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Turkish Press Review, 00-11-30
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
30.11.00
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] KOC: "THIS IS THE LAST CHANCE FOR TURKEY TO BECOME A FULL EU
MEMBER"
[02] THE US SUPPORTS TURKEY
[03] MIRZAOGLU RECEIVES US AMBASSADOR PEARSON
[04] TURKEY HANDS NOTE TO EP
[05] UN TO TRY TO CONVINCE DENKTAS
[06] DEMIREL ATTENDS MIDDLE EAST SUMMIT
[07] MGK CONVENES
[08] EU TO PROPOSE THE INTRODUCTION OF DUTY FREE IMPORT REGULATIONS
[09] PACKAGE OF MEASURES IS READY
[10] MINISTER CALLS FOR JAPANESE INVESTMENT
[11] IMF AND WORLD BANK GIVE CREDITS TOTALING $2 BILLION
[12] KOC: "THIS IS THE LAST CHANCE FOR TURKEY TO BECOME A FULL EU
MEMBER"
[13] WIND OF FRIENDSHIP IN BRUSSELS
[14] LIBRARIANS FROM BALKANS
[15] EUROPE IS FAMOUS FOR MEANINGLESS DEMANDS
[01] KOC: "THIS IS THE LAST CHANCE FOR TURKEY TO BECOME A FULL EU
MEMBER"
[02] THE US SUPPORTS TURKEY
Before the EU's decision on Turkey, to be made during the Dec.
4th meeting, the US supported Turkey. State Department Spokesman,
Richard Boucher, said, "We have always supported Turkey's EU
membership. Regarding the case, Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright, met both with Ismail Cem and George Papandreou during
the OSCE summit in Vienna. Furthermore, the US administration,
our diplomats in Europe and representatives of our other
organizations have been in continuous contact with their
counterparts to ensure Turkey's EU membership." /Turkiye/
[03] MIRZAOGLU RECEIVES US AMBASSADOR PEARSON
US Ambassador Robert Pearson paid a courtesy visit to State
Minister Ramazan Mirzaoglu Tuesday. "We had an exchange of views
on matters my ministry is dealing with," Mirzaoglu told the press
after the meeting. He stated security and cleanliness of the seas
surrounding Turkey in general, and the Bosphorus and the
Dardanelles Straits in particular, were important for both Turkey
and the United States. "We agreed in the meeting, the strategic
partnership between Turkey and the United States was beneficial
to both countries," he added. Mr. Pearson said for his part,
there existed a strategically important partnership between
Turkey and the United States, adding this was developing at
various levels. Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, a project to transfer Azeri
petroleum to Western markets through Turkey, is particularly
significant for both countries, said the ambassador. He added
that realization of the project would ease the pressure of
traffic in the straits considerably. /Turkish Daily News/
[04] TURKEY HANDS NOTE TO EP
Regarding the protest-activity of two DHKP-C militants during
Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem's speech before the European
Parliament (EP), Ankara asked for the EP to immediatedly punish
the militants. Chairman of the European Parliament Foreign
Affairs Commission, Elmar Brok, appealed to the EP security unit
for a comprehensive investigation on the recent activities of
DHKP-C militants in EU Organizations. It is asserted some of the
European parliamentarians have a close relationship with the
DHKP-C and met with the militants, inviting them to the
Parliament. /Turkiye/
[05] UN TO TRY TO CONVINCE DENKTAS
Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Kofi Annan, who
favors continuation of proximity talks for a solution to the
Cyprus problem, will send his special representative, Alvaro De
Soto to Cyprus. The purpose of the visit is for 'convincing the
President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Rauf
Denktas', who decided to withdraw from the proximity talks due to
the present situation. De Soto is expected to meet with Denktas
and Greek-Cypriot leader, Glafkos Klerides, on 4 December. Before
his visit to Cyprus, he will hold some contacts in Ankara and
Athens. According to information received from Press Speaker of
the UN Peace Force on Cyprus, Sarah Russel, De Soto will meet
with the Greek officials today and will arrive in Ankara
tomorrow. /Cumhuriyet/
[06] DEMIREL ATTENDS MIDDLE EAST SUMMIT
Within the framework of the agreement signed at the city of
Sharm-el-Sheikh in Egypt, the 9th Turkish President Suleyman
Demirel, elected as a member of the research commission dedicated
to the Middle East peace process, completed his work in New York
and returned to Turkey. Demirel stated, "The committee will visit
the region before 15 December, unless a problem occurs, and will
present its report to the US President in March 2001. I will meet
with the authorities of the concerned countries during these
visits. I have suggested the second meeting be in Istanbul, but a
decision on the issue has not yet been reached." /Aksam/
[07] MGK CONVENES
The National Security Council (MGK) held its usual monthly
meeting yesterday headed by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. Topics
related to internal security, external developments and
alternative energy sources were discussed at the meeting.
/Milliyet/
[08] EU TO PROPOSE THE INTRODUCTION OF DUTY FREE IMPORT REGULATIONS
The European Union will propose Turkey put into effect again the
regulations related to "duty free imports" at the Joint
Committee meeting of the Customs Union. The European Commission
will put forth the free circulation of second-hand industrial
goods, especially motorized vehicles. /Milliyet/
[09] PACKAGE OF MEASURES IS READY
The Government is taking steps to solve the problems beginning
with the demand for foreign currency as well as the
liquidity in the economy. Ministers and bureaucrats, at a meeting
chaired by Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit at the Prime Ministry,
prepared the package of measures yesterday. This package will be
discussed at the Council of Ministers today. Explanations
concerning the timetable of structural reforms and the
privatization of Telecom are also expected to be made today. The
meeting, which lasted for six hours yesterday, was also attended
by the Deputy Prime Ministers Devlet Bahceli and Husamettin
Ozkan, Minister of Finance Sumer Oral, Minister of Communication
Enis Oksuz, Chairman of the Banking Regulation and Supervision
Board Zekeriya Temizel, Treasury Undersecretary Selcuk Demiralp
and the Governor of the Central Bank Gazi Ercel. During the
meeting, Oral said the developments were very positive
and there was no reason for panic by the public." /Star/
[10] MINISTER CALLS FOR JAPANESE INVESTMENT
State Minister responsible for the Economy, Recep Onal, called
on Japanese businessmen to invest in Turkey. Yesterday, Mr.
Onal told businessmen at the 12th Turkish-Japanese Business
Council meeting in Tokyo that Turkey was a powerhouse in
Southeastern Europe with its 65 million people, $200 billion
Gross National Product
(GNP) and its fast-growing economy. Mr. Onal provided information
on Turkey's privatization program. He said Turkey targeted $18
billion in 2000-2002 and the privatization target in the
five-year development plan between 2000-2005 was $40 billion. The
Minister said Turkey expected $6-7 billion privatization revenues
in 2001, adding the state telecommunications monopoly Turk
Telecom sell-off was very important for next year. "Our
government is determined to complete privatization of Turk
Telecom as soon as possible," he stated. The Minister told the
Japanese businessmen that the ultimate aim of Turkey's three-year
economic stabilization program was to catch up with European
Union economic standards. Mr. Onal said the priority for 2001 was
to maintain the rate of decrease in inflation and a sustainable
balance of payments. "We forecast a growth rate of 4.5 %,
consumer price inflation of 12 % and a current accounts balance
of 3.1 % of GNP. /Turkish Daily News/
[11] IMF AND WORLD BANK GIVE CREDITS TOTALING $2 BILLION
World Bank Turkey Director, Ajay Chhibber, said the World Bank
will provide Turkey with $1 billion loan by year's end. The IMF
will also give $600 million credits, together with the $400
million World Bank loans. In total, $2 billion will remove the
fluctuations in the financial markets. Mr. Chhibber said the aim
of the World Bank is not to provide short term credits, rather,
to give financial support for long term development projects. The
Deputy Director of the World Bank, Johannes Linn, said a $5
billion loan package is being prepared for the next three-year
period. Mr. Linn said a $2.4 billion portion of the loan will be
given for the government's fiscal adjustment program. /Milliyet/
[12] KOC: "THIS IS THE LAST CHANCE FOR TURKEY TO BECOME A FULL EU
MEMBER"
Head of the Koc Holding Executive Board, Rahmi Koc, said Turkey
has lost time in its bid to be a full EU member. Mr. Koc
said the implementation of wrong policies caused Turkey lose
time to be admitted to the EU integration process. /Sabah/
[13] WIND OF FRIENDSHIP IN BRUSSELS
The second exhibition titled 'Merhaba Athens, Here Istanbul'
organized due to the cooperation between Pamuk Bank and the
Foundation of History, opened in Brussels. It was hosted by the
Turkish Association of Industrialists and Businessmen's (TUSIAD)
Representative to the European Union (EU). Deputy General
Director of Pamukbank, Hakan Binbasgil, said, "We particularly
support the art of photography in addition to the other branches
of art. We have opened the first gallery dedicated to photography
and we have organized photography seminars and competitions. We
also formed a special photography collection and have new
projects about photography. The album that consists of the
photographs taken by photography historian Engin Ozendes. The
photographs were exhibited for the first time in Brussels. This
exhibition will be open until 9 December at the TUSIAD's
Representative in Brussels. /Aksam/
[14] LIBRARIANS FROM BALKANS
The 'Meeting of the Librarians from Balkans', which brought
together librarians from Bosna-Herzegovina, Moldova, Romania,
Greece, Yugoslavia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Armenia, began
yesterday at the National Library in Ankara. Minister of Culture,
Istemihan Talay, stated libraries are no longer just a place
where books are read, but have become scientific centers where
scientific opinions are discussed. Talay added that Adnan Otugen
Library in Ankara and Beyazit Library in Istanbul will be
enriched with additional buildings. /Aksam/
[15] EUROPE IS FAMOUS FOR MEANINGLESS DEMANDS
Recently, voices favourable to Turkey are being heard regarding
the so-called Armenian Genocide Resolution. Following the Wall
Street Journal article, a prestigious US newspaper, The
Washington Times has lent support to Turkey, saying the European
Union was acting unjustly towards Turkey. An article written by
Don Feder stated the European Union Parliament was demanding
Turkey admit that its predecessor, the Ottoman Empire, committed
genocide against Armenians 85 years ago. It added this was the
type of self-defeating nonsense for which Europeans were justly
famous. Feder said, 'The Turks are a proud people and are
understandably indignant by their nation's comparison to Nazi
Germany. Between 1973 and 1985 47 Turkish diplomats were
assassinated by an Armenian terrorist group. Facing both internal
and external challenges as it struggles to modernize and maintain
its special identity, Turkey cannot indulge in national
psychotherapy. History is not edited by current realities.
Alienating Turkey is in no one's interest- save our
enemies.'/Sabah/
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