US COMMANDER VISITS TURKEY
US Joint Chiefs of Staff Deputy Chairman Gen. Peter Pace, who is currently paying a visit to Ankara at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart Gen. Ilker Basbug, yesterday met with Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok. After a meeting with Turkish and US delegations, Pace attended a lunch given in his honor. Then Pace proceeded to Adana for an inspection tour of NATO’s Incirlik Airbase, where US troops are stationed. /Aksam/
AL QAEDA-ATTRIBUTED STATEMENT DENIES INVOLVEMENT IN ISTANBUL ATTACKS
A statement sent yesterday to the media allegedly by the terrorist network al Qaeda denied that it had been involved in last month’s deadly terror attacks in Istanbul. This was a reversal of earlier al Qaeda-attributed avowals of responsibility. “Al Qaeda has never carried out any attacks targeting civilians,” said the statement. “It has no link either with the Sept. 11 attacks, nor the attacks on Bali, Casablanca, or Riyadh, nor the recent ones in Istanbul.” Claiming that the Sept. 11 attacks were linked to the US Pentagon and CIA and Israel’s Mossad rather than al Qaeda, the statement underlined however that the current resistance in Iraq against US forces was organized and carried out by al Qaeda. /Turkiye/
SUPREME MILITARY COUNCIL TO CONVENE TODAY
The Supreme Military Council (YAS) chaired by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to convene today. The members of the council are expected to take up matters concerning the Turkish Armed Forces’ (TSK) personnel, training and discipline. /Turkiye/
CICEK: “TERRORISM IS CONTRARY TO ISLAM”
Justice Minister Cemil Cicek, who is currently holding a series of official contacts in Washington, yesterday told reporters that there were no words in either the Holy Koran or spoken by the Prophet Mohammed that allowed or condoned terrorism. “Some people [committing terrorist acts] may believe that they are acting in the name of Islam,” said Cicek, adding that they were very much mistaken, as terrorism was contrary to Islam’s teachings. /Star/
SECOND CUSTOMS GATE PLANNED FOR TURKEY-IRAQ BORDER
Meetings between Turkish and Iraqi delegations held at the request of Iraq’s Governing Council were completed yesterday. After the meetings, Foreign Trade Undersecretary Tuncer Kayalar said that bilateral trade relations had been discussed, with both sides agreeing to begin talks this month on opening a second border gate. He added that problems at the Habur Customs Gate and measures necessary to eliminate them had also been discussed. /Turkiye/
ERDOGAN: “IF TURKEY DOESN’T JOIN THE EU, IT WON’T BE THE END OF THE WORLD”
Speaking yesterday at the 19th Regular Congress of the Confederation of Turkish Workers’ Unions, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that for the last year Turkey had seen a determined and consistent administration under Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule and that the economy had also started to function properly. Touching on the Cyprus issue, Erdogan said that unilateral concessions were not acceptable since there were two languages, two nations and two religions on the island. He also said that should Turkey not join the European Union, it wouldn’t be the end of the world, as the nation would still continue its course. “We are implementing the Copenhagen criteria to raise the nation’s standard of living,” added Erdogan. /Aksam/
GUL: “VERHEUGEN’S STATEMENTS ARE UNACCEPTABLE”
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday flew to Brussels to attend the NATO foreign ministers’ fall meeting. Speaking to reporters before departing, Gul said that European Union Commissioner for Enlargement Verheugen’s recent statements indicating the EU wanted an opposition victory in upcoming Turkish Cypriot elections were unacceptable, calling the words “unfortunate.” Gul added that Turkey was doing its utmost to help reach a resolution on Cyprus. /Sabah/
DENKTAS: “VERHEUGEN IS TRYING TO SIGNAL TURKISH CYPRIOTS TO VOTE FOR THE OPPOSITION”
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas yesterday charged that recent statements by European Union Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen had hurt efforts for a resolution on the island. Verheugen was quoted on Tuesday as saying that the EU would recognize the results of the TRNC’s Dec. 14 elections, but only in case of an opposition victory. “Verheugen has once again raised doubts as to whether or not he really favors a resolution,” said Denktas. “He is trying to tell the Turkish Cypriots to vote for opposition parties which support the Annan plan, but our nation doesn’t care for interference.” Denktas added that Turkish Cypriot citizens had worked long for their freedom and that the European Union should appreciate this. He further stated that the EU had committed a great error by accepting Greek Cyprus, as that this action would make reaching a resolution on the island more difficult. In related news, Verheugen’s spokesman Jean-Christophe Filori yesterday denied that Verheugen had said that the EU would recognize TRNC elections only in case of opposition victory. /Turkiye/
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF DISABLED OBSERVED
On the occasion of the International Day of the Disabled, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday received handicapped citizens coming from 81 provinces throughout Turkey. Speaking at the reception, Sezer pointed to the importance of special training for the disabled, calling for the integration of handicapped individuals into society. In related news, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a gathering in Ankara that his government placed great importance on the sensitive matter, adding that it was working on new legal arrangements to raise standards of living for the handicapped. /Turkiye/
SECOND INDUSTRIAL CONGRESS CONVENES
During the current Second Industrial Congress organized by the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO), economic issues were discussed. In a message sent to the congress, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his government would try to solve issues troubling the industrialists and continue to support them so they can compete in foreign markets. Pointing also to the recent terrorist attacks in Istanbul, speakers at the congress called on all countries worldwide to cooperate in the fight against terrorism. /Hurriyet/
NOVEMBER INFLATION FIGURES RELEASED
The State Institute of Statistics (DIE) yesterday released month-on-month inflation figures for November. Inflation last month was 1.7% on the wholesale price index (WPI) and 1.6% on the consumer price index (CPI), pushing year-to-year WPI to 19.3% and CPI to 16.2%. This year’s annual inflation target is 20%. /All papers/