OUR RECORD GROWTH AND INVESTMENT
BY ABDURRAHMAN YILDIRIM (SABAH)
Speaking at a press conference in Morocco, where he is paying an
official visit, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said
yesterday that there was a political will to develop
relations between Ankara and Rabat, adding that a free trade
agreement between the two countries would be prepared in
order to encourage bilateral investment. Erdogan further
stressed that political, military, economic, trade, and
cultural ties with the country would further develop. Asked
about the US request for expanded use of Incirlik Airbase,
Erdogan said that Turkey would continue to support its NATO
ally under United Nations auspices. “But it won’t be
possible to meet all the demands of the US,” he added.
Erdogan reiterated that Ankara signing an additional customs
protocol wouldn’t mean recognition of Greek Cyprus, as
European Union officials have stated. Touching on the Cyprus
issue, the premier stated that Ankara wanted the TRNC to be
recognized by the entire world. Also asked about recent
resignations from his party, Erdogan said that this wasn’t
the first time his party had faced such resignations.
“Having a solid group in the Parliament, our party is
continuing to work,” he stated. Later, Erdogan attended a
dinner hosted by the mayor of Casablanca and returned to
Ankara following his contacts. /Turkiye/
In a surprise move, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP)
government yesterday decided to postpone from April 1 to
June 1 implementation of the new Turkish Penal Code (TCK),
as well as the Criminal Procedural Law and the Misdemeanors
Law in order to make revisions to assuage the concerns of
many groups in society, including journalists. Commenting on
the decision, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said the
government had made great efforts in drafting the new penal
code, but conceded that there were still technical problems
and that revisions seemed to be needed to overcome certain
shortcomings. In related news, Foreign Ministry Deputy
Undersecretary Volkan Bozkir yesterday briefed European
Union officials in Ankara on the matter. Furthermore, Gul is
expected to telephone EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli
Rehn in the coming days to discuss the recent development.
/Turkiye/
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said yesterday that he also favored
putting off implementation of the new Turkish Penal Code
(TCK). During a reception for Congolese Foreign Minister
Rodolphe Adada and an accompanying delegation at the Cankaya
Presidential Palace, he told reporters that the postponement
was good as it would allow for needed revisions to be made.
/Turkiye/
While visiting Morocco, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday
commented on the surprise postponement of the new Turkish
Penal Code (TCK). Speaking to reporters, Erdogan criticized
the lateness of institutions and nongovernmental
organizations in requesting revisions to the law. “I wish
they had spoken up on it when the law was being prepared,”
said Erdogan. “However, this decision should be seen as a
token of the importance we attach to the wishes of civil
groups.” He added that he hoped all revisions would be
completed by the new implementation date, June 1. /Aksam/
Justice Minister Cemil Cicek said yesterday that he personally thought
that the new Turkish Penal Code (TCK) should have been put
into effect today, as scheduled. Appearing on television,
the justice minister complained of the lateness of
criticisms of the proposed law. Claiming that the
postponement would not help the law, Cicek argued that
people had kept silent when the code was being prepared,
only to voice criticisms a matter of weeks before its
scheduled enactment. Following the passage of a bill for the
law’s postponement late Wednesday in Parliament, Cicek
addressed the deputies, saying that if needed, 10, or even
20 revisions could be done to it. “We’ve constructed a new
building,” he said. “Will we not move in just because the
curtains don’t fit?” /Turkiye/
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday vetoed a bill on regulations for
radio and television organizations and sent it back to
Parliament to be re-debated. The bill proposes new
arrangements regarding the sale of media organizations to
foreigners under certain conditions. Pointing to the
importance of media for a country’s future, Sezer urged
Parliament to prevent the dominance of foreigners in this
sector. /Sabah/
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday received visiting Congolese
Foreign Minister Rodolphe Adada to discuss a number of
issues. Speaking at a press conference following the
meeting, Gul commented on Greek Cypriots’ recent urging of
Turkey to open its air and sea ports to Greek Cyprus, saying
that there was no conflict between Ankara and the European
Union on the issue and reiterating that the government
wouldn’t do this before the international isolation of the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is brought to an
end. Greek Cypriots claim that Ankara opening its air and
sea ports to Greek Cyprus is part of its Customs Union
obligations. /Cumhuriyet/
Opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Diyarbakir Deputy Muhsin
Kocyigit yesterday resigned from his party. The CHP’s number
of seats in Parliament fell to 162 after the resignation of
Kocyigit, one of the supporters of ex-party dissident
Mustafa Sarigul. /Turkiye/
Speaking at a press conference yesterday before flying to Madrid, Spain
to attend international finance meetings, State Minister Ali
Babacan touted Turkey’s record-breaking 9.9% growth rate for
2004 announced yesterday, adding that this was the nation’s
highest growth rate in the last four decades. “This is
healthy and sustainable growth,” he said. “It doesn’t depend
on budget deficits. Income per capita last year climbed to
$4,172.” Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener also said
that the 9.9% growth rate was the highest in the world last
year. Sener further stated that Turkey’s gross national
product (GNP) for 2004 was $301.5 billion, up from an
estimated $293 billion. “Our growth rate and GNP prove that
Turkey’s is among the world’s largest economies,” he added.
/Hurriyet/
Opposition True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar said yesterday that
in postponing implementation of the new Turkish Penal Code
(TCK), the government had recognized its mistake and taken
into account public opposition to the code. In a written
statement, Agar said that the implementation of the TCK in
its current form would create legal confusion and
restrictions on the press. /Star/
Speaking at a conference in Istanbul yesterday, Switzerland Foreign
Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey reiterated that Turkey’s
European Union membership bid was very important, adding
that it would also serve to strengthen stability in the
region. “EU values are not about exclusion, but rather
integration and clarity,” she said, adding that Switzerland
was determined to develop relations with Turkey. Calmy-Rey
stated that some 80,000 Turkish citizens in Switzerland had
successfully integrated to the country. “Turkey, as an
element for stability in its region, deserves our trust,”
she added. /Milliyet/
An International Maritime Festival will be held in Marmaris in the
Aegean city of Mugla on April 27-May 1. The six-day event
will be organized by Marmaris Deputy Governor's Office and
Marmaris Municipality under the auspices of the Turkish
Naval Forces. “The aim of the festival is to promote
Turkey’s maritime affairs and culture,” said Marmaris Deputy
Governor Cemalettin Ozdemir at a press conference in
Istanbul yesterday. “Since our popular tourist destination
Marmaris will host the festival, Turkish tourism will also
be promoted during the event. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer
will deliver the opening speech on April 27.” In addition,
Marmaris Mayor Ali Acar said that some 50,000 foreign guests
are expected to take part in the festival. He added that as
part of the preparations, the municipality has built a
semi-Olympic swimming pool and a 6,000-square-meter bazaar
to be used as an exhibition area. The festival will feature
domestic and international swimming, diving, sailing and
yachting clubs and cover a wide range of activities,
competitions, shows, concerts and entertainment activities.
Furthermore, the PTT Directorate General is preparing to
offer commemorative stamps to mark the event. Sales of the
stamps are expected to begin tomorrow. /BYEGM/
Columnist Ferai Tinc comments on Turkish-US relations. A summary of her
column is as follows:
“Turkish-US relations have recently been issue one for
our country. Although neither government will admit to there
being a problem, recent media reports have argued that
there’s an ongoing crisis between Ankara and Washington.
National Security Council (NSC) Secretary-General Yigit
Alpogan on Wednesday delivered a remarkable speech on this
issue at the Turkish-US Business Council in Istanbul.
‘Recent ‘crisis’ allegations are baseless, but our
partnership must still be revamped,’ he said. ‘We need a
healthier dialogue and frank conversation.’
Attendees of the meeting included US Ambassador to Ankara
Eric Edelman and Istanbul Chief Consul David Arnett. Alpogan
underlined that first of all Ankara’s doubts and concerns
about Iraq must be dispelled so that bilateral relations can
be revamped.
‘Our countries need to harmonize their policies on the
northern Iraq and Kirkuk issues,’ said Alpogan. ‘In this
context, two essential issues that come to mind are
protecting Iraq’s territorial integrity and eliminating the
terrorist PKK’s presence in northern Iraq.’ Alpogan added
that the US should also support Turkey’s EU membership bid
and not make concessions on the so-called Armenian genocide
allegations. Furthermore, he asked Washington to see Ankara
as an effective player in the Mideast peace process.
Not only Turkish but also American officials are
currently trying to give positive messages about bilateral
relations. US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Wednesday
denied that he had criticized Turkey’s refusal to let
American troops deploy on its soil before the Iraq war. In
addition, Edelman said that intergovernmental relations were
in fine shape.
However, the more positive messages we get, the more we
tend to read between the lines. Each day brings new and
conflicting statements concerning Incirlik Airbase. Although
the Americans insist that their requests were shaped in line
with the Defense and Cooperation Agreement between our two
countries, Ankara believes that matters concerning third
parties can’t be evaluated in the context of this agreement.
Both sides are blaming the media for harming bilateral
relations through baseless exaggerations. However, as the
problems are so obvious, these accusations are completely
unfair. As Alpogan said, ‘It’s the task of officials of our
two countries to defend common interests with courage and
without hesitation.’ This is an important point.”
Columnist Abdurrahman Yildirim comments on Turkey’s record economic
growth last year. A summary of his column is as follows:
“We have finally surpassed China in successive growth
rates, thus becoming the fastest-growing economy in the
world for 2004. This is also the highest rate we’ve achieved
since 1966.
One reason for this progress is that Turkey has at last
been able to secure economic and political stability. Rising
foreign capital inflow, depreciating exchange rates and
cheaper import costs all helped our economic growth.
The expectation that Turkey will eventually get a date
for EU membership talks also had a positive effect on all
aspects of our economy, including the financial markets and
real estate.
Another reason is that a large number of investments
which had to be delayed during the 2001 economic crisis
finally went through last year.
Turkey also achieved the largest amount of investment
last year, with $54 billion. Our employment rate also rose
significantly with 644,000 new employees. However,
unofficial employment also increased by 616,000, which means
the majority of the newly employed are working for less than
the official minimum wage.
What makes last year unique is that although we surpassed
every other nation in the world in economic growth, our
inflation rate was the lowest for the last 35 years. But
there has to be a cost for this paradox. Perhaps the price
we have had to pay is the over-depreciation of exchange
rates, the sudden rise in our current accounts deficit, and
low employment. Anyway, as Dwight Eisenhower said long ago:
‘There are no victories at discount prices!’”
