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Turkish Press Review, 05-10-14Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: 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 morning14.10.2005MERKEL REASSURES ERDOGAN ON TURKEY’S EU BID EUROPEAN SOCIALISTS VISIT TURKEY ARINC PROPOSES RULES CHANGE FOR SPEAKER POSITION AMBASSADOR GROSSMAN MEETS WITH ERDOGAN TALAT: “PAPADOPOULOS MUST SPEAK WITH ME, NOT ERDOGAN” WASHINGTON INVITES TALAT FOR OFFICIAL VISIT US CONGRESSMAN WHITFIELD: “I WILL WORK HARD TO END THE TRNC’S UNJUST ISOLATION” WITH ANOTHER DEFECTION FROM CHP, ANAVATAN CAN FORM GROUP IN PARLIAMENT FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMISSION HEAD PROPOSES “PR CHIEF” AVIAN H5N1 VIRUS CONFIRMED, ACTION ALREADY TAKEN POET ATTILA ILHAN SENT OFF WITH GRIEF BABACAN TRAVELS TO CHINA TO ATTEND G-20 MEETING VORKINK: “SINCE TURKEY’S CURRENT ACCOUNTS DEFICIT IS HIGH, IT SHOULD MAINTAIN A 6.5% PRIMARY SURPLUS” FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... WHAT THE EU DOESN’T SEE BY ERDAL GUVEN (RADIKAL)CONTENTS
[01] MERKEL REASSURES ERDOGAN ON TURKEY’S EU BIDPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday telephoned incoming German Chancellor Angela Merkel to congratulate her on her new job. “It’s nice to speak to you after a long time. I congratulate you,” he said, adding, “I hope that Turkey’s European Union process will continue positively.” Merkel reportedly replied, “You can be sure of it. [Outgoing] Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder should have talked to you about this issue. The process will continue as before. It will be long but friendly.” Before last month’s German elections, Merkel had been a vocal critic of Turkey’s EU bid. /Aksam/[02] EUROPEAN SOCIALISTS VISIT TURKEYA group of European Socialist Party members headed by former Finnish Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen and former Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou visited Ankara yesterday and met with opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. After completing their contacts, at a press conference, Papandreou welcomed the beginning of Turkey’s European Union membership talks, adding that Ankara’s membership would greatly contribute to the bloc. Regarding the Cyprus issue, Papandreou stated that it was time to seek new talks to find a settlement to the issue. /Turkiye/[03] ARINC PROPOSES RULES CHANGE FOR SPEAKER POSITIONParliament Speaker Bulent Arinc said yesterday that he working on an amendment to Parliament’s internal regulations on the the removeal of speakers from office. He added that the amendment would force even presidents to take a position on the issue, but did not mention President Ahmet Necdet Sezer by name. Arinc also said that these changes would make him a pioneer in efforts to make his office accountable. He stated that under the changes, with an inqiry that has 110 deputies’ votes and an absolute majority a Parliament speaker could be dismissed. /Milliyet/[04] FORMER AMBASSADOR GROSSMAN MEETS WITH ERDOGANMarc Grossman, a top retired US State Department diplomat and former US Ambassador to Ankara, yesterday met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Grossman reportedly lent his support to Ankara’s Cyprus policy and pledged to continue his efforts to strengthen Turkish-US relations. /Turkish Daily News/[05] TALAT: “PAPADOPOULOS MUST SPEAK WITH ME, NOT ERDOGAN”Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President said yesterday that he, and not Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was the interlocutor of Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos, adding that he and Papadopoulos should hold negotiations on the Cyprus issue. Talat further called for an end to the TRNC’s isolation. /Turkiye/[06] WASHINGTON INVITES TALAT FOR OFFICIAL VISITUS Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday invited Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mehmet Ali Talat to Washington for an official visit. The visit is expected to help efforts to end the TRNC’s isolation. During the visit, Rice is expected to send a message to the Greek Cypriots, saying that they are not the sole owners of the island. Talat reportedly accepted the invitation, adding that the date of the visit would soon be clarified. During his stay in Washington, Talat is expected to brief the US administration on the measures taken by his government to end the TRNC’s isolation. /Turkiye/[07] US CONGRESSMAN WHITFIELD: “I WILL WORK HARD TO END THE TRNC’S UNJUST ISOLATION”Congressmen Ed Whitfield, chairman of the Turkish Caucus in the US House of Representatives, said yesterday that he would work hard in order to end the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ (TRNC) isolation, adding that the situation was unjust. “I believe that everyone is determined to end this,” he said. Whitfield further stated that the US should begin direct trade with the TRNC. “Turkey is a US ally and this will continue,” he added. /Turkiye/[08] WITH ANOTHER DEFECTION FROM CHP, ANAVATAN CAN FORM GROUP IN PARLIAMENTFollowing the resignation of Ankara Deputy Muzaffer Kurtulmusoglu earlier this week, another member of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Mersin Deputy Huseyin Ozcan, yesterday resigned from the party and joined the Motherland Party (ANAVATAN). With these additions, the number of CHP seats in Parliament fell to 155, while ANAVATAN reached 21 deputies – one more than the number necessary to form a parliamentary group. ANAVATAN released a statement yesterday saying that they would notify the Parliament Speaker’s Office of their intention to form a group. /Hurriyet/[09] FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMISSION HEAD PROPOSES “PR CHIEF”Turkish Parliament Foreign Affairs Commission Chairman Mehmet Dulger yesterday said that Turkey needs a “public relations chief” as well as a chief negotiator in order to dispel negative attitudes about Turkey in Europe. Dulger added, “If the PR chief works with an expert group and priority is placed on this issue, negative views of Turkey can be changed.” Dulger said that he had conveyed his proposal to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and got a positive reaction. “I hope my suggestion will be taken into consideration. It would help Turkey to get ahead,” he said. /Star/[10] AVIAN H5N1 VIRUS CONFIRMED, ACTION ALREADY TAKENSpeaking at a press conference yesterday, European Union Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said that the virus found last week in Turkey was the avian H5N1 high pathogenic virus, adding that experts feared that it could mutate into a strain transmittable to humans. “It’s true that scientists have cautioned there could be a pandemic,” he said. In related news, EU experts on avian flu and migratory birds will hold an emergency meeting in Brussels. The commission is expected to advise measures to be taken by people traveling to Romania and Turkey. In related news, an official from the Agriculture Ministry said, “We received the results of the tests. It is the H5N1 strain. However, Ankara has no immediate plans for additional measures because the authorities had already acted according to a worst-case scenario since the outbreak was first found in the province of Balikesir last week.” /All papers/[11] POET ATTILA ILHAN SENT OFF WITH GRIEFA memorial ceremony was held yesterday for poet and writer Attila Ilhan, who passed away earlier this week. Beside his family and a number of state officials, 3,000 people attended the ceremony. Another service was held at Istanbul’s Ataturk Culture Center (AKM). At the latter, Culture Minister Ahmet Koc was heckled and booed by the audience. Despite these protests, he voiced his admiration for Ilhan. He also called the protests unacceptable and accused the protestors of trying to take advantage of his grief. /Milliyet/[12] BABACAN TRAVELS TO CHINA TO ATTEND G-20 MEETINGState Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan yesterday traveled to the People’s Republic of China to attend a meeting of the G-20 finance ministers and governors of central banks. Speaking to reporters at Bejing airport, Babacan remarked that the G-20 meeting was a platform bringing together developed countries and developing ones. He stressed that he would have talks with the US treasury secretary, Chinese finance minister and German deputy economy minister as well as the International Monetary Fund Executive Board head. Babacan, accompanied by a delegation including Central Bank Governor Sureyya Serdengecti, is expected to complete his contacts in Beijing and return to Turkey on Sunday. /Turkiye/[13] VORKINK: “SINCE TURKEY’S CURRENT ACCOUNTS DEFICIT IS HIGH, IT SHOULD MAINTAIN A 6.5% PRIMARY SURPLUS”World Bank Turkey Director Andrew Vorkink said yesterday that Turkey should maintain its primary surplus target of 6.5% since its current accounts deficit is high. Vorkink stated that primary surplus was one of most important issues between Ankara and the International Monetary Fund, adding that 6.5% was an achievable rate. He stressed that the primary surplus was an important means to control the high current accounts deficit. He added that Turkey could reach its 5% growth target for this year and reiterated the importance of social security reform. /Aksam/[14] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...[15] WHAT THE EU DOESN’T SEE BY ERDAL GUVEN (RADIKAL)Columnist Erdal Guven comments on relations between Turkey and the EU. A summary of his column is as follows:“During European Union Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn’s recent visit to Ankara, many things were said. However, everybody remembers only the Cyprus issue. In this respect, the EU voiced its expectation that Ankara will open its harbors and ports to planes and ships from the Greek Cypriot administration in the short term and normalize its relations with Greek Cypriots in the middle and long term. In return, Ankara stipulated that limitations on the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) will be lifted and the Cyprus issue solved. The EU is determined and insistent, whereas Ankara has bound itself with the declaration it published with the Additional Protocol and remarks made by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. Thus, we’re facing a deadlock now, which doesn’t seem to be being overcome by the parties themselves. What’s more, both parties are tightening this deadlock. The EU has made a strategic miscalculation and Turkey is making tactical mistakes. First of all, Ankara should find answers to these questions: What will happen if limitations on the TRNC aren’t lifted? What will happen if the Cyprus problem isn’t solved during the process of Turkey’s full EU membership? Is the place for these questions the EU or the UN? The EU is unable to see what the Cyprus issue is. The problem is neither the embargo on the TRNC, nor Ankara’s insistence on not recognizing the Greek Cypriot administration. The problem about Cyprus is the deadlock to finding a solution. The others are only side effects of this problem. If Ankara opens its ports and harbors to the Greek Cypriot administration and recognizes it, would the Cyprus issue be solved? So, what would be the economic situation and political status of the Turkish Cypriots? In a sense, the EU is dealing not with the marsh, but the mosquitoes. However, the Greek Cypriot administration is now an EU member and the EU has more impact on member countries than non-member countries. Thus, the EU has more power to make the Greek Cypriot administration sit at the table for a solution. I won’t say that the EU should intervene to solve the Cyprus issue. This is not the EU’s tradition and it wouldn’t be an evenhanded move because the Greek Cypriot administration is an EU member. However, the EU is proud of its ‘soft power,’ and it can use this and take an important role for a solution. Of course, the UN has the leading role. The UN is the pace for a solution of this issue. In addition, the only platform where the parties can feel comfortable is under the UN roof, and only the UN can force the parties for a common solution. However, at this point, there is a problem. Unfortunately, Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos is in pursuit of his own solution, not a common one. According to his solution, Turkish Cypriots should be under the Greek Cypriot administration and Turkey should withdraw from Cyprus. That’s why it rejects being under the UN roof. Papadopoulos is seeking a solution not through the UN’s activity, but the EU’s passivity. Unfortunately, the EU can’t see this. Brussels put forth Greek Cyprus’ EU membership as a ‘profit for peace’ for the parties on the Cyprus issue. There was no peace, and one of the parties seized the profit without deserving it. In any case, the EU has to reestablish the equation.” ARCHIVE <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript" src="http:/_www.byegm.gov.tr_statistic/countcode.js"> </script> Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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