UNAKITAN: “WE WON’T RETREAT FROM 15% WITHHOLDING TAX ON TREASURY BILLS AND BONDS”
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, currently in Yemen for an official visit, yesterday met with his Yemeni counterpart Abdul Qadir Bajamal to discuss a number of issues, including bilateral relations. During their meeting, Erdogan and Bajamal signed three cooperation agreements on preventing double taxation between the two countries, forging cooperation in the fields of oil and natural gas, and protecting the environment. Speaking at a joint press conference, Erdogan lamented the low volume of trade between Turkey and Yemen of only $215 million, adding that this figure should be boosted. Erdogan reiterated that Ankara had officially begun its European Union accession talks on Oct. 3 and that this was helping to attract more foreign capital. “Turkey can play an important role in Yemen’s infrastructure,” he said. Erdogan stressed that there were 133 islands in Yemen with natural beauties, adding that Turkish and Yemeni investors could make joint investments on these islands. For his part, Bajamal said that the two countries could cooperate in the economic, social, and cultural areas. He further expressed support for Ankara’s EU membership bid, saying that Turkey would be a bridge between Europe and the Arab world. Later, Erdogan met with Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. /Turkiye/
European leaders will debate details of EU financing and agricultural policy today at Hampton Court west of London. The main agenda of the summit will be the EU budget. The leaders will try to find common ground on the budget issue. Luxembourg’s proposal of a supplementary budget of 5.5 billion euros set aside for agriculture will be debated. Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the EU Commission, will ask for a fund to be established for businesses closed due to globalization. Illegal immigration is another topic of the summit. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will attend the summit as the leader of a country which recently started membership negotiations. Critical articles of Turkey’s upcoming progress report are expected to be on Erdogan’s agenda. The premier will meet with the EU leaders at a luncheon and will take part in discussions regarding the future of the Union. Erdogan is expected to meet with a number of heads of state and government of member countries, including Britain, Austria and Italy. /Sabah-Hurriyet/
Opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal said yesterday that there was no way his party would cooperate with the government to amend the Constitution for the Board of Higher Education (YOK) law. “We won’t cooperate with the government until it changes its stance towards universities. How can we cooperate with a government which is always clashing with YOK?” asked Baykal, adding that the government would get no CHP support for such an amendment. “So there’s no need to bring the issue to the agenda.” Baykal further criticized Erdogan for being absent from debates in Parliament on a censure motion over the Galataport project. “We don’t see Erdogan at such important debates.” Touching on Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani’s visit to the US this week, Baykal criticized the US administration, saying that first it created a power vacuum in Iraq and then legitimized it. /Star/
Ankara was disturbed by Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani’s reception this week at the White House. Summoning US Embassy Charge d’Affaires Nancy McEldowney to the Foreign Ministry, Turkish diplomats conveyed Turkey’s concern over the matter. Asked about Barzani’s talks in the US at a press conference yesterday, however, Foreign Ministry spokesman Namik Tan said that Turkey’s policy for the region and the necessity to protect Iraq’s territorial integrity were well received by both US and Iraqi officials. Barzani is the president of northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, and Turkish officials say Ankara has no problem with the use of titles provided in the Iraqi constitution and other documents. /Sabah/
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mehmet Ali Talat yesterday left for the US to have talks with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and other officials. Before his departure from Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, Talat told reporters that he would urge top leaders to take concrete steps to ease the international isolation of the Turkish Cypriots, adding that his primary objective was reaching a permanent settlement on the island. He stated that Turkish Cypriots expected the UN to do more to resolve the longstanding Cyprus issue. /Turkiye/
Following the United Nations, the US administration also lent support to Ankara and the Turkish Cypriots’ proposal to resume peace talks on Cyprus with the Greek Cypriots. US State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said yesterday that Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mehmet Ali Talat’s visit to Washington this week was an opportunity to discuss the Cyprus issue and plans to find a settlement to the issue. At a press conference, commenting on Talat’s scheduled meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tomorrow, Ereli said that his administration was in constant contact with the Turkish Cypriot leader. Stressing that US administration’s policy on Cyprus had not changed, Ereli said that they called on the leaders of two nations to sit down to the negotiating table to find a permanent resolution to the issue in line with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s plan. /Turkiye/
The introductory screening on education and culture, the second chapter of Turkey’s screening process with the European Union, began yesterday in Brussels. There are 38 officials in the Turkish delegation representing leading ministries, institutions and Turkey’s Permanent Representation in Brussels. The EU Commission is expected to submit its report covering the chapters on science, research, education, and culture to EU member states for approval on Dec. 19. Turkey signed the EU’s Culture 2000 Program before the introductory meeting, which will subsidize projects for promoting cultural activities. /Cumhuriyet/
The European Union is expected to include a tough demand on Turkey in its progress report set to be published on Nov. 9. Lack of progress on cultural rights will be criticized, with a call to lift restrictions on freedom of education in mother tongue languages. Better access to education in Kurdish will especially be urged by the EU. These demands mean that the section of the Constitution saying the only language of education is Turkish may be changed. One top EU official stated that the important point is not to offer language instruction, but rather education in people’s mother tongues. /Sabah/
Speaking at a press conference yesterday alongside State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan, Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan said yesterday that the government would not retreat from a plan to withhold 15% tax on all treasury bills and bonds. Unakitan said that the new taxation system would eliminate the confusion seen in the old system. “We’ll take necessary measures in order to prevent technical problems in implementation of the new taxation regime,” he said and called for banks and stockbrokers, which will need to withhold the tax, to complete their preparations. For his part, Babacan said that under the new taxation system, balances would again be established in the market as of next January. /Star/
