ERDOGAN: “THE AKP GOVERNMENT WILL DO WHAT’S NEEDED TO REACH A CYPRUS SETTLEMENT”
After 40 years of impasse, it’s now high time to reach a solution on Cyprus, ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday. “Politics is the art of producing solutions, not problems, and the AKP government intends to do just that,” said Erdogan, speaking in the Black Sea province of Rize. “The AKP government will do what’s needed to reach a solution. Cyprus isn’t just a problem of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus [TRNC] President Rauf Denktas, or for that matter myself or any other individual. Rather, it is a question of the TRNC’s struggle for existence.” He said that while Denktas had found the current United Nations plan negotiable, the TRNC leader didn’t trust the Greek Cypriot side. He recommended that Denktas negotiate on the basis of the UN plan, adding, “If no agreement is reached before the UN’s Feb. 28 deadline, things will get worse.” /Sabah/
ERDOGAN TO TOUR CENTRAL ASIAN REPUBLICS
Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to pay visits to Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan on Jan. 7-11. Then Erdogan, accompanied by a delegation, is set to travel to the People’s Republic of China on Jan. 14. He is expected to return to Turkey on Jan. 17. /Turkiye/
GEN. MYERS, US JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN, TO VISIT TURKEY
On the heels of the visit of US Deputy Treasury Secretary John Taylor and Deputy Secretary of State Mark Grossman two weeks ago, Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the US Joint Chief of Staff, is scheduled to pay a visit to Turkey this month as part of his regional tour of eight countries. During Myer’s meetings with Turkish officials, the Iraq issue is expected to be taken up. /Turkiye/
ARINC: “PARLIAMENT WILL DECIDE ON IRAQ AND CYPRUS IN LINE WITH TURKEY’S INTERESTS”
Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc said yesterday that the Iraq and Cyprus issues should be debated in Parliament, whether in a closed or open session. “Following Prime Minister Abdullah Gul’s tour of Middle Eastern countries, Parliament will be briefed on the Iraq issue on Jan. 15-26,” said Arinc. Stressing that the government was working on the Iraq and Cyprus issues, Arinc said that important duties lay with Parliament as well. After debating the issues fully, Parliament will decide on them in line with the nation’s interests, stated the Parliament speaker. Remarking that the time for a decision on the Cyprus issue was looming, Arinc said that he and a delegation would pay a visit to the island on Jan. 8-10. /Turkiye/
ECONOMY MINISTER TUZMEN TO VISIT IRAQ, URGE COMPLIANCE WITH UN RESOLUTIONS
State Minister for the Economy Kursat Tuzmen is set to visit Iraq on Jan. 10 accompanied by a Foreign Ministry delegation. During his meetings with Iraqi government officials, Tuzmen will reportedly say that Turkey places great importance on its economic relations with Iraq. He will also say, however, that time is running out and so Iraq should obey the United Nations resolutions to get Turkey’s support and head off a possible war. /Hurriyet/
SIMITIS: “SOLVING THE CYPRUS ISSUE WOULD BE A BOON TO TURKISH-GREEK RELATIONS”
Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis said yesterday that if the two sides on Cyprus reach an agreement for the island, this would constitute a great step forward for peace and stability in the region. “A solution to the dispute is possible,” said Simitis, whose country just took over the European Union’s rotating presidency. “Moreover, a solution would also improve relations between Turkey and Greece.” Simitis added that his government would continue to work hard to reach an agreement. In related news, Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou stated that improving Turkish-Greek and Turkish-EU relations would be his country’s priority during its six-month EU term presidency. Papandreou added that he hoped the two sides would accept UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Cyprus plan before the United Nations’ deadline, Feb. 28. “However, if problems still remain on Feb. 28, negotiations should continue until we reach an agreement.” /Hurriyet/
ANAP TO HOLD EXTRAORDINARY CONGRESS, ELECT NEW LEADER
The Motherland Party (ANAP) is scheduled to hold an extraordinary congress on Jan. 11-12 at the Ataturk Sports Center in Ankara. Over 1,100 delegates are expected to participate in the congress to elect ANAP’s new leader as well as its administrative ranks. Currently there are five contenders for the chairmanship, namely Ali Talip Ozdemir, Lutfullah Kayalar, Isin Celebi, Ekrem Pakdemirli and Yasar Barut. ANAP was a junior partner of the three-member 1999-2002 coalition government, yet it failed to reach the 10% representation threshold in Turkey’s Nov. 3 general elections, receiving just 5.1% of the vote. Soon after the elections, longtime ANAP Chairman and former Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz stepped down from the party’s helm. /Turkiye/
MHP EX-DEPUTY CHAIR: “THE PARTY SHOULD HOLD AN EXTRAORDINARY CONGRESS WITHOUT DELAY”
The Nationalist Action Party (MHP) should hold an extraordinary congress without delay, said former Deputy Chairman Muharrem Semsek yesterday. Stating that the MHP had been dealt the most crushing defeat in its history in last November’s general elections due to its championing certain “misguided policies,” Semsek argued that the MHP grassroots had long voiced the need for change but that uncertainty still plagued the party. The MHP failed to meet the 10% representation threshold in Turkey’s Nov. 3 general elections, thus excluding the onetime coalition party and largest party in Parliament from the national assembly entirely. /Aksam/
SUPREME COURT HEAD OZKAYA: “LEGISLATION SHOULD NOT SERVE PERSONAL INTERESTS”
Taking sharp exception to a recently passed three-article constitutional amendment package allowing Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan to enter Parliament and thus become prime minister, Supreme Court Chief Justice Eraslan Ozkaya said yesterday that legislation should never be a servant to personal interests. Eraslan stressed that individually oriented legislation was contrary to the basic principles of the law. In the last hours of 2002, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer signed into law the constitutional amendment package, a package over which the Supreme Court lacks jurisdiction. Also criticizing Deputy Prime Minister Ertugrul Yalcinbayir’s suggestion earlier this week that dismissal decisions of the Supreme Military Council (YAS) should be open to judicial review, Ozkaya said, “Yalcinbayir’s proposal stands in stark contrast to the government’s reluctance to lift parliamentary immunity.” /Cumhuriyet/
TOURISM MINISTER AKSIT VISITS BRITAIN
Tourism Minister Guldal Aksit yesterday travelled to Great Britain to attend the London Boat Show Fair and meet with various local travel agencies there. Before leaving, Aksit told reporters that Britain was one of the countries sending the most tourists to Turkey. /Turkiye/
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION