ERDOGAN: “TURKEY REJECTS OUTSIDERS’ LOBBYING EFFORTS”
Addressing the second day of the Council of Europe summit in Warsaw, Poland, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday rebuked Armenian President Robert Kocharian for raising the issue of the alleged genocide during his speech on Monday. Stressing that Europe could not be constructed on the basis of historical enmity, Erdogan called on the parliaments of certain countries to evaluate the issue in line with documents in historical achieves. “We don’t appreciate these efforts to lobby on the claims with no basis on historical documents and facts,” said Erdogan, adding that the politicians should act after joint efforts by historians, jurists and political scientists on the issue. In addition, the Turkish premier met separately with European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) head Luzius Wildhaber and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Accompanied by his Polish counterpart Marek Belka, Erdogan also opened a trade center build by Turkish firms in Warsaw. After completing his contacts, Erdogan returned to Ankara last night. /Hurriyet-Turkiye/

BILL FOR TURKISH SUFFRAGE SUBMITTED TO GREEK CYPRIOT PARLIAMENT
The Greek Cypriot administration yesterday discussed a new bill that would give Turkish Cypriots living in the south of the island the right to vote and be voted for in elections which are held in “free zones.” If the bill is approved, for the first time in decades, Turkish Cypriots will be able vote for the president, though they cannot stand for the post. The Greek Cypriot Parliament Interior Committee yesterday discussed how Turkish Cypriots would soon be able to vote in local and national elections, including parliamentary and presidential elections, and stand as candidates in all elections expect for the presidential ones. Turkish Cypriots who permanently reside in such “free zones” would also be incorporated into the existing electoral rolls. /Star/

BLAIR MARKS TURKEY’S EU BID AS ONE OF HIS PRIORITIES
British Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday unveiled his agenda for his historic third term. Blair`s agenda, which was presented by Queen Elizabeth at a ceremony at the House of Lords, contains 45 bills and five draft bills. Queen Elizabeth also laid out Blair’s foreign policy goals, underlining Turkey’s European Union membership negotiations as one of the premier’s priorities. “Britain as the EU’s term president will give priority to a successful start of Turkey’s membership talks on Oct. 3,” she said. Britain assumes the six-month presidency on July 1. /Milliyet/

BAYKAL: “WE CAN’T ACCEPT THE ECHR’S OCALAN RULING”
Addressing his party’s group meeting, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) head Deniz Baykal yesterday lambasted the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling on terrorist Abdullah Ocalan and the government’s attitude towards the ruling. “The government acts as if there is nothing to be done except accepting the ruling,” he said. “However, the ECHR didn’t even call Ocalan and his group ‘terrorist.’ We cannot accept such attitudes. A retrial will never be easy. If we look at the EU’s own history and practices, we can easily see that the high court applies double standards to Turkey. The court’s ruling offers Turkey three options. Therefore, retrial isn’t our only choice. I warn the government not to retry Ocalan.” /Aksam/

ARINC TO VISIT WASHINGTON
Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc is set to pay an official visit to the US on next Tuesday, May 24, at the invitation of House of Representatives Speaker Dennis Hastert. Arinc will be the first Turkish Parliament speaker to visit this country. /Hurriyet/

BUSH, BLAIR SUMMONED TO IRAQ TRIBUNAL IN ISTANBUL
Representatives of the World Tribunal on Iraq (WTI) yesterday issued summonses for US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair to appear at the five-day final hearing of the tribunal set to take place in Istanbul starting on June 23-27. The Istanbul session is expected to reach a final conclusion by examining the results of previous sessions as well as new reports and testimonies. The WTI is a worldwide initiative aiming at recording the crimes and violations that were committed during and after the Iraq war. /Cumhuriyet/

IRAQI PM AL-JAAFARI: “WE’LL COOPERATE WITH TURKEY TO FIGHT THE TERRORIST PKK”
In the runup to his visit to Ankara, Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari yesterday pledged to cooperate with Turkey to fight the terrorist group PKK in northern Iraq. Al-Jaafari is expected to visit Ankara tomorrow. Remarking that he is very proud to be paying his first official visit to Ankara, the Iraqi premier stressed that his country places a high premium on its relations with Turkey, one of its most important neighbors. “We take Turkish democracy as a role model,” he added. “As long as Turkey doesn’t intervene in our internal affairs, we won’t intervene in its domestic politics. Besides, we would never accept anything that is against Turkey’s national interests.” /Cumhuriyet/

SCHILY: “NATIONAL VIEW IS THE LARGEST RADICAL ISLAMIST GROUP IN GERMANY”
The number of Islamist radicals based in Germany rose last year, German Interior Minister Otto Schily yesterday told a news conference for the release of the 2004 report by the country`s security agency. According to the report, the largest radical Islamist group in Germany is Milli Gorus (National View) with 26,500 members, which aims to establish an Islamic republic in Turkey. Nearly 32,000 Islamist radicals were residents in the country at the end of last year, said the report, underlining that most of them were Turks. /Milliyet/

ROTH VISITS PARLIAMENT HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION HEAD
Turkish-German Friendship Group head Claudia Roth, visiting Turkey, yesterday met with Parliament Human Rights Commission head Mehmet Elkatmis. During their talks, when Roth criticized Turkish police actions towards demonstrators at a March 6 rally in Istanbul for World Women’s Day, Elkatmis presented a number of photographs from newspapers abroad showing German and France police using force on students, including girls. He said that those photos had not been seen by European Union countries and only Turkey was condemned. /Turkiye/

SARKOZY CALLS ON FRENCH PUBLIC TO APPROVE EU CONSTITUTION
In the runup to a referendum in France on the European Union Constitution, French ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party leader Nicholas Sarkozy, a leading presidential candidate and opponent of Turkey’s EU membership, yesterday made a surprise call to the people to cast their votes to say “yes.” Sarkozy, speaking to Le Monde daily, said that in order to strengthen cooperation between European institutions, the Constitution should be supported. If the EU Constitution is approved in France, an important obstacle to Ankara’s EU membership bid will be eliminated, say EU circles. /Turkiye/

EIB LAUDS TURKEY’S “GROWTH ENGINE,” PREDICTS MORE FOREIGN INVESTMENT
European Investment Bank (EIB) President Phillippe Maystadt yesterday remarked that Turkey would become the “growth engine” of Europe with its approximately 10 percent growth rate. Noting that Turkey has achieved a stable growth rate over the last three years, Maystadt said that economic growth would be sustained as long as positive macroeconomic developments continue. He added that the more Turkey fulfills the requirements of its EU membership bid, the more foreign capital will flow into the country. “Ankara’s standby deal with the International Monetary Fund will also enhance foreign investors’ confidence in the Turkish economy,” he said. “The EIB wants to boost its relations with Turkey, especially after the country’s EU negotiations begin. Our bank will lend its full support to Turkey to raise the country’s economic and social standards to the European level.” /Star/