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Turkish Press Review, 00-06-20
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
20.06.00
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] ASSEMBLY OF TURCO-AMERICAN ASSOCIATIONS PREPARES SUGGESTION
PACKAGE FOR TURKEY
[02] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[03] ECEVIT TO VISIT HALFETI
[04] "TURKEY WILL NOT BE EXCLUDED"
[05] TURKEY'S DECISION CONCERNING ESDI
[06] REACTION TO UN'S DECISION
[07] DE SOTO IN TURKEY
[08] VERHEUGEN TO ARRIVE IN TURKEY
[09] SEVANTIE IN ANKARA
[10] GREAT INTEREST IN BAKU-CEYHAN PIPELINE
[11] ISRAEL'S WATER DELEGATION IN TURKEY
[12] BELGIUM REJECTS FEHRIYE ERDAL'S POLITICAL ASYLUM REQUEST
[13] CHANCE FOR 4 BILLION FROM EU
[14] ASSEMBLY OF TURCO-AMERICAN ASSOCIATIONS PREPARES SUGGESTION
PACKAGE FOR TURKEY
[15] COMPULSORY CONSENSUS
[16] STATE INSTITUTE OF STATISTICS (SIS) DATA
[17] WORK TO PREVENT MARMARIS FROM POLLUTION
[18] AGREEMENT BETWEEN TURKCELL AND NOKIA
[19] TURKEY RECEIVES ITS HISTORICAL ARTEFACTS BACK
[20] TURCO-GREEK FRIENDSHIP CONCERT
[21] TURKEY AT EURO 2000 QUARTER FINALS
[22] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[23] THORNS ON THE PATH TO THE EU BY YALCIN DOGAN (MILLIYET)
[01] ASSEMBLY OF TURCO-AMERICAN ASSOCIATIONS PREPARES SUGGESTION
PACKAGE FOR TURKEY
[02] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[03] ECEVIT TO VISIT HALFETI
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit will visit Sanliurfa today to make
observations at the ancient city of Zeugma and to attend the
opening ceremony of the new settlements at the district of
Halfeti. Ecevit will also visit Harran University and the
Provincial Presidency of the Democratic Left Party (DSP) in
Harran. /Turkiye/
[04] "TURKEY WILL NOT BE EXCLUDED"
European Union (EU) ensured that Turkey would not be excluded
from the European Security and Defense Identity (ESDI) which will
take effect in 2003. A letter, sent by the EU Term President
Portugese Foreign Minister Jaime de Gama to Ismail Cem before the
EU Summit began yesterday in Feria, Portugal, stated, "It is not
possible to exclude Turkey from such a formation. We welcome your
decision to participate in the defense force with a battalion
scheduled to be formed in 2003." During the Summit in Feria,
final decision on ESDI will be made. A "special relation" is
expected to be formed with six countries, including Turkey,
members of NATO, but not the EU. In the meantime, Greece has been
accepted to the membership of the European Monetary Unit (EURO)
at same meeting. /Hurriyet/
[05] TURKEY'S DECISION CONCERNING ESDI
The decision that will be announced during the Feira Summit
concerning the European Security brought Ankara to action. When
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not receive a new and
positive decision from the EU Summit, the political decision was
evaluated by a delegation chaired by Prime Minister Bulent
Ecevit. During the meeting, which was also attended by the
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Cem, Undersecretary Faruk
Logoglu and the Deputy Undersecretary Kurtulus Taskent, decisions
that are likely to be taken during the Feira Summit and the
possible scenarios resulting from it were discussed. It was
decided that Turkey, which was excluded from ESDI, will use its
NATO card. It was further decided that NATO's resources will be
made use of and the operations, from which Turkey will be
excluded, will not be supported. Meanwhile, Portugal, who handed
the term Chairmanship of the European Union (ESDI) to France,
supported Turkey concerning the issue that Turkey should be
included in the decision-making mechanism of this organization.
/Aksam/
[06] REACTION TO UN'S DECISION
The reaction of the Turkish side, to the United Nation (UN)'s
Security Council's decision on extending the term of the Peace
Force in Cyprus which was taken on June 15, is continuing.
President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Rauf
Denktas, said on Monday that if the UN does not take any steps to
correct its recent decision, they will take strict measures. He
stated, "If the UN does not take any steps for the sake of the
TRNC, we may ask the UN peace keeping force to leave TRNC
territory." /Hurriyet/
[07] DE SOTO IN TURKEY
United Nations (UN) Secretary General Kofi Annan's Special
Representative Alvaro de Soto, arrived in Ankara yesterday to
carry out contacts before the third round of proximity talks that
will be held on 5 July in Geneva for the solution of the Cyprus
problem. De Soto said, "I hope the reactions of Turkey and the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) to the latest decision
of the UN will not affect the discussions in Geneva. I will go to
Athens after my visit to Turkey." De Soto, who met the
Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Faruk Logoglu
yesterday, will meet the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Cem
today. /Cumhuriyet/
[08] VERHEUGEN TO ARRIVE IN TURKEY
European Union's (EU) official, responsible for expansion, Gunter
Verheugen, will arrive in Turkey on 14 July in order to prepare
Turkey's accession partnership document. According to the
information obtained from the diplomatic sources, opinions will
be exchanged with Verheugen concerning the shaping of the
above-mentioned document, which is being prepared by the EU
Commission and which is expected to be announced in autumn.
Another issue that will be discussed with Verheugen will be the
financial cooperation. Diplomatic sources, who pointed out that
the EU did not fulfil its responsibilities for Turkey within the
framework of Customs Union, stated that this issue will be
brought to Verheugen's attention. /Milliyet/
[09] SEVANTIE IN ANKARA
Alain Sevantie, who was appointed to the Turkish desk of the
European Union (EU) Commission, will arrive in Turkey today.
During Sevantie's meetings at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
at the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA), the main issue
will be the 'Accession Partnership' documents that will be
prepared by the EU Commission. During these meetings, the work to
harmonize Turkish laws with those of the EU and the issue of the
'National Program' that was prepared by Turkey within this
framework will be discussed. /Cumhuriyet/
[10] GREAT INTEREST IN BAKU-CEYHAN PIPELINE
27 huge petroleum and petro chemistry companies in the world took
part in a great competition to buy a share from the METCO, which
will undertake the implementation and management of Baku-Ceyhan
pipeline. Representatives and the administrators of 27 companies
from the US, Germany, England, Holland, Russia, France, Belgium,
Japan and Kazahkstan attended the programs that promote the
project that is implemented in Baku. A period of time was given
to the companies, which attended this meeting and demanded a
share from the METCO, to inform their rate of the demand of
share. /Milliyet/
[11] ISRAEL'S WATER DELEGATION IN TURKEY
Following Israel's decision to reevaluate the water purchase from
Turkey, a large delegation from Israel arrived in Turkey to make
investigations in Manavgat and to hold meetings in Ankara. It was
stated that in this delegation, chaired by the Infrastructure
Ministry's Undersecretary, Yakov Efrati, there were also
representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from the
Ministry of Health and from the Treasury Undersecretariat, Prime
Minister Ehud Barak's advisor on the water issue and the official
from Israel's Water Distribution Company. Meanwhile, Israel's
Minister of Foreign Affairs, David Levi, received the members of
the Turkish Grand National Assembly's (TGNA) Defence Commission
yesterday in Israel and repeated his opinion that 'We should buy
water from Turkey'. /Milliyet/
[12] BELGIUM REJECTS FEHRIYE ERDAL'S POLITICAL ASYLUM REQUEST
One of the assassins in Ozdemir Sabanci's murder Fehriye Erdal's
application for a political asylum was rejected by Belgium
Foreigner's Policemen. Following the decision, Belgium is looking
for a country to send Erdal who is currently being detained at
Brugge prison. Erdal's lawyers declared that they would apply to
UN Refugees High Commissioner for rescinding the decision.
/Hurriyet/
[13] CHANCE FOR 4 BILLION FROM EU
European Union has not fulfilled its financial commitments to
Turkey up to now. A report, prepared by the State Planning
Department, analizing Turkey-EU relations, pointed out that
Turkey had a chance to receive about 4-billion euro financial
source from the EU after Helsinki Summit. However, in order to
use this financial fund, Turkey should produce projects on
regional development, complying with EU standarts, Small and
Medium Scale Enterprises, environment, education, renovation of
industrial infrastructure etc. and present them to EU. /Sabah/
[14] ASSEMBLY OF TURCO-AMERICAN ASSOCIATIONS PREPARES SUGGESTION
PACKAGE FOR TURKEY
Assembly of Turco-American Associations (ATAA) prepared a package
of suggestions to better promote Turkey abroad. In the package,
there is the distribution of duties for many institutions.
Officials from the ATAA stated, "Among the suggestions, there is
the establishment a 'Turkish Promotion Coordination Council'. It
was also suggested to make arrangements to encourage the state
universities and private universities to develop international
exchange programmes and to improve the institutional foreign
relations. It was also suggested to prepare web pages on the
internet that promotes the natural and cultural richness of
Turkey and the Turkish nation's social characteristics."
/Turkiye/
[15] COMPULSORY CONSENSUS
State Minister Recep Onal, responsible for the Treasury, stated
that the money that was saved at the Compulsory Saving Fund
should be repaid as soon as possible. Onal said, "However, we
want this payment to be carried out in cash without hindering the
our government's implementation of the economic programme."
Representatives of the Labour Platform, who consists of the
chairmen of the confederations of the workers and civil servants,
visited Onal at his office. After this meeting, Onal said that
they had reached a consensus of opinion concerning the payment of
the money, which was collected at the Fund of the Compulsory
Saving. Onal added, "A technical committee will be established
next week concerning the payment of this money, amounting to 3
trillion 900 billion TL." /Turkiye/
[16] STATE INSTITUTE OF STATISTICS (SIS) DATA
According to the data of the State Institute of Statistics (SIS)
the number of the working people increased by 6% and the period
of working hours increased by 3% during the first three months of
this year. Meanwhile, the rate of productivity per capita
increased by 9.3%. The income earned per hour increaed by
109.7.9% in the public sector whereas this amount increased by
59.5% in the private sector. /Star/
[17] WORK TO PREVENT MARMARIS FROM POLLUTION
Marmaris, which is one of the best touristic sites of Turkey and
the world, is beginning to have a modern appearence. Marmaris
Environmental Protection and Infrastructure Project, as part of
the Southwestern Coast's Environmental Project, supported by the
Ministry of Tourism and the World Bank, is about to be completed.
This project deals with the issue of potable water system, small
sewage system and the sewers. Mayor of Marmaris, Ismet Karadinc,
stated that as soon as this project is implemented, Marmaris will
be the only town in the region, whose infrastructure is
completed. /Turkiye/
[18] AGREEMENT BETWEEN TURKCELL AND NOKIA
Telsim and Nokia signed an agreement, amounting to 900 million US
dollars, which will be valid for three years. Within the
framework of this agreement, the development of the terminal
equipment of Telsim GSM 900 network, its basic stations and the
expansion of wireless communication and the increase of the
service given to the subscribers is being planned. /Cumhuriyet/
[19] TURKEY RECEIVES ITS HISTORICAL ARTEFACTS BACK
Ministry of Culture received 2175 historical artefacts, which
were seized at Heathrow Airport while being smuggled in England
from Turkey. Turkey's Embassy in London delivered these unique
historical artefacts to the representatives of the Ministry of
Culture with a ceremony, during which Ambassador Korkmaz Haktanir
said, "The delivery of this cultural and historical heritage to
the places where they belong is a pleasing development."
/Turkiye/
[20] TURCO-GREEK FRIENDSHIP CONCERT
Gazi University's Youth Chamber Orchestra and Komotini
Municipality's Folk Dance Orchestra and the Students' Chorus will
give a Concert of Friendship today. The concert will start at
19:00 at the Concert Hall of Gazi University. /Cumhuriyet/
[21] TURKEY AT EURO 2000 QUARTER FINALS
Defeating host Belgium by the goals of Hakan Sukur with a score
of 2-0, Turkish National Soccer Team won the chance of playing in
quarter finals at Euro 2000. Turkish team will face Portugal on
Saturday June 24 at Arena Stadium in Amsterdam to qualify to
semi-finals. /Hurriyet/
[22] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[23] THORNS ON THE PATH TO THE EU BY YALCIN DOGAN (MILLIYET)
Columnist Yalcin Dogan comments on the results of the EU meeting
held in Feira, Portugal concerning the European Security and
Defence Identity (ESDI). A summary of his column is as follows:
"Tough negotiations are taking place in Feira, Portugal
concerning ESDI between Turkey and the EU. The ongoing secret
battle between Turkey and the EU was officially accepted
yesterday. A problem, expected to be solved anyhow is quickly
deteriorating Turco-EU relations. It may be a technical problem
but its results are leading to concerns. Yesterday, EU summit was
held in Feira, Portugal to discuss the new organization formed to
defend Europe, that is, the European Security and Defence
Identity( ESDI). The EU accepts only member states in this
organization which means in effect that Turkey is left oudside
the decision-making mechanisms of ESDI. The reason why this
disturbs Ankara is that, during a development, such as the one in
Kosovo, ESDI will undertake the responsibility of military
intervention instead of NATO. Kosovo closely interests Turkey,
but it will not be included in the decision included on the
issue. Another problem is that, ESDI will be able to benefit from
NATO's sources. Turkey, in turn, replies that if it is not taken
into decision-making process, it will use its power of veto in
NATO.
These technical details are closely concerned with the essence of
the matter. From the European point of view Turkey has not solved
two basic problems. They are the abolishment of capital
punishment, and improvement in human rights issues. EU insists on
these matters. Insistence on these matters can be understood upto
a point, however, when it turns into intransigency one cannot but
think that there may be other reasons behind this decision. Among
the questions which come to mind are if there is an unwillingness
in the EU to admit Turkey or, does Turkey feel too constrained by
the EU rules? That is to say, are excuses being created?
Otherwise, it is quite hard to explain the tension in the
relations because of a defence organization. One thing is
certain, the road to the EU is full of thorns. Ankara has to act
quickly."
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