THE AKP AND PUBLIC PRESSURE
CUNEYT ULSEVER (TURKISH DAILY NEWS)
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul
said yesterday that Israel should stop its
military operations against Palestinians in
Gaza, adding that the attacks were feeding new
generations with ideas of enmity and revenge.
Speaking at a ceremony in Ankara marking
Turkey’s donating $1 million in aid to
Palestine, Gul said the escalation of violence
in the Mideast was worrying and jeopardizing
chances for a two-state solution. He further
stated that the donation was aimed at helping
develop small- and medium-sized commercial
enterprises in Palestine. He also called on the
international community to make efforts to stop
the violence in the region. /Turkiye/
Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday
telephoned Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
regarding the escalating violence in the Mideast
following the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier.
Telling of his initiatives to stop the bloody
activities in the region, Putin stated that the
situation was very worrying, adding that Russia
and Turkey shared similar views on the issue and
on doing their best to defuse the tension.
Stressing that the Palestinians were suffering
under Israel’s military onslaught, Putin said
they were against the punishment of innocent
Palestinian people. For his part, Erdogan also
mentioned his and the Foreign Ministry’s efforts
on the issue. Pointing to unease in the
international community concerning Israel’s
intense military operations, Erdogan said
Israeli strikes on the civilian infrastructure
and power plants made the situation harder. Both
leaders reportedly agreed to cooperate in
efforts for the Israeli soldier's release and to
urge Israel to set free Palestinian state
ministers and deputies as soon as possible and
end its bloody crackdown. /Sabah/
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan paid a courtesy visit yesterday to the
recently completed headquarters of the main
opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
During the meeting, Erdogan was accompanied by
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, Deputy Prime
Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin, Justice Minister
Cemil Cicek, AK Party group spokesperson Salih
Kapusuz, AK Party deputy leader Dengir Mir
Mehmet Firat and Selma Kavaf, head of the ruling
party’s Women’s Branches. /Milliyet/
Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc said yesterday
that Parliament, which began its summer recess
at the beginning of this month, could reconvene
earlier than Oct. 1. Speaking to reporters at
Ankara’s Esenboga Airport before his departure
for a four-day visit to Russia, Arinc said that
if the government needs it during the recess he
could call on Parliament to reconvene, but he
added that for the time being it seems there is
no need. Asked about girls doing a folklore
dance wearing headscarves during his recent
visit to the eastern Anatolian province of
Tunceli, the speaker said that he and the public
had gotten tired of the reports on headscarves.
Calling on the media to act responsibly, Arinc
added that Turkey had important issues to deal
with other than headscarves. /Turkiye/
State Minister for Women’s and
Children Affairs Nimet Cubukcu said yesterday
that the state had drawn up laws and mechanisms
to punish people who inflict violence against
women. Speaking at a gathering in Ankara,
Cubukcu said that a significant process had
taken place in Turkey in recent years to combat
violence against women and especially “honor
killings.” She stated that the government is
working to raise women’s economic, social and
cultural status in order to prevent violence
against them, adding that every step towards
that aim would help break the vicious cycle
surrounding women. Also addressing the
gathering, European Commission Representation in
Turkey head Hansjoerg Kretschmer said that
women’s rights were inseparable from human
rights, and that societies with violence against
women could not be called democratic. /Turkiye/
The European Commission stated
yesterday that they were pleased with the
positive results of United Nations
Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs
Ibrahim Gambari’s recent visit to Cyprus. In a
statement, European Union Enlargement
Commissioner Olli Rehn said, “The fact that
Greek Cypriot administration leader Tassos
Papadopoulos and Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus (TRNC) President Mehmet Ali Talat met
three times in a week was an encouraging signal
that dialogue has a chance on the island.” The
statement also underlined that the commission
would support the start of talks under UN
auspices. Meanwhile, Athens and Nicosia have
decided to await the release of the EU’s
progress report on Turkey this fall before
taking steps on Turkey’s EU membership bid.
Papadopoulos and Greek Prime Minister Costas
Karamanlis met yesterday in Athens in order to
determine a joint strategy on Turkish-EU
relations and for the Cyprus negotiations, which
will start at a technical level. But they were
unable to reach complete agreement on the EU
issue. /Cumhuriyet-Hurriyet/
The European Union is expected
to further push Turkey to fulfill its
requirements concerning the Customs Union
following the opening of the screening process
on the external relations chapter on Monday.
Turkey has been a party to the Customs Union
since 1996 and has been running a trade policy
in accordance with EU laws. But in order to
proceed in the chapter, Turkey has to fully
harmonize its laws with the EU acquis through
implementing the Ankara Protocol, which extends
the Customs Union to the 10 new Union members,
including the Greek Cypriot administration.
However, Ankara refuses to implement the
protocol unless the isolation of the Turkish
Cypriots is ended, as promised two years ago by
the 25-nation bloc. /The New Anatolian/
Speaking at a conference held
by the Turkish Economic and Social Studies
Foundation (TESEV) and the Norwegian Refugee
Council Internal Displacement Monitoring Center
(IMDC), Turkey-European Union Joint
Parliamentary Commission Co-Chair Joost
Lagendijk yesterday said, “Turkey needs more
regional autonomy,” adding that he was saying
this not only for the southeastern region but
all of Turkey and this wasn’t discrimination.
For his part, European Commission Delegation to
Turkey head Hansjoerg Kretschmer said that the
living conditions of internally displaced
persons in Turkey were deteriorating and that a
new sub-class had emerged. Kretschmer also
emphasized that the EU wanted to cooperate with
the government to solve the problems of these
people. /Cumhuriyet/
Columnist Cuneyt Ulsever comments on the
headscarf issue. A summary of his columns is as
follows:
“What
turns countries into open prisons are both the
written laws that fascist, communist and
fundamentalist regimes pass and the ‘unwritten
rules.’
According to reports published in newspapers
last week, an official in Iran recently told a
female Turkish journalist that women in Iran are
not obliged to cover their heads. However, I am
sure no woman in Iran would dare walk down the
street with her head uncovered. Do you know why?
Because the public pressure everyone in Iran
breathes day in and day out precludes a woman
from ever leaving her home without having her
head covered.
On
the issue of the traditional dance group that
performed in front of Parliament Speaker Bulent
Arinc and State Minister Nimet Cubukcu, I don’t
think either asked the organizers for the girls
to wear headscarves. The provincial governor
probably didn’t know about it, either, I’m sure.
Most
likely a person who wanted to impress them just
asked the girls to wear the headscarves.
Societies usually tend to follow the leaders,
politicians, rich people and bureaucrats for two
reasons. 1. In order to praise the strong. 2.
Because they fear the strong. Such responses,
when one adds the group attitude, grow
exponentially. For example, if one person among
a group starts clapping for a strong person, the
rest of the group follows suit.
At a
recent meeting I attended I couldn’t tell
whether the awful speech a deputy governor
delivered really reflected his views or if he
was trying to impress a ruling Justice and
Development Party (AKP) deputy there. The
relationship between leaders and citizens is
strange.
Leaders are responsible for both what they say
and what they do.”
