|
|
Turkish Press Review, 07-02-12
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
12.02.2007
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN MEETS WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF NGOs IN TRABZON
[02] ARINC: "WE WILL NOMINATE AN AKP DEPUTY FOR PRESIDENT"
[03] CHIEF OF STAFF BUYUKANIT IN WASHINGTON FOR VISIT
[04] BAYKAL: "WE NEED TO WAGE A DETERMINED FIGHT AGAINST COUNTRIES WHO SHELTER TERRORISTS"
[05] AGAR: "POLITICS REQUIRES LOYALTY AND DETERMINATION"
[06] AUSTRALIAN FM DOWNER VISITS TURKEY
[07] BABACAN TO VISIT BRUSSELS
[08] US CHARGE D'AFFAIRES MEETS WITH DYP OFFICIALS
[09] CANAKKALE COULD HOST PEACE TALKS
[01] ERDOGAN MEETS WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF NGOs IN TRABZON
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday met with representatives of
non-governmental organizations in Trabzon in the wake of the murder last
month of Hrant Dink, a Turkish journalist of Armenian descent. Ogun Samast,
Dink's confessed murderer, came from the Black Sea city. During the meeting,
Erdogan said that people should guard against provocations, adding that
rather than brandishing guns, he wants to see young people shaping humanity
with pencils and pens in hand. Commenting on arguments that Trabzon doesn't
deserve to be linked to Dink's violent death, Erdogan said that a person
from any province could have committed the murder. "We shouldn't allow
those who want to shatter our unique structure and the hopes of our
children," stressed Erdogan. /Milliyet/
[02] ARINC: "WE WILL NOMINATE AN AKP DEPUTY FOR PRESIDENT"
Appearing on television yesterday, Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc
commented on this May's presidential election to be held in Parliament,
saying that the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) candidate
would come from inside the government. "The candidate will be from inside
the AKP and will be a deputy," said Arinc. Commenting on claims that he
would choose the candidate in cooperation with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan (a likely candidate himself) and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul,
Arinc rejected this as a "dictatorial" method. "We couldn't do this,
because doing so would show disrespect to Parliament," added Arinc. /Sabah/
[03] CHIEF OF STAFF BUYUKANIT IN WASHINGTON FOR VISIT
Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit is now visiting Washington as
the official guest of his US counterpart Gen Peter Pace. Besides Pace,
Buyukanit will meet with Vice President Dick Cheney, US Undersecretary of
Defense for Policy and former US Ambassador to Ankara Eric Edelman, and
Chief of Staff of the US Army Gen. Peter Schoomaker. Buyukanit is also
scheduled to speak at a think-thank, where he is expected to convey his
views on the terrorist PKK and the so-called Armenian resolution before
Congress. /Star/
[04] BAYKAL: "WE NEED TO WAGE A DETERMINED FIGHT AGAINST COUNTRIES WHO
SHELTER TERRORISTS"
Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal said
yesterday that a determined fight was needed against countries which
provide shelter for terrorists. Speaking to reporters after the 43rd
International Security Conference in Munich , Baykal stated that all
countries should fight terrorism, adding that the conference participants
agreed that terror couldn't be countered through arms alone. "The fight
against terrorism should be considered comprehensively," he added. Later,
Baykal returned to Turkey . /Turkiye/
[05] AGAR: "POLITICS REQUIRES LOYALTY AND DETERMINATION"
Speaking at a weekend ceremony marking the 46th anniversary of the founding
of the Justice Party (AP), a now-defunct party that was the predecessor of
his own, opposition True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar said that
politics requires loyalty and determination. Agar stressed that the AP was
the first party to have a presence all across Turkey , adding that it
didn't abandon its principles in the face of change. Agar added that the AP
did the greatest service to the nation in Turkish history. /Turkiye/
[06] AUSTRALIAN FM DOWNER VISITS TURKEY
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer is now visiting Turkey as the
official guest of his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul. During his stay,
Downer will also meet with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Parliament
Speaker Bulent Arinc. Additionally, he will meet with Hikmet Cetin, a
former Parliament speaker and NATO senior civilian representative in
Afghanistan . /Cumhuriyet/
[07] BABACAN TO VISIT BRUSSELS
Turkey's chief European Union negotiator Ali Babacan will visit Brussels on
Thursday and Friday for talks with EU officials. Babacan will meet with
European Commission Vice President Guenter Verheugen, European Commissioner
for Enlargement Olli Rehn and other five members of the European Commission
during his two-day visit. Babacan is set to discuss issues such as Turkey
's negotiation process and the chapters on which its negotiations can start,
and is also expected to brief EU officials on last month's murder of
journalist Hrant Dink and recent developments on Article 301 of the Turkish
Penal Code (TCK). /Star/
[08] US CHARGE D'AFFAIRES MEETS WITH DYP OFFICIALS
U.S. Embassy Charge d'Affaires Nancy McEldowney hosted a weekend luncheon
at the embassy with several opposition True Path Party (DYP) officials:
deputy leader Nedim Bilgic, Gultekin Uysal, Umut Arik, Hatay Deputy Mehmet
Eraslan, Denizli Deputy Ummet Kandogan and Ankara Regional Director Bulent
Kusoglu. During the luncheon, topics of discussion included the so-called
Armenian resolution facing the US Congress, the terrorist PKK, Iraq and
last month's murder of journalist Hrank Dink. /Aksam/
FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[09] CANAKKALE COULD HOST PEACE TALKS
BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)
Columnist Ferai Tinc gives a suggested locale for Middle East peace talks.
A summary of her column is as follows:
"US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet next Monday. This will be
a preliminary meeting in order to start the process of founding an
independent Palestinian state and take steps for peace in the Middle East ,
and it's uncertain where this meeting will be held. The summit is supposed
to be held in an neutral nation, and as of this writing a venue has yet to
be announced. But it won't be Jordan or Egypt . I heard that Israeli
diplomats were holding various contacts to decide on a place and that this
issue was discussed with Ankara as well. I have a suggestion: Canakkale.
This city which in centuries past saw the Trojan War and the Battle of
Gallipoli will be the best starting point for a step towards peace in the
Middle East . I know that Canakkale's infrastructure isn't up to such
international meetings and there's only one week left. However, if the
summit is held in Turkey , at least a Canakkale tour can be organized. Even
if the meeting is organized outside of Turkey , a project touting Canakkale
as a city of world peace should be started so that future meetings can be
held in Canakkale. The world's most important peace initiatives could take
place on this soil in the years to come. Canakkale has the potential to
present the best example in our region of a culture of world peace. The
Mideast plan by then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan was prepared in
Burgenstock , Switzerland . Why shouldn't the Middle East meetings be held
in Canakkale?
Olmert will pay a one-day visit to Ankara on Wednesday. Israeli daily
Yedioth Ahronot said that during the visit, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan will suggest mediating between Israel and Syria , but that the
prime minister is planning to politely turn him down. The daily also wrote
that Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni favors discussing the peace signals
coming from Syria during secret meetings, because Syria continues making
weapon transfers to Hizbullah. But Yedioth Ahronot added that if the
situation changes, Olmert will favor Erdogan mediating between Israel and
Syrian President Bashar Assad. We've recently seen arguments promoting
Turkey 's role as a mediator. Turkey is a very important country. Even if
it doesn't mediate, it has a great impact on the region. Don't you think
presenting an atmosphere where all the facilities to ensure peace talks are
present is a better suggestion than taking up the mediator role?
Some might respond that it's uncertain if the trilateral meeting will even
be held. You're right. The agreement reached in Mecca last week by Hamas
and Fatah is being discussed. Under the agreement, Hamas refused once again
to recognize Israel . However, there are certain openings which give an
opportunity for peace talks. So Israel neither accepted nor rejected the
agreement. The US , for its part, will make its decision after examining
the text of the Mecca agreement. It seems that a new opportunity is
emerging for a Palestinian state to be established and Israel to live
peacefully with its neighbors. So long as provocations are avoided, the
name of Canakkale should loom large in agreements along stages in the peace
process."
|