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Turkish Press Review, 99-09-24Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>24.09.99Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...[02] LEADERS DISCUSS DONATIONPrime Minister Bulent Ecevit briefed Deputy Prime Minister Devlet Bahceli and the leader of the Motherland Party (ANAP) Mesut Yilmaz on his visit to the U.S. During the meeting that lasted for 40 minutes in the Prime Minister's Office, Ecevit informated them about the documentation that he will take to the U.S. It was reported that Ecevit wants Turkey to continue to remain stable and focused on the Cyprus issue, that will certainly be on the agenda during his visit to the U.S. During the Summit, the donations arriving from abroad because of the earthquake, the meetings that will be held with the IMF and the World Bank, the Northern Iraq issue, precautions to be taken against violence in the prisons will be discussed. Ecevit, who went to the Presidential Palace after the Summit, met President Suleyman Demirel there for about an hour. /Milliyet/[03] BAKU-CEYHAN PIPELINE PROJECTThe Working Group set up as part of the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline project, which envisages the transport of Caspian oil to Western markets, convened yesterday in Ankara. Officials from Turkey, Azerbaijan and the International Consortium (AOIC) are attending the meetings. The U.S. Ambassador John Wolf, the U.S. President's Special Advisor to the Caspian Basin, stated that Turkey had done its utmost to achieve the implementation of the project and now it was the turn of the International Consortium. During the visit of Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit to the U.S., the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline project is expected to be discussed, the Anatolia News Agency reports.HASHISH SEIZED During a raid in the Tarsus district of Icel, 14.5 kilos of hashish were seized yesterday. Four people were detained in connection with the incident. Meanwhile, 42 foreign immigrants who attempted to legally go abroad were captured in the Cesme district of Izmir yesterday, the Anatolia News Agency reports. Officials also said that 102.5 kilos of heroin worth 1 trillion TL were seized yesterday in Istanbul. [04] TGNA TO OPEN ON OCTOBER 1The Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) will be in session on October 1. President Suleyman Demirel will deliver the opening speech at the TGNA's General Council headed by Parliament Speaker Yildirim Akbulut. /Cumhuriyet/[05] ECEVIT: "TURKEY DOES NOT SUPPORT TERRORISM"Russian allegations claiming that Islamic terrorists are being trained in camps set up in Turkey have caused tension between the two countries. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said that Turkey could not have a policy of tolerating and supporting terrorism and added, "Such a policy would harm both Turkey and the region. We wish the Russian Federation to become tranquil and stable; this will also be beneficial for Turkey". /Cumhuriyet/[06] COUNCIL OF EUROPE AND TERRORISMDuring a session of the General Council of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe yesterday, a decision prepared by Spanish Member of Parliament Jose-Luis Henares was approved. The decision demands the review of the 1977 European Anti-Terrorism Agreement and the 1957 European Criminal Extradition Agreement. /Cumhuriyet/[07] PAPANDREU DELIVERS SPEECH AT UN GENERAL ASSEMBLYGreek Foreign Minister George Papandreu delivered a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York yesterday and said that solidarity between Turkey and Greece which emerged in the aftermath of the earthquakes in both countries had created a 'short-cut' and put aside complex diplomatic strategy. Papandreu praised Turkey and Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem during his speech and remarked that Greece shares the vision that Turkey will become a valuable member of the EU when the time comes. /Cumhuriyet/[08] CYPRUS MESSAGE FOR THE U.S.The Foreign Minister and Defence Minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Tahsin Ertugruloglu, stated that international public opinion was focused on the Cyprus issue and said, "We have a common national policy concerning the Cyprus issue with Turkey. Our policy cannot be made a matter of discussion". Ertugrologlu and his accompanying delegation was received by State Minister Sukru Sina Gurel yesterday. Gurel said, concerning the U.S. plan for Cyprus, that they had not heard of any official plans and they had no wish to hear of any. Gurel added that the problem should be solved by the two nations on the Island. /Cumhuriyet/[09] TURCO-GREEK MEETINGGreek Foreign Minister George Papandreu will attend the Taksim Meetings in Istanbul on October 5 at which he will deliver a speech on "Turco-Greek Relations". He will also give a lecture at Istanbul University to mark the beginning of the new academic term on the same day. /Cumhuriyet/[10] TURKISH STAMP ON MEDICINEA group of mainly British and U.S. doctors, including Turkish doctor Kutluk Oktay and his two Turkish assistants, achieved a 'first' by vaccinating the first cell which will enable the transplant of ovaries. Using this method, many diseases will be able to be treated. /Cumhuriyet/[11] BRITISH MINISTER VISITS DISASTER ZONEThe British Minister of Public Works and Housing, Nick Raynsford, visited Istanbul Governor Erol Cakir and Istanbul Mayor Ali Mufit Gurtuna yesterday in order to learn about the main problems being experienced in the earthquake disaster region. Raynsford remarked that he had been on a tour of observation in the disaster region and said that his visit, accompanied by representatives of the British construction sector, would further develop relations between Turkey and Britain. /Cumhuriyet/[12] TURKISH GENERAL ON DUTYMajor General Metin Yavuz Yalcin will become the Chief of Staff of the Southern European Sub-Regional Command based in Larissa, Greece, set up as part of NATO's new command structure. Six common sub-regional commands have been established in Southern Europe while five have been set up in Northern Europe. /Cumhuriyet/[13] GOLDEN ORANGE FILM FESTIVALThe 36th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival will be held in October. Sixty-four films from 32 countries will be shown at the Festival. /Cumhuriyet/[14] EARTHQUAKE DECREE ISSUEDAn "Earthquake Decree" was issued yesterday. The Decree foresees the establishment of a 'Regional Coordinator's Office for Disaster" in Kocaeli. According to the Decree in the power of law, the Coordinator Governor will govern the seven cities in the earthquake zone. /Star/[15] $10,000 FROM CRESCENTThe Organization for Islamic Conference (OIC) decided during its 15th General Council Meeting of the Islamic Crescent Committee that it will donate $10,000 to help the victims of the earthquake in Turkey. The OIC also called upon official and non-governmental organizations in its 55 member countries to cooperate with the Turkish Red Crescent and the Government to support the victims. /Turkiye/[16] OCALAN'S CALL FOR PKK SURRENDER FINDS SUPPORTPrime Minister Bulent Ecevit yesterday reacted favourably to a call by the head of the PKK terrorist organization, Abdullah Ocalan, for some of his terrorists to surrender to the authorities. Asked to comment on Ocalan's call yesterday, Ecevit said that those who surrender themselves along with their weapons will be shown tolerance.Meanwhile, a written statement by the People's Democracy Party (HADEP) declared the organization's support for Ocalan's call. There were also claims that the so-called chairmanship council of the PKK had issued a statement saying that it backed Ocalan's call for some terrorists to surrender. /All papers/ [17] LINDH: "I DO NOT ANTAGONISE TURKEY"Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, the most severe critic of Turkey within the EU, has declared that she is not 'an enemy of Turkey', but has stressed that she will continue to draw attention to the deficit in Turkey's human rights record. Lindh was speaking after a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York. She declared, "I would like to see Turkey as a full member of the EU. But for us human rights are very important", the Anatolia News Agency reports.[18] FRESH START WITH SYRIASyria appears to be joining the countries with which Ankara is mending fences since the capture and the trial of the head of the PKK terrorist organization, Abdullah Ocalan. Meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Foreign Ministers Ismail Cem and Faruq Al Shara agreed to establish a plaform of regular consultations as a step towards improving ties. Speaking ater his meeting with Cem, Shara said that they had laid the foundation for bilateral improvements. The two Ministers agreed to exchange visits and to establish a joint committee of diplomats that would hold regular meetings. /All papers/[19] NEW LIFE FOR CONSTRUCTION AND TEXTILE SECTORSThe Turkish Export Products Fair organized by the Istanbul Chamber of Trade (ITO) is continuing in Bahrain. A cooperation agreement was signed between the ITO and the Bahrain Trade Council yesterday. Industry and Trade Minister Ahmet Kenan Tanrikulu said that they knew the importance of marketing and added, "The construction and textile sectors will be given new life". /Sabah/[20] IMF-TURKEYThe International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that the Turkish Government has shown its determination over economic structural agreement and reforms. According to a report entitled 'World Economic Outlook' issued by the IMF at the time of the elections in April, measures taken concerning fiscal policies had been relaxed and as a result the pressure on the repayment of loans had increased and led to a rise in interest rates. The report added that the Government coming to power in the elections was aware of the necessity of carrying out reforms to improve the Turkish economy.It was also reported that the earthquake disaster would adversely affect the economy. However, it was recalled that, with the measures already taken, economic activity had begun to be seen. In the report, the importance of short- and medium-term structural reform was stressed and the necessity of a tight monetary strategy in addition to a policy supported by banking and agricultural reforms was stated, the Anatolia News Agency reports. [21] TOYAMA: "TURKEY AND JAPAN WILL BE SHINING STARS"Japanese Ambassador Atsuko Toyama said that ties between Turkey and Japan are improving every day and added that the two friendly countries will be the shining stars of the 21st century. Ambassador Toyama was speaking at a conference entitled "Turco-Japanese Ties Today and in the Future" which was held at the Turkish-Japanese Foundation Centre on Wednesday afternoon. The Conference's host was the chairman of the Turkish-Japanese Culture Centre, Prof.Cafer Tayyar Sadiklar. /All papers/[22] TURKEY IS NOMINATEDTurkey became a candidate for the World Universities Summer Games that will be held in 2003, reported the Anatolian News Agency.Turkey's nomination application has been approved formally by the Universities' Sports Federation. Mexico, Holland and Russia have also been nominated for the 22nd Games and the voting will be held in Brussels on 26th November 1999. The Deputy General Director of the Ministry for the Young People and Sports, Kemal Mutlu, said that Turkey was likely to win the votes that will be cast by a committee of 25 people comprising the International Universities' Sports Federation's Chairman and members of the Executive. Kemal Mutlu further added that if Turkey had the chance of becoming the host of the 22nd Summer Games, then a students' hall of residence for 5 thousand people will be built, which is expected to be constructed before the year 2001 on Aegean University's Campus, for the sportsmen from those countries that will participate in the Games. [23] TURKISH POLITICIANS VISIT NORTHERN IRAQA group of politicians from the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) have gone to Northern Iraq following an invitation from the leader of the Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (IKDP), Mesut Barzani, reported the Anatolian News Agency.The Turkish Parliamentary delegation consists of the following members: from Diyarbakir, Sebgetullah Seydaoglu (The Motherland Party), Nurettin Dilek (The Motherland Party) and S. Hasim Hasimi (The Virtue Party); from Mardin, Mustafa Kemal Tugmaner (Democratic Left Party); from Hakkari, Macit Piruzbeyoglu (The Motherland Party) and from Adiyaman, Mehmet Mirdengir Firat (The Virtue Party). During their three-day visit, they will go on a tour of observation in the Rendavuz, Selahaddin, Erbil, Duhok and Barzan regions. The group will come back to Turkey after meeting Barzani. [24] CYPRUS MEETINGSThe Greek-Cypriot media has asserted that the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, will send invitations for the meetings on the Cyprus issue to both sides on Sept. 29th and it is expected that the meetings will commence on Oct. 18th. According to the Greek media, the meetings will be held at West Point in the U.S. and last for three weeks. Thanks to the Commonwealth and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Summits, the meetings will be cut and, if so wished, will resume in the last 10 days of November. /Aksam/[25] ECEVIT MEETS AL GOREPrime Minister Bulent Ecevit, will come face to face with the U.S. Vice-President, Al Gore, besides meeting President Bill Clinton. Preparing himself for next year's Presidential Election, Gore, despite his intensive election campaign, desired to meet Bulent Ecevit. Due to this development, the Ecevit-Al Gore meeting was added to the schedule. Prime Minister Ecevit, on Sept. 28th, is going to meet with Al Gore in the White House Complex and following the meeting with Clinton, they are going to lunch. /Aksam/[26] AMERICAN PLAN NOT ACCEPTABLEThe President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Rauf Denktas, harshly critized the Greek 'Eksusia' newspaper due to its article on a 'New Cyprus Plan by the U.S.' He stressed that the two nations are indeed ready to compromise, however, the Cyprus issue cannot be solved from the outside, using plans prepared by foreigners, but only by the formulas on which the two nations are agreed. /Aksam/[27] PREPARATION FOR UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE CONTINUESThe infrastructure for a system of unemployment insurance, due to take effect on June 1, 2000, is being prepared by a commission formed by the Employment Office. The commission is expected to complete its work on legal regulations in three months. Starting June 1, 2000, workers will make contributions also being made by the employer and the government. Each will pay monthly premiums equal to as much as two or three percent of the employee's salary.[28] TURKISH SOLDIER KILLED IN EXPLOSION IN KOSOVOA Turkish member of the multi-national force for Kosovo (KFOR) was killed while trying to detonate ordnance of an undetermined type, according to a Turkish General Staff statement yesterday. The explosion that killed Huseyin Kutlu on Wednesday occurred due to an accident, the statement said. The body of Kutlu was flown to Turkey yesterday. Two other Turkish troops, Ayhan Akbiyik and Necati Unal, were injured in the blast and immediately tansferred to a German military hospital in Tetovo, a city neighbouring Macedonia. The conditions of the two were said to be improving.[29] SEVEN MILLION DOLLAR-LOAN FOR KOC FINANCEKoc Financial Leasing, has obtained a seven-million-dollar loan from the Netherlands Development Finance Company, to be used in various leasing processes under the scope of an agreement signed with this company. The loan was planned to be repaid over a six-year term at 3.5%. /Sabah/[30] CEM: NO PRESSURE FROM THE U.S.Yesterday, the Turkish Foreign Minister, Ismail Cem, held meetings with the U.S Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, and the State Department's Deputy Secretary responsible for European Affairs, Marc Grossman, in New York. Answering guestions posed by journalists after the meetings, Cem replied to a question about the rumours of American pressure on Turkey over the Cyprus issue thus, "I haven't recognized any pressure." /Sabah/[31] IMF WANTS REFORMThe International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Turkish delegation, who will begin to have discussions with the World Bank next week, are likely to enter a period of intense barganing. IMF wants the purchase reform, finance sector and public banks reform and agricultural reform preparations to be initiated. Meanwhile, the World Bank will suggest that the international donation and loan given to Turkey due to the earthquake, be used under "their own coordination". The IMF stated that they were for the implementation of the Banking Law and the social security law. The IMF further added that they were waiting for reform, a request for money to cover the public banks' working loss that amounts to nearly 15 billion dollars and for a "satisfying" proposal to solve the problem. /Milliyet/[32] RIGHT TO BORROW IS ON THE AGENDAFollowing the "settling" debenture certificate that was guaranteed by the American Treasury to cover the destruction caused by the earthquake, a debenture that is being supported by the World Bank has been placed on the agenda. The World Bank's new guarantee system called the Politically-Based Guarantee provides a partial guarantee for those countries who cannot show official proof of their debts because of temporary problems. This guarantee enables these countries to find loans under more suitable conditions. This guarantee, that was accepted by the banks a short while ago, aims to contribute to the search for external funding for countries which have difficulties in borrowing from abroad because of the global crisis.The World Bank, which has supported development projects up to now, has a new mission with this system. Officials point out that Turkey, which is a developing country, will be able to obtain a cheap long-term borrowing by benefiting from this new guarantee opportunity. /Milliyet/ [33] STRICT CONTROL APPLIED TO DONATIONSThe donations for the earthquake victims will be collected in one single account. The government will gather together both internal and external donations. The Disaster Region Coordinator's Office will also be established. /Milliyet/[34] KLERIDES PUTS PRESSUREThe leader of the Greek-Cypriot Administration, Glafkos Klerides, said, "Let us sit at the table with the status of leaders of equal societies as soon as possible", as opposed to the President of the TRNC, Rauf Denktas' thesis that "Direct meetings can be held only between two governments." Klerides repeated his call during the meetings that he held with the UN's Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, the U.S. State Secretary, Madeleine Albright, and the U.S. Permanent Representative to the UN, Richard Holbrooke.During the UN General Assembly meetings, there is also a compact Cyprus diplomacy in evidence. The American diplomats have denied the "detailed solution plan" that was reflected in the Turkish and Greek press and said, "There is no officially-presented plan. The only effort being made is to prepare the condition under which to bring the parties together at this stage." /Milliyet/ [35] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...[36] WHAT OCALAN MUST UNDERSTAND -BY OKTAY EKSI (HURRIYET)Columnist Oktay Eksi of "Hurriyet" comments on the recent statements by Ocalan calling for the surrender of a PKK group with its weaponry. A summary of his column is as follows:"Ocalan recently made a statement through his lawyers calling on a group of PKK terrorists to come to Turkey and surrender to the State, with their weapons, in order to persuade everyone that the PKK will not be engaged in any armed conflict against Turkey. The PKK administration, which declared that they still see Ocalan as its leader, will most probably abide by his decision. Thus, a small group will themselves and their weapons surrender to officials. However, this cannot be a proof of the PKK's decision to completely abandon its involvement in armed conflict. If the PKK does not want anything but "peace" and "brotherhood" in the country it should forget even the meaning of arms. The way to show this leads through the surrender of the entire cadre of the PKK. When you analyze the statements made by Ocalan, you will see that this issue not only depends on him, but the State also has to take some steps. Certainly, these words are worth listening to. However, Ocalan or the administrators of the PKK do not have any right to say that the State has done nothing as the TGNA enacted the "Penitence Law" a few weeks ago. Therefore, without making such statements Ocalan should call on the members of the PKK to benefit from the Penitence Law. However, if he does not do so, and makes calls which mean to say "stay where you are as a threat and a terrorist group, to take action if the sentence capital punishment passed on me is carried out", nobody will believe him. Ocalan must have understood the message sent out by the Prime Minister to the terrorists in the mountain, to the effect that if they gave themselves up to justice, it would be used in their favour. We believe that he means to say that there will be other developments to follow on the issue." [37] WHY NOT? -BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)Columnist Sami Kohen writes on the improving relations between the Turkish and Greek peoples. A summary of his column is as follows:"Not a day passes without reading articles concerning the improvement of relations between Turkey and Greece. The most interesting feature of this improvement is that it is developing not only with the efforts of officials in both countries but also through the sincere, warm gestures emanating from various sections of both societies. The latest example of this is the concert in Istanbul in aid of the victims of the earthquake in which Turkish and Greek artists participated. No-one in Athens or Ankara is questioning the benefits of these activities. Everyone believes that the rapprochement between the peoples is creating an atmosphere conducive to the solution of problems. We have all along claimed that confidence-bulding contact between the two societies would lead to friendship instead of animosity and as a result enable the politicians to relax their stance and reach compromise. Within the confidence-building efforts, contact will begin between Turkish and Greek journalists, artists, businessmen and the intelligentsia. One of those meetings will be held in Athens this weekend and next month Turkish and Greek writers and retired diplomats will meet under the umbrella of another meeting. Cannot a similar process be started on Cyprus? We have to recall that in the past similar contact was made. The journalists, unionists, businessmen and intelligentsia of both sides have met on the Island or in third countries and searched for cooperation in their respective fields. However, following the unfortunate decision taken by the EU in Luxembourg, all these contacts have come to an end. The rapprochement between Turkey and Greece has led them to ask why they would not do the same. It can be claimed that the situation on Cyprus is different to that of Turco-Greek relations and, therefore the atmosphere is still not conducive to making such contact. It is true that the situation is different. However, there were those who thought the same as far as contact between Turkey and Greece was concerned. On Cyprus both sides live in complete separation, one from the other. In particular the young generation of each community does not know the other. However, it was seen that the visits and contact made between them at the beginning of the 1990s had some positive effect on the Greek-Cypriots in favour of the Turkish-Cypriots. In any case, the Turkish side has nothing to fear from these visits. Contact between two peoples may contribute to the search for permanent solutions." Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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