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Turkish Press Review, 01-02-21
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
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<td width="100%" style="border: 1 solid #808080" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> Press
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<td width="100%" style="border: 1 solid #808080"> Turkish
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<td width="100%" style="border: 1 solid #808080"> Foreign
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<td width="100%" style="border: 1 solid #808080" bgcolor="#F0F0F0"> Turkish
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<td width="100%" style="border: 1 solid #808080"> Press
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Summary of the political and economic
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<td width="100%">21.02.2001</td>
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CONTENTS
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CEM: "WE WILL SUBMIT NATIONAL PROGRAM BY
MID-MARCH"
CONTENTS
[01] INAN'S BILL APPROVED BY THE TGNA FOREIGN RELATIONS
COMMISSION
[02] GREEK LEFTIST PARTY SINASPISMOS REACTS TO THE
SO-CALLED GREEK GENOCIDE BILL
[03] ITALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER DINI PRAISES FOREIGN
MINISTER CEM
[04] $50 MILLION NEEDED FOR THE PROTECTION OF CULTURAL
HERITAGE
[05] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[06] NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL TO MEET MONDAY
[07] ECEVIT AND CEM TO GO TO SKOPJE
[08] BAHCELI'S STATEMENT
[09] UNITED NATIONS PRAISES TURKEY
[10] INAN'S BILL APPROVED BY THE TGNA FOREIGN RELATIONS
COMMISSION
[11] TRNC PRESIDENT DENKTAS IN ISTANBUL
[12] GREEK LEFTIST PARTY SINASPISMOS REACTS TO THE
SO-CALLED GREEK GENOCIDE BILL
[13] ITALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER DINI PRAISES FOREIGN
MINISTER CEM
[14] DYP WITHDRAWS CENSURE MOTION
[15] FP DEMANDS ADDITIONAL PERIOD
[16] IMF SUPPORTS THE OPERATION
[17] BUSINESSMEN TO TRAVEL TO IRAQ
[18] BUSINESS WORLD WANTS PEACE
[19] PERIOD EXTENDED IN THE THY BIDDING
[20] ISTANBUL'S FUTURE DEPENDS ON CONVENTION TOURISM
[21] $50 MILLION NEEDED FOR THE PROTECTION OF CULTURAL
HERITAGE
[22] ELECTRICITY LAW ENACTED
[23] FINANS-BIR'S APPLICATION TO THE BDDK
[24] TREASURY SHORTENS ITS BORROWING TERM
[25] NO PROBLEM IN DEBT SERVICE
[26] YAPI KREDI BOOSTS ASSETS 53 % IN 2000
[27] TURKISH FASHION FAIR IN GREECE
[28] ISS USES TURKISH BLANKETS
[29] MODERN TURKISH POETRY ANTHOLOGY IN THE BALKANS
[30] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS...
[31] TUNING IN THE BALKANS BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
[01] INAN'S BILL APPROVED BY THE TGNA FOREIGN RELATIONS
COMMISSION
DENKTAS: "CYPRUS CANNOT BE PREREQUISITE FOR
TURKEY'S FULL EU MEMBERSHIP"
[02] GREEK LEFTIST PARTY SINASPISMOS REACTS TO THE
SO-CALLED GREEK GENOCIDE BILL
[03] ITALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER DINI PRAISES FOREIGN
MINISTER CEM
[04] $50 MILLION NEEDED FOR THE PROTECTION OF CULTURAL
HERITAGE
[05] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[06] NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL TO MEET MONDAY
The tension between Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit
and President Ahmet Necdet Sezer has been gradually reduced since
yesterday. The National Security Council (MGK) is expected to meet on
February 26. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit met with the TGNA Speaker
Omer Izgi yesterday. After the meeting, Ecevit said, " We always
try to overcome the problems because state works cannot be
delayed." /Cumhuriyet/
[07] ECEVIT AND CEM TO GO TO SKOPJE
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit will go to Skopje to
attend the Heads of the State and Government Summit Meeting of the
Southeastern European Countries Cooperation Process, which will be
chaired by Macedonia on 22-23 February. Meanwhile, Minister of Foreign
Affairs, Ismail Cem, will represent Turkey during the meeting of the
Ministers of Foreign Affairs on 22 February in Skopje, which is
considered to be a preparation for the Summit Meeting. /Turkiye/
[08] BAHCELI'S STATEMENT
Nationalist Action Party (MHP) leader and Deputy
Prime Minister Devlet Bahceli, who is currently in Turkmenistan,
visited the city of Tasoguz today. As part of his visit, Bahceli also
went to Urgench and was welcomed with an official ceremony. He first
visited the tomb of Necmettin Kubrevi and then the Stone Mesjid Museum
where he was given a tour. The Governor of Tasoguz, Habibullah
Durduyev, gave a banquet in honor of Bahceli in the traditional
Turkmen tent, established in the historical city of Urgench. Bahceli
issued a statement following the feast and said that he was very
pleased by his visit and that he enjoyed being away from the stressing
atmosphere of Ankara. Bahceli has not made any explanation concerning
the crisis that occurred during the National Security Council the day
before. /Turkiye/
CEM: "WE WILL SUBMIT NATIONAL PROGRAM BY
MID-MARCH"
Foreign Minister Ismail Cem said that Turkey plans
to submit its National Program to the EU by the middle of March. The
program includes Turkey's plans for political and economic reform
needed to start EU-entry talks. "The National program will
probably be handed over to the EU by the middle of March" Cem
told journalists after meeting his Portuguese counterpart Jaime Gama
in Lisbon. /All papers/
[09] UNITED NATIONS PRAISES TURKEY
The United Nations (UN) stated that Turkey had
displayed a great deal of effort for the struggle against laundering
money earned from the production, smuggling and sale of drugs. In the
year 2000 report of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB),
attached to the UN, it was stated that Turkey was taking action on the
route used for delivering drugs produced in Afghanistan destined for
Europe. It was stated that Turkey had seized a great deal of
stimulant, which is produced under the name of Captagon in Europe, and
that it closed an illegal laboratory that produces this stimulant. In
the UN report, it was further stated that Turkey was continuing to
discover and close heroin production facilities. /Aksam/
[10] INAN'S BILL APPROVED BY THE TGNA FOREIGN RELATIONS
COMMISSION
The bill, which is considered as a response to
France's approval of the so-called Armenian genocide bill, was
approved in the TGNA Foreign Relations Commission. The Commission
chaired by the Motherland Party Deputy Kamran Inan accepted the bill
prepared by Inan. The bill will be presented to the TGNA Presidency
after the report on the bill is completed. Some of the articles of the
bill entitled "Law Against the International Claims, Accusations
and Distortions" are as follows: 1) Turkey rejects the
allegations of the so-called Armenian genocide. 2) Turkey strongly
denounces the support and protection to the ASALA terror. 3) Turkey
denounces the occupations of the Upper Karabagh and Azerbaijan. 4)
Turkey denounces the countries who are mere spectators to the genocide
perpetrated in the Bosnia-Herzegovina. Meanwhile Turkey's Charge
D'Affaires to France, Kaya Turkmen, sent a letter to the Speaker of
the French Parliament Raymond Forni, protesting the ASALA terrorist
organization's lawyer and Republican Union Party Deputy Patrick
Deveciyan's statements against Turkey. Denouncing Deveciyan's
statements, Turkmen asked, "Does political immunity give the
right to insult peoples and countries to a deputy?" /Cumhuriyet/
[11] TRNC PRESIDENT DENKTAS IN ISTANBUL
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)
President Rauf Denktas visited the First Army Commander, General
Necdet Timur, in Istanbul. The meeting was closed to the press.
/Cumhuriyet/
DENKTAS: "CYPRUS CANNOT BE PREREQUISITE FOR
TURKEY'S FULL EU MEMBERSHIP"
Giving a conference on the Cyprus issue at the
Istanbul University, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)
President Rauf Denktas said that Greek Cypriots, Greece and the
Western countries must first recognize the presence of two different
nations and states on the island as an acceptable solution. Denktas
added, "The Cyprus issue cannot be a prerequisite for Turkey's
full EU membership." Stating that Cyprus was very important for
Turkey so that no concessions could be made, Denktas said, "If
the EU put the Cyprus issue as a condition for Turkey's full EU
membership, Turkey would, of course, object to the decision. We have
fought for years to avoid Cyprus being a problem for Turkey.
/Cumhuriyet/
[12] GREEK LEFTIST PARTY SINASPISMOS REACTS TO THE
SO-CALLED GREEK GENOCIDE BILL
Negative reactions to the so-called Greek genocide
bill are continuing. The leftist coalition party, Sinaspismos reacted
to the bill. In its statement on the issue, the party said that no one
could consider the incidents during 1914-1924 as genocide. The Party
demanded the bill to be withdrawn before the approval of the
President. "The bill is in contradiction with the historical and
scientific facts. Approval of the bill by President Kostis
Stephanopulos would seriously damage bilateral relations."
/Cumhuriyet/
[13] ITALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER DINI PRAISES FOREIGN
MINISTER CEM
Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, currently in Italy,
met with his Italian counterpart Lamberto Dini yesterday in Rome. Dini
expressed his personal ideas and feelings about Cem as follows:
"Ismail Cem is very sincere, courageous and open-hearted. I have
a high respect for Cem. We have never lost bilateral contact with Cem
even in the period of the Ocalan crisis. We have always managed to
maintain bilateral trust. He has received respect in the international
arena due to his sincere and courageous character." /Sabah/
[14] DYP WITHDRAWS CENSURE MOTION
The True Path Party (DYP) submitted a petition to
the General Assembly of Parliament yesterday and requested that the
censure motion they had earlier submitted in relation with the
economic situation of the country be withdrawn. The reason for the
withdrawal of the motion involves the latest crisis that broke out
between President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit
during talks in the National Security Council (MGK) meeting on Monday.
/All papers/
[15] FP DEMANDS ADDITIONAL PERIOD
The Virtue Party (FP) demanded an additional one
month period from the Constitutional Court for its initial defense in
the ongoing lawsuit about its closure. The acting Chairman of the FP
Group Yasin Hatipoglu presented the petition to the Constitutional
Court. /Cumhuriyet/
[16] IMF SUPPORTS THE OPERATION
The balance, which was shaken due to the crisis
that occurred between President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and President
Bulent Ecevit the day before, began to improve with the support of the
International Monetary Fund (IMF). The First Deputy Chairman of the
IMF, Stanley Fischer, and the IMF's Director to Europe, Michael
Deppler, changed their plans and stayed in Ankara due to the crisis
and monitored the developments in the economy. Fischer and Deppler
went to the Central Bank and followed the proposals given for the bond
bidding. Fischer met with Ecevit again yesterday. This meeting was
also attended by Deppler and Carlo Cottarelli and the Central Bank
Governor Gazi Ercel. Stanley Fischer said, "We observed that the
Government had made the decisions necessary for the achievement of the
economic program. 5 billion US dollars of the IMF loan was used and
the remaining 6 billion US dollars is enough for the implementation of
the program." Fischer and Deppler left Turkey in the evening.
/Aksam/
[17] BUSINESSMEN TO TRAVEL TO IRAQ
It was stated that the Turkish Export Goods Fair,
organized by the Forum Fair Company, would be opened in May. In a
statement issued by Forum Fair Company, it was noted that the Turkish
businessmen had reacted negatively against the air attack carried out
by the US and England against Iraq. Turkey, which has taken important
steps for improving economic and political relations with Iraq, would
continue this process. In the statement it was added there would not
be any change in the commercial delegation's visit program in March.
It was stated that the visit, which would be organized by Uludag
Association of Exporters with the coordination of Foreign Trade
Undersecretariat, would begin on 12 March. The delegation, which will
stay in Baghdad until 16 March, will be chaired by State Minister
Tunca Toskay. /Turkiye/
[18] BUSINESS WORLD WANTS PEACE
The business organizations met yesterday to
evaluate the tension between President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime
Minister Bulent Ecevit. Chairman of the Turkish Union of Chambers and
Stock Exchanges (TOBB) Fuat Miras, Chairman of the Association of
Industrialists and Businessmen (TUSIAD) Tuncay Ozilhan, and the
Chairman of the Turkish Exporters' Assembly (TIM) and the chairmen of
the councils attached to the TOBB met. The businessmen released a
bulletin after the meeting calling for an end in the tension between
Sezer and Ecevit. /Milliyet/
[19] PERIOD EXTENDED IN THE THY BIDDING
The deadline for the proposal of bidding opened for
the privatization of the Turkish Airlines Company, was extended until
30 March 2001. According to a statement issued by the Chairman of the
Privatization Board, the requests of the potential investor companies
to extend this period were taken into consideration. /Aksam/
[20] ISTANBUL'S FUTURE DEPENDS ON CONVENTION TOURISM
The Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality,
Ali Mufit Gurtuna, gathered the tour operators together, who are
currently in Istanbul to develop convention tourism. Gurtuna delivered
a speech during the meeting organized at Kalyon Hotel, and said,
"Nearly 3 million tourists visit Istanbul annually. When we
increase this number to 10 million, so many things will change both in
Istanbul and in Turkey." Meanwhile, Undersecretary Savas Kuce
said that Istanbul could be promoted in a better way through the
convention tourism. Meanwhile, the International Trade and Tourism
Fair (ITTE), which will be organized for the first time this year to
open new horizons in Turkish tourism, will be opened tomorrow.
/Turkiye/
[21] $50 MILLION NEEDED FOR THE PROTECTION OF CULTURAL
HERITAGE
The 'Ilisu and Kargamis Excavations Project'
prepared in order to protect the cultural heritage which will be
inundated by the waters of the Ilisu-Kargamis Dams built within the
framework of the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) was promoted at a
meeting in Istanbul two days ago. The Director-General of the
Monuments and Museums at the Culture of Ministry, Alpay Pasinli,
stated that 25 separate archaeological excavations were carried out in
the basin of the Ilisu and Kargamis dams in 2000 and an additional 28
excavations will also be made this year. He said: "The Culture
Ministry is ready to support these kinds of initiatives". It is
reported that $50 million is needed for the project to which $2
million has been spent to date. /Hurriyet/
[22] ELECTRICITY LAW ENACTED
The draft law concerning the opening of electricity
markets to private initiatives, which was undertaken as part of the
program implemented with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), was
enacted by the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA). With the
arrangement made in the 4th Article of the draft law, the period given
for the thermic power stations, which are within the context of the
transferring the right of management, and for the transfer of the
regions of distribution was extended until 30 June. In addition, a
period of five years was given for the completion of the construction
of refining facilities. With the same change made in the same article,
the rule that arranges the State's being the monopoly in communication
was abolished. /Aksam/
[23] FINANS-BIR'S APPLICATION TO THE BDDK
Private Finance Institutions Union (Finans-Bir)
have applied to the Banking Regulation and Supervision Board (BDDK) to
establish an insurance fund. The new insurance fund will include the
current and sharing accounts of the private finance institutions.
/Sabah/
[24] TREASURY SHORTENS ITS BORROWING TERM
The Treasury had to shorten its borrowing term
substantially yesterday and tolerated a high interest rate. The
Treasury sold TL 1.5 quadrillion one-month bills to the market at an
average compounded yield of 144.2 %. Nominal sales amounted to TL 1.6
quadrillion versus a total bid of TL 1.8 quadrillion. The Treasury
also sold $530.1 million worth of dollar-denominated bills at a simple
annual yield of 12 % yesterday, meeting the entire demand for the
bonds. The Treasury sold TL 355 trillion worth of one-month bills to
the public sector in the morning. The one-month bills mature on March
21 and the dollar bills on June 21. /All papers/
[25] NO PROBLEM IN DEBT SERVICE
The State Minister responsible for the economy,
Recep Onal, said the Treasury would comfortably meet today's debt
service after yesterday's borrowing auction. In a written statement,
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said the tension between state
authorities would not cause a deviation from the program. State
Minister Recep Onal said he did not expect a significant capital
outflow as lira interest rates have surged. Onal predicted that the
markets would moderate because the economic program was not
compromised. "We are doing our best within the framework of the
program" he said, adding that the pressures stemming from the
pegged exchange rate regime would diminish as the current account
deficit is bridged and the Central Bank adopts a more flexible regime
in July. /All papers/
[26] YAPI KREDI BOOSTS ASSETS 53 % IN 2000
Yapi Kredi Bank said its assets increased by 53 %
to TL 7.5 quadrillion in 2000. Yapi Kredi's banking service income
rose by 49 % to TL 175 trillion. Yapi Kredi's equities increased by
250 % from 1999 to TL 1.4 quadrillion thanks to the appreciation of
its affiliates listed on domestic and foreign stock markets. /All
papers/
[27] TURKISH FASHION FAIR IN GREECE
Turkey's Ambassador to Athens, Ali Tuygan stated a
significant improvement was observed in economic and commercial
relations between Turkey and Greece last year. Speaking at the
promotion meeting of the Turkish Fashion-2001 Manufacturing and
Leather Fair to be held between March 1-3 in Athens, Ambassador Tuygan
said there were many issues between Turkey and Greece in which both
countries would cooperate with each other. /Cumhuriyet/
[28] ISS USES TURKISH BLANKETS
A Turkish scientist, Salim Yilmaz living in the US,
produces the blankets which the International Space Station (ISS) uses
to protect from high and low temperatures. Chairman of Boeing Company
International Space Station Program Heat Control Department, Salim
Yilmaz, said he gave the name of his son , Kaan, to the space blankets
he invented. /Cumhuriyet/
[29] MODERN TURKISH POETRY ANTHOLOGY IN THE BALKANS
Kosovar author, journalist and poet Hasan Mercan,
who has a total of 16 literary awards both in Yugoslavia and Turkey,
has prepared a 'Modern Turkish Poetry Anthology in the Balkans' with
the contributions of the Directorate-General of Press and Information.
Many poems of Turkish poets living in Macedonia, Romania, Western
Thracia, Bulgaria and Kosovo are included in the anthology. The
foreword of the book is written by Prof.Talat Sait Halman. /Hurriyet/
[30] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS...
[31] TUNING IN THE BALKANS BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
Columnist Sami Kohen comments on Turkey's foreign
policy towards the Balkans. A summary of his column is as follows:
"As the Turkish public is poorly informed, it is not aware of the
recent developments in the Balkans and the change in Turkey's Balkan
policy. The recent bloody incidents which occurred in Kosovo where the
Turkish military unit is serving, brought the issue to the attention
of the world. Right now, it is feared that the tension in Kosovo will
disrupt the calm in the Balkans and lead the region into instability.
One of the main issues discussed during President Sezer's meeting with
his Bulgarian and Romanian counterparts in Plovdiv was the situation
in Kosovo. The expressions in the join
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