ANKARA - These are some of the major headlines and their summaries in Turkish press on April 8th, 2005. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
GESTURE OF 'CASUS BELLI'
HURRIYET- Turkish Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc said that the decision of 'casus belli' (an event or political occurrence that brings about a declaration of war), which was taken by the Turkish parliament in 1995 to prevent Greece from expanding its territorial waters to 12 miles, should be annulled.
KOC REGRETS MALIGNING RUSSIAN TOURISTS
HURRIYET- Turkish Culture & Tourism Minister Atilla Koc apologized after describing Russian tourists as boorish 'nouveaux riches' at the start of a tourist season expected to bring in almost two million Russians. Koc said he had been speaking in jest and that his remarks had been misunderstood. ''We are deeply sorry, we had no bad intentions. I have sent a letter of apology to the Russian ambassador explaining the incident,'' Koc said.
''MODERATE ISLAM TURNS INTO FUNDAMENTALIST REGIME''
HURRIYET- Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said that the Islam countries should provide individual freedom first to contribute to the world. Speaking at a conference at the War Academies, President Sezer said, ''Turkey is the model of a secular and democratic state of law. Some countries, which were described as moderate Islam, turned into fundamentalist regime in the near past. Therefore, I reject lauds of the other countries describing Turkey as moderate Islam. The real difference between Turkey and those countries is our secular state.''
PEOPLE TALK ABOUT TRABZON SECURITY DIRECTOR AKYUREK
MILLIYET- Trabzon Security Director Ramazan Akyurek saved five young persons from the possibility of a nationalist lynching of a crowd that mistakenly thought that they burnt the Turkish flame. Akyurek saved the young persons by effective police intervention in the incident and therefore prevented Turkey from another tension that could cause problems in its relations with the EU. The five persons handed out some leaflets to protest F-type prisons.
MESSAGE FROM SEZER
MILLIYET- President Ahmet Necdet Sezer addressed War Academies Conference yesterday and said that people should not give up scientific objectivity while interpreting historical events. Regarding Cyprus issue, Sezer said that Turkey could only recognize the Greek Cypriots when a fair and lasting solution is found to Cyprus question. Sezer also said that Turkey's relation with the US and the European Union complemented each other, rather than being alternatives of each other.
EP CALLS ON ERDOGAN TO STOP CAMPAIGN AGAINST PAMUK
SABAH- The European Parliament (EP) called on Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to stop the campaign against worldwide known author Orhan Pamuk. EP Greens Group Co-President Daniel Cohn-Bendit, EP-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Commission Co-President Joost Lagendijk and EP Greens MP Cem Ozdemir sent a letter to Prime Minister Erdogan to express their uneasiness.
TALAT CRITICIZES BAYKAL
SABAH- Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) criticized visit of Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal. Talat said that it was an untimely visit.
SEZER TURKEY CAN ONLY BE A SECULAR MODEL, NOT A MODERATE ISLAM ONE
CUMHURIYET- Addressing the War Academies, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said that certain countries which were shown as models for being moderate Islam states later turned into fundamentalist regimes. Sezer stressed that Turkey could only constitute a model with its character of being a secular and democratic state governed by the rule of law.
ANKARA EXPECTS TALABANI TO BE THE REPRESENTATIVE OF ALL IRAQI PEOPLE
CUMHURIYET- Turkey expects Jalal Talabani, who was elected as the new Iraqi president to pursue a policy based on common sense. Turkey also expects Talabani to be the representative of all Iraqis and not only Kurdish people. Responding to a question about the election of Talabani (as the president of Iraq), Foreign Ministry Spokesman Namik Tan said that Talabani was an experienced statesman who knows Turkey well. ''We believe that we can cooperate with him,'' Tan said.
TURKEY:NEITHER VICTORY NOR DEFEAT
RADIKAL- Turkey is cautious about the decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the case of Ksenides-Arestis. Turkey said that the decision should not be considered as a defeat or victory, adding that the final decision could not be taken before one year and that important developments could be recorded in Cyprus issue during that period. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Namik Tan said in a weekly press briefing yesterday that the ECHR would later discuss the merits of the case.
ERDOGAN-BUSH MEETING CAN TAKE PLACE IN ROME
RADIKAL- The late Pope John Paul will be buried in Vatican today. Fener Greek Patriarch Bartholomeow and Turkish Armenians Patriarch Mesrob Mutafyan from Turkey will also attend the funeral. State Minister Mehmet Aydin, Justice & Development Party (AKP) deputy leader Nukhet Hopar Goksel, Erdogan's foreign policy adviser Egemen Bagis and AKP group deputy chairman Irfan Gunduz accompany Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who went to Rome yesterday. Erdogan can also meet US President George W. Bush today.
FORMER LAWYER OF OCALAN WOUNDED IN ARMED ATTACK
TURKIYE- Unknown gunmen shot and seriously wounded Medeni Ayhan, the former lawyer of the terrorist organization PKK head Abdullah Ocalan, in Ankara. Attackers opened fire from a speeding car late on Wednesday night, wounding Ayhan, 37. The motive for the attack was unclear. Earlier, Ayhan has been convicted and fined twice for supporting Kurdish separatism through speeches and writings.
TAN: ''GREEK CYPRIOTS HAVE LOST THEIR CHANCE''
TURKIYE- British Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs Jack Straw called on Turkey to withdraw its soldiers from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). In response, Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Namik Tan said that if Greek Cypriots had supported United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan's Cyprus Plan in last year's referendum, Turkey would have withdrawn its soldiers from the island.
TUYGAN DUE TO UNITED STATES
ZAMAN- Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ali Tuygan will pay a visit to the United States between April 13th and 15th. Tuygan is scheduled to hold talks at the White House, U.S. Department of Defense and Department of State. The Cyprus issue, recent developments in Iraq, request of the United States to use the Incirlik Air Base as a logistic center, and latest developments in Afghanistan, Iran and Syria are expected to be high on the agenda of Tuygan's meetings with U.S. executives.
CERRAH SAYS 10,000 POLICEMEN NEEDED IN ISTANBUL
YENI SAFAK- Istanbul Security Director Celalettin Cerrah said that 10,000 policemen were needed in Istanbul to fight theft and robberies. Istanbul receives 300,000 migrants from other parts of Turkey annually. Cerrah said that Istanbul security was determined to fight lawlessness and to protect the life and properties of citizens living in Istanbul.
DENKTAS PLEASED WITH BAYKAL'S VISIT
YENI SAFAK- TRNC President Rauf Denktas received Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal and the accompanying delegation yesterday. Speaking after their meeting, Denktas said that Baykal and his party would strongly continue to defend Cyprus cause. Noting that Baykal knew very well the Cyprus issue, Denktas said he and his party closely monitored the developments on Cyprus. CHP leader Baykal said on the other hand that he paid a visit to the island to express his respect and gratitude to TRNC President Denktas for his efforts to defend Turkish Cypriots.