SEZER, ERDOGAN RECEIVE CHILDREN FROM 17 COUNTRIES TO CELEBRATE APRIL 23 CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday received children coming from 17 countries to attend celebrations of Turkey’s April 23 Children’s Festival. Sezer said that the festival served to help the cause of peace, love and friendship. Speaking to the young visitors, Erdogan said that he hoped that as adults they would know a world free of bias on the basis of race, religion, and creed. /Turkiye/
FORMER CIA DIRECTOR WOOLSEY: “THE US WANTS A TURKISH MODEL IN IRAQ”
The United States wants to establish a government in Iraq similar to the Turkish model, former CIA Director James Woolsey said yesterday. Speaking on NBC public affairs program “Meet the Press,” Woolsey stated that the US had been disappointed by Turkey’s rejection of US troop deployment prior to the war in Iraq. “However,” he said, “Turkey’s a democracy, they get to decide. And they’re a democracy where people can lose elections and not be afraid of a knock on the door in the middle of the night. That’s what we ought to hope for for Iraq and work toward helping bring it back.” /Turkiye/
TURKEY TO BUY AWACS EARLY WARNING AIRCRAFTS
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan approved over the weekend a $1.1 billion deal with US company Boeing, one of the world’s largest aircraft producers, on the purchase of four Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft along with a ground support unit. Under the contract signed between Turkey’s Defense Ministry and Boeing, Turkey will have the option to increase the number of aircraft purchases to six. Domestic aerospace companies such as TAI and HAVELSAN will also take part in the production. With the new surveillance planes, Turkey will be better able to monitor military movements in its region. /All Papers/
PRESIDENTIAL PROPOSAL PRAISED BY DYP, CRITICIZED BY ANAP
Throwing his support behind the recent proposal by Prime Minister and ruling Justice and Development Party leader (AKP) Recep Tayyip Erdogan for Turkey to adopt a presidential or semi-presidential system, True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar said yesterday that the nation did need a structural change such as adopting such a system. Agar, one of three DYP deputies in Parliament, said that his party had long supported this system and that it would soon make a proposal on the issue. In related news, Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Ali Talip Ozdemir said that he didn’t believe the proposal had been sincere, adding that Parliament shouldn’t make such a change since there was no national consensus on the issue. /Aksam/
DENKTAS CRITICIZES TRNC’S OPPOSITION PARTY LEADERS MEETING GREEK PM SIMITIS
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas yesterday criticized the leaders of TRNC opposition parties for meeting with Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis. “These leaders boycotted the TRNC’s Parliament, but they didn’t hesitate to meet with Simitis,” said Denktas. Also criticizing Simitis’ purported boast that Enosis, or the union of Greece and Cyprus, had been achieved when Greek Cyprus signed EU accession papers last week, Denktas said Simitis had inadvertently revealed his true mentality. In related news, yesterday a Greek government spokesman denied that Smitis had made any remark about Enosis. /Aksam/
TRNC ALLOWS FREE PASSAGE INTO GREEK SIDE
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Cabinet issued a decree yesterday allowing free passage both ways through the TRNC border gate with the Greek side of the island. Under the decree, Turkish Cypriots citizens can enter the Greek side between 8:00 am and 12 midnight after registering at the gate. The decree also allows Greek Cypriots bearing passports to cross the border and stay in the Turkish side until midnight. /Cumhuriyet/
FRENCH FM DE VILLEPIN TO VISIT ANKARA
French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin is due to arrive in Ankara today to hold a series of meetings with Turkish officials. De Villepin is set to be received by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as well as his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul. On the expected agenda of de Villepin’s visit are the postwar period in Iraq and the country’s reconstruction process as well as Turkish-EU relations. /Cumhuriyet/
CB HEAD: “TRYING TO BRING DOWN INTEREST RATES WITHOUT ENSURING ECONOMIC STABILITY COULD END UP DOING HARM”
Artificial policies designed to bring down interest rates without ensuring stability could actually end up hurting the economy, Central Bank Governor Sureyya Serdengecti cautioned the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government yesterday. “There is certainly room for rates to come down,” Serdengecti told yesterday’s Cabinet meeting. “However, public sector discipline and continued full implementation of structural reforms are prerequisites for achieving this.” Serdengecti also briefed the Cabinet on Turkey’s monetary policy and its economic targets, developments, and risks. He remarked that inflation from now on would be shaped according to domestic demand trends, the nation’s European Union membership bid, and postwar developments in Iraq. “This year’s growth target of 5% is supported by an export rise this January and a rise in industrial production,” said the CB head. “Before we complete banking reform and banks are able to regain their ability to extend loans, the non-financial sectors won’t recover. Thus banking reform should be supported by non-financial sectors as well.” Serdengecti stated that price stability was an essential target of monetary policy, adding that the CB would begin inflation targeting when conditions were ripe. /Milliyet/
TURKISH AIRLINES HEAD: “WE’LL BE THE FIRST TO FLY TO BAGHDAD”
Turkish Airlines (THY) newly appointed Director General Abdurrahman Gundogdu said yesterday that as soon as permission is given for civilian flights, THY was planning to be the first foreign air carrier to provide service to Baghdad. Stressing that the THY had not been badly affected by the Iraq war, Gundogdu said that the company was due to soon be restructured. /Turkiye/
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION