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Turkish Press Review, 99-06-16Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>16.06.99Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...[02] SPECIAL KOSOVO[03] RAPID TIMETABLE FOR CIVILIAN DGM'STurkey has taken the first important step in changing the structure of its State Security Courts (DGMs), which have created problems ever since it accepted the authority of the European Court of Human Rights. In Monday's Parliamentary Constitution Commission, the proposal to change Article 143 of the Constitution was approved by 16 votes. Following the voting, the coalition partners forwarded the amendment draft to the General Assembly.According to the Constitution, constitutional amendment proposals should be voted on twice. The first round was carried out yesterday at Parliament's General Assembly. It is expected that the second round of voting will take place on Friday. At least 367 votes are needed to amend an article of the Constitution. /All papers/ [04] PRESIDENT DEMIREL TO MOLDOVAAccording to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, President Suleyman Demirel will pay a one-day working visit to Moldova to attend the opening ceremony of the first part of a water project transfer bringing water to the Gagaoguz Region in Moldova, reported the Anatolian News Agency. The project has been financed by Eximbank credit. It was announced that Demirel will also open the Suleyman Demirel Anatolia High School, which will start educating students in a building in Congaz village thanks to the Turkish National Education Ministry. It is expected that the two countries will also sign a protocol in the field of education. The same sources added that President Demirel will exchange views with his Moldovian counterpart Petru Lucinschi about regional and global issues as well as improving bilateral relation.[05] PRESIDENT DEMIREL RECEIVES FRENCH BUSINESSMENPresident Suleyman Demirel received the Chairman of the French Employers' Confederation, Francois Perigot, and an accompanying delegation of French businessmen yesterday at the Presidential Palace. In his speech at the reception Demirel said that there were deep-rooted historical ties between Turkey and France. Thanking France for its support for Turkey's European Union (EU) membership, Demirel said that the $ 5 billion trade volume between Turkey and France could be increased.Francois Perigot said for his part that the aims of their visit to Turkey were "to encourage friendship, to direct French businessmen to Turkey and the reforms expected of the Turkish government". He added the Turkish government should take any measures necessary to increase foreign investment in Turkey. After the reception Demirel hosted a banquet for the French businessmen at Cankaya Palace, said the Anatolia News Agency. [06] NATIONAL DEFENCE MINISTER IN FRANCESabahattin Cakmakoglu, the Minister of National Defence, went to France upon the official invitation of his French counterpart Alain Richard to attend the 43rd Aviation and Space Fair in Le Bourget, reported the Anatolia News Agency. Before his departure Cakmakoglu said that they would exchange views on the defence industry, Turco-France partnership in defence, and regional and global developments. The Minister will return to Turkey on 17 June.[07] IMF DELEGATION IN TURKEYA Committee of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) held its first meeting in Turkey yesterday morning with members of the Turkish Industrialist's and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD) in Istanbul. Following the meeting, IMF Committee Chairman Carlo Cottarelli told the press that there were two reasons for the visit. The first of these was to evaluate the economy over the past year, and the second to meet over the possibility of the IMF furnishing further loans to Turkey in order to support the country's fight against inflation. Cottarelli and his committee members indicated that Turkey had reached a turning point. He said it was too early to say whether or not the country would pull out of the economic stagnation it was in, but he added that they were very interested in supporting Turkey.Member of the TUSIAD Administrative Board, Korkmaz Ilkorur, stated that the IMF wanted to contribute to the search for economic stability in Turkey. Ilkorur stated that during the meeting they held with the IMF delegation led by Carlo Cottarelli, they said that Turkey had entered a long-awaited atmosphere of political stability. Relating to the delegation that the new government was trying in its programme to accomplish the reforms defended by TUSIAD and needed by the country, Ilkorur said that it was also trying to provide political stability along with economic stability. Declaring that the IMF delegation had expressed its belief that Turkey would establish political stability which would last for years if she used her opportunity well, Ilkorur said that this showed IMF did not have any hesitations about the structure of the coalition, the Anatolia News Agency said. [08] TWO BURSEL FACTORIES IN UZBEKISTANThe Bursel Holding company will set up two yarn-spinning factories in addition to its nine textile and ready-to-wear factories in Uzbekistan. The Head of the Bursel Holding, Burhan Enustekin, said in a statement that the two factories would cost $130 million. /Aksam/[09] SOROS TO VISIT ISTANBULRenowned Stock Exchange expert, George Soros, will come to Istanbul to speak at a conference. Soros, who is the founder of the Central European University, will deliver a lecture on 'Towards a global and open society' in Istanbul on June 21 as part of the cooperation between the Sabanci University and the Central European University. Soros will also attend a press conference to be held on June 20 during which cooperation between the two universities will be discussed. /Aksam/[10] TWO TERRORISTS KILLEDIn ongoing operations being carried out in Tunceli and Diyarbakir, two terrorists have been killed and four others, who were injured, have been apprehended, the Anatolia News Agency reports. According to a statement issued by the Emergency Rule Region (OHAL) Governor's Office, additionally two terrorists escaped from terrorist organizations in Siirt's Eruh district and Van's Catak district and surrendered to police. Operations in the region are continuing unabated.In another incident, terrorists opened fire on police at a checkpoint in Erzurum's Cat district last night. When the police returned fire on the assailants they escaped. Police officials said there were no casualties as a result of the attack. [11] BARZANI'S REPRESENTATIVE COMPLAINS ABOUT PKKSami Abdurrahman, who has gone to the US to represent the leader of the Kurdistan Democrat Party (KDP), Mesut Barzani, said that the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) headed by Celal Talabani supported the PKK terrorist organization. Abdurrahman will take part in a meeting also to be attended by the representatives of Talabani in Washington today. /Hurriyet/[12] HIZBULLAH MEMBERS CAPTUREDDuring operations by security officials in Ankara, 10 members of the illegal fundamentalist Hizbullah organization were captured. A great deal of ammunition and illegal documents were also seized during the operations. /Aksam/[13] IBDA-C OPERATIONDuring operations carried out by security officials against the illegal fundamentalist IBDA-C organization in Ankara, three people were taken into custody. During another operation in Malatya, 10 people were detained. /Star/[14] AMBASSADORS VISIT OZKANThe US Ambassador to Ankara, Mark Parris, and the German Ambassador to Ankara, Hans Joackin Vergau, visited the Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Husamettin Ozkan and congratulated him on his contribution to the establishment of the 57th government. During the meeting between Ozkan and Parris, it was agreed that Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit would visit the US in the second half of September. During the meeting between Ozkan and Vergau, Vergau pointed out the importance of Turkey from the standpoint of the EU and said that they would make every effort to stress this during the Helsinki Summit. /Aksam/[15] CYPRUS IS NOT ON THE G-8 AGENDAIt is reported that the Cyprus issue will not be on the agenda of the G-8 Summit. This decision was announced by a US official who said that there were more than 20 topics for discussion on the official agenda of the G-8 Summit to be held in Cologne, Germany, and added that however the Cyprus issue was not among them. This has been an unpleasant surprise for Greece and Southern Cyprus. /Aksam/[16] SIR NOSSAL PRAISES TURKEYThe Head of the Vaccine and Immune Systems Universal Programme Committee of the World Health Organization (WHO), Sir Gustav Nossal, has visited Turkey as part of the campaign to encourage vaccination drives world-wide. Sir Nossal was received by Turkish President Suleyman Demirel yesterday. Sir Nossal praised Turkey's vaccination efforts. /Hurriyet/[17] POSTEUROP: "TURKEY IS SAFE"The annual General Council of the Posteurop (European Public Institutions' Union) and CERP (the Committee for European Postal Regulations) was held in Istanbul yesterday. The General Council meetings will last for three days and will be attended by nearly 200 representatives from more than 40 countries. Prior to their opening, the General Director of the General Post Office, Nuri Alagoz, said that they had made every effort to ensure that the meeting would be held in Turkey. Alagoz stressed that some countries such as France and Italy had been opposed to meeting in Turkey claiming that Turkey was not safe. Alagoz remarked that he had told them that Turkey was as safe as Spain or France. The Head of Posteurop, Jack Dempsey, stated that he was very pleased to be in Turkey. /Hurriyet/[18] GREEK BOAT CAPTUREDA Greek boat which illegally entered Turkish territorial waters was captured yesterday by Turkish Coastal Security members. There were 45 people supposed to be from Northern Iraq on the boat; they were later taken to Kusadasi Coastal Security Command. /Hurriyet/[19] FIRE-FIGHTING HELICOPTERSEight of the 20 helicopters purchased by the Forestry Ministry to fight forest fires have been put into operation. One of the helicopters will be based in Mersin while another one will be stationed in Istanbul. Six helicopters will cover Antalya, Mugla and Izmir. The remaining 12 helicopters are expected to be put into operation on July 1. /Star/[20] HARSH RESPONSE FROM DEMIRELPresident Suleyman Demirel received members from the Turco-American Associations' Assembly yesterday. The members of the Assembly expressed their concern over problems stemming from Armenian lobbying activities in the US. /Star/[21] US AND ISRAELI FIRMS JOIN FORCESAmerican and Israeli contractors have decided to join forces in the biggest ever Turkish defence industry tender -the $7 billion tank production and modernization project, the US 'Defence News' magazine reported. In an attempt to increase their chances of winning the bidding, the American General Dynamics company and the Israeli IMI company agreed to take joint action and present a joint proposal for the two-phase project, the magazine said. /All papers/[22] COURT RULES INDICTMENT BE PROVIDED TO FPIn conjunction with the closure case brought against the Virtue Party (FP), the Constitutional Court has ruled that a copy of an indictment and its attachments prepared by the High Court of Appeals Public Prosecutor's Office against the FP be provided to the FP, the Anatolia News Agency reports. The FP will offer its preliminary defence statement within 30 days of receiving these documents. In the event the FP submits a petition requesting additional time, this request will be evaluated by the Constitutional Court. Following submission of the preliminary defence statement by the FP, Chief Prosecutor Vural Savas will submit his assessment pertaining to penal procedures. The final defence statement from the FP will then be submitted.[23] YILMAZ: "COMING SIX MONTHS ARE VERY IMPORTANT"Motherland Party (ANAP) Chairman Mesut Yilmaz, following an address delivered by ANAP Deputy and Finance Minister Sumer Oral at the Party's Parliamentary Group meeting, said that the coming six months are very important and are as valuable as gold for the government. Yilmaz stressed that his party was aware of the incumbent responsibilities and added: "Other partners should carry out their duties with courage and determination, without any unwarranted hesitation and touchiness. All the problems can be solved by mutual trust and communication". /All papers/[24] 393 TRILLION TL FOR LOCAL ADMINISTRATIONSIn the first four months of the year a total of 392.6 trillion TL was transfered to the local administrations from the Budget. According to data from the Finance Ministry, in that period in total 99.6 trillion TL was transmitted to the 15 metropolitian municipalities. Also among the transfers were 45.5 trillion TL for the Provincial Private Administrations and 247.5 trillion TL for the almost 3 thousand municipalities all around the country. /Cumhuriyet/[25] ENVIRONMENT MINISTER IN LONDONFevzi Aytekin, the Minister of the Environment, went to London to attend the 3rd Ministers Conference an the Environment and Health, organized under the auspices of the World Health Organization and the United Nations-Europe Economic Commission, reported the Anatolia News Agency. The main theme of the Conference, which will be held between 16-18 June, will be cooperation between countries, institutions and sectors in order to find solutions to both regional and global environmental problems.[26] PRIVATIZATION TIMETABLE ANNOUNCEDAccording to the Privatization Supreme Board's 1999-2000 Plan, 22 institutions will be privatized. The State Minister responsible for Privatization, Yuksel Yalova, said that they were very determined to carry out privatizations. in privatization. The State will ensure great benefits to production and employment through privatization, said Yalova adding that promotional advertasing and relations with the media were very important in guaranteeing the support of the public. /Sabah/[27] "TRANSPORT TO BE PRIVATIZED"Minister of Transport, Enis Oksuz said that he aimed to speed up the privatization process and the Ministry should be downsized. He noted that hitherto incomplete transportation projects would be concluded as soon as possible and new ventures would be developed to improve the transport network in Turkey. /sabah/[28] "MUTUAL EFFORTS SHOULD BE EXERTED"The European Union (EU) Representative to Ankara, Ambassador Karen Fogg, noted that both Turkey and the EU should exert every effort possible to re-organize their bilateral relations. In her speech at a meeting organized by the Foreign Investment Association, Fogg said that the EU should also develop its enlargement concept, adding that there was the necessary political determination in place to overcome any difficulties. Concerning the Kosovo issue she stated that the EU would have to shoulder more economic responsibility in the Balkans. /Sabah/[29] FINANCIAL TIMES: "REFORMS ARE OBSTACLES IN DEVELOPMENT"Turkey which has the 16th biggest economy in the world does not have enough foreign investment. The "Financial Times" issued a special Turkey issue saying that there were no substantial foreign investments in Turkey which enjoyed a high profit rate. It added that the economic potential was very high in Turkey. Both domestic and foreign experts stress that because of previous political instability and the absence of structural reforms in Turkey, foreign investors hesitate to come to Turkey. /Sabah/[30] TURKISH SOLDIER MAKES COVER OF "JANE'S DEFENCE WEEKLY"One of the world's leading defense magazines , "Jane's Defence Weekly" put 'Mehmetcik', a Turkish soldier, on the cover of its recent issue. It is reported that since the beginning of the Kosovo crisis Turkey has ensured every kind of aid to the Kosovars and Turkish soldiers have been very successful in their mission. It added that a thousand Turkish soldiers, who left for Albania on 18 May, would be stationed in the Mamusa region which is under the control of the U.S./Turkiye/[31] RUSSIAN EMBASSY TO MOLDOVA CONSTRUCTED BY A TURKISH FIRMThe Turkish ONURSAN Firm is constructing the Russian Embassy in Moldova. The construction, started in 1997, will be completed within 18 months. The plans of the building were prepared by Turkish architects and engineers and Turkish workers have been involved in the construction. /Turkiye/[32] NATIONAL TEAM LEAVES FOR GERMANYThe Turkish National Team which will participate in the International Free Wrestling Tournament that will be held between 18 and 20 June, 1999, in Leipzig city, left for Germany yesterday, the Anatolia News Agency reports.[33] ORHAN COPLU'S CARICATURE EXHIBIT IN THE U.S.A.Caricaturist Orhan Coplu's works will be exhibited during the Pittsburg Three Rivers Art Festival until 20th June, after the exhibition in Allentown Art Festival on 12-13 June. Coplu has entered the Festivals, visited every year by about 750 thousand people, with his free style works. The artist will carry on his 99 Summer displays in Canada and Spain. He is the owner of 25 awards presented to him by both national and international institutions. /Cumhuriyet/[34] GAZI'S COMMUNICATION FILM TEAM IN TURKMENISTANThe film team from Gazi University's the Communication Faculty started off on a journey on 14 May 1999 from Ankara and has been carrying out its studies on a documentary film 'The sources of humanism in Anatolia from Ahmet Yesevi to Haci Bektas-i Veli in the 13th century'. The team, filming in Iran and Turkmenistan, has already travelled about 15 thousand kilometers. In the region, in interviewing the scientists working on Ahmet Yesevi and archeologists excavating around old Turkistan the team is working to prepare a documentary on the impression of Ahmet Yesevi's philosophy on people. The team will move to Azerbaijan on 18 June 1999 from Ashkabad after implementing their studies in Cimkent and Almata. The director of the documentary is Assc.Prof.Peyami Celikcan and Dr.Sahin Karasar is his assistant. /Cumhuriyet/[35] PEKINEL SISTERS IN SALZBURGReform Tour Company and Ipar Promotion Organization are arranging a trip to the Salzburg Summer Festival. During the Festival, on 24 July- 29 August, various events, from opera to classical music, and church music to plays will be staged. Salzburg Festival which began in 1920 with Hugo von Hofmannsthal's 'Jedermann', and is still allowed to continue to have the speciality of being an important international musical and theatre feast. Salzburg, not only enjoying examples of various original Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architectural master pieces but also making a present of both the master of music, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and director Herbert von Karajan to the world, is a city of art. The Guher-Suher Pekinel sisters will also stage a performance at the Festival on 14-15 August as soloists with the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra, directed by Christian Arming. /Cumhuriyet/[36] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...[37] ECEVIT ONLY CAN SOLVE THE CYPRUS PROBLEM- BY IZZET SEDES (AKSAM)Izzet Sedes, a columnist in the daily 'Aksam' newspaper, says the following in his article today:"The US President generally does not send out invitations. All politicians throughout the world want to meet him, the US President may accept them or ingore them. I have read in a US magazine that there are always nearly 100 Heads of State on the appointments list of the White House. Clinton has made an exception for Turkey and invited Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit to the US. This is not regularly seen in the US, since the visit of the US President to a country or a President's invitation to the US are great events; Ecevit will go to Washington in September. In his reply to the invitation, Ecevit said: 'We can hardly understand why Cyprus is so frequently placed on the agenda. Peace has been prevalent on the Island for 25 years and Southern Cyprus has developed due to EU support. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is further developing despite the embargo'. I personally followed the Cyprus peace talks held in London and Zurich in 1959. Turkey made great strides to ensure peace on the Island in those days. However, Greeks and Greek-Cypriots, especially Makarios, disrupted the peace and began to kill Turks including children. The Greek-Cypriot massacre during that period was worse than that in Kosovo. Following the coup in Athens, there was another coup on the Island. Makarios escaped. Therefore, Ecevit put the Turkish Army on alert in 1974, Turkey's right as a guarantor state, and stopped the massacre. Ecevit made great contributions to the establishment of the TRNC and 25 years passed since these incidents. However, the European Union (EU) still does not recognize the TRNC. It is not easy to completely change the current situation and give it a new shape; experienced Greek politicians are aware of this fact. I believe that the Clinton-Ecevit meeting will be beneficial not only from the Cyprus standpoint but from every point of view. Washington and Ankara should evaluate this opportunity in the best way". [38] SPECIAL KOSOVO[39] RUSSIAN RESUPPLY CONVOY HEADS TO PRISTINAA Russian convoy left Bosnia for Serbia early yesterday to resupply the 300-strong Russian troop contingent that has been in control of the airport in Pristina, the capital of the war-ravaged province, since early last Saturday. Maj.David Scanlon, a NATO spokesman in Sarajevo, said: "The Russians deployed a small convoy of 11 vehicles and 29 people to Yugoslavia". The Russian brigade, which is part of the international peacekeeping force in Bosnia, told NATO they are taking fuel, water and food to the contingent in Pristina. /All papers/[40] DEMIREL: "TURKEY SHOULD TAKE ACTIVE ROLE IN KOSOVO"President Suleyman Demirel sent a letter to the U.S., British, German, French and Spanish leaders saying that Turkey would like an active role in the Kosovo political process. In his letter Demirel remarked that Turkey had welcomed the peace agreement in Kosovo and the Security Council's decision No:1244. Congratulating the countries which participated in the NATO airstrikes in Kosovo he said that Turkey had made every effort in Kosovo to prevent the massacres and from now on she would like to be included in the political process in the region. /Milliyet/[41] ECEVIT CONCERNED ABOUT KOSOVO REFUGEESPrime Minister Bulent Ecevit has expressed his concerns about the future of Kosovo and urged an immediate political settlement. "I am dubious and concerned about the future of Kosovo. There is a possibility that Kosovo will be divided into several sectors; this scenario will bring about certain consequences", Ecevit told reporters yesterday.In an apparent reference to the abrupt Russian deployment in Kosovo and the ongoing sporadic fighting, Ecevit said that 'a very dangerous process' had started. "That is why the political settlement of the problems should be placed on the agenda as soon as possible", he stressed. Ecevit added that the prospect of international strife in Kosovo should be completely eradicated. /All papers/ [42] TURKISH UNIT TO BE DEPLOYED IN PRISTINATurkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem said yesterday that as part of the NATO Peacekeeping Force, a Turkish unit would be stationed in a Headquarters to be set up near Pristina. Cem stated that Turkey and Germany were cooperating on the issue of assistance for Kosovo and added: "Our efforts to establish a police force in Kosovo are also on-going". /Hurriyet/[43] RUSSIAN SOLDIERS THROUGH BOSPHORUSRussia who wishes to add six thousand more soldiers to her contigent in Pristina has been unable to find an air corridor to Kosovo and so she has turned her eyes towards the Straits. A Russian General from the Ministry of Defence said that Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary had closed their airspace to Russia and so they had decided to send their troops by sea or by rail. The only naval passage to the Adriatic Sea is through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles' Straits, said that General, adding that at the beginning of the Kosovo crisis they had sent the Russian "Harbour" battleship to the Adriatic Sea through Turkish Straits. It is announced that if U.S. President Bill Clinton and the Russian President, Boris Yeltsin, unable to reach an agreement at the G-8 SUmmit next Sunday in Cologne, the issue of using the Straits would be discussed. /Sabah/[44] NATO-KOSOVOYesterday and the day before NATO planes made a total of 417 sorties for reconaissance, patrol and support duties' purposes. According to information furnished by the Fallen Journalist Hasan Tahsin Information Centre of the General Staff, Turkish F-16 planes deployed at Ghedi base, Italy completed flights lasting 22 hours. According to the latest information received, the number of refugees outside Kosovo was stated as 937,705 and yesterday four women, three men and three children arrived at the camp for refugees in Kirklareli. Also in the last 24 hours a total of 62 tonnes of humanitarian aid supplies was delivered to Albania and Macedonia as stated by the Anatolia News Agency.[45] 'ANKARA'S KOSOVO STRATEGY' BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)Sami Kohen has written about Turkey's strategies towards Kosovo in his column in Milliyet. Kohen starts his article by asking what kind of role Turkey would like to play in the new critical period in Kosovo.He says, "Kosovo and the Balkans have become the most important and sensitive regions in Europe and the world. During the next few months, countries aroudn the world will try to guarantee peace and stability in the region and set up a new political and economic structure there. However, at the same time, they will make every effort to increase their effect in the region. Already now the region has become an arena where there is a conflict of international "influence". There is no doubt that Turkey, which has had both historical ties with the Balkans and strategic benefits from the region, should be involved in the developments in the new region. However, Turkey's desire to be active in the region has to be in line with reasonable and realistic strategies concerning "real political' elements." Kohen asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Cem, about Turkey's military, political and economic roles in Kosovo. He quoted Cem's evaluations, "Concerning the military aspects, Turkey is ready to take its place in the international peace force in Kosovo following Bosnia. Also in political and humanitarian areas, Turkey will establish liaison offices in Pristina and Prizren to determine the needs of Kosovars and to participate in the work of the contact group. On the other hand, Ankara has been in close contact with the Special Representative of the UN General Secretary to Kosovo and NATO. It shows that Turkey will be effective in the political solution of the Kosovo crisis during the future chaotic period in Kosovo. Regarding the economy, there will be great potential open to the Turkish private sector in the region. Turkey is determined to participate in the fund to be used for the reconstruction of Yugoslavia." "To summarize, there are some opportunities - as well as some risks - for Turkey to show her effectiveness during the new period in Kosovo. From now on, this issue is at the top of the agenda of Turkey's foreign policy, security and foreign economic relations," said Kohen. Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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