NSC MEETS

The National Security Council (NSC) chaired by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer convened yesterday at the Cankaya Presidential Palace. During the six-hour meeting, top officials, including Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok, Cabinet ministers and military commanders, discussed Turkish-European Union relations, the Cyprus issue and recent developments in Iraq. /Milliyet/
 

ERDOGAN TO VISIT DIYARBAKIR IN MID-JANUARY

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to pay a visit to the southeastern province of Diyarbakir in mid-January. During his one-day visit, the premier will meet with businessmen to urge them to more invest in the region, and he is also expected to reemphasize, in the wake of the recent historic European Union summit, that all citizens of the nation are both equal and equally valued by the state. /Turkiye/
 

ERDOGAN PAYS GET-WELL VISIT TO FORMER PRESIDENT DEMIREL

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accompanied by the state health and defense ministers, yesterday paid a call to former President Suleyman Demirel, who recently broke his leg. Afterwards, Erdogan told reporters that he had conveyed get-well and New Year’s wishes to the elder statesman. /Cumhuriyet/
 

GUL: “STATE BODIES’ ROLES IN THE EU PROCESS WILL BE DECIDED LEGISLATIVELY”

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday issued a written statement saying that before this month’s historic European Union summit, all state institutions had independently carried out preliminary work towards Ankara beginning its EU talks. “The government will assess this work in making decisions about its EU accession negotiations” set to begin in October, added Gul. “The State Planning Organization [DPT] is one such institution which will contribute to these talks.” He added that the roles of all state bodies in the process would be determined using relevant legislation. /Turkiye/
 

SCHROEDER: “TURKEY’S EU REFORMS HELP FUEL ITS DYNAMIC ECONOMY”

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said yesterday that Turkey was a dynamic country particularly in its economy, adding that continuing its reforms towards its European Union membership would further boost this dynamism. Schroeder predicted that Ankara beginning its European Union accession talks would accelerate the economy, saying that since Turkey is Germany’s biggest trade partner this would also spur job growth in his own country. /Cumhuriyet/
 

DENKTAS CRITICIZES KOC’S REMARKS; GREEK CYPRIOT LEADER URGES TROOP WITHDRAWAL

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas yesterday criticized businessmen Rahmi Koc’s recent remarks that the Cyprus issue had hampered Turkish foreign policy for some three decades. “Koc sounds like the Greek Cypriots,” said Denktas, calling the remarks “disappointing.” In related news, Greek Cypriot Parliament Speaker Dimitris Hristofyas said yesterday that Ankara should “prove its good will” by unilaterally withdrawing its troops from Cyprus. He added that the UN Cyprus plan should be altered in line with Greek Cypriots’ expectations in order to reach a resolution on the island. /Aksam/
 

US ORDERS DEPORTATION OF PKK MILITANT

A US immigration court in Detroit, Michigan yesterday ordered the deportation to Turkey of Ibrahim Parlak, a PKK militant. During a 1988 firefight, Parlak killed two Turkish soldiers. Parlak’s lawyers said they would appeal the ruling. /Star/
 

TALAT: “WE WON’T DELAY IN SEEKING A SOLUTION”

We want a solution on Cyprus and so shouldn’t lose time waiting for April’s election results to tackle the problem, said Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat yesterday. “We’re not resting on our laurels and hoping for a state of no-resolution, unlike Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopulos,” added Talat. “We’re ready to take every step for a solution without making concessions on our political equality or earned rights.” /Star/

WASHINGTON POST: “TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP WILL STRENGTHEN THE UNION”

In an editorial yesterday, US daily The Washington Post said that a democratic Turkey would greatly contribute to the European Union. Praising Ankara’s recent reforms to harmonize with EU norms, the newspaper said that German and French leaders had displayed “political courage” by supporting Turkey’s beginning accession talks despite public opposition in both countries. /Turkiye/
 

NEW TURKISH LIRA TO USHER IN 2005

The government will introduce the new Turkish lira at midnight tonight, thereby dropping six zeros from the nation’s currency. Officials hope that the new money will facilitate international trade, which often involves trillions of old liras, and will also boost confidence in the economy as Ankara pushes for European Union membership. /All papers/
 

FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS

TURKEY’S “IMAGE MAKEOVER” YEAR
BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)

Columnist Sami Kohen comments on Turkey’s image in 2004. A summary of his column is as follows:

“In terms of its foreign relations, we can define 2004 as Turkey’s ‘Image Makeover Year’. The whole world was abuzz about Turkey, and we reflected a positive new image to the international community. It’s the image of a country which has implemented sweeping political and social reforms domestically, reconciled democracy and Islam, began integrating with the European Union, and played a multifaceted role in world politics. Turkey became the focal point of important international developments, which played an important role making this new image. For example, a NATO summit was held in Istanbul, our own Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu was elected head of the Organization for the Islamic Conference (OIC), and important developments were seen in Turkey’s EU membership process. 2004 will be remembered as the most active and intensive year of Turkish diplomacy in recent decades. Not only is Turkey trying to deal with incidents which are out of its hands such as the Iraq issue, but is also working to find solutions to problems such as the Cyprus issue, and took great strides towards overarching goals such as its EU membership. Of course we can’t expect to be entirely successful or always get concrete results. For example, developments in Iraq are of great concern to Turkey. Despite of all its efforts, Ankara hasn’t gotten what it seeks. In addition, the Turkish side on Cyprus was supported internationally thanks to Ankara’s strategy, but expectations favoring the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) remained unfulfilled.

Of course the biggest foreign policy event of the year for us was the EU’s decision to start our membership talks. The government really zeroed into this target and worked very hard. Although the outcome of the Dec. 17 EU summit is now under debate, the EU’s decision was a historic turning point. In addition, the current political power places great importance on its immediate geography and trying to establish firm relations with neighboring countries. The result of contacts with Syria can be considered a particular success. Turkey is trying to play regional roles focused around the Caucasus, the Balkans and the Middle East. Meanwhile, our efforts for rapprochement with Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Ankara can also be considered successes. Turkish-US relations were both positive and negative. The Iraq issue is a serious problem in these ties. In addition, Ankara is trying to get these relations back on track due to Washington’s vital importance and priority in Turkish foreign policy.”

TACKLING UNEMPLOYMENT MUST BE OUR PRIORITY
BY AYDIN AYAYDIN (SABAH)

Columnist Aydin Ayaydin writes about Turkey’s unemployment problem. A summary of his column is as follows:

“Now that Ankara has won a date for the beginning of its European Union membership talks, it’s high time we address other issues, such as unemployment, one of Turkey’s most pressing problems.

According to official statistics, 9.5% of our working-age population, some 2.38 million people, was unemployed in the third quarter of this year. Analysts say that there is additionally some 9% of our population which is unemployed but not counted as such. Therefore, the actual rate of unemployment is higher than the official one, meaning there are four million-plus people unemployed in Turkey. The Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) says that a half a million people must get jobs each year just to maintain the current level of unemployment.

Economic production and efficiency rise if and only if unemployment falls. The more you boost employment, the higher economic production goes. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) views tackling unemployment as a priority. Although the Erdogan government set up a commission to deal with the problem, results have been scarce. In addition, the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has conducted comprehensive research on the issue and made the results public. I personally find the CHP’s study very useful. I think the government should use it in shaping its unemployment policy.

The CHP study notes that the chief culprit in unemployment is ‘job loss,’ which means people become unemployed when they are no longer needed in their current positions. Therefore, these people need to attend professional workshops or training programs so they can learn new skills. They should be encouraged to find new occupations. An industrial country trying to transform itself into an information-based society needs sweeping changes to its education system.”