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Turkish Press Review, 01-12-20
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
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Press
& Information
Turkish
Press
Turkish
Press Review >>
Foreign
Press Guide
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
20.12.2001
CONTENTS
[01] ECEVIT: "I WILL ADDRESS IRAQ ISSUE IN THE US"
[02] ECEVIT AND BUSH TO MEET ON JAN. 16
[03] TURKEY TO SEND A 1,000 PEACEKEEPING SOLDIERS TO AFGHANISTAN
[04] TURKISH-EU RELATIONS GAIN MOMENTUM AT LAEKEN
[05] COALITION LEADERS TO DISCUSS EU HARMONIZATION
[06] SEZER APPOINTS RECTORS FOR ISTANBUL AND ANADOLU UNIVERSITIES
[07] YUCELEN MEETS WITH GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER
[08] TURKEY TO BUY MILITARY CARGO PLANES
[09] BAKU-CEYHAN PIPELINE FINANCING BRIGHTENS
[10] TURKISH BUSINESSMEN TO VISIT IRAN
[11] SSSB: "STRENGTHEN YOUR TURKISH BOND PORTFOLIO"
[12] YASAR PAINT TO COOPERATE WITH FRENCH CONCERN
[13] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[14] THE BUSH-ECEVIT SUMMIT BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)
[01] ECEVIT: "I WILL ADDRESS IRAQ ISSUE IN THE US"
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said yesterday that the main reason for his
visit to the US in January was to address the issue of Iraq adding that
whatever happens in that country would both affect and interest Turkey.
Ecevit also stated that Turkish soldiers could help to establish a new
national force to keep order in Afghanistan, saying "We must do all we can
as quickly as possible to help establish a national army and police force."
There is no national army in Afghanistan, he pointed out, but there are
various armies clashing with one another. In such a state Afghanistan will
not be able to establish its independence and could lose its statehood,
Ecevit stressed. Declaring that Turkish soldiers may be the world's most
experienced armed force, he said that accordingly they must be given an
important role in paving the future of Afghanistan. Ecevit said that
Turkish soldiers would be sent to Afghanistan, but he did not specify how
many.
/Hürriyet/
[02] ECEVIT AND BUSH TO MEET ON JAN. 16
During a press conference held yesterday, Presidential spokesman Ari
Fleischer said that US President George Bush and Turkish Prime Minister
Bulent Ecevit would meet in the White House on Jan. 16 and added, "This
visit will be a good opportunity to strengthen Turkish-American
cooperation." US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher had previously
said that the main topic of Ecevit's visit would be Afghanistan, among
other issues such as NATO and the Middle East situation. /Sabah/
[03] TURKEY TO SEND A 1,000 PEACEKEEPING SOLDIERS TO AFGHANISTAN
Turkey will participate in an international peacekeeping force to be
established in Afghanistan with a unit of 1,000 soldiers. Ankara pronounced
this decision during a meeting held in London yesterday. Turkey, which was
represented at the meeting by the Chief of General Staff's Strategy
Department Chairman Maj. Gen. Nusret Tasdeler and Col. Süleyman
Er, emphasized that it wanted to be in a position to positively influence
the restructuring of Afghanistan. Reportedly, a colonel from the Chief of
General Staff will command this unit. Most of the soldiers, who are
scheduled to be sent soon after the New Year, were selected from the 28th
Mechanized Infantry Brigade Command. Fifteen engineers and a technical team
on the commissioned and non-commissioned officer level from the Air Force
will also take part in this unit.
/Sabah/
[04] TURKISH-EU RELATIONS GAIN MOMENTUM AT LAEKEN
The Laeken summit has lent Turkish-European Union relations considerable
momentum with both parties emerging more optimistic in improving relations
than they were before. Spain, which is to take over the EU term presidency
in January, will hold meetings first with Turkey among the candidate
countries. The EU troika consisting of Belgium, Spain and the EU Commission
will meet with Turkey in Madrid on Jan. 8, with Foreign Ministry Deputy
Undersecretary Akin Alptuna heading the domestic delegation. The
international community places a high premium on the meeting since it shows
the importance which Spain places on its relations with Turkey. Among
issues to be discussed during the meeting are the steps Turkey should take
in order to be able to sit at the negotiating table with the EU as soon as
possible, certain joint studies to be carried out over the next six months,
and a meeting between the EU and the Organization for the Islamic
Conference (OIC) which is slated to be held in Istanbul in February.
Furthermore, Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem has recently phoned his
Belgian counterpart Louis Michel and congratulated him on the success of
the Laeken summit. Cem also conveyed his appraisal of the situation in
Afghanistan. /Cumhuriyet/
[05] COALITION LEADERS TO DISCUSS EU HARMONIZATION
The leaders of the coalition government will meet this week to discuss
measures to harmonize Turkey's laws with those of the EU. Motherland Party
(ANAP) leader and Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said yesterday that
the work on the harmonization laws was at the final stage. /Turkiye/
[06] SEZER APPOINTS RECTORS FOR ISTANBUL AND ANADOLU UNIVERSITIES
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday re-appointed Prof. Kemal Alemdaroglu
as rector of Istanbul University. Alemdaroglu had been given second place
in a list of rectorial candidates sent by the Higher Education Board (YOK),
although he garnered most of the votes in balloting at the university
itself. Prof. Engin Atac who was on the list of that university's
candidates, was also re-appointed to his post as rector of Anadolu
University. /Milliyet/
[07] YUCELEN MEETS WITH GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER
Turkish Interior Minister Rustu Kazim Yucelen met with his German
counterpart Otto Schilly yesterday in Germany. During the meeting main
issue addressed was the possibility of extraditing Union of Islamic
Communities leader Metin Kaplan. At a post-meeting joint press conference
Yucelen said, "German officials are seeking assurances that Kaplan would
not face the death penalty if handed over. I will convey their views to the
Turkish government." For his part, Schilly stated that if Turkey assured
Germany that Kaplan would not face the death penalty if tried there,
Germany might extradite him. Yucelen also said that there was evidence
proving that Kaplan was linked to Osama Bin Laden and terrorist group
Hizbullah and he reiterated that Germany was keeping a close watch on the
Union of Islamic Communities. /Cumhuriyet/
[08] TURKEY TO BUY MILITARY CARGO PLANES
Turkish Defense Minister Sabahattin Cakmakoglu, who is currently in
Brussels to attend NATO meetings, signed a contract yesterday on behalf of
Turkey to purchase 10 Airbus A400M military cargo planes. The German,
Belgian, British, Spanish, French, Luxemburg, Portuguese and Turkish
defense ministers signed contracts with the Airbus Company for the purchase
of nearly 200 military planes. Meanwhile, addressing the NATO meetings,
Cakmakoglu stated, "If terrorists are active in a certain country, then
another country must be supporting them. It is vital that this fact be
understood." /Turkiye/
[09] BAKU-CEYHAN PIPELINE FINANCING BRIGHTENS
The financing problems of the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline are nearing a solution,
with a host of international concerns lining up to foot the bill. Michael
Townshend, administrator of the pipeline's managing consortium, said
Tuesday that he was in touch with companies from Europe, the US and Japan
in order to obtain credit for this project. US oil company Chevron Texaco,
reportedly wants to become a partner with a share of 20%. /Milliyet/
[10] TURKISH BUSINESSMEN TO VISIT IRAN
A group of Turkish businessmen is set to visit Iran on Dec. 23-27. A number
of private sector representatives are expected to accompany an official
delegation scheduled to attend a Turkish-Iranian Joint Economic Commission
(KEK) meeting in Tehran. State Minister Mehmet Kececiler is expected to
chair the delegation. /Cumhuriyet/
[11] SSSB: "STRENGTHEN YOUR TURKISH BOND PORTFOLIO"
Prominent international portfolio manager Schroder Salomon Smith Barney
(SSSB) declared yesterday that it was seeing the Turkish economy in a more
positive light. A press release from SSSB stated, "Turkey's geopolitical
importance, signals of a revival in its economy, better capacity for debt
repayment and a healthier banking structure are all increasing the
likelihood of continuing confidence in this country." SSSB thus advised its
investors to strengthen their Turkish bond portfolios. /Sabah/
[12] YASAR PAINT TO COOPERATE WITH FRENCH CONCERN
The Yasar Paint Group has begun talks with French company Sigma Kalon,
which is active in the same area, to pursue cooperation and partnership,
Yasar announced yesterday. Yasar Holding Paint Group Chairman Ahmet
Yigitbasi said that the Yasar Boya Group of companies was number 30 in the
world, and number 10 in Europe in terms of size, with annual revenues of
$328 million. He added, "The Yasar Group will grow much more through
international cooperation, and it is open to any foreign partnership that
will open up markets and provide new technologies." /Milliyet/
[13] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[14] THE BUSH-ECEVIT SUMMIT BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)
Columnist Fikret Bila comments on the preparations for the Bush-Ecevit
summit to take place in mid-January. A summary of his column is as follows:
"Ankara is preparing for the Bush-Ecevit summit expected to be held soon
after the new year. The invitation extended to Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit
by the US President George W. Bush is viewed as recognition of Turkey's
importance abroad. The invitation is being viewed as a reflection of
Turkey's international stature as realized by Washington due to the
policies it is pursuing concerning issues in Iraq, the Middle East, the
Caucasus, the Balkans, the EU and Cyprus. Ecevit believes that Bush has
understood the importance of Turkey. The prime minister remarked that it
was clear that Iraq would be an important topic during the talks. He said,
'We will express our views, as we attach great importance to the
territorial integrity of Iraq. We shall relate our policies on the issue.'
Ecevit will tell Bush and the US administration what a serious mistake it
would be to intervene in Iraq and the problems such and intervention could
lead to. Regarding Afghanistan, Ecevit believes that the most important
issue is the quick establishment of security in the country and the
formation of an Afghan national army and police force with this aim. Ecevit
said that in Afghanistan there were armies but as yet no national army. He
believes there is urgent need it to bring together the commanders who
disagree with each other in order to form a national army. He also pointed
out that Turkey was ready to help Afghanistan on the issue. In addition to
Afghanistan, Iraq and the EU and economic matters Foreign Minister Ismail
Cem said that the Cyprus problem would also be discussed at length. 'We
will try to change their opinions regarding the issue' he said. 'We have
worked hard on the issue and
have started to see results. For example, the European Union is not
repeating its usual stance. We still cannot say that their basic views have
changed, but they are not viewing the issue as before. We will try to get
the same results in Washington. We will ask what they expect from the
Cyprus dialogue process and what they want to see there. We will brief
them on the facts regarding Cyprus, facts this time from our point of
view.' On Iraq, both Prime Minister Ecevit and Foreign Minister Cem have
repeatedly said that Turkey was opposed to a foreign intervention.
Discussion on economy will focus on loosening quotas and, if possible,
lifting them altogether. Ankara is hopeful about the Bush-Ecevit summit."
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