ANKARA - These are some of the major headlines and their summaries in Turkish press on February 25th, 2007. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
HURRIYET (LIBERAL)
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ERDOGAN: WE HAVE NO RESERVES FOR ANYBODY
"A state like Republic of Turkey sees no problems with having talks at any place. But when we say we will have talks, it is thought that Tayyip Erdogan or Abdullah Gul will have it. Representatives of the state will have talks. They already do," said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan while flying to Riyadh.
DON`T FOLLOW THOSE BROTHERS AND PULL TRIGGER
A former extremist of rightists, Taylan Coklar, who was tried for his life nine times for incidents he was involved in before September 12th, 1980, spoke to Hurriyet:
"We used to have big brothers too. They are now using young people who have strong nationalist feelings saying (state is in danger) like they did to us in the past. When I saw killing of Hrant Dink, I had a flashback."
MILLIYET (LIBERAL)
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ARCHITECT HATICE, LIGHT OF HANI
Hatice Bora, who became an architect after graduating from Hani High School (in Hani town of southeastern city of Diyarbakir), has been the hope for students of Hani. No one from this high school has been able to proceed to university for six years.
DTP: WE ARE DEAD AGAINST INTERVENTION IN KIRKUK
Democratic Society Party (DTP) HQ declared its support to Diyarbakir Provincial Chairman Hilmi Aydogdu, regarding his words about Kirkuk.
"A military intervention in Kirkuk would perturb Kurdish people living in Turkey," said DTP`s statement.
SABAH (LIBERAL)
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TURKISH INTELLECTUALS ARE TWO-FACED
Turkish Justice Minister Cicek bursted: I saw that intellectuals are two faced and spineless in the discussions about (Article) 301. "I do not say `do not fix this article`. But we are blaming our country unconsciously, then we try to prove to the outside world that this is not the case. Our intelligentsia idealizes Europe too much," said Cicek when evaluating Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code.
CENSORSHIP TO KORAN
A political party in Denmark, the country that created the caricature crisis, asked for censorship claiming "Koran is against the constitutional law." A political party called Stop Islamisation of Denmark (SIAD - Stop Islamiseringen af Danmark) filed a reported a crime to police saying some verses of the Koran contradict articles 67 and 69 of Danish constitutional law and the mosques in the country should be closed based on Article 78 of the constitutional law. The report claims that some verses of Koran "incite violence" and demands that some verses of the Koran should be excluded when reading the holy book in mosques.
VATAN (INDEPENDENT)
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LEAK THAT SADDENED GEN. BUYUKANIT
Foreign Minister Gul said General Staff Chief Gen. Yasar Buyukanit profoundly regretted the news reports on his presentation at the National Security Council (NSC) meeting. Minister Gul said, "he has launched an investigation into it." Replying to questions of journalists aboard the plane on his way from Turkey to Pakistani capital city of Islamabad, Gul said, "I believe that we should cooperate in a better way on issues regarding our security."
ACER: TURKEY WILL BECOME NO.1 MARKET OF REGION
PC vendor Acer chose Turkey as "the country to focus on" and is expecting a growth over 100 percent. The vice chairman of Acer, Emanuele Acolla, said, "Turkey has an open market with great potential, offering great opportunities. Turkey will become the number one market of the region in the upcoming period."
CUMHURIYET (LEFT)
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TURKEY`S NEW POLICY: FIRST GOAL IRAQ`S UNITY
"Iraq`s territorial integrity and political unity" constituted the main axis of Turkey`s new Iraq policy. Kurdish groups, who are trying to use PKK as trump against Kirkuk, will be taken under pressure with dialogue. However, Turkey will not allow this dialogue to lead to recognition of Kurdish administration as "a separate formation".
RADIKAL (LEFT)
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LOAN IS LESS BUT DIFFERENCE TO MAKE IS BIG
Community Volunteers Foundation waged war against poverty. Loans between 100-700 YTL with repayment in 13 months will be awarded for those who have good ideas to get rid of poverty. Loan holders to pay in 13 months will be able to get 1500 YTL more.
LAST WEEKS OF 301
Turkish FM Abdullah Gul hosted European lawmakers of Turkish descent and said "301 will be changed in a few weeks."
Gul who told European media that Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code will be changed in a few weeks before elections, said the same thing to European parliamentarians: "The law will be changed. We will better this country`s image together and overcome prejudices in Europe."
TURKIYE (RIGHT)
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WE HAVE RIGHT TO INTERFERE IN IRAQ
Two agreements dated 1926 and 1946 give us the right to have say on Iraq. Erdogan put an end to the discussions on whether or not meeting the Kurdish leaders and said "we do not have a problem with this issue. When we say (we will meet), it is thought Erdogan or Gul will meet. The representatives of the state will meet. You cannot get results without having contacts." Erdogan continued "it is wrong to mention Turkey does not have a say in the future of Iraq. We have rights stemming from the agreements of 1926 and 1946. We should stop Sunni-Shiite conflict. We should convince (them) about territorial integrity."
301 WILL CHANGE
Foreign Minister Gul said Article 301 is an obstacle for reforms and it hurts Turkey`s image. In statements to the EUobserver internet site and French newspaper Liberation, Gul said, "Prime Minister Erdogan and I agree that Article 301 should be changed. We will change this article in a few weeks time."
ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)
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WE HAVE NO RESERVES FOR ANYBODY IN DIPLOMACY
"We have no reserves for anybody. We have to convince (Kurdish leaders) regarding territorial integrity and Kirkuk. Otherwise, perturbation will emerge about Iraq`s future," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told journalists on his way from Turkey to Saudi Arabia.
GENERAL STAFF LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION INTO "LEAK"
Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit launched an investigation regarding the leak of his speech at the National Security Council (MGK) to media.
YENI SAFAK (CONSERVATIVE)
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WE HAVE A SAY ON IRAQ
Prime Minister Erdogan said Turkey has the right to have a say in the future of Iraq due to agreements in 1926 and 1946 and added "we can meet with anyone, we do not have reservations." Erdogan continued, "we should convince them for territorial integrity and regarding the status of Kirkuk. We are holding talks with Iran and Syria regarding this."
MISTAKE IN CURRENT ACCOUNTS DEFICIT CALCULATION
The current accounts deficit is on the agenda for three years. The analysts are ringing alarm bells but there is no crisis. It is because there is a miscalculation regarding the current accounts deficit.
When the contributions of tourism and contractor services are taken out from the 40 billion USD foreign trade deficit, the current accounts deficit is 31 billion USD.
On the other hand, direct investments are counted as "hot money". However buying companies in Turkey should be counted as exports revenue. When the 20 billion USD worth of direct investments are included in the calculation of current accounts deficit, the deficit drops to 11,5 billion USD.