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Turkish Press Review, 01-09-21
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
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Press
& Information
Turkish
Press
Foreign
Press in Turkey
Turkish
Press Review >>
Press
Guide
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
21.09.2001
CONTENTS
[01] SEZER TO VISIT KARS
[02] SECURITY SUMMIT
[03] FOREIGN MINISTRY WARNS
[04] CEM TRAVELS TO THE MIDDLE EAST
[05] TURKEY'S CONCERN OVER CENTRAL ASIAN COUNTRIES
[06] OCALAN CASE TO BE BROUGHT TO THE AGENDA AT COUNCIL OF
EUROPE MEETING
[07] IZGI IN CYPRUS
[08] TASAR: "TURKEY HAS NO SECURITY PROBLEMS"
[09] COMMEMORATION CEREMONY FOR VICTIMS OF TERROR IN
ISTANBUL
[10] AYTEKIN'S STATEMENT
[11] DEMIREL: "THE US SHOULD BE CAUTIOUS"
[12] MHP BEGINS TURKEY TOUR
[13] PKK PREPARES FOR A SERIES OF ATTACKS
[14] DERVIS ON THE MEETINGS WITH THE IMF
[15] IMF SUPPORT FOR TURKEY
[16] BREKK: "YOUR PERFORMANCE IS VERY GOOD"
[17] WHITSON: "TERRORISM INCREASED THE IMPORTANCE OF
TURKEY"
[18] ANTIKA'S STATEMENT
[19] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS...
[20] GOODWILL IS NOT ENOUGH BY OMER OZTURKMEN (TURKIYE)
[01] SEZER TO VISIT KARS
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer will travel to Kars
today. He is expected to visit the Office of Governor and the 14th
Mechanized Infantry Brigade. Later he will deliver a speech at the
"Historical Cities Union Kars Meeting" panel. After his
visit to Gazi Ahmet Muhtar Pasa's House, Kazim Karabekir's wagon and
Kars castle, the President will return to Ankara. /Turkish Daily News/
[02] SECURITY SUMMIT
Following the summit at the Prime Ministry the day
before, another meeting headed by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer was
held in the Presidential Palace yesterday with the attendance of top
political and military officials. During the meeting, recent foreign
developments were evaluated and the decision, "Turkey will do
whatever she can in the struggle against terrorism and will give the
necessary support to the US and other countries" was announced.
/Turkiye/
[03] FOREIGN MINISTRY WARNS
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement
regarding the unsafe situation in Pakistan following the terrorist
attacks in the US. The statement warned Turkish citizens currently in
Pakistan to go to secure regions or leave the country as soon as
possible and called on others planning to visit this country to
postpone their travels. /Turkiye/
[04] CEM TRAVELS TO THE MIDDLE EAST
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Cem, will go to
the Middle East today to pay a working-visit. According to the
information received, Cem will meet with the Israeli Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Shimon Peres and the Palestinian leader Yaser Arafat.
During his contacts, Cem will give the parties the message to continue
with the cease-fire, to stop violence and to return to the table of
peace. Cem talked with Peres and Arafat on the phone a few days ago.
/Hurriyet/
[05] TURKEY'S CONCERN OVER CENTRAL ASIAN COUNTRIES
Turkey is trying to decrease the level of her
concern over Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan who are among the
countries Taleban Administration would probably react to after a
possible US retaliation. Deputy Undersecretary responsible for
Afghanistan Affairs at the Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Aydemir Erman
was sent to Uzbekistan. It was stated that Turkish Ambassadors who
work in the region will meet in Tashkent to discuss the recent
developments. Central Asian countries are under the threat of radical
Islamic terrorist groups after they announced their support to the US
retaliation. Ambassador Erman and his accompanying delegation will
evaluate the chancing balances in the region. /Cumhuriyet/
[06] OCALAN CASE TO BE BROUGHT TO THE AGENDA AT COUNCIL OF
EUROPE MEETING
The Council of Europe will convene today to discuss
international terrorism. The permanent committee consisting of
ambassadors will review the anti-terror agreement. They will discuss
the proposals to amend the agreement after the recent attacks on the
US in September 11th. Turkey is expected bring the issues of Abdullah
Ocalan, leader of PKK terrorist organization and extraditions of
militant terrorists Dursun Karatas and Fehriye Erdal to Turkey into
the agenda during the meeting. Turkey will draw attention to the
importance of international cooperation in fighting against terrorism
and request European countries to be more sensitive and determined in
this fight. /Cumhuriyet/
[07] IZGI IN CYPRUS
Parliament Speaker Omer Izgi and an accompanying
delegation, on an official visit to Cyprus, were received by the
President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Rauf
Denktas yesterday. Stressing that Turkey will always stand by Cyprus
in her justified case, Izgi said the only way for a settlement in
Cyprus is confederation. Denktas noted that Greek Cypriots was
intriguing to enter the EU and said, "Their EU membership will
harm the peace and stability in the region." /Turkiye/
[08] TASAR: "TURKEY HAS NO SECURITY PROBLEMS"
Speaking at the press meeting he held yesterday
with the representatives of tourism sector, Minister of Tourism
Mustafa Tasar, said, "There is no security problem in Turkey.
Such speculations would give a wrong picture of Turkey to the world,
so politicians should be careful about their speeches refraining from
creating an atmosphere of panic. Turkey has no security
problems." Receiving Japanese Ambassador to Turkey, Shiego
Takaneka, Tasar evaluated bilateral tourism relations between Turkey
and Japan. Stating that he supported all projects aiming to develop
tourism transactions between the two countries, Tasar said increasing
advertisements and sales opportunities would work to attract more
tourists. /Cumhuriyet-Turkish Daily News/
[09] COMMEMORATION CEREMONY FOR VICTIMS OF TERROR IN
ISTANBUL
The people who lost their lives during September
11th terrorist attacks on the US were commemorated in Saint Antoine
Church yesterday in Istanbul. Delivering a speech at the ceremony, US
Ambassador to Turkey, Robert Pearson said that Turkish people's
sharing the grief of American people in their very hearts impressed
him so much. Pearson said, "This is a mean murder targeting not
just American people but all of us." /Cumhuriyet/
[10] AYTEKIN'S STATEMENT
Minister of Environment, Fevzi Aytekin, said they
had prepared a draft law concerning the prevention of the sea
pollution and the principles of urgent intervention. Aytekin made this
explanation concerning this draft law during the Marmara Sea 3rd
Environmental Protection Meeting that was held in Canakkale. /Sabah/
[11] DEMIREL: "THE US SHOULD BE CAUTIOUS"
Former President Suleyman Demirel said, "The
world stands by the US today. However, it would be wrong to kill
innocent people in the name of a retaliation. Nobody can equate Afghan
people with Osama Bin Laden. The US should be moderate and cautious in
her retaliation." /Cumhuriyet/
[12] MHP BEGINS TURKEY TOUR
The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) launched its
Turkey tour yesterday, aiming at establishing healthy relation between
politicians and the society in order to increase the quality of public
services. As a part of this project , junior coalition partner MHP
formed nine different delegations to tour Anatolian cities to listen
to people's complaints and demands. /Turkish Daily News/
[13] PKK PREPARES FOR A SERIES OF ATTACKS
It was reported that the PKK terrorist organization
is preparing for suicidal attacks on September 28th when the European
Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will render its decision about PKK leader
Abdullah Ocalan. The PKK militants who are not expecting a decision in
favor of Ocalan from the ECHR sent their militants to metropolitan
cities for suicidal attacks. /Cumhuriyet/
[14] DERVIS ON THE MEETINGS WITH THE IMF
Before leaving London, State Minister Kemal Dervis
spoke to the Financial Times daily and said that there was a
disagreement between Turkey and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
concerning the inflation figures of the year 2002 during the meetings
held with the IMF. The Financial Times wrote that the IMF delegation
completed its contacts in Ankara without determining the inflation
targets. Dervis said, "Determining a realistic inflation target
for the year 2002 is more important than not being able to achieve
it." Dervis also predicted that the economy will shrink by 7%
this year. In its commentary, the Financial Times wrote that an
agreement should be reached before the IMF releases the portion
amounting to 3 billion US dollars of the loan that it gave for the
economic program in Turkey. /Sabah/
[15] IMF SUPPORT FOR TURKEY
International Monetary Fund (IMF) decided to
greatly support Turkey and Pakistan, who will be on the front lines
during the fight against terrorism. The IMF Chairman, Horst Kohler,
decided to extend a huge amount of loan to Pakistan and stated that it
will closely follow Turkey's financial situation to lend a new aid.
American Treasury Department officials met with their colleagues from
the IMF and the World Bank concerning the support and aid for the
countries, who will stand-by America during the fight against
terrorism. Following the meeting, Kohler said, "We examined the
current situation following the terrorist attack and discussed which
country will receive which kind of aid if the atmosphere gets
worse." Although the IMF is not a kind of institution which
resists in holding back aid to the countries due to the political
reasons, it will give support to the important diplomatic regions
because the US is the biggest participator of the IMF. /Hurriyet/
[16] BREKK: "YOUR PERFORMANCE IS VERY GOOD"
International Monetary Fund's (IMF) representative
to Turkey, Odd Per Brekk, said the meetings that continue with the
Turkish officials within the framework of the 10th review would go on
in Washington. In his statement, Brekk pointed out that the economic
program was being implemented and all the performance criteria had
been met. Brekk further stated that he monetary and financial policies
were continuing well and that there had been a stable improvement
within the banking reform. Brekk added that following the meetings to
be held with the Turkish officials in Washington at the end of this
month, the Executive Board of the IMF would complete the 10th review
and hold the Executive Board of the IMF meeting during the first half
of October. /Hurriyet/
[17] WHITSON: "TERRORISM INCREASED THE IMPORTANCE OF
TURKEY"
The London-based HSBC Holding PLC, did not postpone
its investment in Turkey in spite of the economic crisis in Turkey,
the concern over a global crisis and the threat of war. HSBC's Group
Chief Executive, Keith R. Whitson, said the balance of the world will
change a great deal due to the terrorist attacks but Turkey would not
be affected by this change negatively. While explaining the impacts of
the fear of the increasing global recession on the world, Whitson
said, "Before the terrorist attack against the World Trade Center
and Pentagon, the American economy, which was beginning to shrink, was
an element of threat against the developing and the developed
countries. Following the attack, the fear of a warm war and global
recession have emerged. At this point, America's answer will affect
all the world and nothing will be the same. However, we know that
Turkey, which has an advantage due to its strategic importance, will
be a successful country in a long period of time." /Sabah/
[18] ANTIKA'S STATEMENT
The biggest banking group, HSBC, which has
purchased Demirbank for 350 million US dollars, wants to change
Demirbank's name. HSBC's General Director to Turkey, Piraye Antika,
said, "We want to change Demirbank's name and make it HSBC. We
also want to add the word 'Turkish' to it. For this purpose, we have
made the necessary applications." /Sabah/
[19] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS...
[20] GOODWILL IS NOT ENOUGH BY OMER OZTURKMEN (TURKIYE)
Columnist Omer Ozturkmen writes on the necesity of
conveying Turkey's experience regarding terrorism to the US. A summary
of his column is as follows: "A country which has lost 30.000 to
terorism had a message to convey to the international community
following the tragedy in New York. It issued that message but whatever
the reason it could not be heard. It is unfortunate that Foreign
Minister Ismail Cem's speech on the stance of Moslem Turkey regarding
terrorism could not be received by the international community or
Turkish public. We would have liked his speech to have appeared in
influential newspapers to counter the claims of the circles trying to
connect terrorism with Islam. In his message Cem said, " These
difficult days which can also be described as a crisis situation,
represent in essence a struggle between democracy and terrorism. A
struggle between commonsense and fanaticism...Meanwhile, we are
against those who want to exploit this situation through misleading
arguments and wrong actions. Turkey is the prime obstacle to those who
attempt to distort this situation and present it as af it were a clash
of religions, a fight between religions or a conflict between
different cultures. Naming a religion as an adjective before the
'terrorism' is an extreme disrespect to all religions. There is no
such thing as 'Islamic' or'Christian' or 'Jewish' terrorism. And we
express this opinion to all friendly countries and all the countries
concerned in a very clear and open manner...Turkey, and the Turkish
foreign policy is determined, confident and, we are influencing
developments in a calm manner to the benefit of our country, our
people and its future."... Cem's words would have lifted the
spirits of hundreds of thousands of Turks living in the US and
millions residing in Europe as well as preventing the intentional
propaganda connecting Islam with terrorism. There is still time to
achieve this purpose."
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