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Turkish Press Review, 01-04-09Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning09.04.2001CONTENTS
[01] PAPANDREOU'S VISIT TO ANKARA ENDS ON HIGH NOTEThe two-day working visit to Ankara by Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou ended Friday on a high note with concrete results obtained on various projects, although no headway was reported on sensitive political issues concerning the Aegean. A commitment by the two countries to adhere to the Ottawa Convention on land mines featured among the highlights of the visit by the Greek Foreign Minister. But, Papandreou's proposal that Turkey, like Greece, cut its defense spending met with a lukewarm response from Foreign Minister Ismail Cem. Cem pointed out that Greece was not Turkey's only security concern. On the other hand following decisions were taken at the meeting: 1.The road connecting Istanbul and Greece will be turned into a highway. 2.Youth camps will be established on the border between Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria. 3.Turkish contractors will undertake some construction projects in Greece for the 2004 Olympics. 4.Greece will extend the scope of the day-passes it issues to Turkish visitors to Greece. 5. Both sides will cooperate on the transportation of Central Asian, Azeri or Egyptian natural gas to Europe through their territories. Turkish officials pointed out that adhering to the Ottawa Convention means a greater commitment to the anti-mine effort by Turkey than first meets the eye, because it will also cover mine clearing along the borders with Bulgaria, Armenia, Iran, Iraq and Syria. /Turkish News/[02] NEW CHIEF OF IMF'S TURKEY DESK: KAHKONENFinnish expert, Juha Kahkonen, recently appointed to the Chief of Turkey Desk as Carlo Cottarelli's replacement, arrived in Turkey yesterday. Cottarelli met with Kahkonen last night. Stating he could not comment on allegations charging the IMF with responsibility for Turkey's recent economic crisis, Cottarelli said, "The new Chief of Turkey Desk is a really successful person. He previously worked at the implementation of a very successful program in Bulgaria. I am sure he will also be very successful in Turkey." Cottarelli and Kahkonen met with Economics Minister Kemal Dervis at the Treasury Undersecretariat and discussed the details of the new economic program. /Star/[03] A CRITICAL WEEK FOR TURKISH ECONOMYTurkey will face extremely critical days this week. The economic program, which the Minister of Economics Kemal Dervis has been working on for weeks will be declared this week. Dervis is expected to make the declaration Wednesday. The Turkish Parliament also has a busy schedule this week. /Star/[04] BAHCELI: "TGNA IS THE ONLY ANSWER TO OUR PROBLEMS"Chairman of the Nationalist Action Party (MHP) Devlet Bahceli said, "Whoever has searched for answers outside the parliament or looked to anti-democratic solutions during periods of economic crisis have always failed thus far. There is no national will for the formulas of technocrats or a national consensus government. Civilians should not exceed the limits of democracy when trying to defend their rights." / Star/[05] TGNA DELEGATION BACK FROM THE USThe Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) delegation returned from the US after holding contacts with the new US Administration. The delegation, chaired by the TGNA Foreign Affairs Commission Kamran Inan, met with representatives from the new US Administration in New York and Washington. /Cumhuriyet/[06] A SHOCKING ALLEGATION FROM THE GREEK PRESSThe Greek daily, To Vima, alleged Greece decided to decrease her military purchases after learning about certain articles of the agreement between Turkey and the IMF. The paper claims the IMF demanded Turkey reduce her military purchases, from the current 4.6 % of the Gross National Domestic Product (GNDP), to 3.5 % in order for Turkey to receive 1,2 billion in aid. To Vima alleges that upon learning of the IMF's condition, the Greek government decided to reduce her own military purchases too. Meanwhile, Elephterotipia, another Greek daily, claimed the Greek Ministry of Defense disagrees with the Greek Government's decision to reduce military expenditures. The paper said, "The Greek Ministry of Defense opposes the decrease as it means missing a historic opportunity to bridge the military gap between the two countries while Turkey is having to divert funds from military purchase to the economic recovery. /Star/[07] CEM'S STATEMENT ON GREEK CYPRIOT ADMINISTRATION'S EU MEMBERSHIPSpeaking on a TV program, Foreign Minister Ismail Cem warned Greece and other EU member countries about giving full EU membership to the Greek Cypriot Administration. He said, "If the Greek-Cypriot Administration enters the EU, it will lead to a social chaos violating all balances. Greek Cypriots would never benefit from such a situation. The EU would also be in trouble." Disagreeing with allegations stating the Turco-Greek dialogue is only superficial, Cem said the rate of commerce between the two countries has increased 50%. The rapprochement brought economic vitality to both the Aegean and Thracian regions." Stating Greeks were planning to make great investments in Turkey, Cem added the cooperation on tourism between the two countries has developed significantly. He added they reached a consensus on certain articles of confidence-building measures, and others are still being discussed. /Cumhuriyet/[08] IZGI RETURNS TO TURKEYTurkish Parliamentary Speaker Omer Izgi completed a 13-day tour of the Central Asian Countries of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan returning home yesterday. On his last stop in Turkmenistan, he was received by President Saparmurad Turkmenbasi and met with Speaker of Parliament Sehet Muradov. /Turkish Daily News/[09] GERMAN INVESTOR: GUARANTEE FOR CONTROL IS IMPORTANTEmphasizing the year old economic recession is continuing in Europe, Director General of Zurich Investment, Herbert Frohne, said new financial products should enter the market. He stated, "Within the economic recession, European Turks constitute an important ethnic market." He added that products which were already controlled are attractive for Turkish investors. Financial products licensed from central controlling organs will be very important for investments in Turkey. /Cumhuriyet/[10] BILL ON CENTRAL BANK IS IN THE PRIME MINISTRYThe bill regarding the Central Bank's full autonomy was submitted to the Prime Ministry. The bill will strengthen the powers of the Bank's administration, enhance transparency, and increase supervision of the Bank's accounts. According to the bill, the Bank will be equipped with new powers in line with EU standards. The primary aims of the Bank will be to control price stability and to determine a monetary policy in line with inflation rate targets. /Milliyet/[11] MARYLAND HOUSE APPROVES ARMENIAN BILLIn the US Maryland's House of Representatives has approved a so-called Armenian resolution. The resolution will mark April 24 as a day to commemorate the so-called "Armenian genocide". 78 of 141 representatives voted in favor of the resolution. The greatest support for the Armenian lobby in Maryland came from the Greek lobby. US Secretary of State Colin Powell sent a letter to Maryland's House of Representatives asking them not to pass the resolution. /Turkish Daily News/[12] PUBLIC STILL BACKING DERVISAn opinion poll of 1,200 people in 11 provinces shows the public is behind Dervis and his team. An average of 51 percent of the people questioned believed Dervis will be successful. This figure topped 65 percent among high wage earners. According to the poll's analysis, conducted by the Yontem Research and Advise Company, the subject most frequently discussed in houses, offices and schools was the economic crisis. 59 percent of those polled said they were concerned or even afraid for the future. This figure rose to 63 percent for the lowest income group. While 41 percent of people polled said the country and the world were in for worse days ahead, the number of optimistics averaged 36 percent. /Turkish Daily News/D-8 COUNTRIES TO COOPERATE ON ENERGY DEVELOPMENT The D-8, a group formed by Islamic developing countries including Turkey, has agreed to pool their energy sector resources and establish an energy development fund. According to a report released after a three-day meeting in Abujea, Nigeria, the D-8 countries will now be able to help each other increase the quality of their energy products and services by establishing the fund. The D-8 was founded in 1997 by Turkey, Eygpt, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia and Pakistan. /Turkish News/ [13] VURAL: "WE SHOULD HURRY, NOT EU"The Secretary General for the European Union Affairs, Volkan Vural said it is Turkey, not the EU, that needs to act urgently. Vural said there would be two major enlargement waves, in 2004 and 2006-2007, adding that Turkey should do whatever it takes to be in one of those groups. "If we slow the process, the EU has no intention at all to accelerate it," said Vural. He said the EU has not asked anything from Turkey that is not asked from other candidate countries or anything that does not apply to other EU members. "The coming months and years are critical for Turkey. Eneacting reforms cannot be left to time. If we leave it to time, the EU perspective will be nothing, but a remote target. The EU has been going through its largest enlargement process. Turkey should not lag behind the other candidates in the next few years. It is very important that we go ahead with the reforms without delay." /Turkish Daily News/[14] ADMIRAL ERDIL IN BEIJINGNaval Forces Commander, Admiral Ilhami Erdil, traveled to the People's Republic of China for an official visit at the invitation of Chinese Naval Forces Commander, Admiral Shi Yunshen. Admiral Erdil and his accompanying delegation will also visit the cities of Qingdao, Hangzhou and Shanghai. /Turkiye/TREASURY TO SELL 6-MONTH BILLS The Treasury will launch a tender of six-month bills tomorrow. The bills are value dated April 11 and redemption is scheduled for October 10, 2001. The Treasury is planned to borrow a minimum of TL 500 trillion at tomorrow's auction. /Turkiye/ [15] TUZMEN IN UAEForeign Trade Undersecretariat Kursat Tuzmen organized a meeting in Dubai with Turkish businessmen. Stressing Turkey's need foreign currency, Kursad said, "We can overcome the lack of currency by increasing our exports. We have the goods but we are not using them effectively." On economic relations between Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Tuzmen said, "The trade volume between two countries is less than $300 million. We have to reach at least a $1-billion dollar trade volume." Kursad Tuzmen then visited UAE Minister of Finance and Industry, Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. /Turkiye/[16] WORLD BANK'S LOANDuring the visit by World Bank's Deputy Chairman, Johannes Linn, to Turkey, important flexibility requirements were obtained in the conditions of the World Bank's agricultural loan. Previously, the WB declared it would grant the first $397-million slice in 2001-2004, and the remaining amount of the $600-million agriculture reform loan in 2004-2006. However, following the recent meetings, both sides agreed Turkey would receive the loan in a shorter time depending on the speed of her projects. $166 million of the $397-million loan will be used to restructure the associations responsible for the sale of agricultural products. /Turkiye/[17] TURKISH AVIATORS ENTER EU AS JAA MEMBERWhile Turkey's European Union adventure continues at full speed, civilian aviation has opened the doors of the EU. The full membership application of the Turkish Civil Aviation was unanimously approved by the Joint Aviation Authority (JAA) in Brussels Saturday. Turkey became a JAA member after receiving two-thirds of the votes of JAA members. /Turkish News/[18] SEN: "TURKISH POPULATION SHOULD CIRCULATE FREELY IN EU COUNTRIES"At a press conference in Izmir Friday, Professor Faruk Sen, Director of the Center for Turkish Studies (TAM) located in Germany, said Turkey should start the necessary initiatives to obtain the right to free movement for the Turkish population within EU countries. Stressing EU countries, particularly Germany, will officially begin accepting immigrants from outside EU countries by 2003 due to their decreasing population, Sen said Turkish people would not benefit from this right, as Turkey does not have the right to free movement. /Turkish Daily News/[19] A TURKISH COMPANY TO PRODUCE FOR AMERICAN DEFENSE INDUSTRYYuzey Technologies Company, a small and medium scale enterprise in Izmir Ataturk Organized Industry Area, will work for the American defense indusry. The company invested $2.6 million for a factory where metal surfaces will be ionized making them resistant to corrosion. /Aksam/[20] FREE USE OF GEORGIAN AIRBASES FOR TURKISH AIRCRAFTSTurkish aircrafts will be serviced free of charge when they land at Marneuli Airbase in Georgia. Georgian Deputy Defense Minister, Gela Bejuashvili said the airbase close to Tbilisi was modernized with financial assistance from Turkey, and according to the agreement, Turkish aircrafts will be given priority to use the bases free of charge. /Aksam/[21] SINGAPORE-TURKEY GROUP ARRIVES SATURDAYThe Singapore-Turkey Parliamentary Friendship Group is due to arrive in Istanbul on Saturday. The delegation will be headed by Lew Syn Pau and is expected to reach the capital on Sunday. The Singapore-Turkey Parliamentary Friendship Group Turkish chief Faruk Demir, will meet with the Singapore delegation Monday morning in Parliament. The delegation will also visit the Foreign Trade Under-secretariat and the Foreign Ministry. /Turkish News/[22] VOICE OF AMERICA SET TO RECEIVE IPEKCI PEACE AWARDSThis year's Abdi Ipekci Peace and Friendship Awards will be given to Voice of America radio directors Taclan Suerdem and George Bistis for their contributions to Turkish and Greek relations. Suerdem and Bistis will receive their awards May 3 in Istanbul. The award was established by Greek citizen Andreas Politakis, and is presented in Istanbul and Greece once every two years under the auspices of the United Nations. /Turkish News/[23] CAY: WE MUST BE INTERESTED IN FOREIGN STUDENTS' PROBLEMSAt a conference to introduce the Balkan Employment Project (BALISTIP) State Minister Abdullah Cay said Turkey should help foreign students who come to Turkey from the Balkans and Central Asia. He stated many foreign students did not want to return to their homes due to poor economic conditions in their own countries. /Turkish News/[24] BAGHDAD HOSTS TURKISH FILMS WEEKIraq's capital city of Baghdad is hosting a six-day "Turkish Films Week". Iraq Cinema and Theater Institute Deputy General Director, Faisal Elabbashi gave a speech at the opening ceremony held in Erreshid Hall. Elabbashi said this activity is a crucial step in strengthening the relationship between the two countries. Elabbashi said the films reflect the social and cultural structure of Turkey. Turkish ambassador Mehmet Akay gave a speech as well, saying the relationship between the two countries is getting closer. /Turkish Daily News/[25] TURKISH BIRD ATLAS PROJECT TO STARTA "Turkish Bird Atlas" project designed to document Turkey's bird species, the regions in which they live and their habitats has been started in Istanbul, Samsun and Kayseri. The studies will be conducted by ornithologists Sancar Baris, Bahtiyar Kurt and Uygar Ozesmi. Britain's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds member Hilary-Geoff Welch will be the project's foreign coordinator. Baris said the project would be completed in five years. /Turkish News/[26] THREE AWARDS TO TURKEY IN MEDITERRANEAN CHILDREN THEATER FESTIVALTurkey received three awards in the Second Mediterranean Children's Theater Festival held in Tunisia. Theater groups from Spain, Italy, France, Lebenon, Algeria and Morocco participated in the festival. The Turkish play "Yasasin Baris!" (Long Live Peace!) received three awards, including best director, best actress and best actor. /Cumhuriyet/[27] SAIL BOAT RACE IN GOCEKThe Second International Port Gocek Regetta Sailing Race will be held May 14-18 in Mugla. The Turkish Sailing Federation and Turkish Open Sea Race Club will organize the event. /Aksam/[28] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS[29] TRUST IN FUTURE DECREASES BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)Columnist Ferai Tinc writes on the recent economic crisis. A summary of her column is as follows:"A crisis which has upset the economy of a country as well as the psychology of its people cannot be solved through economic measures only. When monetary policies and payment plans are devised, the person faced with a situation where there are no alternatives should be taken into consideration. The shutting down or down-sizing of businesses may result in heart spasms for the employer but what about those who do not have anything to sell? It is time to listen to the crowds assembling in squares. Pepole do not trust this Government anymore. But it is not only the Government which does not inspire trust. People do not believe in any of the opposition parties either. Those who have taken on the responsibility to govern the country in the last 20 years should be able to withdraw from politics. Is it necessary to lose the Chairmanship in a congress? A new era should begin with new faces. This is what the people who have taken to the streets are saying. Listen to the voice of the people and do not lose any more valuable time. It is no coincidence the World Bank has sent one of its officials to Turkey to work on projects aimed at saving the women and children first. This is a lesson learned from economic crises experienced in Latin America and Asia. As these countries were taking measures in accordance with their own conditions, they were also enacting measures for the psychological welfare of the society. It is important to preserve the psychological health of the individual and the society. During these periods, the atmosphere in the society creates such a climate that even the problems which can be solved seem impossible to get over, and the things which should be done cannot get started. During these times the workings of the State, the private sector and non-governmental organizations all take on a great importance. While individual aid projects are devised to preserve both physical and mental health, legal arrangements preventing a reduction of manpower should be made on the other. For example, in Thailand the Government increases severance pay during a crisis enabling the creation of alternative programs decided upon by workers and employers together. Those who lose their jobs during the crisis should be supported by non-governmental organizations. Solidarity funds take on great importance during these times. The most important effect of the crisis is the loss of confidence in the future. New faces and a new beginning are necessary for a solution of crisis." 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