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Turkish Press Review, 99-03-10Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>10.03.99Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] FROM THE COLUMNS ... FROM THE COLUMNS ... FROM THE COLUMNS[02] ECEVIT'S REACTION AGAINST DISGRUNTLED DEPUTIESDemocratic Left Party (DSP) leader and Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit displayed a harsh reaction against the disgruntled deputies who are in favour of cancelling the April 18 elections, labelling their attempt a 'civilian coup'. Ecevit said: "I hope their efforts will have no impact on Parliament and that this effort for a 'coup' will only cause a little unrest".The Motherland Party (ANAP) and the True Path Party (DYP) leaders also reacted against the deputies' attempt. ANAP leader Mesut Yilmaz said: "Some people in Ankara are trying to cancel the elections, but they will fail. This kind of attempt is leading Turkey into chaos. This means the national will will be mortgaged". DYP leader Tansu Ciller stated that it is impossible that the deputies will succeed in postponing elections and declared: "They are only thinking of their own interests. Turkey has to renew its Parliament. Each effort at personal gain is a loss for Turkey". The leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP), Deniz Baykal, stated that this issue cannot be solved by a group of disorganized deputies but with the support of a whole political party. Baykal also stated that 184 MPs are needed for a plenary session at Parliament on Saturday. "I am not sure whether there will be a majority or not. To enact laws, a majority is needed in Parliament" he said. /All papers/ [03] CETIN: "PARLIAMENT WILL CONVENE FOR OCALAN"Hikmet Cetin, the Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, remarked that the Parliamentary session to be held on Saturday is not concerned with the postponement of the April Elections. Cetin said, "The plenary session on Saturday will tend to discuss the national and international developments due to the capture of Abdullah Ocalan, the chief of the terrorist PKK organization, and to review the necessary legislative measures to be taken for them." Hikmet Cetin noted that in order to hold a Parliamentary meeting to postpone the April Elections, another application must be submitted to his office and he has received no such demand yet. /Turkiye/[04] OCALAN FORMALLY APPOINTS LAWYERSThe PKK chief, Abdullah Ocalan, has formally appointed two lawyers to defend him against charges of treason. The Anatolia News Agency quoting police officials reported that Ocalan named Ahmet Zeki Okcuoglu and his brother Selim Okcuoglu as his lawyers in the presence of a notary.[05] MILLER IN ANKARAIn an attempt to soothe the ongoing tension between Ankara and Athens, US diplomat Thomas Miller had talks in Ankara yesterday as part of a regional tour, which also included Greece and Cyprus. Miller, the State Department's Special Coordinator for Cyprus, met Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, State Minister Sukru Sina Gurel and Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Faruk Logoglu yesterday. The issue of Greek and Greek Cypriot support for the PKK terrorist organization was high on the agenda at the meetings. Speaking to reporters after his talks with Cem, Miller said that Greece should end its support for the PKK. Miller added that the US regarded the PKK as a terrorist organization. /All papers/[06] ECEVIT: "TERRORISM AND CYPRUS ARE IRRELEVANT ISSUES"Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit gave a resolute reply to Thomas Miller, the US Special Coordinator for Cyprus, who had implied that the current strains between Greece and Turkey should be soothed if the Cyprus Question between the two countries be resolved. Remarking that Greece trains and shelters terrorist militants against Turkey, Ecevit said, "This fact was being ignored by the entire international community. However, Greek support for the separatist PKK terrorism has become apparent now. It would be wrong to relate this question with other problems between Turkey and Greece, and particularly with the Cyprus Question." /Hurriyet/[07] TURKEY'S REPLY TO EUROPE ON OCALANTurkey sent a reply to Strasbourg upon a demand by the European Court of Human Rights concerning the details of the capture of the PKK chief, Abdullah Ocalan. Ankara said in the letter that all procedures necessary for a state of law have been carried out by Turkey following Ocalan's capture. The letter pointed out that Ocalan was initially rendered ineffective by Kenyan officials and then delivered to Turkey. The letter recalled that even though countries such as Italy and Germany were looking for Ocalan due to his involvement in drug trafficking and international terrorism, they did not want to try Ocalan themselves. The letter added that Ocalan was provided with all suitable conditions in order to continue with his daily life. /Milliyet/[08] MITCOTAKIS: "PKK IS A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION"The former Greek Prime Minister and the Honorary Head of the New Democracy Party, Konstantin Mitcotakis, criticized the Simitis government, which clearly supports the PKK terrorist organization. Mitcotakis noted that Greece should immediately announce that the PKK is a terrorist organization. Mitcotakis, who participated in a programme on the Private Antenna television two days ago, said that Athens should assume a clearer stance on the PKK terrorist organization.Mitcotakis stated that Greece should not intervene in the Ocalan issue and added that the damage which this issue caused in the Greek government was at tragic levels. On the other hand, the Greek Government Spokesman Dimitri Reppas who held a press conference yesterday said that the US did not want Greece to announce the PKK as a terrorist organization, however, Athens condemns every terrorist activity, he added. /Aksam/ [09] TURK WARNS ATHENSThe Minister of National Defence, Hikmet Sami Turk, noted that the deployment of missiles on the Aegean island of Crete by Greece was against both the Treaty of Lausanne and the Charter of Paris. Turk said: "Turkey has always been against the armament of the Greek islands". Replying to a question whether the deployment of missiles on the Greek islands would be a reason of war, Turk stressed that there were some stages to be overcome prior to a war. Turk stated that Turkey had previously declared that if Greece extends its territorial waters in the Aegean Sea to 12 miles, this would be a reason of war. /Aksam/[10] "PKK IS A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION"The Head of the Federal Supreme Administrative Court in Berlin, Friedrich Seebass, said: "The PKK is carrying out terrorist activities in Turkey". He added that those who support the PKK terrorist organization should be deported. /Cumhuriyet/[11] PKK MEMBERS CAPTUREDSeven members of the PKK terrorist organization who were about to carry out terrorist activities in the Turgutlu district of Manisa were captured yesterday with molotov cocktails. The Security Chief of the District, Nihat Oral, said that the PKK members were going to throw molotov cocktails to various places in order to protest the capture of the PKK chief Abdullah Ocalan by Turkey. /Cumhuriyet/[12] ATTACK ON THY OFFICEAn Italian journalist who has been allegedly involved in a bomb attack on the office of the Turkish Airlines (THY) in Rome during the demonstrations protesting the capture of Ocalan on February 20 in Rome has been interrogated. It is reported that the Italian journalist, Annubi D'Avossa, has been interrogated because he was observed in the photographs received by the police. /Cumhuriyet/[13] BLOODY TERRORIST ACTIVITIES DECREASEThe bloody terrorist activities that have been lasting for the last 15 years in Southeastern Anatolia region, decreased by 40-50% as a result of the successful struggle of the security forces, the Anatolia News Agency reports. A total of 114 terrorists were killed in the operations launched by the security forces in the region since the beginning of this year.[14] 647 SCHOOLS IN THE SOUHEAST WILL BE REOPENEDThe government has launched initiatives to eliminate the pernicious influence of the terrorist PKK organization, which has been in a process of disintegration following the capture of its chief, Abdullah Ocalan. Very recently, the Ministry of National Education has declared that 647 schools in Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia, which were closed due to security reasons, will be reopened in the following school year. Accordingly, the government will appoint a high number of teachers to those closed schools immediately after the April Elections. /Turkiye/[15] GERMAN POLICE WARNS AGAINST TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONSGerman police has initiated a campaign against the terrorist organizations of the PKK and DHKP-C and stated that providing financial assistance for these organizations was a crime. German police, who held raids against the associations of these organizations, hang notices on the panels of subway stations and city centers. In these notices, it was pointed out that the PKK, Dev-Sol and DHKP-C organizations were illegal in Germany. /Aksam/[16] EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEMANDS A PLEAThe European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has demanded a plea from Turkey on the Welfare Party (RP), which was closed by the Constitutional Court on January 16, 1998, due to its anti-secular activities. The Deputy Chairman of the de-funct RP, Sevket Kazan, had applied to the ECHR following the decision of the Constitutional Court. Due to the ECHR demand, preparations on the plea have begun. /Cumhuriyet/[17] DEMIREL SENDS A MESSAGE TO TURKMENBASIPresident Suleyman Demirel sent yesterday a message to Saparmurad Turkmenbasi, the President of Turkmenistan, wishing him a rapid recovery from an operation he underwent in connection with an earlier heart surgery, the Anatolia News Agency reports.[18] CETIN IN ISRAELThe Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA), Hikmet Cetin and an accompanying delegation arrived in Tel Aviv yesterday for a four-day official visit. Cetin first met the former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres. During the meeting, Peres noted that they view Turkey as the locomotive of the Muslim world and pointed out the importance of the relations between Turkey and Israel. /Cumhuriyet/[19] INDYK TO VISIT TURKEYMartin Indyk, US Deputy State Secretary responsible for Middle Eastern Affairs, who will arrive in Turkey tomorrow, will want Turkey to change the binding rules of the Northern Watch. However it is reported that Turkey will not accept the proposal for an alteration to the structure of the multi-national power. The developments following the bombing of the Kirkuk-Yumurtalik pipeline will also be taken up during the meetings which will start between the Turkish and US delegations tomorrow. /Milliyet/[20] BILICAN IN JORDANThe Chief of Security, Necati Bilican, has said that operations against illegal organizations are on-going. Bilican went to Jordan yesterday to hold various contacts within the framework of 'Security Cooperation Agreement' signed between Turkey and Jordan in 1994. Bilican noted that during his contacts to last for three days, various security issues between the two countries would be deliberated, the Anatolia News Agency reports.[21] TERRORISTS KILL A SOLDIER IN TUNCELILaying an ambush in Tunceli yesterday, terrorists killed one soldier and wounded three soldiers. Operations to find out the terrorist team in the region are being carried out by the Turkish security forces. /Turkiye/[22] OPERATIONS AGAINST ILLEGAL ORGANIZATIONSAmong 41 people who have been taken into custody for being members of the illegal MLKP organization, Ali Gok and Lokman Odak were arrested by the State Security Court yesterday. /Cumhuriyet/[23] 175 KGS DYNAMITE SEIZEDSecurity forces seized 175 kgs of dynamite and 5 thousand meters of time fuse, illegally maintained in a quarry at the Alaca district of the Corum province. The directors of the quarry were taken into custody. The police investigates whether the accused persons are interrelated with a terrorist organization. /Turkiye/[24] YENICELI RESIGNS FROM DSPZerrin Yeniceli, the Izmir MP for the Democratic Left Party (DSP), declared that she had resigned from her party. Yeniceli was one of the 116 MPs who endorsed the attempt to call Parliament into an extraordinary session, following her exclusion from the party list of candidates for the April Elections. /Turkiye/[25] "TURKISH ARMY IS FASCINATING"Foreign military officials at the NATO European Forces Commandership (SHAPE) in Brussels admitted that terrorism is one of major threats which NATO is determined to cope with. Remarking that "among the NATO armies, there are no armed forces specifically trained against terrorism except those of the US and Turkey", a Belgian military official said, "This is the fundamental reason behind the fact that NATO prefers air operations instead of direct interventions by ground forces. We have not been trained to fight against undisciplined and uncontrolled armed forces." /Turkiye/[26] SUPERB OFFERING TO THE TREASURYThe Turkish Treasury, which invited tenders for 371-day government bonds yesterday, received 2,583 trillion TL offering from the financial markets, meeting 1,200 trillion TL of it on a 99.99% average annual compound interest rate. The government bonds will be reimbursed on March 15, 2000. Meanwhile, it is reported that the Treasury will perform the highest amount of domestic borrowing repayment, discharging a total amount of 662.6 trillion TL, 403.7 trillion of which is principal and 258.9 trillion TL is interest. /Turkiye/[27] IMKB INDEX RISESShares in the Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB) increased by 2.98 % while the IMKB-100 Index increased by 114 points and reached 3,962. The daily transaction volume increased by 22 % and amounted to 102.3 trillion TL. /Milliyet/[28] TOBB INVESTS IN EAST AND SOUTHEASTFollowing a package announced by Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) will make investments especially in the fields of education and health in the Eastern and Southeastern Anatolian Regions. The Head of the Union, Fuat Miras, said that they continue to build schools and health facilities in these regions. He noted that they opened woven carpet workshops in order to provide employment for women in these regions. /Aksam/[29] THE MOST SECURE CITY: DIYARBAKIRIn a research submitted to the National Security Council by the General Staff, it was stated that the most secure city in Turkey was Diyarbakir. The election of the city as the safest city among 80 provinces of Turkey pleased its administrators. The city was a frightening place in the past due to terrorism and murders whose perpetrators were not found. National Security Council members congratulated Emergency Rule Regional Governor Aydin Arslan because of Diyarbakir's election as the safest city. /Milliyet/[30] POAS BIDDING CANCELLEDThe Sixth Administrative Court of Ankara has cancelled the bidding for the privatization of state-run oil company Petroleum Office Corporation (POAS). According to the Anatolia News Agency, following an application submitted by the Petrol-Is trade union, the privatization bidding for POAS was cancelled yesterday.[31] EURO CREDIT FROM TSKBThe Turkish Industrial Development Bank (TSKB) has provided a "Capital Credit of Participation" worth 12 million Euro by participating in the capital in the investment of the Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (KOBI) within the framework of an agreement with the European Investment Bank. With this credit, the TSKB will be able to participate in the firms, which have a partner from the EU-member countries and are active in industry and industrial activity based on agriculture, tourism and related areas. /Milliyet/[32] BSEC MEETING IN TBILISIA meeting of the International Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) began yesterday in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. The Turkish Ambassador Sevinc Dalyanoglu and Ahmet Guryuz Ketenci, the Istanbul MP for the Republican People's Party (CHP), are representing Turkey at the meeting. During the meetings to last for two days, issues such as international trade, investment, transportation, energy resources and communications are taken up, the Anatolia News Agency reports.[33] SALOMON SMITH BARNEY PRAISES AKBANKA US investment bank, Salomon Smith Barney, which issued a report on January 20, 1999, proposed 'Akbank' shares to investors. The report noted that the administrators of Akbank were only engaged in real banking services. The report pointed out that Akbank kept its promises and sold industrial companies in its portfolio. The report said that the growth rate percentage of Akbank has not been under dual-digit numbers during the last five years. The report added that Akbank was the company which had the highest profit in 1998. /Aksam/[34] PALESTINIAN MINISTER CALLS ON INVESTORSPalestinian Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade, Suleyman Ebu Karsh, called on Turkey to cooperate in the industrial and infrastructural projects in Palestine. Delivering a speech at the Foreign Economic Relations Council meeting held together with Palestinian businessmen, Karsh said that many products were coming to Palestine through Israel and added that this increased the prices of the products. Karsh stressed that Turkey had a special responsibility concerning Palestine and pointed out that a new commission for joint initiatives by Turkish and Palestinian businessmen should be established. /Cumhuriyet/[35] TURKISH MINISTER IN GERMAN PRESSThe German press has devoted wide coverage to the Turkish Tourism Minister Ahmet Tan, who attended the Berlin International Tourism Bourse (IBB'99), one of the biggest tourism fairs of the world. Statements by Tan saying that "We have no security problem" were on the cover of the FVW International. A press conference of Tan was also given wide coverage in the Frankfurter Allegemeine Zeitung newspaper. Tan said in his statements that Turkey was in a critical region from a geopolitical standpoint and added that the Turkish tourism was further developing. Tan noted that Turkey ranked 19th among the leading countries in tourism in the world and obtained $8.1 billion in revenues from tourism. /Sabah/[36] STALIN HAD ORDERED BULGARIANS TO FORCE TURKS TO MIGRATEThe Soviet archives uncovered by the Slavic Sciences and Research Institute have revealed the background of many events in Eastern Europe between 1949-1953, clarifying the secret policy directions once implemented against those people of Turkish origin living in Bulgaria as well. Accordingly, during a Kremlin meeting in July 1949 between the Russian President, Joseph Stalin, and the Deputy Prime Ministers of Bulgaria, Anton Yogov and Vilko Chervenko, Stalin had ordered the Bulgarian officials to force the Turks living in Bulgaria to migrate. /Turkiye/[37] TURKEY TO BE THE FIRST IN CREDIT CARTSMehmet Zengin, the Turkey and Eurasia Director of the Europay International, declared that Turkey is the leading country across Europe in terms of the rate of increase in the number of Maestro and Mastercard users. Accordingly, the number of Maestro and Mastercard users increased by 80% whereas the volume of transactions in terms of these credit carts reached $7.1 billion due to an increase by 88.2%. /Turkiye/[38] EKINCILER AWARDED CONTRACT FOR MOSCOW TRADE CENTREThe Ekinciler company has won the contract to build the Turkish Trade Centre, which is to be established near Moscow's Red Square. The trade centre is expected to cost $21.7 million and is being built through the joint efforts of the Turkish Union of Chambers of Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) and the Turkish Exporters' Assembly (TIM). The announcement was made by TOBB Chairman Fuat Miras and TIM Chairman Okan Oguz at a joint press conference yesterday. The Moscow Trade Centre will have between 250 and 300 sales outlets and will provide Turkish businessmen a chance to show real Turkish products. /All papers/[39] TURKISH MEGANE WAGON AT THE GENEVE AUTOMOBILE FAIRMegane Wagon, the new member of the Renault Megane family produced only in Turkey, has been exhibited for the first time at the 65th Geneve Automobile Fair. The new Megane Wagon will be initially sold in Germany and Holland. On the other hand, another remarkable model at the fair is Peugeot 206, which has been developed by the Turkish designer Murat Gunak. /Hurriyet/[40] EMPERORS' PORTRAITS TO BE EXHIBITEDPortraits of the Ottoman Emperors will be exhibited abroad. The Turkish Ministry of Culture will open exhibitions comprising 250 portraits of the emperors in Vienna and Washington, in addition to the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. A protocol regarding the exhibitions was signed by the Culture Minister Istemihan Talay and the Is Bank, the sponsor of the exhibitions yesterday. /Aksam/[41] JAZZ DAYS IN IZMIRThe sixth European Jazz Days organized by the Izmir Culture, Art and Education Foundation will be held on March 16-24. The Head of the Foundation, Filiz Eczacibasi Sarper, said that in addition to Turkey, 25 jazz musicians from Germany, Austria, Italy, Britain and France would participate in the Jazz Days. /Aksam/[42] INTERNATIONAL ISTANBUL FILM FESTIVALThe 18th International Istanbul Film Festival will be organized by the Istanbul Culture and Art Foundation between April 7 and May 2, the Anatolia News Agency reports.[43] FROM THE COLUMNS ... FROM THE COLUMNS ... FROM THE COLUMNS[44] ECEVIT'S REPLY - BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)Columnist Fikret Bila takes a look into Ecevit's reply to the call of the disgruntled MPs. A summary of his column is as follows:"Prime Minister Ecevit answered the call of the disgruntled members of the Parliament by saying that the convening of Parliament after this attempt would result in a chaos. He added that it would be irresponsible to think of postponing the elections as the Government had spent great amounts on the Elections... He is also concerned about the Southeastern Anatolia package and the criticisms directed at it. The Prime Minister stated that the package was an `urgent support' for the region and had concrete measures instead of abstract promises. He particularly stressed that the package was productive. He also added that some of the related decisions, falling within the scope of authority of his government, have already started to be implemented." [45] OUR WESTERN ALLIES - BY E. TEVFIK UNAYDIN (CUMHURIYET)In his column in "Cumhuriyet" daily, E.Tevfik Unaydın analyzes the reaction of Western countries to the Ocalan case and the Southeastern problem."In view of the stances displayed by some civilized Western countries which are allegedly the champions of justice, rule of law and human rights, it is surprising how they dare to lecture us concerning the trial and punishment of the murderer. Their words can be summarized as, 'Try the murderer fairly'. They should rest assured that he will be tried as fairly as a person who betrays his country, is responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands, and who carries on drug trafficking which is a disaster for humanity in any of these countries which claim to be the pioneers of civilization.....As we all know, economic and social reasons lie behind the Southeastern problem even from the days of the Ottoman Empire...Due to different reasons various promises given by some Governments could not be kept resolutely...We believe that this time the Government is determined in implementing the measures foreseen urgently, seriously and without interruption. This stand should be supported by all". Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |