GUL, ERDOGAN RELEASE MESSAGES MARKING NEVRUZ
In a message marking Nevruz, an ancient celebration of the arrival of spring, President Abdullah Gul said yesterday, "Nevruz is a symbol of the awakening of nature, hopeful beginnings, and fertility. It is celebrated not only in Turkey, but across a vast region from Asia to the Balkans, from the Middle East to Anatolia, with great enthusiasm. It constitutes a powerful cultural tie among peoples of this region. Nevruz is a festival reminding us of the importance of values such as peace, brotherhood, and love. Thus, we should celebrate it peacefully. Our nation is aware of the value of living together in peace and tranquility. Differences and diversities are our greatest assets. Regardless of their ethnic background, religious belief, language or political creed, everyone in Turkey is inseparable and equal citizens of this country." Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also released a message saying: "We will celebrate this meaningful day altogether, hand in hand. We will embrace each other knowing that with all our differences, we are the basic elements of this land." Erdogan added that Nevruz, a festival celebrated for centuries across a wide region from Central Asia to Europe, symbolizes rebirth and renewal. "We are members of a culture and faith which describe the earth as ’Mother Earth’ and express that we were created from the earth and shall one day return to it," he said. "Therefore, the rebirth of the earth represents the renewal of life and humanity for us. Nevruz reminds us all that we are brothers and come from the same roots and spirit."
ARINC: "TURKEY ISN’T PART OF THE INTERNATIONAL LIBYA OPERATION"
Turkey is not taking part the international military operation against Libya, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said yesterday. Asked by reporters whether Turkey would take part in the airstrikes against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s forces, Arinc said, "Turkey has not joined the operation. A crisis desk has been set up at the Foreign Ministry to follow developments." Arinc also expressed hope that the situation in Libya will return to normal as soon as possible.
ERDOGAN:"WE WANT LIBYA TO RETURN TO STABILITY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE"
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday criticized Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi for ignoring Turkey’s advice that he hand over the country’s leadership, adding that the current military attacks on Gaddafi’s forces should end as soon as possible so stability can be restored there. "I wish the situation could have been resolved without getting to this point," Erdogan told the Jeddah Economic Forum in Saudi Arabia. "We wanted Libya to determine its fate without bloodshed. We wish Libya had transitioned its reform process like Tunisia and Egypt did. Unfortunately, this hasn’t happened and the situation has come to a highly undesirable point … Now I hope the latest developments will bring a swift end to this era of brother killing brother, and the will of the Libyan people will prevail." Asked whether Gaddafi should step down, Erdogan said: "We’re past that point. Gaddafi is contradicting himself. He said he was not officially the leader of Libya. What is expected of a person who is not officially in charge is to hand over the administration of Libya to a person who has an official leadership position." Erdogan added, "We are not pessimistic. We should never lose hope. We can stop the unending bloodshed and tears in this region. Believe me, we can do this."
WITH RELAXED VISA REGIME, 350,000 MORE RUSSIAN TOURISTS EXPECTED IN TURKEY
Following the news that Turkish and Russian nationals will be able to travel visa-free to each other’s countries starting next month, expectations of more tourists coming to Turkey from Russia are high. Tourist Hotels and Investors Association (TUROB) head Timur Bayindir and Turkish Association of Travel Agents (TURSAB) head Basaran Ulusoy said they expect 3.5 million Russian tourists to vacation in Turkey this year, up from last year’s more than 3.1 million, because as of April 17, Russians will no longer need a visa to enter Turkey. The two nations agreed to remove visa requirements for each other’s citizens during Russian President Dmitri Medvedev’s visit to Turkey last year. Last week, visiting Moscow, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed with Medvedev to launch the new visa regime.
GREECE URGES TURKEY TO RECONSIDER NUCLEAR PLANS
Amid continuing efforts to stem the damage to nuclear power plants in Japan in the wake of a devastating earthquake, Greek President Karolos Papoulias on Friday urged Turkey to reconsider plans to build its own nuclear plants. "It’s impossible at this time, when we have this disaster at the nuclear reactors in Japan that has shocked us all, that Turkey should want to build in an earthquake zone," Papoulias said. Countries including China and Germany put nuclear power development on hold after an earthquake and tsunami damaged the Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant, 217 kilometers north of Tokyo, resulting in fires, explosions and radiation leaks. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan should consider this "many times" and Europeans "should intervene to prevent a disaster that would be in our own backyard, at our own doorstep," Papoulias added.
ECZACIBASI: "WITH ITS STRONG ECONOMY, TURKEY IS NOW A MAGNET FOR INVESTMENTS"
Now foreigners are asking Turks to establish partnerships in Turkey, unlike the recent past when Turkish businesspeople scrambled to convince foreigners to invest here, according to Bulent Eczacibasi, the chairman of one of Turkey’s largest business conglomerates, Eczacibasi Holding, active in the fields of health care, building products, finance, and information technology. "At the moment, we see Turkey has overcome issues which we used to think it could not and would never be able to solve," he told Turkish reporters on the sidelines of the ISH trade fair in Frankfurt, Germany on Saturday. "Turkey managed to acquire a healthy public finance structure after bringing its debt down to reasonable levels. It cut its deficit to 3.5 percent of its budget, outpacing most European nations. It has gone a long way in privatization and also strengthened the environment for investment by ensuring free market competition. It also got inflation under control." As a result of its resistance to external economic shocks and the enduring political stability under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AK Party) since late 2002, the country’s risk premium is currently below that of some European Union member countries such as Ireland, Greece, Portugal and Spain. During these eight years in power, Eczacibasi said, businesspeople in Turkey started to see "an administration where substantial budgets were made and policies were implemented while targets were met and timely and accurate decisions were taken." He added, "This has created a highly significant atmosphere of trust for local and foreign investors."
TURKEY TO SERVE AS THE US’ "PROTECTING POWER" IN LIBYA
Turkey will serve as a "protecting power" for the United States in Libya, senior State Department officials told CNN yesterday. As a protecting power, Turkey will represent the US in Libya, including acting as consular officers on behalf of US citizens in Libya and looking after American diplomatic facilities in the country. Turkey can also pass messages between Washington and Tripoli, as what little communication remains between the two countries is likely to come to a grinding halt now that the US is bombing Libyan targets as part of enforcement of a no-fly zone. Officials said Libya has not yet identified a protecting power for its interests in the US.
RUSSIAN GIANT OJSC TO BUILD FOUR HYDROELECTRIC PLANTS IN TURKEY
Russian energy systems machine-building company OJSC Power Machines is set to build hydroelectric power plants in Turkey with an energy-generation capacity of nearly 940 megawatts. The leading power plant company has concluded a pre-agreement in Turkey to build four hydroelectric power plants. The company wants to build the technical infrastructure of these projects, involving at least $1 billion in investments, according to officials from the State Waterworks Authority (DSi). The Russian giant intends to build plants in Artvin, Sinop, Kahramanmaras and Siirt, the officials said.