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Anadolu Agency: News in English, 01-03-01Anadolu Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Anadolu Agency Home Page at <http://www.anadoluajansi.com.tr/>Anadolu AgencyANADOLU AGENCY NEWS 01 MARCH 2001 Thursday CONTENTS
[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCANThese are some of the major headlines and their brief stories in Turkey's press on March 1, 2000. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.HURRIYET (LIBERAL)ECEVIT SAYS HE CAN'T RESIGNPrime Minister Bulent Ecevit responded to those who want him to resign by saying that ''It wouldn't be difficult at all for me to pull out of the government, but if I leave office now and cause a government crisis under the circumstances we are in, I would not be able to account for it before the nation and before history.'' Ecevit said his partners in the three- party coalition, which took office two years ago, agreed with him that the chief task was now to set the economy right following the effective collapse of an IMF-backed financial reform package. ULUSAL BANK TRANSFERRED TO FUND MILLIYET (LIBERAL)IMF AND WORLD BANK WELCOMES APPOINTMENT OF KEMAL DERVISThe International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Worl Bank welcomed the decision of the government to appoint Kemal Dervis, the vice president of the World Bank, as an economy bureaucrat. However, the IMF and the World Bank want Dervis to become a minister, not the governor of the Central Bank. IMF's First Deputy Managing Director Stanley Fischer, said Dervis was a very good choice, adding that he was an ideal name for the ministry post. Officials from World Bank underlined the knowledge of Dervis on economy. INTERNATIONAL ISTANBUL FILM FESTIVAL TO BE HELD IN SPITE OF ECONOMIC The Twentieth International Istanbul Film Festival will be held between April 19-24 im spite of the economic crisis. A total of 179 movies from five continents wil be displayed in the festival. Movies which were awarded in festivals, movies which are nominated for Oscars, and the new movies of the prominent directors will be displayed throughout the festival. SABAH (LIBERAL)THE MAN WHO SAID ''NO'' TO OZALKemal Dervis, the Vice President of the World Bank, who is a Turkish citizen and who rejected the invitation of ex-president Turgut Ozal who wanted him to return to Turkey and join the Motherland Party (ANAP) 13 years ago, will come to Ankara today. Government thinks of appointing Dervis as the Central Bank governor. PEOPLE TO SPEND HOLIDAY AT HOME CUMHURIYET (LEFT)IZMIR BAR EXTENDS SUPPORT TO VILLAGERS OF BERGAMAThe executive board of the Izmir Bar extended support to the villagers of Bergama township of western Izmir province, who continue to their struggles to prevent gold extraction with cyanide in Bergama. The villagers of Bergama yesterday night held a march to protest the extraction activities of Eurogold company in the region. Officials from Izmir Bar said they would file a suit about the authorities who let Eurogold to continue gold extraction in Bergama in spite of the decision of the court. GOVERNMENT TO RESHAPE ECONOMIC PROGRAM DURING FEAST OF SACRIFICE RADIKAL (LEFT)PRICE INCREASES STARTThe prices of fuel oil, natural gas and electricity increased by 10 percent. The Ministry of Energy discusses another increase in the price of fuel oil after the religious holiday. Sectors which sell basic consumption stuff like tea, sugar and medicine also plan to increase the prices of their products. The transportation sectors, including the Turkish Airlines (THY) think of increasing the prices. CEM SAYS NATIONAL PROGRAMME IS FINE TURKIYE (RIGHT)EYES ON DERVISThe business world is hopeful about the possible appointment of Kemal Dervis, the World Bank Vice President as the Central Bank Governor. Deputy Premier Yılmaz said that Dervis accepted this post which was offered to him. The business world didn't pronounce the name of Dervis, but it is clear that they support his being appointed as the Central Bank governor. BRITAIN SAYS PKK IS TERRORIST ORGANIZATION ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)MHP TO PLAY INFLUENTIAL ROLE IN ECONOMYThe Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) which has been criticized not to be active in the economic matters, will start to play an influential role in the economy. MHP which noticed that success in struggle against inflation was the key to become the ruling party, started to appoint economy advisors to the Prime Ministry. Devlet Bahceli, the deputy prime minister and the leader of MHP, reminded the importance of economy to the high ranking officials of MHP. GERMANS PREFER TURKEY TO SPEND THEIR HOLIDAYS -U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN RICHARD BOUCHER SAYS Staging a press briefing for foreign journalists, Boucher said that U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell took up the issue during his visit to Syria and then with Foreign Minister Ismail Cem in Brussels. Boucher said ''they talked about the need to cooperate with Turkey, and Foreign Minister Cem said he supported the direction and that we would work together on this,'' adding that the issue of Iraqi embargo will be evaluated in detail in the contacts of the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Edward Walker in Ankara, which will start the same day. Boucher said that Powell explained the things told by Syrian officials about Iraqi-Syrian oil pipeline and voiced their expectation from Turkey to take similar steps regarding embargo in his meeting with Foreign Minister Cem. -OSMAN BIRSEN CHAIRMAN OF IMKB SAYS RECENT DEVELOPMENTS Answering the questions of journalists following a conference on New Arrangements in Turkish Banking and Financial System, Birsen said IMKB reacted well to the incidents, adding that IMKB would continue to be an indicator in Turkish economy. Noting that the recent economic crisis affected all companies other than exportation companies, Birsen said the effects of the crisis on companies would vary in accordance with the financial situation of them. Investors should closely follow the economic plans of the companies for future, said Birsen and requested investors not to give credit to rumors in the market and to keep their calmness. Noting that the foreign investors had a share of 39 percent in the market Birsen said, ''foreign investors didn't lose their interest in our stock exchange market during the previous crises. This is also true for today. Besides, devaluation provides better investment opportunities to foreign investors.'' -U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE WALKER Walker met with the the delegation headed by Foreign Ministry Undersecertary Ugur Ziyal in the morning. No statement was issued to the press before the meeting in which Robert Pearson, the U.S. Ambasador to Turkey also participated. Recent developments about Iraqi and Middle Eastern Peace Process are taken up in the meetings with Walker. The American official is expected to leave Turkey this evening and continue his tour in the region. -PRESIDENT SEZER DUE TO NETHERLANDS Releasing a written statement, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that Foreign Minister Ismail Cem would accompany President Sezer during his visit to the Netherlands. President Sezer is scheduled to meet with Queen Beatrix, and to receive Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok. The statement noted that President Sezer would attend a meeting at the Dutch parliament following the interdelegationary meetings. The statement added, ''President Sezer will also receive members of the Dutch Social Economic Council and representatives of Turkish community in the Netherlands. He will visit the Leiden University and a primary school. President Sezer's visit to the Netherlands is expected to make an important contribution to further improvement of relations between Turkey and the Netherlands.'' -PRESIDENT ALIYEV OF AZERBAIJAN DUE IN TURKEY Releasing a written statement, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that the sides would seek opportunities to diversify cooperation fields between Turkey and Azerbaijan on the bilateral and international platforms. ''The sides will exchange opinions on recent regional and international developments,'' the statement said. It added, ''President Aliyev's visit to Turkey will make an important contribution to further strengthening and improvement of friendly relations and solidarity between Turkey and Azerbaijan.'' -BRIEFING AT CANKAYA PRESIDENTIAL PALACE Staging a weekly briefing at Cankaya Presidential Palace, Presidential Cabinet Chief and Foreign Relations Adviser Tacan Ildem said on Thursday that President Haydar Aliyev of Azerbaijan would pay an official visit to Turkey between March 12 and 16 as the guest of President Sezer. Ildem said, ''President Sezer and President Aliyev are scheduled to hold a tete-a-tete meeting on March 12. Later, they will preside inter- delegationary meetings. President Aliyev will receive Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit; General Huseyin Kivrikoglu, the Chief of General Staff; State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Devlet Bahceli; and State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz during his contacts in Ankara.'' ''President Sezer will attend the annual conference of War Academies in Istanbul on March 14. President Aliyev will accompany President Sezer. The two president will partake in a luncheon in Istanbul. President Aliyev's contacts in Turkey are expected to focus on further improvement of economic relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan. Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline will be brought onto agenda during President Aliyev's contacts in Ankara. Both countries have sound political will to put into practice the Baku- Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline project,'' he said. Ildem told reporters, ''during President Alivey's visit to Turkey Upper Karabakh dispute and regional problems will also be taken up.'' Referring to news reports claiming that President Aliyev sent a letter to President Sezer including his negative impressions about the Baku-Tbilisi- Ceyhan oil pipeline, Ildem told reporters, ''there is a regular communication between President Sezer and President Aliyev. We have not received such a letter from President Aliyev. Both Turkey and Azerbaijan have sound political will to put into practice the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. We have concentrated our efforts on the issue. Meanwhile, initiatives are under way for participation of Kazakhstan in the project. A meeting was held in Kazakhstan as a result of Turkey's efforts.'' Ildem said that President Sezer would pay a one-day visit to Stutgart, Germany, on March 17. ''President Sezer will attend inautguration of ''Troy, Dreams and Fact'' exhibition together with President Johannes Rau of Germany. The exhibition composed of 551 pieces of Troy Treasure, will be organized under the auspices of President Sezer and President Rau. President Sezer will also hold talks with President Rau in Stutgart. Bilateral relations, Turkey's relations with the European Union (EU), problems of Turkish people living in Germany, regional and international issues will be taken up at the meeting. Following the meeting, President Sezer will receive representatives of Turkish community in Germany,'' he said. Ildem added, ''President Sezer will pay a visit to the Netherlands between April 3 and 5 upon an invitation of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. Foreign Minister Ismail Cem will accompany President Sezer during his visit to the Netherlands. President Sezer is scheduled to meet with Queen Beatrix and Dutch Prime Minister Vim Kok. President Sezer will also attend a meeting at the Dutch parliament. He will receive representatives of Turkish community in the Netherlands.'' -AUTHOR OF ''THE GENOCIDE FILES'' SAYS GREEK CYPRIOTS WANT Gibbons who is currently in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) said at a press conference on Thursday that the ''Greek Cypriots' goal was to set up a system in which they could do what they like.'' Gibbons pointed out that there were Turkish Cypriots who want to join the EU with the Greek Cypriot side and without Turkey. He said the Greek Cypriots would invade the northern Cyprus if the TRNC joined the EU without Turkey. The Greek Cypriot Administration leader Glafcos Clerides earlier defined the status that could be granted to the Turkish Cypriots as ''a minority which will be taken under protection,'' he explained. Gibbons indicated that the Greek Cypriots were making plans to invade the TRNC without using weapons and added that their efforts to return to the north of the island, construct buildings and buy land from the Turks were all parts of this plan. Gibbons stated that he encountered many difficulties when he wanted to publish his book ''The Genocide Files''. Gibbons could not find a publisher who would publish his book therefore he started his own printing business to publish his book. Gibbons underlined that he was a journalist, not a politician, and added that it took him three years to finish his book. TRNC's Bayrak Radio and Television Director Huseyin Cobanoglu announced that they would make a documentary from the book and also translate the book into Turkish. -MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING SIGNED IN A delegation headed by Energy and Natural Resources Ministry Undersecretary Yurdakul Yigitguden represented Turkey at the talks. The memorandum of understanding is considered one of the solid steps that leads to Kazakhstan's joining to the project. Kazakh company Kaztransoil Deputy Chairman Kayirgeldi Kabildin, Azerbaijani SOCAR Foreign Investments Department Chairman Valeh Alekperov, Georgian National Oil Company Chairman Georgi Cantirya and U.S. President's Caucasian Region Special Representative Elizabeth Johns signed the memorandum on behalf of their countries. Yigitguden who also signed the memorandum told the A.A that the memorandum would speed up the activities on the pipeline. -DISK TO ORGANIZE A PANEL DISCUSSION ON ''EU FULL Labour and Social Security Minister Yasar Okuyan and Karen Fogg, the Representative of the EU Commission in Turkey, will be in attendance at the panel discussion. Releasing a written statement, the DISK said on Thursday, ''following approval of Accession Partnership Accord, a series of processes such as preparation of the Environment Regulations and adoption of the National Program by the National Security Council (NSC) were experienced in Turkey. During all these processes, only a few issues came to the forefront in the full membership criteria. The social dimension has been missed. The DISK has concentrated its efforts to attract attention of the public opinion toward the social dimension. A panel discussion on 'EU Full Membership Process and its Social Dimension' will be held on Friday.'' -WALKER MEETS WITH PARLIAMENTARY FOREIGN During the meeting which was also attended by U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Robert Pearson, Inan said that good relations between the United States and Turkey are sometimes hurt by indirect causes. Recalling to the Armenian resolution which was withdrawn at the U.S. House of Representatives, Inan said he hoped such incidents would not reoccur in the future. About the conflict in the Middle East, Inan said Turkey was optimistic about the settlement of peace in the region. -TRIAL OF FOUR BUREAUCRATS OF FOREIGN TRADE UNDERSECRETARIAT STARTS Nevzat Alptekin, an expert of Foreign Trade Undersecretariat; Mustafa Kalin, the Department Chief of Foreign Trade Undersecretariat; Oktay Ustundag, the Deputy Director General of Import Department of Foreign Trade Undersecretariat; and Emin Yavuz, the Import Department Chief of Foreign Trade Undersecretariat; were in attendance at today's court session at the Ankara Basic Criminal Court no: 19. The indictment prepared by Mehmet Cakir and Riza Mehmet Korkmaz, the inspectors of the Prime Ministry Customs Undersecretariat's Inspection Board, sought imprisonment terms from one year to three years to suspects Kalin and Ustundag on charges of ''misusing authority'' in accordance with Article 240 of Turkish Penal Code (TCK), and imprisonment terms from 14 months to 4 years and 6 months to suspects Yavuz and Alptekin on charges of successive offenses in accordance with Article 80 of the TCK. The court delegation decided to adjourn the hearing listening to suspects' defenses. -DIRIOZ, DEPUTY SPOKESMAN OF FOREIGN MINISTRY: Staging a weekly press conference at the Foreign Ministry, Dirioz said, ''we have been in close cooperation with the U.S. on the issue of Iraq. We will maintain this cooperation in the future.'' ''We believe that the embargo imposed on Iraq has been damaging Iraqi people. Therefore, it should be scrutinized. U.S. officials said that they would hold consultations with friendly allied countries on the issue. Talks are under way with Edward Walker, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs,'' he told reporters. When asked whether or not the issue of Kerkuk-Yumurtalik Oil Pipeline was brought onto agenda of meeting between Foreign Minister Ismail Cem and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell in Brussels, Dirioz said, ''the issue was not taken up at the meeting. The Kerkuk-Yumurtalik Oil Pipeline has been under supervision of the United Nations since 1991.'' Referring to allegations saying that a Turkish agent was taken into custody in Iran, Dirioz said, ''we have not received such an information. If there is a Turkish citizen arrested in a foreign country, Turkey protects his or her rights.'' Meanwhile, Dirioz welcomed Britain's decision to designate PKK and the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) as terrorist organizations. -DIRIOZ, DEPUTY SPOKESMAN OF FOREIGN MINISTRY: Staging a weekly press conference at the Foreign Ministry, Dirioz said, ''we have been in close cooperation with the U.S. on the issue of Iraq. We will maintain this cooperation in the future.'' ''We believe that the embargo imposed on Iraq has been damaging Iraqi people. Therefore, it should be scrutinized. U.S. officials said that they would hold consultations with friendly allied countries on the issue. Talks are under way with Edward Walker, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs,'' he told reporters. When asked whether or not the issue of Kerkuk-Yumurtalik Oil Pipeline was brought onto agenda of meeting between Foreign Minister Ismail Cem and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell in Brussels, Dirioz said, ''the issue was not taken up at the meeting. The Kerkuk-Yumurtalik Oil Pipeline has been under supervision of the United Nations since 1991.'' Referring to allegations saying that a Turkish agent was taken into custody in Iran, Dirioz said, ''we have not received such an information. If there is a Turkish citizen arrested in a foreign country, Turkey protects his or her rights.'' Meanwhile, Dirioz welcomed Britain's decision to designate PKK and the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) as terrorist organizations. -BIRDAL: ''I NEVER SAID TURKEY SHOULD APOLOGIZE FROM ARMENIANS Birdal attended the first hearing of the case with his lawyers. During his defense, Birdal said he spoke at a panel meeting in Germany about democracy, supremacy of law, and minorities as a human rights representative. Birdal said, at the meeting he also mentioned the ''unfair treatment'' the minorities in Turkey were exposed at certain periods. ''I never said Turkey should apologize because of the Armenian genocide. I was pointing to Turkey's mistakes regarding its minority policy,'' he said. Birdal's lawyer Sedat Aslantas said the case was filed against his client without getting his testimony which violated the Justice Ministry's regulations. Aslantas indicated that Birdal never said ''Armenians were exposed to genocide and Turkey should apologize for it'' as it was claimed by the Hurriyet Newspaper and added that they filed two separate cases against the newspaper. He said unfortunately they ''missed'' the Gozcu Newspaper. Court Chairman Nuri Yilmaz postponed the hearing to a later date and decided to write a letter to Chief Prosecutor's Office to find the correspondent of Gozcu newspaper who wrote the relevant news story. The court is seeking prison sentence up to six years for Birdal for violating Turkish Penal Code's (TCK) Article 159. -TURKISH FASHION 2001 FAIR IN GREECE Kursat Tuzmen, the Undersecretary of Foreign Trade; Ali Tuygan, the Turkish Ambassador to Greece; Panagiotis Kutsikos, the Co-President of Turkish- Greek Business Council; and a number of businessmen attended inauguration of the fair at Exhibition Hall in Pire Port. Speaking at the inauguration, Tuzmen said, ''Both Turkey and Greece experienced economic crises in the past, but they overcame all of them. Turkey will overcome the current crisis soon.'' Underlining importance of textile industry's place in Turkey's foreign trade, Tuzmen expressed his hope over further improvement of economic relations between Turkey and Greece. Meanwhile, Kutsikos said that the fair was one of the best signs of that rapproachement between Turkey and Greece yielded concrete results. The fair will remain open till March 3.
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