SEZER: “INTERNATIONAL LEGITIMACY SHOULD BE ENSURED BEFORE PARLIAMENT VOTE”
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday summoned Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc to the Presidential Palace. Sezer reportedly told Arinc that international legitimacy should be ensured before Parliament votes on a proposal authorizing the US to station its troops at Turkey’s airbases and ports for a possible Iraq war. For his part, Arinc expressed agreement with Sezer, adding that he was planning to convey this message to the government. Arinc then met with Prime Minister Abdullah Gul. The prime minister, however, reportedly reiterated that there was no point in further delays of Parliament’s vote on the proposal. /Hurriyet/
ERDOGAN: “IF PARLIAMENT REJECTS THE IRAQ PROPOSALS, IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT FOR TURKEY TO BORROW FROM INTERNATIONAL MARKETS”
Speaking on CNN Turk yesterday, ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that negotiations between Turkey and the United States were essentially concluded but that there were still some issues outstanding. “On the issues still awaiting agreement, we will go along for the time being,” stated Erdogan. “I believe that the nation will understand me.” Erdogan added that if Parliament rejected the proposal on allowing US troops to be stationed on Turkish soil, Turkey would in the future have difficulties borrowing from international markets. /Aksam/
ARINC: “PROPOSAL ON IRAQ WILL LIKELY BE DEBATED IN PARLIAMENT TODAY”
Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc yesterday said that a proposal to allow US troop deployment in Turkey as well as sending Turkish troops to northern Iraq might be debated today in Parliament. During a courtesy visit to opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal, Arinc told reporters that he was still considering the measure. “It is highly possible that the proposal will be debated tomorrow [meaning Thursday] in Parliament,” he said. Asked whether the two articles of the proposal would be voted on separately or not, Arinc stated that he would act impartially and in line with established rules and procedures. For his part, Baykal said that the two matters, allowing US troops to be stationed in Turkey and sending Turkish troops to Iraq, should be sent to Parliament in two separate proposals. Baykal has said that he supports the latter measure but opposes the former. /Turkiye/
GOVERNMENT TRIES TO PERSUADE DEPUTIES TO SUPPORT IRAQ MEASURES
The leadership of the Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government was busy yesterday trying to convince its deputies to vote in favor of a proposal on the Iraq issue expected to be debated in Parliament today. During a six-hour meeting yesterday, the Cabinet ministers briefed Parliament’s AKP deputies on the situation and laid out the case for the proposal’s passage. The AKP parliamentary meeting is scheduled to continue today ahead of an expected vote in the general assembly. /All Papers/
ANNAN MEETS WITH DENKTAS TO PRESENT THIRD CYPRUS PLAN
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan yesterday met with Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Rauf Denktas to present his third revised Cyprus plan. Speaking after the meeting, Denktas said that he had told Annan of the hardships Turkish Cypriots would be subject to under the plan, adding that he found the plan unsatisfactory. “I asked Annan how we could ever accept a plan which would force half of our citizens to give up their homes,” added Denktas. Annan later met with new Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos to present him the plan. /Aksam/
TRNC AMBASSADOR: “ANNAN’S PLAN WOULD END THE TURKISH PRESENCE ON CYPRUS”
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Ahmet Zeki Bulunc, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ (TRNC) ambassador to Ankara, said that the United Nations’ third plan for Cyprus would end the Turkish presence on the island and furthermore do damage to Turkey’s national interests. Bulunc added that the Turkish Cypriots hadn’t been properly briefed about the plan. /Milliyet/
TURKEY’S EMBASSY IN BAGHDAD EVACUATED, IRAQ BORDER CLOSED TO TRADE
Turkey’s Embassy in Baghdad was evacuated yesterday and its entire staff, including Ambassador Osman Paksut, recalled to Ankara. In addition, Turkey’s border gate with Iraq at Habur was also closed to vehicle traffic and trade. Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis said that the evacuation had been done as a precaution against unforeseen developments and that it didn’t mean that war was imminent. /Turkiye/
NSC TO DISCUSS NORTHERN IRAQ ISSUE
The National Security Council (NSC) is set to convene tomorrow to discuss recent developments regarding Iraq and especially the Kurdish-controlled area of northern Iraq. The NSC is to review intelligence reports on the latest developments in Iraq. The council is expected to reiterate Turkey’s determination to protect Iraq’s territorial integrity. In particular, it is expected to stress that Turkey would do its utmost to block separatist Kurdish groups’ efforts to establish an independent state in the region, underlining that Turkey would regard any such development as a grave threat to its national security or even a “casus belli.” /Cumhuriyet/
IRAQI VP: “IN CASE OF WAR, IRAQ WILL ATTACK ANY COUNTRIES COOPERATING WITH THE US, INCLUDING TURKEY”
Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan yesterday stated that Iraq could attack both Turkey and Kuwait in case of a US-led war supported by these two countries. Stating that Iraq would not hesitate to retaliate against those who “collaborate” with the US, Ramadan said that if it faced attack, Iraq would of course defend its people and territories. “Countries which help the Bush administration will be regarded as accomplices of the US,” added the Iraqi official. Meanwhile, Iraqi Ambassador to Ankara Talip Abid Salih yesterday remarked that if a proposal authorizing the US to station its troops on Turkish soil was passed by the Parliament, it would mean that Turkey had joined a war alongside the US and would have to bear the consequences. Earlier this year, Abid had pledged that Iraq would not attack Turkey. /Cumhuriyet/
US ENVOY KHALILZAD: “TURKISH FORCES WILL NOT ENTER NORTHERN IRAQ SINGLE-HANDEDLY”
In case of war against Iraq, Turkish forces will enter northern Iraq only in concert with US troops, pledged a US government representative to Iraqi opposition groups yesterday. Speaking at a gathering in Salaheddin, northern Iraq, convened to discuss Iraq’s postwar future, with a large Kurdish contingent present, US Envoy to the Iraqi opposition Zalmay Khalilzad stated that the United States was opposed to any military power entering the region without US assent and cooperation. Northern Iraqi Kurdish groups have struck a more belligerent and anxious tone in recent days regarding possible Turkish intervention, warning of clashes between Kurds and Turkish forces should they enter northern Iraq. Turkey has pledged that its forces would be present in northern Iraq only for humanitarian purposes and to protect Turkey’s national interests. Also speaking at yesterday’s gathering, Iraqi Kurdish Democratic Party (IKDP) head Massoud Barzani, one of the most vocal leaders sounding such warnings, reiterated his call for the US to block the intervention of neighboring countries in the region. /Sabah/
OFFICIAL CANDIDATE LIST FOR SIIRT BY-ELECTION APPROVED
The official list of candidates slated to run in the Siirt by-election scheduled for March 9 has been approved by the Supreme Board of Elections (YSK) and is due to be published in the Official Gazette today. The race is widely expected to pave the way for ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdoðan to assume the prime minister’s post, a position for which he was previously ineligible in last November polls. Last fall’s election in Siirt was invalidated by the YSK due to irregularities. The final list of candidates is as follows: Erdogan (AKP), Abdurrahman Kaysi (Republican People’s Party, CHP), Bayram Yurtcicek (Workers’ Party, IP), Deniz Ünver (Turkish Communist Party, TKP), Oner Gulyesil, Oner Ergenc, Ekrem Bilek, Abdulhalim Cýnar, Muharrem Kýrýk, Emine Serpil Renda, Zeki Karahan, and Yusuf Celik. /Star/
BRIDGES, HIGHWAYS ADDED TO PRIVATIZATION SLATE
The government plans to privatize two bridges in Istanbul as well as a number of highways, the High Privatization Board (OIB) announced yesterday. In a decision published in the Official Gazette, the OIB announced that Istanbul’s Bosphorus and Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridges as well as the Edirne-Ankara, Pozanti-Mersin, Tarsus-Gaziantep, Toprakkale-Iskenderun, Izmir-Cesme and Izmir-Aydin highways were being added to the government’s ambitious privatization slate. Legal and financial preparations for the selloff are to carried out by the Housing and Public Works Ministry together with the Highways Directorate and the Privatization Administration Board, and are scheduled to be completed in three months’ time, with bidding tenders to follow. /Star/
CB HEAD URGES ACTION TO BOOST GROWTH EXPECTATIONS
Speaking at a meeting of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ISO) yesterday, Central Bank Governor Sureyya Serdengecti said that Turkey’s growth target for this year was 5%, but that business surveys showed an expectation that actual growth would fall short. Serdengecti urged the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government to implement economic reforms as quickly as possibly to remedy this situation. Also touching on inflation, the CB head remarked that some circles were not satisfied with the government’s performance to date on inflation, adding that he hoped this situation too would be addressed soon. /Milliyet/
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION