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Turkish Press Review, 99-03-18Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>18.03.99Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] DIRECTOR OF RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS: "NEVRUZ IS AN OLD TURKISH TRADITION"[02] FROM THE COLUMNS....FROM THE COLUMNS....FROM THE COLUMNS[03] THOSE WHO DO NOT SUPPORT THE PKK ARE OPPRESSED - BY HASAN CEMAL (MILLIYET)[04] THOSE WHO DO NOT SUPPORT THE PKK ARE OPPRESSED BY HASAN CEMAL(MILLIYET)[05] GREECE DENOUNCES TERRORISMDimitri Reppas, the Greek Government Spokesman, criticized the terrorist PKK which had described Turkey as its "battlefield", and claimed, "Terrorism cannot resolve any problems." Reppas declared that the Greek Government "severely condemns the recent terrorist events in Turkey, which have cost the lives of innocent people." Greece also announced that it would not issue warnings to dissuade Greek tourists from visiting Turkey. /Sabah/[06] EUROPEAN SOCIALISTS CONDEMN PKK TERRORISMThe Socialist Group of the European Parliament (EP) denounced the recent PKK bombings in Turkey, considering them "unacceptable". Hannes Swoboda, the Foreign Relations Spokesman for the Socialist Group, said, "We severely denounce the recent PKK attacks which have caused the deaths of many innocent people. The PKK should understand that such actions damage any possible solutions to the Question." /Hurriyet/[07] EXPORTS INCREASE BY $980 MILLIONDue to the recent revisions in export and import figures, there has been revealed a $420 million increase in imports and a subsequent $980 million increase in exports. Accordingly, whereas the annual amount of exports in 1999 has been revised from $23.7 billion to $24.7 billion, the total amount of imports for the same period has been revised from $41.6 billion to $42 billion. Foreign trade officials noted that there may have been some documents concerning December 1999 which had not yet been evaluated, and therefore the announced foreign trade figures may also be altered. /Hurriyet/[08] G-8 INTERVENES IN CYPRUSFollowing intensified efforts by the UN and EU to resolve the Cyprus Question, it has been reported that the G-8 is preparing to organize a summit between Rauf Denktas, the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), and Glafkos Klerides, the leader of the Greek-Cypriot Administration. It is announced that as part of these measures, Alexander Avlov, the Undersecretary of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will pay a visit to the Island in order to meet both leaders, which would mean the active participation of Russia in this issue. Meanwhile, Ambassador David Madden, the British Higher-Commissioner to Lefkosa, claimed that an increase in the number of powers interested in the Cyprus Question would facilitate a possible solution. /Hurriyet/[09] PKK BENEFITED FROM THE GULF WARIt has been revealed that the terrorist PKK organization obtained most of its weapons during the Gulf War. It is reported that Abdullah Ocalan, the Chief of the PKK, said in his affidavit, "We collected and purchased those weapons left by those people exiled from South to North." Ocalan also stated that the financial resources of the PKK are mainly based on grants and advertising in Europe. /Hurriyet/[10] TURCO-GREEK RELATIONSThe Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesman Sermet Atacanli said that in order to achieve an improvement in Turco-Greek relations, Greece should stop supporting terrorism. Replying to a question concerning Greek efforts to establish a dialogue between Turkey and Greece, Atacanli remarked that no official demand has arrived regarding this issue, the Anatolia News Agency reports.[11] HOLLAND: "WE WILL SEND TOURISTS TO TURKEY"Dutch travel agencies stated that they were determined to send tourists to Turkey. In a statement made by the ANVR, a high-level institution consisting of tourism and travel agencies, it was remarked that the PKK had made similar threats previously, however there was no need to assume a negative stance insofar as tourists' trips to Turkey were concerned. /Milliyet/[12] OFFICIAL BOYCOTT ON GREECEPublic economic enterprises and private companies have decided not to load cargo ontoGreek vessels. It is reported that steps are being taken to minimize the Greek share of the oil transport market. The Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) stated that it has frozen its commercial relations with Greek businessmen. The boycott is expected to cost an annual $1 billion loss only in the maritime sector of the Greek economy alone. /Milliyet/[13] BRITISH SERVEILLANCE EQUIPMENT TO PROTECT TURKEYIt is reported that surveillnce equipment, which will be used in places at high risk from terrorist activity, is imported from Britain. Turkey also imports such equipment from the US, Italy, France, Japan, Holland, Malta and Germany. /Milliyet/[14] THREE TERRORISTS KILLEDDuring conflicts between Turkish security forces and the PKK terrorist organization in the Bahcelievler district, one of a group of three PKK terrorists, which included a woman, was killed yesterday while the other two terrorists managed to escape. One poiceman was wounded during the conflict. The three terrorists were attempting to place a bomb in a shop in Yenibosna, Bahcelievler. The Head of the Istanbul Security Office, Hasan Ozdemir, said that security has been stepped-up in Istanbul. /Milliyet/[15] ADAMKUS: "TERRORISM IS A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY"Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus, who will arrive in Ankara today on an official visit, said that terrorism was a crime against civilization. Adamkus remarked that Turkey was among the first countries to recognize Lithuania following the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Adamkus added, "The Turkish Ambassador was the first foreign representative who arrived in the capital, Vilnius. Therefore, my visit to Turkey will be a wonderful opportunity to express the gratitude of myself and my people to the Turkish nation". /Milliyet/[16] DIRECTOR OF RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS: "NEVRUZ IS AN OLD TURKISH TRADITION"The Head of the Religious Affairs Department, Mehmet Nuri Yilmaz, said that Nevruz, which will be celebrated on March 21, is an old Turkish tradition. Yilmaz issued a written statement and remarked that everybody should be aware of the separatist threat and should not let the PKK catch them unawares. /Hurriyet/[17] HIGH TENSIONThe Virtue Party (FP) yesterday convened the Parliamentary Advisory Council in a meeting to push forward the Repentance Law drafts, the amendments to Article 312 of the Turkish Penal Code and the Political Parties Law. Moreover, the FP also proposed that the Council place on the parliamentary agenda discussions concerning the censure motion, as well as increasing the working hours of Parliament. These proposals were accepted by the Council with a vote of 254 to 220. In line with parliamentary regulations, a vote on the censure motion is now expected on Sunday and a confidence vote on Tuesday.Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP), Deniz Baykal, has declared that his party will not support the censure motion. "The CHP will not support the censure motion against the Government. That's not because we believe that the present government is the only option. We think that a government crisis only one month before the elections will not be of any use to anybody. It is not time for debates on the government," Baykal said. He also stated that the CHP is against the postponement of the Elections. /All papers/ [18] ECEVIT: "ELECTIONS ON TIME, NO OTHER WAY"Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit stated that it will not be easy to cancel the elections as a result of the actions initiated by the disgruntled MPs and added, "The Elections will be held, because there is no other way". Ecevit held a parliamentary group meeting yesterday and stated that the measures which were aimed at cancelling the elections just one month prior to the scheduled date were irresponsible. "It is our democratic duty to employ all the available provisions of the Constitution, valid laws and parliamentary bye-laws to hinder these activities," Ecevit maintained. /All papers/[19] TURKEY STEPS UP EFFORTS TO PERSUADE EUROPEANS OVER MED TVAnkara has taken another step in urging European countries to ban those media that support the PKK terrorist organization, mainly MED TV. Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Frauk Logoglu summoned German Ambassador Hans Joachim Vergau and the British Embassy's Charge d'Affairs, Hugh Mortimer, to the Ministry on Wednesday morning. Sermet Atacanli, a Ministry spokesman, told reporters at the weekly press briefing that the diplomats were summoned in order to urge their governments to take more steps to ban organizations such as MED TV, the daily Ozgur Politika and the DEM news agency.The governments of Britian and Belgium have begun to discuss the status of MED TV as Ankara has increased its steps to persuade them to ban this channel from broadcasting. MED TV braodcasts from its studios in Brussels, but its signals are transmitted through a satellite belonging to a British telecommunications company based in London. The Turkish Ambassador to Brussels, Guner Oztek, went to the Belgian Foreign Ministry yesterday and 'seriously' warned the authorities there concerning MED-TV broadcasts. Oztek told officials in Brussels that the Turkish government was 'running out of patience' with the continuation of MED TV's provocative broadcasts, which disseminate terrorist propaganda. /All papers/ [20] KIVRIKOGLU PRAISES TURKISH FORCESOn the 84th anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli, the Chief of the General Staff Gen.Huseyin Kivrikoglu said that the victory attained by Turkish Forces during World War I is proof of what the Turkish nation and its Armed Forces can achieve if its independence is at risk. In a special message issued yesterday, Gen.Kivrikoglu said that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) was still the strongest guarantor of the country's security and its democratic and secular principles. He also spoke about the military's considerable success against terrorism. /All papers/[21] KOC: GREEK SHIPPING MAGNATES MAY HAVE FINANCED OCALANKoc Holding Executive Board Chairman Rahmi Koc has said that he had gained the impression that Greek shipping magnates outside of Greece itself may have been financing Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK leader. Koc was answering questions posed by journalists in Samarkand, where he had travelled to open the Sam Koc Auto automotive factory. Koc also emphasized that he thought that one part of the Greek government did not know that another part of the government was covertly involved in the dealings with Ocalan.Koc's plan for Southeastern Anatolia was to become involved in animal husbandry, even though the cost would be some 15 times more expensive than in the West. Other investments were being planned for the Central Asian Turkish-Speaking Republics and included an Arcelik factory in Uzbekistan, a Ramstore department store in Kazakhstan and another Ramstore department in Moscow. /All papers/ [22] WTO CENSURES TURKEY'S CUSTOMS UNION TEXTILE QUOTAThe World Trade Organization (WTO) has said that Turkey's implementation of a quota on textile and ready-to-wear imports as part of the requirements for its Customs Union with the European Union (EU) is a violation of free trade principles, the Anatolia News Agency reports. Turkish officials have said that Turkey will opt to initiate an appeal, a process that is expected to take 18 months to reach a conclusion.[23] CHHIBBER WANTS STRUCTURAL REFORM FOR POST-ELECTION LENDINGThe World Bank's Turkey Director Ajay Chhibber said that if the General Elections are held on time and the new government starts taking much-neede structural reforms, international institutions will more readily support Turkey. Chhibber told the Anatolia News Agency of his ideas on the Turkish economy and relations between Turkey and the World Bank. He said that holding elections as scheduled will allow the timely implementation of structural reforms and will reduce political instability.[24] DISCUSSIONS CONTINUE ON ARTICLE 312Discussions related to the leader of the new-defunct Welfare Party (RP), Necmettin Erbakan, and other politicians who have been banned from politics have crept onto the agenda as a result of attempts to amend Article 312 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) and Article 95 of the Political Parties Law (SPY). Erbakan was banned from becoming a leader, member, administrator or auditor of any political party for a period of five years after the Constitutional Court ruled that the RP had been closed as a result of his statements. /All papers/[25] ASIK VEYSEL COMMEMORATEDThe late folk poet, Asik Veysel Satiroglu, is being commemorated with ceremonies held in the Sarkisla district of Sivas during March 17-21, the Anatolia News Agency reports. The commemoration of the renowned poet coincides with Poets' Week.[26] TURKISH LEATHER INDUSTRY SEEKS NEW MARKETSTurkish leather industrialists are looking for new markets. They are aiming at the European Union (EU) market as well as at markets in China, the US, Canada and Japan. To this end, a promotional campaign has already started in these countries.Turkish leather industrialists established the Leather Industrialists' Foreign Trade Joint Venture in order to increase the volume of their exports. The Chairman of the Turkish Leather Industrialists' Association, Turgut Kosar, said that the recent economic crisis in Russia had had negative results on the leather industry in Turkey and that they ought to direct themselves towards new markets in order to overcome the crisis. /Aksam/[27] SOLANA TO ANKARA TODAYNATO General Secretary, Javier Solana will come to Ankara today to hold meetings on the Cyprus issue. It is expected that Solana will meet the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Cem, the Minister of National Defence, Hikmet Sami Turk and the Speaker of the Parliament, Hikmet Cetin today. Solana will also be received by President Suleyman Demirel. /Aksam/Turkiye/[28] OCALAN: "EUROPE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR BLOODSHED"The chief of the terrorist organization, Abdullah Ocalan said in his 36-page testimony that Europe is the only one responsible for the bloodshed. Ocalan claimed that Europe had used him for its purposes. "Now, Europe does not want me. While using me against Turkey, Europe aims to prevent Turkey's development. I severely condemn Europe, which always talks about human rights but applies double standards on human rights issues," Ocalan said.Concerning PKK-Greece relations Ocalan said that they had had relations with Greece since 1988. He added, "In 1994, PKK camps were opened in Greece. Greece wants to use us against Turkey." About MED-TV, Ocalan said that they had obtained the licence from the independent British ITC firm in 1993 and organized a satellite from France. /Aksam/ [29] TALAY AND YILMAZ TO THE USThe Minister of Culture, Istemihan Talay, and the Chairman of the Religious Affairs Department, Mehmet Nuri Yilmaz, will go to the US on 1 April to bring back some historical works of art which had been smuggled from Turkey. Talay will receive 1661 coins which were smuggled 15 years ago from Elmali township in the Antalya district. Meanwhile, Nuri Yilmaz will receive a wooden bannister smuggled from Divrigi Ulu Mosque. It is reported that the Head of the Anatolian Civilizations Museum, Ilhan Temizsoy, and an expert on coins, Tevfik Goktas, will go to New York before the Minister of Culture arrives in order to examine the coins. /Turkiye/[30] BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN HONG KONGThe Chairman of the European Affairs SEction of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Owen Chi, said that the recent economic crisis in Asia was an opportunity for Turkish investors. Chi noted that Turkey would benefit from Hong Kong as an open door to trade in China. The Foreign Economic Relations Council (DEIK) organized a seminar, entitled "Hong Kong: Business Opportunities in 2000" in Istanbul. Chi said in his speech at the seminar that the Turco-Hong Kong trade volume had been $ 615 million last year. He asked more Turkish firms to attend the Trade Fairs to be held in Hong Kong in order to increase Turkey's exports to this country. /Turkiye/[31] DENKTAS: "CYPRUS IS A TURCO-GREEK ISSUE"The President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Rauf Denktas, gave a speech concerning Cyprus yesterday to staff officers at the Headquarters of the Officers' Training Academy in Ankara. In his speech Denktas stressed that the Cyprus issue was not an international one but was a Turco-Greek issue. He noted, "Turkey has never taken a backward step concerning Cyprus and always upholds the existence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on the Island and that it will always be there." Denktas asked the West not to force him to negotiate the problems with Greek-Cyprus, which had supported the PKK terrorist organization. Denktas said that unless the Greek-Cypriot administration cut its support to the PKK, there would be nothing to discuss with them. /Turkiye/[32] TURKISH LEATHER INDUSTRY SEEKS NEW MARKETSTurkish leather industrialists look for new markets. They aimed themselves the European Union (EU) market as well as China, the US, Canada and Japan markets. And that a promotion campaign has already started in these countries.Turkish leather industrialists established the Leather Industrialists' Foreign Trade Joinventure in order to increase their exports volume. Chairman of the Turkish Leather Industrialists' Association, Turgut Kosar said that the recent economic crisis in Russia had had negative results in leather industry in Turkey and that they ought to direct themselves towards new markets to overcome the crisis. /Aksam/[33] SOLANA TO ANKARA TODAYNATO General Secretary, Javier Solana will come to Ankara today to held contacts on Cyprus issue. It is expected that Solana will meet today Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Cem, Minister of National Defence, Hikmet Sami Turk and Speaker of the Parliament, Hikmet Cetin. Solana will also be received by President Suleyman Demirel. /Aksam/Turkiye/[34] OCALAN: "EUROPE IS RESPONSIBLE OF BLOOD-SHED"The chief of the terrorist organization, Abdullah Ocalan said in his 36-page testimony that Europe is the only responsible of the blood-shed. Ocalan claimed that Europe had used him for its purposes. "Now, Europe does not want me. While using me against Turkey, Europe aims to prevent Turkey's development. I severly condemn Europe, which always talks about human rights but applies double standards in human rights issue," Ocalan said.Concerning PKK-Greece relations Ocalan said that they had had relations with Greece since 1988. He added, "In 1994, PKK camps were opened in Greece. Greece wants to use us against Turkey." About MED-TV, Ocalan said that they got the licence form the independent British ITC firm in 1993 and ensured a satellite from France. /Aksam/ [35] TALAY AND YILMAZ TO THE USMinister of Culture, Istemihan Talay, and Chairman of the Religious Affairs, Mehmet Nuri Yilmaz will go to the US on 1 April to bring back historical works of arts smuggled from Turkey. Talay will receive 1661 coins which were smuggled 15 years ago from Elmali township of Antalya. Meanwhile, Nuri Yilmaz will receive wooden banister smuggled from Divrigi Ulu Mosque. It is reported that Head of the Anatolian Civilizations Museum, Ilhan Temizsoy and the experts on coisn, Tevfik Goktas, will go to New York before the Minister of Culture to examine the coins. /Turkiye/[36] BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY IN HING KONGChairman of the European Affairs of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Owen Chi, said that the recent economic crisis in Asia was an opportunity for Turkish investors. Chi noted that Turkey would benefit from Hong Kong as a trade door opened to China. Foreign Economic Relations Council (DEIK) organized a seminar, titled "Hong Kong: Business Opportunities in 2000" in Istanbul. Chi said in his speech at the seminar that the Turco-Hong Kong trade volume was $ 615 million last year. He asked more Turkish firms to attend the trade fairs to be held in Hong Kong in order to increase Turkey's exports to his country. /Turkiye/[37] DENKTAS: "CYPRUS IS A TURCO-GREEK ISSUE"President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Rauf Denktas gave a speech on Cyprus issue, yesterday, to staff officers at the Office of the War Academy Commandership in Ankara. In his speech Denktas stressed that Cypruss issue was not an international but Turco-Greek issue. He noted, "Turkey has never got backward step in Cypruss issue and always defends there is the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on island and it will always be there." Denktas asked the West not to force him to negotiate the problems with Greek-Cyprus, which had supported the PKK terrorist organization. Denktas said that unless Greek-Cypriot administration cut its support to PKK, there would be nothing to discuss with them. /Turkiye/[38] TURCO-GREEK FRIENDSHIP IN CHESSDuring the Presidential Committee Summit of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) held in Ankara, a number of decisions concerning the future of chess were made. Accordingly, the Chess Olympics 2000 will be organized in Istanbul during October 27-November 13, 2000. Meanwhile, it is reported that Georgias Makropoulos, the Greek representative, also supported this decision. /Cumhuriyet/[39] FROM THE COLUMNS....FROM THE COLUMNS....FROM THE COLUMNS[40] THE EFFECTS OF THE EU CRISIS - BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)Columnist Sami Kohen looks into the crisis in the EU in his column in Milliyet. A summary of his column is as follows:"..The collective resignation of the EU Commission, the executive organ of the EU, is a development which primarily concerns the 15 members of the EU... Many of the members are accused of corruption and not fulfilling their responsibilities. In the face of the report prepared by "Wise Men", there was only one course of action and that was the resignation of the EU Commission chaired by Jacques Santer. Even so, the prestige of the Commission has been damaged...At the moment, Europe is occupied with this affair... Certainly, the state of affairs in Europe will affect those countries outside the EU. As yet, candidate nations such as the Greek Cypriot Administration, Poland and Hungary are concerned about whether this crisis would have a negative effect their onmembership process...As Turkey is not officially a candidate, it does not have such problems...The only aspect of the crisis which may be of any interest to Turkey is whether the "Turkey Strategy" programme prepared by the Commission and the financial aid projects which are part of this will be affected. The representative to Turkey from the EU Commission, Karen Fogg, states that the Comission would carry on its duties until new commissioners are appointed. Therefore the 'strategy' implementation and financial aid programmes would go on as planned...So long as the Commission carries out its duties in the interim, it will not have any time to be concerned with Turkey. At the moment, the relations with the EU do not hold first place among Turkey's priorities." [41] THOSE WHO DO NOT SUPPORT THE PKK ARE OPPRESSED - BY HASAN CEMAL (MILLIYET)Columnist Hasan Cemal wrote a sequel to his column published yesterday. In his column he quotes a letter sent to him from Holland and expresses his own views on the matter. A summary of his column on the subject is as follows:"...Yesterday, I wrote that the press organs of the PKK terror organization, MED-TV and "Ozgur Politika" newspaper, were continuing their activities in Europe calling for violence in Turkey while the European countries stood by watching these activities, the explosion of bombs, and the loss of life occurring in Turkey. I also pointed out that those who were carrying on such activities which violate democratic values and the freedom of the press should not be allowed to continue do so, adding that so long as the European States continued to turn a blind eye to those who adopted violence and terror as their policy, they would not be convincing when defending the rule of law and democracy... A letter from Holland pointed out that both hypocrisy and double standards have reached ultimate heights; those who did not support the PKK were oppressed. The writers of the influential newspaper NRC Handelsblad and academics such as Zurcher and Van Bruinessen were waging a campaign to highlight Turkey as the 'evil empire'. They were trying to spark a conflict between the Turks and Kurds in Holland. Only Kurds and fundamentalists were seen as the true representatives of Turkey...Remaining silent in the face of the atrocities committed by the Serbs, it as though like the European intelligentsia has found itself a new cause ... Europe is being unfair to Turkey because it violates some values which make Europe what it is today. This stand of Europe and Turkey's shortcomings in so far as democracy and human rights are concerned should not be confused; they are two different issues. As Turkey needs to rid itself of these shortcomings, Europe has its own homework to do in a different respect. If we do not criticize Europe in these respects, we will be responsible for Turkey's distancing itself from Europe. [42] THOSE WHO DO NOT SUPPORT THE PKK ARE OPPRESSED BY HASAN CEMAL(MILLIYET)Columnist Hasan Cemal wrote a sequel to his column published yesterday. In his column he quotes a letter sent to him from Holland and expresses his own views on the matter. A summary of his column on the subject is as follows:"...Yesterday, I wrote that the press organs of the PKK terror organization, MED-TV and "Ozgur Politika" newspaper, were continuing their activities in Europe calling for violence in Turkey while the European countries stood by watching these activities, the explosion of bombs, and the loss of life occurring in Turkey. I also pointed out that those who were carrying on such activities which violate democratic values and the freedom of the press should not be allowed to continue do so, adding that so long as the European States continued to turn a blind eye to those who adopted violence and terror as their policy, they would not be convincing when defending the rule of law and democracy... A letter from Holland pointed out that both hypocrisy and double standards have reached ultimate heights; those who did not support the PKK were oppressed. The writers of the influential newspaper NRC Handelsblad and academics such as Zurcher and Van Bruinessen were waging a campaign to highlight Turkey as the 'evil empire'. They were trying to spark a conflict between the Turks and Kurds in Holland. Only Kurds and fundamentalists were seen as the true representatives of Turkey...Remaining silent in the face of the atrocities committed by the Serbs, it as though like the European intelligentsia has found itself a new cause ... Europe is being unfair to Turkey because it violates some values which make Europe what it is today. This stand of Europe and Turkey's shortcomings in so far as democracy and human rights are concerned should not be confused; they are two different issues. As Turkey needs to rid itself of these shortcomings, Europe has its own homework to do in a different respect. If we do not criticize Europe in these respects, we will be responsible for Turkey's distancing itself from Europe. 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