TURKEY, GREECE CANCEL MILITARY EXERCISES NEAR CYPRUS
Both Turkey and Greece will cancel scheduled military exercises near the island of Cyprus, said Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday after a meeting with his Greek counterpart George Papandreou. Gul and Papandreou met at the 10th foreign ministers’ meeting at the Mediterranean Forum (FORMED) held in Antalya. “We have been doing the Toros and Barboros military exercises in the eastern Mediterranean,” Gul told reporters. “Greece, for its part, has been doing the Toksadis and Efotoros military exercises. But this year both these exercises have been canceled. I will soon visit Athens to discuss next year’s Olympics in that city. Besides the Olympic games, cooperation in many other areas will also be discussed.” Meanwhile, Papandreou praised Turkey’s decision to send troops to Iraq as a difficult but correct decision. “Such a decision was necessary for Iraq’s stability,” he added. /Hurriyet/
ERDOGAN: “THE MEDIA MUSTN’T WAVER FROM ITS COMMITMENT TO SERVE THE PUBLIC INTEREST”
Speaking yesterday at the opening of the 40th Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) general assembly in Istanbul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan pointed to the increasing importance of public broadcasting. “In the era of globalization, public broadcasting plays a key role in the development of democracy, human rights and civil society,” said the premier. Stressing that broadcasters should never waver from their commitment to inform the public about important issues, Erdogan stated that this was only possible through providing broadcasters with financial, administrative and editorial independence. In addition, following the gathering, Erdogan told reporters that Turkish soldiers would go to Iraq for the welfare and prosperity of the Iraqi people rather than as a police force. /Hurriyet/.
TURKEY’S UN AMBASSADOR BRIEFS ANNAN ON IRAQ DEPLOYMENT
Turkish Ambassador to the United Nations Umit Pamir yesterday visited UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Pamir briefed Annan on Parliament’s recent go-ahead for sending troops to Iraq, saying that details of the matter would be clear following meetings between Turkish and US officials. The ambassador also remarked that Ankara had no secret designs on the region, reiterating that Turkish troops in Iraq would not be an invasion force. /Turkiye/
IN TALKS WITH US SIDE, ANKARA SEEKS DUTY TO THE NORTH OF BAGHDAD
Following the passage Tuesday of a government motion on sending troops to Iraq, meetings with Turkish and US officials to set details on the deployment began yesterday. Turkey is reportedly seeking that its troops serve in a region to the north of Baghdad, including the cities of Bagubah, Fallujah and Tikrit, where US soldiers have faced heavy attacks. Some 6,000 or 10,000 Turkish soldiers are expected to be deployed. In addition, sources said that Ankara stipulated that US forces must combat members and leaders of the PKK/KADEK terrorist organization based in northern Iraq. In related news, US House of Representatives Armed Forces Committee Chairman Jim Saxton accompanied by four fellow congressmen yesterday met with Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc and State Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin. /Turkiye/
BARZANI: “TURKISH TROOPS WILL MAKE IRAQ’S SECURITY WORSE”
The deployment of Turkish troops in Iraq will only make the country’s security situation even worse, and the United States will be to blame, charged Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (IKPD) leader Massoud Barzani yesterday. In related news, Fevzi Safi Irfan, the mayor of Fallujah, an Iraqi city where Turkish troops could be deployed, said that the presence of these soldiers would amount to “punishment” from the US. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari yesterday also repeated his claim that Iraq’s Governing Council, on which he serves, is opposed to the deployment, though the council itself has yet to release any official statement to that end. /Aksam/
FORMER US SECRETARY OF STATE ALBRIGHT TO VISIT ISTANBUL
Former US Secretary of State Madeline Albright is scheduled to pay a visit to Istanbul on October 31. In a conference organized by Capital magazine and sponsored by Garanti Bank, Albright will deliver a speech on global trade development projects during her 1997-2001 tenure as the top US diplomat and share her memories of world leaders. Albright will also make a presentation on the effects of globalization. /Hurriyet/
CHP PLANS CONSTITUTIONAL COURT CHALLENGE TO DEPLOYMENT
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) yesterday announced plans to challenge before the Constitutional Court the validity of a motion giving authorization to send Turkish troops to Iraq. CHP deputy leaders Ali Topuz and Kemal Anadol told a press conference that the “content and procedure” of the motion were unconstitutional. Anadol charged that Parliament’s closed session on the motion violated Articles 6 and 7 of the Constitution. “The motion granted Parliament’s authority to the government,” added Topuz. /Hurriyet/
IMF’S DAWSON: “TURKEY IS A MODEL COUNTRY, AND THE MARKETS RECOGNIZE THIS”
Turkey’s progress with its International Monetary Fund-supported economic program has been exemplary, and the financial markets are rewarding this, said IMF External Affairs Director Dawson yesterday. Asked about the sixth review, he described it as “continuing,” and added, “I’m not in a position to say when it will be completed... I think Turkey is a model in terms of how we deal with missions in country program cases, and I think there will be a statement at the time it is concluded... Market confidence indicators are also very, very strong. So the markets are still giving a strong vote of support for the Turkish program.” /Cumhuriyet/
TUSIAD DELEGATION MEETS PRODI TO TALK TURKEY’S EU BID
A visiting Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) delegation met in Brussels yesterday with European Union Commission Chairman Romano Prodi to discuss Turkey’s EU membership bid. During the meeting, TUSIAD Chairman Tuncay Ozilhan said that Turkey’s dynamic young population would help propel the Union into the future, adding that Ankara had completed the Copenhagen criteria and would do what is needed to fully implement them. /Milliyet/