ANKARA - These are some of the major headlines and their summaries in Turkish press on October 8th, 2004. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
HURRIYET (LIBERAL)
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WE WILL OPEN NEGOTIATIONS IMMEDIATELY
British Secretary of Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Jack Straw, who made one-day working trip to Turkey yesterday, gave the message that the European Union (EU) would start negotiations with Turkey in the first half of 2005. Straw, during his meeting with Gul, gave good news, saying that officials of Luxembourg had told them that they wanted to open negotiations with Turkey during their six-month acting EU presidency. Straw said that his country extended obvious support to opening of negotiations with Turkey. And, he added that if negotiations were not opened with Turkey during Luxembourg's acting presidency, Britain, who would become the EU acting president on July 1st, 2005, would speed up this process.
RAIN TORTURE IN ISTANBUL
Torrential rains, which started yesterday morning in Istanbul, paralyzed the daily life in this commercial hub. Officials received 750 calls about flooded areas. Traffic was jammed due to torrential rains. Subway service was also hampered as subway stations were also flooded.
MILLIYET (LIBERAL)
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''THIS IS JUST A BEGINNING''
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, ''the stage we have reached (on the road to EU membership) is the victory of our state''. Erdogan also said, ''this is just a beginning, not an end. The biggest problem will be faced in implementing the reforms. This is a change of mentality. We will face difficult days from now on. We have to be in solidarity.''
THREE MORE YEARS WITH ARINC
Bulent Arinc, former Parliament Speaker and a parliamentarian of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), was re-elected as the parliament speaker of Turkey in the third round of vote, winning 381 votes in favor. Serpil Yildiz, the other candidate, had withdrawn from the election of parliament speaker in the same round.
SABAH (LIBERAL)
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MONITORING IS BENEFICIAL
Commenting on the European Union (EU) monitoring process, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, ''it may be beneficial to some laws.'' Erdogan was uneasy about the monitored negotiations proposed by the European Commission's progress report on Turkey. But at the same time, he said, ''it is not abnormal. And, even it may be beneficial to us when we pass some laws.'' The laws Erdogan mentioned are laws on associations and societies, foundations and Code of Criminal Procedure (CMUK).
1,000 YOUNG PEOPLE TO BE EMPLOYED
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will set up a giant team, comprised of 1,000 young people, in order to conduct negotiations with the European Union (EU). Erdogan gave a good news to well-educated young people: Separate desks will be set up for 31 different topics on which negotiations will be held. 1,000 young people will start to work in these negotiation desks. PM Erdogan thinks that these young people will become the politicians and diplomats of the future.
CUMHURIYET (LEFT)
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SEPARATE MODEL FOR TURKEY
Lagendijk, the Co-Chairman of Turkey-European Union (EU) Joint Parliamentary Commission, drew attention that they were accustomed to free movement measures. But, he said, ''now, the Commission proposes to make this process eternal. This will make Turkey a second-class EU state.'' Onur Oymen of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) stressed that some articles of the progress report on Turkey regarding Cyprus, minorities, religious demands, open-ended negotiations and free movement could hamper Turkey's membership process, and said that he got the impression from the report that a different kind of model, not full membership, was thought for Turkey at the end of negotiations. On the other hand, European Commissioner for enlargement Guenter Verheugen said, ''there are not two alternatives. The only goal is full membership, but nobody can guarantee that Turkey will become a full member in this present time.'' 48th page of the progress report disproves Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, who claims that the report does not talk about Turkish citizens of Kurdish origin as ''minorities''. However, the report considers not only Kurdish, but also Alaouite people as minority.
YORK DUKE PRINCE ANDREW: I'D LIKE TO PLAY GOLF IN TURKEY
York Duke Prince Andrew of the British Royal Family, answered questions of Cumhuriyet daily. Prince Andrew said that he would like to visit Turkey again, and play golf.
RADIKAL (LEFT)
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LET'S BE AWARE OF REALITIES
Despite reforms in areas like torture, education and broadcasting in languages and dialects other than Turkish, and religious societies, there are still many problems in Turkey. Military-civilian relationship, Political Parties Law, and rules of working life are not in compliance with the European Union (EU) standards. And, the jurisdiction is not in good condition.
MESSAGE FROM VERHEUGEN: MEMBER STATES WILL ACT IN LINE WITH RECOMMENDATION
Guenter Verheugen, the European Commissioner for enlargement who is the architecture of the progress report on Turkey, said, ''mission is accomplished for me. I have managed to convince the opponent group. I believe that member states will act in line with our recommendation, and make a positive decision (to open negotiations with Turkey). The process will start soon. My message to Turkey is to intensify on membership. There is not any B plan.''
TURKIYE (RIGHT)
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DATE SHOULD BE SET IMMEDIATELY
British PM Tony Blair said that negotiations between Turkey and the European Union (EU) should be started immediately. Leaders of European countries have started to show positive reaction to European Commission's progress report on Turkey, which recommended the member states to open negotiations with Turkey. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said, ''report is very serious and good. A date will be set on December 17th (when European Council will hold a summit). Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi said, ''giving Ankara a date is a must now.''
WE SANK INTO WATER
As the meteorology officials were late in warning the state and citizens, local administrations could not take necessary measures. Thus, Istanbul was face to face with a new disaster. Torrential rains, which started in Istanbul early on Thursday, paralyzed the daily life in this metropolis. Electricity was cut in thousands of houses due to a transformer breakdown, while around 3,000 houses and workplaces were flooded. Schools were closed in some parts of Istanbul due to torrential rains and flood. Officials said that rainfall would continue for three more days.
ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)
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''I DIDN'T SAY THAT I WILL ACCEPT (SO-CALLED) ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION''
After U.S. President George Bush, John Kerry, U.S. presidential nominee from Democrat Party, extended full support to Turkey's European Union (EU) membership. Kerry noted that full membership was an obligation for both Turkey and Europe. Kerry denied press reports, quoting him as saying that he would accept the so-called Armenian genocide resolution.
WORLD PRESS: EU'S FUTURE IS TURKEY
European Commission's recommendation to open negotiations with Turkey drew great interest of the world press. European media made it a headline and a head story, and assumed three separate approach including supportive, doubtful and nonsupportive. Some European newspapers considered Turkey's membership as a chance for future Europe and said that Europe should be a fool to return Turks. They also wrote that Turkey had done its homework, and now it was Europe's turn to keep its promises. However, some papers claimed that Turkey's membership would harm EU. On the other hand, European media could not decide whether Europe gave a ''green'' or ''yellow'' light to Turkey.
YENI SAFAK (CONSERVATIVE)
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WE HAD A GOAL, AND WE HAVE GOT ITS RESULT
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who assessed the historic stage reached in relations with the European Union (EU) to Yeni Safak daily, said, ''we have fulfilled necessary conditions with a realistic timetable, and we had pursued our goal. Now, we have got its result.'' Erdogan added, ''as long as we fulfil our responsibilities, path between Turkey and the EU will be shorter.''
NOW, IT'S ECONOMIC CRITERIA'S TURN
After Turkey's European Union (EU) full membership process started, eyes are turned to Maastrict criteria, which are the macroeconomic stability criteria set by the EU. Turkish economy should be harmonized with these criteria in order to become an EU member.
(BRC-AÖ) 08.10.2004