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Turkish Press Review, 99-10-04Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>04.10.99Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] MITCOTAKIS: "DIALOGUE BETWEEN TURKEY AND GREECE ACCEPTED BY ALL PARTIES"[02] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... THE PRESIDENT SAID "THE REFORM OF THE STATE" -BY YILMAZ OZTUNA[03] (TURKIYE)[04] DEMIREL-ECEVIT MEETINGPrime Minister Bulent Ecevit was received by President Suleyman Demirel yesterday at the Presidential Palace. Ecevit issued a statement following the meeting and said that they had exchanged views concerning the recent incidents in Turkey and his visit to the U.S. /Star/[05] PAPANDREU IN TURKEYIn a move that will undoubtedly contribute to the recent warming Turco-Greek relations, Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreu arrived in Istanbul yesterday on an informal two-day visit. Papandreu, the driving force behind the Turco-Greek rapprochement which, on a diplomatic level, had started even before the August 17 earthquake, was scheduled to participate in a debate on Turco-Greek relations in Istanbul yesterday evening.Before that he was expected to visit the town of Derince in the earthquake area, where the 150 prefabricated houses donated by Greece will be built. On Monday, the Greek Foreign Minister will pay a visit to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and meet with Patriarch Bartholomew. Later in the day he will deliver his keynote speech at a ceremony organized to mark the beginning of Istanbul University's academic year. Before leaving Istanbul on Monday afternoon, Papandreu will meet with his Turkish counterpart, Ismail Cem, over lunch. The two Foreign Ministers have developed an unprecedentedly close relationship which has contributed greatly to the recent detente in traditionally thorny ties between Turkey and Greece. /All papers/ [06] PAPANDREU: "HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY TO SOLVE CYPRUS PROBLEM"Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreu said that the present situation was an historic opportunity to solve the Cyprus problem. Papandreu made a statement to the 'El Pais' newspaper published in Spain and stated that he did know whether they would succeed in solving the issue or not, however they had to try. Papandreu pointed out a 'route' including certain commitments to draw Turkey closer to the EU and said that this route necessitated a dialogue with Turkey during a period between her candidacy and the beginning of negotiations, the Anatolia News Agency reports.[07] JAPANESE ARCHITECTS IN ADAPAZARIMembers of the Japanese Institute of Architects (JIA) and the Kobe Architects' Union have been on a tour of inspection of the earthquake-hit disaster region in Adapazari. The seven-person delegation, which arrived in Turkey as the guest of the Turkish Chamber of Arhitects, wsa informed about the reconstruction work in Yalova, Izmit, Golcuk and Adapazari. A member of the Kobe Architects' Union, Michio Kitajima, said that once their architectural inspection had been completed, they would prepare a detailed report. The delegation will give a briefing on their findings on October 8, the Anatolia News Agency reports.[08] MITCOTAKIS: "DIALOGUE BETWEEN TURKEY AND GREECE ACCEPTED BY ALL PARTIES"Former Greek Prime Minister Konstantin Mitcotakis said that dialogue between Turkey and Greece is a national policy accepted by all political parties in the country. Mitcotakis issued a statement to the 'Tipos Tis Kiriakis' newspaper and remarked that Greece should sincerely and rationally talk to Turkey in order to solve their problems. Mitcotakis also stated that President Suleyman Demirel was a positive influence from the standpoint of relations between Turkey and Greece and added that the re-election of Demirel as President would be more desirable, the Anatolia News Agency reports.[09] HEROIN SEIZEDDuring a raid in the Dogubayazit district of Agri along the Gurbulak bordergate between Turkey and Iran, one ton of heroin was seized yesterday. One person was detained in connection with the incident, the Anatolia News Agency reports.[10] SECOND EURASIAN ECONOMIC SUMMITThe 'Second Eurasian Economic Summit' organized by the Strategic and Social Research Foundation of the Marmara Group will begin on October 5. Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan will attend the Summit to be held between October 5 and 7 in Istanbul. Israel, the U.S., Russia and Japan will take part in the Summit as observers. The chairman of the opening session of the Summit will be Prof.Erdal Inonu, the Anatolia News Agency reports.[11] TAX AGREEMENT BETWEEN TURKEY AND SLOVAKIAAn international agreement which envisages the prevention of double taxation in revenues between Turkey and Slovakia was published in the Official Gazette yesterday. /Aksam/[12] EUROPE PRAISES GAZIANTEP'Guncel Haber', a publication by the European Commission Office in Turkey, praised Gaziantep for its remarkable economic growth, massive exports and private investments. It said that Gaziantep was the 'door' to the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) region. Gaziantep enjoys commercial relations mostly with Syria, Italy, the U.S., Romania, Britain and France. /Aksam/[13] NEW TURKISH PARTY IN MACEDONIATurks living in Macedonia have decided to establish a new political party in order to alleviate their problems. Macedonian Turks convened in Skopje yesterday and decided to set up the new party within this month. /Aksam/[14] NEW SUPPORT FOR EXPORTERS IN DISASTER REGIONInitiatives have been launched in order to support exporters in Kocaeli, Yalova and Sakarya, the cities lie within the disaster zone. According to a circular prepared by the Foreign Trade Undersecretariat, small and medium-scale enterprises (KOBIs) in these cities will take advantage of state assistance at a 25 % higher rate, and firms in these cities will receive 10 % more assistance for their research and development work. /Star/[15] TANK COMPETITORSFive firms -the Italian Iveco company, the French Giat firm, the Ukranian company, Ukrpetseksport, the German Krauss-Maffei company and the U.S. General Dynamics company will submit their proposals for a planned 1,000 tanks required by the Defence Industry Undersecretariat by November 30 at the latest. The project will cost 3 quadrillion TL. /Turkiye/[16] CLINTON'S INVITATION FOR AIRCRAFT PROJECTDuring the visit of U.S. President Bill Clinton to Ankara in November, he is expected to announce his decision encompassing Turkey as a partner in the JSF, a project being carried out by the U.S. Defence Department. JSF aircraft will replace the F-16 aircraft in the American Army as of the year 2008. /Milliyet/[17] OCALAN'S APPEAL ON OCTOBER 7Abdullah Ocalan's appeal trial is scheduled to be heard on October 7, the Anatolia News Agency reports. Ocalan, the head of the PKK terrorist organization, was sentenced to death by Ankara's State Security Court (DGM) for 'instructing and commanding through his decisions and directives that the PKK terrorist organization commit acts meant to separate part of the territory of Turkey from the sovereignty of the state'. Ocalan is currently imprisoned on Imrali Island, located in the Marmara Sea. Ocalan will not be granted parole in order to attend the Court of Appeals' session.[18] SECURITY FORCES COME DOWN ON DHKP-C GROUPIstanbul Public Security Office's Director Hasan Ozdemir said that seven members of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) terrorist organization had been arrested, the Anatolia News Agency reports. They are responsible for bombing the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare building Istanbul Directorate, the Undersecretariat of Treasury and the Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade buildings in Istanbul. Ozdemir recalled that the attacks had resulted in the injury of 20 people. Cellular phones and a remote control system were used in the organization of the bomb attacks.[19] AUTOMOTIVE EXPORTS INCREASEThe number of automobiles exported during the January-August period of this year is double the number exported during the same period last year. In the January-August period this year, 53,630 vehicles were exported. /All papers/[20] BELLAMY EVALUATES UNICEF WORK IN QUAKE AREAUNICEF's Executive Director Carol Bellamy, who arrived in Turkey on September 29 to inspect UNICEF's work in the earthquake disaster area, held a press conference on October 1 to report her findings on the earthquake. In her statement Bellamy said that her visit was aimed at understanding better how UNICEF works with the government and the quake-affected people of Turkey. UNICEF ventures in the quake-hit areas focus on the provision of facilities -particularly for children- such as education, health services, nutrition and vaccination programmes, she added. Bellamy continued by saying that she had visited two of the worst-hit cities in the quake region, namely Golcuk and Sakarya, during her three-day visit to Turkey. /All papers/[21] GREEK FRIENDS AID OUR VICTIMSA 94-person delegation from the Greek island of Simi arrived in Datca as the guests of the Datca Municipality. Their relief aid for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey was delivered to officials from the Datca Municipality. Simi's Mayor Mitiladis Sarris was also in Datca. /Cumhuriyet/[22] 14,000 IMMIGRANTS IN 10 MONTHSA total of 14,837 immigrants who attempted to illegally cross Turkey to foreign countries have been captured in the last 10 months. According to the Foreigners Department of the Security Office, with the deportation of foreigners captured along the borders, the number of Iraqi illegal immigrants has begun to decrease. /Cumhuriyet/[23] OTTOMAN SEMINAR IN HOLLANDA seminar on 'The Place of the Ottoman Empire in History and from the Empire to the Republic' organized as part of the celebrations to mark the 700th anniversary of the establishment of the Ottoman Empire by the Kemalist Association in Holland was held in the town of Spijkenisse near Rotterdam. A lecturer from the Aegean University, Prof.Zeki Arikan and lecturers from Ankara University, Prof.Ozer Ergenc and Prof.Serafettin Turan, attended the meeting and delivered speeches. /Cumhuriyet/[24] DEVELOPMENTS IN YEAR 2000 COMPLIANCE PROBLEMIt is reported that work to harmonize a solution to the problem of year 2000 compliance for computers was 78.6 % completed as of September 20. The State Planning Organization (DPT) announced the progress of its coordination initiatives to solve the problem of year 2000 compliance. /Cumhuriyet/[25] TURCAS AND TABAS MERGEThe Oil Distribution Companies, Turcas and Tabas, have decided to merge. The name of the new company is 'Turcas Oil' and its annual turn-over will be $1 billion. /Hurriyet/[26] CRITICAL WEEK FOR TURKEYA week before the European Commission's official disclosure of the of the long-awaited 'progress report' on Turkey's ability to assume the obligations of EU membership, the European Parliament is also seeking to make its voice heard on Turco-EU ties. The European Parliament is to pass a resolution on Turkey after a debate on Wednesday morning in which the European Commission's new person in charge of enlargement, Gunther Verheugen, will explain the Commission's position on Turkey. The European People's Party, the largest group in Parliament, will meet informally on Monday night to determine its policy on Turkey and will finally come up with its own motion for a resolution on Turco-EU ties. /All papers/[27] MOST TOURISTS ARE GERMANDuring the Jan.-Aug. period of this year, most visitors to Turkey came from Germany, England and Romania. In the same period, a decline has been observed in the number of tourists from other countries, while a 10.8% increase has been experienced in the number of visitors arriving from the African countries. In the first eight months of this year, in total 5,051,437 tourists visited Turkey. From Germany, there were 904,547 tourists; from England 558,731; from Romania 322,416; from Russia 298,745; from the U.S. 251,265; from Iran 227,313; from France 211,099; from Holland 154,953; from Bulgaria 140,327; and from Israel 139,828 tourists came to Turkey. The numbers of tourists from these countries comprises 63.5% of the total number of foreign visitors to Turkey. /Sabah/[28] GAP'99 FAIRThe second International Industry and Technology Fair, GAP'99, is going to be opened today in Sanliurfa. A number of firms from nine different sectors are participating in the Fair, which is supported by the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Industry and Trade, and Foreign Affairs, besides, the Sanliurfa Governer's Office, GAP Regional Development Administration and the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB). Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Husnu Yusuf Gokalp will inaugurate the Fair which is being organized under the auspices of President Suleyman Demirel. The foreign and domestic companies attending the Fair are involved in the agriculture and livestock, plastic packaging, textile, construction technology, consumer durables, automotive, electronics, computer, telecommunication technologies, tourism and service sectors and in banking, leasing, insurance, advertising agencies, and education centres. /Sabah/[29] INTERNATIONAL ESKISEHIR FESTIVALThe fifth International Eskisehir Festival will begin on October 5 and last until October 17. During the Festival organized by the Zeytinoglu Education, Science and Culture Foundation, there will be many events such as concerts, theatrical plays and shows for children. /Hurriyet/[30] TURKISH UNIVERSITY IN BERLINThe first step has been taken in order to establish a Turkish University in Berlin, in which two million Turkish people live. The protocol, which concerns the venture supported by President Suleyman Demirel, has been signed at last. During the 14th meeting of the Turco-German Joint Education Experts Commission, which was held in Ankara, the problems of the Turkish students in Germany as far as their education is concerned were discussed and an important protocol was signed.The Undersecretary of the Ministry of National Education, Bener Cordan, who had signed the protocol in the name of Turkey, stated that in the protocol was an article concerning the "Turkish University". This article supports a venture to establish a Turkish University. Cordan, stating that the establishment of a Turkish University was just a draft, added, "However, this venture, which is just a plan, has been put down in writing, which is very important. It is impossible to give a date for the establishment of the University. Germany will determine a place, the building will be purchased, the professors will be appointed and the Institution of Higher Education (YOK) will research into it, etc, which will take a long time. The University will be open not only to Turks, but also to all people from all nations." /Hurriyet/ [31] THANKS TO THE WORLDThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked the 66 countries which sent aid to Turkey because of the earthquake in an article that was published in 187 mass media organs of these countries. The newspapers in these countries published these letters of thanks, which had been delivered through Turkish Embassies, for free. In the letters, it was stated in summary that "the Turkish people are thankful for the humanitarian aid sent by you and your government and for the search and rescue teams. Turkey will never forget your support. Kindly accept the gratitude of the Turkish people and the Turkish Government with our open letter of thanks." /Hurriyet/[32] IMF: LET'S SEE BUDGETThe International Monetary Fund (IMF) will establish its final decision on the stand-by agreement with Turkey, after the passing of the Budget Bill for the year 2000 by the TGNA's Planning and Budget Commission. During the meeting in Washington with the IMF's Deputy Chairman, Stanley Fischer, the commission headed by State Minister Recep Onal, declared that the Budget Bill for the year 2000 will be presented to the TGNA's Planning and Budget Commission before Oct. 15th. and to the TGNA's general session for consideration before Dec. 15th. Thereupon, Fischer said, "Then, after seeing the budget, we will decide on the stand-by agreement before Dec. 15th." /Sabah/[33] AMNESTY BEFORE COMMISSION TODAYThe Amnesty Law, which provoked a storm of public reaction and was vetoed by President Suleyman Demirel, has become a headache for the partners in the government. The Bill will be up for negotiation at the TGNA's Constitution Commission today. In the case that a compromise is reached, the Bill will be handled at the TGNA's Justice Commission during the week. The Democratic Left Party desires the exclusion of crimes by gangs, murder and torture. However, these crimes have been included in the Amnesty Bill due to pressure from the Nationalist Action Party. /Hurriyet/[34] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...[35] THE PRESIDENT SAID "THE REFORM OF THE STATE" -BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE)Yilmaz Oztuna is a columnist on the daily `Turkiye' newspaper. This is an article by Yilmaz Oztuna published in `Turkiye':"Our President, Suleyman Demirel, expressed some very important concepts in the TGNA's inaugural address last Friday. He desires the `reform of the State' and stated that the reform should be launched from the status of the President. His idea is as follows: the President should be elected by public vote for five a term of years. He should be able to be elected for a second term of office. Demirel has been expressing this concept for a few years; now he has explained it formally. I don't agree with those who consider the suggestion as `semi-chairmanship'. Semi-chairmanship is the system in France's fifth Republic, which is being practised today. Demirel's suggestion is that the election should be through a public vote in two rounds instead of by the TGNA if a candidate cannot attain the 50% treshold in the first round. I do not consider this to be semi-chairmanship. Some wishes such as re-election and the veto of only some of the articles in the laws are normal powers that can open the way to democracy. Our President also suggested a Senate. If this happens, the number of members of Parliament should be decreased. The more important than this is the fact that it involves the transferral of some of the officials in the Constitutional Court to the Senate. In fact, the powers of our Constitutional Court cannot be found in any other democracy. A Senate which is not given this authority is nothing; it would be for show only could be used only to ensure the official position of certain people. In Turkey, there are so many institutions which have forgotten their function and which are inherited from the past, from the Empire. Making a referendum work could strengthen our democracy. Examining the status of the members of Parliament and explaining the financial workings of all parties are practised in all democracies today. In the President's speech, there were open directives to the Ministers particularly concerning the earthquake. It is certain that attention will be paid to them. It was an important speech; its historic importance derived from the fact that the certain necessity for a reform of the State was expressed by the head of the Republic of Turkey. In other words, our State's out-of-date workings and clumsiness and the fact that it has had some difficulties in keeping pace with the age have been registered by President Demirel with a certain style". [36] ACCORDING TO MINISTER TURK -BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)Fikret Bila is a columnist on the daily `Milliyet' newspaper. This is an article by Fikret Bila published in `Milliyet':"The Minister of Justice, Prof. Dr. Hikmet Sami Turk, is dealing with prisons and the Amnesty Law. Yesterday we were able to talk to him. He states that the law was not approved at Cankaya, which effected the incidents in the prisons in negative way. He says, "If the Amnesty Law had been implemented, such incidents would not have been seen in our prisons. The Amnesty Law is a very sensitive issue. If it is dragged on, then it creates tension." As the Minister of Justice knows this affect, he points out that he has made some suggestions: -The TGNA was closed. However, I suggested that it should be convened in an extraordinary meeting and the Amnesty Law should be implemented immediately, considering the President's grounds for veto. However, they rejected my proposal saying that the TGNA was closed for a short period of time a very short while ago and that holding such a meeting would be hard. -The TGNA has been opened. How will you place the Amnesty Law on the agenda? -We will implement the Amnesty Law. We have not given up on the idea. -Will the 313th Article (gangs), which created many debates and forms the reason for the President's veto, be within the scope of the Amnesty Law? -I think it should remain outside the scope of the Amnesty Law because the President has grounds for a veto against it. In my opinion, the President's views should be considered before acting. The practise in the TGNA is generally directed towards implementing the Law, which had been vetoed previously, so that it should not be vetoed again. My suggestion and preperation take the veto into consideration. But I do not know what the TGNA will do. What does the Minister of Justice think about a solution to the problems in the prisons? The Minister is thinking of solving the problem in three ways: 1. To change the structure of the prisons, 2. To strengthen the financial power of the Ministry of Justice and its staff, 3. To establish a judicial police force". 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