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Turkish Press Review, 00-08-28Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>28.08.00Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] TANRIKULU MEETS FOREIGN DELEGATIONS AT IZMIR INTERNATIONAL TRADE FAIR[02] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...[03] BARAK TO VISIT TURKEYIsraeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak will pay one-day official visit to Turkey today. Mr. Barak's visit to Turkey is interpreted as an important step, as it highlights Ankara's increasing role in the Middle East peace process. During his visit, Mr. Barak will hold talks with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and Defense Minister Sabahattin Cakmakoglu. Foreign Minister Ismail Cem will be present at all meetings. Mr. Barak is expected to brief the Turkish officials on the latest developments in the peace process and Mr. Cem is expected to convey the results of his talks with Palestinian Head of State Yasser Arafat to Mr. Barak. Turkey prepared proposals on one of the most important issues of the peace process, Jerusalem's status. These proposals will be presented to Mr. Barak during his meetings. In addition, the economic and political relations between Turkey and Israel and the Manavgat water project through which Turkey will sell water to Israel will be discussed at the meetings.[04] AKBULUT HEADS TO NEW YORKTurkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) Speaker Yildirim Akbulut is flying to the US today to attend the National Parliamentary Speakers meeting in New York. The meeting which will be held between 30 August and 1 September will be inaugurated by United Nations (UN) Secretary General Kofi Annan. Parliemantary Speakers will make speeches on "Parliamantery Perceptions on International cooperation in the beginning of the Third Millenium." Akbulut will return to Turkey on 8 September.[05] TURK DEFENDS F-TYPE PRISONSJustice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk denied accusations over the weekend that F-type prisons were being built in an effort to isolate inmates. "Those who are against the new type of prisons are the ones who are benefiting from the dormitory system.", Turk said. The government has been pursuing a determined policy on F-type prisons, which consist of one- or three-inmate cells. The government holds the dormitory system responsible for unrest in prisons. "The aim of the government is to get rid of the shortcomings of the dormitory system. Only leftist and rightist terrorist groups are opposed to the new type prisons in the fear that they won't be able to give ideological training and run terrorists actions. Apart from these groups, some well-intentioned people are opposing F-type prisons in the name of human rights," Turk stated. Denying some accusations that F-type prisons are being built in an effort to isolate inmates, Turk said: "This is totally unfounded. It is claimed that the cells in F-type prisons are too small. We have organized tours to the construction site of an F-type prison to get rid of misleading claims. Some people are speaking out against the new type of prisons without being well-informed or without visiting the newly built F-type prisons." In addition Mr. Turk said, " The F-type prisons will be inspected by civilians."[06] TURKMEN FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT TURKEYTurkmen Foreign Minister Batir Berdiev will pay an official visit to Turkey on Aug. 30-Sept. 1 at the official invitation of Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem. Berdiev's visit is expected to focus on the development of bilateral and multilateral cooperation and on ways to strengthen peace and security in Central Asia. Other regional and international issues concerning both countries will also be discussed during his visit.[07] TURKEY, MONGOLIA READY TO IMPROVE JUDICIAL COOPERATIONA protocol envisaging judicial cooperation between the justice ministries of Turkey and Mongolia has been signed. The protocol will enable a series of working visits, the holding of workshops and an exchange of information between the relevant institutions of the two countries in the field of justice.[08] EU SECRETARIAT CIRCULAR IN THE OFFICIAL GAZETTEA Prime Ministry circular, regulating the formation and working principles of the European Union Secretariat, was published in the Official Gazette. The secretariat which will be attached to the Prime Ministry, is to be formed within the framework of legal arrangements for EU membership. The main duty of the secretariat will be to coordinate efforts of the state institutions to achieve harmonization with EU standards.[09] TURKEY'S NEW AMBASSADOR TO THE UN ASSUMES OFFICEAmbassador Umit Pamir assumed office as Turkey's permanent representative to the United Nations on Friday by presenting his credentials to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.[10] GOKALP SET TO VISIT HUNGARY AND CZECH REPUBLICMinister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Husnu Yusuf Gokalp is scheduled to pay a visit to Hungary and the Czech Republic in early September. Gokalp will visit Hungary at the official invitation of Hungarian Agriculture and Regional Development Minister Jozsef Torgyan on Sep. 3. A series of agricultural cooperation agreements will be on the agenda during the visit. Gokalp will then head for the Czech capital of Prague, where he will conduct a series of talks with Czech officials to promote agricultural cooperation.[11] IZMIR INTERNATIONAL FAIR OPENS FOR 69TH TIMEPrime Minister Bulent Ecevit officially opened the Izmir 69th International Fair on Saturday. In his opening address, Mr. Ecevit said: "It is important that this fair becomes well known abroad since it is a fair for imports and exports. It is expected that the Fair will be more colorful than in previous years with conferences, entertainment and the attendance of 43 countries.[12] TANRIKULU MEETS FOREIGN DELEGATIONS AT IZMIR INTERNATIONAL TRADE FAIRTurkish Trade and Industry Minister Ahmet Kenan Tanrikulu met with delegations from Ireland, Kyrgyzstan, Albania and Turkmenistan at the 69th Izmir International Fair (IEF). The Minister signed a technological cooperation protocol on Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (KOBIs) with Albanian delegation. Tanrikulu said in his meeting with Irish State Minister Ryan that Turkish-Irish trade links have not been strong but he hopes such visits will strengthen relations. Tanrikulu also met Kyrgyz Deputy Premier Foreign Trade and Industry Minister Esengul Omuraliev.[13] LARGEST IRRIGATION CANALS TO BE COMPLETED NEXT YEARKey components of the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), the world's largest irrigation canals known as Sanliurfa T-1 and T-2, will be completed by the end of 2002. State Water Works (DSI) Regional Director Gulahi Polat said each canal will be 26.4 kilometers long and 7.62 meters wide. He said that when completed, the canals will carry 328 cubic meters of water from Ataturk Dam to irrigate 476,474 hectares of land.[14] TURKISH PROFESSOR'S SUCCESSProf. Ali Erdemir, working at the American Argon National Laboratory in Chicago, will head his 2,500 colleagues at the 56th General Board of The Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers which will be held in Orlando, Florida, in May 2001. During the three-day meeting, Prof. Erdemir will deliver the opening speech. He won the R and D award which is given to 100 scientists in different categories every year for two times and he was also the first Turkish scientist who received the Discover award.[15] SAHARA SAND CAUSES SNOWTUBITAK Deputy Chairman Prof. Cemal Saydam has proven that sahara sand causes snow when it is thrown over the clouds. Prof. Saydam is planning to throw sahara sand over the clouds by planes in Eastern Anatolia during the winter. Prof. Saydam said that sahara sand includes special minerals. He said: "By this way, particularly in Eastern Anatolia, the drought problem can be solved."[16] GIANT PROJECTS ARE READY TO BE PUT INTO EFFECTMinister of Transportation Enis Oksuz gave information about the latest situation concerning the giant projects on the etransporetation field. Stressing that the work on Kars-Tbilisi railway was continuing, Mr. Oksuz said: "Turkey has almost completed the initial studies for her part, while Georgia is still carrying out. Then we will evalute the situation and find financial sources." Minister Oksuz said that there have been important developments over the GAP railway. He said that meetings were being held and the project would be carried out through foreign capital. Stating that Turksat-2 satellite would be put into its orbit at the end of September, Mr. Oksuz said: "It will be the biggest and modern satellite in Europe." Regarding the tube crossing project at the straits, Minister Oksuz said that initial studies had been completed and the bidding for the engineering would be finalized within a short time.[17] TURKEY TO SELL 211 ARMOURED VEHICLES TO MALAYSIAA deal confirming Turkey's sale of 211 armoured fighting vehicles to Malaysia has been signed in Kuala Lumpur on Friday. A statement issued by the Turkish Embassy in Kuala Lumpur acknowledged that Turkey has signed her largest single defence industry contract.[18] KERNEL INFLATION MONITORING COMMITEEState Minister responsible for economy Recep Onal, State Minister responsible for exports Tunca Toskay and Finance Minister Sumer Oral held a meeting with Fuat Miras, Chairman of Turkish Union of Chambers and Stock Exchange (TOBB) and Okan Oguz, Chairman of Turkish Exporters Assebly (TIM). During the meeting, they decided to form a monitoring committee for manifactured goods' prices (kernel inflation). The committee will examine private and public sector price increases and help to clarify the reasons why kernel inflation is beyond the expected level.[19] PEACE FESTIVAL IN ALIAGAMytilini leg of Aliaga 11th Joint Labour and Peace Festival organized by Aliaga Municipality and the Civil Organization for Coexistence and Communication in the Aegean will start today. There will be exhibitions, panels, conferences, concerts, theatre and folk dance shows in the festival. Aliaga leg of the festival will take place between 1-3 September. Aliaga's Mayor Hakki Unlu said, "The festival will contribute to the rapprochement between Greece and Turkey."[20] EXCAVATIONS UNEARTHS MESOPOTAMIAN CULTURE IN MALATYAArchaeologist Franginane of Rome University, conducting excavations in the southeastern province of Malatya, said the excavations had unearthed a great center of Mesopotamian culture in the area. According to Fraginane the settlements in that area date back to the fifth millennium B.C. and indications of the type of social and political structure are typical of Mesopotamian culture. Excavations are being conducted at Aslantepe, located in Malatya's Orduzu district.[21] GALATASARAY: WINNER OF THE SUPER CUPThe Turkish and UEFA Cup Champion Galatasaray became the first Turkish soccer team to win the "Super Cup" by beating Spanish Real Madrid 2-1 on 25 August in Monaco.[22] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...[23] EVENTS OF LAST WEEK BY YILMAZ OZFATURA (TURKIYE)Columnist Yilmaz Ozfatura analyzes the events of last week. A summary of his column is as follows:"We congratulate Galatasaray for its victory. It has been the bearer of good news to Turkey where we urgently need one. The fire in the archives of the Court of Audits is most certainly an act of arson. In the past archives were frequently burnt in Turkey. Today, many people are reviewing their past to see if there is any wrongdoing and to avoid facing unwanted incidents in the future, they are destroying all the documents. During last week we have celebrated the 929th anniversary of the Malazgirt victory which opened Anatolia to us and resulted in the establishment of the Turkish State. Deputy Prime Minister Devlet Bahceli has delivered a well-informed speech during the ceremony. There are civil servants who do not adopt Turkish life-style in all offices. Some of those were appointed deliberately, and following governments did not pay any attention to those because they were after important achievements. Every democracy leaves them out of its State structure. However, millions of civil servants are disturbed and are looking for the guarantee of the State. In the past many civil servants have been taken from their duties and many informers sprung up from nowhere. We do not want to witness such incidents any more. The present regulations are enough for such liquidations. Certainly a new law can be passed on the issue. However, the Government which has lost its prestige in the eyes of the Presidential office cannot be expected to get what it wants from the TGNA when it opens. The opposition will grab this opportunity to defeat the ruling parties and will pose as the defender of democracy, human rights and freedoms. Privatization and energy are sources vital for us. Billions of dollars are mentioned for the projects in these fields. Indifference or inexperience cannot be used as excuses and no rumors should erupt concerning these issues. The Coalition leaders have to be vigilant. Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |