Anadolu Agency: News in English, 00-06-28

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From: The Anadolu Agency Home Page at <http://www.anadoluajansi.com.tr/>

NEWS

28 JUNE 2000 Wednesday

CONTENTS

[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCAN

[02] AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS GOKALP MEETS HIS U.S. COUNTERPART

[03] VURAL, TURKEY'S PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE TO THE U.N. BIDS FAREWELL

[04] EXCAVATIONS IN ZONE (B) OF ANCIENT ZEUGMA SITE CONTINUE

[05] CENTRAL BANK ISSUES INFLATION REPORT

[06] BANGLADESHI AMBASSADOR CHOWDHURY: -''WE WANT TO IMPROVE OUR RELATIONS WITH FRIENDLY TURKEY''

[07] PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION AGAINST DAILY AKIT

[08] STATE MINISTER RECEP ONAL: -''AS FORESEEN BY THE AUTHORITY LAW, WE SHALL PUT THE NECESSARY REARRANGEMENTS INTO IMPLEMENTATION IN THE SHORTEST TIME POSSIBLE''

[09] U.S UNDERSECRETARY OF TRADE IN MUGLA

[10] A MALE BODY EXHUMED IN SOUTHEASTERN DIYARBAKIR PROVINCE

[11] FOREIGN MINISTER ISMAIL CEM MEETS WITH EGYPTIAN, MALAYSIAN AND CROATIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS

[12] ROMANIAN AMBASSADOR CIAMBA: -''RELATIONS BETWEEN TURKEY AND ROMANIA CONSTITUTES A GOOD MODEL FOR SOUTH EAST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES''

[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCAN

HURRIYET (LIBERAL)

BIG SUCCESS OF TURKISH DOCTOR
Hilal Mocan, a professor doctor in the Karadeniz Technical University, was elected as the member of the European Children's Renal Diseases Association. Mocan became the first Turkish doctor who became a member of this association.

MILLIYET (LIBERAL)

ERGIN'S GUNMEN CAPTURED
Three gunmen were captured during operations launched following the battle between the gang of Alaattin Cakici and Nuri Ergin. Police captured seven persons who are claimed to be the planner of the armed attacks, and gunmen Erkut Yarguder, Tuncer Sengur and Erhan Esengun.

SABAH (LIBERAL)

HEROIN AMONG WATERMELONS
Police confiscated 43 kilograms of heroin in a lorry loaded with watermelons which would depart Turkey from the Edirne Kapikule Border. The police learned that a lorry driven by Ilyas Aydogan and which would take watermelons to Germany, was trying to smuggle heroin abroad. So, the police stopped the lorry in Edirne and searched the lorry. The police seized 43 kilograms of heroin having a market price of 600 billion Turkish liras (TL). The police took into custody the driver of the lorry and Tuncay Basaran, who was also in the lorry.

CUMHURIYET (LEFT)

DIFFICULT DECISION OF CEM
Ankara has not yet given a definite decision for a meeting that will take place in Brussels to provide meeting of ESDI Coordinator Javier Solana and six NATO member countries who were excluded from ESDI's decision making mechanism by the EU.

Ankara is in an effort to understand the possible benefits of the meeting which is planned to be held on July 3 with the initiatives of Norway. It was also reported that Foreign Minister Ismail Cem decided to discuss the issue after his return from Organization for Islamic Conference (OIC) summit.

MOST OF THE DRUG IS FROM TURKEY
U.N. decided to take initatives in the level of Deputy Secretary General to struggle against drug trafficking taking into consideration that 70 percent of approximately 50 tonnes of drug, going to Western Europe, passed from Turkey. Pino Arlacchi, the U.N. Deputy Secretary General, is currently holding contacts in Ankara in this respect. With the visit, an important step has been taken for effective and coordinated works of Security Department.

RADIKAL (LEFT)

200 REFUGEES CAPTURED
Gendarme teams captured 200 illegal immigrants in Silifke township of southern Icel province. The gendarme teams, acting on a tip-off, captured 200 illegal immigrants and two Turkish citizens Mevlut Kervan and Filit Cetin, who aided these immigrants. The illegal immigrants included 9 Afghan, 9 Moroccan, 5 Bangladeshi, and Turkish people.

YENI BINYIL (LIBERAL)

TARGETS TO DEVIATE
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit disclosed the special information note which State Planning Institute prepared for himself: Inflation target can not be realized.

A four-page information note which DPT presented to Ecevit, was distributed to the press during Economic and Social Council Meeting. The note said inflation target, which was determined to be 25 percent at the end of the year, can not be realized, and that the growth rate will be below 5 percent which was foreseen.

TURKIYE (RIGHT)

ECEVIT: DON'T MISS THE OPPORTUNITY
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, who led Economic and Social Council meeting, said a historic opportunity has been caught in struggle against inflation. Ecevit said the compromising dialogue which Economic and Social Council would provide, was very important.

Ecevit said administrators of profession institutions wanted a draft law to be prepared regarded with Economic and Social Council for a long time, adding that, ''a draft resolution regarded with ESK, has been sent to the Parliament today.''

OUR CREDIT INCREASES
Turkey is planning to increase the amount of loan it will obtain from the World Bank within framework of Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) from 2 billion 250 million to 3 billion U.S. dollars.

Sources said the World Bank, in principle, approached positively toward an increase in CAS loan, defending that Turkey's requirements would be the determining factor.

In case the loan is increased to three billion U.S. dollars, it will be used to finance structural reforms especially the agricultural and social security reforms.

[02] AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS GOKALP MEETS HIS U.S. COUNTERPART

Gokalp and Glickman discussed the improvement of agricultural cooperation.

Husnu Yusuf Gokalp had earlier met with the high-ranking officials of the World-Bank and took up World Bank's support to Turkey's agriculture programs.

Gokalp, who wrapped up his contacts in Washington D.C., will continue his contacts in several states.

Prior to his departure from the U.S. on July 2, Gokalp will visit the Ohio State University where he had his doctorate degree.

Gokalp will attend a luncheon given in his honour and meet with the Turkish students.

Husnu Yusuf Gokalp will also visit the Cargill company in Nebraska, grain market in Missouri, the U.S. Angus Cattle Breeders' Union and several cattle farms.

The Florida Cattle Export-Import Center in Miami will be the last place that Gokalp and the accompanying delegation will visit.

[03] VURAL, TURKEY'S PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE TO THE U.N. BIDS FAREWELL

Ambassadors assigned at the U.N., Deputy Secretary Generals of the U.N., diplomats and journalists attended the farewell party.

Umit Pamir, who was appointed as the new Permanent Representative of Turkey to the U.N., is expected to start his post on September 1 officially.

Pamir, immediately after his arrival, will start preparations of the U.N. millenium summit in September 6-8. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit is expected to represent Turkey during the summit.

Millenium plenary session, which will be attended by foreign ministers, will take place after this meeting. Foreign Minister Ismail Cem will represent Turkey at the meeting.

[04] EXCAVATIONS IN ZONE (B) OF ANCIENT ZEUGMA SITE CONTINUE

Sources told A.A correspondent on Wednesday that Turkish, French, Australian and New Zealander archeologists try to save the artifacts in Zone (B) which will remain under waters in October.

The sources said that the journalists and visitors are not permitted to enter into the zone and that the excavations are continued in four different places.

The excavations will be accelerated in the following days, and the number of archeologists working in the ancient site will reach 50 or 60, the sources added.

The ancient Zeugma site, where 80,000 people were thought to be living, was divided in three zones by taking into consideration the date of inundation and named as Zone (A), Zone (B), and Zone (C).

Excavations in Zone (A) which was the closest zone to the bank of the Birecik Dam, were completed in recent days, and the mosaics, frescos, statue of Mars, columns, and other artifacts were brought to Gaziantep Archeology Museum.

Zone (B), where the excavations will continue until October 4, covers a coastline of one kilometre.

Zone (C) of the ancient Zeugma site is on the south and north of the path between the region and the ancient site and lies through the hills.

This zone will not remain under the waters of the Birecik Dam.

[05] CENTRAL BANK ISSUES INFLATION REPORT

The Central Bank said that it plans to issue the report regularly and that the report targets at illuminating the people and all the sectors in economy about the general economic situation.

The Central Bank noted that the report also targets at facilitating the analysis of the balance sheet of the Central Bank where the direct reflection of the monetary and currency policies are observed.

The report can be reached through the web-site titled ''www.tcmb.gov.tr.''

[06] BANGLADESHI AMBASSADOR CHOWDHURY: -''WE WANT TO IMPROVE OUR RELATIONS WITH FRIENDLY TURKEY''

Chowdhury said that as the commercial relations are promoted, tourists from Bangladesh can visit Turkey.

Antalya is a sea town, and sea food and shrimp production is very common in Bangladesh, Chowdhury noted.

Chowdhury stated that two countries can cooperate in this field and that they can improve the relations in every fields.

Dokuzoglu said that Antalya is a world city and that the representatives of world countries to Ankara, are very interested in Antalya.

Dokuzoglu added, ''I hope economic, cultural, and social relations with friendly Bangladesh will be improved and new investment initatives will be launched.''

[07] PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION AGAINST DAILY AKIT

The Justice Ministry, in a letter it had sent to the Bagcilar Prosecutorship, had requested an investigation into the articles to see if they included any elements of offense.

Upon this, the prosecutorship had launched investigations into articles and columns appearing in the June 25 and June 26 editions of the daily, and sent a file of five seperate documents to the Press Prosecutorship for investigations.

[08] STATE MINISTER RECEP ONAL: -''AS FORESEEN BY THE AUTHORITY LAW, WE SHALL PUT THE NECESSARY REARRANGEMENTS INTO IMPLEMENTATION IN THE SHORTEST TIME POSSIBLE''

Onal stressed that there was no need for a revision as far as the macro- economic targets were concerned.

Onal told the A.A correspondent that they would be able to make the necessary rearrangements by using their authority to issue decrees having the force of law, while the Parliament was closed for the summer, and that the implementation of the economic reform program would thus not have been suspended for the summer.

''We have no time to waste, and we intend not to; so we shall not be late to make the necessary arrangements and regulations which the World Bank requires from Turkey to provide financial sector credit.

The economic reform program is being implemented without any compromises, and so far, we have not missed our targets,'' Onal said.

Touching on his contacts during his two day stay in Paris, where he had participated in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Council of Ministers meeting, Onal said:

''They are very positive and hopeful about our economic program. All OECD members are in full accord over the fact that this program holds the key to the solution of Turkey's economic problems. All OECD countries but Turkey have completed their privatization programs, so we have to accelerate ours in order to catch up with them.''

[09] U.S UNDERSECRETARY OF TRADE IN MUGLA

Breidenstine, said in a speech he delivered at a meeting at the Chamber of Trade of Mugla, that Mugla was a province with a great commercial and industrial potential, and expressed readiness to cooperate with the local business cirles to turn this potential into business.

Noting that a 20 men delegation would come to Turkey in the month of October, Breidenstine said that the delegation would be meeting with officials in Ankara and Istanbul, and that the projects considered for Mugla could be conveyed to this delegation. He stressed that promotion of the intended business and projects, and Mugla itself was of vital importance in attracting foreign investors to the region.

He said that the Trade Undersecretariat was presently working on a commercial bulletin, that the bulletin would be put also on the internet, and that this could be one point to start cooperating for joint businesses.

Breidenstine and the delegation accompanying him paid visits to certain businesses and companies in Mugla and environs.

[10] A MALE BODY EXHUMED IN SOUTHEASTERN DIYARBAKIR PROVINCE

Gaziantep Security Director Ali Kalkan told the A.A correspondent that police had dug the garden of a house on Sark Street in Akpinar Neighborhood in Bismil in accordance with confessions of three Hezbollah terrorists.

Kalkan said the body of a male person aged between 30-35 had been exhumed in the excavation.

The body is believed to have belonged to Grand Unity Party (BBP) Silvan Headquarters' Chairman's son Recep Orak who was abducted in December 1998.

The male body was taken to the Bismil State Hospital for autopsy.

[11] FOREIGN MINISTER ISMAIL CEM MEETS WITH EGYPTIAN, MALAYSIAN AND CROATIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS

Amr Moussa, who attended the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) summit meeting on Wednesday which started Tuesday, met with Foreign Minister Cem.

The two ministers discussed the situation of the Balkans and the muslims in Caucasus in the meeting.

Cem asked Moussa for support for Yasar Yakęs, who is the candidate of Turkey for OIC Secretary General, and he said that Eygpt is an important country in Arab world, adding the support that will be given in this framework is important.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Moussa said in his part that Yakęs is former Turkish ambassador to Egypt and he is very valuable for them, adding they will seriously think about the candidacy of Yakęs.

Amr Moussa also told Cem that they should come together more frequently, adding he will visit Turkey in October.

Cem and his Malaysian counterpart also came together and they reached a consensus on improvement of cooperation in the field of industry, defense, economy and trade between Malaysia and Turkey.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Albar noted that there are many fields that Turkey and Malaysia can cooperate, adding ''we favour election of Yasar Yakęs as the OIC Secretary General, but we can't have a clear attitude about it as we are the host.''

Foreign Minister Cem also met with Tonino Picula, the Foreign Minister of Croatia, an observer country and took up the recent situation in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Cyprus question is also at the agenda of the conference. Meanwhile Turkey continues to launch efforts for inclusion of a paragraph which will support the views of Turkey about Cyprus in the final declaration. Greek Cypriots sent a delegation to Kuala Lumpur before the OIC summit to prevent the inclusion of such a paragraph on Cyprus issue. Meanwhile Greek Ambassador to Thailand came to Kuala Lumpur to watch the developments in the conference.

The Greek Cypriot side is concerned by the fact that the conference can cause the recognition of TRNC in an indirect way.

Meanwhile Malaysian Foreign Minister said in a press briefing that the determination of the secretary general of the OIC should come true by ''consensus.''

A Foreign Ministry official said that the Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi didn't ask Cem for an appointment for the moment, but if he wishes, they can meet.

[12] ROMANIAN AMBASSADOR CIAMBA: -''RELATIONS BETWEEN TURKEY AND ROMANIA CONSTITUTES A GOOD MODEL FOR SOUTH EAST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES''

Ciamba, in a special interview he gave to the Anadolu Agency (A.A), said that Turkey-Romania relations had made a good progress especially over the past ten years, and added:

''The relations between our countries are improving rapidly and without hitches. The trade volume between Turkey and Romania was around 700 million dollars in 1999. There are many successful Turkish investors in Romania. Turkish investments in the banking sector have been very useful in introducing new models to Romania.

Bilateral visits are taking place between Turkish and Romanian highest level officals on a regular basis. Now it is President Ahmet Necdet Sezer's turn to visit Romania. I assume that he will be visiting Bucharest in early 2001.''
Noting that Turkey's being a signatory of the Customs Union provided her with advantages in her EU membership process, Ciamba said that another advantage Turkey enjoyed was starting membership talks later than the other candidate members.

''Turkey can make use of the experiences, mistakes, and conditions in her membership process,'' Ciamba said.

Ciamba reiterated that Romania, too, had started membership talks on February 15, 2000, on the same day with Turkey, that five topics had so far been covered, and that talks on the remaining eighttopics would soon get started.

He pointed out that a change of mentality was a must for all candidate members, that a political determination was of vital importance in the implementaion of the decisions taken, and that he saw no obstacles before Turkey in her membership process so long as she displayed a determined attitude in this regard.

Touching on the Kosovo crisis, Ciamba said that the extent of the loss that his country suffered because of this crisis was growing bigger every day, and added:

''Romania has suffered many losses during the course of the NATO operation on Yugoslavia. Yet another loss our country suffered was a loss of prestige, because Romania was misunderstood by the international community. Most of the foreign investors deserted their businesses during the NATO operation, '' Ciamba said.

He added that many bomb-blasted bridges and highways were still under repair, and that there was an ecological project underway for the purification of the River Danube.

Ciamba said that being full members of NATO and the European Union were among the main targets of his country, and noted that Romania would have secured herself against such threats as smuggling, organised crimes, and deterioration of the ecological balances by being a member of such international organisations.

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