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Turkish Press Review, 01-07-12Turkish 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 morning12.07.2001CONTENTS
[01] SEZER SIGNS PUBLIC SECTOR UNION LAWPresident Ahmet Necdet Sezer has signed the Law allowing amendments to be made to Law 4668 of the Public Officials Labor Unions Law and Law 4705 on taking a fee when citizens travel abroad and Law 4481. The laws were sent to Prime Ministry for publication. /Turkish Daily News/[02] SEZER TO BE BRIEFEDThe government has developed a new formula to overcome the vetoes of the Cankaya Presidential Palace. The Council of Ministers has decided that a briefing should be given to ensure a healthy dialogue with the President concerning the economic situation and the implementation process of the program. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer will be briefed by a delegation consisting of the State Ministers Kemal Dervis, Yilmaz Karakoyunlu and Tunca Toskay soon. /Milliyet/[03] PRESIDENT SEZER'S MESSAGE ON INCREASE IN POPULATIONPresident Ahmet Necdet Sezer issued a message on the occasion of the World Population Day. Sezer said although a slight decrease in the rate of population could be observed in the last years, the number was still above than the rate it should be. He said, "Consequently, investments and attempts towards employing more people are insufficient against the high Rate of population increase. Sezer stated the societies which could not control their population increase would always have to bear serious problems which affect their resources negatively. He added, "Improving the economic conditions and reaching the goals targeted in a society is only possible by controlling and planning the population increase. Without controlling it, it is impossible to realize big projects and increase the standards of living." /Cumhuriyet/[04] MINISTER OF JUSTICE TURK: "WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT MACEDONIA"Minister of Justice Hikment Sami Turk said that Turkey was following the developments in Macedonia with great concern. Turks said, "Turkey believes that the political dialogue process, which was initiated to reach a peaceful and permanent solution, is the only convenient platform and that the contributions of all ethnic groups to this process are very important." Meanwhile, Turk and his Macedonian counterpart, İcet Memetti, signed a Cooperation Protocol between the two countries. Turk said, "The protocol foresees cooperation between the two countries on information exchange in legal issues, supporting the education of judges, public prosecutors and other judicial personnel in both countries, information and knowledge exchange in technological and scientific developments." /Cumhuriyet/[05] BAHCELI PLANS TO VISIT CHINAAs the "ghost ship" has been constituting an important topic of Turkish-Chinese relations, a visit by Devlet Bahceli , Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), to China, in September, is being planned. Sevket Bulent Yahnici, Deputy Chairman of the MHP, has paid a visit to China, which was seen as a preparatory step for Bahceli's visit. The issue of the Varyag will reportedly be on the agenda of Bahceli's visit to China. The issue of the Varyag has turned into a real dilemma for Turkish-Chinese relations, as Ankara refuses to give permisson for the passage of the Varyag , an Ukrainian carrier, without an engine can only be moved with the help of tugboats,through the straits. /Turkish Daily News/[06] ALESKEROV'S STATEMENT CONCERNING THE TURCO-ARMENIAN PROBLEMSSpeaker of the Azerbaijani National Assembly, Murtuz Aleskerov, who is currently in Ankara as the guest of the Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA), Omer Izgi, spoke to "Hurriyet" daily and said, "The opinion of the civilian people, who work for the ensurence of peace, positively contribute to the solution of the problem. However, the problem will be basically solved on the level of the States. No result has been reached up to now. The problem between Turkey and Armenia are directly related with the relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The problem will be solved when Armenia withdraws from the Azerbaijani territories. The Turkish official opinion is the same. During the period of the former Armenian Head of State, Ter-Petrosyan, some steps have begun to be taken but this process have been closed completely by Robert Kocaryan. Ter-Petrosyan wanted to be in a raproachment with Turkey. According to his suggestion, the Armenian invading forces were to withdraw from the Azerbaijani territories except for the Upper Karabagh region. However, those who were not favoring peace have driven Ter-Petrosyan away from the power." /Hurriyet/[07] DIALOGUE BETWEEN TURKEY AND ARMENIAIt was stated that the works of the Peace Commission, which was established to help improve a common understanding between Turkey and Armenia to overcome the bilateral problems, would accelerate after its second meeting is held in September. Retired Ambassador Gunduz Aktan said that although such kinds of attempts were usually limited, they were still very important. The Commission will be a platform for the meetings of the members of business, culture, sports and press circles to establish a dialogue between the two countries. The next meeting is expected to be held in Istanbul or Erivan in September. Academician Ustun Erguder said, "What is most important is to keep a dialogue between the two countries alive." /Cumhuriyet/[08] ECHR'S DECISIONThe European Human Rights (ECHR) has made a decision, which does not favor political Islam and which points out that such a political party might be a threat against a secular and democratic structure. The Court will announce the grounds concerning the trial, officially on July 31. The Court has decided that the closure of parties was the violation of the 11th Article of the European Human Rights Convention and added, "However, the party leaders' words are considered threats against the Constitutional order. " /Hurriyet/[09] TOBACCO DRAFT LAWThe Council of Ministers has decided to debate the Tobacco Draft Law again in September, which was returned by the President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, and to send it to the Cankaya Presidential Palace without making any change on it. During the Council, the State Minister Responsible for Privatization, Yilmaz Karakoyunlu, said he did not agree with Sezer's grounds for the return. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit demanded the establishment of a commission so a report, which includes the opinion of the government., can be prepared for Sezer. /Milliyet/[10] UNEMPLOYMENT COMMITTEE ESTABLISHEDThe employers' and employee's confederation have gathered together and established the "coordination committee." Turk-Is, DISK, Hak-Is and TISK will appoint a technical representative to this committee, which will benefit from the scientists and experts involved. The Committee will also determine the number of the unemployed people and the number of the closed offices and the cause of their unemployment and closure. The offices in need of employment will be determined. /Milliyet/[11] SHARON TO COME TO TURKEYIsraeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, will pay an official visit to Turkey as the guest of his Turkish counterpart, Bulent Ecevit, on August 7. According to the information received by the Israeli and Turkish diplomatic sources, Ecevit has repeated his invitation during his meeting with the Israeli Minister of Defense, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer. /Milliyet/[12] HELICOPTER CRISIS BETWEEN TURKEY AND THE USA technology crisis has emerged between Turkey and the US on one of the biggest projects of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), the Attack Helicopter Project. The US rejects Turkey's demand to produce the mission computer of the tactic-attack helicopter on its own. Turkey has conveyed the message that not just this project but other projects could also be disrupted due to this crisis stemming from the US stance. The crisis emerged with a letter written by the American Agency for Defense and Security Cooperation, Tomy Walters to the Defense Industry Undersecretary Dursun Ai Ercan. The letter says, "The US Department of Defense permits the exportation of the helicopters only with the computers the US produced." Ercan responded to the letter as follows: "Your views and proposals would affect the Project negatively which is about to be completed. We cannot accept your view on the production of the helicopters by the FMS, Inc (Financial Modeling Specialists). Such proposals would disrupt not only the Attack Project but also others." /Cumhuriyet/[13] ITALIAN CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF IN TURKEYThe Italian Chief of the General Staff Gen. Rolando Mosca Moschini, in Turkey to pay an official visit, met with the Minister of Defense Sabahattin Cakmakoglu and Chief of the General Staff Gen. Huseyin Kivrikoglu. During the meetings, bilateral military relations and joint defense ventures were discussed. /Turkiye/[14] TUSIAD'S GEOGRAPHY BOOKThe Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen Association (TUSIAD) promoted its new "Geography 2001" book . Delivering a speech at the promotion meeting, TUSIAD Chairman Tuncay Ozilhan said that Turkey, who demands to enter the EU, should first cover its deficiencies in education. TUSIAD will publish history and philosophy books in the future. /Hurriyet/[15] DERVIS: "I AM OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE LOANS"The Minister of State responsible for Economy, Kemal Dervis, said at the Council of Ministers meeting yesterday, "IMF Management is pleased with solution of the Telekom Management problem and the recent seizure of five private banks by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Board (BDDK). The IMF is also hopeful for Turkey's future." Dervis also stated that he believed that the interest and foreign exchange rates would fall after Turkey received the loan. /Hurriyet/LOAN AMOUNTING TO 3.2 BILLION DOLLARS TO BE RECEIVED BY TURKEY The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Executive Board of the World Bank, which have postponed their meetings dated July 3rd and 5th due to the problems concerning Telecom and banking, will convene today. Following the solution to both of these problems, the IMF is expected to make a decision to release the funding amounting to nearly 1 billion 201 million SDR (Special Drawing Right/nearly 1.5 billion US dollars). In addition, the World Bank will extend the loan amounting to 600 million US dollars to Turkey within the framework of the agricultural reform project. /Milliyet/ [16] KAHKONEN TO COME TO TURKEYAfter the International Monetary Fund (IMF) releases the loan amounting to 1.5 billion US dollars following the eighth reviewing program, within the context of the economic program, its works concerning the ninth reviews of the stand-by agreement will start. These works are expected to start at the beginning of next week. It was stated that the IMF's Turkish Desk Chief, Juha Kahkonen, is expected to come to Turkey on July 16 within the framework of the ninth reviews. /Milliyet/[17] AKCAKOCA'S STATEMENTChairman of the Banking Regulation and Supervision Board (BDDK), Engin Akcakoca, said another group would be established within the BDDK to administer the assets of the banks, which were taken by the Saving Deposit Insurance Fund. Akcakoca spoke to the CNBC-E television channel and said the amount of the bonds given to the banks within the Fund has reached a sum of 18 billion US dollars. /Sabah/CENTRAL BANK TO SELL $1.3 BILLION The Central Bank announced that it would sell minimum $1.3 billion in July and August within the framework of the foreign exchange sales. The Bank will hold six biddings for the $700 million to be sold in July on Wednesday and Friday. /Hurriyet/ [18] LOAN FOR SMALL SCALE INDUSTRYAn agreement was reached for the European Investment Bank to deliver a, Euro 125 million loan to the small and medium scale industrialists which have been negatively affected by the recent crisis. The loan will be distributed to many sectors from agriculture to tourism. /Cumhuriyet/[19] US-TURKEY TRADE AND INVESTMENT COUNCIL TO MEETThe US-Turkey Trade and Investment Council, established by the Trade and Investment Framework agreement dated Sep. 29, 1999, will meet for the second time on July12, in Ankara. The Council is a forum to review commercial and economic issues with a focus on enhancing trade and investments realtions. The council first met in Washington, D.C. in March 2000. /Turkish Daily News/$120 MILLION-LOAN FOR EXIMBANK The Chairman of Turk Eximbank Ahmet Kilicoğlu said they obtained a $120-million euro syndicated loan with a one year maturity date to be used for export financing. Kilicoglu said this syndicated loan is the first one recently extended to a Turkish bank from abroad. /Turkiye/ [20] FRENCH BUSINESSMEN IN TURKEYA delegation including representatives of the Association of French Businessmen and Industralists arrived in Turkey at the invitation of the Turkish Industralists and Businessmen Association (TUSIAD). The deleagtion of 70, headed by Ernest-Antoine Seilliere, will hold a series of meetings in Ankara and Istanbul. At a luncheon organized at the French Embassy today, the Minister of State Kemal Dervis is expected to meet with the French businessmen as well. The delegation will be also received by Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit. /Turkiye/[21] THE MUSEUM WHERE THE MACHINES LIVEThe new part of the Rahmi M. Koc Museum opened with a ceremony attended by the Minister of Culture Istemihan Talay and many prominent figures from the business, press and art worlds. Koc said at the ceremony that the collection, which is being exhibited now, was one of the most important collections in the world. The exhibition includes old machines and classical automobiles. /Cumhuriyet/[22] TOURISM INCOME TO INCREASEThe Undersecretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Savas Kuce said Turkey obtained about $3 million in the Jan.-June period from tourism. He added they expect the figure to reach $10 million at the end of year and more than 12.5 million tourists to visit Turkey. /Turkiye/[23] WORK ON FAITH TOURISMBasaran Ulusoy, the Chairman of the Turkish Association of Travel Agents (TURSAB), stated that they would arrange a symposium in which those who are interested in faith tourism would be invited from all around the world in order to talk about faith tourism. The symposium which is planned to be held in Kusadasi, would aim to promote Turkey's cultural values. /Turkish Daily News/[24] SULTAN'S FOREIGN TOUR POSTPONEDThe dance troupe that arranged the music and dance spectular Sultans of the Dance in order to promote Turkish folklore abroad have had to postpone their planned tour of abroad until Fall because of their incredible popularity at home. The final show in Istanbul will be staged on Aug. 12 and then the troupe will set of a national tour. They will play at Efes through Aug. 16-26 and then Aspendos over Aug. 31-Sep.9, following that they will go abroad touring Canada, Germany, Italy, France, Greece and China. There are talks of opening on Broadway too. /Turkish Daily News/[25] ISRAELI TOURISTS PREFER TURKEYAccording to the research made by Tzabar Travel Agency, 50% of the Israeli families are preparing to spend their holiday abroad, whereas 17% of them are getting ready to visit Turkey. The Israeli families' second preferance is to visit France. /Sabah/[26] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...[27] CYPRUS, AEGEAN AND THE OTHERS... BY TUNCAY OZKAN (MILLIYET)Columnist Tuncay Ozkan writes on the recent economic crisis and the attitudes of some businessmen in Turkey. A summary of his column is as follows:"Some sections of the business world favor policies which would pawn Cyprus, the Aegean an other regions where political problems exist. This is not a solution, but on the contrary an addition to the existing problems. It is not possible to overcome problems in this way. In Turkey people and businessmen burdened by the weight of the crisis are working without losing their hope and determination. They are fighting to save their values and these people are not in the minority and they constitute the majority of the nation. They deserve our admiration. Opportunists who grew under the protection of the state, devoured lion's share in a capitalist regime of their friends are crying out loud. In fact some of them did not forget to take out their billions of dollars earned within this country abroad. They have to be ashamed of themselves looking at the civil servants, workers, teachers who are trying to get by with 200 million Turkish liras a month and businessmen trying to export their goods with great efforts. Turkey has not hit rock bottom. The fact is we have become poorer. Everything will be over for Turkey when she loses hope, morale and aims. When a few businessmen, or his political supporters lose hope it does not signal the end for Turkey. See what has been done, the positive signs in Turkey, and this will give you enough satisfaction. However, do not desist criticizing what has been done wrong, and always protect national honor, virtue, independence and freedom. Turkey is indispensable. Eurasia cannot survive without Turkey. Governing Turkey with certain fears and concerns mean doing unto ourselves what others could not do. The structural change we are going through today as a result of IMF policies, in fact coincides with what we want to do. However, as the imposition of these changes by the IMF cast a shadow on Turkey's own will, crises erupt The institution which is going through a test is the IMF. We have to view the requirements of the situation without making it an issue of squabble. We have to solve the problem with the structure of politics. Those who cannot succeed will go, and those who will achieve new successes will come. " Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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