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Turkish Press Review, 02-03-13
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
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Press
& Information
Turkish
Press
Turkish
Press Review >>
Foreign
Press Guide
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
13.03.2002
CONTENTS
[01] ECEVIT: "WE ARE BORN TO BE EUROPEANS"
[02] ECEVIT, CEM TO ATTEND EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL POLICY
MEETING IN SPAIN
[03] DERVIS TO ATTEND MEETINGS IN US, MEXICO
[04] KIVRIKOGLU MEETS TURKMEN PRESIDENT TURKMENBASI
[05] TURKEY AND GREECE START NEW TALKS ON AEGEAN
[06] ARNON: "ISRAEL HAS ALWAYS SUPPORTED TURKEY"
[07] US AMBASSADOR PEARSON: "THE PKK AND DHKP-C ARE
TERRORIST GROUPS"
[08] THE NEW LEADER OF THE PKK IS THE EUROPEAN UNION
[09] ORAL: "NO CHANGES IN TURKEY'S ECONOMIC
TARGETS"
[10] TUSIAD DELEGATION IN GERMANY DISCUSSES EU ACCESSION
[11] TOBB TO SIGN AGREEMENT WITH SPANISH CHAMBERS UNION
[12] FORMER GREEK CYPRIOT PRESIDENT DIES
[13] TURKISH NATIONAL ANTHEM TURNS 81
[14] TURKISH PIANIST AYDIN HONORED AT COMPETITION
[15] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS...
[16] TURKEY'S RELATIONS WITH IRAN BY YILMAZ OZTUNA
(TURKIYE)
[17] PREPARING FOR ELECTIONS BY OKAY GONENSIN (SABAH)
[01] ECEVIT: "WE ARE BORN TO BE EUROPEANS"
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said yesterday that
there were few people in Turkey who are opposed to the EU and added,
"If we conducted a survey today, we could find that at least 70%
of the Turkish public favors the EU." Appearing on state news
channel TRT 2, Ecevit said, "We are born to be Europeans."
He added that he hoped that the Nationalist Action Party (MHP) would
change its stance towards the death penalty. /Aksam/
[02] ECEVIT, CEM TO ATTEND EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL POLICY
MEETING IN SPAIN
Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and Foreign
Minister Ismail Cem are scheduled to travel to Barcelona, Spain this
weekend to attend the March 15-16 European Council meeting on
employment and social policy. The Barcelona European Council will
focus its priorities on such specific areas as integrating European
financial markets to make continent a real financial power, developing
a more flexible labor market capable of creating more jobs, improving
the education and training of Europe's students and workers and
increasing their room for mobility and liberalization, and the
interconnection of the electricity and gas markets. Ecevit and Cem are
to attend the first session on Friday, which will bring the leaders of
EU candidate countries together. They are expected to establish
significant contacts with EU officials on Turkey's bid for EU
membership. Finance Minister Sumer Oral will also accompany Ecevit and
Cem at the meeting, where financial issues will also be spotlighted. A
recent Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said that the priorities of
the Barcelona meeting closely concern Turkey and its EU accession
period. /Cumhuriyet/
[03] DERVIS TO ATTEND MEETINGS IN US, MEXICO
Turkish State Minister for the Economy Kemal Dervis
is to travel to the United States and Mexico next week to attend a
Turkish-American Business Council meeting on March 17 in Washington
and a United Nations summit on March 20 in Monterrey, Mexico. Dervis
is expected to deliver a speech and to receive an award at the
Washington meeting. He will also make a speech at the UN summit on
"Financing Development" and meet with the representatives of
G-20 countries in Mexico. After completing his meetings in Monterrey,
Dervis will return to Washington on March 22 and hold meetings with
IMF and World Bank representatives on recent developments in the
Turkish economy. /Turkiye/
[04] KIVRIKOGLU MEETS TURKMEN PRESIDENT TURKMENBASI
Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Huseyin
Kivirikoglu, who is currently visiting Turkmenistan, yesterday met
with Turkmen President Saparmurat Turkmenbasi. Stating that there were
strong historical relations between the two countries, Turkmenbasi
said, "We have always had close relations. Turkey's and
Turkmenistan's citizens belong to same nation." Furthermore,
Kivrikoglu said, "I believe that in the future our relations will
get even better in the future if the two countries refrain from
intervening in each other's domestic politics." /Cumhuriyet/
[05] TURKEY AND GREECE START NEW TALKS ON AEGEAN
Turkey and Greece yesterday began conducting new
talks with an eye towards solving their longstanding Aegean disputes.
Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal and Greek Foreign
Ministry Political Director Anastasios Skopelitis met and talked in
the Foreign Ministry building. During the meeting the Turkish side
pressed on solving the continental shelf, territorial waters and
airspace issues. The Turkish side said that they were opposed to
applying to the International Court of Justice in The Hague before the
two nations try to solve these problems themselves. But the Greek side
insisted that the only problem between Turkey and Greece was the
continental shelf, and that if no solution were reached they would
take the case to The Hague. The second round of talks is to be held in
Athens next month. /Hurriyet/
[06] ARNON: "ISRAEL HAS ALWAYS SUPPORTED TURKEY"
Israeli General Consul Amira Arnon yesterday took
part in a seminar on "Turkish Foreign Affairs Post-September
11" organized by Dogus University and the European Union
Coordination. Saying that Turkey and Israel had always been close to
each other, Arnon added, "Israel had always supported Turkey.
Particularly we have always stood next to Turkey on issues concerning
its domestic security." Concerning Israel's relations with the
Palestinians, Arnon said that Israel had no goal other than fighting
terrorism. /Aksam/
[07] US AMBASSADOR PEARSON: "THE PKK AND DHKP-C ARE
TERRORIST GROUPS"
US Ambassador to Turkey Robert Pearson yesterday
criticized the European Union concerning its recent list of terrorist
organizations, saying that the PKK and DHKP-C were terrorists and
should be added to the list. Turkish State Minister Nejat Arseven
received Pearson yesterday. Following their one-hour meeting, Pearson
said that the visit was a routine consultative meeting and added that
the war against terrorism was among the issues discussed. "We
want both the PKK and DHKP-C to be considered terrorist
organizations," he stated. "We want them to be tried in
court. We want this to happen as soon as possible." Arseven said
that he had told Pearson of Turkey's discomfort at seeing the term
"Kurdish minority" employed in the US State Department's
recent 2001 Human Rights Report. Arseven added that Pearson had
understood Turkey's sensitivity to the subject. /Aksam/
[08] THE NEW LEADER OF THE PKK IS THE EUROPEAN UNION
The eighth so-called congress of the terrorist
organization PKK recently met in northern Iraq as a part of the
group's recent efforts to "reform" itself into a political
movement. Riza Altun, the leader of the organization's European
supporters, had previously conveyed demands to PKK militant leader
Osman Ocalan that the PKK should reform its structure into a political
movement by changing its name and policies. The so-called congress
allegedly made the decisions which its European supporters demanded,
and Osman Ocalan sent the full text of the decisions to Europe for
approval. PKK supporters in France, Germany and the Netherlands are
expected to review the decisions. /Star/
[09] ORAL: "NO CHANGES IN TURKEY'S ECONOMIC
TARGETS"
Speaking to reporters after meeting with
International Monetary Fund Turkey Desk Chief Juha Kahkonen, Turkish
Finance Minister Sumer Oral said that the topic of our meeting was the
2002 budget and finance policies. "We met with the IMF and no
changes will be made to our targets, everything will continue just as
planned," Oral added. /Hurriyet/
[10] TUSIAD DELEGATION IN GERMANY DISCUSSES EU ACCESSION
A Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's
Association (TUSIAD) delegation which is currently visiting Germany
yesterday met with German Bundestag Deputy Speaker Rudolf Seiters.
Tuncay Ozilhan, who is leading the TUSIAD delegation, remarked that
since Turkey wanted to start its EU negotiation process as soon as
possible, its goal was to complete all the reforms necessary to
fulfill the EU Copenhagen criteria by the end of this year. For his
part, Seiters said that Germany would lend its full support to Turkey
if the Turkish government managed to meet the Copenhagen criteria.
/Cumhuriyet/
[11] TOBB TO SIGN AGREEMENT WITH SPANISH CHAMBERS UNION
The Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities
Exchanges (TOBB) and the Spanish Union of Chambers are to sign a
bilateral cooperation accord today in Barcelona. The agreement
proposes improving commercial and economic relations between the two
countries as well as encouraging new investments. /Cumhuriyet/
[12] FORMER GREEK CYPRIOT PRESIDENT DIES
Former Greek Cypriot President Spiros Kyprianou
died yesterday following a nine-month battle with cancer. Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas commented on
Kyprianou's passing by saying that he was one of the key players in
the politics of the island. /Hurriyet/
[13] TURKISH NATIONAL ANTHEM TURNS 81
The 81st anniversary of the adoption of the Turkish
National Anthem was commemorated at the Turkish Parliament yesterday.
The ceremony started with the reading of the Turkish National Anthem
as a poem. In a message issued for the occasion, President Ahmet
Necdet Sezer stated that the Turkish National Anthem reflected the
Turkish nation's love for its native country and flag and its passion
for freedom, independence and modernity. /Turkiye/
[14] TURKISH PIANIST AYDIN HONORED AT COMPETITION
Young Turkish pianist Ozgur Aydin took second prize
yesterday at the International Maria Callas Piano Competition held in
Athens. During the final competition, Ayd�n was accompanied by the
Iasio Philharmonic Orchestra, and his performance was enthusiastically
received by the music lovers present. A pianist from Italy took first
place at the competition and one from South Korean took home third.
/Turkiye/
[15] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS...
[16] TURKEY'S RELATIONS WITH IRAN BY YILMAZ OZTUNA
(TURKIYE)
Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna commends on Turkish-Iranian
relations. A summary of his column is as follows: "Two weeks ago
the terrorist organization PKK opened its third hospital in Urmiye.
Urmiye is a province of Iran in its Azerbaijani region only 40
kilometers from the Turkish border. How is it possible that the PKK
has three hospitals in such a city? Perhaps it is one of the PKK's
bases against Turkey and a weapons warehouse disguised as hospital so
as not to be destroyed in any military operation. Western sources
reported that the hospital had been opened with the help and support
of the Iranian intelligence agency. However, Iran had pledged to
Turkey not to provoke its Kurdish population. Following the collapse
of the Soviet Union over a decade ago, Iran became Turkey's biggest
neighbor. It is willing to export its regime to others and is also a
supporter of the PKK, under a rationale that Turkey has been
supporting Iranians against the current regime and giving shelter to
them. In the 19th century, disagreements between the Ottomans and Iran
harmed both countries and imperialists were the only ones who
benefited from this. Excepting a short period during the reign of Shah
Reza Khan (1921-41), who was an admirer of the Republic of Turkey's
founder Ataturk's revolutions, Turkey and Iran have not enjoyed
friendly relations. Have you ever heard that our biggest neighbor ever
supported any of the Turkish Cypriots' initiatives? I can't remember
such a case. It is a strange situation for a country in which
one-third of its population speaks Turkish and which has a longer
tradition and history than any of the Muslim countries besides Turkey.
It is well known that Iranian regime is trying to influence Turkey and
wipe away its wonderful understanding of Islam. However, rapprochement
between the two countries would serve both their interests greatly,
and so both should refrain from efforts to export their ways of
governing to the other."
[17] PREPARING FOR ELECTIONS BY OKAY GONENSIN (SABAH)
Columnist Okay Gonensin comments on political
parties' preparations for elections. A summary of his column is as
follows: "Turkey's tripartite coalition government has been
ruling the country for nearly three years. In the shadow of the
economic crisis, it has managed to rack up many accomplishments and
reforms in various areas by overcoming its inter-coalition frictions.
However, still no improvement has been made on the basic economic
problems, and the economic engine is not running smoothly. We've been
told that the economy would begin to right itself this June. However,
owing to the summer holiday, now all eyes have turned to this fall.
The end of 2002 will be turning point for Turkish-EU relations. The
EU's declaration on beginning negotiations with Turkey for full EU
membership, which hinges on the Cyprus issue, will spur preparations
for elections in Turkey. On the other hand, if such a decision is not
declared and if negative developments are seen on the Cyprus issue, it
will also signal a start of an election period. When the election
period begins, the coalition parties will have no more chances to make
promises about the economy. The Democratic Left Party (DSP) and the
Motherland Party (ANAP) will prepare themselves for elections with a
vision of the EU, democracy and prosperity. The Nationalist Action
Party (MHP) has already begun to prepare its platform. Its slogan
goes: 'No concessions to those who are trying to divide our country!
Terrorists will be executed! Turkey will not surrender to
Europe!" The True Path Party (DYP) has the advantage of being an
opposition party and has tried to avoid an MHP monopoly on these
topics. DYP leader Tansu Ciller is playing both sides: she defends the
target of EU membership and at the same time, she stands close to the
MHP regarding the capital punishment issue. The Justice and
Development Party (AKP) lacks a clear stance on critical topics. It
resembles Ciller in its tendency to play two-sided politics. The
Felicity Party (SP) seems to be a club of 'Erbakan lovers' with little
chance in the race. The Republican People's Party (CHP), which
champions EU membership together with social rights and social
justice, cannot make its voice heard, since it is not represented in
Parliament. It is occupied in attracting those disaffected from the
DSP. Additionally, on the center left at least two more groups are
trying to form a party and make it to the elections. The political
structure doesn't want early elections, and no one would dare touch
the Elections and Political Parties Law. So in sum, Turkey is heading
for a election period with only one issue on the agenda. And this will
last for at least one-and-a-half year."
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