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Turkish Press Review, 02-03-04
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
04.03.2002
CONTENTS
[01] PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE ECONOMIC BILLS
[02] CAKMAKOGLU GOES TO GERMANY FOR NATO-UKRANIAN MEETING
[03] TURK: "PENITENCE LAW DOES NOT INCLUDE ABDULLAH
OCALAN"
[04] TALABANI TO VISIT ANKARA
[05] VURAL: "TURKEY SHOULDN'T BE LATE FOR THE
EU"
[06] FEBRUARY INFLATION FIGURES RELEASED
[07] TOBB SUMMIT SLATED TO DISCUSS EAST, SOUTHEAST
[08] FARMERS TO RECEIVE 35 TRILLION TL IN AID
[09] ORAL: "THE TURKISH ECONOMY IS IMPROVING"
[10] GERMAN TOUR OPERATOR TUI HOPEFUL ABOUT TURKISH
TOURISM
[11] WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN ENVIRONMENT PLATFORM MEETING
HELD IN MARMARIS
[12] TURKISH JEWELERS SEE POTENTIAL IN HUNGARIAN MARKET
[13] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE
COLUMNS
[14] WHAT WILL BE NEXT? BY COSKUN KIRCA (AKSAM)
[15] UNDERSTANDING TURKISH-EUROPEAN RELATIONS BY EROL
MANISALI (CUMHURIYET)
[01] PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE ECONOMIC BILLS
This week bills on economic matters will be on
Parliament's agenda. Legislation to boost employment as well as bills
on the estate tax and consumer and earthquake insurance will be
debated. Meanwhile, Parliament's Interparty Reconciliation Commission
will meet on Tuesday to complete its work on an amendment to Articles
101 and 104 of the Constitution which propose curbing the powers of
the president, limiting presidents to one term, and confining their
selection to among sitting members of Parliament. /All Papers/
[02] CAKMAKOGLU GOES TO GERMANY FOR NATO-UKRANIAN MEETING
Defense Minister Sabahattin Cakmakoglu flew to
Germany yesterday to attend a meeting concerning NATO-Ukranian
relations. Before his departure, Cakmakoglu told reporters that
Ukraine had good relations with Turkey and that it was a country which
contributed to security, peace and stability in the Balkans and
Southeastern Europe. He added that he would meet with his German
counterpart and discuss Afghanistan as well as defense cooperation
with Germany. /Turkiye/
[03] TURK: "PENITENCE LAW DOES NOT INCLUDE ABDULLAH
OCALAN"
Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said yesterday
that Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the terrorist PKK
organization, would not benefit from a proposed new penitence law. The
law would cover persons who supply information about terrorist
organizations, Turk added. /Hurriyet/
[04] TALABANI TO VISIT ANKARA
Jalal Talabani, the leader of the Patriotic Union
of Kurdistan (PUK), is scheduled to pay an official visit to Turkey
today. Turkish Foreign Ministry officials will convey Turkey's
concerns about peace and security in northern Iraq to Talabani. Turkey
is especially concerned with the terrorist PKK's recent efforts to
reorganize its political wing in the region. Another sensitive issue
to be discussed with the PUK leader is certain Kurdish groups' efforts
to establish an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq. Talabani
will be reminded that Turkey would never allow an independent state to
be established in the region, even in the wake of a possible US
intervention in Iraq. Meanwhile, Talabani is expected to express his
opposition to the formation of such a state. /Cumhuriyet/
[05] VURAL: "TURKEY SHOULDN'T BE LATE FOR THE
EU"
Appearing on state TV channel TRT 1 yesterday,
Turkish Secretary-General for EU Affairs Volkan Vural offered his
evaluations of recent developments concerning Turkey's bid for EU
membership and its relations with the EU. Denouncing the European
Parliament's recent approval of a report recognizing a so-called
Armenian genocide, Vural said, "Such allegations can never alter
historical facts. I don't believe that Turkey's accession period will
be adversely affected by this development." Recalling that the EU
is due to set a calendar for candidate countries by the end of 2003,
Vural remarked that Turkey must do its utmost not to miss the
opportunity to join the Union. "Turkey shouldn't be late for the
EU," said Vural. "We've accomplished most of our short-term
goals. The faster we fulfill the EU criteria, the sooner we can enter
the Union." Vural also added that he did not believe the EU was
demanding that Turkey make sacrifices for the sake of EU membership,
stressing that the EU's demands such as improving its human rights
situation should be considered positive developments for Turkey's
future. /Cumhuriyet/
[06] FEBRUARY INFLATION FIGURES RELEASED
The State Institute of Statistics (DIE) yesterday
released inflation figures for February. The month-on-month inflation
rate was announced as 2.6% for the wholesale price index (WPI) and 1.8
% for the consumer price index (CPI). The year-on-year inflation rate
was 72.1% and 60.7% for the WPI and CPI, respectively. State Minister
for the Economy Kemal Dervis said in a written statement that the
inflation figures were consistent with the government'simplemented
economic program, and that they were encouraging. /All Papers/
[07] TOBB SUMMIT SLATED TO DISCUSS EAST, SOUTHEAST
Turkish Union of Chambers and Stock Exchanges
(TOBB) President Rifat Hisarciklioglu is slated to hold a meeting
tomorrow to discuss the problems of the eastern and southeastern
Anatolia region with bureaucrats and ministers responsible for that
area. /Star/
[08] FARMERS TO RECEIVE 35 TRILLION TL IN AID
State Minister Ramazan Mirzaoglu said yesterday
that the Agriculture and Village Affairs Ministry would grant
agricultural support aid to Turkish farmers amounting to 35 trillion
Turkish lira next week. While traveling on state business in Manisa,
Mirzaoglu said, "Initially, direct support aid will be made to
the earthquake-stricken and disaster regions. Secondly, it will be
given to other provinces such as Manisa." /Aksam/
[09] ORAL: "THE TURKISH ECONOMY IS IMPROVING"
Finance Minister Sumer Oral said yesterday that the
Turkish economy was improving. "We don't expect to run into any
road blocks this year," Oral added. /Star/
[10] GERMAN TOUR OPERATOR TUI HOPEFUL ABOUT TURKISH
TOURISM
One of the biggest tour operators in Germany, TUI,
believes that although the tourism market will shrink this year,
Turkey's share will increase. Stating yesterday that the travel market
in Germany had recently seen a contraction of 30%, TUI's Contract
Director for Turkey Nurhan Erdem Tanir said, "While the number of
tourists visiting Spain and Greece is falling by 30% and Tunisia by
50%, Turkey's loss is coming in at just 15-20%. Recently the number of
German tourists travelling to Turkey through TUI has started to climb
as compared to last year, and this makes us hopeful." /Aksam/
[11] WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN ENVIRONMENT PLATFORM MEETING
HELD IN MARMARIS
Scientists, scholars, representatives of
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and environmentalists from
Mediterranean countries gathered recently to discuss environmental
problems at a meeting of the Western Mediterranean Environment
Platform in Marmaris. The attendees stressed that there were certain
deficiencies in Turkey's environmental policies and that Turkey had to
develop its own environmental philosophy in order to eliminate
widespread ignorance of the issues. /Cumhuriyet/
[12] TURKISH JEWELERS SEE POTENTIAL IN HUNGARIAN MARKET
At yesterday's wrap-up of Budapest's International
Textile and Jewelry Fair, participating jewelers said that they were
pleased with the contacts they had made. Stating that Hungary is a
very attractive market with its population of 10 million, its central
location, and proximity to other countries, Istanbul Chamber of
Jewelers Chairman Alaattin Kameroglu said that Turkish jewelers had
attracted much attention during the four-day fair. Kameroglu said that
his company alone had signed business deals with three Hungarian
companies and that he had seen once more that Turkey, in which tons of
gold is processed every year, should place more importance on Hungary
and its neighboring countries. Saying that the potential of processed
gold in Turkey was very high, he added, "The potential for such
gold in Hungary and its neighbors is very high as well. This can
create ripe opportunities for Turkey. We must capitalize on
this." /Aksam/
[13] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE
COLUMNS
[14] WHAT WILL BE NEXT? BY COSKUN KIRCA (AKSAM)
Retired Ambassador Coskun Kirca writes on the
recent EP report regarding EU relations with the South Caucasus, under
the partnership and cooperation agreements. A summary of his column is
as follows: "The European Union Parliament recently adopted two
decisions on Turkey. In one of them it calls on us to recognize the
Armenian allegations that a genocide took place and to normalize all
relations with Armenia. Turkey cannot accept this decision. During
World War I, a majority of the Armenians living in eastern Anatolia
betrayed the Ottoman Empire and supported the Russian Army;
perpetrated massacres in Turkish towns and villages; and received a
response in kind from the locals; in other words, mutual massacres
took place. To put an end to these clashes, the Ottoman government
could find no solution other than relocating the Armenians living in
those areas to Syria and Lebanon. It has been proven that a document
claiming that the Ottoman government ordered massacres was a complete
fraud. However, the parliaments of our friends(!) turn a blind eye to
this fact with the hope of getting votes of the Armenian diaspora. The
recent decision of the EP goes one step further and not only calls on
us to accept that our ancestors commited the crime of genocide, but
also forgets that Armenia currently occupies 20% of the Azerbaijan's
territory and is the aggressor according to the UN charter, and
requests that Turkey normalize its relations with Armenia. There could
not be a more aggressive decision ignorant of the facts. The Turkish
Grand National Assembly has responded immediately to this careless
report. The second EP decision concerns the ongoing trial for the
closure of People's Democratic Party (HADEP). This is nothing new. It
is a well-known fact that European circles would like Turkey to permit
ethnic and religious factionalism. According to these circles, parties
which are demanding independence for certain ethnic groups must be
allowed. The EP is implementing this stance only for HADEP at the
moment. It is clear that Turkey will not accept such a condition under
these circumstances. TheTurkish representative at the European
Convention, Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, stated that as these
were only recommendations they did not have any power of sanctions and
that these decisions would not hamper Turkey's efforts to become an EU
member. However, the fact is that we cannot trust the EU on any of our
international problems. We must be aware of the fact that the aim of
EU's inconsiderate actions is to divide Turkey in the name of
democracy. If we take a glance at the way events are developing, it
does not seem a distant prospect that Turkey will clearly state to the
EU that the cost of being an EU member cannot be the secular, national
and unitary Republic.!"
[15] UNDERSTANDING TURKISH-EUROPEAN RELATIONS BY EROL
MANISALI (CUMHURIYET)
Columnist Erol Manisali writes on Turkish-European
relations. A summary of his column is as follows: "The problem we
are experiencing today is not what Turkey should do to be admitted to
the Union, but it stems from the fact that the EU won't admit Turkey
into the organization and it will do everything in its power to delay
the country's becoming an EU member. Some facts must be seen clearly.
First, Turkish-EU relations are working against Turkey both
economically and politically due to the unilateral Customs Union
agreement. The reins are in the hands of the EU. This is a colonial
order and cannot be prolonged any more. There is no other country in
Turkey's situation. Secondly, the conditions imposed by the EU
demonstrate how Turkey could be kept at bay. It should leave the
Aegean and Cyprus to the Greeks, open the door for compensations
saying that a genocide was perpetrated, grant autonomy to the Kurds,
and leave the economy, politics and security to the guidance of the
EU. These are the political conditions the EU is bringing to the table
at the moment to improve relations. It is against the logic of
politics, economy and humanity to expect Turkey to implement these
reforms upon imposition."
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