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Turkish Press Review, 09-05-14Turkish 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 morning14.05.2009FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS …CONTENTS
[01] PRESIDENT GUL, PORTUGAL'S CAVACO OPEN EXHIBIT IN ISTANBULAt Istanbul's Sakip Sabanci Museum yesterday, President Abdullah Gul and his Portuguese counterpart Anibal Cavaco Silva opened the exhibition "Lisbon: Memories from Another City." Speaking at the opening, Gul said that he was pleased with the occasion and that he hoped the visiting president would leave Turkey with good impression and memories. The exhibit, which shows Lisbon through the works of major Portuguese painters from the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, will be open through July 14. /Milliyet/[02] ERDOGAN REASSURES AZERBAIJAN ON ARMENIAN BORDERPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday met with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev in Baku. Afterwards, Erdogan told a press conference that Turkey shares Azerbaijan's sensitivity on the Upper Karabakh issue. "Turkey closed its border gates with Armenia because Upper Karabakh was occupied," he added. "As long as Armenia's occupation of Upper Karabakh continues, there is no way Turkey can open its border to Armenia." For his part, Aliyev said that Erdogan's statements had dispelled his fears about the matter. Erdogan also addressed the Azeri Parliament and said, "We have not taken any step which would hurt Azerbaijan's national interests, and we will not. We have never ignored the well-being and interests of the Azeri people, and we will not." /Milliyet/[03] PM ERDOGAN VISITS POLANDPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday proceeded to Warsaw, Poland after completing his talks in Azerbaijan. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who accompanied Erdogan during his visit to Baku, went separately to Sweden, set to assume the European Union's rotating presidency on July 1. The visit reportedly will focus on accelerating Turkey's EU reform process. /Sabah/[04] CHIEF NEGOTIATOR BAGIS HOLDS TALKS IN MADRIDState Minister and chief negotiator for Turkey's EU talks Egemen Bagis yesterday held talks with Diego Lopez Garrido, the Spanish Foreign Ministry's secretary of state for the EU, in Madrid, where he attended a summit of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers. Bagis and Garrido exchanged views on Turkey's continuing EU accession talks, the opening of new chapters, and the Cyprus issue. Speaking to reporters afterwards, Bagis said they had a fruitful meeting, calling Spain a friendly country which supports Turkey's EU bid. "We discussed everything frankly and openly, I'm leaving Madrid with positive impressions," he said. Spain is set to take the EU's rotating presidency in the first half of next year. /Turkiye/[05] PAMUK AWARDED HONORARY DOCTORATE IN FLORENCEFlorence University, one of Italy's most prestigious universities, yesterday presented an honorary doctorate to Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk for contributing to cultural ties between the two countries. The ceremony presenting the honor included Rector Augusto Marinelli and Dean Franca Pecchioli. Afterwards, speaking to reporters, Pamuk said Turkey's EU process has many dimensions, including cultural and political ones. "I think Turkey's membership carries importance for freedom of expression and democracy," he added. /Milliyet-Sabah/[06] NEW RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS DIRECTORATE OFFICE TO WORK TO DISPEL MISUNDERSTANDING OF ISLAM IN EUROPETurkey's Religious Affairs Directorate next month will open an office in Brussels to educate Europe about Islam, in line with a decision made during Pope Benedict XVI's 2005 visit to Turkey. During the visit, it was decided that Turkey's presence in Europe proves the possibility of Islam and Christianity's peaceful coexistence. It was also concluded that Turkey, with its secular state and Muslim identity, could be a good reference for Muslims living in Europe. In order to block efforts to sow misunderstandings about Islam and stir up Islamophobia in the continent, the directorate decided to open a bureau in the European capital. This decision was also supported by the pope. It is hoped that the office will counter efforts to inflame Islamophobia. Work to make the idea a reality was accelerated in light of the Alliance of Civilizations project, co-chaired by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Spanish counterpart, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. The bureau, which will work as a research center, will be opened by directorate head Ali Bardakoğlu. Its establishment has been closely followed and supported by the European Union. Primarily targeting Turks living in Europe, the office will also organize interfaith dialogue activities. Five secretaries and 30 theologians will be employed in Brussels for these purposes. /Today's Zaman/[07] TURKEY'S HADISE QUALIFIES FOR EUROVISION FINALSHadise, Turkey's contestant for the annual Eurovision Song Contest, qualified for the finals on Tuesday. The 23-year-old Belgian-born Turkish singer and songwriter will take to the stage to present her song “Düm Tek Tek" as the 18th contestant in Saturday's 54th Eurovision in Moscow, where she will face hopefuls from 24 other countries. Bosnia-Herzegovina, Israel, Iceland, Portugal, Malta, Armenia, Finland, Sweden and Romania also made the final. The second semifinal round will be held tonight to decide the lineup for the 25-song final. Eurovision is one of Europe's most- watched shows, with an audience of at least 100 million viewers, according to Reuters. Turkey has won the contest only once in the contest's history, in 2003 with Sertab Erener's "Everyway That I Can." In related news, the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) plans to launch its newest TV station, TRT Music, in June. TRT decided to begin broadcasting TRT Music in response to audience demand after TRT 4, which had focused on Turkish folk and classical music, was changed to TRT Children, airing only children's programming during the day. The new station will broadcast Turkish folk and classical music during primetime, as well as pop, rock, hip hop, Sufi and foreign music. It is described as a music station rather than a music video station. /Today's Zaman/FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS … [08] COURSE CORRECTIONBY OKTAY EKSI (HURRIYET)Columnist Oktay Eksi comments on Turkish-Azeri and Turkish-Armenian relations and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Azerbaijan. A summary of his column is as follows: "In Baku yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the right things and announced good policies. He tried to dispel the fears of the Azeri people and the entire Azeri administration, starting with President Ilham Aliyev, that Turkey would sell them out to normalize its relations with Armenia. Not only the Turkish and Azeri people, but also all the relevant parties, including US President Barack Obama �" who wants Turkish-Armenian relations to be normalized and the borders between the two countries opened �" and particularly Armenia, saw that unless the problems suffered by Azerbaijan, and particularly the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, are solved, Turkish-Armenian relations can never be normalized. In fact, Erdogan told a press conference alongside Aliyev that Turkey shares Azerbaijan's sensitivity on Nagorno-Karabakh, adding that unless the occupation ends, the border can't be opened. He made a similar statement in his address to the Azeri Parliament. He said that the Turkish-Armenian border was closed when Nagorno-Karabakh was occupied by Armenia. He added that when this situation ends, the border will reopen, and that Turkey can't proceed without an agreement with Azeris on the issue. Erdogan said that these two issues are inseparable. Aliyev's remarks show that he was satisfied by this reassurance. Similarly, Aliyev said that Erdogan's statements were the best response to speculation on the issue. So if there was nothing to disturb Azerbaijan, where did the tension comes from? We all know that one of the reasons behind Obama's recent visit to Turkey was the huge promises he made to American citizens of Armenian origin. For example, before becoming president, he said that the Armenians had faced a genocide. But saying this as president was too big a risk. So he needed something to assuage the Armenians, namely opening the Turkish-Armenian border. In truth, he was equivocal on the issue. But the agreement was spoiled when he used the Armenian word for 'genocide' in his statement on April 24. So both President Abdullah Gul and Erdogan criticized his statement. But at that time the Turkish-Armenian contacts were accelerated. Even Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan expressed hope that he would come to Turkey through an open border this October to watch a soccer match between Turkey and Armenia. What's more, he said that the Nagorno-Karabakh issue wasn't discussed during the meetings with Turkey. So what was Armenia supposed to do, except criticize this?" Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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