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Turkish Press Review, 01-03-21
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
21.03.2001
CONTENTS
[01] SEZER'S MESSAGE ON NEVRUZ
[02] ECEVIT EVALUATES NATIONAL PROGRAM
[03] DERVIS: "SOME FOREIGN BANKS TEND TO IMPROVE
THEIR POSITION IN TURKEY"
[04] OZKAN MEETS WITH DERVIS
[05] EU AMBASSADORS MORE INTERESTED IN IMPLEMENTATION
RATHER THAN THE TEXT OF THE NATIONAL PROGRAM
[06] TURKISH AMBASSADOR CALLS FOR EU SUPPORT
[07] BUSINESS CIRCLES' CONDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR ECONOMIC
PROGRAM
[08] TREASURY SEES RECORD BID AT LANDMARK AUCTION
[09] IMMIGRANTS RUSH TO TURKEY FROM MACEDONIA
[10] TURKEY TO SIGN PROTOCOLS WITH GEORGIA, LITHUANIA
[11] KIVRIKOGLU TRAVELS TO PAKISTAN
[12] GEN. OZKOK IN GERMANY
[13] TUNISIAN PRESIDENT TO VISIT TURKEY
[14] JAPAN DAILY PRAISES MUSTAFA KEMAL ATATURK
[15] MARTYR DIPLOMATS BOOK
[16] TWO MEETINGS ON TURCO-ARMENIAN RELATIONS
[17] DEMIREL TRAVELS TO ISRAEL
[18] TURKISH BUSINESSMEN IN FRANCE
[19] NEW PROJECT IN TOURISM
[20] STOCK EXCHANGE RATES INCREASE
[21] KOC: "WE DO NOT GIVE UNCONDITIONAL
SUPPORT"
[22] "ARIA" TO BEGIN OPERATING
[23] SIEMENS TO ESTABLISH POWER PLANTS
[24] ENKA TO CONSTRUCT ARTIFICIAL ISLAND IN KAZAKHSTAN
[25] MEMBERS OF OLYMPIC COMMITTEE IN ISTANBUL
[26] ABDI IPEKCI PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP AWARDS
[27] FAZIL SAY'S CONCERT IN PARIS
[28] "CLOUDS OF MAY" TO BE EXHIBITED IN PARIS
[29] DOCUMENTARY ON TURKEY COMPLETED
[30] PHOTOGRAPH EXHIBITION ON CANAKKALE CAMPAIGN
[31] UNESCO AWARD TO INTERNATIONAL YOUTH THEATER MEETING
[32] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS..FROM THE
COLUMNS...
[33] "OUR 'NATIONAL PROGRAM,' RIGHT OR WRONG"
BY SEMIH IDIZ (TURKISH NEWS)
[01] SEZER'S MESSAGE ON NEVRUZ
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer issued a message to
mark the Nevruz celebrations. Pointing to Nevruz's humanist and
unifying qualities, Mr. Sezer said, "Wishing great happiness and
new hopes, I congratulate my citizens on Nevruz, the day nature starts
to awaken." /Turkiye/
[02] ECEVIT EVALUATES NATIONAL PROGRAM
Evaluating the National Program, Prime Minister
Bulent Ecevit called on the EU to accept Turkey as it is and said
"Turkey has a special and unique position." Ecevit touched
upon concerns the EU might not accept Turkey with such a National
Program. He added, "Turkey's position is very different from all
of the other candidate countries. Its geographical position makes
Turkey unique. Turkey is also the only democratic, secular and modern
country among all other Muslim countries. In addition, there are
separatist threats within Turkey. We should be able to tell to the EU
countries that Turkey has a special position in the international
arena." /Sabah/
[03] DERVIS: "SOME FOREIGN BANKS TEND TO IMPROVE
THEIR POSITION IN TURKEY"
State Minister for Economy Kemal Dervis, aiming to
prepare the economic program by resorting to the public at large, met
with the Head of the Turkish Employers' Confederation (TISK), Refik
Baydur yesterday. Dervis said the framework agreement signed with the
IMF eased the economic situation to a degree. Dervis added some
foreign banks tend to improve their positions in Turkey. Dervis said
current exchange rates are convenient for the increase in exports.
/Milliyet/
[04] OZKAN MEETS WITH DERVIS
Deputy Prime Minister Husamettin Ozkan met with
State Minister for Economy, Kemal Dervis, to discuss new arrangements
to be completed in three weeks. The arrangements are as follows: the
general board meetings of the state-owned banks will be held next
week; borrowing limits will be increased by issuing the additional
budget; the duty losses of state-owned banks will be included in the
new budget; an amendment will be made in the Banking law to facilitate
the liquidation of banks; arrangements will be made to give greater
autonomy to the Central Bank and amendments will be made for selling
51 % of the Telekom shares. /Milliyet/
G-7 SUPPORTS ECONOMIC PROGRAM
On behalf of the Group of Seven (G-7), comprised of
the US, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada, the US
Treasury issued a statement regarding the new economic program in
Turkey. The statement said long-term political determination is needed
to obtain positive results from the implementation of the program. The
statement continued, "We are glad Turkish authorities announced a
new economic program supported by the agreements with the IMF. This
program focuses on a low level of inflation and sustainable public
finance which will be secured by implementing sound fiscal and
monetary policies backed by the structural reforms. We especially
appreciate the problems of the banking sector will be solved with the
cooperation of the World Bank and the IMF." /Milliyet/
[05] EU AMBASSADORS MORE INTERESTED IN IMPLEMENTATION
RATHER THAN THE TEXT OF THE NATIONAL PROGRAM
Foreign Minister Ismail Cem invited the Ambassadors
of the EU countries to discuss the National Program (NP). The
Ambassadors did not give any comment on the content of the NP, but
stressed the important thing is the implementation the NP. They asked
Cem when the program began to be implemented and when Turkey plans to
begin negotiations for full membership. /Milliyet/
[06] TURKISH AMBASSADOR CALLS FOR EU SUPPORT
"Turkey will need not only the technical and
financial aid of the EU in its accession process, but also its moral
support, its understanding and its encouragement rather than
disdain", Turkey's Permanent Representive to the EU Nihat Akyol
told a colloquium at the Belgian Senate. The Ambassador, speaking at a
meeting called "The Nice Treaty and the Frontiers of Europe"
stressed that Turkey, in accepting its status as a candidate, had also
given his accord to the political and economic criteria and open
membership negotiations with Turkey. /Turkish News/
[07] BUSINESS CIRCLES' CONDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR ECONOMIC
PROGRAM
The members of the Council for Textile and
Ready-to-Wear Associations and the Sectoral Associations Platform met
in Istanbul to evaluate the recent economic crisis. Representatives
from 35 sectors laid down a condition to give their full support to
the new economic program. The representatives demanded the government
take concrete steps before they will give their support. Stating one
of Turkey's most important problems was the lack of resources,
representatives said the obstacles against foreign capital should be
removed as soon as possible. /Hurriyet/
[08] TREASURY SEES RECORD BID AT LANDMARK AUCTION
The Treasury yesterday saw what dealers called an
unexpectedly high bid for three-month bills at a critical borrowing
auction. The Treasury sold a TL 2.2 quadrillion net worth of 98-day
bills yesterday, against a nominal bid totalling TL 7.4 quadrillion.
The yield was seen at the higher end of market expectations at an
annual compound rate of 193.71 percent. The success of the auction was
interpreted as market confidence in, and support for, new Economy
Minister Kemal Dervis and his economy recovery plan. /Turkish Daily
News/
[09] IMMIGRANTS RUSH TO TURKEY FROM MACEDONIA
Many immigrants from Macedonia have begun to come
to Turkey due to the struggles between Albanian militants and
Macedonian security forces at the Kosovo-Macedonia border. According
to the information received from officials at the Kapikule Border
Gate, 750 Macedonian immigrants came to the border. Officials said,
"Macedonians are going to take shelter at the houses of their
friends or relatives. We expect these people to return to their
countries after the struggles end. /Cumhuriyet/
[10] TURKEY TO SIGN PROTOCOLS WITH GEORGIA, LITHUANIA
Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said Turkey and
Georgia had agreed to sign a cooperation agreement in the field of
justice, Anatolia reported. Turk met his Georgian counterpart Mikheil
Saakashvili in Istanbul, where the two attended the third annual
Anti-Corruption Network for Transition Economies meeting, jointly held
by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and
the Turkish government. Turk also had a meeting with the Lithuanian
Justice Minister Bartkus Ginttautos. Speaking after their half-an-hour
meeting, Turk announced they had agreed to sign a cooperation
agreement in the field of justice, which will contribute to an
improvement in relations. Turkey will pay a visit to Lithuania in line
with an invitation from Ginttautos. The agreement will probably be
signed during that visit. /Turkish News/
[11] KIVRIKOGLU TRAVELS TO PAKISTAN
The Chief of the General Staff, General Huseyin
Kivrikoglu travels today to Pakistan for a four-day official visit.
Gen.Kivrikoglu will attend Pakistan's National Day ceremonies. /Sabah/
[12] GEN. OZKOK IN GERMANY
Commander of the Land Forces, General Hilmi Ozkok,
traveled to Germany yesterday to participate in the European Land
Forces Conference to be held in Heildelberg. He will return to Turkey
tomorrow. /Turkiye/
[13] TUNISIAN PRESIDENT TO VISIT TURKEY
Tunisian President Zeynel Abidin bin Ali will pay
an official two-day visit to Turkey March 22-24. The Tunisian Foreign
Minister, the Foreign Investment Minister and the Industry Minister
will accompany the President. /Turkish Daily News/
[14] JAPAN DAILY PRAISES MUSTAFA KEMAL ATATURK
One of the prominent Japanese dailies, Mainichi
Shimbun, praised the founder and the first president of the Republic
of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and his reforms. The paper said,
"Ataturk, who formed a Republic from a ruined Empire after World
War I, is the figure who united the Turkish people by pursuing a path
unique from all the other Muslim countries." The Mainichi Shimbun
also gave coverage to the photos of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and his
adopted daughter Sabiha Gokcen. /Cumhuriyet/
[15] MARTYR DIPLOMATS BOOK
Retired Ambassador Bilal Simsir's book titled
"Our Martyr Diplomats" was promoted the day before yesterday
at the Ankara State Guest House. Delivering the initial speech of the
ceremony, Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ambassador Faruk Logoglu
said the book is a detailed work. Logoglu said as the most damaged
institution of the Turkish state by Armenian terrorism, the Foreign
Ministry attaches great importance to this book. He added, "The
memories of our martyr friends are still in our hearts. Nobody can
daunt us. Everybody should read this book and draw the moral from
it." /Hurriyet/
[16] TWO MEETINGS ON TURCO-ARMENIAN RELATIONS
Soon after the Turco-Armenian relations conference
organized by the Democratic Principles Association, another meeting on
Turco-Armenian relations will be held this weekend in Germany. Turkish
historians Halil Berktay and Taner Akcam will represent Turkey at the
meeting to be organised jointly by the German-Armenian Association and
the Turco-German Social Sciences Association. Another meeting will be
held at the TGNA between April 13-14 by the Turkish Parliamentary
Union. Besides Ilber Ortayli, Gunduz Aktan and Mumtaz Soysal, three
Armenian historians are expected to attend the meeting for the first
time. /Hurriyet/
[17] DEMIREL TRAVELS TO ISRAEL
Former President Suleyman Demirel left for Tel Aviv
to participate in the meetings of the Middle East Commission. Before
his departure, Mr. Demirel told reporters that the members of the
commission would visit disputed areas both in Israel and Palestine and
meet with Arafat and Sharon, as well as other authorities to discuss
the situation. The commission, headed by former American Senator,
George Mitchell, was established to help find a solution to the
Mideast problem.The commission had suspended activities because of the
political uncertanity in Israel. /Turkiye/
[18] TURKISH BUSINESSMEN IN FRANCE
Today in Paris, Turkish and French businessmen will
discuss the crisis ensuing from the approval of the so-called Armenian
genocide law by the French Parliament. Topics including the
possibilities to overcome the problems between the two countries,
Turkey's full EU membership and economic and fiscal precautions taken
after the crisis in Turkey will be discussed at the meeting. The
representatives of the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's
Association (TUSIAD) and Turkish-French Business Association will
participate in the meeting. /Aksam/
CENTRAL BANK ANNOUNCES TL 992.6 TRILLION PROFIT
The Turkish Central Bank has posted a 2000 profit
of TL 992.6 trillion (around $1 billion). According to the bank's
balance sheet, banknotes in circulation amounted to $3.8 billion. The
Central Bank's gold assets totalled $811 million. The Central Bank is
expected to transfer around $500 million to the Treasury at the
shareholders meeting in April. /Turkish Daily News/
[19] NEW PROJECT IN TOURISM
The Ministry of Tourism is attempting a new project
to promote Turkish cuisine to the world. With an organization named
"Turkish Weekends", various activities will be organized in
a number of countries. The project to be implemented in June, will
promote delicious Turkish foods. /Turkiye/
[20] STOCK EXCHANGE RATES INCREASE
After the success of the Treasury's borrowing
auction, Istanbul Stock Exchange rates increased by 3.97 % and reached
8,860 points. Stating the Treasury auction was very important for the
markets, experts said the stock exchange will closely follow and react
to movements in the bond market. /Cumhuriyet/
[21] KOC: "WE DO NOT GIVE UNCONDITIONAL
SUPPORT"
The Head of the Koc Holding Executive Board, Rahmi
Koc said, "We will closely, and stage-by-stage observe the
implementation of the new economic program. In case of a deviation
from the program we will withdraw our support." Koc said there is
an inclination to stagnation in the market, therefore, TL should be
circulated to the market. /Milliyet/
[22] "ARIA" TO BEGIN OPERATING
Turkey's third GSM operator Aria will begin its
activity today with a ceremony to be held in the Istanbul Ciragan
Hotel today. Minister of Transportation, Enis Oksuz, partners of the
Is-TIM, General Director of Is Bank, Ersin Ozince, Chief of the
Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM), Roberto Colaninno, TIM General Director
Marco de Benedetti and Is-TIM General Director, Giuseppe Farina will
attend the ceremony. The tariff of the network is expected to be
declared today. /Turkiye/
[23] SIEMENS TO ESTABLISH POWER PLANTS
German Siemens Company will establish three power
plants in Canakkale, Adana and Mersin. The power plants, estimated to
cost 145 million Euro, are planned to begin operation at the end of
the year 2002. /Turkiye/
[24] ENKA TO CONSTRUCT ARTIFICIAL ISLAND IN KAZAKHSTAN
ENKA Construction Company undertook the
construction of an artificial island on the Caspian Sea to be used for
oil search activities in Kazakhstan. ENKA signed a contract with OKIOC
(Offshore Kazakhstan International Operating Company) for three years
at a cost of $75 million. /Turkiye/
[25] MEMBERS OF OLYMPIC COMMITTEE IN ISTANBUL
The members of the International Olympiad Committee
(IOC) arrived yesterday in Istanbul. 17 members of the committee will
evaluate Istanbul for a candidate host city for the 2008 Olympiad. The
committee will stay five days and make observations in Istanbul.
/Aksam/
[26] ABDI IPEKCI PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP AWARDS
The winners of the Abdi Ipekci Peace and Friendship
Awards, the symbol of peace between Turkey and Greece, have been
announced. Special awards were presented to Istanbul University Rector
Kemal Alemdaroglu and Athens University former Rector Kosta Dimopulos.
A Turkish basketball player in Greece, Ibrahim Kutluay, also received
an award. /Cumhuriyet/
[27] FAZIL SAY'S CONCERT IN PARIS
Famous pianist Fazil Say gave a concert on the
Champs Elysees, Paris. Say performed works of famous composer such as
Bach, Stravinski and Liszt. The French Daily Liberation gave wide
coverage to Say's successes before the concert. /Cumhuriyet/
[28] "CLOUDS OF MAY" TO BE EXHIBITED IN PARIS
The Turkish film "Clouds of May",
directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan will be exhibited in Paris beginning
today. The film came in first among 220 films from 23 countries in the
"2000 European Film Awards" competition's "Critics
Award" branch in Paris. /Turkiye/
[29] DOCUMENTARY ON TURKEY COMPLETED
A documentary titled "A Journey Through An
Amazing Country" directed by Selcuk Kizilkayak on Turkey's
historical and cultural heritage as well as characteristics of the
Turkish people has been completed. The documentary is based on the
article of a Indiana University Mass Communications student, Brandie
Barbour. Her article was published in the Skylife magazine. Evaluating
the Turkish people as extraordinary, her experiencesn in Turkey as
amazing and Turkish food as excellent, Barbour expressed her delight
and pleasure with her entire Turkish adventure. Before the premier at
the Ataturk Culture Center, Zeynel Yesilay's photographs will be
exhibited. Yesilay's exhibition has the same name as the documentary.
Minister of Culture Istemihan Talay will deliver a speech before the
screening. /Cumhuriyet/
[30] PHOTOGRAPH EXHIBITION ON CANAKKALE CAMPAIGN
The "Canakkale (Dardanelles) Campaign
Exhibition", including photographs from Australian, British and
Turkish archives was opened by Minister of Culture Istemihan Talay.
/Aksam/
[31] UNESCO AWARD TO INTERNATIONAL YOUTH THEATER MEETING
The play titled "Bilge Nathan" performed
by a joint international group was elected the best project of the
year within the framework of the UNESCO 2001 "Inter-cultural
Dialogue Year" in Germany. The play, prepared by 45 young people
from Germany, Israel, Greece and Turkey with the support of the EU, to
emphasize religious tolerance. /Cumhuriyet/
[32] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS..FROM THE
COLUMNS...
[33] "OUR 'NATIONAL PROGRAM,' RIGHT OR WRONG"
BY SEMIH IDIZ (TURKISH NEWS)
"The National Program, which was announced on
Monday, and subsequently submitted to the European Union, has many
shortcomings of course. The approach to certain issues which have, I
think somewhat artifically, been transformed by some in Europe and in
this country into the principle items of Turkish-EU relations, is
obviously not going to satisfy everyone. The most notable of these
issues of course concerns the linguistic and educational rights of
minorities (and no one should doubt that what is meant here are the
Kurds). There is also the issue of reforming the National Security
Council by turning it into a predominantly civilian consultative body,
and the abolishing of the death penalty. What Turkey said in its
National Program concerning these issues was basically "maybe
later but not now; and certainly not under present conditions."
But when one looks at the Program as a whole, on realizes that it is
still a major blueprint for change and, some aspects of which will
represent a major reform of the system. Therefore the worst thing that
over-officious EU representatives can do is to focus on the trees,
miss the forest all together, and basically throw the baby out with
the bathwater, simply because some of their prejudices may not have
been satisfied by Turkey's National Program. However, talking to some
EU ambassadors after their meeting with Foreign Minister Ismail Cem
the other day, I get the impression that the general mood is not
conducive to letting those prejudiced quarters carry the day. In other
words there appears to be a broad understanding in EU circles that
this program is as good as they are going to get at this juncture, and
that, while it may not be perfect, there is enough meat on it to chew
on. It must be said that in presenting the Program to the public the
other day, Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, who is charge of
Turkey's harmonization efforts with the EU's Aquis Communitaire, made
it clear that this was not a static document, and could change in time
to meet the requirements of the day... So this is our National
Program, for good or for bad, and the ball is now not exclusively in
"Ankara's court" anymore, as it has been since the EU
announced the Accession Partnership Agreement for Turkey. The EU is
now going to have to assess the Program and together with Ankara plan
the next stage. Foreign Minister Ismail Cem will be in Brussels in the
next few days to explain the Turkish position. The EU side will no
doubt want to air its views also, and the groundwork for post-National
Program Turkey-EU relations will be laid. This does not mean, of
course, that simply because the ball is no longer in Turkey's court
exclusively, that this somehow exonerates the Ecevit Government from
taking further steps now. In fact, if anything, eyes are trained on
this government to see how fast it is going to start implementing the
National Program it has announced to the world... So this is our
National Program and it has to be supported right or wrong."
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