CELEBRATIONS MARK 732rd ANNIVERSARY OF TURKISH BECOMING OFFICIAL LANGUAGE
Anniversary celebrations of a 13th century decree issued by Anatolian leader Karamanoglu Mehmet Bey making Turkish the official language of his territory and all its institutions began yesterday in the central Anatolian province of Karaman with the participation of President Abdullah Gul. Addressing a luncheon given in his honor, Gul touted Karaman`s economic progress of recent years, saying it would soon be attracting considerable attention. In his decree (firman) of May 13, 1277, just over 732 years ago, Mehmet ordered, "Starting from today, in dervish convent, in council, in the palace, in Parliament and in squares, no language other than Turkish is allowed." Before him, the Seljuk elite in Anatolia used Persian in literature and Arabic in governmental affairs and science. The Turkmen, however, could not understand these languages. Although not ultimately successful, Mehmet`s decree is important as it marked the first time in Anatolian history that Turkish became the official language. The celebrations sponsored by the Presidency, Prime Ministry, Culture and Tourism Ministry, Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TYKA), and Turkish Language Agency /TDK) will continue through June 27. As part of the celebrations, Karaman will be declared the permanent cultural capital of the Turkish world. /Turkiye/
EU AMBASSADORS TO CONVENE IN ANKARA
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will host a luncheon today at the Prime Ministry for European Union countries` ambassadors serving in Ankara, with chief negotiator for EU talks Egemen Bagis also in attendance. Turkey`s full EU membership process, EU harmonization reforms and the recent European Parliament election will reportedly be discussed during the gathering. /Sabah/
FM DAVUTOGLU MEETS WITH HIS AZERI COUNTERPART
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu yesterday met in Istanbul with his Azeri counterpart Elmar Memmedyarov. Afterwards, Davutoglu said that they had discussed recent developments in the region under the usual understanding of "one nation, two states." For his part, Memmedyarov said that they had had a very important and good meeting. /Aksam/
BARROSO TO MEET WITH TRNC`S TALAT AND GREEK CYPRIOTS` CHRISTOFIAS
European Commission President José Manuel Barroso is scheduled to visit the divided island of Cyprus later this week to meet over dinner with Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mehmet Ali Talat. Barroso is expected to arrive in the southern part of the island on Wednesday and will visit Talat at his presidential office on Thursday morning. Also on Wednesday, Barroso will host a luncheon at the Sato Restaurant in the UN buffer zone, to which he has invited both Talat and Christofias. /Today`s Zaman/
DAVUTOGLU DUE IN IRAQ
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is set to visit Iraq today. Davutoglu will be received by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and will also meet with his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari. Issues such as the fight against the terrorist PKK, recent developments in the region, and the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq are expected to be discussed. /Aksam/
DEFENSE MINISTER GONUL VISITS SPAIN
Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul yesterday left for Seville, Spain to attend a one-day meeting of defense ministers as part of the A400M cargo plane program. The A400M, Europe`s biggest and most modern military transport aircraft, is expected to be ready for delivery in 2012. The $20-billion project was initiated in 2003 by seven partner nations (Turkey, Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Belgium and Luxembourg) to renew their military cargo planes. Designed by Airbus Military, the A400M is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. It is equipped with new technologies doubling cargo capacity over existing aircraft, both in payload and volume. /Hurriyet daily News/
ATFC HEAD DECRIES POOR PROMOTION OF TURKEY AND TURKISH WOMEN IN THE US
Mona Tekin Diamond, the founder of the Turkish-American Friendship Council (ATFC) and Turkey`s honorary consul general in the US state of Georgia, yesterday complained that Turkish women are not known well by the foreign public, particularly Americans. Speaking at a meeting in Izmir, she spoke of how American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was impressed by her recent visit to Turkey, and said that they would soon meet with Clinton to tell her about Turkish women both in Turkey and abroad, and to discuss possible joint projects on women`s issues. "A few months ago, US Secretary of State Clinton visited Turkey, and was impressed by our country very much," said Diamond. "She wanted to meet with us in July to learn what could be done for Turkish women." Stating that many Turkish businesswomen who want to do business in US know little about to break into the American market, she said Turkey has a huge economic potential but should do more public relations work to promote itself in other countries. "Turkey has a marvelous potential. But we need to improve our public relations. We are not known yet by the world properly," she said. Diamond called on Turkish businesswomen to contact her group to forge business ties with US companies. She added that the ATFC wants to found a platform to bring together American and Turkish businesswomen. The ATFC, founded in 2005, is committed to building relationships and mutual understanding between the citizens of the US and Turkey. /Star/