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Turkish Press Review, 03-09-01
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
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Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
01.09.2003
FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS
CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN DUE IN BERLIN FOR FIRST VISIT AS PREMIER
[02] ERDOGAN: “WE CAN ONLY PAY WHAT WE HAVE”
[03] NAVAL, AIR ACADEMIES HOLD GRADUATION CEREMONIES
[04] OZKOK: “TURKEY’S FOREIGN POLICY AIMS TO PROTECT IRAQ’S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY”
[05] MHP LEADER BAHCELI: “WE CAN’T SEND TURKISH TROOPS TO A HOT ZONE IN IRAQ”
[06] DENKTAS: “THE TRNC JOINING THE EU WOULD AMOUNT TO ACCEPTING ENOSIS”
[07] PAPADOPULOS: “THERE CAN BE NO PERMANENT SOLUTION UNDER DENKTAS”
[08] CIA WARNS TURKEY OF POSSIBLE TERRORIST ATTACKS
[09] SUREYYA AYHAN TAKES THE SILVER MEDAL IN PARIS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
[10] ERSIN CETIN SCORES GOLD IN WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP
[11] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS
[12] NOTHING VENTURED
[13] BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)
[01] ERDOGAN DUE IN BERLIN FOR FIRST VISIT AS PREMIER
After attending academic and hunting season opening ceremonies in Istanbul
yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan flew to Paris to witness
famed Turkish runner Sureyya Ayhan win second place in the Ninth World
Championships in Athletics there. Speaking to reporters, Erdogan said that
from Paris he would proceed today to Berlin, Germany for a three-day visit.
Stressing that this would be his first official trip to Germany as premier,
Erdogan said he would discuss with German officials Turkey’s European Union
membership process and seek their continued support for the bid. Erdogan is
expected to meet with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Foreign
Minister Joschka Fischer as well as Angela Merkel, the leader of opposition
party the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He is also scheduled to talk to
with the representatives of Turkish associations in the country. /Turkiye/
[02] ERDOGAN: “WE CAN ONLY PAY WHAT WE HAVE”
Commenting yesterday on a disagreement between the government and civil
servants’ unions concerning salary hikes for next year, Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that if the government lacked the financial
resources to meet a certain proposed pay increase, then it could not in
good faith sign onto such a proposal. Erdogan stressed that the issue could
only be resolved through discussions at the table. In related news, State
Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin said yesterday that the disagreement in the
collective bargaining talks stemmed from rivalry between the four civil
servants’ union confederations. Meanwhile, the leaders of the Kamu-Sen
union yesterday began a hunger strike in Ankara to protest the government’s
stance in the bargaining process. /Turkiye/
[03] NAVAL, AIR ACADEMIES HOLD GRADUATION CEREMONIES
The Naval Academy in Istanbul yesterday held its 230th term graduation
ceremony. Among the leaders attending the ceremony were President Ahmet
Necdet Sezer, Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, Education Minister Huseyin
Celik, Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok, and other civilian and
military officials. Speaking to the gathering, Naval Academy Commander Gen.
Ibrahim Akin said that principles of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of
the Turkish Republic, would ever continue to be a steadfast guide to young
officers, and he further called on these officers to always remain honest.
Later, Sezer also attended the 49th graduation ceremony of Istanbul’s Air
Academy. Speaking to the gathering, Air Academy Commander Gen. Sevket
Dingiloglu said that the academy trained its young officers according to
the principles of Ataturk. /Cumhuriyet/
[04] OZKOK: “TURKEY’S FOREIGN POLICY AIMS TO PROTECT IRAQ’S TERRITORIAL
INTEGRITY”
August 30 Victory and Turkish Air Forces Day was celebrated throughout
Turkey on Saturday. Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok and the
national air, naval, and land force commanders paid a visit to Ankara’s
Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Turkish Republic founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
In the evening, Ozkok hosted a reception. Speaking to reporters about
Turkey’s possibly sending soldiers to Iraq, Ozkok said that NATO Supreme
Allied Commander in Europe Gen. James Jones would arrive in Ankara tomorrow
to discuss the matter. “The issue isn’t only military, but also political
and economic,” stated Ozkok. Asked about if he had concerns about Iraq’s
territorial integrity, Ozkok replied in the affirmative, adding that
Turkey’s foreign policy was intent on preserving that integrity. /All
papers/
[05] MHP LEADER BAHCELI: “WE CAN’T SEND TURKISH TROOPS TO A HOT ZONE IN
IRAQ”
Speaking to reporters in Istanbul yesterday, Nationalist Action Party (MHP)
leader Devlet Bahceli criticized the government’s policy on Iraq. Stressing
that the current situation in Iraq was very delicate, Bahceli said that
sending Turkish troops to certain areas of Iraq as a part of an “occupation
force” would be wrong. “It would be a huge mistake to even think of sending
troops to areas west and northwest of Baghdad, areas of great turmoil, in
order to re-normalize Turkish-US relations,” said the MHP leader. The MHP
currently lacks representation in Parliament. /Turkiye/
[06] DENKTAS: “THE TRNC JOINING THE EU WOULD AMOUNT TO ACCEPTING ENOSIS”
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) joining the European Union
through rejecting Turkey’s guarantor rights would amount to accepting
enosis, or the political union of Cyprus and Greece, charged TRNC President
Rauf Denktas yesterday. After delivering a speech to leaders of the Turkish
Lions in Istanbul, Denktas told reporters that gaining accession to the
Union within the framework of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s plan was no
solution at all. "The TRNC's entering the EU would mean denying Turkey's
rights on Cyprus, since the Greek Cypriot side has applied to the Union to
end Turkey's rights,” said Denktas. “They ignored laws." Absent a
settlement on Cyprus, Greek Cyprus is due to join the EU single-handedly in
May 2004, illegally on behalf of the whole island. Turkey’s 1974 peace
operation was launched to counter violent Greek-backed efforts to achieve
enosis. /Turkish Daily News/
[07] PAPADOPULOS: “THERE CAN BE NO PERMANENT SOLUTION UNDER DENKTAS”
Greek Cypriot administration leader Tasos Papadopulos yesterday claimed
that no progress in Cyprus peace talks was possible as long as Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) president Rauf Denktas remains in power.
“Denktas holds the view that Annan plan is no starting point for
negotiations and should be taken off the table,” said Papadopulos,
referring to the plan of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. “But my
experience says the opposite." He added that the Greek Cypriot
administration was arguing for a functional and permanent solution, not one
that aimed to take away the Turkish Cypriots' rights. Remarking that the
European Union regarded Turkey’s stance on the Cyprus problems as a key
factor in Turkish-EU relations, the Greek leader added, “If Turkey doesn’t
contribute to a solution of the Cyprus problem, then come 2004 it will have
a hard time getting a date for starting its accession negotiations.”
/Hurriyet/
[08] CIA WARNS TURKEY OF POSSIBLE TERRORIST ATTACKS
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) recently warned Ankara that
radical Islamist terrorist groups are planning to attack diplomatic
locations in Turkey. According to the CIA, possible targets are the
diplomatic missions of countries which have deployed troops to Iraq.
Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and security forces are
reportedly conducting security drills in Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir and Adana.
According to intelligence sources, fundamentalist group the Muslim
Brotherhood is expected to organize suicide bombings in Turkey. /Star/
[09] SUREYYA AYHAN TAKES THE SILVER MEDAL IN PARIS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Famed Turkish runner Sureyya Ayhan yesterday won the silver medal in the
women's 1,500-meter finals at the Ninth World Championships in Athletics in
Paris. Ayhan bested 10 other sprinters to win the silver with a time of
3:59.04, while Russia’s Tatyana Tomashova took the gold medal with 3:58.52.
Ayhan’s medal marked the historic first-ever win for Turkey in the
championships. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Culture and Tourism
Minister Erkan Mumcu and Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz
Baykal all travelled to Paris to see Ayhan run. /All papers/
[10] ERSIN CETIN SCORES GOLD IN WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP
Competing in the men's 55-kg category yesterday, Ersin Cetin won the gold
medal in the 10th World Junior Freestyle Wrestling Championship held at
Istanbul’s Bagcilar Olympic Sports Complex. Meanwhile, Sait Bingol won a
bronze in the men’s 96-kg category by defeating Sergiy Sitingskyy of
Ukraine. /Anatolia News Agency/
[11] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS
[12] NOTHING VENTURED
[13] BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)
Columnist Fikret Bila comments on Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok’s
weekend statements on the issue of Turkey sending soldiers to Iraq. A
summary of his column is as follows:
“During a reception in honor of August 30 Victory and Turkish Air Forces
Day, Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok’s indicated that the General
Staff favors Turkey sending soldiers to Iraq. Speaking to reporters, Gen.
Ozkok compared the issue to the National Lottery. ‘There’s a huge
difference between impossibility and possibility,’ he said. ‘No matter how
many times you multiply zero, it always equals zero. It’s like a lottery
ticket. If you never buy a ticket, you can never win the jackpot. However,
if you buy it, you might win. This logic also applies in foreign relations,
that is, a wager of zero is very dangerous.’
Ozkok was effectively saying that Ankara should be active in order to
protect Turkey’s national interests and have a say in Iraq’s
reconstruction. From this starting point, he considers Turkey’s sending
soldiers as ‘buying a lottery ticket,’ pointing out that without a ticket,
one can’t expect any return. Ozkok’s comparison can be summed up like this:
‘We should go there so we’ll have a place at the table.’ While Ozkok does
emphasize the risks, he also knows the risks of not going at all. In other
words, the military’s views are clear.
However, the political will should be made clear, and the government and
Parliament will do this. This time both Ankara and Washington are being
more careful. Military negotiations will start next week, but they will be
limited to non-binding exchanges of information. The government and
Parliament will have to make a clear decision so this can happen. The
military is aware of the difficulty surrounding this issue and it’s also
following developments in Iraq which threaten even more instability, for
example, conflicts between ethnic groups or religious sects, and difficulty
the US is facing establishing security. They know that these conditions
make it harder to make a decision. These days are more difficult for Ankara
than the days of war.”
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