MGK DISCUSSES SECURITY REPORT ON TERRORISM
The National Security Council (MGK) has briefed the new government on terrorist groups which pose a threat to Turkey as well as the countries which support these groups. The MGK prepared a security report on terrorism evaluating the policies of the neighboring countries on the issue. The report stated that Iran had shut its eyes to the illegal activities of the PKK, violating an agreement signed between the two countries to coordinate their security operations against terrorist organization. The report also criticized Syria, Romania, Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration for failing to crack down on the PKK. /Cumhuriyet/

BUSY DIPLOMATIC TRAFFIC THIS WEEK FOCUSES ON IRAQ, CYPRUS
Ahead of a possible military intervention in Iraq, the United States and Britain have stepped up diplomatic pressure on Turkey in order to ensure the country’s full support. British Foreign Minister Jack Straw and former Chief of General Staff Lord Guthrie are scheduled to pay a joint visit to Turkey on tomorrow and Wednesday. Straw is expected to meet with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Prime Minister Abdullah Gul and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan to make sure that the high-level Turkish officials are ready to lend their full support to a possible operation against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. In addition, US Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Assistant Secretary of State Marc Grossman are to visit Turkey tomorrow to exchange views on the Iraq issue. While Grossman is expected to hold meetings with Sezer, Gul and Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis, Wolfowitz is to visit the Office of the Chief of General Staff to hold a series of meetings there. Furthermore, Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou is scheduled to arrive in Ankara on Wednesday to discuss the Cyprus issue with Yakis. The two ministers are expected to discuss the UN Cyprus plan and to tell each other that they are ready for future negotiations. /Sabah/

ERDOGAN: “THE AKP WILL MAKE THE ECONOMY ITS PRIORITY”
Speaking at the Central Decision and Executive Board (MKYK) meeting of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) yesterday, AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his party would make the economy its priority. “The nation is expecting the AKP to put the economy back on its firm footing,” he said. “The economy is on the AKP’s agenda, and we don’t want to be distracted by other tasks.” Erdogan stated that he wanted every AKP official to be very careful about Turkey’s sensitive issues such as headscarves, referring to a recent dispute between President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc. During the meeting, the relationship between the government and the AKP leadership was also discussed, with agreement reached that the latter would steer the course of the former. New deputy chairmen of the party were also selected during the meeting, as follows: Hayati Yazici, Idris Naim Sahin, Halil Urun, Nazým Ekren, Nurettin Canikli, Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat, Necati Cetinkaya, Saban Disli, and Reha Denemec. The meeting lasted for nearly three hours. /Milliyet/

GUL: “THE AKP IS TRYING TO PREPARE EU LAWS EVEN BEFORE COPENHAGEN”
Speaking to reporters after the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) Central Decision and Executive Board (MKYK) meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said that the AKP was working very hard to prepare European Union harmonization laws in the leadup to this month’s Copenhagen summit beginning Dec. 12. Gul said that Deputy Prime Minister Ertugrul Yalcinbayir, Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu, and Justice Minister Cemil Cicek were doing their best to prepare the package before Copenhagen. “We’re also evaluating the EU package with the opposition Republican People’s Party [CHP],” he added. /Hurriyet/

MENDERES ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY FOR DYP LEADERSHIP
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Aydin Menderes declared his candidacy for the True Path Party (DYP) leadership ahead of its congress next month. Menderes said that the DYP had lost votes for nearly a decade now, especially after 1999’s general elections, and that his aim was to stem these losses and develop the party. “Self-criticism and opposition have failed to develop within the party, and this has caused us to lose more votes in every election,” he said. “The mission of the new DYP leader will be to restructure the party.” Menderes added that as part of this restructuring he hoped to unite the DYP with the Motherland Party (ANAP), neither of which received enough votes in the last election to be represented in Parliament. Aydin Menderes was born in 1946 and is the son of Turkey’s late Prime Minister Adnan Menderes. Should Menderes win the DYP helm, he would succeed Tansu Ciller, who vowed to step down after the party’s poor showing in November’s polls. /Hurriyet/

WESTON PROMOTES ANNAN’S CYPRUS PLAN
The Bush administration has once again voiced its support for the Cyprus plan recently prepared by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Thomas Weston, the US State Department’s Cyprus coordinator, reiterated over the weekend that Washington believes the Cyprus problem should be solved before this month’s EU Copenhagen summit, set to convene in less than two weeks. Weston underlined that the UN Cyprus plan, which he called “faultless,” was a historic opportunity for both sides on the island. Stating that the US would continue to support peace efforts until a permanent settlement is reached on the island, Weston called on both sides to contribute to the Cyprus peace process by adopting more positive and constructive policies. “The Bush administration believes that the UN Cyprus plan is a fair proposal which can be a basis for future negotiations,” added Weston. /Cumhuriyet

PRODI: “TURKEY HASN’T YET FULFILLED ALL THE CRITERIA”
In an interview with Greek daily Eleftherotipia, European Commission Chairman Romano Prodi said yesterday that he dreamed of a future European Union which included all of the Balkan countries as well as Turkey. He stated that although Turkey had carried out important reforms, it had yet to fulfill all the Copenhagen criteria. Regarding the EU membership bid of Greek Cyprus, Prodi said that the EU would prefer to admit Cyprus as a whole after finding a solution to the issue. “However,” he added, “We cannot wait any longer [on this]” /Turkiye/

IMF DELEGATION VISITS TURKEY
International Monetary Fund (IMF) European Director Michael Deppler and Turkey Desk Chief Juha Kahkonen yesterday arrived in Ankara. Following their contacts with Turkish officials including Prime Minister Abdullah Gul and related ministers, Deppler and Kahkonen are expected to leave Turkey tomorrow. /Turkiye/

DEMONSTRATORS PROTEST POSSIBLE WAR IN IRAQ
Demonstrations against war were held yesterday in various locales across Turkey, including Istanbul, with the attendance of thousands of people. To protest a possible United States military operation in Iraq, political party representatives, non-governmental organization (NGO) members and other groups chanted slogans and carried banners against the prospect of war. /Turkiye/

TURKISH-TRAINED AFGHAN UNIT TAKES UP DUTIES
About 400 Afghan soldiers charged with guarding Afghanistan’s Presidential Palace graduated yesterday from an advanced military training course given by Turkish soldiers serving in the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. The Afghan soldiers from the First battalion of theAfghan National Guard took their pledges of duty in a graduation ceremony at the Olympic Stadium in the capital Kabul. The National Guards, who were trained for 10 weeks, will serve as a backbone to the new Afghan National Army. /Turkiye/

SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION