RELATIONS GAUGE
BY MURAT YETKIN (RADIKAL)
On his four-day tour to North African countries, Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accompanied by a delegation of
ministers, deputies, and businessmen yesterday proceeded to
Morocco, after completing his contacts in Tunisia. Erdogan
was first received by King Mohammad VI and then met with his
Moroccan counterpart Driss Jettou. Erdogan also signed an
agreement to develop trade relations between the two
countries. /Sabah/
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday attended a meeting entitled
“Strategic Leadership in the European Union Accession Bid”
organized jointly by State Economy Minister Ali Babacan,
World Bank Turkey Director Andrew Vorkink and the Foreign
Ministry. “Turkey’s preparations for its EU membership
negotiations are about to wrap up,” Gul said. “We’ll undergo
radical economic and social reforms in the future, apart
from political ones. So, we’re expecting Brussels to boost
its financial aid to Turkey to help our country in its
democratization and development efforts.” He underlined the
importance of the role of bureaucracy in the reform process,
adding that the country’s civil servants must prioritize the
nation’s interests. “If bureaucratic circles cooperate with
each other in line with our national interests, it will get
easier for Turkey to reach its ultimate goal of EU
membership.” /Star/
The European Union yesterday welcomed Ankara’s recent letter expressing
a compromise on extending an additional protocol to EU new
members. EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn hailed
the development as a signal that Turkey was meeting its
commitments and a positive step towards the beginning of its
accession talks on Dec. 3. Asked whether extending the
protocol would mean the recognition of Greek Cyprus by
Ankara, Rehn stressed that it would be an improvement in
normalizing relations between the two countries. /Turkiye/
Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Erzurum Deputy Ibrahim
Gundogan and Izmir Deputy Serpil Yildiz yesterday resigned
from their party. The two are expected to join the
Motherland Party (ANAP) before this weekend’s congress.
Meanwhile, AKP Gaziantep Deputy Omer Abusoglu, who quit his
party on Tuesday, joined the ranks of ANAP during a ceremony
held in Ankara yesterday. /Sabah
A group of 31 deputies from the opposition Republican People’s Party
(CHP) yesterday criticized the party administration and its
recent actions. The deputies, including Kemal Dervis, issued
a statement blasting the administration for the dismissal of
18 provincial representatives, adding that they had no
intention of leaving the CHP. /Turkiye/
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld yesterday denied that he had
criticized Turkey for not allowing American troops to be
deployed on its soil before the Iraq war, which could have
opened a second front in the north of Iraq. Although
Rumsfeld did not recant his recent statement that Ankara’s
refusal had resulted in a greater level of insurgency in
Iraq, he stressed that Turkey had made its own decision as
independent country. "They had a brand new government [in
early 2003], headed by a political party that had not
governed in that country," he told reporters. But still
"they actually went forward and made a good faith effort to
do it [authorize the deployment]." Asked whether he was
"blaming" Turkey in his earlier remarks, Rumsfeld answered,
"I wasn't at all. They're a sovereign nation [and] they make
their own decision." /Hurriyet/
In the runup to negotiations due between Turkey and Syria, the Foreign
Ministry has agreed to establish a commission to find an
acceptable formula for the “territory problem” between the
neighboring countries. The so-called territory issue
concerns 10,000 square meters of land in the southern
province of Hatay, as Syria claims these Turkish
territories. The commission’s head Ambassador Mehmet Yildiz
has requested written comments and recommendations of the
Office of the General Staff, Interior Ministry and the
Ministry of Public Works on the issue. The commission will
develop Turkey’s arguments on the Hatay issue to be
discussed with Syrian officials and review the issues that a
possible bilateral agreement could cover. /Star/
National Security Council (NSC) Secretary-General Yigit Alpogan
yesterday attended a Turkish-American Business Council
meeting as part of the Foreign Economic Relations Council
(DEIK). Addressing the meeting, which was also attended by
US Ambassador to Ankara Eric Edelman and Istanbul Chief
Consul David Arnett as well as businessmen, Alpogan said
that as Ankara and Washington had common interests in the
region, the two countries must cooperate closely without
allowing bilateral relations or their strategic partnership
to be derailed by problems. “Our countries must defend
common interests without any hesitation,” he added. “Recent
allegations of a crisis between our two countries are
baseless. However, it’s clear that our partnership must be
revamped. We need a healthier dialogue and frank
conversation.” He also recalled Turkey’s commitment to peace
efforts in Iraq and urged Washington to take effective
measures to crack down on the terrorist PKK in northern
Iraq. “Our 50-year relationship cannot be shaken by isolated
events,” he added. /Cumhuriyet/
Foreign Ministry spokesman Namik Tan yesterday stated that Greek
Cypriots cannot be allowed to use Turkish airspace and ports
under the additional protocol to the Ankara Agreement, which
Turkey has pledged to sign, because the provisions of the
former do not cover the service sector. Asked about Ankara’s
response to recent comments by Krisztina Nagy, a spokeswoman
for EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, arguing that
Turkey must lift its ban on Cypriot-flagged ships using
Turkish ports because the ban would violate the Customs
Union, Tan said that the issue was a political one which has
nothing to do with the Customs Union. “The EU must first end
the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots,” he added. “Turkey’s
restrictions must be considered a response to the Greek
Cypriot embargos on Turkish Cyprus. No one should expect a
further step from Turkey before progress is made on these
issues.” /Cumhuriyet/
True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar is continuing his tour of
southern Anatolian provinces. After paying visits to
Diyarbakir and Mardin, Agar yesterday traveled to Mus.
Speaking at a party congress, he said that the DYP aimed at
developing the country, including its eastern and
southeastern regions. Stressing that his party was defending
rights, the law and freedom, Agar criticized the
government’s course, adding that the country’s biggest issue
was unemployment. /Sabah/
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli yesterday
criticized the recent wave of deputy transfers in
Parliament. Bahceli received a delegation from the Ankara
Chamber of Trade (ATO) headed by Sinan Aygun. Speaking to
reporters after the meeting, Bahceli remarked that
Parliament should represent the national will. Stressing
that similar things had been seen in the past, Bahceli said,
“But these accomplished nothing.” He also called the deputy
transfers unethical. /Turkiye/
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Mehmet Ali
Talat said yesterday that the TRNC’s right to trade directly
could not for long be blocked either by the Greek Cypriots
or other powers. Stressing that the European Union had no
intention to drop the topic of direct trade, Talat said that
his government would insist on the issue. The premier added
that he expected important steps would be taken towards a
settlement on the island before Turkey begins its EU
accession talks on Oct. 3. /Turkiye/
Joost Lagendijk, co-chairman of the Turkish Parliament-European
Parliament Joint Parliamentary Commission, yesterday stated
that Turkey had kept its promise by declaring that it will
sign the Ankara Agreement’s additional protocol. Lagendijk
underlined that Turkey isn’t obliged to recognize Greek
Cyprus in order to begin membership talks and continued:
“However, when Turkey extends the Customs Union protocol in
order to include Greek Cyprus, this will indicate that a
‘light’ recognition of Greek Cyprus by Turkey has occurred.”
/Aksam/
Unless necessary changes are made to the new Turkish Penal Code (TCK)
by tomorrow, former State Ministers Koray Aydin and Yasar
Topcu will be able to evade being tried at the Supreme
Court. Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Deputy
Chairman Salih Kapusuz announced that there will be no more
delays in the changes and that the two former ministers
won’t be able to avoid the Supreme Court. Opposition
Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Chairman Haluk Koc
described the delay as a “scandal.” /Aksam/
Egyptian Minister of Foreign Trade and Industry Rasheed Mohammed
Rasheed and an accompanying delegation yesterday met with
State Minister Kursad Tuzmen in Ankara in an effort to boost
bilateral trade relations. “Turkey and Egypt must sign a
free trade agreement as soon as possible,” said Tuzmen
speaking to reporters after the meeting. “The trade volume
between our two countries is rising. Our aim is to raise the
current $730 million trade volume to $1 billion this year.
If we reach a free trade agreement, this figure could go as
high as $2 billion.” Officials of the two countries are
expected to meet in May to discuss the free trade agreement
issue. In addition, Rasheed yesterday also met with Turkish
Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges (TOBB) head
Rifat Hisarciklioglu. “Turkey and Egypt have agreed to
transport Egyptian natural gas to European Union countries
through Turkey,” he said. “Our countries will soon sign new
agreements on oil, natural gas transportation, tourism and
service sectors. We expect an Egyptian gas transportation
project through Turkey to be completed in 2007.” /Milliyet /
Aksam/
Speaking to reporters after a meeting entitled “Strategic Leadership in
the European Union Accession Bid,” World Bank Turkey
Director Andrew Vorkink yesterday said that although the
privatization process of some 21 Turkish state energy
distribution companies had been delayed, the WB did not see
it as a large problem. “The real problem is Turkey has
failed to attract direct foreign investment because it
hasn’t provided the necessary environment,” he said. “The
delay in energy could even provide potential investors with
an opportunity to make a better analysis of the situation.
However, there are certain steps that Ankara should
immediately take to attract more foreign investors. The
first thing that investors consider when they first enter a
country's market is the political and economic stability.
We’ve already consulted the Turkish government about the
best international practices on this issue.” In addition,
State Economy Minister Ali Babacan said that a social
security reform bill was due to be debated at the Parliament
this week. /Cumhuriyet/
Last December, the International Monetary Fund concluded discussions
with Turkish authorities on the elements of an economic
program and draft letter of intent (LOI) that could be
supported under a new three-year stand-by arrangement, said
a statement yesterday by Hugh Bredenkamp, the IMF’s Senior
Resident Representative in Turkey. “As noted at that time,”
continued the statement, “a number of steps — relating
mainly to key pieces of legislation regarding financial
services, social security, and tax administration — were
envisaged before the request for the new arrangement could
be considered by the IMF's Executive Board. The authorities
have informed IMF staff that progress has been made on these
measures. They have invited a mission to Turkey to assess
the alignment of policies with the understandings reached in
December, and to update and finalize the LOI. The mission,
which will begin work on April 4 and stay for about one
week, will be headed by Reza Moghadam. Lorenzo Giorgianni,
Moghadam's designated successor as IMF mission chief for
Turkey, will accompany the mission." /Milliyet/
Columnist Murat Yetkin comments on Turkish-US relations and Gen. James
Jones’ visit to Istanbul last weekend.
“Supreme Allied Commander in Europe US Gen. James Jones
was in Istanbul last weekend. His visit wasn’t made known to
the press. Every time Gen. Jones visits Turkey, he becomes
the center of attention. But this time his visit was kept a
secret.
Jones made a speech to the Turkish staff college
graduation ceremony in Istanbul and also met with top
Turkish military officials. Then he left the country without
paying a visit to Ankara. In his speech at the ceremony,
Jones talked about NATO and Turkey’s future role in the
alliance.
When a senior staff official asked where Jones sees NATO
in the year 2020, he gave a brief but remarkable answer: ‘I
think in 2020 NATO will still take an active part in
safeguarding energy resources.’
Unlike the Turkish public, both he US and the European
Union are focused on protecting energy resources and
securing the paths of energy transmission. This is their
priority. The EU supplies 50 percent of its energy from
sources outside the Union. This ratio is expected to climb
to 70-80 percent by 2020. Therefore, the Baku-Tiblisi-Ceyhan
pipeline holds crucial importance for the EU. The pipeline
will be the first to transport Caspian oil to world markets
without the direct intervention of the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Russia.
The US once argued that the pipeline would best be under
the protection of the West (that is, NATO). The assurance of
this protection would be the Incirlik Airbase, since it’s
located close to both the port of Ceyhan and ports in Mersin
and Iskenderun. As US Envoy to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad pointed
out long ago, the base has an operational range of 1,000
miles (1,600 kilometers).
Right after the parliamentary elections of 2002, the US
shifted its policy towards Turkey. Washington at first had
great hopes for the Justice and Development Party (AKP)
government. However, when these hopes came to nothing, they
once again began to look to the Turkish military. In any
case, things look different when viewed from the perspective
of the year 2020.”
