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Turkish press 4 Apr 05
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom;
Apr 04, 2005
Pope's death
Milliyet [centrist] "The Vatican officially recognized the state of
Israel in 1993 for the first time during his [Pope John Paul II's]
period. He was the first pope to visit the divine sites of Muslims
and Jews in Jerusalem and went to the 'Wailing Wall' and the Genocide
Monument and prayed there. He was also the first pope to visit the
Palestinian refugee camps, holding hands with Arafat and showing his
interest in oppressed Muslims. ...He was also the first pope to visit
foreign countries 128 times and organize mass ceremonies involving
hundreds of thousands during his papacy of 26 years. ...The idea of
'dialogue between religions' has expanded much more during his time.
...Yes, without doubt, he was the 'biggest Pope' of the century;
he deserved the respect of humanity." (Commentary by Taha Akyol)
Hurriyet [centre-right, largest circulation] "While guesses are being
hazarded about the identity of the new pope, I wonder if the new one
will be able to do something that the former one has left half-done.
What kind of attitude will the new pope have towards the risk of
clashes between civilizations at this time when the Middle East is
being reformed and during Turkey's EU membership process? ...I hope the
new pope heeds the calls of Muslims [for a papal apology to Muslims for
the Crusades], because this will be the strongest political message -
one which will define the Crusades." (Commentary by Ferai Tinc)
Sabah [centrist] "If you ask 'what was the most influential factor in
ending the Soviet system?', like everybody else, we too will point
to the pope at the Vatican [Pope John Paul II] who hailed from the
Eastern Bloc. ...The world is now crying for a pope who caused the
collapse of a system and ended the 'Cold War'. An equally historic
mission awaits his successor: To prevent the 'War of Civilizations.'"
(Commentary by Erdal Safak)
Turkey-US relations
Milliyet "President Bush, who has started his second term by taking
fresh support from US voters, now gives the impression of a president
who is much more confident, and who believes in his mission to
transform much more. The mass explosions [social uprisings] in
Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan and Lebanon have also greatly encouraged Bush.
...Between the start of the Iraq war and the end of 2004, maybe
sometimes with the help of good fortune too, the AKP [ruling Justice
and Development Party in Turkey] was able to maintain relations with
the USA at a certain level without fully surrendering to the demands
of the USA. However, now it seems that the USA has come to a new
phase of its great game plan and it is understood that in this phase,
making the USA wait, or resisting its demands, may be much harder."
(Commentary by Osman Ulagay)
Turkey and the West
Cumhuriyet [secular, Kemalist] "Initially, the West meant only Europe
for us; afterwards, it covered the USA too. These days, Turkey has
problems with the two geopolitical entities expressed by the acronyms
EU and USA. ...Why has the West placed the 'Armenian issue', which was
experienced in eastern Anatolia at the beginning of 20th century',
before Turkey at the beginning of 21st century as if it were a very
'urgent' subject? Why has the West raised the recognition of the Greek
state up to the level of a precondition for Turkey's acceptability
to the EU? What is the reason for the negative voices coming from
the number one power in the West, the USA? ...It is true that there
is tension between the West and Turkey but is it not unfair to say
that this is being caused totally by us?" (Editorial)
Turkey-EU relations
Yeni Safak [liberal, pro-Islamic] "The opinion that discrimination
is being practised against Turkey as it moves towards EU membership
is widespread. If one looks closer, one can see that things are
being asked of Turkey prior to membership which are not asked of any
other member country. Some claim that this opinion is wrong. However,
there are indications that this supposition is real." (Commentary by
Cevdet Akcali)
Iraq
Zaman [moderate, pro-Islamic] ...The fact that [Hacim] Al-Hassani
has been appointed to this post [parliament Speaker] shows that
Sunni society in Iraq can be an element of balance. Turkey's Iraq
policy must cover the Sunni population, too, as much as the Turkoman
population, whose existence cannot be felt in the general picture."
(Commentary by Kerim Balci)
Aksam [centre-right] "If Turkey is to have the status of a respected
power in its own region, then it certainly must not neglect its
strategic economic interests. Thus, our state must reconsider its
relations with the Kurdish formation in northern Iraq and make
the necessary changes in current attitudes in terms of Turkey's
interests. Approaching the region in terms of economic interests will
both provide us an advantage and make the Kurdish formation [there]
come much closer to us." (Commentary by Serdar Turgut)
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom;
Apr 04, 2005
Pope's death
Milliyet [centrist] "The Vatican officially recognized the state of
Israel in 1993 for the first time during his [Pope John Paul II's]
period. He was the first pope to visit the divine sites of Muslims
and Jews in Jerusalem and went to the 'Wailing Wall' and the Genocide
Monument and prayed there. He was also the first pope to visit the
Palestinian refugee camps, holding hands with Arafat and showing his
interest in oppressed Muslims. ...He was also the first pope to visit
foreign countries 128 times and organize mass ceremonies involving
hundreds of thousands during his papacy of 26 years. ...The idea of
'dialogue between religions' has expanded much more during his time.
...Yes, without doubt, he was the 'biggest Pope' of the century;
he deserved the respect of humanity." (Commentary by Taha Akyol)
Hurriyet [centre-right, largest circulation] "While guesses are being
hazarded about the identity of the new pope, I wonder if the new one
will be able to do something that the former one has left half-done.
What kind of attitude will the new pope have towards the risk of
clashes between civilizations at this time when the Middle East is
being reformed and during Turkey's EU membership process? ...I hope the
new pope heeds the calls of Muslims [for a papal apology to Muslims for
the Crusades], because this will be the strongest political message -
one which will define the Crusades." (Commentary by Ferai Tinc)
Sabah [centrist] "If you ask 'what was the most influential factor in
ending the Soviet system?', like everybody else, we too will point
to the pope at the Vatican [Pope John Paul II] who hailed from the
Eastern Bloc. ...The world is now crying for a pope who caused the
collapse of a system and ended the 'Cold War'. An equally historic
mission awaits his successor: To prevent the 'War of Civilizations.'"
(Commentary by Erdal Safak)
Turkey-US relations
Milliyet "President Bush, who has started his second term by taking
fresh support from US voters, now gives the impression of a president
who is much more confident, and who believes in his mission to
transform much more. The mass explosions [social uprisings] in
Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan and Lebanon have also greatly encouraged Bush.
...Between the start of the Iraq war and the end of 2004, maybe
sometimes with the help of good fortune too, the AKP [ruling Justice
and Development Party in Turkey] was able to maintain relations with
the USA at a certain level without fully surrendering to the demands
of the USA. However, now it seems that the USA has come to a new
phase of its great game plan and it is understood that in this phase,
making the USA wait, or resisting its demands, may be much harder."
(Commentary by Osman Ulagay)
Turkey and the West
Cumhuriyet [secular, Kemalist] "Initially, the West meant only Europe
for us; afterwards, it covered the USA too. These days, Turkey has
problems with the two geopolitical entities expressed by the acronyms
EU and USA. ...Why has the West placed the 'Armenian issue', which was
experienced in eastern Anatolia at the beginning of 20th century',
before Turkey at the beginning of 21st century as if it were a very
'urgent' subject? Why has the West raised the recognition of the Greek
state up to the level of a precondition for Turkey's acceptability
to the EU? What is the reason for the negative voices coming from
the number one power in the West, the USA? ...It is true that there
is tension between the West and Turkey but is it not unfair to say
that this is being caused totally by us?" (Editorial)
Turkey-EU relations
Yeni Safak [liberal, pro-Islamic] "The opinion that discrimination
is being practised against Turkey as it moves towards EU membership
is widespread. If one looks closer, one can see that things are
being asked of Turkey prior to membership which are not asked of any
other member country. Some claim that this opinion is wrong. However,
there are indications that this supposition is real." (Commentary by
Cevdet Akcali)
Iraq
Zaman [moderate, pro-Islamic] ...The fact that [Hacim] Al-Hassani
has been appointed to this post [parliament Speaker] shows that
Sunni society in Iraq can be an element of balance. Turkey's Iraq
policy must cover the Sunni population, too, as much as the Turkoman
population, whose existence cannot be felt in the general picture."
(Commentary by Kerim Balci)
Aksam [centre-right] "If Turkey is to have the status of a respected
power in its own region, then it certainly must not neglect its
strategic economic interests. Thus, our state must reconsider its
relations with the Kurdish formation in northern Iraq and make
the necessary changes in current attitudes in terms of Turkey's
interests. Approaching the region in terms of economic interests will
both provide us an advantage and make the Kurdish formation [there]
come much closer to us." (Commentary by Serdar Turgut)