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Turkish Press Review, 00-08-02Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>02.08.00Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS[02] SEZER MEETS ECEVITPrime Minister Bulent Ecevit visited President Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday. The meeting lasted about an hour. Prime Minister Ecevit tried to remove President Ahmet Necdet Sezer's anxieties on the decree in the force of law which concerns dismissing the civil servants who are involved in reactionary and separatist actions. Prime Minister Ecevit made no statement on the talks while he was leaving the Cankaya Palace. However, he said, "President Ahmet Necdet Sezer is still examining the decree in the force of law". /Cumhuriyet/[03] SEZER WARNS ABOUT TRAFFIC RULESPresident Ahmet Necdet Sezer received the Head of Turkey Traffic Accidents Association Ridvan Ege and executive council members of the Association yesterday. Stating that he also followed the traffic rules, President Sezer said, " We have the right to expect everyone to obey the traffic rules. One who does not respect other's lives can not have any respect for his own life". Meanwhile, President Sezer met with Head of the Turkish Writers and Artists Association (TURKSAV) Executive Council Yahya Akergin and the executive council members of the Association. /Cumhuriyet/[04] PROFESSORS VISIT SEZERPresident Ahmet Necdet Sezer received a group from the 'Association of University Professors' yesterday. The representatives requested Sezer to support an amendment in the law on Higher Education Council (YOK) which would allow rectors and deans to be elected by the professors. They also requested an increase in their wages. Sezer said that he would study the issue. /Sabah/[05] SUPREME MILITARY COUNCIL MEETINGSupreme Military Council (YAS) decided to dismiss 43 members of Turkish Armed Forces who were accused of being involved in reactionary actions. The opening of the four-day meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit. At the first day of the meeting yesterday, the General Command of the Chief of Staff gave information about the current conditions of the Turkish army to Prime Minister Ecevit. The council members visited Ataturk's mausoleum, Anitkabir, in the morning. In the following days, YAS will discuss promotions and retirements of Turkish Armed Forces personnel, particularly those of high-ranking officers. /Cumhuriyet/[06] KHK TENSION CONTINUESThe debate on the decree in the force of law (KHK) which concerns dismissing civil servants who are involved in separatist and reactionary actions is growing. The opposition parties and the unions keep protesting the decree in the force of law. If President Ahmet Necdet Sezer approves the decree in the force of law, Virtue Party and the True Path Party are preparing to apply to the Constitutional Court to cancel it. Chairman of Republican Peoples' Party Altan Oymen said that the regulation was not democratic and also oppressive. On the other hand, stating that similar regulations were made in the past, Minister of Justice Hikmet Sami Turk said that in the parliament it was very difficult to ratify such kind of laws, so they preferred to prepare a decree in the force of law. /Cumhuriyet/[07] AGREEMENT ON NATURAL GAS WITH IRANDespite the political problems between Iran and Turkey, the economic and commercial relations are developing between the two countries. The meetings on Turkey's natural gas import from Iran are continuing in Ankara. The pipeline project had been signed in 1996 by the Welfare Party government, however as the US opposed the project, it could not have been realized. After the meetings which were chaired by the Undersecratary of Iran Oil Ministry Chairmanship Hamdullah Muhammednejat and Director General of BOTAS Gokhan Yardim, it is expected that an agreement would be signed between Turkey and Iran today. In the framework of the agreement Turkey will buy 10 billion cubic metre natural gas from Iran by 2001. /Cumhuriyet/[08] ACADEMICS PROTEST RECTORIAL APPOINMENTA group of academicians from Samsun's 19 Mayis University protested President Ahmet Necdet Sezer's rectorial appoinment yesterday. The protest was held to voice the reactions to the newly appointed rector Professor Ferit Bernay who won a minimal number of votes in the rectorial election. The academics said that Professor Osman Cakir who received the majority of the votes in the elections should have been appointed as the rector. /Cumhuriyet/[09] TURK: "PUBLIC WILL CONTROL THE F-TYPE PRISONS"Minister of Justice Hikmet Sami Turk stated that independence control councils will inspect the F-type prisons. Turk said that the members of the councils will be made up of retired judges, doctors, chemists, psychologists and the people who have information about prison problems. Stating that they will make regulations in social and cultural lives of the prisoners with the amendments in the Law for Combatting Terrorism, Turk said that transfers to the F-type prisons will not be made until these regulations are met. /Cumhuriyet/[10] TURNING POINT IN CYPRUSThe Cyprus proximity talks in Geneva that the President Denktas of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and leader of the Greek-Cypriot Administration Glafkos Klerides are attending, are of the great importance in terms of finding a solution for the problems that the Island has been experiencing for many years. If the proximity talks in Geneva, during which the United Nations (UN) try very hard to improve dialogues between the Turkish-Cypriots and the Greek-Cypriots, will produce successful results, this development can ensure the sovereignty of the TRNC. TRNC officials said that the Greek-Cypriot Administration will be a full member of the European Union (EU) in the near future and that the 9th Article of the Helsinki Summit final declaration was very important in terms of finding a permanent solution for the Cyprus problem. Meanwhile, the Greek Minister of Defence Akis Tsohatzopoulos stated that Turkey should make concessions on the Cyprus issue in order to be a member of the EU. Tsohatzopoulos met his Greek-Cypriot counterpart Sokrates Hassikos in Athens, and defended the idea that Ankara should contribute to the 'fair solution' of the Cyprus issue so that the relations between Turkey and Greece can be developed positively. /Turkiye/[11] NEW US AMBASSADOR TO ANKARA: PEARSONRobert Pearson, who was appointed as America's Ambassador to Ankara, took the oath and began his new duty in Ankara yesterday with a ceremony that was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and attended by many guests. After taking the oath, Pearson said, "The US and Turkey are the two nations who constructed their future on the rich cultures and previous experiences. Americans are aware of the fact that the cultural, economic and democratic diversity make Turkey powerful." Pearson also said that after the European Union (EU) accepted Turkey's candidacy, Turkey faced a new and important test and added, "Turkey's dream of being a member of the EU, which is also supported by the US, is now closer to reality. However, both Turkey and the EU have many things to do concerning this issue." He added that he would do his best to improve the relations between Turkey and the US and that he would continue to work for finding a solution to the Cyprus problem. /Turkiye/[12] TURCO-GREEK FRIENDSHIP ON THE INTERNETSuperonline and Greece's leading internet service provider OTEnet signed an agreement in order to make a cooperation on culture and tourism. General Director of OTEnet, George Ionnaidis, and the General Director of Superonline, Savas Unsal, stated that they were planning to establish a cultural platform on the internet thanks to this agreement. Unsal further stated that a common portal in Turkish, English and Greek will be established on this site, which brought the entrepreneurs of the two countries together. /Aksam/[13] DUTCH SHIP RESCUES TURKISH SEAMENA Turkish ship called 'Hasat' was sank in the open sea of Italy. Captain of the ship with a container of 8,921 gross tons, and the 21-men crew, was rescued by a Dutch commercial ship. Officials from Kinay Maritime Joint Stock Company stated that the ship which was carrying container from Marseille to Pireaus, was inflamed at the east of Sicily at nearly 03:55 a.m. The crew was rescued without any injury. /Aksam/[14] ENVIRONMENT AWARD FOR THE DIRECTORATE OF RELIGIOUS AFFAIRSAs part of the protocol signed with the Directorate of Religious Affairs, the Minister of Environment Fevzi Aytekin gave the 'Environment Award' to the Head of the Directorate of Religious Affairs, Mehmet Nuri Yilmaz, due to the fact that the men of religion made the public conscious of the environmental issues. Aytekin said that this award was an appreciation for the contribution of the Directorate of Religious Affairs. Meanwhile, Yilmaz said that Islam attaches great importance to the environment and presented Aytekin with some books on the environmental problems and Islam. /Turkiye/[15] FERRY TOURS BETWEEN FINIKE AND RHODOS WITHOUT VISADaily ferry tours without visa between Antalya's district of Finike and the Greek Rhodes Island started. The owner of Ertur Travel Agency, based in Antalya, Erhan Ozkan, stated that after a series of meeting, it was ensured that the tourists will be able to enter Greece's Rhodes, Kos and Samos Islands from Turkey without a visa. It is targeted that nearly 12,000 tourists will visit Antalya and its environs thanks to these ferry tours next year. /Aksam/[16] ADDITIONAL RESOURCE OF 5 BILLION DOLLARS FOR EXPORTForeign Trade Undersecretariat (DTM) speeded up the bureaucratic works to ensure an increase in Turkey's exports. DTM officials said that they were working in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance so that the system of delay-cancelation that is being used in the textile sector can be used in other sectors as well. DTM officials further stated that the work concerning this issue was in its final stage and that the expansion of the system of delay-cancelation, which is being warmly welcomed by the Ministry of Finance, will create an additional source of 5 billion dollars. /Aksam/[17] TURKCELL REACHES EIGHT MILLION SUBSCRIBERSTurkish GSM Operator Company Turkcell has increased the number of its subscribers by 48 percent and reached 8 million subscribers. The company is one of the ten biggest companies in Europe. The shares of Turkcell were offered to the public in June and has reached a market value of $17 billion. Turkcell is the first Turkish company whose shares are traded in New York stock exchange. /Sabah/[18] BANKS DOUBLE CONSUMER CREDITSThe decline in interest rates of the banks caused a sharp rise in the amount of consumer credits extended by the banks. The credits doubled in the last six months period. Since the amount of funds drawn from domestic financial markets by the Treasury has decreased, banks could transfer those funds to consumers. Current credits are around $7.7 billion. /Sabah/[19] REPO YIELDS BESTRepo has provided the best returns with 23.3 percent to its investors in the first seven months of 2000. On the other hand, during the same period, Istanbul Stock Exchange has suffered a 7.08 percent loss. Deposit accounts with 20.4 percent yields and B type investment funds with 19.1 percent were the other two instruments with higher returns. /Sabah/[20] CAPACITY INCREASE IN SEYDISEHIR ALUMINIUM COMPLEXSeydisehir Aluminium Inc. of Eti Holding aims to be one of the most modern complexes in Europe. New investments will be completed until 2005 and the company will meet the whole domestic demand on aluminium. Currently the company meets 30 percent of total demand. The modernization cost will be $300 million. The manager of the complex Ibrahim Uz said that they aimed to decrease the costs, increase the productivity and capacity within the framework of this investment project. /Cumhuriyet/[21] TURKISH GROUP ORGANIZES COCA COLA'S DISTRIBUTION IN TAJIKISTANThe distribution and sale of Coca Cola products in Tajikistan will be carried out by Efes Industrial Investment Holding under the umbrella of Turkish Anatolia Group. /Hurriyet/ 1.7 MILLION[22] IS UNEMPLOYEDState Institute of Statistics have announced the figures of unemployed for the last years: the figures which stood at 1.563.000 in October 1998 rose to 1.886.000 in April 1999, was reached 1.712.000 in October 1999. According to the official data, unemployment rate have risen to %7.3 from %6.7. /Milliyet/[23] WARNING FROM THE TREASURY AND CENTRAL BANK: DON'T RAISE PRICESUndersecretary of the Treasury Selçuk Demiralp and Central Bank Governor Gazi Erçel said that there are some private sector firms using the opportunity of the rise in demand by increasing the prices of their products "without considering the costs of inputs and increase in production".Reminding that the fight against inflation must be on all fronts, Demiralp said that private sector should have played its part more carefully, that it is meaningless to increase prices using the current situation. Central Bank Governor Gazi Erçel have said that he sees tendencies among the private sector firms for price adjustments which is a kind of continuance in the old habits and that it affects the economic program negatively. /Milliyet/ [24] A NEW PACKAGE FOR CONSULTATION WITH THE IMFWorking groups have been formed for the evaluation meetings with the IMF for the third quarter of the year in the Treasury and management of the economy. The working groups will complete the preparations for the agenda of the meeting with the IMF delegation who will come to Turkey led by Carlo Cottarelli.Some of the measures in the package which will be put into effect by the next fall on which bureacracy is working are: -- Completion of the program of the privatization of Turkey's Sugar Factories and TEKEL. -- An idea of a plan to gather the eight banks under one administrator is gaining strength. Their dates of sale will be announced after October. After January 1st there won't be any bank left in the fund. -- Autonomy of the state owned banks will be regulated in a decree in the force of law which will be issued in September. The process will be completed in January 1. -- %20 of Vakyfbank shares (Group B) will be announced for public offering in September. The sale will be completed in October. Sale process of the Group A will begin after October. 4-6 billion earnings are expected totally from the public offering of the bank. -- Packages of measures concerning imported consumer goods, automotive and the measures to encourage exports will be completed until the end of August, then negotiated with the IMF. -- The bill for the Special Consumption Taxes (OTV) will be submitted to the parliament in October If there is no change in conditions. /Milliyet/ [25] NASUH MAHRUKI AT K-2 SUMMITTurkish mountaineer Nasuh Mahruki reached K-2 Summit of Mt.Everest with a group consisting of American and Canadian climbers. Mahruki has set up the Turkish flag to the summit which is 8.600 meters high. /Hurriyet/[26] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS[27] VERHEUGEN REVEALS EU INTENTIONS BY EROL MANISALI (CUHURIYET)Columnist Erol Manisali writes that on the visit of EU Commissioner responsible for Enlargement Gunther Verheugen revealed the plan prepared for Turkey in Helsinki. A summary of his column is as follows:"As the minutes of the talks published in Hurriyet on 31 July were not denied by the Government, Verheugen's words must have been true. In the minutes recording Verheugen's meeting with Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, the EU Commissioner had said that conditions concerning the Aegean and Cyprus would be taken into the 'Partnership Accession' document prepared for Turkey and that as Greece was determined on the issue, if they were not mentioned, it would not sign the Partnership Accession document. The document will not be ratified before Turkey withdraws from Cyprus, Aegean becomes a Greek sea. They will take Cyprus into the EU as a unitary state, severe its ties with Turkey, reduce the status of Turks living there to a minority, meet Greek demands in the Aegean and then for another forty years think if Turkey satisfies the requirements for being an EU member. Just before the Helsinki Summit, Ecevit stated that he would not accept any conditions for candidacy. However, Government replied positively to the decisions. Those who were relieved the most by this decision were Simitis, Papandreou and Ocalan. The pressure of certain newspapers, businessmen and foreign countries led Ecevit to make a mistake. Brussels was continuing its path and this time an important concession was extracted from the Ecevit Government. During the following days, Kamran Inan wrote a letter to Ecevit and said that the letter he sent to Lipponen did not have any significance and he had to state to 15 Prime Ministers and Brussels in an official note that Turkey would not accept such conditions. Ecevit did not take his advice and Kamran Inan was proved right. Verheugen revealed how we were deceived in Helsinki. Cyprus and Aegean conditions would be taken into the Accession Partnership document. He also added that they would ask for new openings in Southeastern Anatolia within the framework of the Copenhagen criteria. It seems that an extremely bitter 'partnership accession' document will be approved in Autumn. The plan which began to be prepared in Brussels in 1995, is continuing by raising the standards. A few months later new pressures will be applied to Turkey with the 'partnership accession' document. The procedure which began with the Ciller Government is continued by the Ecevit Government. Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister responsible for EU Affairs, Mesut Yilmaz is trying to make new offers which go further than those required by the EU to gain points for himself and his party. In another development, certain circles have begun to prepare the infrastructure of the 'accession partnership'. In TRNC as voices began to be heard saying that Turkey was not going to help them, they had to help themselves. Whereas in Turkey those who regarded Cyprus as burden began to raise their voices. However, they are not aware that to whom they are helping with these criticisms. In fact, the question we must ask is, who are governing Turkey?" Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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