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Turkish Press Review, 05-09-26
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
26.09.2005
FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS
CONTENTS
[01] “MEETING OF CIVILIZATIONS” IN HATAY
[02] ERDOGAN TO TRAVEL TO OMAN AND UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
[03] CONTROVERSIAL ARMENIAN CONFERENCE HELD IN ISTANBUL
[04] GREEK CYPRIOT FM: “ANKARA CANNOT RECOGNIZE GREEK CYPRUS FOR NOW”
[05] FRENCH INTERIOR MINISTER SOFTENS HIS OPPOSITION TO TURKEY’S EU BID
[06] BAYKAL: “THE ARMENIAN CONFERENCE WASN’T SCHOLARLY”
[07] STATE MINISTER BABACAN: “WE WON’T ACCEPT INJUSTICE”
[08] TUSIAD INTERNATIONAL CHAIRMAN: “TURKEY’S PRIVATIZATION PROCESS HAS BOOSTED ITS PRESTIGE”
[09] LANGUAGE FEST TO BE CELEBRATED
[10] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS
[11] A LETTER DEMANDING A RESPONSE BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)
[01] “MEETING OF CIVILIZATIONS” IN HATAY
The southern city of Hatay with its ethnically and religiously diverse
population is now hosting the “First Meeting of Civilizations.” Addressing
a speech yesterday at the opening of the five-day gathering, Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that people from different faiths, languages and
races should live together in peace in the world. Present at the meeting
are scholars, leaders of Turkey’s Greek Orthodox, Jewish and Armenian
communities, and ambassadors from 45 countries. /Sabah/
[02] ERDOGAN TO TRAVEL TO OMAN AND UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is due today to travel to Oman for an
official visit. During his visit, Erdogan will be accompanied by 100
businessmen. During his short stay in Oman, the premier is expected to meet
with Sultan Qaboos to discuss bilateral relations as well as with Turkish
businessmen living there. Later, Erdogan will proceed to Abu Dhabi, the
capital of the UAE, to pay an official visit. /Star/
[03] CONTROVERSIAL ARMENIAN CONFERENCE HELD IN ISTANBUL
A controversial conference on Armenians in the late Ottoman era which was
once postponed and then later suspended was held at Istanbul’s Bilgi
University over the weekend. The two-day conference was carried out under
tight security amidst protests. Scholars speaking at the gathering
underlined that through the conference, Turkey had broken taboos on the
subject. /Turkiye/
[04] GREEK CYPRIOT FM: “ANKARA CANNOT RECOGNIZE GREEK CYPRUS FOR NOW”
Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister George Iacovou said yesterday that it was
impossible at the moment for Ankara to recognize Greek Cyprus. Speaking to
Greek Cypriot daily Politis, Yakovu said that Turkey should normalize its
relations with European Union member states, including Greek Cyprus. “I
believe that relations between Turkey and Greek Cyprus will start becoming
normal as of Oct. 3, when Ankara begins its accession talks,” he added.
Touching on the Cyprus issue, Iacovou said that he believed UN Secretary-
General Kofi Annan would send officials to the island in order to help a
resolution. /Turkiye/
[05] FRENCH INTERIOR MINISTER SOFTENS HIS OPPOSITION TO TURKEY’S EU BID
French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday reiterated his well-
known objections to Turkey’s European Union membership bid, but visibly
softened his tone in what French newspapers said was the result of warnings
from French President Jacques Chirac to refrain from heavy use of the
Turkey issue in public campaigns. Addressing a meeting of his party, likely
future president Sarkozy said that the French nation would make a decision
about Turkey’s EU bid at a referendum when the time is appropriate. Sarkozy
further stated that there were circles both opposed to Turkey’s EU bid and
supporters of it, adding that the presence of competing ideas in the EU was
positive. /Turkiye/
[06] BAYKAL: “THE ARMENIAN CONFERENCE WASN’T SCHOLARLY”
Appearing on television over the weekend, opposition Republican People’s
Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal said that he didn’t believe that the
controversial Armenian conference had been organized with good will or with
the intent to explore the truth. “This is not a scholarly conference,” he
said. However, Baykal stated that blocking the conference would not have
been appropriate. /Star/
[07] STATE MINISTER BABACAN: “WE WON’T ACCEPT INJUSTICE”
Turkey will not accept the European Union’s negotiations framework if it
includes unfair provisions, said Ali Babacan, economy minister and chief EU
negotiator, in Washington yesterday. Babacan told a group of international
investors in a closed-door meeting that some European Union countries were
trying to attach unjust and irrelevant provisions to Turkey’s negotiations
framework document. Babacan reportedly said that Ankara wouldn’t accept
such a document and warned that should such provisions be included, its
negotiations with the EU might not begin on Oct. 3. Babacan also reportedly
said that Turkey isn’t happy with the draft framework and will conduct
intense diplomacy over the next week in order to change it. In related news,
Babacan met with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Rodrigo
Rato. IMF First Deputy Managing Director Anne Krueger and Turkish Central
Bank President Sureyya Serdengecti also attended the meeting. Babacan also
met with Austria’s Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Grasser, US Treasury
Undersecretary Tim Adams and Europe Investment Bank President Philippe
Maystadt. /Star-Turkiye/
[08] TUSIAD INTERNATIONAL CHAIRMAN: “TURKEY’S PRIVATIZATION PROCESS HAS
BOOSTED ITS PRESTIGE”
Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD)
International Chairman Aldo Kaslowski said yesterday that Turkey’s
privatization process, which gained impetus recently, had boosted Turkey’s
world prestige. He predicted that Turkey would attract more foreign capital
if the privatization process continues. Kaslowski cautioned, however, that
unemployment could also rise, adding that fresh investment was needed in
order to create more jobs. /Aksam/
[09] LANGUAGE FEST TO BE CELEBRATED
The Turkish Language Fest will be celebrated today. President Ahmet Necdet
Sezer is expected to deliver an opening speech to the gathering at the
Turkish Language Authority conference center in Ankara. /Turkiye/
[10] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS
[11] A LETTER DEMANDING A RESPONSE BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)
Columnist Ferai Tinc comments on a letter written to Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan published in the International Herald Tribune last Friday. A
summary of her column is as follows:
“There was a full-page ad in the International Herald Tribune last Friday,
an open letter addressed to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan from the
International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS). The letter was
passed unanimously at the sixth biennial meeting of the association. The
letter tells Erdogan, who has called on impartial scholars to research
claims on the so-called Armenian genocide, that there are already many
researchers who have confirmed the claims. It also cites examples. The
letter says, ‘Scholars who advise your government and who are affiliated in
other ways with your state-controlled institutions are not impartial. Such
so-called “scholars” work to serve the agenda of historical and moral
obfuscation when they advise you and the Turkish Parliament on how to deny
the Armenian genocide.’ At the end of the letter, Erdogan’s cancellation
this May of the Armenian conference which was scheduled to be held at
Bogazici University – and was finally held this weekend – was cited as
evidence that Erdogan wasn’t serious in his call.
The people who wrote this letter, supported by the ‘Armenian Committee Day’
in Paris, think that they struck a blow at Turkey. The letter says, ‘In
preventing a conference on the Armenian genocide from taking place at
Bogacizi University in Istanbul on May 25, your government revealed its
aversion to academic and intellectual freedom – a fundamental condition of
democratic society.’ If they had heard Erdogan’s rejection of the latest
attempt to ban the conference on the day the newspaper went to the printing
house, would they have thought about withdrawing the letter for the sake of
intellectual consistency? Don’t you think that this letter demands a
response?
I don’t know if Erdogan will respond to the letter, but another institution,
for example, a university or a think-tank, could do so. Although the IAGS
has reached a conclusion about the genocide claims, they can be reminded of
the fact that other scholars say this issue needs to be researched in more
detail. It could be stated that Turkish scholars would contribute to these
discussions and that it would be important to listen to them to be
objectively. These are the things I recommend initially. Those who respond
will no doubt find better points. The important thing is not to leave this
letter unanswered. The Armenian conference held this weekend at Bilgi
University in Istanbul and the atmosphere of academic freedom which will
allow in-depth research from now on gives us the opportunity to answer.”
ARCHIVE
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