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Turkish Press Review, 00-03-30Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>30.03.00Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS[02] AMENDMENT DRIVE IN DIRE STRAITSThe constitutional amendment drive by the three ruling parties suffered a serious blow yesterday when only 303 Members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA), far fewer than the minimum 330 votes required for a constitutional amendment to be legalized, voted in favour of debating the articles in the package. Although 303 deputies voted in favour of debating these articles, 202 voted against, 11 abstained, six votes were declared invalid and nine ballot papers were void. After a break, Parliament Speaker Yildirim Akbulut decided to agree to a debate saying, "An absolute majority is sufficient". Later, the three articles were voted on separately, each being unable to surpass the 330 votes required. During the second round of voting, to be held either on April 4 or 5, any article which does not obtain a 3/5 majority will be rejected. /Turkiye/[03] DEMIREL'S VISITS CANCELLEDPresident Suleyman Demirel has cancelled all his visits both in Turkey and abroad due to the fact that the 5+5 formula has been experiencing some difficulties. After the voting in the TGNA, Demirel postponed his visit to Izmir yesterday. In the letter sent by his office to the Governor of Izmir, it was stated that Demirel had postponed his visit to Izmir indefinitely. It was further stated that Demirel had cancelled his visits to Bulgaria, Romania and Egypt. Demirel will also not attend the 'Turkish-Speaking Countries' Summit' that will be held in Kazakhstan in April. /Aksam/[04] CEM AND PAPANDREOU TO WIN STATESMAN OF THE YEAR AWARDThe Anatolia News Agency has reported that the Foreign Ministers of Turkey and Greece, Ismail Cem and George Papandreou, will be presented with the "Statesman of the Year" award for their efforts to improve Turco-Greek relations and to reduce the tension between the two countries. The award is expected to be presented by the New York-based East West Institute at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on May 2. As well as the Ministers themselves, politicians from both the US and Europe are expected to attend the award ceremony. Members from both countries' search and rescue teams, AKUT and EMAK, will receive an "Assistance to Mankind" award. Cem and Papandreou are then expected to travel to Washington for a reception at the White House.[05] TURKEY'S NEIGHBOURS SUPPORT TERRORISMTurkish intelligence services continually scrutinize developments in countries such as Syria, Iraq, Iran, Armenia, Russia, Romania, Greece and Southern Cyprus, which have been known to support separatist and fundamentalist actions against Turkey, and have prepared a report concerning changes in the situation during the last month. The report was discussed during the recent meeting of the National Security Council (NSC). It is said that although the PKK terrorist organization's activities have lessened in Syria, Iraq continues to support separatism. Iran is allowing its territories to be used by terrorists and is offering them training and logistic support. Moreover, the Russian Federation, Romania, Greece and Southern Cyprus are supporting the PKK through various means. /Turkiye/[06] HIZBULLAH CAMP IN TEHRANAs the crackdown is continuing against the terrorist organization, Hizbullah, Yt was unveiled that the organization had established a training camp near the Turkish Embassy in Tehran in 1988. According to the documents and information obtained during the crackdown, the leader of the organization, Huseyin Velidedeoglu, who was killed by security forces in Beykoz recently, and a group of militants stayed in a rented villa under the auspices of Iranian officials, and members of the organization, arriving from Turkey, were trained there. /Milliyet/[07] IBDA-C OPERATIONS IN SAMSUN AND SINOPDuring raids carried out by security forces in Samsun and Sinop, six members of the IBDA-C terrorist organization were taken into custody. Officials said that rooting-out operations in search of the terrorists were on-going. /Turkiye/[08] SPECIAL REGION IN SOUTHEASTDuring the First-Term Meeting of the Turco-US Trade and Investment Council, Foreign Trade Undersecretary Kursad Tuzmen said that they desire to establish an industrial region enjoying special status in Turkey's Southeast. Their wish to sign a free trade agreement with the US was also expressed. Tuzmen is currently in Washington to attend the Council, which is convening for the first time under the Agreement to Encourage Trade and Investment signed in September 1999. He organized a press conference yesterday and supplied those present with information on the issues discussed during the meeting. Tuzmen stated that the special status industrial region in the Southeast would be jointly initiated by Turkey, Israel and the US. He added that with its establishment, the Gross National Product (GNP) would increase and, in this way, problems in the region would be overcome. He declared that this would also make an important contribution to the Middle East Peace Process. /Turkiye/[09] EARTHQUAKE COUNCIL TO BE ESTABLISHEDThe first step in the establishment of the Earthquake Council has been taken. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit had requested that this council be established and the necessary paperwork has been sent to Istanbul Technical University, the Middle East Technical University (METU), Bogazici University, Gazi University, Istanbul University, Ankara University, Hacettepe University, Cukurova University, Yildiz Technical University, the Black Sea Technical University, Dokuz Eylul University, the Higher Education Council (YOK), the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK), the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, the Mining Technical Research Institute (MTA) and to the Turkish Petroleum Company (TPAO) so that they can send their representatives to become members of this council. /Aksam/[10] HANNAY'S MEETINGS IN ANKARAInternational pressure on the Turkish-Cypriots to change their 'basic position' before the third round of meetings to solve the problem of Cyprus has intensified. The United Nations (UN) and those countries which attended the proximity talks, such as England and the US, want more comprehensive issues to be discussed during the meetings that will be held in New York on 23 May. It was revealed that the parties will be able to make good use of the 'Series of Ideas' that was brought to the agenda in 1992. Under this framework, England's Special Representative to Cyprus, David Hannay, met Turkish officials in Ankara yesterday, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary, Ambassador Faruk Logoglu and Deputy Undersecretary Ambassador Yigit Alpogan. The three exchanged information to enable the meetings in New York to become more productive. Hannay said, "The first two rounds of meetings were necessary. The UN listened to the worries and positions of each of the parties. However, now i! ! t will start not to listen but to speak." /Cumhuriyet/[11] FOGG'S STATEMENTSThe European Union's (EU) Representative to Turkey, Ambassador Karen Fogg, stated that the EU is waiting for Turkey to outline its plan and obligations concerning the Copenhagen Criteria. Fogg delivered a speech during the educational seminars organized by the Marmara Straits' Municipal Union's (MBB) Women's Commission at the Kumburgaz Princess Hotel. She said, "In fact, this plan is ready and now the EU is waiting for Turkey to implement it. EU candidate countries have a cultural inheritence which is different from Western European culture. This fact and the difference in national income per person in these candidate countries creates some problems. The conditions and criteria that are in place for the candidate countries have not changed. Being a member of the EU means obeying the rules of the EU, and harmonization with the EU covers a very large area including modernization and the liberalization of energy resources." Fogg stated that Turkey was now reviewing and preparing ! ! for the conditions of candidacy and is in the process of drawing up a document in which its observations will be explained. /Cumhuriyet/[12] EUROPEAN POLITICIANS VISIT SOUTHEASTERN ANATOLIAThe Chairman of the European Council's Parliamentary Assembly (AKPM), Andras Barsony, stated that they were visiting Southeastern Anatolia because they considered this region to be very important for the future of Turkey. He added, "We wanted to see what has changed in this region. It is impossible to solve all the problems here overnight. However, we have received some very positive signals, which show that life here is returning to normal." The EU's Inspection Commission's Reporters in Turkey, who first began to meet contacts in Diyarbakir so as to check on the situation and report if Turkey conformed to its duties concerning human rights and democracy, were also received by the Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA), Yildirim Akbulut, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Cem, at the TGNA. /Cumhuriyet/[13] ISLAMIC SYMPOSIUM IN BERLINThe Turco-German Forum associated with the German Christian Union Party's Berlin branch organized a symposium, the subject of which was 'The Lesson of Islam in Harmonization' in Berlin yesterday. Berlin State's Minister of the Interior, Eckart Werthebach, attended the gathering during which he stated, "The young foreigners living in Germany should not only learn German, but also adopt our attitudes. We will not allow those who attempt to exploit the lesson of Islam to remain here." /Cumhuriyet/[14] GALATA BRIDGE OPEN FOR TRAFFICBoth lanes on the Galata Bridge, which had undergone repairs and so had been closed to both land and sea traffic since 24 February, were reopened to traffic at 6 p.m. yesterday evening. The repairs to the bridge are expected to be finished in September. /Cumhuriyet/[15] SFOR RESTRUCTURES, TURKISH FORCES COME HOMEThe restructuring of the multi-national peace-keeping force in Bosnia-Herzegovina (SFOR) has seen a corresponding reduction in the commitment of the Turkish forces attached to it. The former "Turkish Task Force Command" has been reduced and renamed the "Turkish Battalion Task Force Command" and this has resulted in several units of artillery, mortars, radar teams and infantry being returned to Turkey. The Turkish Battalion Task Force Command will continue to perform its peacekeeping duties as part of the restructured SFOR and will officially start following a hand-over parade to be staged on March 31. /Turkish Daily News/[16] ISRAELI FLEET COMMANDER IN GOLCUKThe Commander of the Israeli Naval Forces, Vice-Admiral Yedidia Yaari, visited Turkish Fleet Command in Golcuk yesterday as the official guest of the Commander of the Turkish Naval Forces, Vice-Admiral Ilhami Erdil. Yaari visited the Fleet Commander, Vice-Admiral Bulent Alpkaya, and said that his country had tried to do its best to help the earthquake victims in Turkey. Vice-Admiral Alpkaya stated that these visits would contribute to the further development of relations between the two countries. A search and rescue exercise is expected to be carried out in the Eastern Mediterranean at which many countries, including Turkey and Israel, will be present. /Turkiye/[17] BLAIR: "ISLAM IS A RELIGION OF PEACE AND FRATERNITY"British Prime Minister Tony Blair has declared Islam to be a religion of peace and fraternity. Blair's statement to be published on March 31 in Britain in a Islamic newspaper has pleased the Muslims. Blair said that he possessed two Korans and he believed that Britain should understand different religions in order to serve its multi-cultural society better. /Turkiye/[18] CANAKKALE PREPARES FOR ANZAC TOURISTSSome 8,000 tourists are expected to come to Canakkale for Australia and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) Day on April 25, according to the Anatolia News Agency. Porvincial Tourism Director Bora Nasit Aydogan stated that around 8,000 tourists from Australia and New Zealand, mainly the grandchildren of soldiers from ANZAC, which suffered heavy losses in the battle for Gallipoli, will take part in a remembrance ceremony to be held on the Gallipoli Peninsula in the morning of April 25. This year, the Prime Ministers of Australia and New Zealand are expected to take part.[19] CHINESE TOURISM INVESTORS TO VISIT TURKEYSenior officials from some Chinese travel agencies will come to Istanbul tomorrow as guests of Turkish Airlines (THY) and Tekser Tourism and Travel Agency, the Anatolia News Agency reports. The aim of the visit is to promote Turkey to Chinese tourism investors so that they can better arrange tours to Turkey. According to a written statement by THY, a 23-man Chinese tourism investors group will visit various historic sites in Izmit, Pergamum, Ephesus, Hierapolis, Cappadocia and Kayseri. The Chinese investors will return to China on April 5.[20] WORLD'S MOST SUCCESSFUL TURKSThe competition to find the 'Most Successful Businessmen Abroad' that was organized for the first time at the Turkish Businessmen's third Global Council has reached a result. President Suleyman Demirel will present the awards to 17 businessmen on 17 April. These men were evaluated by a selection committee chaired by Sakip Sabanci. During the award ceremony that will be organized at Cankaya Presidential Palace, some businessmen who are working abroad will be given the 'State Superior Performance Medal'. /Aksam/[21] IMF DELEGATION TO VISIT TURKEY IN MAYAn IMF delegation headed by Carlo Cotarrelli will visit Turkey on May 15 to inspect the quarterly developments in its performance criteria. Prior to this, a delegation consisting of OECD experts will have arrived in Turkey at the beginning of May to prepare their Year 2000 Report on Turkey during their series of talks in Ankara and Istanbul. /Turkiye/[22] EU DONATION FOR TURKEYThe EU Commission is to grant 300 million Euros to Turkey in order to realign the macro-economic balance. Economy experts from the EU Commission plan to hold a series of talks at the Treasury, State Planning Organization (DPT) and the Ministry of Finance so as to be briefed on economic developments in Turkey. These officials state that they had foreseen the conditions under which the IMF and World Bank's reform programme for Turkey should be implemented. /Turkiye/[23] TUSIAD: 'BE DETERMINED AGAINST UNIONS`The Chairman of the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD), Erkut Yucaoglu, in the US to attend the American-Turkish Association's annual meeting, said that Turkey should benefit from the advantages of the existing situation. Recalling that Turkey had signed the stand-by agreement with the IMF and her candidacy for the EU had been declared, Yucaoglu stressed that those were very positive and exciting developments. He pointed out that Turkey would enter a new period of negotiations in the collective bargaining process: "This is a very tough subject for the government. They should resist high salary increases, otherwise it will be difficult to attaian their economic targets." He also noted that as Turkey has been focused on the presidential election for the last two months, she has not been properly attending to the economy. /Hurriyet/[24] PRELIMINARY DEMAND FOR TUPRAS SHARESThe time for collecting domestic applications for the 15% of shares in the Turkish Petroleum Refineries Joint Stock Company (TUPRAS) flotation ended yesterday. It was estimated that demand has attracted over two billion dollars but an official statement will be made today regarding the exact figures. Meanwhile, promotional campaigns are underway abroad to present TUPRAS shares to foreign investors. /Hurriyet/[25] INVITATION TO TURKISH BUSINESSMENAbout 40 businessmen, who are expected to go on Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit's official trip to India between March 31 and April 2, will investigate the investment and cooperation possibilities in that country. Prior to the visit, Indian Ambassador to Ankara M. M. Bhadrakumar stated that India was a great market for Turkish investors. Recalling that the Indian Government would launch a 200-billion dollar giant infrastructural investment venture in the next 10 years, comprising roads, harbours, airports, telecommunications networks and power plants, the Indian Ambassador emphasized, "As India has no payment problems, unlike Russia, she will be an attractive market for Turkish businessmen." /Hurriyet/[26] ISIKLAR PACKAGING COMPANY'S PARTNERSHIPThe Commercial Capital Group, which is one of Greece's risk capital funders, became the Isiklar Packaging Company's financial partner with an investment of 10.5 million dollars. The Executive Board Chairman of Isiklar, Riza Isik, said, "It is a good beginning for the capital market in Istanbul." Each of the shares will be sold for 2.87 cents (nearly 16.800 TL) tomorrow, after which the company's capital will total 2.785 trillion TL. /Sabah/[27] ARTEMA-IKEA COOPERATIONThe Swedish company, IKEA, owner of a chain of interior decoration outlets, has come to an agreement with the Artema company to distribute kitchen and bathroom fittings as well. The IKEA will display Artema products, which have received a standard quality guarantee in many countries, for its customers throughout the world. /Turkiye/[28] ALCATEL UNDERTAKES CONTRACT IN AZERBAIJANTelecommunications equipment supplier Alcatel Teletas has sealed a $3.2 million contract to sell digital tranmission systems to Azerbaijan, the company announced yesterday. The systems to be produced as part of the Trans-Asia-Europe Fiber Optics venture will allow high speed voice, image and data transmission once it is activated before the end of this year. /Turkiye/[29] TREASURY AUTHORIZES DEUTSCHE BANK AND PARIBAS FOR EURO-BONDSThe Turkish Treasury has given the mandate to Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas for the issue of five-year Euro-bonds, declared the Treasury director for external economic relations, Aydin Karaoz, the Anatolia News Agency reports. It was speculated yesterday on the markets that this bond issue would amount to 500 million Euros. Karaoz said that it could take place within the next three to four days. "We have carried out extensive research and decided on the more advantageous Euro market for the present term", Karaoz added. He remarked that rating agencies may upgrade Turkey's credit rating in May. The Treasury has set a target borrowing of $6 billion for this year and has met $2.8 billion of its full-year target so far. It issued $1.1 billion of pre-funding bonds late in 1999.[30] $60 MILLION FROM SPAINThe Council of Ministers has approved a memorandum requesting the use of $60 million from the $410 million loan provided by Spain to help the earthquake victims in Turkey. According to a Council of Ministers' decision published in the Official Gazette yesterday, Spanish firms will provide $60 million in loans to finance housing, public works and restoration in the Marmara Region. /Turkiye/[31] GARANTI TO SELL ANOTHER STAKE TO FOREIGN INVESTORSPrivate commercial lender Garanti Bank announced that it will sell another 1.05 % stake to foreign investors on top of the previously-sold 7 %. The operation will take place in the Istanbul Stock Exchange Wholesale Market on March 31. /All papers/[32] POLAND-TURKEY FREE TRADE DEAL RATIFIEDCustom duties between Turkey and Poland will be reduced to zero by the year 2002. The free-trade agreement, which was signed in Ankara on October 4, 1999, was published in the Official Gazette yesterday. Officials told the Anatolia News Agency that the agreement would take effect when the Polish Government told the Turkish Government that the agreement had been approved.[33] COMPETITION FOR PROGRAMMINGThe Interuniversities' Programming Competition, organized by the METU Computer Community and Romar, is commencing on April 1, 2000. The aim of the competition is to encourage students to improve their knowledge of computers and to support the education of engineers who can find quick and accurate solutions for our country's problems. In the wake of intense interest from the applicants, the competition will be carried out in two stages. The first prize in the competition will be a computer. /Milliyet/[34] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS A HIGH PRICE BY GUNGOR MENGI (SABAH)Columnist Gungor Mengi comments on the results of the first round of the ballot on the amendments of the Constitution. A summary of his column is as follows:"We have written many times that to tie the stability of the country to one person was a gamble, open to results endangering stability itself. We would have preferred to be proven wrong. However, the results of the balloting in the Parliament on the Constitutional amendments has shown that Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit was mistaken. The amendment to elect President Demirel for a second term in office received only 303 votes. This is a surprisingly low figure. During the initial surprise of the result it was rumoured that Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit would resign. However, it was later learned that Ecevit was not going to leave the arena and he said that the procedure must go on. If it had not been for the Speaker of Parliament, Yildirim Akbulut, it is open to question whether the voting would have continued. It is also surprising that the members of the Virtue Party accepted Akbulut's decision to continue without protest, as their bargaining position had been strengthened. This means that the Coalition parties will pay a high price to keep Demirel as President. The Virtue Party will try to make banning a party impossible and "the continuation of a banned party" from being a crime. The concessions to be given to the Virtue Party may solve the issue on paper, however too many concessions may create new dangers. It may lead those who voted in favour in the first round to vote against the amendment the next time. The contribution of Demirel for the stability in the country cannot be denied. However, stability is achieved by a "compromise mentality" which has brought the Democratic Left Party and the National Action Party to work together. Members of parliament have shown that the accord reached by the leaders will not be accepted in the TGNA. The most important positive factor coming out of the voting has been Parliament's attitude which has shown that it will not bow to any pressure. This honourable resistance will educate both those who want or give concessions. If the bargaining comes to an impasse, Demirel who has been shown as the guarantee of stability will have to play an historical role and make a gesture. That is, announce that he is not going to be a candidate for the Presidency and to take out of this package deal on the agenda of Parliament and thereby save the Government." [35] DEVELOPMENTS IN THE WORLD BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE)Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna comments on world developments and their relevance to Turkish politics. A summary of his column is as follows:"In addition to and parallel with the economic and legal reforms we have to carry out, foreign policy has become very important for Turkey. We have to follow developments throughout the world and their implications on Turkey with care. Certainly the most important issue is relations with the EU. As we are putting internal affairs into order, we have to follow our demands from the EU closely. This issue will go on for years, therefore we should always be on the alert. Russia has been our neighbour in the north for 300 years. There may be certain changes in the policies of President Vladimir Putin. It is interesting to note that he will make his first visit abroad as President, to Turkmenistan just after President Demirel. We hope that President Putin's election will contribute to world peace and a solution of Russian internal problems. Putin received 52.5% of the votes. The amount of the votes received by the Communist Party did not change and this, in fact, shows the discontent throughout the country. If peace can be achieved between Syria and Lebanon, Syria will turn against Turkey and will be supported by Iraq. There does not seem to be a possibility for both countries to engage in sincere cooperation with Turkey, due to the policies of the regimes they are ruled by. Our relations with Central Asian States are far from satisfactory. The peace in the Balkans may last for a long term, whereas in the Caucasus it is much more complicated. All of these three questions are of great importance. We have entered such a period of time that we have to act with the speed of a lightning and always be on the alert." Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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