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Turkish Press Review, 07-02-14
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
14.02.2007
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN TRAVELS TO TURKMENISTAN
[02] ERDOGAN: "ISRAEL SHOULD RESPECT THE HOLY SITES OF THE REGION"
[03] CHP'S BAYKAL: "ETHNIC DEBATES HARM THE COUNTRY"
[04] GEN. BUYUKANIT TO MEET VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY
[05] US EMBASSY'S NUMBER TWO HOSTS AKP DEPUTIES
[06] CoE EXPECTED TO REJECT OCALAN'S BID FOR RETRIAL
[07] TURKEY TO EXPLORE FOR OIL IN THE MEDITERRANEAN
[00]
HALUK SAHIN (RADIKAL)
[01] ERDOGAN TRAVELS TO TURKMENISTAN
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday traveled to Turkmenistan to
attend new Turkmen President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov's inauguration
ceremony in Ashgabat today. Speaking to reporters at Ankara's Esenboga
Airport before his departure, Erdogan said that Turkey would continue to
lend support to Turkmenistan and the Turkmen nation through their ups and
downs. He stressed that during his stay he would also have the opportunity
to review bilateral relations as well as discuss regional and international
issues with top Turkmen officials. Erdogan, accompanied by
State Ministers Besir Atalay and Mehmet Aydin and Energy and Natural
Resources Minister Hilmi Guler, is also expected to attend opening
ceremonies of facilities built in the country by Turkish contractors.
/Turkiye/
[02] ERDOGAN: "ISRAEL SHOULD RESPECT THE HOLY SITES OF THE REGION"
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday spoke about recent
developments at his ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) group
meeting. Erdogan praised the Oil Market Law which just came into effect as
an important step for the fight against corruption. Scolding Israel before
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's visit to Turkey starting today,
Erdogan criticized Israel allowing construction near holy sites in
Jerusalem. He urged Israel to take a course of action which shows respect
for the holy sites and doesn't escalate tension. /Cumhuriyet/
[03] CHP'S BAYKAL: "ETHNIC DEBATES HARM THE COUNTRY"
Opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal said
yesterday that Turkey needs peace at home. Addressing his party's
parliamentary group meeting, Baykal said, "We are debating the republic,
nationalism, Ataturk's principles and our ethnic origins," adding that this
is wrong and could drag the country into a quagmire. Stressing that all
sectors of society should work hand in hand in unity, Baykal asked what
Turkey's 70 million people share. "Both nationalism and the Islamic faith
are our own values," said the CHP leader. Baykal also laid out his party's
basic principles in the runup to elections this November: a new
industrialization policy, an education system prioritizing vocational high
schools, a foreign policy which protects Turkey's interests both in the
European Union and on Cyprus, and ensuring peace in the country. /Turkiye/
[04] GEN. BUYUKANIT TO MEET VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY
Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit yesterday proceeded to
Washington to begin his official contacts. During his visit, Gen. Buyukanit
will seek the Bush administration's support in fighting the terrorist PKK
and against the so-called Armenian genocide allegations. The US side will
ask Turkey to send additional troops to Afghanistan to help establish
stability there. Gen. Buyukanit, who is in the US as the official guest of
his US counterpart Gen. Peter Pace, will meet with Vice President Dick
Cheney, US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy and former US Ambassador to
Ankara Eric Edelman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Tom Lantos
and Chief of Staff of the US Army Gen. Peter Schoomaker. /Milliyet/
[05] US EMBASSY'S NUMBER TWO HOSTS AKP DEPUTIES
US Embassy in Ankara Charge d'Affaires Nancy McEldowney yesterday hosted at
a banquet for a group of ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP)
deputies in her residence in Ankara. The topic dominating the gathering was
the Armenian resolution before the US House of Representatives. Turkish
deputies warned that passage of the resolution would exacerbate the Turkish
public's anti-Americanism, and McEldowney replied that her administration
was doing its best to avoid developments harming bilateral relations,
adding that the US would soon take concrete steps against the terrorist PKK
in northern Iraq. /Sabah/
[06] CoE EXPECTED TO REJECT OCALAN'S BID FOR RETRIAL
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe is expected today to
weigh in on the issue of giving a new trial to convicted terrorist leader
Abdullah Ocalan. The committee will reportedly declare that retrying Ocalan
is unnecessary. The Secretariat of the Committee of Ministers of the
Council of Europe yesterday suggested turning down Ocalan's demand for a
new trial, and passed on its opinion to the ministers. /Hurriyet/
[07] TURKEY TO EXPLORE FOR OIL IN THE MEDITERRANEAN
While tension continues over the Greek Cypriot administration's recent
contracts to search for oil in the eastern Mediterranean, Turkey decided to
also to carry out its own oil exploration both west of Cyprus and in the
region between the island and Egypt. An agreement is reportedly expected to
be signed soon with officials from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
(TRNC). Turkish oil company TPAO in the first stage plans to explore
shallow waters of the Mediterranean in a 12-mile area including the gulfs
of Antalya, Iskenderun and Mersin, and then to continue work in deep waters
where the Greek Cypriots also plan exploration. An international tender for
the research work is expected to be held in three months. In related news,
TRNC officials stated that the real goal of the Greek Cypriots wasn't to
look for oil for their people's prosperity but to spur a new crisis in the
region in line with their own interests. /Milliyet-Turkiye/
FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…SOLVING THE ARTICLE 301
CONFLICT
[00]
HALUK SAHIN (RADIKAL)
Haluk Sahin comments on the debate over Article 301 and the government's
stance on the issue. A summary of his column is as follows:
"The government managed to make a simple issue like Article 301 very
complicated. Everything about the issue is mixed up with each other. What
everyone says and wants on the issue has become incomprehensible. There's
no problem for those trying to score political points from these arguments,
those trying to spread nationalist propaganda. However, the ones suffering
from this are the Turkish people.
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said that due to Article 301 some foreigners
believe Turkish prisons are full of journalists and writers, adding that
they warn people who want to travel to Turkey that it's a dark, dangerous
place. Instead of making swift changes to the law, the government asked for
the views of non-governmental organizations. These groups, some of which
don't even deserve be to called NGOs, want to make the article even tougher
by adding speaking against the ‘Turkish nation' to the law besides just
‘Turkishness." If they keep it up, soon violating the law could get you
life in prison.
When Cyprus or southeastern Anatolia comes up, the Turkish Armed Forces
(TSK) says ‘We're party to these.' There are also parties to the Article
301, which include people earning their living by producing ideas and
expressing them: Writers, translators, journalists, academics, and artists…
We should give priority to what they say, but it seems that the government
considers these people equal to chambers of veterinarians.
Some institutions favor doing away with the law altogether. They believe
the need could be met by other laws. The Turkish Journalists' Association
believes that the problem would be solved if the term ‘insulting' were
replaced by ‘casting aspersions.' The Press Council declared its proposals
three months ago."
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