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Turkish Press Review, 00-08-31
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
31.08.00
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] BANKING REGULATION AND SUPERVISION AGENCY BECOMES FULLY
OPERATIONAL
[02] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS
[03] TURKEY CELEBRATES VICTORY DAY
[04] SEZER TO MEET CLINTON
[05] DENKTAS' MESSAGE
[06] GEN. KIVRIKOGLU WARNS FOR KHK
[07] ERDAL TO STAND TRIAL IN BELGIUM
[08] SECURITY FORCES KILL 16 TERRORISTS
[09] GERMAN AUTHORITIES SUE PKK COORDINATOR
[10] ERBAKAN'S APPEAL TO EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS REJECTED
[11] CHIBBER ON TURKISH ECONOMY
[12] COTTARELLI IN TURKEY
[13] CIRCULAR FOR EU NATIONAL PROGRAM
[14] ISRAELI FIRMS UNDERTAKE THE PROJECTS IN GAP
[15] BANKING REGULATION AND SUPERVISION AGENCY BECOMES FULLY
OPERATIONAL
[16] TURKSAT-2A SATELLITE TO BE LAUNCHED IN SEPTEMBER
[17] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS
[18] AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE)
[01] BANKING REGULATION AND SUPERVISION AGENCY BECOMES FULLY
OPERATIONAL
[02] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS
[03] TURKEY CELEBRATES VICTORY DAY
The 78th anniversary of the Victory Day and Turkish Armed Forces
Day were celebrated throughout the country, in the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus and at the Turkish missions abroad.
During the celebrations, the founder of modern Turkey, Ataturk,
his comrades and martyrs were commemorated. During the
celebrations in Ankara, the first official ceremony was held
yesterday with laying a wreath at Ataturk's Mausoleum. The Chief
of General Staff Gen. Huseyin Kivrikoglu, Land Forces Commander
Gen. Hilmi Ozkok, Naval Forces Commander Admiral Ilhami Erdil,
Air Forces Commander Gen. Ergin Celasin, Gendarmerie Commander
Gen. Aytac Yalman, General Secretary of the National Security
Council Gen. Cumhur Asparuk and other high-ranking generals and
officers participated in the ceremony at Anitkabir. Then, the
Chief of General Staff and other commanders met with politicians
in the General Staff Headquarters. Celebrations were also held in
Ataturk Cultural Center (AKM). President Ahmet Necdet Sezer,
Deputy Speaker of the TGNA Ali Iliksoy, Prime Minister Bulent
Ecevit, Ministers, Force Commanders, representatives of political
parties and foreign missions, and a great number of citizens were
present in the ceremony held in AKM. /Turkiye/
[04] SEZER TO MEET CLINTON
In the framework of the United Nations (UN) Millenium Summit to
be held on 6-8 September in New York, President Ahmet Necdet
Sezer will meet the US President Bill Clinton. Time and place of
the meeting is expected to be set in a few days. The meeting
between Mr. Sezer and Mr. Clinton will be the highest-level
contact between the US and Turkey after Mr. Sezer's election as
President. /Aksam/
[05] DENKTAS' MESSAGE
During the "Ceremony of Love and Devotion for the Motherland and
for the Turkish Armed Forces', which was organized by the
Nationalist Justice Party (MAP), President of the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Rauf Denktas issued harsh
messages to those against Turkey. Denktas said, "Because of
Turkey's extensive efforts, we were able to establish this State.
Turkey saved Turkish-Cypriots from being annihilated. During the
hard times, we were encouraged by Turkey and we resisted enemies
with this courage. We follow Ataturk's path towards independence
and we will walk on this road hand in hand with Turkey."
[06] GEN. KIVRIKOGLU WARNS FOR KHK
During a reception held on the occasion of the Victory Day at Gazi
Officers' Club, Chief of General Staff Gen. Huseyin Kivrikoglu
replied to questions posed by journalists. Regarding the decree
in the power of law (KHK), Gen. Kivrikoglu said: "It does not
matter for us if it is being a decree or a law. A regulation is
necessary for the civil servants who are involved in
fundamentalist and seperatist activities. The government should
be sincere and persistent on the issue. Now, it is the Turkish
Grand National Assembly's turn to act on the matter." /All papers/
[07] ERDAL TO STAND TRIAL IN BELGIUM
The Spokesman of the Belgian Prime Ministry announced that
Fehriye Erdal, one of defendants of the Ozdemir Sabanci murder,
will be tried in Belgium. Erdal is to be charged with the crimes
she committed in Belgium. She is accused of entering Belgium with
a fake passport and illegal possession of explosives. Ankara is
uneasy with Belgium's decision on not extraditing Erdal to
Turkey. Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz evaluated Belgium's
decision as a negative development. Justice Minister Hikmet Sami
Turk said, "Belgium could not find a third country to extradite
Erdal. It seems like Erdal's extradiditon to Turkey is not
possible for the time being. However, the important point here is
that Belgium understood that Erdal was also harmful for Belgium's
public order." /Cumhuriyet/
[08] SECURITY FORCES KILL 16 TERRORISTS
During the clashes between security forces and PKK terrorists in
Hakkari and Tunceli, 16 terrorists were killed. Operations are
still continuing in the region. /Turkiye/
[09] GERMAN AUTHORITIES SUE PKK COORDINATOR
The Federal Chief Public Prosecutor of Germany, Kay Nehm has
initiated legal proceedings against the so-called PKK
Coordinator in Germany, Sait H. on crimes of being a member of
the terrorist organization at Dusseldorf Supreme State Court.
According to the indictment, the accused has organized political
activities, has extorted money from the people for the
organization and also entered the country with a fake passport.
Meanwhile, two members of the PKK who had occupied a Kenyan
tourism office in Germany on February 16, 1999 to protest the
arrest of Abdullah Ocalan were sentenced to prison. /Milliyet/
[10] ERBAKAN'S APPEAL TO EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS REJECTED
The appeal by the leader of the closed Welfare Party (RP)
Necmettin Erbakan on staying the execution of the imprisonment
decision against him was rejected by the European Court of Human
Rights. /Milliyet/
[11] CHIBBER ON TURKISH ECONOMY
World Bank's Turkey Desk Director Ajay Chibber attended a
conference on the "Entrenepreneur Spirit and Small and
Medium-Scale Enterprises in the New Century", which was organized
in the framework of the 69th Izmir International Fair. During the
conference, Chibber evaluated the current situation of the
economic programme implemented by the government and said, "This
economic programme caused the interest rates to fall rapidly and
this positive development revived the markets. Economy has
improved and Turkey's growth rate has increased. This development
has had positive impact on the increase in demands and this
resulted in a boom in imports. This development upset the
import-export balance and as a result foreign trade deficit
increased. Excessive demand also made the fight against inflation
harder. Right now, It is hard for Turkey to reach the inflation
targets set by the Government but a clear decline will be seen
certainly." /Aksam/
[12] COTTARELLI IN TURKEY
Head of International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Turkey Desk Carlo
Cottarelli arrived in Turkey yesterday. Mr. Cottarelli will
observe the latest developments in the Turkish economy within the
scope of the stand-by agreement. Mr. Cottarelli said, "The
Turkish economy is on the right path. However, Turkey has to
pursue the stand-by program until the end." The IMF delegation
will start its meetings today in Ankara. The delegation will meet
State Minister Recep Onal and Treasury Undersecretary Selcuk
Demiralp. The current accounts deficit, the increase in exports,
the inflation rate and privatization issues will be discussed at
the meetings. In addition, the IMF delegation will also determine
whether a revision is necessary or not for Turkey's 3-year
economic program. /Hurriyet/
[13] CIRCULAR FOR EU NATIONAL PROGRAM
Turkey has started preparations for the "National Program for the
full European Union (EU) membership". Prime Minister Bulent
Ecevit sent a circular explaining the initiatives that should be
launched for adjusting the EU law to all public institutions and
associations on August 29. Mr. Ecevit demanded the State Planning
Organization (DPT) to help the EU General Secretary for all the
preparations. Reminding that the EU Commission had prepared "a
partnership association document" for all candidate countries,
the Prime Minister said: "This document explains the conditions
and the responsibilities asked from the candidate countries to
adjust the Copenhagen criteria. Turkey will prepare a `National
Program' in parallel to this document." /Hurriyet/
[14] ISRAELI FIRMS UNDERTAKE THE PROJECTS IN GAP
During the one-day visit of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak,it
was decided that six irrigation and agricultural projects within
the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) would be carried out by
the Israeli firms. The total cost of these projects is $1 million
and they will be constructed under the control of State Water
Works (DSI). The projects will be undertaken by the Israeli firms
via direct negotiations and the agreements concluded with the
firms will be ratified by the Parliament. Meanwhile, the request
of the Turkish government on including Turkish firms as partners
on these projects was accepted by Mr. Barak. /Milliyet/
[15] BANKING REGULATION AND SUPERVISION AGENCY BECOMES FULLY
OPERATIONAL
Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) under the
chairmanship of former Finance Minister Zekeriya Temizel is
becoming fully operational today. A protocol will be signed to
transfer the powers of the Central Bank and the Treasury on
banking issues to the Board. The Board will take over
administration of the Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF), monitor the
deposit accounts in the banks and take the necessary measures for
the safe use of deposit accounts by the banks. /Milliyet/
[16] TURKSAT-2A SATELLITE TO BE LAUNCHED IN SEPTEMBER
Turkey's third satellite, Turksat 2-A's mechanical and electronic
tests were completed. Turksat 2-A's assembly works are still
continuing and the satellite will be launched from the French
Guyana, South America at the end of next month. General Director
of Turk Telecom Ibrahim Hakki Alpturk stated that after Turksat
2-A is launched, it will take its place next to Turksat 1-C
satellite and thus, Turksat 2-A will cover an area extending from
the west of Europe to the Great Wall of China. /Aksam/
[17] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS
[18] AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE)
Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna writes on the dispute over authority. A
summary of his column is as follows:
"It was clear from the start that the dispute over authority
would result in a crisis. During the democratic period, Turkey
has seen two men of vision such as Demirel and Ozal. Both of them
requested a Presidential system, if not a semi-presidential
system as they aimed to take greater initiatives.
However, in European democracies, the Head of State is titular
even if he is elected by the parliament or is a constitutional
monarch. He is the symbol of territorial integrity and harmony
within the state. He does not interfere with the administration
and his being a head of it is only a formality. The
responsibility lies with the Prime Minister. A Prime Minister
elected by the people and received vote of confidence from the
parliament rules the country. The Prime Minister is responsible
for administration. In democracies it is not possible to rule
without responsibility. The model presented by the fifth Republic
in France and the current system in Russia are exceptions. These
systems cannot be proposed for Turkey as they would create
obstacles on the way of administration. It is not possible to
have a two-headed execution. In fact, a person not elected by
public vote cannot interfere in the executive affairs in the name
of national will.
However, it is not proper to attempt restricting the authorities
of the President following a dispute between Cankaya and the
Government. It is an office which should be respected by all. An
amendment to the Constitution is necessary to be able to do this.
However, we should first review the status of the President,
emphasize the incomparable responsibility of the Prime Minister."
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