Monday, 27 April 2009
These are some of the major headlines and their summaries in Turkish press on April 27, 2009. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
HURRIYET
--------
"TURKEY IS NOT A COUNTRY TO PAT AND DECEIVE"
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has given a harsh reaction to U.S. President Barack Obama who described the incidents of 1915 as "one of the great atrocities of the 20th century" in his remarks on April 24. "We have always sincerely tried to reveal the fact. I wrote a letter to the president of Armenia in 2005. I have not yet received a response from him. We have tried to encourage peace against those who were trying to poison people's minds with enmity and hatred," Erdogan said.
He said, "President Obama's remarks did not satisfy us. Actually, it is
unacceptable. This is a balanced statement to fulfil the promises given during the election campaigns. Turkey is not a country to pat and deceive."
MESSAGE: PEACE AND TRUTH
A rally was held in New York's Times Square under the title "Stop Armenian lies and commemoration of martyred diplomats". People waved Turkish, Azerbaijani and Turkish Cypriot flags and gave the message of peace and truth.
MILLIYET
--------
OZKOK ANSWERS QUESTIONS OF PROSECUTORS
Former Chief of Turkish General Staff, Gen. Hilmi Ozkok, answered questions of prosecutors for about eight hours within the framework of the Ergenekon probe. Prosecutors Zekeriya Oz and Fikret Secen asked questions to Gen. Ozkok in a private room at the Izmir Judiciary.
ING BANK WILL REMAIN IN TURKEY, CEO
The President of the Executive Board of ING Bank in Turkey, John McCarthy, said that there has been no changes in ING Bank's plans on Turkey. "The ING Bank will remain in Turkey. We will realize our goal of opening 125 more new branches in Turkey by 2012," McCarthy stressed.
SABAH
-----
GOVERNMENT TO BE GUARANTOR FOR LOANS ISSUED TO PRIVATE COMPANIES
The Turkish Government will be a guarantor for loans issued to private
companies under the Credit Guarantee Fund. The Government will be a financial guarantor for up to 60 percent of the loan issued. The fund will issue up to 10 billion liras for each company as a loan.
TURKISH SHOPPING MALLS RECEIVE AWARDS IN BARCELONA
Four Turkish shopping malls received awards during the European Congress of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) in Barcelona. Turkey's Panora, Istinye Park, Meydan and Forum Mersin malls received awards from the ICSC, an organization comprised of 76,000 professional executives in the global shopping sector.
VATAN
-----
FIRST MGK MEETING, THEN CABINET RESHUFFLE
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to announce a cabinet reshuffle this week. Since there are ministers, who are members of the National Security Council (MGK), among those to be replaced, the announcement is expected to be made after MGK's regular meeting on Tuesday. Prime Minister Erdogan is expected to present his new list to President Abdullah Gul during their weekly meeting on Thursday.
ERDOGAN REACTS
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave response to remarks of U.S. President Barack Obama on April 24. "We consider those remarks an unacceptable interpretation of history which does not reflect the truth. This statement aims at fulfilling the promises given during the election campaigns. History should be left to historians. Turkey is not a country to pat and deceive."
CUMHURIYET
----------
CABINET RESHUFFLE EXPECTED AFTER MGK MEETING
It was claimed that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan could make a
replacement in the cabinet after the National Security Council's (MGK) regular meeting on Tuesday. The Council of Ministers will not convene today. Prime Minister Erdogan is expected to present his new list to President Abdullah Gul after Wednesday.
TURKEY TO GIVE A NOTE TO USA
Ankara expressed its uneasiness after U.S. President Barack Obama used an Armenian expression to describe the tragedy of 1915. Turkish Embassy in Washington D.C. is expected to give a note to the U.S. Department of State and the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs is expected to give a similar note to the U.S. Embassy in Ankara to express Turkey's uneasiness saying that Turkey does not accept the U.S. President's remarks about the incidents of 1915.
RADIKAL
-------
ERDOGAN REACTS TO OBAMA'S COMMENTS ON INCIDENTS OF 1915
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reacted harshly to comments made by U.S. President Barack Obama on April 24 in regard to the incidents of 1915. "Obama's comments do not reflect the reality and are unacceptable," Erdogan said.
TELEPHONE CONVERSATIONS OF EVERY ONE PERSON OUT OF 1,000 TAPPED, JUSTICE MINISTER
Turkish Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin said that "telephone conversations of every one person out of 1,000 do get tapped in Turkey".
Thus, around 70,000 people's telephone conversations are being tapped throughout Turkey, Sahin stressed.
TURKIYE
-------
PRIME MINISTER ERDOGAN SENDS MESSAGE TO PRESIDENT ALIYEV
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a message to President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and called on him not to be deceived by those who were trying to damage Ankara-Baku relations.
Prime Minister Erdogan also criticized U.S. President Barack Obama who used the expression of "great atrocity" for the events of 1915. "This statement aims at fulfilling the promises given during the election campaigns. Irrelevant countries should not be involved in this," he said.
RALLY IN NEW YORK
Turkish people gathered in New York's Times Square to protest the Armenian diaspora. They observed a minute of silence out of respect to Turkish diplomats who were killed by Armenian terrorist organization ASALA.
A FAST VISIT
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, discussed the issues of the fight against terrorism, Iraq and Afghanistan with Turkish General Staüff Chief Gen. Ilker Basbug and General Staff Deputy Chief Gen. Hasan Igsiz during his 15-hour visit to Ankara.
ZAMAN
-----
NO PRICE HIKE IN AZERBAIJANI NATURAL GAS, GULER
Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Hilmi Guler, said that
news reports about a possible hike in the price of Azerbaijani natural gas are not accurate. "There will be no price hike regarding Azerbaijani natural gas," Guler said. Certain newspapers argued that Azerbaijan will implement a price hike for natural gas after this country felt uneasy over closer relations between Turkey and Armenia.
TURKISH DOCTORS TREAT 1,000 AFGHANS IN TWO DAYS
A group of 37 Turkish doctors treated around 1,000 Afghans in the past two days. Having arrived in Afghanistan thanks to efforts of several Turkish NGOs and the Turkish International Cooperation Agency (TIKA), the doctors are providing free services to Afghans in four cities, including the capital city of Kabul.
YENI SAFAK
----------
GREAT REACTION AGAINST GREAT ATROCITY
Prime Minister Erdogan reacted to U.S. President Barack Obama who used the expression of "great atrocity" for the events of 1915. "History should be left to historians. Irrelevant countries should not be involved in this. President Obama's remarks did not satisfy us. This statement aims at fulfilling the promises given during the election campaigns. Turkey is not a country to pat and deceive," he said.
RALLY IN NEW YORK
A rally was held in New York to protest "Armenian lies". Hundreds of people gathered in the Times Square with Turkish and Azerbaijani flags in their hands. A number of American people supported the protestors who called on Armenia to open its archives. American scholar Robert McKay said that such a genocide never happened in the history.
