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Turkish Press Review, 05-05-13Turkish 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 morning13.05.2005ECHR RULES THAT OCALAN DIDN’T GET FAIR TRIAL SEZER: “RETRIAL IS NOT POSSIBLE UNDER CURRENT LAW” ERDOGAN VISITS HUNGARY GUL MEETS WITH HIS UKRAINIAN COUNTERPART CICEK: “WE SHOULD STAY COOL-HEADED AND TRUST IN STATE INSTITUTIONS” BAYKAL: “A RETRIAL COULD OPEN OLD WOUNDS” MHP’S BAHCELI DISPLEASED BY ECHR RULING ERICEKLI RETURNS TO AKP TALAT MEETS WITH REHN BABACAN PLEASED WITH NEW STANDBY AGREEMENT IMF’S RATO: “TURKEY DESERVES INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT” FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS THE OCALAN PROBLEM: THREE QUESTIONS BY ISMET BERKAN (RADIKAL)CONTENTS
[01] ECHR RULES THAT OCALAN DIDN’T GET FAIR TRIALThe European Court of Human Rights’ (ECHR) Grand Chamber ruled yesterday that PKK terrorist group leader Abdullah Ocalan’s 1999 trial had been unfair and called on Ankara to retry him. Six of the Grand Chamber’s 11 judges dissented from the ruling. The Grand Chamber ruled that three articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, namely, Article 6 regulating the right to a fair trial, Article 5 concerning the right of freedom and security, and Article 3 about torture, had been violated by Turkey. The judges stated that his right of freedom and security had been violated because he was taken into custody for seven days without appearing before a judge and that he had no opportunity to challenge his arrest by the police. It decided that the right of fair trial had been violated because there was a military judge at the State Security Court (DGM) and that the prohibition of torture was violated as he was given a death sentence as a result of unfair trial. The death sentence was commuted to life in prison in 2002, after Turkey abolished capital punishment. /Milliyet/[02] SEZER: “RETRIAL IS NOT POSSIBLE UNDER CURRENT LAW”After completing his contacts in Portugal, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer returned to Ankara last evening. Commenting on the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling yesterday that terrorist organization (PKK) head Abdullah Ocalan had not received a fair trial in Turkey in 1999, Sezer said that if the court pressures Ankara to retry Ocalan, in his view, the Turkish court dealing with the judgment would refuse it. “Because there is a legal obstacle to doing that under current law,” said the president, a former jurist. /Turkiye/[03] ERDOGAN VISITS HUNGARYPrime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday traveled to Hungary to pay a two-day official visit. Erdogan first met with his Hungarian counterpart Ferenc Gyurcsany at Parliament. At a press conference following their talks, Erdogan said they had taken up political, economic, cultural and trade relations, adding that they had agreed to boost the trade volume between the two countries. Gyurcsany, for his part, said that two-thirds of the Hungarian public favors Turkey’s European Union membership. “We will continue to lend support to Ankara on the matter,” said the premier. Erdogan was then received by President Ferenc Madl and held talks with Parliament Speaker Katalin Szili. Meanwhile, speaking to reporters about the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling on terrorist head Abdullah Ocalan, Erdogan said after the process was completed, the matter would be evaluated by the Turkish judiciary, which it would make the final decision. In the evening the Turkish premier accompanied by his wife attended a banquet hosted by Gyursany in the couple’s honor. /Turkiye/[04] GUL MEETS WITH HIS UKRAINIAN COUNTERPARTForeign Minister Abdullah Gul who is currently paying a visit to Ukraine, yesterday met with his Ukrainian counterpart Boris Tarasyuk. At a joint press conference, Gul said that he was pleased to be the first foreign minister to visit the country since last year’s “Orange Revolution.” Kiev and Ankara share similar views on issues related to the European Union, Iraq, and NATO, Gul said, adding that both countries aimed at developing relations. Commenting on the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling yesterday on Abdullah Ocalan, Gul said that no one should not forget that Ocalan was head of a terrorist group, the PKK, which was responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent people. Pointing out that the process was not completed yet as it needed to be debated in Council of Europe too, Gul added that Ankara believed in the rule of law and democracy and respected its courts’ rulings. During their talks, the two top diplomats also discussed details of a planned visit by Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko next month to Turkey along with Premier Yulia Tymoshenko, plus Turkish Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc’s plans to hold talks in Kiev this year. /Turkish Daily News-Star/[05] CICEK: “WE SHOULD STAY COOL-HEADED AND TRUST IN STATE INSTITUTIONS”Speaking yesterday on the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling concerning PKK terrorist leader Abdullah Ocalan, Justice Minister Cemil Cicek yesterday said, “This ruling is about discussions of past procedure. Everybody should trust state institutions, most importantly the judiciary. We all have to be cool-headed and right-minded. Nothing is the end of the world. This case is essentially a political one as well. We’ll deal with its political dimension. As for the legal side of the issue, Turkey’s judicial branch has always overcome such hurdles.” /Sabah/[06] BAYKAL: “A RETRIAL COULD OPEN OLD WOUNDS”Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal yesterday warned that the retrial of PKK terrorist organization leader Abdullah Ocalan could create confusion in Turkey and open old wounds. Stating that yesterday’s European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling had not in fact requested his retrial and that the Council of Europe’s Council of Ministers would make the decision on this issue, Baykal called on the government to prevent any retrial. /Cumhuriyet/[07] MHP’S BAHCELI DISPLEASED BY ECHR RULINGConcerning yesterday’s European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling on the case of terrorist Abdullah Ocalan, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli yesterday said that the ruling was tantamount to playing with Turkey’s honor and dignity and was furthermore a clear provocation. /Sabah/[08] ERICEKLI RETURNS TO AKPCankiri Deputy Ismail Ericekli, who resigned from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) earlier this week, has decided to return to the party fold, said a statement yesterday made by the AKP. Ericekli had been rumored to want to join opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). After Ericekli’s rejoining the AKP, the distribution of seats in Parliament is as follows: AKP: 356, CHP: 162, Motherland Party (ANAP): 10, independents: 7, True Path Party (DYP): 7, Social Democrat People’s Party (SHP): 5, and People’s Ascent Party (HYP): 1. /Turkiye/[09] TALAT MEETS WITH REHNEuropean Union Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn, who is currently visiting Cyprus, said yesterday that a permanent settlement should have a priority in the steps taken on the island. Rehn yesterday first met with Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopulos, and then held talks with Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mehmet Ali Talat. After their meeting, Talat said that he had conveyed the Turkish Cypriots concerns’ to Rehn. /Milliyet/[10] BABACAN PLEASED WITH NEW STANDBY AGREEMENTStating that the letter of intent (LOI) signed by the International Monetary Fund as part of a new three-year standby agreement includes a $10 billion loan, State Economy Minister Ali Babacan said yesterday that repayment of $3.8 million for next year had been postponed to 2007, which can be considered an additional source of financing. Babacan added that the annual repayment of debt to the IMF is distributed more appropriately under the new repayment plan. /Aksam/[11] IMF’S RATO: “TURKEY DESERVES INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT”Emphasizing Turkey’s success in its previous economic program, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato said yesterday, “Turkey deserves the international community’s support in the new program due to its success in the last program. The most important thing is to continue the previous success and implement the new program fully to construct new achievements to previous ones.” Rato stated that the most important aims of the new standby agreement were to continue economic growth, bring down unemployment, move Turkey’s economy towards that of European Union members, and ensure regular improvement with IMF support. /Aksam/[12] FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS[13] THE OCALAN PROBLEM: THREE QUESTIONS BY ISMET BERKAN (RADIKAL)Columnist Ismet Berkan comments on the Ocalan issue. A summary of his column is as follows:“The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled yesterday that the trial of Abdullah Ocalan was unfair, and urged a retrial. The ECHR argued that Turkish authorities had violated international treaties by denying Ocalan a fair and independent trial. Let the jurists discuss the details and complexities of this ruling. I have three simple questions in mind, and I’d like to share them with you. The first is this: Ocalan is the most important criminal and the most notorious murderer inTurkish history. What does Turkey’s failure to try him in line with international standards mean? Thousands of terrorists were tried by the State Security Courts (DGM) [an institution since abolished] in this country. Most of them were PKK militants. Nearly all of the convicted applied to the ECHR, and they won their cases because one of the judges in the cases was always from the military. In addition, the ECHR usually ruled that 15 days, the time given the defense to prepare for trial, was insufficient and that the Turkish courts had violated these defendants’ right to a fair trial. We were all familiar with the case law of the ECHR, but we didn’t care. However, as soon as Ocalan was caught, the Constitution was immediately amended and the military judge was replaced by a civilian one. However, the trial procedures did not change at all and the defense had no additional time to prepare. Despite the constitutional amendment, a military judge sat through most of the Ocalan trials because it took longer than expected to put the amendment into force. In the meantime, Turkey failed to give a fair trial to Ocalan, the biggest outlaw in Turkish history. Let me ask the question one more time: What does it mean that we denied even Ocalan a fair and independent trial? Here’s my second question: What does it mean to deprive 90 people, whose only fault was to be tried at the same as the terrorist leader, of the right to retrial? Let me give you the answer: This is nothing but discrimination which will cost Turkey further losses at the ECHR. My last question is: Is it really correct for our rules to shy away from the case on such a critical and multidimensional issue by arguing that it has nothing to do with the problem and leaving it in the hands of the courts? Of course it’s not. Today we will learn the true meanings of statesmanship and good governance. Of course it’s the prime minister and the government’s duty to lead the country in such a complex situation. I believe that putting such a heavy burden on the shoulders of an ‘independent’ high criminal court which would not have to directly face the political consequences of its ruling is obviously incorrect. The government should at least remove all legal obstacles to Ocalan’s retrial. And then it might refer the issue to the independent judiciary.” 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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