Azeri counterpart Mammadyarov. He will be received by Azeri President Ilham Aliyev during his visit to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh issue between Azerbaijan and Armenia and energy issues. /Aksam-Star/[02] KYRGYZTAN'S BAKIYEV: "TURKEY IS THE DOOR FOR KYRGYZSTAN TO OPEN UP TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD, PARTICULARLY THE WEST"The ties between Kyrgyzstan and Turkey are deeply rooted in history, ethnic links and culture, said yesterday President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. Speaking to Today's Zaman just before President Abdullah Gul's visit to the country which will be the first presidential visit from Turkey to Kyrgyzstan in eight years, he stated that they should be developed further to allow more trade and enhanced cooperation on strategic issues. Adding that Turkey was one of the first countries to recognize Kyrgyzstan after they had declared their independence, he said, "At that time, Turkey extended a helping hand to Kyrgyzstan, which was facing economic difficulties following the dissolution of the Soviet." Bakiyev reiterated that Turkey is the door for Kyrgyzstan to open up to the outside world, particularly the West. /Today's Zaman/[03] TURKEY INCREASES WATER FLOW TO DROUGHT-HIT IRAQTurkey started to release more water from its dams along the Euphrates in order to help its neighbor Iraq, which is facing drought. An Iraqi delegation appealed for help last week, drawing attention to the plight of local farmers. In response, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that Turkey would allow as much water as possible to flow into neighboring Iraq and Syria. Following Iraqi requests, Turkey yesterday confirmed that it had opened dams on the Euphrates to allow more water to flow into Iraq to help the neighboring country cope with drought. An Iraqi delegation led by Saleh al-Mutlaq, leader of a Sunni-Arab bloc in parliament, held meetings with President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to request the release of more water from the Euphrates, the region’s largest river. Reportedly, al-Mutlaq informed Gul and Erdogan on the impact of drought. "The Iraqi farmers were in a very difficult situation," he said. Two days after the delegation’s meetings in Ankara, the issue was also discussed yesterday in Damascus between the foreign ministers of Turkey and Iraq, Davutoglu and Hosyhar Zebari on the sidelines of the 36th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). "We had a wet fall, especially in the last 15 days. We’ll give as much water as possible to our Iraqi and Syrian friends," Davutoglu told reporters. For his part, Zebari said that Iraqi agriculture needed more water, adding, "Turkey has made an important decision on the water. Water flow will be provided soon. A plenty of water from Turkey’s Euphrates will meet a great amount of Iraq and Syria’s needs." The regions’ two main water sources, the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, start in Turkey and pass through the downstream countries of Syria and Iraq. /Hurriyet/[04] NEW YORK ENJOYS TURKISH DAY PARADEOrganized by the Federation of Turkish-American Associations (TADF), the 28th annual Turkish Day Parade was held in New York yesterday. Among the attendees of the parade, which witnessed very colorful and joyful scenes, were Hayati Yazici, the state minister responsible for Turks living abroad, Turkey's Ambassador to Washington Nabi Sensoy, Turkey's Permanent UN Representative Baki Ilkin, Turkish Consul-General in New York Mehmet Samsar, Turkey-US Friendship Group leader and Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Antalya deputy Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) New York representative Kemal Goceri, a 10-member delegation from the Turkish Parliament and thousands of Turkish people living in the US. The event kicked off at the 56th street of New York's famous Madison Avenue with many Turkish schools, organizations and companies showing off their floats. Folk-dance groups, some from Turkey and others from Turkish organizations in the US, put on a vibrant show for attendees and the passerby. The parade also hosted groups from Turkey as thousands dressed in red and white waved the Turkish flag, painting the streets of New York with the two colors. The Turkish Day Parade continued into late hours of the evening with folk-dance performances livening up the atmosphere. Following the parade, a Turkish festival was also held in the Dag Hammerskjold Park with concerts of Turkish musicians and performances by Turkish folk dances groups. Speaking to reporters afterwards, State Minister Yazici expressed his happiness for attending such an event, and voiced his admiration for the organization and the efforts exerted to realize it. Thanking those who were involved in the preparation of the event, Yazici said that it was magnificent. He also called on Turks living in the US to better integrate with the American society, adding, "The close relationship that you Turks living in the US have with Americans will affect the two countries' ties positively.” /Turkiye/[05] HOLLYWOOD STARS ON STAGE FOR THE MOST LUXURY RESORT IN EUROPEEurope's most expensive luxury resort, Mardan Palace Hotel, was unveiled over the weekend at a spectacular opening ceremony in Antalya. The five- star Mardan Palace Hotel, built by Russian businessman Telman Ismailov, hosted world famous artists and Hollywood stars for the opening. Ismailov said that he had realized 20-year old dream with the $1.4 billion hotel. "I made this investment because I love Turkey so much. I have always dreamed of making such an investment in this country. Finally, I achieved it." Among those attended Saturday's press conference prior to the opening ceremony were Hollywood stars Sharon Stone, Richard Gere, Monica Bellucci, Paris Hilton, singers Seal, Tom Jones and Mariah Carey. /Hurriyet Daily News/[06] TURKISH-ARMENIAN WORKSHOP TO BE HELD IN ISTANBULTurkish-Armenian relations will be discussed thoroughly at a workshop to be held tomorrow and on Wednesday at Istanbul's Conrad Hotel. A great many bureaucrats, academicians and experts from the two countries will attend the workshop to be held by the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA). /Cumhuriyet/FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… [07] A PARANTHESIS OF HISTORYBY HIKMET BILA (VATAN)Columnist Hikmet Bila comments on a statement made by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week. A summary of his column is as follows: "A statement made by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was considered an 'opening' again. The media immediately underlined his statement about the mined lands, when he said that people from different ethnical identities have been expelled from our countries, which was actually the result of a fascistic approach. Of course, this statement is nice in the light of modern approach, which is based on the belief that all the citizens of a country are equal, regardless of their ethnical and religious origin. This statement is particularly favorable for those who want to bring the issue of 'minorities' on the agenda again and again in Turkey, but it is against the logic of history to interpret, praise or criticize the historical incidents with only one or two sentences. When Erdogan said that we had expelled those from different ethnical identities, he should have clarified who have been expelled �" were they Armenians, Jewish or Greek people with Turkish citizenship - and when and how they were expelled. Let's open a parenthesis of history. The Large Scale Attack which was won in August 26-30, 1922 ended, when the Turkish armies entered Izmir in September 9. It wasn't a secret that during the Greek invasion of Western Anatolia and Eastern Thrace and the ally invasion of Istanbul (including Greece), most of the Greek minority with Turkish citizenship made cooperation with occupiers (and even got involved in massacres). Now it wouldn't have been incomprehensible for them to leave the Turkish territory with the defeated Greek army. As a matter of fact, thousands of Greek people with Turkish citizenship, mostly from the Western Anatolia, the Black Sea Region and Eastern Thrace, migrated to the Greek territory on ships, trains and other vehicles that they could have found in that era. Some other Greek people with Turkish citizenship left Turkey, as required by the Treaty of Lausanne. This was a decision made by the conference upon a suggestion by the Norwegian delegation in the first stage of Lausanne talks. The mutual compulsory migration has started as from 1923, as required by this decision envisaging the 'interchange' between the Orthodox Greek people outside Istanbul and Muslim Turks outside the Western Thrace. Greek people mostly from the Central Anatolia were sent to Greece, and the Turkish people in Greece predominantly from rural areas were sent to Turkey. The migrations have never been favorable. Of course, it's not good to expel the people and oblige them to settle in the places that they don't know, but it would be unfair to define the migrations which occurred under the war conditions and by some international agreements after 1922 and 1923 as fascist in a way to bring Hitler to mind. The dramas suffered by the two sides due to these obligatory migrations have been the subject of innumerous books, researches and literary products. But even these sorrows don't give anybody the right to erase the historical facts and convict only 'one side' of those 'who have made history' with only one sentence. Such evaluations which are away from historical facts can be remembered as the words which sound good, and even create political results, but they wouldn't be compatible with the truth. There are innumerous academic works which can build such concepts as 'immigration,' 'interchange,' 'miorities,' 'expelling' or 'being expelled' on a firm ground in the history of Turkey and the world and it's not so difficult to resort to them." Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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