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Turkish Press Review, 00-09-11
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
11.09.00
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] BAHCELI PARTICIPATES IN CELEBRATIONS OF 700TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE
OTTOMAN EMPIRE'S ESTABLISHMENT
[02] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS
[03] PRESIDENT SEZER RETURNS FROM NEW YORK
[04] PRESIDENT SEZER'S MESSAGE ON NEW SCHOOL YEAR
[05] AKBULUT LEAVES FOR CROATIA
[06] YILMAZ ON EU MEMBERSHIP
[07] BAHCELI PARTICIPATES IN CELEBRATIONS OF 700TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE
OTTOMAN EMPIRE'S ESTABLISHMENT
[08] KIVRIKOGLU IN ATHENS
[09] PROXIMITY TALKS BEGIN
[10] GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER ON TURKEY'S AEGEAN AND CYPRUS POLICIES
[11] RAPID REACTION FORCES COMMAND IN ISTANBUL
[12] TURKEY'S SUCCESS IN CENTRASBAT-2000 MANOEUVRES
[13] SUBMARINE RESCUE MANOEUVRES CONTINUE
[14] SECOND ECONOMY SUMMIT HELD IN ANTALYA
[15] STATE MINISTER GUREL TO VISIT BRITAIN AND DENMARK
[16] CULTURE MINISTRY BRINGING FIVE AMERICAN COUPLES TO TURKEY
[17] TURKISH AND GREEK BANKS COMPLETE BULDING HIGH SCHOOL IN KOCAELI
[18] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS
[19] HESITATIONS ON THE PATH TO EU BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE)
[01] BAHCELI PARTICIPATES IN CELEBRATIONS OF 700TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE
OTTOMAN EMPIRE'S ESTABLISHMENT
[02] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS
[03] PRESIDENT SEZER RETURNS FROM NEW YORK
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, who was in New York due to the
United Nations (UN) Millennium Meeting, returned to Turkey
yesterday. Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) Speaker
Yildirim Akbulut welcomed the President at Ankara's Esenboga
Airport. Mr. Sezer evaluated the results of the UN Millennium
Meeting in the press conference he held at the Airport.
Emphasizing that globalization created new opportunities for the
humanity, Mr. Sezer said the world should be careful not to make
the rich the richer and the poor the poorer. Mr. Sezer said, "I
pointed out at the meeting that we, as the Turkish nation, always
consider the will of people as the highest value and this is the
only way to make the rule of law prevail in a country. I stated
that democracy should be protected from all kinds of extremist
actions and the role of civil society in protecting the democracy
should be increased. I also said that democratization and
economic development complement each other for the development of
a nation." Mr. Sezer added, " I pointed out that the most
efficient way to eliminate the threats towards our security was
to strengthen the base of the democracy by achieving of the rule
of law, enlargening the scope of rights and freedoms,
establishing a transparent administration mechanism and
protecting the independence of the judiciary." /Cumhuriyet/
[04] PRESIDENT SEZER'S MESSAGE ON NEW SCHOOL YEAR
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer issued a message on the occasion of the
beginning of the new school year. Mr. Sezer said, "Turkish youth
should be guided correctly by taking their abilities and
interests into account for the future of Turkey." Stating that
first of all democracy should be taught to the youth in the
schools, Mr. Sezer said, "The Turkish youth ,who will guide the
Turkish society in the future, should be trained with the
programs which entail scientific, rationalist and positivist
principles." /Cumhuriyet/
[05] AKBULUT LEAVES FOR CROATIA
Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA), Yildirim
Akbulut left for the Croatian capital, Zagreb, to participate in
the Parliament Speakers' meeting, entitled, "The Role of the
Parliament Speakers in the Implementation of the Stability Pact
and in the Integration of Europe-Atlantic." Before his departure,
Mr. Akbulut said that during the meeting, the ways to improve the
cooperation between the Parliaments of the Southeastern European
Countries would be discussed. /Turkiye/
[06] YILMAZ ON EU MEMBERSHIP
Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said on Friday that the
government was determined to start European Union full membership
negotiations. Speaking at the first session of the European Union
Internal Coordination and Harmonization Committee's
"Inter-ministerial Coordination Meeting', Yilmaz said they had no
time to lose on the path towards the full EU membership. Drawing
attention to the fact that Turkey must fulfill the Copenhagen
criteria if she really wants to become a full member of the EU,
Yilmaz said, "Today our political organizations, non-governmental
organizations, unions and a majority of our people support
Turkey's full EU membership, but some circles still have concerns
about it. They think that the territorial integrity of Turkey may
be in danger if Turkey becomes a full EU member. I always say
these kinds of concerns should be discussed openly in public."
Mr. Yilmaz added that while Turkey was preparing her own
national program, the EU was writing the Accession Partnership
Accord that will explain the EU's expectations from Turkey for
starting the full membership negotiation process. /Turkish Daily
News/
[07] BAHCELI PARTICIPATES IN CELEBRATIONS OF 700TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE
OTTOMAN EMPIRE'S ESTABLISHMENT
Speaking at the celebrations for the 700th anniversary of the
Ottoman Empire's establishment, Deputy Prime Minister and
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chairman Devlet Bahceli said on
Sunday that Turkey should continue to develop without neglecting
her own culture and democratic values. Mr. Bahceli said that
Turkey should not lose its own national identity while trying to
reach new and difficult goals. Mr. Bahceli said, "Those who are
disturbed by their own national culture and history and those who
do not trust their own people cannot be successful in their
goals. It is not possible to isolate ourselves from new global
formations, but we must not lose our national identity in our
efforts to be a member in this global network. This must be our
approach in relations with worldwide organizations and unions."
/Turkish Daily News/
[08] KIVRIKOGLU IN ATHENS
NATO's 139th Military Committee Meetings begin in Athens today.
Chief of General Staff General Huseyin Kivrikoglu travelled to
Athens to attend the meetings yesterday. Mr. Kivrikoglu is also
expected to hold bilateral contacts. Turkish and Greek Chiefs of
General Staff will discuss the arguments on increasing the
security in Aegean. During the meetings the issues such as NATO's
domestic and foreign problems, the Balkans, NATO's role in the
new millennium and the European Security and Defense Identity
will be discussed. The new headquartes of NATO will also be
handled. Turkey demands two new NATO headquarters be established
within its borders. The second round of the NATO Military
Committee Meetings will be held in Istanbul between Sept. 13-16.
/Cumhuriyet/
[09] PROXIMITY TALKS BEGIN
The fourth round of the proximity talks on Cyprus will commence
tomorrow in New York. The meetings are expected to continue until
the first week of October. The US Administration and UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan are urging the sides to move on to
"substantial discussions." However, President of the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Rauf Denktas is insisting that
the groundwork for negotiations on "core issues" has not been
established yet while Greek-Cypriot leader Glafkos Klerides is
threatening to pull out by Oct. 1 if the format of the process is
not changed to a direct talks. Mr. Denktas has been stating that
the key matter blocking a Cyprus settlement was recognition of
the Greek-Cypriot leadership as the "sole legitimate government"
on the Island and has been underlining that unless the
Greek-Cypriots declare that they are not the government of
Turkish-Cypriots, he would enter into any sort of direct talks
with Klerides. Since 1998, Denktas has insisted the only solution
is a confederation, a loose union of two independent states,
while the Greek-Cypriot leadership wants to see the creation of a
federal Cyprus settlement in line with the UN Security Council
resolutions on Cyprus. Meanwhile, President Denktas will meet
Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem today. Later, Mr. Cem is also
expected to meet Alvaro de Soto, the Special Representative of
the UN Secretary-General on Cyprus and to explain the view of the
Turkish side over the Cyprus issue once again. /Turkish Daily
News-Turkiye/
[10] GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER ON TURKEY'S AEGEAN AND CYPRUS POLICIES
Greek Defense Minister Aki Cohacopulos stated that Greece would
support Turkey's full EU membership if Turkey gradually changes
its Aegean and Cyprus policies. Mr. Cohacopulos stated that
Greece regarded Turkey's responsibilities on its path towards the
full EU membership as an opportunity. Evaluating the Turco-Greek
relations before and after Helsinki meetings, Mr. Cohacopulos
claimed that Turkey put forth illegal and unilateral demands
against Greece and tried to legitimize its presence in Cyprus.
Mr. Cohacopulos said that he hoped Turkey would change its
policies over the Aegean and Cyprus due to the pressures by the
US and the EU and implement more flexible policies towards
Greece. He added that if these are achieved, Greece has to
support Turkey's full EU membership. /Cumhuriyet/
[11] RAPID REACTION FORCES COMMAND IN ISTANBUL
It is stated that at the NATO 139th Military Committee Meetings
which will be held both in Istanbul and Athens, a decision will
be taken to deploy ACE Rapid Reaction Forces (ARRC) as the Corps
Command in Istanbul. With the establishment of the Istanbul Corps
Command of NATO, the number of such forces will increase to
three. Officials from NATO said that within the framework of the
new NATO strategy supporting the fight against threats on three
different areas, it became inevitable to increase the number of
ARRCs, consisting of highly prepared armed forces. The officials
said, "It is a must to deploy one of the forces in Turkey. After
the meeting in Athens, the final decision will be taken on
September 15 at the meeting in Istanbul. If France also agrees, a
corps command will be established in Istanbul for the highly
prepared rapid reaction forces. /Milliyet/
[12] TURKEY'S SUCCESS IN CENTRASBAT-2000 MANOEUVRES
Centrasbat-2000 maneuvres, a NATO-Partnership for Peace (PfP)
joint operation, have begun in Almati, Kazakhstan. Turkey,
Britain and the United States from the NATO and Azerbaijan,
Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Russia
from the PfP are participating in the maneuvres. The landing
operation of the Turkish parachute units have achieved a great
success in the manoeuvres. The manoeuvres are aimed at supporting
the peace and improving the humanitarian operations. /Aksam/
[13] SUBMARINE RESCUE MANOEUVRES CONTINUE
The "Sorbet Royal-2000", submarine search and rescue manoeuvres,
carried out by NATO every three years, are continuing. The
Turkish Naval Force Command is hosting the manoeuvres. Yesterday,
40 miles away from the Mersin Gulf, a rescue-manoeuvre was held
to save the crew from a sunken submarine under the command of
Naval Colonel Ibrahim Aydin. /Turkiye/
[14] SECOND ECONOMY SUMMIT HELD IN ANTALYA
The Second Economy Summit, organized by the Tourism, Economy,
Scientific Research and Promotion Center (TEBIAT), convened a
number of economists and high level bureaucrats in Kemer,
Antalya. During the meeting, the point reached in the economic
programme was discussed. State Minister responsible for the
Economy, Recep Onal, delivered an opening speech at the summit
also attended by Governor of the Central Bank, Gazi Ercel. The
Chief of the IMF Turkey Desk Carlo Cottarelli participated in the
meeting and delivered a speech. Stressing that the government had
obtained a great success during the implementation of the
programme, Mr. Cottarelli said: "However, it should be carried
on. It is not a 100-metre running but a marathon. A programme
cannot be successful, unless it is implemented determinedly by
the politicians. I observe that the government is determined on
the targets of the programme." World Bank's Turkey Director Ajay
Chibber also delivered a speech during the Summit. Mr. Chibber
said that new program had revived the Turkish economy and the
inflation rate tended to decrease. Stating that Turkey had an
early success in its economic program, Mr. Chibber said, "Turkey
should make structural reforms to continue its success in the
economy. Reforms in banking sector is very important.
/Hurriyet-Aksam/
[15] STATE MINISTER GUREL TO VISIT BRITAIN AND DENMARK
State Minister Sukru Sina Gurel will pay official visits to
Britain and Denmark starting on Saturday. He will discuss the
problems faced by Turks living in these countries and the
prospects of their better integration into the community.
/Turkish Daily News/
[16] CULTURE MINISTRY BRINGING FIVE AMERICAN COUPLES TO TURKEY
The first of five couples from the United States who won a free
visit to Turkey, by courtesy of the Culture Ministry as part of
an International promotional campaign will be arriving in Turkey
today. The couple will stay in Turkey for a week. They will visit
Cappadocia, Ataturk's Mausoleum in Ankara and a series of
picturesque sites in Istanbul. /Turkish Daily News/
[17] TURKISH AND GREEK BANKS COMPLETE BULDING HIGH SCHOOL IN KOCAELI
The construction of a high school building in Kocaeli, the
quake-hit region, has been completed, a statement from Turkey's
Central Bank said. The construction was joitly undertaken by the
Turkish and Greek central banks. The school is a symbol of the
burgeoning frienship between Turkey and Greece in the wake of the
quake. /Turkish Daily News/
[18] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS
[19] HESITATIONS ON THE PATH TO EU BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE)
Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna writes on the hesitations expressed for
the EU membership. A summary of his column is as follows:
"Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz has said that there were
still some reservations expressed by some on the full EU
membership. In fact, a person who has served as prime minister
for three times cannot be expected to be wrong in his
observations, especially on a subject such as the EU where the
future of Turkish State and nation has been oriented to.
The messages sent to our newspaper show that if a referendum is
held today on the issue, it will be approved by a 2/3s , even
3/4s majority. Turkish nation is seeking prosperity, a clean
society and modern civilization. However, for a consensus on the
EU membership people have to be enlightened on the subject, as
certain circles are provoking it against the EU, and leading it
into uncertainty.
Provocation and distortion are based on points such as, if
full-membership is accepted, the Turkish state will be divided,
(that is to say an independent or autonomous Kurdish State will
be established on Turkish territory),and if we agree to it we
would have to make concessions on the Aegean and Cyprus and even
concerning the islands left to Turkey, and that Turkey would be
governed by foreign centres such Brussels, and Turkish
sovereignty will be lost. These foreign centres will force us to
sell our banks, factories, lodgings and listening to the phones,
infringe our family privacy. These are all nonsense. Such
opinions can only reduce us to a secondary Middle Eastern power,
which has lost its national culture in a poor state. We would
deserve to be treated as a nation left in such a situation."
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