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Turkish Press Review, 04-04-02
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
02.04.2004
FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
CONTENTS
[01] NSC FULLY SUPPORTS EFFORTS FOR RESOLUTION ON CYPRUS
[02] ERDOGAN URGES “CONSTRUCTIVE STANCE” ON CYPRUS PLAN
[03] GUL TO BRIEF PARLIAMENT ON CYPRUS PLAN NEXT WEEK
[04] ANNAN AWAITS SIDES’ RESPONSE TO CYPRUS PLAN
[05] DENKTAS: “I HAVE YET TO FIND ANYTHING PRAISEWORTHY IN THE CYPRUS PLAN”
[06] BUSH TELEPHONES ERDOGAN, EXPRESSES SUPPORT FOR CYPRUS PEACE EFFORTS
[07] UN PRAISES TURKISH SIDE’S POSITIVE STANCE AT CYPRUS TALKS
[08] VERHEUGEN: “TURKEY PLAYED A CONSTRUCTIVE ROLE AT THE CYPRUS TALKS”
[09] DE SOTO: “IF THE TURKISH AND GREEK CYPRIOTS ACCEPT THE UN CYPRUS PLAN, THE EMBARGO ON THE TRNC WILL BE LIFTED”
[10] INTERNATIONAL CRACKDOWN CARRIED OUT ON DHKP_C TERRORIST GROUP
[11] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[12] MISTAKES AND DECEPTION BY MUMTAZ SOYSAL (CUMHURIYET)
[01] NSC FULLY SUPPORTS EFFORTS FOR RESOLUTION ON CYPRUS
Just one day after the conclusion of landmark Cyprus talks in Switzerland,
the National Security Council (NSC) said yesterday that it fully supports
efforts to reach a settlement on the island. A statement said that an NSC
meeting had taken up the latest developments, with members of the Turkey’s
delegation to the Swiss talks briefing it on the final version of the UN’s
Cyprus plan. The NSC is set to meet again on Monday for a comprehensive
evaluation of the plan, which is scheduled to face referendums on the
island on April 24. /Sabah/
[02] ERDOGAN URGES “CONSTRUCTIVE STANCE” ON CYPRUS PLAN
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday traveled to Ukraine to pay an
official visit at the invitation of his counterpart Victor Yanukovich.
Before his departure, Erdogan said that Turkey wanted to strengthen
bilateral relations with Ukraine in all areas. Commenting on this week’s
landmark developments concerning Cyprus, Erdogan called on all parties to
act constructively and positively, not as a hindrance, in the runup to
referendums on the island set for April 24. Erdogan further stressed that
if the Cyprus plan goes forward, this would resolve a decades-long issue
and usher in an era of peace in the eastern Mediterranean. /Turkiye/
[03] GUL TO BRIEF PARLIAMENT ON CYPRUS PLAN NEXT WEEK
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday traveled to Brussels to attend a
NATO meeting. Speaking to reporters at Ankara’s Esenboga Airport, Gul said
that in the final version of the Cyprus plan reached this week, the Turkish
sides’ objections had mostly been taken into consideration and the plan had
been revised in line with them. Commenting on Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas’s negative statements on the plan, Gul
said that after Denktas is fully briefed on the revisions, he hoped that
the longtime TRNC leader would see it more positively. He added that next
Tuesday, he would give a comprehensive briefing to both Parliament and the
ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) parliamentary group on the
matter. /Star/
[04] ANNAN AWAITS SIDES’ RESPONSE TO CYPRUS PLAN
After submitting a final version his of Cyprus plan to negotiators in
Switzerland late Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is now waiting
a written commitment from them by April 9. Both the Turkish and Greek
Cyprus are expected to make commitments to hold simultaneous April 24
referendums on the plan, while the three guarantor countries, Turkey,
Greece and Britain, are expected to approve this move. In addition, if the
referendums endorse the plan, the countries will then present it to their
respective Parliaments to be adopted. /Turkiye/
[05] DENKTAS: “I HAVE YET TO FIND ANYTHING PRAISEWORTHY IN THE CYPRUS PLAN”
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas said
yesterday that he had yet to find anything praiseworthy in the UN Cyprus
plan, adding however that his fellow countrymen’s decision was more
important than his. But he said he wanted to read the plan in more detail.
Pointing out that negotiators this week had not come to terms on the UN
plan, Denktas said that he didn’t know what referendums on a plan never
agreed upon could mean. He further warned that while some improvements had
been made to the plan through the Turkish delegation’s efforts, the lack of
agreement could later put the Turkish and Greek nations on the island at
odds. /Cumhuriyet/
[06] BUSH TELEPHONES ERDOGAN, EXPRESSES SUPPORT FOR CYPRUS PEACE EFFORTS
US President George W. Bush yesterday telephoned Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan to praise his positive stance at this week’s landmark Cyprus
negotiations, adding that the US would continue to support and contribute
to peace efforts for the island. Later, Bush called Greek Prime Minister
Costas Karamanlis to say that he was disappointed by Athens’ and the Greek
Cypriots’ lack of cooperation in the negotiations. /Milliyet/
[07] UN PRAISES TURKISH SIDE’S POSITIVE STANCE AT CYPRUS TALKS
United Nations officials yesterday praised the positive stance of both
Ankara and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) at the landmark
Cyprus talks in Switzerland, which ended Wednesday. Diplomatic sources
stated that the UN welcomed the positive and constructive stance of the
Turkish side during this week’s negotiations, adding that the same could
not be said of Greece and Greek Cyprus. In related news, Greek Cypriot
leader Tassos Papadopoulos claimed yesterday that Turkey had worked to
block a deal on the Cyprus issue. /Milliyet/
[08] VERHEUGEN: “TURKEY PLAYED A CONSTRUCTIVE ROLE AT THE CYPRUS TALKS”
European Union Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen yesterday
praised Ankara’s constructive role at the just-concluded Cyprus talks in
Switzerland, adding that calling the talks unsuccessful because no
agreement was reached would be inaccurate. Now the governments of both
sides should "do all that they can to try to persuade the population of the
island that the present plan represents the best solution that can possibly
be achieved," added Verheugen, referring to simultaneous referendums set
for April 24 on the UN Cyprus plan. "The alternative is not this plan or
some other plan," said the commissioner. “The alternative is this plan or
nothing. I don't think that in the near future, we'll have another
opportunity to arrive at a solution to this issue." While Verheugen said
the EU ensured derogations granted to the Turkish Cypriots would be
temporary, he charged that the Greek Cypriots had worked to block an
agreement though their stubborn insistence over property rights.
/Cumhuriyet/
[09] DE SOTO: “IF THE TURKISH AND GREEK CYPRIOTS ACCEPT THE UN CYPRUS PLAN,
THE EMBARGO ON THE TRNC WILL BE LIFTED”
Special UN Cyprus Envoy Alvaro de Soto said yesterday that if both the
Turkish and Greek Cypriots accept the UN Cyprus plan at referendums to be
held April 24, then the economic embargo on the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus (TRNC) will be lifted. “Getting another such opportunity
for a resolution would be difficult,” he said, adding that the Turkish and
Greek leaders should promote the plan’s acceptance, as there was no other
alternative. /Aksam/
[10] INTERNATIONAL CRACKDOWN CARRIED OUT ON DHKP_C TERRORIST GROUP
In coordinated operations in five countries – Turkey, Italy, Belgium, the
Netherlands and Germany – police yesterday detained more than 50 members of
the DHKP_C terrorist group. A total of 37 of the detentions were made in
Turkey, with 16 detentions in other European countries. Fehriye Erdal, a
fugitive wanted for the murder of leading Turkish businessmen Ozdemir
Sabanci, was among those detained for questioning in Belgium, where she has
evaded extradition to Turkey for several years. /Turkiye/
[11] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[12] MISTAKES AND DECEPTION BY MUMTAZ SOYSAL (CUMHURIYET)
Columnist Mumtaz Soysal comments on the UN Cyprus plan. A summary of his
column is as follows:
“The Turkish delegates returned from Buergenstock singing songs of glory.
What’s being called a win is actually an exaggeration. The dangers and gaps
aren’t being mentioned, as if the promises are certain and the solutions
absolute. This is actually a return full of mistakes and deception.
The following issues are mistakes: First of all there’s no clear agreement.
The final version of the plan isn’t a package on which the parties ever
agreed. It is a mass of coercions written by aides to the UN secretary-
general saying, ‘this meets you halfway’ and then communicated to the
parties. Secondly, there’s no precedent in international law of bringing
such a blueprint to a referendum. A referendum should be based on a
definite text prepared by an authority, or it should be a text on which the
parties are agreed so that the people know that the agreement will be
accepted if they vote in its favor. None of these conditions now exists.
The UN General Secretariat, whose authority is controversial, exercised its
‘goodwill mission’ granted by the Security Council and made the parties
accept it through threats and deception. The text is devoid of compromise.
Thirdly, setting aside judicial disagreements on various issues, this ‘map
of zones’ is a map being presented to those who’ll live there without any
discussion.
The deceptive issue is as follows: The exceptions (derogations) brought to
the plan to protect the rights of the Turks on the island lack strong
guarantees and can be invalidated by the courts of the European Union or
the European Council. These exceptions should be guaranteed. In addition,
reservations should be added to guarantee the exceptions in the European
Convention of Human Rights, while ending the European Council membership of
the Republic of Cyprus and admitting a united republic of Cyprus as a new
state. More importantly, an absolutely justified Turkey is being made to
hand over land and a country, forced to reach an agreement, as if it’s
paying the price for being the party which started a war and then lost it.
In all of world history there is only one other example of this: The
Ottoman Empire, which had to grant Crete to Greece after a victory against
a massacre by the island’s Greeks.”
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