Apr. 8th Press Review
GUL: "WE SHOULD HAVE COURAGE IN THE FACE OF ISLAMOPHOBIA AND ANTI-SEMITISM"
Decent people need to be as courageous as the extremists are in the face of threats such as Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, said President Abdullah Gul yesterday. Speaking at a dinner in honor of the attendees of the Second Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations, Gul decried how intolerance and religious and ethnic extremism have turned into great dangers such as Islamophobia and anti-Semitism. Gul praised the constant expansion of the Alliance of Civilizations as a source of optimism for everyone, adding, "The great interest for this forum shows that people worldwide prefer cooperation and harmonization to conflict and defiance." Stating that alliance co-sponsors Turkey and Spain had launched a comprehensive coalition against misperception and aggressive stereotypes, he added, "We should encourage much more cooperation between cultures." On the sideline of the meeting, Gul received Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami, and Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the Turkish scholar who serves as secretary-general of the Organization for the Islamic Conference (OIC). /Star/
US' OBAMA VISITS ISTANBUL HISTORIC SITES AND MEETS WITH RELIGIOUS LEADERS
After finishing his talks in Ankara, including his address to Parliament, US President Barack Obama proceeded to Istanbul on Monday as part of his landmark two-day visit to Turkey and attended a reception hosted in his honor at the Dolmabahce Palace by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. President Abdullah Gul was also in attendance. During the reception, Obama showed great interest in a performance of Turkish classical music played with traditional instruments. In Istanbul yesterday, Obama paid visits to the Hagia Sophia museum and Sultanahmet (Blue) Mosque. Erdogan and Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay accompanied Obama during these visits. Touring Istanbul's major historic assets, Obama was very impressed by their grandeur. A former patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum in Istanbul, Hagia Sophia is famous in particular for its massive dome and considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture. Hagia Sophia was constructed in five years, from 532 to 537, at the orders of Emperor Justinian I and designed by Isidore of Miletus. The church contained a large collection of holy relics and featured, among other things, a 50-foot silver iconostasis. It was converted into a mosque after Sultan Mehmet II conquered Istanbul in 1453. It remained as a mosque until 1935, when the Republic of Turkey changed it into a museum. It was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly 1,000 years, until the completion of the Medieval Seville Cathedral in 1520. Sultanahmet Mosque was built between 1609 and 1616, during the rule of Ottoman Sultan Ahmet I. Like many other mosques, it also serves as a tomb of its initiator, a madrasah (university), and a hospice. The mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior, is one of Istanbul's most popular tourist attractions. Obama also met with religious leaders in the city: Istanbul Grand Mufti Mustafa Cagrici, Chief Rabbi Isak Haleva, Syrian Orthodox Archbishop Yusuf Cetin, and Archbishop Aram Atesyan, who represented the Armenian Patriarchate in lieu of Patriarch Mesrob II (Mutafyan), who was absent due to health reasons. Obama also held a separate meeting with Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomeos. He also met with staff of the US Consulate General in Istanbul and their families. /Turkiye/
OBAMA MEETS WITH TURKISH UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
On the last stop of his two-day landmark visit to Turkey, US President Barack Obama yesterday met with Turkish university students at a roundtable meeting in Istanbul's Tophane-i Amire Culture and Art Center. "I came to Turkey on my first trip overseas as president for a reason," Obama told the students. "I came here to reaffirm the importance of Turkey and the importance of the partnership between our two countries. I came here out of my respect to Turkey's democracy and culture and my belief that Turkey plays a critically important role in the region and in the world. And I came to Turkey because I'm deeply committed to rebuilding a relationship between the United States and the people of the Muslim world, one that's grounded in mutual interest and mutual respect. Turkey and the United States have a long history of partnership and cooperation. Exchanges between our two peoples go back over 150 years. We've been NATO allies for more than five decades. We have deep ties in trade and education, in science and research. And America is proud to have many men and women of Turkish origin who have made our country a more dynamic and a more successful place. So Turkish-American relations rest on a strong foundation." The question-and-answer period of the meeting focused on several issues: climate change, northern Iraq, Iran's controversial nuclear program, and Turkey's potential European Union membership. Asked about French President Nicolas Sarkozy's reaction against his recent remarks supporting Turkey's EU accession bid, Obama said, "I think it is the right approach to have Turkey join the European Union. I think if Turkey can be a member of NATO and send its troops to help protect and support its allies, and its young men are put in harm's way, well, I don't know why you should also not be able to sell apricots to Europe, or have more freedom in terms of travel. So I think it's the right thing to do. I also think it would send a strong signal that Europe is not monolithic but is diverse and that that is a source of strength instead of weakness." Asked about the possibility of a Kurdish state in northern Iraq, Obama said, "We are very clear about our position on Turkish territorial integrity. Turkey is an ally of ours and part of what NATO allies do is to protect the territorial integrity of their allies. And we would be opposed to anything that would start cutting off parts of Turkey, and we have been very supportive in efforts to reduce terrorist activity by the PKK." He added that his administration would continue to encourage Turkey's efforts to expand the rights and freedoms of Turkish people of various religious and ethnic origins. Obama left Turkey yesterday afternoon to pay a surprise visit to Baghdad, Iraq. /Sabah/
FM BABACAN: "RASMUSSEN'S SPEECH IN ISTANBUL ENCOURAGED US"
At the closing session of the Alliance of Civilizations Forum yesterday, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan held a joint press conference alongside his Spanish counterpart Angel Moratinos and Alliance of Civilizations High Representative Jorge Sampaio. Asked about Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen's selection as NATO Secretary-General, Babacan said that his speech in Istanbul had been satisfactory, adding, "We'll see Denmark's policies over the course of time." On US President Barack Obama's urging that the Heybeliada Seminary be reopened, Babacan said that Turkey would decide itself on the issue. In related news, Babacan met with his Greek counterpart Dora Bakoyannis on the sidelines of the forum. /Aksam-Milliyet/
SENIOR OBAMA ADVISOR: "THE PRESIDENT'S VISIT TO TURKEY HELPED MEND FENCES"
US President Barack Obama's visit to Turkey this week started to mend Turkish-US relations, said Senior Obama Advisor David Axelrod yesterday. Speaking to White House correspondents, Axelrod said, "We have started fixing our relationship with our key strategic ally." Stating that the US wants a strong relationship with the Islam world, Axelrod added, "Muslims are also victims of extremist groups." /Milliyet/
BAYKAL: "THE AK PARTY LOST VOTES NATIONWIDE"
Speaking at his party's parliamentary group meeting, Main opposition Republican People Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal yesterday said that last month's local elections had ushered in a new era for Turkey. Touching on the declining vote share of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), he claimed that the party lost votes nationwide. "Turkey is waiting and looking for a new government," he added. /Star/
BAHCELI CRITICIZES OBAMA'S REMARKS ON INCIDENTS OF 1915
Speaking at his party's parliamentary group meeting yesterday, opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli criticized US President Barack Obama's remarks on the incidents of 1915, calling them "discourteous." Touching on the PKK, he claimed that there are efforts to allow disarmed members of the terrorist group to enter politics. He also criticized the government letting Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen be elected NATO secretary general. /Aksam- Milliyet/
FRANCE'S KOUCHNER: "I NO LONGER SUPPORT TURKEY'S EU BID"
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner yesterday said that he had withdrawn his support for Turkey's European Union bid in the wake of its opposition to Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen becoming NATO secretary-general, though Ankara reportedly later changed its position. In an interview with Germany's RTL radio, Kouchner said that he had been shocked by Turkey's opposition, adding, "Turkey’s evolution in, let's say, a more religious direction, towards a less robust secularism, worries me." Kouchner also rebuffed US President Barack Obama's call for the EU to admit Turkey, saying, "It's not for the Americans to decide who comes into Europe or not." /Hurriyet/
ATALAY DUE IN IRAQ FOR ANTI-TERRORIST MEETING
Interior Minister Besir Atalay is set to visit Baghdad, Iraq this weekend to attend a meeting as part of trilateral mechanism between Turkey, US and Iraq to fight the terrorist PKK. /Star/
