Tag: Gul

  • ‘Chatham House award symbol of Turkey’s resilience’

    ‘Chatham House award symbol of Turkey’s resilience’

    News Diplomacy

    ‘Chatham House award symbol of Turkey’s resilience’

    Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II presents the Chatham House Prize to Turkish President Abdullah Gül. President Abdullah Gül praised Turkey’s achievements in the past decade right after he received the prestigious Chatham House Award late on Tuesday, saying that the award he received honors the “resilience” of the Turkish nation.

    Queen Elizabeth II presented the award during a ceremony, praising the president’s “notable leadership” for improving international relations.

    “I accept this award with profound honor and humbleness on behalf of my beloved country and the people of Turkey,” President Gül said as he accepted the award. “Although I take personal pride in receiving it, the award presented to me tonight truly acknowledges the progress achieved by the Turkish nation in recent years despite many internal and external difficulties,” he added.

    Noting that the prize also honors the resilience and perseverance of a people who have never lost their aspiration for progress and hope in a better future, Gül said all witnessed “a silent revolution” in democratic, social and economic standards that is taking place in Turkey’s quest for full membership in the European Union.

    According to the president, the prize signifies the role played by Turkey in its multidimensional neighborhood and beyond, where the country nurtures peace, stability and welfare. Praising Turkey’s inspiring role in the Islamic world as a vibrant democracy and a flourishing free-market economy, Gül said the prize symbolizes the success of a hard-working people, whose “sweat was key to making Turkey the fastest growing economy among the OECD members this year,” the president stressed.

    Finally, Gül said, the award that he received thoroughly certifies, once again, the eternal friendship between Turkey and the United Kingdom, whose alliance and cooperation made a huge difference in history and are destined to offer even more promising prospects in the future. The queen, while presenting the Turkish president the award, said she was delighted to welcome the president and his spouse to London to receive this important award.

    “Mr. President, I remember with gratitude your very kind hospitality during my state visit to Turkey in 2008,” the queen said, adding that Gül had provided “notable leadership” and “international statesmanship” over many years. She offered her congratulations by presenting this award on behalf of the Royal Institute of International Affairs. The queen also praised Gül for his efforts to secure Turkey’s place in the 27-nation bloc and to improve the level of democracy and human rights in his country.

    11 November 2010, Thursday

    TODAY’S ZAMAN  İSTANBUL

  • President Gül: Turkey plays active role in shaping new world order

    President Gül: Turkey plays active role in shaping new world order

    Turkish President Abdullah Gül suggested on Monday that Turkey is already playing an active part in shaping the future international order that will replace the three-dimensionally “imperfect equilibrium” that characterizes the current state of affairs after the Cold War.

    gul cameronGül was speaking at Chatham House, the British think tank that will today present Gül with its prestigious Chatham House Prize from the hands of the Queen. During his speech titled “International System, Europe and Turkey in the first quarter of the 21st century,” Gül suggested that the Cold War era world system was yet to be replaced by a new and normal system that will manage international relations effectively. Gül compared the current situation to a three-dimensional “imperfect equilibrium” where the normalcy has to be attained in political, economic and finally social and humanitarian issues.

    Gül reiterated his position about the imperfectness of the current equilibrium in the political sphere by referring to the newly emerging power centers like Russia, China, India and Brazil and to the changing and expanding understanding of security in the new era. On the economic front, Gül pointed to the huge deficits of the developed market economies and the rising economies with fast growth rates and large sovereign funds emanating from current account surpluses. He didn’t specify the shortcomings and deficits of the current international structure in terms of social and humanitarian values, but chose to say that they are “obvious.”

    President Gül suggested that the new and normal order will be accomplished in the next decade and shared his thoughts about the main characteristics of the new normal international order. He suggested that this new order must address the three-dimensional deficits and that the new order countries would not be categorized as First, Second and Third World countries. Gül added that this new order must focus on the whole world and reject a Euro-centric understanding of history and international affairs. He suggested that in this order, principles and goals must prevail over club membership reflexes and that instead of an order in which winners are rewarded and losers are punished, the new order should enable us to win the hearts and minds of the defeated. Gül said that the new order must be a multicultural, multi-dimensional, heterogeneous but harmonized one where a single power’s hegemony is refused and where people distinguish themselves not by bearing symbols but qualifications, and express themselves not with rhetoric but with their deeds.

    In his speech, President Gül also claimed that Turkey has been doing its part in shaping the world towards such a new and normal order by exemplifying the zero-problem policy as an alternative to the zero-sum game of the Cold War era.

    In London, Gül also had a 45-minute meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron. There was no immediate statement after the talks. Cameron is a staunch supporter of Turkey’s accession into the EU and, in a speech during a visit to Turkey in July, he promised to “fight” for Turkey’s accession. “My view is clear. I believe it is just wrong to say that Turkey can guard the camp but not be allowed to sit in the tent,” he said in a speech at the Turkish Parliament.

    On Monday, Gül also gave a speech on “The Islamic World, Democracy and Development,” at the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies, where Gül is also a member of the board.

    Red Book rewritten, not revised

    Gül also commented on some of the key issues in Turkish foreign policy while speaking to reporters on Sunday evening. Gül, responding to a question, said the recent revision of Turkey’s National Security Policy Document (MGSB), a classified document that outlines national security priorities, amounted to a complete rewriting. “It is not that some of the articles have been revised. The whole document has been rewritten,” Gül said, explaining that the former version of the MGSB reflected the realities of the Cold War era. The MGSB, commonly referred to as the Red Book, has been amended to remove Turkey’s immediate neighbors from a list of nations considered as potential enemies. The document was also cleansed of references to “domestic threats.” Experts say the MGSB overhaul indicates that the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), which has been in power since 2002, has finally managed to revise the main foreign and security principles in line with its priorities.

    Gül said the new MGSB does not contain any reference to any segments of the society as a security threat, explaining that the concept of security used throughout the document was interpreted on a broad basis to include economic and energy-related aspects of security. On plans to build a NATO-wide missile defense system, Gül dismissed claims that the planned shield is designed to protect Israel from a possible Iranian missile attack. Gül said instead that the planned shield is designed to protect all NATO allies from a possible ballistic missile threat.

    09 November 2010, Tuesday

    KERIM BALCI  LONDON

    ZAMAN

  • Turkish President: Turkey’s Relations With Neighbors Based On Friendship

    Turkish President: Turkey’s Relations With Neighbors Based On Friendship

    Turkish President Abdullah Gul said Tuesday that Turkey’s relations with its neighbors were based on friendship.

    In this way, a synergy emerges through the solidarity and cooperation of countries in the region, added Gul who attended a meeting in southern province of Hatay which has a border with Syria.

    Commenting on relations with Syria, Gul said that lifting of visa procedures and being in cooperation and solidarity with mutual respect and confidence positively affected the peoples of both Turkey and Syria.

    In the past, when relations with neighboring countries were bad, it was not an advantage to be a border province, said Gul. He added that however, when there was cooperation, solidarity, assistance and mutual understanding with neighbors, the border provinces turned into metropolis.

    gulGul also said that Turkey attached importance to security, stability and economic cooperation in its region.

    In June, Turkey and Syria signed a memorandum of understanding to build a new border crossing through the method of build-operate-transfer. Turkey has currently seven border crossings with Syria, and the new one is planned to be used mainly in transportation of goods.

    AA

  • Turkish pres: Germany must help Turks integrate

    Turkish pres: Germany must help Turks integrate

    anatolia mapANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Tuesday urged politicians in Germany not to exploit the issue of immigration for political gain and said they should instead help Turks better integrate.

    Gul was speaking at a joint news conference with German President Christian Wulff who is paying a five-day visit to Turkey as his country’s increasingly debates the integration of millions of foreigners.

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel said over the weekend her country’s attempts to build a multicultural society had “utterly failed.” While immigrants were welcome in Germany, they must learn the language and accept the country’s cultural norms, she said, voicing a belief heard increasingly across Europe as it battles an economic slump and worries about terrorism.

    “Instead of using the issue of integration politically, everyone must help reach a solution,” Gul said.

    Gul said Turks living in Germany should learn to speak German “for their own sakes, for the sake of their families, and so that they may be of use for their environment and society.”

    The Turkish president said however, both Germany and Turkey had failed to provide sufficient guidance to Turkish immigrants, many of whom went to Germany as “guest workers” in the 1960s to provide manpower for Germany industry as it was rebuilding after World War II.

    “We should not blame them,” he said. “Many went to German cities (from Turkish villages) without even having seen a Turkish city. Neither we nor you were able to provide the necessary leadership.”

    Wulff said that many immigrants had successfully integrated in Germany but said Germans’ fears over “religious fundamentalism and terrorism” cannot be ignored.

    He said immigrants had to learn German from a “very early age.”

    “They have to integrate into the German lifestyle, they must show respect to German society,” he said.

    Before his arrival, Wulff sparked a debate in Germany by saying “Islam now also belongs to Germany” in his speech marking 20 years of German reunification.

    Germany is home to an estimated 5 million Muslims, including some 3 million Turks.

    Many immigrants speak little or no German, work in low paying jobs or live off of government handouts at the same time the country faces an aging population and a shortage of highly skilled workers.

  • Turkish court rules president should stand trial

    Turkish court rules president should stand trial

    A Turkish court has ruled that President Abdullah Gul should face trial over a funding scandal in the 1990s involving a now-defunct Islamist party to which he belonged.

    AbdullahGul 1405736c

    The court overturned a prosecutor’s decision to drop the case, ruling that Gul’s immunity as president did not cover allegations dating to the period before he took office, Anatolia news agency reported.

    Authorities must now re-examine the case that alleges falsification of documents and violation of laws governing political parties.

    The case threatens to exacerbate tensions between Turkey’s ruling Islamist-rooted party and secularists, who accuse Mr Gul and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, of seeking to erode the country’s secular traditions.

    The ruling AKP has said it fully embraces secularism.

    Mr Gul’s office denounced the court ruling in a statement and said a previous judgement had cleared him of responsibility in the case involving the Welfare Party, accused of embezzling money from the public treasury in the 1990s.

    “The efforts in some circles to attempt to present our president as a suspect when he is neither charged nor in the process of being tried does not in any way result from good intentions,” it said.

    The statement said Mr Gul could only be put on trial for treason.

    Government spokesman Cemil Cicek also disputed the ruling.

    “It is unthinkable that presidents not be protected by immunity when deputies are,” he said.

    Welfare was outlawed in 1998 for undermining Turkey’s secular system, a year after it relinquished power under pressure from the military.

  • Gul likens Israel to al-Qaeda

    Gul likens Israel to al-Qaeda

     

     

    Turkish president says flotilla raid ‘crime’ closer to act of terror group than of sovereign state, adds Israel must offer compensation if it wants forgiveness  

     Israel must make amends to be forgiven for a commando raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, including apologizing and paying compensation, Turkish President Abdullah Gul told the French daily Le Monde.

     Gul added that if Israel made no move to heal the rift, then Turkey could even decide to break diplomatic relations.

     In an interview published on Friday, Gul said the Israeli raid at the end of May, which killed nine activists, was a “crime” which might have been carried out by the likes of al-Qaeda rather than a sovereign state. 

    “It seems impossible to me to forgive or forget, unless there are some initiatives which could change the situation,” Gul was quoted as saying by Le Monde.

     Asked what these might be, he said: “Firstly, to ask pardon and to establish some sort of compensation.” He added that he also wanted to see an independent inquiry into the botched raid and a discussion on lifting Israel’s blockade of Gaza.

     Asked if Turkey might break relations with Israel if they did nothing, Gul said: “Anything is possible.”

     Once a close ally of Israel, Turkey recalled its ambassador following the flotilla incident, cancelled joint military exercises and said trade and defense deals worth billions of dollars would be reduced to a minimum. 

    Separately, Philip Alston, the UN special rapporteur on extra-judicial executions, said any inquiry set up by Israel to investigate the Gaza flotilla incident “must be given a genuine capacity to find the facts” or it would not be credible.

     To comply with international standards, he said, such an inquiry would have to be independent of the government and have full legal authority to obtain direct access to all relevant evidence, including the military personnel involved.

     Israel has fended off a UN demand for an international investigation, instead accepting a US proposal for an Israeli inquiry with the participation of outside observers.

     Ynetnews