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Turkish Press Review, 05-02-17
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
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Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
17.02.2005
FROM THE COLUMNS � FROM THE COLUMNS � FROM THE COLUMNS
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN PROCEEDS TO BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA ON MINI BALKAN TOUR
[02] TUSIAD MEMBERS TO MEET OFFICIALS IN ANKARA TODAY
[03] FOREIGN MINISTRY: �THE US IS OUR FRIEND AND ALLY�
[04] SYRIAN-IRANIAN �UNITED FRONT� IS �THEIR OWN BUSINESS,� SAYS GUL
[05] IMF�S DAWSON: �WE EXPECT OFFICIALS TO TAKE STRONG MEASURES TO IMPROVE TURKEY�S INCENTIVES SCHEME�
[06] TUZMEN VISITS JORDAN
[07] HISTORIC VISIT OF US BUSINESSMEN TO TRNC BEGINS TODAY
[08] STUDENT AMNESTY BILL SENT TO PARLIAMENT
[09] FT COLUMNIST: �RISING TURKISH POLITICAL STAR QUITS CABINET�
[10] HOLBROOKE WARNS OF RUSSIAN �CHARM OFFENSIVE� TOWARDS TURKEY
[11] US CONGRESSMAN SPONSORS RESOLUTION PRAISING ISAF COMMAND
[12] YILMAZ, TANER BEGIN SUPREME COURT TRIAL
[13] LARGEST US PENSION FUND EYES TURKISH INVESTMENTS
[14] FROM THE COLUMNS � FROM THE COLUMNS � FROM THE COLUMNS
[15] FIRST TO FAVOR THE TRNC BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
[01] ERDOGAN PROCEEDS TO BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA ON MINI BALKAN TOUR
On the last day of his two-day mini Balkan tour, Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan yesterday proceeded to the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Sarajevo. Before his departure from Albania, he visited Turgut Ozal College,
whose foundations were laid by its namesake in 1992, before the Turkish
president�s untimely death a year later. In Sarajevo, Erdogan accompanied
by a delegation of about 100 businessmen met with Bosnian Prime Minister
Adnan Terzic. The two countries� delegations discussed improving economic
ties, an agreement to eliminate double taxation, and a cooperative pact
between the Bosnian and Turkish Justice Ministries. �We expect that these
agreements will encourage Turkish businessmen to invest in Bosnia,� Erdogan
said. He added that Turkey�s introduction of visas for Bosnian citizens was
a requirement for it to begin its European Union membership negotiations
this fall. �We are obliged to comply,� said Erdogan. The premier also
strolled around Sarajevo's so-called �Turkish Quarter,� which was built
when Bosnia was part of the Ottoman Empire from 1463 to 1878. /All Papers/
[02] TUSIAD MEMBERS TO MEET OFFICIALS IN ANKARA TODAY
A group of businessmen from the Turkish Industrialists� and Businessmen�s
Association (TUSIAD) is set to meet with state officials in Ankara today
and tomorrow. The group headed by Omer Sabanci will be received by Cabinet
ministers including Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and State Economy
Minister Ali Babacan and then President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Premier
Recep Tayyip Erdogan. /Turkiye/
[03] FOREIGN MINISTRY: �THE US IS OUR FRIEND AND ALLY�
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Namik Tan yesterday briefed the press on
Ankara�s views of the latest developments in Iraq. Denying a British
newspaper report that the US is amassing troops in northern Iraq against
the possibility of Turkish intervention in the region, Tan stated that
Ankara had no official information on such US military movements. �Let me
underline the fact that the US is our friend and ally,� he said. Tan also
reiterated Turkey�s call for a sizeable group of international observers to
be in Iraq later this year to watch for any irregularities at a referendum
on a new constitution. "We hope the deficiencies, disorder and
irregularities seen in the Jan. 30 elections will not recur during the
constitutional referendum," Tan said. "We believe a comprehensive presence
of international observers at this referendum and the elections [that will
follow] is an absolute must. It is a fact that the most irregularities
occurred in Kirkuk. Kirkuk is an Iraqi city . . . and no single group
should establish dominance over it.� /Cumhuriyet/
[04] SYRIAN-IRANIAN �UNITED FRONT� IS �THEIR OWN BUSINESS,� SAYS GUL
Responding to yesterday�s declaration by Syrian and Iranian leaders that
they would establish a �united front� against threats from abroad, widely
interpreted as a reference to the US, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said
that this was their own choice. �Every country has its own policies, and
this is their business,� added Gul. /Sabah/
[05] IMF�S DAWSON: �WE EXPECT OFFICIALS TO TAKE STRONG MEASURES TO IMPROVE
TURKEY�S INCENTIVES SCHEME�
International Monetary Fund External Relations Director Thomas Dawson
yesterday expressed the Fund�s concerns on the Turkish government�s
incentive plan, echoing IMF Turkey Representative Hugh Bredenkamp�s
statement along these lines earlier in the week. �The issue that has I
think gotten most of the attention . . . is plans to extend income tax and
Social Security exemptions to firms in the poorer regions, not just those
hiring new workers,� he said. �This is a source of concern to us since we
think it would increase distortions, weaken the Social Security system and
have a significant fiscal cost. We are encouraging the authorities to
improve the scheme, in particular, to make it more targeted and to take
measures to compensate for any fiscal cost. Clearly, the important targets
in the program are the primary surplus, up to 6.5 percent of GDP [gross
domestic product], and capping the Social Security deficit at 4.5 percent
of GDP. And this regional incentive plan jeopardizes both of these targets,
and so we are looking to the authority to take the needed high-quality
fiscal measures so that these targets can be achieved, which is necessary
before the new program can take effect.� In related news, Finance Minister
Kemal Unakitan said that Turkey�s relations with the IMF are on the right
track. �The Fund has the right to make statements on the issue, but they�re
not binding for us,� he said. �The incentives plan will provide 120,000
citizens with employment opportunities.� Discussion of the plan started
yesterday at Parliament�s Planning and Budget Commission. /Milliyet/
[06] TUZMEN VISITS JORDAN
State Minister Kursat Tuzmen paid a visit to Jordan yesterday. In a seminar
on Turkish-Jordanian trade and economic cooperation, Tuzmen proposed a
�Special Free Trade Area for Turkey� in Jordan. �I hope that we will be
able to reach a free trade agreement with Jordan,� added Tuzmen. /Hurriyet/
[07] HISTORIC VISIT OF US BUSINESSMEN TO TRNC BEGINS TODAY
Turkey�s hard work to end the international isolation of the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has begun to yield fruit. A group of
businessmen from leading US companies is set to arrive in the TRNC today to
look into business opportunities as part of Washington�s pledge to support
ending the TRNC�s isolation following last year�s referendum on the island.
The delegation headed by US Commercial Attach� Amer Kayani consists of
representatives from 12 US firms operating in the areas of banking, finance,
consulting, medicine, communications, software, etc. The US businessmen are
expected to hold talks with Turkish Cypriot officials and business
representatives to seek avenues of cooperation and investment
opportunities. In related news, Turkish Cyprus� seven political parties are
to run in parliamentary elections on Sunday for the 50-seat Parliament.
/Turkiye/
[08] STUDENT AMNESTY BILL SENT TO PARLIAMENT
Parliament�s Education Commission yesterday approved a controversial bill
on student amnesty and sent it to Parliament for debate. Speaking to the
commission, Education Minister Huseyin Celik said that the bill covers all
students expelled from universities since June 29, 2000, regardless of the
reason for dismissal, including the wearing of headscarves. Stressing that
some 700,000 students might benefit from the pardon, Celik underlined that
such amnesties were only a short-term solution. �Indeed, our main goal is
to solve the fundamental problems facing universities, including
administrative and financial autonomy,� added the minister. /Turkiye/
[09] FT COLUMNIST: �RISING TURKISH POLITICAL STAR QUITS CABINET�
Financial Times columnist Vincent Boland wrote yesterday that this week�s
surprise resignation of Tourism and Culture Minister Erkan Mumcu is a blow
to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, �who has been struggling to freshen
a government exhausted by two years of non-stop reforms that earned Turkey
a date from the European Union later this year for the start of membership
talks.� Calling Mumcu �a rising star of the Turkish political scene,�
Boland claimed that his resignation may hasten a Cabinet reshuffle that has
been looming for several months. �Mumcu, 41, was among those whose future
in the Cabinet was in doubt,� he added. �He was a liberal, secular and
independent-minded member of the Islamist-rooted AKP. He was one of several
high-profile members who defected from other parties to ride the wave of
support for Erdogan.� Boland added that Mumcu�s resignation �betrayed
cracks in the AKP,� triggering a possible split between its liberal and
conservative factions. /Aksam/
[10] HOLBROOKE WARNS OF RUSSIAN �CHARM OFFENSIVE� TOWARDS TURKEY
Writing in the Washington Post yesterday, former US Ambassador to the UN
Richard Holbrooke commented on Russian foreign policy and Moscow�s
relations with Turkey. �Moscow is engaged in a little-noticed charm
offensive to woo our all-important (but deeply alienated) ally Turkey into
a new special relationship that would extend Russia�s influence in that
volatile region,� warned Holbrooke, referring to Russia�s Middle East
policy. /Hurriyet/
[11] US CONGRESSMAN SPONSORS RESOLUTION PRAISING ISAF COMMAND
US Congressman Ed Whitfield, a Kentucky Republican, yesterday proposed a
resolution praising Turkey�s second term commanding the International
Security and Assistance Force in Afghanistan. �Turkey has undertaken a
leading role for peace and stability in the region,� said Whitfield. Turkey
assumed command of the force for six months on Monday, its second turn at
the helm. /Star/
[12] YILMAZ, TANER BEGIN SUPREME COURT TRIAL
The trial of former Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and Former State Minister
Gunes Taner began at the State Supreme Court yesterday in Ankara. Taner and
Yilmaz, the latter the first-ever prime minister to appear before the
country�s highest court, defended themselves against charges of
irregularities in the allocation of in state tenders, namely the Turkbank
tender, during their terms in office. Their next hearing is set to be held
on March 24. /Aksam/
[13] LARGEST US PENSION FUND EYES TURKISH INVESTMENTS
The United States' biggest pension fund, the California Public Employees�
Retirement System (CalPERS), disclosed earlier this month that Turkey is
now eligible to join the CalPERS� closely watched list of emerging markets
for investment. The fund rates emerging markets according to transparency
and fairness. According to a CalPERS report, Turkey has now fulfilled a
number of criteria required on such issues as transparency, political
stability, proper legal system, and costs of financial transactions as well
as protection of investors. /Aksam/
[14] FROM THE COLUMNS � FROM THE COLUMNS � FROM THE COLUMNS
[15] FIRST TO FAVOR THE TRNC BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
Columnist Sami Kohen comments on the Cyprus issue. A summary of his column
is as follows:
�Today will see an event long-anticipated by Turkish Cypriots. A Turkish
Cypriot Airways plane will take off from Istanbul carrying an American
commercial delegation to Ercan Airport in the Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus (TRNC). The US delegation of representatives from large American
firms and commerce consultants from Ankara�s US Embassy will hold meetings
with Turkish businessmen in the TRNC. Such a visit is a first, and it holds
political significance. In other words, the decades-long policy of
isolation imposed on Turkish Cypriots is being breached, thus sending an
important message to the Greek Cypriot Papadopoulos administration. As TRNC
Chamber of Commerce head Ali Erel told me yesterday, �The message that the
TRNC�s isolation is ending will shake Greek Cypriots and remind them that
they, too, need a resolution. Greek Cypriot leaders should realize that the
TRNC is opening up to the world and starting to stand on its two feet.� For
the first time a delegation from the US is arriving in the TRNC directly,
which is raising the Greeks� hackles. Some people also say that by way of
retaliation, the Papadopoulos administration will cooperate with US enemies
in the region like Iran and Syria. It�s very unlikely that such threats
will work. US officials in Washington say that this visit is consistent
with its promise to end the Turkish side�s isolation and a signal this
policy will continue. Obviously it is important that the US will stand firm
on this, and trade between the TRNC and the US will provide the financial
help which it promised. Such certainty will make it easier for other
countries to act similarly.
But for now, no such move is expected from the European Union. Although
TRNC Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat told EU Commission President Jose
Manuel Barroso that he was getting support in ending the isolation, certain
hurdles remain in place. As Talat stated, the commission is doing its best,
but the TRNC was unable to get what it wanted. This situation springs from
the fact that the commission is made up of bureaucrats, while the Council
of Europe consists of the ministers of the 25 EU member states. Among these
are the Greek Cypriot administration and Greece. A European diplomat told
me that the structure of the EU wasn�t suitable for establishing direct
ties with the TRNC, as the US is doing. If Papadopoulos feels the
obligation to change his policy, a way to make this happen is to support
the Turkish Cypriots and place importance on the reality of the TRNC, as
the US did.�
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