|
|
Turkish Press Review, 05-10-05
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
<LINK href="http://www.byegm.gov.tr_yayinlarimiz_chr_pics_css/tpr.css"
rel=STYLESHEET type=text/css>
e-mail :
newspot@byegm.gov.tr
<caption> <_caption>
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
05.10.2005
ERDOGAN: “OUR ONLY CAUSE IS
FURTHERING TURKEY’S DEVELOPMENT”
GUL: “WE’VE TAKEN A
HISTORIC STEP FORWARD”
ARINC: “THE BEST OUTCOME
WAS WON AS A RESULT OF THE GOVT’S HARD WORK”
CHP LEADER BAYKAL: “THERE
ARE TRAPS IN THE FRAMEWORK DOCUMENT”
REHN HAILS “HISTORIC
DECISION” TO BEGIN ANKARA’S EU TALKS
CHIRAC: “TURKEY NEEDS A
CULTURAL REVOLUTION IN ORDER TO FULFILL EU
CONDITIONS”
TOBB HEAD CONGRATULATES
GOVT FOR SUCCESS IN BEGINNING EU TALKS
LAGENDIJK: “THE LAST-MINUTE
HITCHES SHAMED THE EU”
RICE’S INTERVENTION
ELIMINATED GREEK-CYPRUS NATO HURDLE
OYAK BUYS 46.12% OF ERDEMIR
SHARES
FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE
COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…
THREE BATTLES AHEAD OF US
BY OKTAY EKSI (HURRIYET)
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN: “OUR ONLY CAUSE IS
FURTHERING TURKEY’S DEVELOPMENT”
[02] GUL: “WE’VE TAKEN A HISTORIC
STEP FORWARD”
[03] ARINC: “THE BEST OUTCOME WAS
WON AS A RESULT OF THE GOVT’S HARD WORK”
[04] CHP LEADER BAYKAL: “THERE ARE
TRAPS IN THE FRAMEWORK DOCUMENT”
[05] REHN HAILS “HISTORIC DECISION”
TO BEGIN ANKARA’S EU TALKS
[06] CHIRAC: “TURKEY NEEDS A
CULTURAL REVOLUTION IN ORDER TO FULFILL EU
CONDITIONS”
[07] TOBB HEAD CONGRATULATES GOVT
FOR SUCCESS IN BEGINNING EU TALKS
[08] LAGENDIJK: “THE LAST-MINUTE
HITCHES SHAMED THE EU”
[09] RICE’S INTERVENTION ELIMINATED
GREEK-CYPRUS NATO HURDLE
[10] OYAK BUYS 46.12% OF ERDEMIR
SHARES
[11] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE
COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…
[12] THREE BATTLES AHEAD OF US
BY OKTAY EKSI (HURRIYET)
[01] ERDOGAN: “OUR ONLY CAUSE IS
FURTHERING TURKEY’S DEVELOPMENT”
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said
yesterday that Turkey has passed through a very
important crossroads, adding that European Union
membership was not an unreachable target for
Turkey, but a tool to join democratic, free and
developed countries. Speaking at a Justice and
Development Party (AKP) parliamentary group
meeting, the first such gathering of the new
legislative year, Erdogan stated that his
party’s sole aim was developing the country,
adding that Turkey would overcome hurdles on the
road to EU membership with the efforts of the
whole nation. In related news, Erdogan yesterday
received visiting Austrian Parliament Speaker
Andreas Kohl and asked for Vienna’s support
during Ankara’s EU negotiations. /Turkiye/
[02] GUL: “WE’VE TAKEN A HISTORIC
STEP FORWARD”
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday
hailed the beginning of Turkey’s accession talks
with the European Union as “a historic step for
Turkey, the EU, and the region as well as the
world.” Speaking at a press conference in
Luxembourg, Gul said that after hard work and
fierce debates, Turkey had officially begun
accession talks with the EU. Stressing that much
work lay ahead to realize the country’s
four-decade dream of EU membership, the foreign
minister stated that hereafter the bulk of
Turkish-EU relations would rest on the shoulders
of State Economy Minister and chief negotiator
Ali Babacan. He added that Turkey would continue
working for more democracy, freedom and
prosperity not only for EU membership but also
for its people, as they deserve highest of
standards. /Turkiye/
[03] ARINC: “THE BEST OUTCOME WAS
WON AS A RESULT OF THE GOVT’S HARD WORK”
Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc yesterday praised the European Union
decision to begin Ankara’s talks, saying that
the best outcome had been achieved as a result
of the government’s hard work. Speaking after
his meeting with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, Arinc said that Turkey was at a very
important stage of its 40-year EU membership
bid. “We’re reaping the fruit of our efforts
over the last three years,” he said. Arinc also
spoke glowingly of the markets’ recent rise.
“The government’s duty is to make sure the
nation feels these positive market
developments,” added Arinc. /Hurriyet/
[04] CHP LEADER BAYKAL: “THERE ARE
TRAPS IN THE FRAMEWORK DOCUMENT”
Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal yesterday warned
that the conditions imposed on Turkey in the
European Union negotiating framework document
included burdensome conditions exceeding last
December’s decisions, and added, “It reduces
Turkey to privileged partnership.” Evaluating
the framework document, in the first CHP group
meeting of the new legislative year, Baykal
claimed that there are booby traps in the
framework. Baykal also criticized Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul for making decisions relating to
the EU mostly behind closed doors, adding, “I
hope the premier didn’t inform the president the
way the foreign minister informed us.” In
related news, True Path Party (DYP) leader
Mehmet Agar said that the start of talks was a
great success for the republic but added he was
concerned that the framework document didn’t
confirm this success. Agar claimed that the
framework hides a second-class membership
between the lines. /Cumhuriyet/
[05] REHN HAILS “HISTORIC DECISION”
TO BEGIN ANKARA’S EU TALKS
Speaking at a press conference yesterday in Brussels, European Union
Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn, who is
expected to visit Ankara this week, lauded the
beginning of Turkey’s EU talks as a “historic
decision,” adding that the screening process
would begin on Oct. 20 covering science and
research and continuing with education and
culture. Rehn predicted that the screening
process could continue for a year, but this
wouldn’t be an obstacle to opening the
negotiating chapters. He stated that the goal of
Ankara’s EU talks was full membership, but added
that the process was open-ended. /Star/
[06] CHIRAC: “TURKEY NEEDS A
CULTURAL REVOLUTION IN ORDER TO FULFILL EU
CONDITIONS”
French President Jacques Chirac said yesterday that Turkey needed to
undergo a “major cultural revolution” in order
to fulfill the EU’s membership conditions. He
said that he hoped Ankara would achieve this,
warning that if the Union rejects Turkey, saying
that it doesn’t belong to Europe, radicalism
could become widespread in the country. In
related news, Italian Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi said that closing the EU door to
Turkey would be as unforgivable as spurning a
lover. He added that beginning Ankara’s EU talks
had forged a link between the West and the
Muslim world. /Aksam/
[07] TOBB HEAD CONGRATULATES GOVT
FOR SUCCESS IN BEGINNING EU TALKS
Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges (TOBB) head Rifat
Hisarciklioglu yesterday congratulated the
government for its successful efforts to begin
Ankara’s European Union accession talks, adding
that it should stay this course. In related
news, Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TIM) Chairman
Oguz Satici said that during this difficult
negotiating process, the nation needed to be
calm. He further predicted that international
investors would be pleased with the atmosphere
of confidence in Turkey. /Aksam/
[08] LAGENDIJK: “THE LAST-MINUTE
HITCHES SHAMED THE EU”
Joost Lagendjk, co-chair of the Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary
Commission, said yesterday that he was ashamed
of Austria’s efforts to derail Turkey’s EU bid.
At a joint press conference held with Turkish
MEP Cem Ozdemir, Lagendjk said that the way the
European Union had started the negotiations was
a disgrace. “One sentence was haggled over for
30 hours,” said Lagendijk and added, “Some
promises were given at last December’s summit,
and then at the very last moment, one of the
member countries tried to change the whole
process. This is a bad situation for both the EU
and the perception of the EU in Turkey. Through
its actions, Austria seriously damaged the
Union.” Lagendjk also said that the word
negotiation should be understood properly, as
negotiations with the EU didn’t mean finding a
common path but rather Turkey adapting itself to
the EU. /Cumhuriyet/
[09] RICE’S INTERVENTION ELIMINATED
GREEK-CYPRUS NATO HURDLE
The hurdle of Greek Cyprus possibly seeking NATO membership in the
final hours before Turkey’s negotiations with
the European Union was solved by the US’
coordination with EU Term President Britain and
working with Ankara, and putting pressure on the
Greek Cypriot administration. According to
American diplomatic sources, during the crisis
in Luxembourg on Monday, US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice telephoned Greek Cypriot
administration leader Tassos Papadopoulos and
said, “NATO members decide who will join the
alliance. You must cease using your wish for
NATO membership as leverage in Turkey’s
relations with the EU.” /Milliyet/
[10] OYAK BUYS 46.12% OF ERDEMIR
SHARES
At an auction yesterday, 46.12% of the shares of Turkey’s largest
flat-steel producer Erdemir were sold to the
Oyak Group. After competing with Russian, Dutch
and Belgian firms, Oyak won the tender with an
offer of $2.77 million. /Sabah/
[11] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE
COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…
[12] THREE BATTLES AHEAD OF US
BY OKTAY EKSI (HURRIYET)
Columnist Oktay Eksi comments on Turkey’s starting European Union
membership talks on Monday. A summary of his
column is as follows:
“We became new citizens of a new Turkey
yesterday, which was created by our two-century
quest to integrate with modern civilization. Our
basic take is as follows: We owe thanks to
everybody who has brought us here, particularly
the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP)
and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
However, don’t think that these thanks are
without reservations. We will talk about them in
detail later. For now, one can say that Erdogan
brought us to the point at which full membership
talks with the European Union started, but he
also made many, many concessions. For example,
we accepted the EU’s discrimination against our
country only to reach the current situation.
However, we can cope with these concessions in
the long term. Therefore, in general we’re glad
with the situation.
I want to refer to an article I wrote last
Dec. 17, when the decision to starting
membership talks with the EU was made. In that
article, I wrote that the Ottoman Empire had
started its adventure of integration with the
modern civilization nearly at the same time as
Iran and Egypt, that is, two centuries ago, and
that Turks were successful in this competition.
Today that truth is being hailed by the entire
world and we’re glad that this development is in
line with Ataturk’s aspirations.
We’re happy today but our work is just
starting, as Erdogan said. From here, we will
have three battles on three fronts. Firstly, we
will carry out EU membership talks with EU
member countries. Secondly, we will do this
inside our country. We will have to live in a
new way, that is, in line with the law and its
rules, in every area, from state administration
to our personal lives. Thirdly and most
importantly, we will have our fight outside as
well. We will promote Turkey and make the EU
member countries’ publics like us towards this
end. This will be the hardest fight because we
have to destroy old prejudices. Then we will
settle a new and beautiful Turkey and modern
Turks on those cleansed minds. Our work is
difficult, but our aim is so noble that it is
worth the struggle.”
ARCHIVE
<script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript" src="http:/_www.byegm.gov.tr_statistic/countcode.js">
</script>
|