SEZER: “PARLIAMENT SHOULD REDUCE THE NUMBER OF ITS DEPUTIES TO 400”
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday received members of Parliament’s Presidential Council at the Cankaya Presidential Palace. During the meeting, Sezer asked the council to take up the Political Parties Law and make necessary amendments to it. Along these lines, Sezer suggested that political party leaders should serve at their party’s helms for a maximum of two election cycles, translating to a decade at most. He also recommended that Parliament’s current roster of 550 deputies be reduced to 400. On the Iraq issue, the president predicted that Turkey would be the country to suffer the most harm in a possible war whether or not it were directly involved in the conflict. Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc also briefed the president on his recent visit to India. Sezer then received True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar, the DYP’s sole deputy in Parliament, and members of the party’s council.
President Sezer yesterday also issued a message marking Dec. 25, the day non-Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas, and wishing all Christians living in Turkey a happy holiday. In the message, he highlighted the importance of peace, tolerance and mutual understanding in and among societies. /Turkiye/

PRIME MINISTER GUL MEETS WITH BAYKAL
Prime Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday met with opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal. During their one-and-a-half-hour meeting, Gul reportedly told the CHP leader about recent developments on the Iraq issue, which has been the focus of several recent government summits. Baykal told reporters that he had expressed to the prime minister his party’s views on the issue. /Turkiye/

ERDOGAN MEETS WITH RUSSIAN PRESIDENT PUTIN
Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Erdogan, who is currently on a visit to Russia, yesterday met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. During their talks, Erdogan expressed the Turkish nation’s concerns about the terrorist organization KADEK, also known as the PKK, since Turkey had lost tens of thousands of its people due to terrorism. Erdogan also asked for Russia’s support in the struggle against terrorist organizations. Putin said that Russia had great concerns about the breakaway province of Chechnya, which he blames for his own nation’s terrorism woes. “The Russian government has done what it had to do about Chechnya, and now it’s Turkey’s turn,” said Putin. He also congratulated Erdogan for the landslide victory of the AKP in Turkey’s November general elections. Two leaders agreed to form an international front against terrorism. Speaking to reporters after their meeting, Putin said that Turkey was a longtime, reliable partner of Russia and that relations between the two countries would improve. Erdogan said that the two countries should cooperate in economic areas. /Milliyet/

IPUK LEADER TALABANI VISITS ANKARA
Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (IPUK) leader Jalal Talabani yesterday visited Ankara ahead of a possible US-led military campaign in Iraq and met with Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal. Following the one-hour meeting, Talabani told reporters that the IPUK would appreciate Turkey’s lending its forces to an international coalition intervening in the country. Talabani added that he had briefed Ziyal on a meeting of Iraqi opposition groups in London on Dec. 14-15. Talabani later met with Prime Minister Abdullah Gul. Following the meeting, Talabani said that he had asked for Turkey’s support, adding that he hoped that the IPUK could improve its relations with the new Justice and Development Party (AKP) government. /Hurriyet/

BAYKAL: “THE CHP SUPPORTS THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PACKAGE, AS IT RESPECTS THE NATION’S CHOICE IN NOVEMBER’S ELECTIONS”
Speaking at his party’s group meeting yesterday, Opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal said that he supported a constitutional amendment package proposing amendments to Articles 67, 76, and 78 of the Constitution, since he respected the nation’s decision in voting for the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in November’s general elections. The package in question would pave the way for AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan to become prime minister, a post from which he is currently banned. Baykal also characterized the amendment to Article 76 as a general and permanent regulation. Addressing President Ahmet Necdet Sezer’s veto of the same legislative package last week, he called Sezer a respected jurist and statesman who had rendered valuable services to the nation during his presidency. “However, I am trying to understand the reasons for his turning back the amendment package,” added Baykal. Before becoming president in 2000, Sezer led the Constitutional Court, the nation’s leading judicial body. /Milliyet/

ECEVIT: “TURKEY WOULD INEVITABLY BE DRAGGED INTO ANY WAR IN IRAQ”
Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader and former Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said yesterday that the prospect of a war in Iraq was growing more probable with each passing day. Ecevit predicted that if a war broke out, Turkey would inevitably be dragged into it even if the country didn’t actively participate in the military campaign, as the US would carry out military operations near Turkey’s borders with Iraq. “I’m deeply concerned about the death toll and grave economic losses that Turkey could suffer,” added Ecevit. /Sabah/

CABINET CONVENES, DISCUSSES ECONOMY
The Cabinet convened yesterday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Abdullah Gul. During the three-hour meeting, the Cabinet ministers discussed the current state of the economy, the country’s inflation targets for next year and the government’s privatization policies. /Cumhuriyet/

GOVERNMENT DISCUSSES PREPARATIONS FOR POSSIBLE WAVE OF IRAQI REFUGEES
A crisis coordination council convened at the prime ministry yesterday in order to discuss measures to be taken for a possible wave of refugees in case of a war in Iraq. The council estimated that a half a million refugees might rush to Turkey’s borders. Accordingly, Turkey is preparing measures to halt refugees coming between the 36th and 37th parallels and prevent them from entering Turkey. /Cumhuriyet/

SUPREME MILITARY COUNCIL TO MEET TOMORROW
The Supreme Military Council is set to meet tomorrow to brief Prime Minister Abdullah Gul on a number of matters, including recent developments concerning Iraq, the Cyprus issue, and reactionary movements in Turkey which endanger its democratic, secular regime. Gul will also be briefed on the preparations of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) for a possible war in Iraq. /Milliyet/

ISRAELI CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF MEETS TURKISH OFFICIALS
Israeli Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Moshe Ya’alon, who is currently in Turkey upon the invitation of his Turkish counterpart Gen. Hilmi Ozkok, yesterday met with Ozkok at the General Staff headquarters in Ankara. At the meeting, bilateral military relations were discussed. Then Ya’alon visited Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul. The Israeli general expressed his pleasure at visiting Turkey for the first time and remarked on the importance of such visits in maintaining and developing relations. /Turkiye/

AMENDMENT PACKAGE PASSES AGAIN IN PARLIAMENT’S FIRST VOTE
Parliament yesterday held its first round of voting on an amendment package which was vetoed last week by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, passing it once again by a large majority. Following the second round of balloting on Friday, the legislation package is expected to be sent to the president without any changes being made to it. The president lacks the authority to veto the package twice. /Aksam/

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