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Turkish Press Review, 00-08-08
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
08.08.00
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] ISRAELI AMBASSADOR VISITS DEMIREL
[02] PARRIS VISITS GOKALP
[03] CAKMAKOGLU IN MOLDOVIA
[04] JUSTICE MINISTRY DEMANDS ERDAL'S EXTRADITION
[05] OPERATION IN THE SOUTHEAST
[06] SECURITY FORCES CAPTURE HIZBULLAH TERRORISTS
[07] REQUEST FOR FETHULLAH GULEN'S ARREST
[08] POLICE UNCOVER FICTITIOUS EXPORT SCAM
[09] OPERATIONS AGAINST TERROR AND MAFIA GANGS
[10] DEMIRALP ON CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICITS
[11] THE BIGGEST AUTO CENTRE TO BE BUILT IN ISTANBUL
[12] EU FUND FOR TURKISH TOURISM
[13] E-SECURITY CERTIFICATE TO YAPI KREDI BANK
[14] SAY 2000-I BIDDING
[15] US COUPLES TO WIN A WEEK-LONG HOLIDAY IN TURKEY
[16] SPEED BOAT CHAMPIONSHIPS IN ISTANBUL
[17] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[18] TURKEY'S ACTIVE ROLE BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
[01] ISRAELI AMBASSADOR VISITS DEMIREL
Israeli Ambassador to Ankara Uri Barner visited the former
President Suleyman Demirel at his home. Barner said, "I have not
met Mr. Demirel for a long time. During our meeting, we discussed
the relations between Turkey and Israel in a comprehensive way.
We particularly discussed the issue of Manavgat water and the
Turkish companies' activities in Israel. We have not talked about
the problem of the Middle East especially". /Cumhuriyet/
[02] PARRIS VISITS GOKALP
US Ambassador to Turkey Mark Parris, who will leave Turkey in
September, paid a farewell visit to the Minister of Agriculture
and Rural Affairs Husnu Yusuf Gokalp yesterday. Parris said that
during the talks, they discussed the bilateral relations and
added that relations between the two countries should be
developed. He said that opening an US office in the Southeastern
Anatolia was not on the agenda. /Cumhuriyet/
[03] CAKMAKOGLU IN MOLDOVIA
Minister of National Defence Sabahattin Cakmakoglu went to
Moldovia as the official guest of his Moldovian counterpart Boris
Gamurari. Speaking at the airport before his departure,
Cakmakoglu said, "During my visit, I will have the opportunity to
discuss both regional and international issues with Moldovian
officials. We have friendly relations with Moldovia. We will also
sign the defence industry cooperation agreement between the two
countries during the visit". Cakmakoglu is expected to meet the
Moldovian President, Speaker of Parliament, Foreign Minister and
Energy Minister in addition to his counterpart Gamurari during
the visit. /Cumhuriyet/
[04] JUSTICE MINISTRY DEMANDS ERDAL'S EXTRADITION
Minister of Justice Hikmet Sami Turk sent a letter to his Belgian
counterpart Mark Verwilghen concerning the extradition of Fehriye
Erdal who was accused of Sabancy murder. In his letter Turk
demanded Fehriye Erdal to be interrogated by the Turkish courts
and asked the Belgian government if there is still a reservation
on the extradition of Erdal. /Turkiye/
[05] OPERATION IN THE SOUTHEAST
In a statement issued by the Governorship of the Emergency Rule
Region, three members of the PKK terrorist organization
surrendered during the operations that were carried out by the
security forces in Hakkari and Batman. During the operations many
weapons and military equipment were seized. /Cumhuriyet/
[06] SECURITY FORCES CAPTURE HIZBULLAH TERRORISTS
Four people were detained by police in Hakkari yesterday on
grounds of being members of the terrorist group Hizbullah. Police
stopped a suspicious-looking car at the checkpoint. After being
questioned, the two people in the car were detained. Their
statements led police to detain three other people. One of them
was released subsequently. /Cumhuriyet/
[07] REQUEST FOR FETHULLAH GULEN'S ARREST
Ankara State Security Court (DGM) Public Prosecutor Nuh Mete
Yuksel has requested Fethullah Gulen's arrest in his absence,
however the court rejected the request. If this request is
accepted by a higher court Gulen will be arrested as soon as he
arrives in Turkey. In the arrest warrant, it was said that Gulen
violated the 313 article of Turkish Penal Code- forming a gang to
fight politically and socially against the Turkish Republic.
/Milliyet/
[08] POLICE UNCOVER FICTITIOUS EXPORT SCAM
Izmir Police Chief Hasan Yucesan announced that in the operations
carried out in five provinces police found fake receipts worth TL
35 trillion and documents for $ 22 million worth of fictitious
exports. Yucesan said, "No payment has been made to Turkey from
the importers of these goods. There has been no shipments; it is
a hoax". The police discovered that six companies involved in
fictitious exports were sending cloth scraps to fictitious
companies from which they earned illegal profits in terms of tax
rebates. /Milliyet/
[09] OPERATIONS AGAINST TERROR AND MAFIA GANGS
Minister of Interior Saadettin Tantan is determined to fight with
the mafia gangs, fictious exports scamps, drug traffickers,
terrorist and seperatist organizations and ring leaders and chief
of those bandit groups throughout the country. Therefore the said
people and organizations have been captured one after another.
Within these operations government started to take fruitful
results in the framework of the new restructuring programme in
line with the EU standarts. Security directorates in the big
provinces held extensive operations against the illegal crime
organizations especially in Ystanbul, seperatist and reactionary
terrorist groups such as Hizbullah in big cities.
Ministry of Interior Affairs has made the last attempt recently
after the issue of a decree to appoint a new cadre of governors,
security directors and police chiefs. /Turkiye/
[10] DEMIRALP ON CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICITS
Treasury Undersecretary Selcuk Demiralp said that they closely
follow the developments in current account deficits. Demiralp
said, "There is nothing to worry about now. But this does not
mean that we will not take any decisions, if necessary". Stating
that the current account deficit reached $ 4.5 billion, Demiralp
said, "Reports on the current account deficit have been given to
the government and appropriate agencies. The government will take
the final decision. We expect the current account deficit to be
about $ 3-3.5 billion by the end of the year". Demiralp stated
that they will continue the disinflation program with the support
of the private sector. He said that at the end of the August they
will meet Central Bank Governor Gazi Ercel and Chairman of
Istanbul Chamber of Commerce Husamettin Kavi to discuss the
developments. /Hurriyet/
[11] THE BIGGEST AUTO CENTRE TO BE BUILT IN ISTANBUL
The foundation stone of Otokent, which will be the first
automobile shopping centre in Turkey, will be laid down at 11:00
a.m. with a ceremony that will be attended by the former Turkish
President Suleyman Demirel. Otokent will be built in Samandira,
Istanbul, and will be the biggest automobile shopping centre in
Europe. Otokent will consist of three separate parts and meet all
sorts of needs in terms of automobile. /Sabah/
[12] EU FUND FOR TURKISH TOURISM
It was stated that as part of the Financial Cooperation Protocol
that was signed between Turkey and the European Union (EU), the
personnel working in the tourism sector will be able to make use
of the funds of the EU. It was further stated that those who want
to use these funds should present draft projects to the EU
Commission. Prof. Faruk Sen, the Director of the Center of
Turkish Studies, based in Essen, Germany, said that Turkish
tourism recovered a great deal when compared to the last year.
Sen said, "Tourism was given big importance since 1980s. The EU
ensured very important sources for the encouragement of tourism
and the personnel working in the tourism sector will be able to
make use of this opportunity thanks to the Financial Cooperation
Protocol, signed between Turkey and the EU". /Cumhuriyet/
[13] E-SECURITY CERTIFICATE TO YAPI KREDI BANK
Yapi Kredi Bank became the first bank in the world which took the
e-sure certificate proving that the bank's internet security
system meets the Web-Trust internet security standards developed
by American Institute of Public Accountance (AIPA). Yapi Kredi
Bank will use its e-sure certificate in its internet banking
site, namely 'Teleweb'. /Hurriyet/
[14] SAY 2000-I BIDDING
Finance Ministry Director General of Accounting Fikret Sevinc
said that the bidding for the web-based full automation project
'SAY 2000-I' will start today. With the SAY 2000-I Project, the
state institutions will be able to keep daily accounts. Sevinc
said that General Directorate of Accounting will start the
biddings for computer systems, computer accessories,
infrastructure and equipments this week. Sevinc said, "With the
project cash administration will be more efficient, state who
distributes 40 % of the national income will be able to see its
allocations and the efficiency of the usage of the public
resources will be controlled". /Turkiye/
[15] US COUPLES TO WIN A WEEK-LONG HOLIDAY IN TURKEY
Culture Ministry will host five US couples who visited the
Culture Ministry's web site on the internet. Couples will enjoy a
week-long holiday in Turkey which will be financed by the Culture
Ministry. A tour including Nevsehir, Istanbul, Ankara and Antalya
will be organized for the couples. The names of the couples were
chosen by Yahoo from those visiting the home page of the Culture
Ministry as a part of a promotional campaign in the US. /Turkiye/
[16] SPEED BOAT CHAMPIONSHIPS IN ISTANBUL
The World Inshore Speed Boats Championship Formula 1 Races will
take place in Istanbul this year, starting on August 13 at
Istinye Bay. The races will be an excellent opportunity to
promote Turkey, Istanbul Offshore Club Chairman Ugur Isik told
the Anatolia news agency. /Turkish Daily News/
[17] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[18] TURKEY'S ACTIVE ROLE BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
In his column in the daily "Milliyet" Sami Kohen comments on
Turkey's active role in the Middle East peace process. A summary
of his column is as follows:
"Ankara suddenly became an active centre for Middle East peace
process. After the Palestinian leader Yaser Arafat's visit, this
week Israeli Minister of Public Order Slomo Ben-Ami is expected
to arrive in Ankara. Meanwhile, Turkish diplomacy is trying to
obtain direct and detailed information concerning what has
happened during Camp David Summit. In fact, Ankara was not
thinking of playing a more active role in the Middle East peace
process except the normal contacts with the interested parties.
Upon the request of Arafat during his visit to Ankara, Turkey
began to play an active role in this process. However, as a
high-ranking official has said, Turkey's initiative should not be
considered as an "official mediator". The aim of the Turkish
initiative is to "contribute" to the process of discussions that
started in the Camp David Summit. In fact, according to the
Turkish sources, Ankara's initiative also should not be
considered to be an "alternative" to the Camp David process. The
aim of the Turkish diplomacy is to help to remove the problems in
this process. Therefore Turkey wants to have closer contacts with
the US and to work with the US on the issue.
If Israel also wants Turkey to play an active role in this
process, now what will Turkey do? The Turkish diplomacy has
already started an intensive work concerning the issue. However,
all these initiatives and contacts, "silent diplomacy" will be
given big importance. To tell the truth, during Arafat's visit to
Ankara, the Turkish government's stance concerning the issue
became clear to a great extent. One of the most important issues
is the status of Jerusalem. Turkey supports Arafat's suggestions
concerning this issue. Turkish officials think that Barak should
take bigger steps and should agree with a solution on which all
the parties involved (the Muslim, Jewish and Christian people)
will reach a consensus. Otherwise peace will not be ensured and
this development will cause violence. Perhaps Turkey's message to
Israel during these contacts will be the same. One of the other
important message of Turkey to Arafat is that he should maintain
his determined stance in continuing peace process and should
avoid unilateral actions that might hinder this."
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