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Turkish Press Review, 99-10-26Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>26.10.99Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...[02] ECEVIT INTERVIEWED BY NEWSWEEKIn an interview he gave to Newsweek magazine, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit stated that there was to be no going back on the question of Cyprus, and the existence of two communities on the Island had to be accepted by the international public. Prime Minister Ecevit also said that everyone should change in the next century. Noting his desire for all the problems between Turkey and Greece to be solved, Ecevit added that this does not mean that Turkey would turn a blind eye to new massacres if there were a return to the conditions prevailing before 1974. /Turkiye/[03] BARAK: 'TURKS, BE PROUD, WORK AND BE CONFIDENT'Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit attended a ceremony in Adapazari which marked the handing-over of 320 Israeli-built prefabricated houses to Turkish authorities. Ehud Barak delivered a speech during the ceremony. Expressing his grief at the tragedy and his condolences for the victims, he completed his speech with a popular phrase of Ataturk, 'Turks, be proud, work and be confident'. After the ceremony the two Prime Ministers held a meeting in Ankara. Following the meeting, Ecevit stressed that the two were determined to expand cooperation between the two countries in all realms. He declared, "Turco-Israeli cooperation will contribute to modernization, secularization and democratization in the region." Prime Minister Barak also stated Turkey's great and significant role in the region and emphasized the importance which Israel attributes to its ties with Turkey. Barak's visit was the first official visit to Turkey by an Israeli Prime Minister. /Hurriyet/[04] ISMAIL CEM DUE IN BERLINForeign Minister Ismail Cem is leaving for Germany today as the guest of the German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer. The two Ministers will watch the Galatasaray-Hertha Berlin football match. Cem will then proceed to Greece then and meet the Greek Foreign Minister, George Papandreu. /Cumhuriyet/[05] SUPPORT WITHOUT PRECONDITIONThe biggest obstacle facing Turkey's candidacy to the EU has evaporated. Greece's Foreign Minister, George Papandreu, stated for the first time that they would support Turkey's candidaay to the EU without any preconditions being imposed on it first. The Greek Minister, when he welcomed a delegation of 30 people, including journalists, who are investigating the state of relations between the two countries, explained his decision to them. Papandreu said that they had convened in an extraordinary session with the members of the Government on Friday and that this decision had been taken during this meeting. The Greek Minister, in giving the promise of support, also stated that they did not want Turkey to be treated differently from the other candidates. /Aksam/[06] TURKEY: THE REGIONAL POWER OF THE FUTURE"Societe De La Generale De Banque", one of the largest banks of Belgium devoted its monthly bulletin to Turkey. In the Bulletin it was stated that Turkey would be the regional power of the future. This is an important development due to the visit of many Belgian investors to Turkey and the fact that the bulletin is closely followed by business and commercial circles in Belgium. In the bulletin it was also stated that Turkey had chosen a Western economic model,has been adhering to the free-market economy for a long time and was in close cooperation with Europe. In a published analysis, it was said that due to its geographical location and history and for religous reasons, Ankara was not considered to be a European country by the EU decision-making bodies. It was also added that Turkey's importance following the Cold War had increased during the rise of the new world order. /Turkiye/[07] INVESTIGATION UNDERWAYSecurity forces who are carrying out an investigation into the assassination of Prof. Dr. Ahmet Taner Kislali, but have been unable to obtain any concrete findings as yet on the fifth day after the murder, are keeping an eye on all outlawed organizations and their members. Examining those entering and leaving Turkey in recent months, security forces are especially investigating the persons with Middle-Eastern citizenship. Gendarmerie General Commander Gen. Rasim Betir said that they were working in conjuction with MIT and the Directorate General of Security 24 hours a day and were in the process of examining all findings carefully. /Cumhuriyet/[08] RECTORS: 'OUR REPUBLIC UNDER THREAT'Rectors of the universities and their colleagues who attended the funeral of Prof. Dr. Ahmet Taner Kislali stressed that the Turkish Republic is under threat. The Rector of Uludag University, Ayhan Kizil, said that religious fundamentalist who hold government positions, should be cleaned out immediately. Attending the funeral of Prof.Dr. Ahmet Taner Kislali the day before, applauded enthusiastically, second only to the soldiers, the Rectors of the universities, called on the nation to unify agaist the second republicans, separatists and fundamentalists. Emphasizing that the universities were the second bastion of secularism after the Turkish Armed Forces, the Rectors said about the protests against politicians during the funeral that it was natural. The Rector of Istanbul University, Prof. Dr. Kemal Alemdaroglu, also stated, "The applause of the people has further encouraged us to follow the path laid down by Ataturk." /Cumhuriyet/[09] PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES AGAINST WELFARE PARTYThe Treasury, in the law suit against the lost 2 trillion Turkish lira from the Welfare Party, has been frozen all Necmettin Erbakan's and his nine friends' assets. While the Welfare Party was being closed, 10 million Deutsche Marks were supposed to be given to the Treasury. However, this money was mysteriously lost. Then the Treasury launched a law suit against the Welfare Party in Ankara's 6th Magistrates' Court, in which the decision was made that has shocked the Welfare Party. The Court issued an order to freeze the assets of a total of 10 administrators of the Welfare Party. /Hurriyet/[10] OCALAN WAS BANISHEDThe meeting entitled "Kurds and the Kurdish Dialogue", organized by representatives of Kurdish organizations but excluding the PKK terrorist organization, has come to an end. Nearly 150 people, accused of being "extreme Kurdish nationalists", "anti-revolutionaries" and even "agents" by the PKK's `Ozgur Politika' newspaper run by Abdullah Ocalan and his brother Osman Ocalan, discussed certain pertinent issues for three days.The main, perhaps the only, subject on the meeting's agenda was the evaluation of the new process that began after the capture of Abdullah Ocalan. It has become apparent that Ocalan's statements from Imrala Island and the steps that were taken by the PKK in accordance with these statements confused everyone and all roles and policies have been in turmoil. The people who attended the meeting are those who criticized the PKK and Ocalan from the very beginning. During the meetings only a few people defended Ocalan. However, most of the people, who aspired to be mediators between Turkey and the PKK by suggesting "democratic, peacaeful and legal" solutions, now consider the new policies of the organization to be those of the "Supporter of State Control and Surrender". /Hurriyet/ [11] ANTI-PKK RAIDS IN URFADuring raids carried out in Sanliurfa, 15 members of the PKK terrorist organization, including the organization's person in charge of the region, were captured. A search of one of the organization's cells uncovered many weapons, documents relating to the organization and some medicine that was reported to be due to be sent into the rural areas. /Cumhuriyet/[12] DESIRE FOR SPLENDID CELEBRATIONS FOR REPUBLIC DAYNon-governmental organizations and victims of the earthquake have requested to celebrate Republic Day more flamboyantly than ever. The Spokesman for the Union of Non-Governmental Organizations, Prof.Dr. Bulent Berkarda, said that they could hardly understand the aim of the circular which was issued by the Premier, restricting Republic Day celebrations. Members of the Yalova, Golcuk and Degirmendere Earthquake Victims Association declared that Republic Day celebrations should be more splendid than ever since threats to the Republic are increasing day by day. Moreover, they declared that they would celebrate Republic Day enthusiastically by coming out from their tents on the morning of Oct. 29th. /Cumhuriyet/[13] 4TH INTERNATIONAL ATATURK CONGRESSThe 4th International Ataturk Congress, organized by the Hoca Ahmet Yesevi Turkish-Khazak University, the Ataturk Supreme Council for Language and History's Ataturk Research Centre, is beginning. During the Congress, which will be attended by State Ministers Abdulhaluk Cay and Ramazan Mirzaoglu and the TRNC's Prime Minister, Dervis Gunday, the Ataturk Research Centre will also be unveiled. Agusto Sinagra will be given Honorary Membership of the Ataturk Research Centre. The Congress will last for five days. /Cumhuriyet/[14] STAND-BY ON 15TH DECEMBERTreasury Undersecretary , Selcuk Demiralp has declared, "Meeting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) s concerning the stand-by agreement are due to come to an end and be discussed by the IMF's Council of Executive Directors. The loan that will be obtained by us from the World Bank depends on the stand-by agreement with the IMF. Therefore, this agreement should be signed first. The meetings should finish before 15th December. However, length of the IMF delegation's stay in Turkey depends upon the meetings; they might stay for a longer period of time because the meetings will go into detail.When questioned on the purpose of the delegation's visit, whether it was for the stand-by agreement or not, Demiralp replied, "Of course they are coming in order to continue with these specific meetings." Demiralp further added that the IMF delegation, which arrived yesterday to inspect the banking sector in Turkey, mostly comprised officials from the World Bank but an official from the IMF was also present as part of the delegation. "The delegation will launch an examination of this sector. Upon our request, they have also come to study the state of the financial sector. We want to make some technical structural changes to the financial world here and we wish to receive technical aid from the World Bank", said Demiralp. /Turkiye/ [15] CATTLE-BREEDING REFORM IS ON THE WAYA plan to save cattle-breeding is now ready and a fund of 300 trillion Turkish lira will be transformed into cows. The Ministry of Agriculture has been preparing the cattle-breeding action plan for the following 5 years. The total cost of the scheme, which is envisaged to be implemented between the years 2000 and 2005, has been estimated at 300 trillion Turkish lira. First, milk incentive bonuses will be increased in order to support stock-breeders. In addition, an incentive bonus will be paid for the meat. As part of the plan, artificial insemination will be encouraged in order to increase the fertility of the current stock. Veterinary practices, which will be established to ensure the private sector's greater involvement in the artificial insemination drive, will be encouraged. In order to see the establishment and support of these practices to fruition, a subsidy of 1.4 trillion Turkish lira will be made available. /Sabah/[16] EFES BECAME PARTNER WITH INTERBREWWorld-famous brewers, Interbrew, are purchasing a share of 50% of the Efes Beverage Group's Romanian brewery. The institution, which is the newest and most modern brewery in Romania, will have its name changed to the Interbrew Efes Brewery. The production capacity of the factory, that is currently 80 million litres, will increase to 125 million litres in the year 2000. As part of the agreement between Interbrew and the Efes Beverage Group, the partnership will be limited only to the manufacturing process. Efes Pilsen's producer, the Efes Beverage Group, has 8 breweries in 4 countries. /Hurriyet/[17] HUGE COMPANIES PREPARING FOR THE BAGHDAD FAIRThe 32nd International Baghdad Fair will be opened on 1st November 1999. In a statement by the Forum Fair Organizing and Development Company Ltd., 35 firms will represent Turkey. Among these firms will be Yasar, Ram, Vestel, Kent, Kombasan, Evyap and Kent Gida. /Turkiye/[18] "SUMMER TIME" TO ENDSummer time, which began on March 28th in order to benefit from increased daylight hours, will end this weekend. Since March 28th, 650 million Kwh in energy has been saved as a result. Clocks will go forward one hour on Sunday, Oct. 31st, at 02:00. /Cumhuriyet/[19] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...[20] INCONCEIVABLE RESULT OF A MURDER - BY YALCIN DOGAN (MILLIYET)Columnist Yalcın Dogan writes on the inconceivable results of a murder. A summary of his column is as follows:"The first convincing signal has been given by the Norwegian Foreign Minister in Istanbul. The Norwegian Minister, during his meeting with Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, said that a tragedy would help Turkey to become an EU country. These words and similar statements have increased in the run-up to the EU Summit. At present, a majority of the EU countries use the term "post-Helsinki" for Turkey, meaning that the candidacy of the country will be approved. What is the reason behind Turkey's acceptance into the EU, following years of exclusion? It cannot only be explained by the earthquake. Particularly in the aftermath of the Kislali murder, a new concept has been voiced concerning Turkey's candidacy, that is 'the measure of the ability to inflict damage'. The EU countries explain it thus, "The exclusion of Turkey from the EU would inflict great damage on Europe. If Turkey is unable to become a candidate it would cause harm both to herself and the EU. First, the extremist movements in Turkey would be strengthened and this would reflect on Europe in no time. Secondly, Turkey may break away from Europe and, under the pressure of social, economic and cultural relations, Europe would be the one to suffer. These conclusions have been expressed during recent months. On the road to candidacy, Kislali is murdered. Strikingly, the murder of Kislali is discussed as being a strength due to the damage it could inflict. In most of European capitals, the view that Turkey should be granted candidacy status gains weight. And thus, a murder leads to an inconceivable political result. The present potential to damage Europe increases and gives impetus to our candidacy. The EU has a principle, "Both full and candidate members can criticise each only under the umbrella of the organization." That is to say, the EU can not say nothing against any member or candidate. If Turkey becomes a candidate, it will no longer be the target for open criticism. Among all the confusion, some good news appears at last." [21] CYPRUS BALL IS IN EU'S COURT - BY SAHIN ALPAY (MILLIYET)Columnist Sahin Alpay comments on the recent developments on Cyprus. A summary of his column is as follows:"The shuttle diplomacy undertaken by US President Bill Clinton's Special Representative to Cyprus, Alfred Moses, between TRNC President Rauf Denktas and Greek-Cypriot Administration leader Glafkos Klerides did not yield any results. Moses could not convince Klerides to repeat what he had said to his predecessor, Richard Holbrooke, in other words his statement that the Greek-Cypriot Administration did not represent the Turks. If Klerides had repeated this statement, Denktas would have been ready to sit down at the negotiating table. If no one wants a return to the conditions before 1974, is not this the least Denktas can ask for? Denktas does not even insist on the political recognition of the TRNC in order to take his place in the negotiations, he only requests equal treatment and a formula to be found for such an equality. Can Moses find it? The doors do not seem be shut. However, the discovery of the formula which would bring Denktas and Klerides around the same table is the duty of the EU before that of the US, NATO, the UN, or the G-8. Some members of the EU have stated that they would not refuse to accept Cypriot membership until after the problem is solved and Greece says that if Cyprus is not accepted, she will veto the EU expansion process. Is not Brussels responsible for the insistence of Denktas on a confederation rather than a federation due to the statement in which it declared the start of negotiations with the Greek-Cypriot Adminstration? Therefore, it falls on Brussels to solve the issue rather than Washington. Brussels should not wait for a solution to come from Washington as it has on all European issues. The EU members are unaware that there are two sides on Cyprus and that the Greek-Cypriot Administration does not represent the Turkish-Cypriots and, moreveover, expresses this view. How can a problem be solved with a policy which is not based on facts? The Turkish side no longer says that Cyprus can only become a member along with Turkey. She does not request the start of negotiations towards membership right away. Greece sees the entrance of Cyprus into the EU as more important than Turkey's exclusion. Denktas is only asking for Klerides to state that his Government does not represent the Turks. He adds that if he receives equal treatment the problem could be solved in no time. Everyone would benefit from the entrance of a united Cyprus into the EU. Turkey, the Turkish-Cypriots, Greece, the Greek-Cypriots, the EU, NATO, everyone.... The ball is now in the EU's court. The EU should find a way to convince Klerides to state openly that he does not represent the Turkish-Cypriots." Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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