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Turkish Press Review, 01-06-01Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning01.06.2001CONTENTS
[01] MINISTER OF STATE YALOVA RESIGNSMinister of State Yuksel Yalova resigned yesterday upon the negative reactions by the government and the markets to a statement he made. Yalova had criticized the letter of intent presented to the IMF. Accepting the resignation of Yalova, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said the ministers should be careful about the harmony that should be attained within the government. He added, "Mr. Yalova's statements have nothing to do with the government's stance. His views do not represent those of the government." /All papers/[02] PRESIDENT SEZER IN IZMIRPresident Ahmet Necdet Sezer is giving a break in his tour of the East and Southeast of Turkey in order to attend the air show in Izmir marking the 90th anniversary of the formation of the Turkish Air Force. He will return to Ankara tonight. /Turkish Daily News/[03] ECEVIT: "EVERY DEBATE DOES NOT MEAN A CRISIS"Speaking at the group meeting of Democratic Left Party (DSP), Prime Minister and DSP Chairman Bulent Ecevit said that presenting every debate within the government as a crisis was not right. Ecevit said, "There is no alternative government in Turkey right now. The scenarios on the breakdown of the government are doomed to fail." Stating the current government which has been in power for two years is the most harmonious and balanced coalition of Turkey, Ecevit said, "The biggest problem is to revive the domestic resources now. We will do our utmost to create and allocate the necessary resources." He denounced the media for harshly criticizing the government as if there was an alternative. He added, "The media is trying to present the current situation as a serious crisis. Every debate in the government does not mean a crisis." /Cumhuriyet/[04] ECEVIT: "EUROPE IS NOT SINCERE"Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said that a certain level of progress on the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) was attained during the NATO meeting in Budapest, however this was not satisfactory. Ecevit said, "They are not sincere in their policies towards us. They want to make use of NATO facilities and exclude us from the decision-making process at the same time." Turkey has prevented any possible European Rapid Reaction Force intervention in Cyprus and the Aegean with her proposal of geographical restriction. He added, "Turkey is a member of NATO. The countries constituting the ESDP have also the same status. If a defense identity is demanded to be established by using the NATO facilities, Turkey should not be excluded." /Cumhuriyet/[05] YILMAZ TO TRAVEL TO TRNCThe Chairman of the Motherland Party (ANAP) and Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz will travel to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) today. Yilmaz, who will meet with Turkish Cypriot politicians including President Rauf Denktas, will be presented a honorary doctorate by the Girne American University. /Cumhuriyet/[06] BAHCELI VISITS GERMANYDeputy Prime Minister Devlet Bahceli is currently visiting Germany to attend some meetings. Bahceli and Industry Minister Ahmet Kenan Tanrikulu will attend today a meeting organized by Turkish Federation in Frankfurt. Bahceli will request the support of Turkish people living in Germany for the economic program by depositing their savings in Turkish banks. /Milliyet/[07] DERVIS IN ITALYState Minister for the Economy, Kemal Dervis, met yesterday with Giulio Tremonti who is expected to be the Finance Minister in Berlusconi government in Italy. Dervis also attended a meeting with the representatives of the Italian Industrialists' Association "Confindustria". Italian industrialists said to Dervis that banking system in Turkey should be rearranged, so that they can more easily do business with Turkey. /Milliyet/[08] US-TURKEY DEFENSE COOPERATIONThe US is expected to propose a significant role to Turkey concerning the new missile system she is planning to construct. According to the defense circles in Washington, the US is planning to establish a defense missile system in Turkey. This issue will be discussed during US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's Ankara visit on June 4. The US is also planning to provide Turkey with air defense systems against any missile attacks. /Cumhuriyet/[09] CHHIBBER: "TURKEY CANNOT BEAR ANY DELAY"World Bank Turkey Director, Ajay Chhibber said, " For the time being, the most important thing for Turkey is the implementation of the economic program and its continuation. Any delay costs Turkey alot." At a press conference, Chhibber evaluated Turkey's new economic program. Chhibber said the World Bank will extend financial assistance worth around $4 billion in two years for reforms in banking and state sector. He added the release of $1.1 billion to Turkey will be decided next week. /Turkiye/[10] PARLIAMENT LIFTS BAN ON MEDIA ACCESS TO STATE TENDER DEALSParliament lifted a legal ban on Wednesday night on media bosses participating in state tenders and stock exchange transactions, despite strong objections from the opposition. Two separate proposals arguing for the continuation of the ban were turned down in Parliament. One of the proposals was submitted by the coalition's senior partner, Democratic Left Party (DSP) Deputy Uluc Gurkan, the second was presented by Virtue Party (FP) Deputy Nazli Ilicak. Gurkan said in his speech during debates over his proposal, that the media should be kept away from the banking sector and it should not be allowed to engage in stock exchange transactions. "For the sake of the public interest, the media should not be commercialized," he said. /Turkish News/[11] CONSTITUTIONAL COURT TAKES UP THE CASE ON BROADENING THE SCOPE OF AMNESTY LAWThe Constitutional Court will take up the case on broadening the scope of the Amnesty Law after completing the case on closure of the Virtue Party(FP). Three Constitutional Court rapporteurs completed the report on the case and submitted to the members of the Court. The President of the Constitutional Court, Mustafa Bumin will specify a date for discussing on the Amnesty case following the final hearing of the Virtue Party on June 12 . /Hurriyet/[12] TURKISH CANDIDATES IN BRITISH ELECTIONSThere are six Turkish candidates in the British elections to be held on June 7. The Reform 2000 Party established by businessman Erol Basarik has five Turkish candidates. Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot Meral Ece is one of the candidates of Liberal Democrat party in the Hackney district. /Cumhuriyet/[13] IRAN DOES NOT SUPPORT PKKClaiming that there is no terrorist PKK camp in Iran, Iranian Ambassador Muhammed Lavasani said that Iran does not host groups hostile towards Turkey. The Iranian ambassador visited Erzurum governor Osman Derya Kadioglu on Wednesday and was briefed on the social and economic structure of Erzurum. "Iran does not provide shelter to groups that are hostile towards Turkey," the ambassador said. "There are not any camps in Iran that belong to the PKK. The Iranian government has repeatedly denied such allegations. Such claims are being raised by those who are against the cooperation between the two countries. Turkey's enemy is the enemy of Iran, as well." /Turkish Daily News/[14] ENVIRONMENT MINISTER AYTEKIN'S SPEECH AT NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT CHILDREN ASSEMBLYThe 1st National Environment Children Assembly began in Istanbul, organized with contributions from the Environment Ministry, the Istanbul Governor's Office, the Municipality of Sisli and Koc Holding Company. Environment Minister Fevzi Aytekin, who made a speech at the opening ceremony of the assembly, said that if it ever reach the point where people would do anything possible to take a breath of fresh air to drink just one drop of unpolluted water or to have one piece of fertile land, this would be the end for mankind." /Turkish Daily News/[15] BULGARIAN CITIZEN TURKS VOTE ON BORDER20,000 Bulgarian citizens who are also Turkish citizens will cast their votes in Bulgarian elections on June 17 to determine the fate of both Turks and other minorities' cultural, political and economic rights. Those who cannot go to Bulgaria will cast their votes in Consulates in Turkey. The deputy leader of the Bulgarian Rights and Freedoms Movement, Kasim Ismail Dal, held a press conference yesterday in Istanbul and called on those who have dual citizenship to cast their votes in elections. Dal said Rights and Freedoms Movement has immense contributions to the democratization in Bulgaria and to the process of full EU membership. Dal said they aim to increase the number of their deputies in Parliament from 19 to 25 and be a coalition partner. Dal said, "The success of our party is important for the preservation of social and economic rights of Turks living in Bulgaria which will soon be a full EU member." /Hurriyet/[16] SERDENGECTI MEETS WITH BANKS' REPRESENTATIVESCentral Bank Governor Sureyya Serdengecti met with small and medium scale banks' representatives in Istanbul. During a five-hour meeting, Sedengecti explained the Central Bank Law and monetary policy to about 25 banking representatives, including director generals. /Turkiye/[17] AKCAKOCA: "MERGING WILL BE ENCOURAGED"The Chairman of the Banking Regulation and Supervision Board (BDDK) Engin Akcakoca said gossips concerning the banking sector should be immediately ended. Stating they are trying to abolish the obstacles of taxation against the merging the banks and the companies in which banks have shares, Akcakoca said they will have completed their works by June. /Cumhuriyet/[18] IMF DELEGATION ARRIVES IN TURKEY TODAYThe IMF delegation will arrive in Turkey today to control the new economic program for the first time and the old one for the eighth. The IMF had put certain developments such as liquidation of Emlak Bank, enactment of Tobacco Law and Supplementary Budget Law, as conditions for the release of the additional loan. The delegation will control whether these conditions have realized or not. /Cumhuriyet/[19] IMF CALLS ON INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONSChairman of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Horst Kohler, called on international private finance institutions and banks to increase their loans extended to Turkey. Addressing a meeting in Hong Kong, Kohler said Turkey pledged she will not allow the state to intervene the economy in her new economic program. Stressing that Turkey's new program was strong and in accordance with market conditions, Kohler said private international institutions should continue and even increase the loans extended to Turkey. /Turkiye/[20] SUMERBANK TO BE SOLDSumerbank, under the roof of which five banks have merged, will be sold by the Fund. Those who are interested in the sale will be able to prepare the letter of proposals and present to the bank by June 22. The letters will be evaluated by June 25 and the results will be announced on June 28. /Sabah/[21] TDI ANNOUNCES RADAR TENDERTurkish Maritime Lines (TDI) has announced it is looking for new navigation radars. TDI officials said they have opened a tender for the new radars where both domestic and foreign companies may compete. Bidding companies will be asked to put up 4,000 US dollars and will be expected to submit their offers by 14:00 July 2, 2001. /Turkish Daily News/[22] METRO AND BOSCH'S NEW INVESTMENTS IN TURKEYDespite the economic crisis, foreign investors are carrying out their investments in Turkey. Recently, Bosch Company has made an additional investment in Bursa to produce "Unit Injector". The new investment will be completed in Aug. and cost DM 875 million. Furthermore, Metro Cash and Carry opened its seventh market in Bodrum. It cost DM 20 million and was constructed on 31 thousand square meters. /Turkiye/TREASURY TO REPAY TOTALING $7.7 BILLION THIS MONTH The Treasury sold less treasury bonds in May to keep the interest rates low. The Treasury will repay $7.7 billion in domestic debts in June, but will borrow $3.7 billion according to this month's borrowing program announced by the Treasury. Single price system will again be used in the bonds bids. /Milliyet/ [23] CONFERENCE ON CORRUPTIONA four-day forum, "The Fight Against Corruption" , organized in The Hague, Netherlands, ended yesterday. Around 1,750 representatives form 180 countries attended the meetings. Minister of Justice, Hikmet Sami Turk and an accompanying delegation , who represented Turkey at the meeting, will return to Turkey today. /Turkiye/[24] "INDEPENDENT CENTRAL BANK DECREASES INFLATION"A statement issued by the Central Bank, clarified the revisions in the Central Bank Law. Stating that there is a direct relationship between the freedom of central banks and inflation, the statement said, "If a country's central bank is free, then, it is observed that the inflation rate is lower and more stable." It added , "Central Bank's policies should be transparent. Consequently,, the trust to monetary policies will increase." /Turkiye/[25] HIZBULLAH MEMBERS CAPTUREDDirector of Security in Istanbul, Kazim Abanoz, stated that Abdulvahap Ekinci and 15 Hizbullah terrorist organization members, who were accused of the Gaffar Okkan murder, were captured. Abanoz said, "Following the operation in Beykoz, where the organization's chief, Huseyin Velioglu, was captured, the process of collapse started within the organization." /Sabah/[26] DURMUS: "TURKEY BELIEVES SHE HAS A SAY IN THE PRODUCTION OF MEDICINE."Stating that Turkey produces medicine worth $2.8 billion, Minister of Health Osman Durmus said, "The medicine which have been produced in Turkey are of high quality and they can compete in the world market." Durmus said medicine industry in Turkey has made $510 million investment for the last 10 years. /Cumhuriyet/[27] BRETT'S SUCCESSYasemin Brett, who was elected as the Mayor of Enfield and Middlessex region in Northern London and began her duty last week, attracted the attention of many. Brett has studied political sciences at Sorbone University in Paris and politics in England. She wishes to deal with politics in Turkey. She is of Turkish origin and says, "I am a Turk and I feel as a Turkish citizen. The British government has close feelings towards Turkey. Turkey is an exemplary country for the Islamic world. Only Turkey, who does not make a concession concerning the issue of secularism, can build the bridge between the East and West. This is the British government's opinion about Turkey." /Sabah/[28] FRIEDMAN LECTURES IN BILGI UNIVERSITYThe famous foreign policy writer of "New York Times", Thomas Friedman resembled globalization to a strait-jacket made of gold and said that if Turkey is to be a part of the globalization, she should wear it. Friedman gave a lecture titled "The Meaning of Globalization for Turkey" at Bilgi University yesterday. He said, "Margaret Thatcher produced this strait-jacket and everybody has to wear it. Your economy is expanding, but your policy choices are narrowing. In order to adapt to globalization the existing state and government system of the country should be modernized. For international capital to come into a country, her system, including rules and regulations, should be compatible with the requirements of the globalization process." Friedman said globalization is a system requiring democratization on three fronts: finance, technology and information. /Hurriyet/[29] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMS...[30] ANOTHER SECURITY ISSUE BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)Columnist Sami Kohen comments on the disputes between the United States and Europe on the new security strategy of the Bush Administration. A summary of his column is as follows:"Differences of opinion have surfaced on the new security strategy of the Bush Administration between the US and Europe during the NATO meeting in Budapest. Even though flexible expressions have been used in the official statement of the meeting on 'nuclear defense', evaluations made soon after the meeting reveal that there is a wide gap between the opinions of the countries on the two sides of the Atlantic. Assessments made particularly in Paris, indicate that French look coldly upon Washington's new defense and security doctrine. A strategic research studies expert Yves Boyer in an article in yesterday's Le Figaro newspaper stated that the nuclear umbrella suggested by the Bush administration would put the world peace into danger rather than acting as a deterrent factor. The French stance is not surprising. Paris has expressed its opinions on the issue when President Bush announced his doctrine. French diplomacy remains unaffected by the efforts of the US to explain this new strategy by sending envoys to all corners of the world. President Bush's doctrine is based on the presumption that world peace can be threatened by the nuclear missiles produced by certain irresponsible countries such as North Korea, Iran and Iraq. The White House and Pentagon adopted a strategy reminiscent of the Star Wars scenario to stop the missile attacks from enemy attacks by using modern technological capabilities and using the military facilities of all allies. However, many European countries and mainly France, not excepting Russia and China, believe that this strategy will upset all balances in effect since 1972, winds of Cold War will begin to blow anew and will even increase the possibility of a nuclear war. French analysts go further, and say that this system will bring in a certain hegemony by the US and exclude Europe, which is trying to build its own defense power. It seems that Bush's nuclear umbrella doctrine will lead to many disputes between the US and Europe. Probably, France will establish an active lobby in the EU and try to convince the Europeans to take a joint stand. What will Turkey do? Mark Grossman who came to Ankara as the special envoy of President Bush explained the outlines of the new doctrine to Turkish officials. However, Turkish side asked many questions, which remain unanswered. Certainly, Ankara is concerned over the fact that irresponsible countries have mass destruction weapons. The system the US wants to develop may be of importance to Turkish security. However, it is also important how it will be carried out in practice and the stances taken by other countries and mainly the European allies carry great weight. Turkey has to take into consideration the evaluations made in Paris and other capitals. There is no need to hurry for a final decision." Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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