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Turkish Press Review, 99-03-02Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>02.03.99Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] DEMIREL HIGHLIGHTS GLOBALIZATION AT D-8 SUMMITLeaders of the Developing Eight (D-8) countries yesterday, inaugurated a second Summit in Dhaka to promote trade and economic cooperation among their countries, giving particular emphasis to globalization. The inauguration of the D-8 Summit took place as Turkish President Suleyman Demirel handed over the term-presidency of the organization to the meeting's host, Bangladesh.Demirel also urged member countries to encourage privatization. The free movement of businessmen should also be an important part of that cooperation mechanism, he stated. Demirel said that Turkey was developing a crop-duster plane for the use of member countries. The first prototype of the aircraft will be ready in September. /All papers/ [02] DEMIREL RULES OUT A 'JUDICIAL MISTAKE'President Suleyman Demirel yesterday brushed away charges of an essential judicial mistake concerning the trial of the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. Demirel spoke at a special press briefing for Turkish journalists in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, where he has been since Sunday. Demirel's response was directed at Western concerns over Turkey's DGMs, where a military officer is present at the hearings. "DGMs are constitutional. There hasn't been any complaint about the DGMs for the last 17 years" Demirel said, adding that a 17-year-old practice cannot be considered wrong. Demirel stated that Turkey will be facing elections in more than a month's time, therefore all issues concerning the status of the DGMs can be taken into consideration after the elections. /All papers/[03] ECEVIT ANNOUNCES ECONOMIC REFORMS PACKAGEPrime Minister Bulent Ecevit yesterday announced the details of an economic reforms package. Ecevit declared that approximately TL 40.5 trillion in financial aid will be used towards the employment of 8,200 people in the Southeast. Since the February 15 capture of the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, the Turkish government has stressed the need for development of the Southeast. The plan, expected to go into effect in the next few days, calls for low-interest, long-term loans, cheap energy and tax exemptions to encourage investment in 26 eastern and southeastern cities.Ecevit said that separatist PKK members have 'sabotaged every service, every investment' in the region. Under the plan, the government aims to spend TL 10 trillion this year and TL 20 trillion next year on economic development in the Southeast, along with extra spending for education, health and vocational training. /All papers/ [04] ALBANIAN PRIME MINISTER DUE IN TURKEYPandeli Majko, the Prime Minister of Albania, will arrive in Turkey on March 2 to pay a two-day official visit, the Anatolia news agency reports. Pandeli Majko, Luan Hajdaraga, the Albanian Minister of Defence, Pascal Milo, the Albanian Foreign Minister, and Ylli Bufi, the Albanian Minister of Public Economy and Privatization, will hold contacts in Ankara.[05] FEAR FEELING IN GREECEThe Speaker of the Greek Parliament, Apostolos Kaklamanis, said that there had always been the risk of a "flashpoint" between Turkey and Greece; however, he added, in the aftermath of the recent Ocalan issue this risk has been increased. In the statement issued in the Greek "Ta Nea" newspaper, Kaklamanis said that tension between the two countries had been greatly increased, adding, "Following the Ocalan issue our position at an international level has been undermined. The Kurdish issue belongs to the whole of Europe, not only to Turkey. Turco-Greece relations should be saved from "Kurdization". The armed Kurdish strategy aims to draw Greece, or any other neighbouring country, into war with Turkey. We created the Kardak islets crisis, S-300 missiles crisis and finally the Ocalan crisis with Turkey. I should note that Greece has been guilty of these faults since the Turko-Greek war in 1897."Meanwhile, Government Spokesman Dimitri Reppas, said in a press meeting yesterday that they had been shocked in the face of claims by the secretary to the chief of the terrorist organization, Dilan Kilic. Reppas added that the US was uneasy concerning the Greece extension of political asylum to two female PKK terrorists. /Aksam/ [06] POSITIVE ATMOSPHERE IN UNTurkey has started initiatives in the United Nations (UN) to leave Greece standing alone in the world. Turkey's Permanent Representative Office at the UN has informed other countries' representatives at the UN concerning the events which happened followingthe capture of Ocalan. Turkey's diplomatic representatives explained to their foreign counterparts the real face of Ocalan and Greek support for terrorist activities. /Aksam/[07] SWEDEN SEEKS INFORMATION ABOUT PALME CONSPIRACYSweden has been roused by the words of the chief of the terrorist organization, in which it appears is some important information about the murder of the former Prime Minister, Olof Palme. It is learned that Swedish prosecutors will apply to Turkey in order to investigatethe accuracy of Ocalan's claims. Public Prosecutor Jan Danielsson said that they would inquire of Turkish officials whether or not Ocalan stated during his hearing that the order to kill Palme had been given by his ex-wife, Kesire Ocalan.Meanwhile, it has been reported that the Disabled Veterans' Associations and the Isparta Warriors' Association will launch a compensation case against Ocalan. Members of the Associations said that it had been proven that Ocalan held accounts in foreign banks, and they believed that families which had been damaged as a result of the terrorist activities caused by Ocalan, should benefit from the money. /Aksam/ [08] TURKEY WILL "EXPLORE" THE BEKAA VALLEYTurkey is going to launch initiatives in order to determine the identities of those PKK militants and National Intelligence Service (MIT) agents killed and buried by the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. It is stated that the Turkish government officials will get into contact with the Lebanese government as soon as possible for a search of the PKK camp in Bekaa Valley for this very reason. It is reported that the PKK's main camp at Bekaa, which has served as the headquarters of the organization since 1984, is currently uninhabited and under the control of the Lebanese government. /Cumhuriyet/[09] "PKK TRIES TO TUMBLE SIMITIS"In line with its efforts to become a hegemonic power within Greek politics, the terrorist PKK organization now implements a new strategy based on the tragedy of those Kurds who flew from Iraq to Greece. In this respect, the Greek government tried to obstruct in vain the `Greek Solidarity with the Outraged Kurdish People' concert, organized yesterday by the PKK in the middle of Athens to this end. "The PKK does not represent the Kurdish people" said Dimitris Reppas, the Greek government Speaker, charging those Greek ultra nationalists who still support the PKK with "treason". What is more interesting than that is Reppas's statement that "the PKK is trying to knock Simitis down". /Sabah/[10] UTKAN PRESENTS A LETTER OF CREDENTIALSNecati Utkan, the former Foreign Ministry Spokesman, who has replaced the Turkish Ambassador to Rome, Inal Batu, presented his letter of credentials to the Italian President yesterday. The new Turkish Ambassador to Rome, who was received by the Italian President, Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, held a 20-minute meeting. During the meeting, Scalfaro said that Turkey was a friendly country and added that Turkish President Suleyman Demirel was a prominent statesman. /Hurriyet/[11] A STATEMENT WHICH CONCERNS ATHENSThe former Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos, has said that Athens had no choice but to hand over the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. In a statement to the Greek private Mega TV channel, the Editor-in-Chief of the Elefterotipia newspaper, Serasim Fidanidis, claimed that Pangalos had made this statement during a Congress of the European Socialist and Social Democrat Parties in Milan, Italy. Fidanidis noted that Pangalos' statement was also announced by the Swedish News Agency to the world. Fidanidis stated that if Pangalos confirms this statement, Athens would created have more complications for itself. /Hurriyet/[12] ILKIN: "GREECE SHOULD ABANDON ITS SUPPORT FOR THE PKK"Turkey's Ambassador to Washington, Baki Ilkin, held a press conference yesterday and said that Greece should abandon its support for the PKK terrorist organization in order to normalize relations between Turkey and Greece. Ilkin added: "Turkey and Greece have been two NATO allies for 45 years. They have already promised to safeguard each other's territorial integrity. Even though Greece has signed international agreements to cooperate in the struggle against terrorism, Greece continues to support PKK terrorists". Ilkin noted that Ocalan would definitely have a fair and clear trial. Ilkin also thanked the US for its support in the struggle against terrorism. /Turkiye/[13] EUROPEAN RIGHT'S COURT QUESTIONS INDEPENDENCE OF DGMsIn three separate sessions, the European Court of Human Rights once again questioned the independence and neutrality of Turkey's State Security Courts, (DGMs), the Anatolia news agency reports. The Court listened to both parties in the three sessions held after Kamil Tekin Surek, Gunay Arslan and Munier Ceylan filed complaints against Turkey. The complaints stated that DGM trials violated freedom of speech and thought as well as the right to a fair and independent trial, in violation of Article No. 6.9.10 of the Human Rights Agreement, which Turkey has signed.[14] EUROPEAN DELEGATION IN TURKEYA delegation from the Anti-Torture Committee of the Council of Europe came to Turkey early last weekend to inspect the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan's trial process, the Anatolia news agency reports. An 11-member delegation arrived in Turkey on Saturday, Anatolia said, quoting Foreign Ministry sources. The delegation is likely to travel to Imrali Island today or tomorrow.[15] TURKEY CONTINUES ITS INITIATIVES OF CONDEMNING GREECETurkey continues its initiatives in the EU to condemn and make the other countries condemn Greece for the support it gives to the terrorist organization, the Anatolia news agency reports. Nihat Akyol, the Permanent Representative of Turkey to the EU, will meet Von Kyaw, the Permanent Representative of Germany, which is the term-president of the EU at the moment, and will convey the messages of Turkey.[16] `ATHENS SHOULD APOLOGIZE'The Western Thracian Turkish Union has said that Greece should completely give up supporting terrorism and extend the rights of Western Thracian Turks recognized by the Lausanne Treaty. The Head of the Union, Aydin Gencer, said in a written statement that Greece had overlooked many international agreements including the organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Paris Charter. Gencer added: "While the human rights of Western Thracian Turks are violated in the middle of Europe, Greec has no right to give human rights lectures to Turkey or Western Thracian Turks". /Turkiye/[17] TERRORIST OCALANOzgur Politika, a pro-PKK publication, in its recent issue described Abdullah Ocalan as the leader of the terrorist organization. Following many complaints bt its readers, the newspaper apologized to the readers and said that it had been a technical error.Meanwhile, the Turkish Ambassador to Bonn, Tugay Ulucevik, has remarked that following Ocalan's capture, the German press pursued a misguided policy towards Turkey. Ulucevik held a press conference on the recent developments in the Ocalan issue and his trial in Turkey. Many members of the German press attended the conference. Ulucevik said that the recent violent activities of the PKK terrorist organization had displayed the real face of the PKK which Turkey had known for years. /Hurriyet/ [18] BOMB EXPLOSIONS IN THE NIGHTThree individuals, one of them a woman, trew a hand grenade into a coffeehouse Sunday night in Istanbul's Esenler neighbourhood. It is likely that the bomb was trown by terrorists of a left-wing organization supportive of the PKK terrorist organization. Seventeen people were wounded, three of them seriously. At around the same time as the incident in Esenler, there were two other illegal demonstrations in Istanbul's Kagithane and Nurtepe neighbourhoods. /All papers/[19] OPERATIONS AGAINST TERRORISTSIt is reported that operations against the PKK terrorist organization in the Amanos Mountains near Iskenderun have begun in search of a terrorist group consisting of 20-25 PKK members. Officials noted that they continue to call upon terrorists to surrender themselves to the security forces. /Turkiye/[20] THROUGH THE ELECTIONSThe temporary candidates lists for the April 18 elections have been announced. The Supreme Electoral Board (YSK) published the temporary candidates lists for both parliamentary and mayoral elections in the National Gazette today. The names of the participating parties and information about the 10,713 deputy candidates, 167 of them independents, were printed in the National Gazette. The lists of the mayoral candidates were announced by the city and regional election councils. /All papers/[21] YILMAZ: "ANAP-DSP COALITION IS LIKELY AFTER THE ELECTIONS"Mesut Yilmaz, former Prime Minister and currently the leader of the Motherland Party, made a remarkable statement yesterday concerning the capture of Ocalan and the possibilities after the April elections. With regard to the `Southeastern Question', Yilmaz said, "To bring this question to the point of resolution is quite an important success on the part of Turkey. Alongside economic measures, the government should launch initiatives in the realms of education, health and housing. Now it is time to abolish the State Security Courts (DGMs) and the state of emergency in the region. Moreover, the village guard system should be revised. Steps should urgently be taken to improve democracy and human rights."Regarding his former coalition with the Democratic Left Party (DSP) and possibilities in the aftermath of the April 18 elections, Yilmaz said, "Ideological differences are less important today. Ecevit is the best political partner I have ever worked with. An ANAP-DSP majority coalition after the elections will underscore future achievements for Turkey." /Milliyet/ [22] ERBAKAN AND KAZAN OPPOSE YSK DECISIONFormer Prime Minister and former leader of the now-defunct Welfare Party (RP) Necmettin Erbakan and former Justice Minister Sevket Kazan yesterday opposed the Supreme Electoral Board (YSK) ruling last Saturday that neither of the two is permitted to enter the April 18 elections as independent candidates. Erbakan and Kazan have presented an eight-page petition to the YSK stating that it had made procedural errors with regard to their case. The ruling means that there is no way Erbakan or Kazan can run in the April 18 elections, as the verdict of the YSK is final and cannot be appealed. /All papers/[23] HADEP LAWYERS SAYS CLOSURE DEMAND UNCONSTITUTIONALLawyers for the People's Democracy Party (HADEP) yesterday handed the Constitutional Court a petition in which they presented their objections to the demand for closure of the Party filed with the Court by Vural Savas, the Chief Prosecutor of the Court of Appeals. Yusuf Alatas, Nuri Ozmen and Cabbar Leygara presented the six-page petition to the general secretary of the Constitutional Court. /All papers/[24] TURKEY SURROUNDED BY MISSILESWhile the S-300 missiles purchased from Russia are being deployed in Armenia, Turkey is being surrounded by long-range missiles on all sides. General Anatoli Kornukov, the Commander of the Russian Air Forces, said that the deployment of S-300 missiles in Armenia was aimed at protecting this country from the threat of both Turkey and NATO. /Turkiye/[25] AHISKA TURKS TO RETURN TO THEIR HOMESThe Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze said that Ahiska Turks who migrated from Southern Georgia in 1944 would be able to return to their home in stages. During a press conference, Shevardnadze evaluated his visit to Turkey and said that during his meetings with the Turkish President, Suleyman Demirel, they had discussed issues such as energy resources in the Caspian Basin, the Kars-Ahilkelek-Tbilisi railway and natural gas projects. Shervardnadze noted that Turkey is of great importance to Georgia due to both the guidelines of cooperation with NATO and economic relations. /Turkiye/[26] DPT REPORTThe expected spread of the financial crisis to other emerging market economies following Brazil's declaration of a currency devaluation has not materialized, according to the State Planning organization (DPT). According to the DPT's Financial Markets Evaluation, the effects of the devaluation in Brazil were forestalled as a result of preventive measures taken by foreign investors. According to the DPT, the Treasury hit its borrowing targets in January, maturities in domestic borrowing were extended and compund interest rates declined. /All papers/[27] INTEREST RATES ARE EASING OFFThe five bids put out to tender by the Treasury during February proved that the gradual decline in average interest rates has continued during the last month as well. The weighted average rate of interest for these tenders has become 124.9%, due after 338 days, which represents a 20% slackening off compared to the last two months of 1998. /Cumhuriyet/[28] BARINGS: "IT IS TIME TO INVEST IN TURKEY"The Barings Emerging Markets Strategy Group prepared a report which claims that it is just the time to invest in the Istanbul Stock Exhange, describing Turkey as the cheapest of all developing countries in the firm's portfolio. According to the assessment published in the International Herald Tribune, there are three main reasons to expect a remarkable influx of capital into Turkish financial markets in the second half of the year. In the first place, it is foreseen that the Turkish economy will reach high growth rates in the near future. Second, the report stated that Prime Minister Ecevit's chance of being re-elected has increased due to the capture of the terrorist PKK leader Ocalan, which means the perpetuation of the current policies in the post-election period. The third point according to Barings, is that most shares on the Stock Exchange have remained quite cheap in recent months. /Sabah/[29] TAX CONTROL COURSES FOR FOREIGN FINANCERSTraining courses are to be held during which Turkish bureaucrats from the Ministry of Finance will discuss "Risk Analysis and the Problems of Tax Control" to 28 foreign tax experts from eight countries. The courses have been organized by the Ministry of Finance, and academics from the US, Japan and Denmark will also give their presentations. Tax experts from Alabania, Belarussia, Macedonia, Georgia, Kazakistan, Moldova, Mongolia and Uzbekistan will attend the courses, which will end on 12 March. /Aksam/[30] VALUE OF FIRMS ON STOCK EXCHANGE IS $ 44 BILLIONIstanbul Stock Exchange has returned to its former boyancy in line with the positive atmosphere in the market. It is reported that the daily transaction volume on the Share Bonds Markets was $ 299 million in February. The total transaction volume on the National Market in February was $ 5.9 billion. Meanwhile, in line with the increase in the value of share bonds, the market value of firms on the National Market increased to $ 44.5 billion. /Aksam/[31] CITIBANK TO COOPERATE WITH TEBThe Turkish Economy Bank (TEB) and Citibank will cooperate in the capital market. According to the agreement, Citibank will be the only distributer of the TEB Fund Group other than the TEB. The TEB's written statement said that cooperation between the TEB and Citibank, one of the leading banks in the world, would be a positive step in the Turkish banking sector. It was reported that the agreement was signed between officials from the banks yesterday in Istanbul. /Aksam/[32] 3000 SSE TO MEET IN VIENNAThe Economic Development Foundation (IKV) announced yesterday that three thousand Small- and Medium- Scale Enterprises (SEEs) from 80 countries will gather between 10-11 May in Vienna. According to the IKV statament Turkish firms would hold mutual meetings with foreign investors during the conference. The programme of the meetings will be set out by the IKV, it was added. /Aksam/[33] EGILMEZ RESIGNSMahfi Egilmez, former Undersecretary of the Turkish Treasury and the Chairman of the Executive Board of Toprakbank, resigned from his office as of yesterday, due to "personal reasons", he declared. /Sabah/[34] "THE PEOPLE WANT 12-YEAR EDUCATION"Metin Bostancýoglu, the Minister of National Education, declared that they will be in pursuit of the 16th National Education Council resolutions which have required the restructuring of secondary education with particular emphasis upon vocational and technical training, the establishment of `full-time, full-year' based education regions and the implementation of `modular' education in multi-course high schools. Bostancioglu also noted that the 8-year Compulsary Education Reform has already been adopted by the people and now they demand that compulsory education be 12 years long. /Cumhuriyet/[35] FREE TRADE AGREEMENT TALKS BETWEEN TURKEY AND MOROCCOTalks are underway in order to sign a Free Trade Agreement with Morocco with the aim of harmonizing to the Joint Trade Policy, within the guidelines of the Customs Union which Turkey signed with the EU, the Anatolia news agency reports. Officials said that both sides agreed in principle to the draft agreement during the first round of talks held in Rabat on February 15-16.[36] SABANCI PROMISES TO MAKE INVESTMENTSThe noted industrialist and businessman, Sakip Sabanci has been given wide coverage in the German press. An article in the 'Frankfurter Allegemeine Zeitung' newspaper yesterday said that Sabanci also promoted Turkey abroad. The article pointed out his achievements during the last 10 years and added that Sabanci had made investments abroad with his various partnerships. /Turkiye/[37] RUSSIAN PRODUCTS TO BE EXHIBITED AT EXPO '99The Turkish Export Products Permanent Exhibition (EXPO '99) is now opening its doors to Russian companies. Following the request of the Russian Federation's Industry and Business Development Ministries, 35 Russian companies will be permitted to exhibit their products at EXPO '99. The exhibition, Russia's first in Turkey, will be opened by Russian Business Development Deputy Minister Vladimir Ivanovic Kozirev in Istanbul on March 3. /All papers/[38] MIGRATION FROM DIYARBAKIR CEASES"Migration from Diyarbakir, due to years of terrorism, has already ceased by virtue of public investments made in recent years. From now on, Diyarbakir will experience a reversal", said Nafiz Kayali, the Governor of Diyarbakir. Noting that a total amount of 70 trillion TL has been invested in Diyarbakir over the past 12 months, Nafiz pointed out that 25 trillion TL of these public funds has been invested in education facilities, placing Diyarbakir province in second place in terms of education investments, second only Istanbul./Cumhuriyet/[39] ALTERNATIVE ENERGY REPORT FROM SOUTHEASTERN BUSINESSMENA report prepared by the Southeastern Anatolian Indutrialists' and Businessmen's Association (GUNSIAD) emphasized the advantages of both the regional and nation-wide usage of alternative energy sources. It is stated in the report that new and alternative energy sources, including geothermal energy, windpower and solar energy, will be able to solve the industrial energy problems of the region due to their low cost, renewable region and employment-producing impact. /Cumhuriyet/[40] OUR NEW TOURISM REGION: GAPAhmet Tan, the Minister of Tourism, declared that they will initiate railway excursions in order to advertise the Southeastern Anatolian Project (GAP) to the people and to foreigners. Noting that the project will help the development of the region, Tan said that the railway excursions will be carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Transport. /Sabah/[41] HEROIN AND HASHISH SEIZEDA total of 11 kilos of unadulterated heroin and 15 kilos of hashish have been seized during three separate operations carried out by the Security Directorate in Van, the Anatolia news agency reports. Thirteen people were taken into custody related to the incident.[42] TPAO PRODUCES 1.5 MILLION BARRELS OF OILThe Turkish Petroleum Board (TPAO) produced one and a half million barrels of oil in the first two months of 199 in Adiyaman which owns the biggest oil reserves of Turkey, the Anatolia news agency reports.[43] OLIVE OIL EXPORTS INCREASEThe olive oil exports of Turkey increased by 300 % in quantity and by 246 % in monetary value, the Anatolia news agency reports. The figures of the Foreign Trade Undersecretary indicate that the olive oil exports of Turkey which were 8,170 tonnes in the period of 1997 and 1998 increased to 32,666 in the period of 1998 and 1999.[44] TURKISH F-4S ARE READYUnder an agreement worth $632.5 million signed between Turkey and Israel in 1996 for the modernization of Turkish F-4 fighters which belong to the Turkish Air Forces, the first of the two F-4 aircraft sent to Israel in 1997 has been made ready for test flights. Turkish pilots will test the fighters, modernized by the Israeli Aviation Industry (IAI), in Tel Aviv viewed by Turkish engineers and military experts. /Hurriyet/[45] TURKEY TO CONSTRUCT 17 NEW YACHT MARINASTurkey will construct 17 new yatch marinas to increase the yatch tourism, the Anatolia news agency reports. The Marina Investment and Managers Association officials told the Anatolia news agency correspondent that Turkey will have a yatch capacity of 4,330 as long as the yatch marinas are constructed.[46] INTERNATIONAL ANKARA MUSIC FESTIVALThe 16th International Ankara Music Festival will be held between April 28 and May 21. The Festival, which has hosted a total of 362 artists during the last 15 years, will hold 24 different events this year. In addition to Turkey, many artists and groups from France, Sweden, Belarus, Italy, Japan, Spain, Azerbaijan, Britain, Israel, the US and Belgium will participate in the Festival. /Hurriyet/[47] NEW TIME SCHEDULE ON 28 MARCHIn order to benefit more from the sun-light, clocks will be put forward one hour on 28 March at 01:00 A.M. `Summer Time' will last seven months and 15 trillion TL is expected to be earned as a result of this. /Aksam/Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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