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Turkish Press Review, 05-04-28Turkish 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 morning28.04.2005FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…CONTENTS
[01] MARMARIS MARITIME FESTIVAL OFFICIALLY OPENSPresident Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday opened the Marmaris Maritime International Festival where he was welcomed by a military ceremony attended by Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) head Deniz Baykal, Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim and Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul. Sezer and Gen. Ozkok then saluted the participating foreign military ships. Following the parade, Sezer lit the festival’s torch and the event officially began. Today, the second day of festival will feature the beginning of various sports activities such as swimming competitions, a beach volleyball tournament and optimist class centerboat races. Turkish Navy Seals will demonstrate their skills at a show off the public beach. Members of the media will be able to visit the participating warships, and the Pineta De Luxe Hotel will host a panel on underwater archaeology. The Otoman Military Band (Mehter), the Russian Entertainment Group, the Turkish Naval Band, the Australian Navy Band and the Polish Entertainment Group will perform in various spots in Marmaris. The jury will rate the entries for the ship model competition, and the day will end with a public concert at the Marmaris Amphitheatre by famous Turkish rock star Teoman. /Sabah, BYEGM/[02] ERDOGAN URGES ARMENIA TO OPEN ARCHIVESPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday met with his New Zealander counterpart Helen Clark. After their talks, speaking at a press conference, Erdogan commented on Armenian President Robert Kocharian’s reply to Erdogan’s recent call to establish a joint commission to study the Armenian allegations. Stressing that Yerevan was insisting on political relations first being normalized with Turkey, Erdogan said the issue must be settled before making political decisions. “We’ll open all our state archives,” he said. Urging Armenia and other states also to open their archives concerning the issue, and form a working commission on the matter, the premier said, “We don’t reject our past, and if there is a need, we can inquire into it.” In addition, Ankara’s proposal for a joint commission has also received backing from the Council of Europe and the United States. Some 80 members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recently signed a statement calling on Kocharian to agree to the Turkish proposal. /Star/[03] ERDOGAN: “TURKEY HAS GOOD RELATIONS WITH THE US”Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday said that Ankara had no problem in its relations with the US. Speaking at his Justice and Development Party (AKP) parliamentary group meeting, Erdogan said that good relations with the US were still a basic plank of Turkish foreign policy. He added that for 50 years Turkish-US relations had been based on an alliance. Commenting on recent rumors that the government had suspended its efforts to harmonize with the European Union, Erdogan said, “We have never abandoned our goal of becoming an EU member. /Turkey/[04] GUL: “WE’RE NO LONGER DEFENSIVE ON THE CYPRUS ISSUE, IT’S HIGH TIME FOR AN ATTACK”Prior to this week’s 44th Turkey-European Union Partnership Council meeting in Luxembourg, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul held a face-to-face meeting with EU Term President Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn. Gul conveyed to Asselborn Turkey’s reproach of the EU’s failure to make progress on the Cyprus issue, criticizing Brussels for asking Ankara to take more measures without doing its own homework. Following their bilateral meeting, Gul told reporters that although the EU itself had failed to keep its promises on the Cyprus issue, Brussels always says that the ball is in Turkey’s court. “They always say, ‘Turkey must speed up its steps’,’ he added. “However, they’re now feeling frustrated because they’ve failed. We’re no longer defensive on the Cyprus issue since we’ve done all things that were expected of us. Thus, it’s high time for us to attack. Brussels has failed to keep its promises on the Cyprus issue. The ball is actually in their court now.” /Hurriyet/[05] ANKARA PROTESTS POLAND AND RUSSIAParliament Speaker Bulent Arinc yesterday sent a letter to his Polish counterpart condemning the Polish Parliament’s passing a resolution that recognizes the Armenian allegations of genocide. In addition, in a protest move, certain parliamentary activities to take place next month with Poland have been cancelled. Moreover, a resolution last week in Russia’s Duma on the matter was also condemned by the Foreign Ministry by delivering a note of protest to Russia, and Russia’s charge d’affaires was also summoned yesterday to the ministry to convey Ankara’s disappointment. Speaking to reporters, Foreign Ministry spokesman Namik Tan said that Ankara had noted with regret the parliaments of different countries passing such resolutions. He added that Turkey was also trying to stop a similar attempt in Germany. /Turkiye/[06] ANKARA WELCOMES DERVIS’S NEW POST IN THE UNAnkara has welcomed the naming of Turkish parliamentarian Kemal Dervis as head of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Both Prime Ministry and Foreign Ministry officials stated that Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Dervis’s new post is a “source of pride for Turkey.” /Cumhuriyet/[07] BABACAN: “WE’VE SUBMITTED OUR LETTER OF INTENT TO THE IMF”State Minister for Economy Ali Babacan yesterday announced that Turkey’s letter of intent (LOI) on the new standby deal with the International Monetary Fund had been signed and submitted to the Fund two days ago. In the runup to tomorrow’s Investment Advisory Council (YDK) meeting, Babacan held a press conference in Istanbul to brief reporters on the latest developments with the Fund and ongoing preparations for the YDK gathering which will be attended by high-level representatives of some 20 multinational firms. Babacan said that although May 12 had previously been specified as the meeting date for the IMF’s Executive Board, it might convene several days earlier or later. “It’s important that we complete all of our relevant tasks in the first half of May,” he added. “Last night, we discussed these tasks. We expect the board to convene within the week starting on May 9.” IMF Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato, World Bank Vice President Shengman Zhang and European Investment Bank President Philippe Maystadt will all attend the YDK meeting where, Babacan said, Turkey’s recent economic performance and investment targets will be evaluated. /Aksam/[08] ANKARA HOSTS ISRAELI, PALESTINIAN BUSINESSMENPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday received Turkish, Israeli and Palestinian business delegations led by Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges (TOBB) head Rifat Hisarciklioglu, Economic Organizations Chairman Shraya Brosh and Federation of Trade Industry and Agriculture Chambers head Ahmad Hashem Elzogheir, respectively. The meeting lasted one hour, after which Hisarciklioglu told reporters that Turkey wants to help all three sides improve bilateral commercial and investment relations. In addition, Israeli and Palestinian businessmen yesterday held another meeting hosted by the TOBB. They discussed possible ways to boost commercial relations between the three countries at this gathering attended by Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. The businessmen also decided to hold their second meeting in eastern Jerusalem on June 8. /Milliyet, Hurriyet/[09] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…[10] A GLOBAL ROLE FOR DERVIS BY DERYA SAZAK (MILLIYET)Columnist Derya Sazak comments on opposition Republican People’s Party Deputy Kemal Dervis’s nomination to the post of chairman of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). A summary of his column is as follows:“A few days ago, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan submitted the name of Kemal Dervis as his preferred candidate for the post of UNDP administrator. If the UN General Assembly approves his candidacy, Dervis will resign from his position in our Parliament and take on the responsibility for ‘global development programs’ within the UN. Back in February 2001, when he was called to Turkey to help it recover from a financial crisis, Dervis had been working as vice president of the World Bank. While globalization creates opportunities in the fields of technology and free trade, it also spreads poverty and inequality throughout the world. A believer in social democracy, Dervis is most appropriate for the position of UNDP administrator. He is experienced in dealing with poverty, inequality and unequal income distribution. As the head of the UNDP, he will likely be able to aid Turkey’s future strategies. Unless we make sure that our national income is distributed fairly, our European Union membership will be nothing but a pipe dream. We wish Dervis the best of luck in his new assignment.” 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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