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Turkish Press Review, 02-10-07Turkish 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> <map name="FPMap1"> </map> <map name="FPMap1"></map> Press & Information Turkish Press Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning07.10.2002FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNSCONTENTS
[01] ECEVIT: “TURKEY WILL BE FOLLOWING DEVELOPMENTS IN IRAQ”Speaking on television yesterday, Prime Minister and Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader Bulent Ecevit said that Turkey would continue to keep a close watch on developments in Iraq. Stressing that Turkey was fully capable of preventing the formation of a Kurdish state in northern Iraq, Ecevit stated that a military operation was one of the options on the table, ready to be used if need be. In addition, the premier took part in a rally in Bursa as part of the DSP’s election campaign. Remarking that his love lay for Turkey itself rather than any position, Ecevit said, “I will serve in my party as long as I am able.” /Turkiye/[02] DENKTAS TO UNDERGO HEART SURGERYTurkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas, currently in New York for talks concerning the island, is scheduled to undergo heart surgery today. He is to be treated by Turkish cardiac surgeon Mehmet Oz at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. Following the operation, Denktas is expected to recuperate at the hospital for four days and then to rest at his hotel for another week. /All Papers/[03] TOP CIRCLES DEBATING TURKEY’S STANCE ON IRAQTop political circles in Ankara are heatedly discussing the Iraq issue after US officials reportedly made it clear last month what it expects from Turkey in the event of a military operation against its longtime foe. The Bush administration’s demands on the Iraq issue were reportedly discussed at the recent National Security Council (MGK) meeting as well as the leaders’ summit at the Cankaya Presidential Palace. Weighing all the possible consequences of regime change in Iraq, Turkish politicians firmly believe that efforts at peaceful solution must be given a real chance. However, should military intervention seem inevitable, the Turkish government wants to ensure itself a place in discussions concerning the post-Saddam period. Ankara also believes that the US should not strike Iraq without first marshalling the support of the international community. /Cumhuriyet/[04] YILMAZ SIGNALS FLEXIBILITY ON IRAQI FEDERATION UNDER CENTRAL BAGHDAD REGIMEDeputy Prime Minister and Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz yesterday apparently signalled that Turkey was open to the possibility of a semi-autonomous Iraqi federation under a central Baghdad regime, saying Turkey would not be opposed to such a federation. Yilmaz added that Iraq’s ethnic Arabs, Kurds, Turkmens or religious Shiites could form such federations, either together or separately, under Baghdad. In recent weeks, as talk of a US operation in Iraq has increased, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and other officials have made clear Turkey’s firm opposition to a separate state emerging from the current de facto northern Iraqi autonomous region. /Hurriyet/[05] CEM CRITICIZES BAYKALNew Turkey Party (YTP) leader Ismail Cem told reporters yesterday that contrary to Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal’s call last week for people to show their anger, now was actually the time for people to demonstrate their love. Cem added that ever since the day it was established his party had stood up to injustice and that they didn’t owe anything to anybody. Cem also denied claims that he would be defecting his party to join the CHP. /Cumhuriyet/[06] BAYKAL: “IN NOVEMBER, WE WILL FACE A FATEFUL CROSSROADS”Addressing a campaign rally in Corlu yesterday, Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal said that the Nov. 3 elections would be a fateful crossroads for Turkey. “First we must bring down interest rates in order to end the nation’s current uncertainty,” stated Baykal. “With the help of your votes, we can make a good beginning after the elections.” Baykal said he wanted the nation to bring a single party to power at November’s elections, namely the party that would be the right one for Turkey. “The party that comes to power shouldn’t create new problems in Turkey’s relations with other countries,” remarked Baykal. “And it should also be reliable and be able to account for itself and its actions.” Baykal added that no party had these qualifications besides the CHP. He stated that when it came to power, his party would lift the immunity of parliamentary deputies to prosecution. Former Economy Minister Kemal Dervis, a deputy candidate from the CHP, told the rally that the CHP was offering the nation solutions to its problems in the upcoming elections. /Milliyet/[07] CILLER: “BAYKAL ISN’T UP ON HIS ECONOMICS”Speaking in Eskisehir yesterday, True Path Party (DYP) leader Tansu Ciller charged that Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal was avoiding discussing economic issues with her on television since he lacked knowledge of economic issues. Ciller also said that her party had united Turkey’s rightist parties under the DYP and that now the nation should unite at the Nov. 3 elections. She stated that the Justice and Development Party (AKP), the frontrunner in most pre-election opinion polls, didn’t even have a candidate for prime minister since its leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan was declared ineligible to run as deputy. /Milliyet/[08] KUTAN: “THE SP WOULD DROP THE IMF ECONOMIC PROGRAM”Addressing a campaign rally in the Black Sea province of Amasya yesterday, Felicity Party (SP) leader Recai Kutan said that if the SP comes to power in next month’s elections it would abandon Turkey’s economic program developed in association with the International Monetary Fund. “We won’t implement the IMF program,” he stated. “All the IMF policies would be annulled, and we would instead apply our own program.” /Aksam/[09] CAKAN TO MEET WITH IRANIAN OIL MINISTEREnergy Minister Zeki Cakan will be travelling to Iran today in a bid to persuade Iranian officials to reduce the price of its natural gas exports to Turkey. Cakan will be meeting with Iranian Oil Minister Namidar Zengeni to tell him of the 6% price cut Russian officials recently extended on their natural gas exports to Turkey, and to request that Iran agree to a similar discount. /Sabah/[10] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS[11] WHAT DOES THE US WANT? BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE)Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna comments on US ambitions to launch a military operation in Iraq and their underlying reasons. A summary of his column is as follows:“The US, because the dream of a Pax Americana dictates it, wants to be the sole broker in charge of distributing oil and natural gas around the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea. And, in order to make its dreams come true, it is acting in cooperation with Great Britain. That is to say, under this plan in the 21st century the US will provides oil to countries such as Germany, France, Italy and Japan. These countries and other similar oil- less ones desperately need the oil extracted from these two large basins, which currently hold two-thirds of the world’s oil resources. Otherwise, their industries will crumble and wither away. Just think for a moment: what if Germany or Japan were to weaken economically and thus politically as well? The US also wants to keep the US dollar the sole currency in oil purchase all over the globe. Additional, the yen is trying to keep the euro, its chief contender, at bay. The US currently controls the oil of monarchies in the Persian Gulf. However, it lacks the reigns of both Iraq and Iran’s oil resources. Thus, the US wants to establish a pro-US regime in Iraq. Once Saddam Hussein and his administration announce that they have withdrawn from the government, the US will immediately cancel its plans to strike Iraq. Of course the new regime to be established there should act in full cooperation with Washington. And the Kurds... They are once again acting as tools, just as they were previously in the hands of Great Britain, but this time of the US, and the US intends to take full advantage of this leverage. The US plan will definitely be implemented if the Pax Americana is to hold sway at least through the first half of this century. The US knows very well that this plan may have several dangerous consequences and that the postwar period in Iraq may create serious problems for itself. Yet, the US is willing to run all these risks, the most dangerous being that the terrorist threat may once again rear, spread and gain strength. The US has intelligence indicating that Iraq and Iran are trying to produce an atomic bomb which would threaten Israel. Thus, there is not even the slightest possibility that the US will not carry through on its plans for Iraq.” [12] TURKEY CANNOT BE PASSIVE BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)Columnist Fikret Bila comments on a possible US operation against Iraq and Ankara’s stance on this issue. A summary of his column is as follows:“Ankara has been carefully following developments in northern Iraq for a long time. At last week’s security summit held at the Presidential Palace, the issue was discussed in depth. It’s well known that Ankara is opposed to a US operation against Iraq. However, Ankara thinks that it’s very much likely that such an operation will eventually occur. During the current round of high-ranking meetings on Iraq, 1991’s Gulf War and its consequences are also being looked at. There is clearly a full consensus among the military and civilian wings of the National Security Council (MGK) concerning possible developments in northern Iraq and the country at large. The consensus reached during discussions can be summarized as follows: Turkey cannot stand as a mere spectator of developments in this vitally important region. The military, in particular, is arguing that Turkey cannot passively watch developments from over the border. If an independent Kurdish state -- through an operation by the US or for any other reason -- is established, if the security of Iraq’s Turkmens’ life and goods is endangered, if PKK terrorism picks up strength and border violations increase, Turkish security forces won’t simply sit and watch such incidents. Neither will it welcome migration and other developments at the border, but rather take measures to counter them. Ankara and the bordering regions are ready for any number of possibilities, including war. Ankara will continue to oppose an operation by the US and try to bring Washington around to its point of view. However, if an operation appears inevitable and the situation in the region grows more complex, Ankara will carry out its own plan. The discussions in Ankara also serve as a sort of warning towards Kurdish leaders in northern Iraq. Ankara wants to make clear that it would be a great mistake to imagine the existence of a ‘power vacuum’ just because Turkey is in the midst of an elections period and the coalition seems tense due to domestic political reasons. Ankara is also emphasizing that if northern Iraqi leaders Massoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani proceed under such mistaken assumptions, they will surely end up losers. It’s also pointing out that Turkey’s defense reflexes are very strong and that not once in its history has it ever lacked the political leadership’s determination and support towards the nation’s defense. Ankara is also stressing that the US and leaders in northern Iraq shouldn’t act without taking Turkey into consideration.” 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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