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Turkish Press Review, 00-09-19
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
19.09.00
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS
AS ARMENIAN LOBBYING INCREASES BY MUSTAFA BALBAY
[02] (CUMHURIYET)
[03] AKBULUT IN BULGARIA
[04] TANTAN IN UZBEKISTAN
[05] LOGOGLU MEETS HENNEKINNE
[06] GREECE REJECTS THE KURDISH ASYLUM SEEKER
[07] CEM PRESENTS PAPANDREOU A COMFIDENCE-BUILDING MEASURES PACKAGE
[08] DE SOTO'S SOLUTION TO THE CYPRUS PROBLEM
[09] CZECH PRESIDENT TO VISIT TURKEY
[10] TURKISH BUSINESSMEN IN AFRICA
[11] BLACK SEA PARTNERSHIP MANOEUVRE STARTS
[12] AIR FORCES COMMANDER GOES TO HOLLAND
[13] OTELLINI'S STATEMENT
[14] FOCUS: "TURKEY GAINED THE MOST FROM TOURISM"
[15] DECREE ON DIVISION OF TEAS INTO THREE BRANCHES
[16] THE INTEREST RATE ESTIMATES FOR THE YEAR 2001
[17] BOEING OPENS SCHOOL IN QUAKE REGION
[18] MARTYRS AND VETERANS' DAY
[19] BACH DAYS COMMENCE
[20] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS
[21] AS ARMENIAN LOBBYING INCREASES BY MUSTAFA BALBAY
(CUMHURIYET)
[01] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS
AS ARMENIAN LOBBYING INCREASES BY MUSTAFA BALBAY
[02] (CUMHURIYET)
[03] AKBULUT IN BULGARIA
During his visit to Sofia, Speaker of the Turkish Grand National
Assembly (TGNA) Yildirim Akbulut said: "Like Germany and France,
Bulgaria should also proclaim the PKK as a terrorist organization
and should end its activities in this country." Mr. Akbulut and
the accompanying Turkish delegation met Bulgarian National
Parliament's Speaker Yordan Sokolov. At the meeting, the TGNA
Speaker conveyed Turkey's concern over the terrorist organization
PKK's activities in Bulgaria and rumours on an international
Armenian meeting which is planned to be held in Bulgaria in 2002.
/Turkiye/
[04] TANTAN IN UZBEKISTAN
Interior Minister Sadettin Tantan and a delegation left for
Tashkent, Uzbekistan yesterday on the invitation of the Uzbek
Interior Minister Major General Zakir Almatov. During the
meetings, the Turkish delegation is discussing the struggle
against terrorism, organized crimes and drug trafficking issues
with Uzbek authorities. It is stated that Uzbek security teams,
fighting against terrorism, would be trained in Turkey who has
been struggling against terrorism for years. /Turkiye/
[05] LOGOGLU MEETS HENNEKINNE
Undersecretary of Foreign Ministry Faruk Logoglu met the
Secretary-General of French Foreign Ministry, Loic Hennekinne, in
Ankara yesterday. Discussing the political, economic and cultural
relations between Turkey and France, Mr. Logoglu and Mr.
Hennekinne held consultations on France's experiences concerning
the European Union (EU), which is currently EU's term president,
and the accession partnership document which will be completed by
the European Commission in October. Turkey requested support from
France for not including the Cyprus and Aegean issues in the
accession partnership document. Mr. Hennekine, who replied to the
questions of the reporters after the meeting, stated that they
understood Turkey's concern over the so-called Armenian genocide
bill and added that they were trying to do their utmost to
prevent these kinds of attempts against Turkey. Stating that
France supported Turkey's full EU membership, Mr. Hennekine
explained France's cooperation proposals which are: to explain
the French model, which is regarded as the most convenient model
for Turkey's administrative and juristic reforms, to the Turkish
bureaucrats, to convey France's EU experience to Turkey via the
mechanisms that will be established, to improve the cooperation
between the two countries' state planning and statistics
institutions. In addition, France desires to contribute to the
Justice Academy that will be established in Turkey. /Cumhuriyet/
[06] GREECE REJECTS THE KURDISH ASYLUM SEEKER
Greece has rejected granting the right of asylum to a member of
the separatist terrorist organization PKK. Turkey and Greece
signed an agreement for cooperation against terrorism in January.
The Greek Public Order Ministry has ordered the responsible
editor of a pro-PKK journal to leave the country within three
months. Minister Mihalis Hrisohoidis pointed out the reasons for
the rejection. He said that they would not grant political
immigrant status to any person escaping from Turkey and there
were no clear evidence that this person's individual rights were
violated in his country. /Milliyet/
[07] CEM PRESENTS PAPANDREOU A COMFIDENCE-BUILDING MEASURES PACKAGE
Foreign Minister Ismail Cem and Greek Foreign Minister George
Papandreou are discussing the relations between two countries at
the 55th term meetings of the United Nations. The ministers do
not include the Cyprus issue, since it is not a Turkish-Greek
problem, into their discussion agenda for the sake of preserving
the permanent friendship. They agreed yesterday on a package of
confidence-building measures in the Aegean Sea. The measures that
were agreed on are as follows: 1. The number, range and scope of
the joint military exercises carried out in the Aegean Sea by
both Turkish and Greek armed forces will be decreased. 2. Turkish
and Greek attack aircraft flying over the Aegean should bear IFOF
electronic eqipment enabling their identification. 3. Unarmed
Turkish and Greek aircraft should fly over the Aegean 4. The
military airbases in Eskisehir and Larissa should jointly
supervise the military flights in the international aviation zone
over the Aegean. 5. Turkish and Greek armed forces should carry
out joint military exercises in the Aegean and the Mediterranean
within the framework of Partnership for Peace (PFP). 6. Turkish
and Greek war ships should visit each other's ports. 7. Observers
should be mutually invited to the national military exercises
carried out by each state. 8. Within the framework of 'Open Sky'
Agreements, the training flights by Turkish and Greek aircraft
should be mutually controlled. 9. Turkish and Greek maritime
companies should establish direct relations. The delegations of
the two countries will meet in Ankara on 29 September to review
the principles of "Good Neighbourliness". Mr. Cem and Mr.
Papandreou have also agreed on issues such as searching for
possible oil reserves in the Aegean, the prevention of
environmental pollution around the Meric (Evros) river, the
organization of 2008 Football Championship in Turkey and Greece
and the organization of mutual visits by each country' youth.
/Sabah/
[08] DE SOTO'S SOLUTION TO THE CYPRUS PROBLEM
It was claimed that the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General's
Special Representative to Cyprus, Alvaro De Soto, presented a map
concerning the territorial issue to the parties during the fourth
round of Cyprus proximity talks in New York. According to the
news in the Greek-Cypriot press, the map, envisages that 28% of
the territory should be given to the Turkish-Cypriot
Administration. According to the map prepared by De Soto, a
canton region will be formed between the Karpaz region and
Akincilar village in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
(TRNC) and the Turkish-Cypriot Administration will control 55% of
the shores. The map also foresees that 50% of the Greek-Cypriot
immigrants should return to their previous places. /Aksam/
[09] CZECH PRESIDENT TO VISIT TURKEY
Czech President Vaclav Havel will visit Turkey on the invitation
of President Ahmet Necdet Sezer on Oct. 10-12. During his visit,
the Czech President will be presented the title of "honorary
doctorate" by Bilkent University. After completing the meetings
in Ankara, the Czech President and his accompanying delegation
will also visit Izmir and Istanbul. /Star/
[10] TURKISH BUSINESSMEN IN AFRICA
A delegation of Turkish businessmen headed by State Minister
Hasan Gemici is travelling to Africa on a fact finding tour of
the Congo, the Congo Democratic Republic and Gambia. The tour
started yesterday and will last until the end of the month.
During this time the delegation is expected to sign many
agreements on commercial, economic and technical cooperation.
/Turkish Daily News/
[11] BLACK SEA PARTNERSHIP MANOEUVRE STARTS
The 'Black Sea Partnership-2000', one of the planned manoeuvres
of the Naval Forces Command for the year 2000, started with the
arrival of the ships in Istanbul Harbour. This manoeuvre, which
will be carried out in the Western Black Sea, will be controlled
by the Northern Group Commander, Rear Admiral Murat Bilgel. This
manoeuvre aims at increasing training and cooperation between the
countries bordering the Black Sea and supporting the activities
of the Partnership for Peace. The manoeuvre will end on 23
September. /Aksam/
[12] AIR FORCES COMMANDER GOES TO HOLLAND
Air Forces Commander Gen. Ergin Celasin has gone to Holland as
the official guest of the commander of the Royal Dutch Air Force,
Lt Gen. Dick 1. Berlijn. Gen. Celasin will return to Turkey on
Sept. 21. /Turkish Daily News/
[13] OTELLINI'S STATEMENT
The world's biggest micro-chip producer, Intel's Deputy Chairman,
Paul Otellini, said that Turkey was the country which will mostly
benefit from internet banking due to its young population and
dynamic economy. Mr. Otellini, who paid an official visit to
Turkey as the highest-level Intel representative, attended a
press conference in Istanbul and stated that the
telecommunication infrastructure should be improved and rational
policies should be carried out in order to ensure this economic
success. /Hurriyet/
[14] FOCUS: "TURKEY GAINED THE MOST FROM TOURISM"
In the weekly German magazine, Focus, it was stated that Turkey
gained the most from the tourism sector this year. In the news
entitled "Tourism Balance-Sheet for Bodrum and Majorca", it was
said that the hotels in the touristic regions of Turkey were
booked-up during the 2000 season. It was added that this boom
originated from the low prices in Turkey. /Hurriyet/
[15] DECREE ON DIVISION OF TEAS INTO THREE BRANCHES
A draft of the Decree with the power of law on the division of
Turkish Electricity Production and Distribution Joint Stock
Company (TEAS) into three different companies was sent to the
Prime Ministry. According to the draft the production of
electricity will be carried out by the Electricity Production
Company. The transmission, distribution and management planning
will be organized by the Electricity Transmission Company. The
third company, Electricity Trade and Undertaking Company will
deal with the agreements on the sale and purchase of electricity
with other countries. /Milliyet/
[16] THE INTEREST RATE ESTIMATES FOR THE YEAR 2001
The Treasury revising its estimates for the years 2001 and 2002,
stated that the average interest rate of bonds will be 22 percent
in 2001 and it will decrease to 20 percent in 2002. The decrease
in interest rates faster than expected for this year made the
Treasury revise some of its estimations. In the seminar about
"Capital Markets and Investment Opportunities in Turkey" held in
London last week, the Undersecratary of Treasury Selcuk Demiralp
pointed out that, the rapid decrease in interest rates led to
certain changes in some projections. /Sabah/
[17] BOEING OPENS SCHOOL IN QUAKE REGION
A school which was built by Boeing company in Bolu was opened
yesterday. The representative of Boeing Philip Nuber said that as
a global firm, they feel responsible tehmselves to support the
social activities. The school cost $150,000. /Sabah/
[18] MARTYRS AND VETERANS' DAY
Turkish martyrs and veterans, who enabled the Republic of Turkey
to reach these days, are going to be officially commemorated
today for the first time. Chief of the General Staff Gen. Huseyin
Kivrikoglu issued a message to mark the "Martyrs and Veterans'
Day." In his message Gen. Kivrikoglu said: "Turkish Armed Forces
is determined to defend this country forever, which was entrusted
to us by our martyrs and war veterans." /Turkiye/
[19] BACH DAYS COMMENCE
Within the framework of the 250th anniversary of his death, the
prominent composer Bach is being commemorated with a series of
concerts and conferences, organized in Istanbul. The activities
will end on Friday, Sep. 29. /Turkiye/
[20] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS
[21] AS ARMENIAN LOBBYING INCREASES BY MUSTAFA BALBAY
(CUMHURIYET)
Columnist Mustafa Balbay comments on the recent Armenian lobbying
activities. A summary of his column is as follows:
"One can find both friendship and hostility when searching the
archives or taking a look at history. The important thing is what
you are looking for. If your country is established on a vast
area and has a great historical heritage, you inevitably face
many contradictions in interpreting it.
It should be noted that when the PKK terrorist organization lost
its importance, there has been an increase in the news concerning
Armenia. News as if they are blueprints are coming from different
parts of the world. The developments taking place only in
September are the warnings of others to come. Some of these are:
1)The Armenian lobby groups in the US came together last week and
decided to present a 'freedom award' to Murad Topalian who was
tried with the exploding of a bomb in front of the Turkish House
in New York and resulted in the wounding of three. Topalian was
arrested following an investigation after a raid on a depot in
the State of Ohio when large amount of arms and explosives were
seized. 2) The Armenian lobby groups in Russia met and decided to
use the map accepted at the Sevres Treaty on postcards on special
days and celebrations. 3)The so-called Armenian Genocide claims
were presented to the US House of Representatives . If they are
accepted there, they will go to the Congress. 4)France accepted
the Armenian Bill in 1998 in Parliament. It is waiting for a
final decision at the Senate on Turkey's reaction. Armenians have
started to work to bring the issue to the Senate floor. 4)It was
permitted to construct an Armenian Genocide monument in Assen,
Holland in a cemetery. When the Turks reacted to it a commission
was established which will listen to the Turkish side in late
September. 5)In Switzerland an interesting court case is taking
place concerning the Armenian claims. A group of Turks collected
signatures to state that the so-called genocide as claimed by the
Armenians was not true,and that the Swiss officials approached
the case in a biased stance and many historians penned the
incidents which took place in 1910s in a different way. The
statement was conveyed to Swiss officials. While the Turks were
waiting to see how their reaction was met, they learned that
court cases were opened against them. The reasoning was that 'To
claim that no proven genocide has taken place is racism'.
After presenting such a spectrum of events, the essence of the
issue should be mentioned. The Armenian lobbies have a
three-staged plan. The first stage is to make Turkey accept that
there has been a Genocide of Armenians at the beginning of the
century and to use all means for this purpose. Secondly, after
having it accepted they want to ask for a heavy compensation from
the Republic of Turkey. The third stage concerns demands for
territory.
This three-staged plan is going on despite the intervals during
the PKK terrorism. The recent news are different in one aspect
than the previous ones. Armenia which was established after the
disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, did not support the
efforts against Turkey for a long time. However, a change of
policy has been observed in Armenia last year. The State is also
supporting the efforts against Turkey. In fact, Kocharian voiced
the issue during the UN Millennium Summit.
Can Armenia with an area of 29,800 square kilometers, and a
population of four million with no outlet to sea, and which has
the most convenient access to the world through Turkey take this
decision alone? Definitely not... At this point we have to see
the new process clearly and get into action before any decision
is taken on the issue instead of reacting against decisions. The
events of 1915 should be evaluated within the circumstances of
the day. Furthermore, the Republic of Turkey which has been
founded in 1923 did not experience any problems with the
Armenians. There are 40,000 Armenian citizens living in Turkey
now. Armenia which could not get on its feet from the day it was
founded should evaluate the 2000s very well... Those who take the
support of far-away countries may believe that they have won the
case. But they will be disappointed to see that their support has
gone and they are left all alone!
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