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Wednesday, 18 December 2024
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Turkish Press Review, 00-12-06Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>06.12.00Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] GREEK PRESS: "BOTH SIDES PLEASED WITH ACCESSION PARTNERSHIP DOCUMENT"[02] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... THE MEANING OF NEW ACCESSION PARTNERSHIP DOCUMENT BY EROL[03] MANISALI (CUMHURIYET)[04] SEZER RECEIVES IMANALIEVPresident Ahmet Necdet Sezer received Kyrgyz Minister of Foreign Affairs, Muratbek Imanaliev yesterday in Cankaya Palace. Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem was also present at the meeting. Mr. Imanaliev also visited Minister of State, Abdulhaluk Mehmet Cay. It was stated the two ministers discussed bilateral relations and Mr. Cay's visit to Kyrgyzstan. After completing his contacts in Ankara, Mr. Imanaliev travelled to Istanbul. /Cumhuriyet/[05] NATIONAL PROGRAM TRANSFORMS MGK TO AN ADVISORY BOARDThe National Program describing the steps that Turkey would take in accordance with the Accession Partnership Document (APD) is to be finished and submitted to the government next week. The State Planning Organization (DPT) prepared the economic portion of the program that will meet the ADP's short-term and mid-range priority requirements. The EU Turkey Secretariat-General will give the final form of the national program. Some points in the program are as follows: 1. Freedom of Expression: Amendments in Article 312 of the Turkish Penal Code, Art. 7-8 of the Anti-terrorism Law and amendments in Press Law and Political Parties Law. 2. The Role of National Security Council (MGK): Amending the Art.118 of the Constitution in such a way that MGK functions only as an Advisory Board. 3. Death Penalty: Amendments in Art.125 and 146 of the Turkish Penal Code to abolish the death penalty. Signing the 6th protocol of the European Council Human Rights Convention. 4. Freedom of Thought, Religion and Faith: Removing the barriers against expression of these freedoms. /Milliyet/[06] GREEK PRESS: "BOTH SIDES PLEASED WITH ACCESSION PARTNERSHIP DOCUMENT"According to the Greek press, Turkey's Accession Partnership Document pleased both Greek and Turkish sides. Stating that officials from the two countries interpreted the document from their own perspectives, the Greek press critisized Foreign Minister George Papandreou's statement: "It was not a zero sum game. There is neither a loser nor a winner." The press pointed out despite Turkey's obligation to obey the Helsinki accords, the obligation only covers political dialogue." Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis said, "Turkey's next steps on Cyprus and Greece are important for us. We will follow this issue closely until 2004. If Turkey does not meet the Helsinki requirements on human rights, democratization and the Cyprus issue, the EU might stop giving aid to Turkey." Meanwhile, certain opposing press organs saw the document as a failure of the Simitis government. /Cumhuriyet/[07] ACCESSION PARTNERSHIP DOCUMENTPlacement of the Cyprus and Aegean issues in Turkey's Accession Partnership Document under the title of "The Strengthened Political Dialogue and Political Criteria" during the EU General Affairs Council's meeting the day before yesterday, was welcomed by the Turkish government. The coalition partners' leaders spoke about the recent development concerning the APD at their parties' parliamentary group meetings. State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Devlet Bahceli said the partial revision of the APD is positive, but not enough. He added, "We need our European counterparts' good will, sincerity and mutual cooperation." State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz also evaluated Turkey-EU relations. Yilmaz said after a tense period, a positive phase in Turkey-EU relations is on-going similar to the time following the Helsinki Summit. Yilmaz said Turkey is determined to implement all of the criteria declared at the Copenhagen and Maastricht Summits. Regarding the Cyprus issue, Yilmaz called on the Greek-Cypriot Administration to give up the fantasy of being an EU member alone. /Turkiye/[08] EU PARLIAMENT APOLOGIZES TO CEMThe Chairman of the European Parliament Nicole Fontaine apologized to Foreign Minister Ismail Cem for the recent protest-activity of the two DHKP-C militants during the EP Foreign Affairs Commission session on Nov. 28th. Sending a letter to Cem, Fontaine said, "I wish to convey my deepest regrets for such an unfortunate event occuring during your address to European parliamentarians." She also underlined that she gave necessary orders to prevent any repetition of such disruptions. Furthermore, the Secretary-General for the EP, Julian Priestley sent a letter to Cem saying the incident was unacceptable. Meanwhile, Italian Parliament Luiza Morgantini denied allegations that she helped the militants enter the EP building. /Turkiye/[09] CAKMAKOGLU: "THE EU CANNOT USE NATO SOURCES"The Minister of National Defence, Sabahattin Cakmakoglu, in Brussels to attend NATO meetings, clearly expressed Turkey's objection to the use of NATO facilities, if Turkey is not included in the European Security and Defence Identity (ESDI) decision mechanisms. Cakmakoglu said Turkey was not given its desired and expected roles in the ESDI Policy. For that reason, it was not possible to accept the EU demands from NATO. The EU excludes NATO member countries which are not EU members- Turkey, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Iceland and Norway- from the ESDI decision mechanisms, however, asks for using NATO facilities when it is needed. /Turkiye/[10] GAZARYAN: "WE ARE READY FOR DIALOGUE"The Turco-Armenian Business Council Co-Chairmen are trying to improve relations between Turkey and Armenia. Arsen Gazaryan said, "I came to Turkey to put the relations in order. We should begin dialogue and I brought goodwill messages from the Armenian President and the Foreign Minister. Turkey should not take the Armenian Diaspora into consideration and, we should not let third countries to interfere in our affairs. We are tired of these claims and want to live in peace with Turkey." Responding to the press' question ,"why did Armenia remain silent when the so-called genocide drafts were brought forth", Mr. Gazaryan said, "Armenia is hungry. Radicals in the Diaspora send money to the hungry people in Armenia. 3.5 million Armenian live in Armenia in contrast to 6.5 million people in Diaspora. Armenia is a very poor country. People in the Diaspora does not like us to speak favorably about Turkey, or they would stop sending money." /Hurriyet/[11] TURKISH WOMEN'S "PRIDE" DAYThe 66th anniversary of Turkish women's suffrage and right to hold elected office was celebrated all over Turkey. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said, "Although providing women with the right to vote and to hold office is sine qua non for a democracy, certain democratic countries are late in implementing suffrage compared with Turkey." Women parliamentarians delivered speeches in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) on the anniversary. /Cumhuriyet/[12] CILLER: "CYPRUS IS BEING LOST"Yesterday, True Path Party (DYP) leader Tansu Ciller attended a panel titled, "The Position of Women in Politics, Society and Women's Political Rights", organized to mark the 66th anniversary of suffrage for Turkish women. During her speech, Ciller pointed out Turkey had not yet begun membership negotiations with the EU, and no specific date had been set. She said, "They have chosen for Cyprus. Cyprus is being lost. While you are losing it, it does not matter if a demand for a solution is included in the dialogue section of an article or not." Ciller also emphasized Turkey should continue to its just way, without any concession. /Turkiye/[13] TURKEY TO ANNOUNCE NEW IMF DEALPrime Minister Bulent Ecevit said yesterday that talks with the IMF over possible emergency funding were on track. Cash-strapped financial markets are keenly awaiting the anouncement of a $2-6 billion supplemental reserve facility (SRF) deal with the IMF. Treasury Undersecretary Selcuk Demiralp said an agreement was met in principle with the IMF. The amount of the SRF Turkey will receive will be announced today. The IMF delegation continued its contacts yesterday. Mr. Demiralp met first with the Chief IMF delegation, Carlo Cottarelli, then Chief of IMF Europe Department, Micheal Deppler, yesterday. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State, Husamettin Ozkan, met with US Deputy Treasury Secretary Edwin Truman. /Cumhuriyet-Turkish Daily News/[14] TURKEY TO RECEIVE $1 BILLION LOAN FROM WORLD BANKThe World Bank Executive Board will discuss the $5 billion loan that will be given to Turkey by month's end. It plans to approve a $1 billion portion of the loan. World Bank Deputy President Johannes Linn said approval of the loan is not an emergency measure for Turkey, it is a pre-planned loan. /Milliyet/[15] TRUMAN: "TURKEY DESERVES THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT"US Deputy Treasury Secretary Prof. Edwin Ted Truman met with Deputy Prime Minister Husamettin Ozkan, Finance Minister Sumer Oral, State Minister Recep Onal and Treasury Undersecretary Selcuk Demiralp seperately. Mr. Truman received information regarding "the economic stabilization program, its aims and its productive structure." Mr. Truman said Turkey deserves the support for the implementation of its far-sighted program. /Milliyet/[16] OZEL ELECTED AS DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OF CHROMIUM UNIONBilfer Madencilik Corp. President Sozer Ozel, a member of the Ankara Chamber of Industry (ASO) Assembly, was elected yesterday as deputy chairman of World Chromium Union. Ozel has been a member of of the union for four years. Ozel's selection is said to strengthen Turkey's international position as the biggest chromium producer after South Africa and Kazakhstan. /Turkish Daily News/[17] TURKISH JEWELRY FACTORY IN THAILANDTwo brothers, Eren and Emre Berksoy, established a jewelry factory in Bangkok. They process jewelry totaling $200-250 million. The factory's capital is $10 million. /Milliyet/[18] BEKO STARTS SELLING ON PACIFIC COASTTurkish consumer durables manufacturer Beko has started to sell its products in large Russian cities on the Pacific coast, namely Vladivostok, Habarovsk and Ussirisk. They are already established in Moscow and St.Petersburg, according to a company statement. /Turkish Daily News/[19] TURKCELL RECEIVES $50 MILLION CREDITAn agreement regarding Akbank's loan of $50 million credit to Turkcell was signed yesterday. Turkcell's total credit received for the last month was about $500 million. /Aksam/[20] $250 MILLION CREDIT FROM DEUTSCHE BANKDeutsche Bank will give $250 million credit to Turkish Bank. Deutsche Bank had withdrawn from Turkish financial markets just before the crisis. It sold the Turkish Treasury bonds at hand. It will now reenter the market. /Hurriyet/[21] EXPORTS IN AUTOMATIVE INDUSTRYThe Turkish automative sector realized $2.365-billion in export during the last 11 months. With $521 million, Germany was first among countries where Turkey exported the most. France, Italy, the US and England followed Germany. /Turkiye/[22] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...[23] THE MEANING OF NEW ACCESSION PARTNERSHIP DOCUMENT BY EROL MANISALI (CUMHURIYET)Columnist Erol Manisali writes on the meaning of the last agreement on Accession Partnership Document (APD). A summary of his column is as follows:"We have to analyze the developments concerning the Accession Partnership Document which was changed a little by the Foreign Ministers of 15 countries in Brussels. Does this reflect Ankara's or Athens' demands? First, the Cyprus question was defined as an issue which must be solved by Turkey in the short-term. The deadline set is the end of 2001 or the beginning of 2002. This means that the Cyprus problem is put forth as condition for Turkey. Second, the solution given is the proposal the UN Secretary-General made in Geneva. This calls for a unitary state on Cyprus- which in turn means there will not be two separate states. It is a state based on the sovereignty of the Greek-Cypriot majority, where the Turkish-Cypriots do not have any sovereignty rights. Third, the Aegean problem is included in the Accession Partnership Document upon the request of Athens. The Aegean issue will be solved at The International Court of Justice at The Hague in 2004. This is the solution Athens has always sought but had never been accepted by Ankara until now. These are the conditions put forth to Turkey with the Helsinki Declaration in return for Turkey's candidacy. Both Helsinki and the APD are carrying Athens to its goal step by step. Greece wants to solve the Cyprus issue in 2002 and the Aegean problem in 2004, in line with its requests. These developments are in contradiction with statements made by Prime Minister Ecevit at the Cyprus summit in Ankara, and the Democratic Left Party's parliamentary group. At the Cyprus summit it was stated that Turkey's clear stance was in favour of a two-state structure. However, in the APD, Ankara is included in the last UN proposals. It refers to the solution favoured by the UN. Ankara has not been able to stand by the decisions of the Ankara summit. In his speech at his parliamentary group, Ecevit had said the Government would not accept any ties between the relations with the EU and Cyprus. The APD indexes the relations to the solution of these problems. Athens feared an agreement would not be reached between Ankara and Brussels on the APD. Athens can rest easy now as it wants a solution to the Cyprus issue in 2002 and the Aegean in 2004 on its terms by holding Turkey on the doorstep of the EU. What Athens feared most was the eruption of a crisis between Ankara and Brussels. In such a case all its plans would have failed. Greece, which used EU in its relations with Turkey, would have been left facing Turkey all by itself as in the old days. Cyprus and the Aegean head the list of conditions. The list of conditions is long. To begin with, there is the acceptance of all ethnic groups as national minorities. The imposition of the European Parliament's decision on the so-called Armenian genocide will follow. Turkey has to accept all such conditions while waiting to be admitted to the Union. In trying to fulfil these conditions, Turkey may realize, in the end, that it has lost on many serious points. In the course of time, Turkey will realize that others waiting at the doorstep of the Union such as Ukraine, Russian Federation, Belarus will have all been admitted before itself. However, we should not put all the blame on Athens or Brussels. We must see the truth for ourselves." [24] ON THE ROAD TO EU BY TAHA AKYOL (MILLIYET)Columnist Taha Akyol comments on the recent decision by the Brussels summit. A summary of his column is as follows:"What would have happened if a negative result came from the Brussels summit and an agreement with the IMF had not been reached? Obviously, an economic disaster would follow. This event is enough to show what globalization means. No one can live without opening up to the world. Those who try have all failed...the Soviet Union collapsed, Cuba, Iraq, Syria, and North Korea are all poor and governed by despotic regimes. Entering the EU and globalizing the economy is necessary for Turkey to catch up with the world. Although a positive result came from Brussels, former diplomat, Mehmet Ali Irtemcelik, says it cannot be defined as a victory. "A path has been opened by decresaing Greek gains and Turkish losses with a formula which is not clear." Turkey has to prepare its National Program, showing what it can do to enter the EU within a month. Will Turkey prepare a 'national program' in line with the European standards? Prime Minister Ecevit had eased our minds by saying we could have accomplished all the required criteria in 2001. However, experienced diplomat Irtemcelik, who had also served as State Minister, is being realistic. He says, "There are serious differences of opinion on this issue in the political superstructure of Turkey. Differences of opinion came out between the General Staff and MIT (National Intelligence Service) in addition to those among the Coalition parties. If these differences of opinion block Turkey's decision making mechanisms, a 'national program' cannot be prepared easily. Irtemcelik added that Turkey should clearly understand what full EU membership would bring and take away. If the decision making mechanisms cannot take the initiative, a referendum should be held. This is a fair formula. However, would those in power be willing to accept it? The EU bears a great responsibility to the issue. Turkey should know that it can trust the EU's promises, such as passing of the 'Regulations on Framework' which would form the legal infrastructure of the necessary financial to Turkey. Then, the aid to Turkey would not be bound by a Greek veto. In the end we shall decide, what do we want, to be a poor Middle Eastern state or democratic and industrialized Western state?" Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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