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Turkish Press Review, 00-04-03
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
03.04.00
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[02] DEMIREL DOES NOT ANNOUNCE HIS WITHDRAWAL
[03] ECEVIT RETURNS TO TURKEY
[04] SIMITIS' PEACEFUL MESSAGE TO TURKEY
[05] DIPLOMATIC NEWS: "TURKEY'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE EU WILL BE GREAT"
[06] LEADERS' SUMMIT
[07] 'NO ONE SHOULD EXPECT CRISIS`
[08] COHN-BENDIT IN TURKEY
[09] FREEH IN TURKEY
[10] TANTAN: "ISLAMIC TERRORISM THREATENS THE STATE"
[11] 'ONE MORE STEP FOR THE KURDISH STATE'
[12] INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT TO BE PUT INTO PRACTICE
[13] UNIVERSAL PATRIARCH IN ANTAKYA
[14] EIGHT TRAINING BOATS FOR NAVAL FORCES
[15] YUSUFELI DAM TO BE CONSTRUCTED BY A FRENCH FIRM
[16] FOREST FIRE IN ZONGULDAK
[17] ONAL'S STATEMENT
[18] FINANCIAL WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK IN TURKEY
[19] ALKIM CHEMISTRY TO SET UP FACILITIES TOGETHER WITH ISRAEL
[20] APPROVAL FOR TUNNEL PROJECT
[21] WORLD BANK REPRESENTATIVES IN SAFRANBOLU
[22] INFLATION RATE IN MARCH
[23] ALTA VISTA IN TURKEY
[24] TURKMENISTAN CULTURAL DAYS AT CEMAL RESIT REY CONCERT HALL
[25] COMPETITION FOR THE OTTOMAN WORKS OF ART
[26] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[27] IMPORTANT GUEST BY YAVUZ DONAT (SABAH)
[01] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[02] DEMIREL DOES NOT ANNOUNCE HIS WITHDRAWAL
President Suleyman Demirel has met with the former and new
parliamentarians from the True Path Party (DYP) since last Friday
before the second round of voting. The parliamentarians noted
that they discussed the topics relating to 'regional issues`.
Some circles stated that Demirel had no intention of quitting
before getting the result of the second round of the voting.
/Cumhuriyet/
[03] ECEVIT RETURNS TO TURKEY
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and an accompanying delegation
returned from India to Ankara yesterday night and Ecevit spoke on
his visit to India at Ankara's Esenboga Airport. He went to
Shantiniketan from Calcutta during the last day of his visit to
India. Ecevit also received the title of 'honorary doctorate'
from Wishwar Bharati University. Ecevit delivered a speech during
this ceremony, saying, "Wishwar Bharati is a unique international
educational and cultural centre. It is a great privilege for me
to be honored by this title." During his speech, Ecevit also
mentioned his interest in the culture of India and Tagore. Then
Ecevit visited Rabindranath Tagore Museum and said that he was
very happy to visit this Museum. Ecevit and the accompanying
delegation returned to Ankara yesterday. /Turkiye/
[04] SIMITIS' PEACEFUL MESSAGE TO TURKEY
Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis stated that the day during
which Turkey's candidacy to the European Union (EU) was accepted
in Helsinki, was the happiest day of his life. Simitis gave a
statement to 'Eleftherotipia' daily newspaper in which he said,
"Turkey's relations with Europe were placed on a firm ground
within the framework of values and principles that have been
trying to be established for 50 years and the day in which this
decision was announced was the happiest day of my life. After the
decisions taken in Helsinki, important developments have occurred
between Turkey and Greece in terms of normalizing the relations
between these two countries. We are determined to continue these
works which I believe to be beneficial for both countries.
Furthermore, New Democracy Party Leader Kostas Karamanlis stated
that if his party comes to power, then they would continue to
implement the policy of rapprochement between Turkey and Greece.
/Turkiye/
[05] DIPLOMATIC NEWS: "TURKEY'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE EU WILL BE GREAT"
The 'Diplomatic News' magazine published in Belgium devoted wide
coverage to the relations between Turkey and the European Union
(EU). In the news the headline of which was 'Turkey in the EU',
the interviews made with the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Ismail Cem, Minister of National Defence, Sabahattin Cakmakoglu,
Turkish Permanent Representative to the EU, Ambassador Nihat
Akyol and Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association's
(TUSIAD) Representative to the EU, Bahadir Kaleagasi were
published. Ismail Cem spoke to 'Diplomatic News' magazine during
which he said that the acceptance of Turkey's candidacy to the EU
was a development that corrected the previous mistakes. Cem
added, "The dynamic and developing Turkish economy will
contribute to Europe and, thus, the Turkish democracy will
improve. Minister of National Defence, Sabahattin Cakmakoglu,
pointed out the works concerning the European Security and
Defence Identity (ESDI) and emphasized the importance of the
participation of the countries who are not EU members in the
maneouvres which will be carried out by the EU with NATO's
contribution. /Turkiye/
[06] LEADERS' SUMMIT
The party leaders of the coalition government are going to meet
today and take up the issues which caused crisis among the
partners before the second round of voting for the Constitutional
amendment, which will be carried out on April 5. The Nationalist
Action Party Leader Devlet Bahceli is expected to propose the
discussion of the Article 101 of the Constitution only.
/Cumhuriyet/
[07] 'NO ONE SHOULD EXPECT CRISIS`
Minister of Labour and Social Security, Yasar Okuyan, Motherland
Party (ANAP) parliamentarian Suhan Ozkan and the Chairman of
Istanbul Province, Ibrahim Taskin, yesterday organized a meeting
in Istanbul. Stating that the DYP was expecting a governmental
crisis, Okuyan said, "Certain circles who expect a
government-crisis, will understand in a couple of days that they
are mistaken. The opposition is trying to create a crisis." He
emphasized that the opposition should be patient at least for
four more years before coming into power and noted that the
presidential election would be carried out according to the rules
in the Constitution. /Cumhuriyet/
[08] COHN-BENDIT IN TURKEY
The Co-Chairman of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Commission
(KPK), Daniel Cohn-Bendit, will come to Ankara today. Cohn-Bendit
will meet the former deputy of the Democracy Party (DEP) Leyla
Zana who is currently in prison. The Justice Ministry has given
an approval to Bendit who previously caused the postponement of
the KPK meeting envisaged to be held in March when his demand to
visit Zana was rejected. Bendit-Zana meeting will not be an
official one. Bendit who will also meet the Co-Chairman of the
KPK, Kursat Eser, is expected to visit the Association of the
Mothers of the Martyrs. Bendit will hold a press conference and
then will leave Turkey. /Milliyet/
[09] FREEH IN TURKEY
FBI's Chairman, Louis Freeh, is holding official meetings with
the Turkish officials to prevent international crimes. Freeh will
also hold a series of talks at the Ministry of Justice, Ministry
of the Interior and the National Intelligence Service. Freeh, who
is paying a visit to Turkey for the first time, will also visit
FBI's branch that was opened at the American Embassy to Ankara in
1999. /Sabah/
[10] TANTAN: "ISLAMIC TERRORISM THREATENS THE STATE"
The Minister of the Interior, Sadettin Tantan, said that the
activities of the separatist and reactionary organizations were
threatening the State. Security measures prior to the tourism
season have been discussed at the Security Summit in Antalya
during which decisions to fight against drug trafficking,
organized crime and spoiling along the coasts were taken. Tantan
requested the support of the Turkish nation in the struggle
against terrorism. Tantan said, "Only the PKK terrorist
organization and other extreme leftist organizations were on the
agenda. However, recently other illegal organizations threatening
the Turkish State have been uncovered such as Hizbullah and
Vasat". /Aksam/
[11] 'ONE MORE STEP FOR THE KURDISH STATE'
One more step has been taken in the efforts launched by the
Kurdistan Democrat Party (KDP) to establish a Kurdish state. The
KDP will host an international conference at the Mustafa Barzani
Chair set up at the American Universities' Union for Global Peace
in Washington in 1996. According to an article published in the
last issue of the 'Yeni Dusunce' magazine, the hall where the
conference will be held will be full of the flags of the
so-called KDP government. Kurdistan maps which take place in the
KDP website and concern Turkey will be distributed during the
conference and the National Kurdistan Anthem will be played. It
is also reported that Francis J.Ricciardone, an official from the
US State Department Responsible for Northern Iraq, will deliver a
speech at the conference entitled 'Identity Search of the Kurds'
to be held in the US on April 17-18. /Aksam/
[12] INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT TO BE PUT INTO PRACTICE
A bilateral agreement between Turkey and Britain to allow the
dependents of diplomats, technical and administrative personnel
of embassies and international representative offices to work in
the state they are residing in has been approved. The agreement
was signed by the two countries on January 12 in Ankara. /Turkish
Daily News/
[13] UNIVERSAL PATRIARCH IN ANTAKYA
Ignatios I.Zakka Iwas, the Universal Patriarch of the whole
Eastern Syrian-Orthodox Church based in Damascus, Syria, attended
a religious ceremony held at the Saint Pierre Church in Antakya.
Patriarch Iwas, who was welcomed by many Syrian-Orthodox people
at the Cilvegozu Border Gate in Hatay, was accompanied by many
archbishops and spiritual leaders coming from the US, Aleppo,
Switzerland, Canada, Iraq, Lebanon, Germany, Syria, Israel,
Jordan, California, Istanbul and Turkey's Southeastern region.
Iwas stated that Antakya was the second holiest city for
Syrian-Orthodox people following Jerusalem and expressed his
gratitude for the efforts of the Turkish officials who
contributed to the restoration of the church. The Patrirach Iwas
and the accompanying delegation will go to India following
Turkey. /Aksam/
[14] EIGHT TRAINING BOATS FOR NAVAL FORCES
Eight training boats built by the Bora Naval Industry and Trade
Joint Stock Company in Istanbul were handed-over during a
ceremony attended by the Commander of the Naval Forces,
Vice-Admiral Ilhami Erdil yesterday. Erdil said, "The achievement
of this venture, the fifth biggest project carried out by the
ship-building dockyards other than the military dockyards
belonging to the Naval Forces is the success of the Turkish
ship-building industry". /Aksam/
[15] YUSUFELI DAM TO BE CONSTRUCTED BY A FRENCH FIRM
Yusufeli Dam and the Hydroelectric Power-Station, which were
included in the investment programme of the State Water Works in
order to meet Turkey's need for energy from Turkish production
sources, will be constructed by a French firm. All the assembly,
electromagnetic equipment and the other equipment necessary for
the construction of Yusufeli Dam and the Hydroelectric
Power-Station, which are planned to be built as part of the
Turkish-French energy protocol, will be met by the loan package
that will be received from France. A total of energy of 1 billion
7 million kw/h will be produced per year in this dam. /Turkiye/
[16] FOREST FIRE IN ZONGULDAK
Approximately 20 hectares of land was destroyed in a forest fire
on Saturday evening in Zonguldak. The fire, which spread rapidly
because of the high wind, was brought under control yesterday
morning. A total of 792 people reportedly participated in efforts
to extinguish the blaze, the cause of which has not been
determined. /Turkish Daily News/
[17] ONAL'S STATEMENT
State Minister responsible for economy, Recep Onal, stated that
Turkey will meet the European Union's (EU) economic criteria
following the third year of the implementation of the economic
stability programme aimed at reducing the inflation rate. Onal
stated that this economic programme should be evaluated following
the announcement of figures of June and that Turkey is the
luckiest candidate country among the others. /Sabah/
[18] FINANCIAL WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK IN TURKEY
Thiry-five members of the Financial Women's Association of New
York will organize a series of seminars in Istanbul between 1 and
3 May for three days and continue their meetings in Ankara. The
aim of this Association, which was founded in 1956 and has more
than 1,000 members, is to increase women's effectiveness in the
business world. The members of this Association gather
information about the country they will visit. The Head of the
IMF-Turkey Desk, Carlo Cottarelli also gave information to this
Association concerning Turkey. /Sabah/
[19] ALKIM CHEMISTRY TO SET UP FACILITIES TOGETHER WITH ISRAEL
The Alkim Chemistry, which is a leading company throughout the
world in the production of sodium sulphate with an annual 250,000
ton-capacity, will cooperate with the Israeli Dead Sea Works firm
for the production of potassium sulphate fertilizer in Turkey.
The General Director of the Alkim Alkali Chemistry Joint Stock
Company, Nihat Erkan, said that they were engaged in a joint
venture with the Israeli Dead Sea Works, the second biggest
company in this field in the world. Erkan added, "Following the
establishment of the facilities, 75,000 tons of demand for
fertilizer will have been met in Turkey". /Aksam/
[20] APPROVAL FOR TUNNEL PROJECT
It has been decided that proposals will be received from a group
consisting of three firms established for the engineering and
advisory services' tender concerning the Tunnel Project and
'Marmaray' system in Istanbul. An approval was taken from Japan
last week following the Turkish Transport Ministry's ratification
to receive proposals from the three-firm group including Turkish
and Japanese firms. In this context, the Transport Ministry will
take proposals within two months at the latest. Officials from
the JBIC, a Japanese Over-Seas Credit Institution, stated that a
$865 million loan would be initially used in line with the
agreements previously signed. A $2.5 billion loan is foreseen to
be received from Japan who commits to extend the loans necessary
for the construction of the system. The initial $70 million part
of the loans will be utilized for the advisory and engineering
services of the project. /Aksam/
[21] WORLD BANK REPRESENTATIVES IN SAFRANBOLU
Representatives from the World Bank to Turkey and officials from
the Turkish Culture Ministry have made a series of observations
in the Safranbolu district and Yoruk village, which take place in
the World Heritage List to evaluate the allocation of a loan
concerning a series of projects in these places. The
representatives visited the region and said that the amount of
the loans would be determined in the near future. /Aksam/
[22] INFLATION RATE IN MARCH
The figures of the inflation rate for March will be announced
today by the State Institute of Statistics (DIE). The inflation
rate will be an indicator of the first three months and it is
expected to be between 3% to 4%. /Star/
[23] ALTA VISTA IN TURKEY
The Superonline has offered a 'complete text` search engine to
the service of Turkish users, cooperating with one of the largest
searching sites in the world, Alta Vista on March 27, 2000. Now,
Turkish users who do not know English, can obtain information
from Alta Vista's 250-million-page index, using Turkish words.
/Cumhuriyet/
[24] TURKMENISTAN CULTURAL DAYS AT CEMAL RESIT REY CONCERT HALL
'Turkmenistan Cultural Days' that were organized by the
Metropolitan Municipality of Istanbul's Branch of Cultural
Affairs started at Cemal Resit Rey Concert Hall. The activities
that began with the Turkmen Painters' Exhibition aims to increase
the cultural cooperation between Turkey and Turkmenistan and to
reflect the traditional and modern cultural experience of
Turkmenistan. Deputy President of Turkmenistan and Turkmenistan's
Minister of Culture, Orazgeldi Aydogduyev, also delivered a
speech before the concert staged by Turkmenistan's Symphony
Orchestra and said, "We are one nation and two states." /Turkiye/
[25] COMPETITION FOR THE OTTOMAN WORKS OF ART
Two leading auction halls, Sotheby's and Christies will sell
unique Turkish and Ottoman works of art during the auctions that
will be organized in London between 11 and 14 April. Most of
these works of art belong to the 16th and 17th centuries and the
collectioners are expected to be in strong competition for these
works of art. /Sabah/
[26] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[27] IMPORTANT GUEST BY YAVUZ DONAT (SABAH)
Columnist Yavuz Donat writes on the expected visit German
President Johannes Rau will pay to Turkey. A summary of his
column is as follows:
"As the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) will vote on
Constitutional amendments, the German President will come to
Turkey from Athens. It would have been much better if this
meeting had not coincided with the ballot on the amendment to the
Constitution.
This is the first visit of a German President to Turkey after an
interval of 14 years. The German President attaches special
importance to this visit and there are two Turks in the
delegation accompanying him. One is the Chairman of the
Turco-German Research Centre, Prof.Faruk Sen and the other is a
leading businessman Vural Oger. Prior to his visit, the German
President went to the Turco-German Research Centre and was
informed on the recent developments.
President Johannes Rau is an experienced, powerful and
prestigious statesman. He protested the Solingen tragedy where
five Turks were burnt alive. When he became President he stated
that he was the President of not only Germans but all citizens
living in Germany.
There are two and a half million Turks in Germany. Some of them
are workers, some of them are entrepreneurs. 55,200 of the Turks
living in Germany have their own businesses. Some of them are
tenants, some landlords. Some are even elected deputies and some
are members of the European Parliament.
This important visit should not be overshadowed by the voting on
the amendment to the Constitution."
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