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Turkish Press Review, 07-01-15
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
15.01.2007
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN MEETS WITH IRAQI VICE PRESIDENT AL-HASHIMI
[02] BARROSO: "TURKEY WILL JOIN THE EU"
[03] TURKEY CONDEMNS ARGENTINA'S GENOCIDE BILL
[04] ERDOGAN: "WE WON'T FORSAKE FISCAL DISCIPLINE"
[05] BAYKAL CRITICIZES GOVERNMENT'S KIRKUK POLICY
[06] DYP'S AGAR: "THE NATION NEEDS US NOW MORE THAN EVER"
[07] BABACAN COMMENTS ON TURKEY'S EU BID, ECONOMY
[08] MOSUL AND ADVENTURE
[01] ERDOGAN MEETS WITH IRAQI VICE PRESIDENT AL-HASHIMI
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-
Hashimi exchanged views on the United States' new strategy for Iraq during
their meeting in Istanbul on Saturday. Issues such as efforts to provide
security and stability in Iraq, and Turkey's likely contributions to
protecting Iraq's territorial integrity and political unity were high on
the agenda of the meeting, diplomatic sources said. /The New Anatolian/
[02] BARROSO: "TURKEY WILL JOIN THE EU"
During his visit to Rome this weekend, European Union Commission head Jose
Manuel Durao Barroso said that Turkey's EU membership will be a difficult
process. "But in the end, Turkey will join the EU, because it is for the
benefit of global policy as well as for Europe," Barroso said. /Cumhuriyet/
[03] TURKEY CONDEMNS ARGENTINA'S GENOCIDE BILL
Turkey has condemned and rejected Argentina's passage of a bill marking
April 24 as "The Action Day for Tolerance and Respect between Peoples for
the Memory of the Armenian Genocide," saying it was unethical and deeply
unserious. In a written statement this weekend, the Foreign Ministry
labeled the Argentinean move as incompatible with the historical facts and
said it was clear that the bill was passed for domestic political gains.
/Turkish Daily News/
[04] ERDOGAN: "WE WON'T FORSAKE FISCAL DISCIPLINE"
Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan yesterday attended a ceremony
celebrating the 125th anniversary of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce
(ITO). Addressing the gathering, Erdogan said that Istanbul had an
important place in the world's economy, adding that he values the ITO
proposals concerning the economy. Erdogan stressed that the government
wouldn't forsake fiscal discipline and added, "We will continue to carry
out the economic program as scheduled and won't change this due to this
year's elections. No one should think that we will carry out an election
program." Commenting on inflation, Erdogan said that the government aimed
at 4% inflation for the end of this year. "We'll try to achieve this goal,"
added Erdogan. He further stated that one of the most chief problems of the
Turkish economy was the unregistered economy, adding that taxes are the
government's only source of revenue. /Star/
[05] BAYKAL CRITICIZES GOVERNMENT'S KIRKUK POLICY
Main opposition Republican People's Party leader Deniz Baykal claimed this
weekend that Iraq is being broken apart, with Turkey actively contributing
to this. Shortly before an assembly of his party's Central Executive
Committee, Baykal accused the government of remaining a bystander to
deliberate changes to the demographic makeup of the Iraqi city of Kirkuk,
with population and land registry documents being altered. /Aksam/
[06] DYP'S AGAR: "THE NATION NEEDS US NOW MORE THAN EVER"
Speaking at a meeting of his party in Adana yesterday, opposition True Path
Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar said that the nation needed the DYP more
than ever, adding that he thought that his party would come to power in
this year's elections. "Its enthusiasm shows this," said Agar. Claiming
that the current government doesn't represent the nation, Agar added that
future would belong to the coming DYP government. /Turkiye/
[07] BABACAN COMMENTS ON TURKEY'S EU BID, ECONOMY
Appearing on television yesterday, State Minister for the Economy and chief
European Union negotiator Ali Babacan said that Ankara had determined its
road map for its EU bid, adding that the government would fulfill reforms
for the nation. Babacan stressed that Ankara recognized the fact that even
if it fulfills all the EU's criteria, political considerations play a
larger role in Turkey's bid to join the Union. Touching on recent economic
developments, Babacan stated that the government hadn't raised electricity
prices for several years so there could be a rate hike this year. /Turkiye/
FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[08] MOSUL AND ADVENTURE
Columnist Ergun Babahan comments on his recent meeting with Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul and the Mosul issue. A summary of his column is as
follows:
"I met with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul this weekend and we discussed
developments in Iraq. Ankara is obviously following these developments
closely but it has absolutely no intention of plunging the country into an
adventure whose outcome is unclear. It was said that if they try to act by
ignoring Turkey, we would remind them that we're here. Actually, Turkey's
importance has always been underlined during the process starting from last
year's Baker report to the recent remarks made by US President George W.
Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Yes, if Turkey makes an
initiative on northern Iraq, it might be come at odds with the US, and this
might cause serious problems. However, such a development would be a
failure for the US, whose Iraq policy has fallen flat. So, it can be said
that more attention will be paid to Ankara's remarks in the weeks and
months to come. As for regional leader Massoud Barzani, his remarks are
seen as being directed towards domestic concerns, and it is underlined that
he might have problem staying in power. Ankara is constantly following the
northern Iraq issue. However, how right is it to relate Iraq policy just
with the issue of a possible independent Kurdish state?
According to the book �Musul Sorunu' (The Mosul Issue) by Dr. Ihsan Serif
Kaymaz, this is the basis of the problem. In his book, Kaynar wrote that
during the Turkish War of Independence most of the Kurdish people living in
Anatolia supported the national movement. However, this support, which was
ensured thanks to such effective rallying cries as Islamic unity and the
Armenian danger, was neither problem free nor unconditional. It was
problematic, because the Kocgiri rebellion, which was during the most
critical stage of the war and started at a time when Greek forces launched
an attack and came as far as the Sakarya River, put the national forces in
a difficult position. It was conditional, because throughout the War of
Independence, Kurds have always had certain wishes and expectations,
meaning autonomy. Mustafa Kemal Pasha (later Ataturk) was obliged to act
more tolerantly in an atmosphere in which the general situation was very
serious. Under these circumstances, was it correct to include the new mass
of half a million Kurds within the country's borders?
Kaynar also wrote that this evaluation was the reason for not taking in the
province of Mosul and listed two conditions which were unacceptable for the
young Turkey of that era: Firstly, Mosul shouldn't have been taken under
the control of imperialist forces from outside the region. Secondly, an
independent Kurdish formation shouldn't have emerged in the province. It
seems that in the 80 years since the situation hasn't changed."
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