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Turkish Press Review, 01-04-16
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
16.04.2001
CONTENTS
[01] PRESIDENT SEZER'S MESSAGE ON TOURISM
[02] HEAVY SCHEDULE IN THE PARLIAMENT
[03] FOUNDATION
[04] BAHCELI: "HISTORY CANNOT BE CHANGED"
[05] NEW ECONOMIC PROGRAM
[06] DERVIS ON WORLD TOUR
[07] FULL SUPPORT OF IMF AND WORLD BANK
[08] MIRZAOGLU TRAVELS TO JAMAICA
[09] CAY ASKS KYRGYZSTAN TO SOLVE TURKISH BUSINESSMEN'S
PROBLEMS
[10] MENDERES IN DYP
[11] TREACHEROUS TRAP IN BINGOL
[12] SIMITIS' STATEMENT ON TURKEY'S MILITARY EXPENDITURE
[13] NEW YORK TIMES COVERS TURKISH ECONOMY
[14] FEHRIYE ERDAL: "BELGIAN COURTS CANNOT TRY
ME"
[15] EASTER CELEBRATED IN ISTANBUL
[16] ARBITRATION CENTER TO BE ESTABLISHED IN ISTANBUL
[17] POSTPONEMENT OF FARMERS' CREDIT REPAYMENT
[18] MORE EFFECTIVE SERVICE
[19] ODD AND EVEN CAR PLATE PRACTICE IS ON WAY
[20] BUSY WEEK FOR TREASURY
[21] REAL ESTATE INVESTORS MEET IN ISTANBUL
[22] EMPLOYEMENT GUARANTEE BILL READY BY END OF MONTH
[23] TURKISH POWER IN BAVARIA
[24] FORD FACTORY TO BE OPENED
[25] TURKISH POETRY IN THE NETHERLANDS
[26] ZEUGMA WALL PAINTINGS TO BE RESTORED
[27] TURKISH FESTIVAL IN NEW YORK
[28] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS
[29] THE LAST TRAIN BY SEDAT SERTOGLU (SABAH)
[01] PRESIDENT SEZER'S MESSAGE ON TOURISM
Issuing a message on the occassion of the Tourism
Week, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said tourism was one of the most
important sectors in Turkish economy. Emphasizing proper promotional
initiatives would greatly contribute to the improvement of tourism
sector in Turkey, Sezer said, "The fact that tourists who are
pleased with their vacation in Turkey will promote Turkey the best
should not be forgotten." Stating countries all over the world
are trying to find new ways to increase their tourism revenues, Sezer
said, "Turkey, who presents Anatolian historical and natural
heritage to tourists, is a unique paradise in the world. Turkey has
many opportunities such as sea and sun tourism, as well as natural
scenery." Sezer added, "Turkish economy might yield positive
results from tourism if new investments in the congress, faith, nature
and winter tourism are made." Meanwhile, Prime Minister Bulent
Ecevit said tourism contributes greatly to Turkey's promotion by
creating new employment opportunities and increasing international
mobility concerning culture and commerce. Ecevit said, "Turkish
state is determined to improve Turkish tourism and help it catch up
with the changing conditions." /Cumhuriyet/
[02] HEAVY SCHEDULE IN THE PARLIAMENT
Following the declaration of the economic program
by State Minister for Economics Kemal Dervis, now it is Parliament's
turn to enact the priority bills. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit assured
IMF Chairman Horst Kohler on this topic. Three of the fifteen priority
bills are expected to be debated in the Parliament this week.
Previously, three laws were enacted. Tomorrow, Natural Gas Bill will
be taken up in the Parliament. /Turkiye/
70TH ANNIVERSARY OF TURKISH HISTORY INSTITUTION'S
[03] FOUNDATION
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer sent a greeting
message to Deputy Prime Minister Devlet Bahceli due to the 70th
anniversary of the Turkish History Institution's establishment.
Stating historical awareness is one of the most important elements in
nation-building process, Sezer said nations comprehending their pasts
well will always be capable of establishing stable and sound futures.
/Cumhuriyet/
[04] BAHCELI: "HISTORY CANNOT BE CHANGED"
Deputy Prime Minister Devlet Bahceli attended a
meeting organized to mark the 70th anniversary of the Turkish History
Institution. Stressing comprehensive and systematic studies in Turkish
history could not be carried out, Bahceli said history is an
inspiration, energy and source of hope for nations. He added,
"History cannot be changed by decisions made by Parliaments or
workings of lobbies." /Turkiye/
[05] NEW ECONOMIC PROGRAM
State Minister for the Economy, Kemal Dervis, with
the Central Bank Governor Sureyya Serdengecti and Treasury
Undersecretary Faik Oztrak attended a meeting with journalists
yesterday in Ankara. Dervis explained his views on economic and
political issues. Dervis said, "The IMF Managing Directors will
have a meeting on April 28. I hope we will reach an agreement with the
IMF before that date. We can renew the existing stand-by agreement or
give an additional letter of intent. We need $10-12 billion and I
believe we will obtain it easily. The IMF, the World Bank, G-7
countries and some other countries will extend this
support."Dervis said, "We burnt all bridges and there is no
turning back after this. The important part is the implementation of
the program. This program entails structural reforms. We should
relieve the markets permanently in the long run. The thing we should
do is to make people believe that Turkey has the potential to decrease
the rate of inflation. We will prove this by the end of the
year." /Milliyet/
[06] DERVIS ON WORLD TOUR
State Minister for Economics, Kemal Dervis, will
travel to Tokyo, London, Rome and Berlin for obtaining foreign
financial assistance to the economic program after completing the
negotiation with the IMF in Washington. The new letter of intent,
including the commitments of the program, was given to the IMF
delegation in Turkey. The total of the foreign financial resources
which could be obtained from the IMF are the remaining $6.25 billion
of the previous credit and $5 billion credit from World Bank within
the Country Assistance Strategy(CAS). G-7 countries are expected to
give $6-8 billion credit under convenient conditions. /Milliyet/
[07] FULL SUPPORT OF IMF AND WORLD BANK
The US Embassy and the IMF Chief of Turkey Desk
Carlo Cottarelli conveyed their support for the new economic program.
The statement by the US Embassy said international community will
continue to support Turkey. Cottarelli said, "We appreciate the
new program aiming to ensure the fiscal stability, structural reform
and restructuring of the banks". /Milliyet/
[08] MIRZAOGLU TRAVELS TO JAMAICA
State Minister Ramazan Mirzaoglu travelled to
Jamaica for an official visit. Mirzaoglu said a joint economic
commission will be established with Jamaica and the draft of an
Economic and Commercial Cooperation Agreement will be signed. /Sabah/
[09] CAY ASKS KYRGYZSTAN TO SOLVE TURKISH BUSINESSMEN'S
PROBLEMS
State Minister Abdulhaluk Mehmet Cay, who is in
Kyrgyzstan to take part in a Turkish-Kyrgyz Joint Economic
Commission(KEK) meeting, asked Kyrgyz officials to solve the Turkish
businessmen's problems if they want more investments from Turkey. Cay
also said loans supplied by Turkish Eximbank to this country were used
for the wrong projects, adding that these kind of problems would be
solved at the KEK meeting. Kyrgyzstan Finance Minister Temirbek
Akmataliyev said they unfortunately used these loans on the wrong
projects because they did not have enough experience in certain
issues. He said, however, Eximbank loans were useful in the develoment
of the country. Stressing that his country has been in economic
difficulty, Akmataliyev asked Cay to delay the repayment of the loans.
/Turkish Daily News/
[10] MENDERES IN DYP
Aydin Menderes, independent parliamentarian from
Istanbul, joined the True Path Party (DYP) yesterday. During the DYP
Representatives Assembly Meeting, DYP leader Tansu Ciller decorated
Menderes with a party rosette. /Hurriyet/
[11] TREACHEROUS TRAP IN BINGOL
During a crack-down against the PKK, five soldiers
were killed and two others were wounded by the explosion of mines laid
by terrorist PKK members. During the clashes, nine terrorists were
killed. Regarding the death of five soldiers and the injuring of two
more, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Turkish Grand National Assembly
(TGNA) Speaker, Omer Izgi and Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit sent
condolence messages to the Chief of the General Staff, Huseyin
Kivrikoglu. /Turkiye/
[12] SIMITIS' STATEMENT ON TURKEY'S MILITARY EXPENDITURE
Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis evaluated
Turkey's postponement of 32 defense projects as a great decrease in
military expenditure. Refraining from mentioning Turkey's reason to
take such a decision on decreasing military purchases, Simitis said,
"Turkey decreased her military expenditures by 17 trillion drahmi
which equals to four fold of Greece's purchase in the same
period." He added as the international conditions demand
everybody give priority to stability and development, Turkey attached
great importance to economic development. /Cumhuriyet/
[13] NEW YORK TIMES COVERS TURKISH ECONOMY
The prominent US daily New York Times said in an
article on the economic program declared by the Turkish Economics
Minister Kemal Dervis, "The program targets to find foreign debt
amounting to $10-12 billion. Dervis says new credits are needed to
recover the economy. The IMF delegation, currently holding contact
with the Turkish officials, will return to Washington and express
their views on accepting the program or not." Meanwhile,
Washington Post said many analysts question whether the Turkish
government is determined to implement severe measures to recover
economy. /Cumhuriyet/
[14] FEHRIYE ERDAL: "BELGIAN COURTS CANNOT TRY
ME"
The defense statement of Fehriye Erdal, who is
accused of being involved in murdering three people at Istanbul
Sabanci Center, was given to Belgium's Council of State on Friday.
Following an objection by the Sabanci family attorney, Fernand
Schmitz, to the Council of State, the case restarted again seven
months ago. When Erdal's attorneys requested further time to prepare
their case, the trial was postponed to May 3. Erdal's attorney Han
Fermont said that Erdal could not be tried in a Belgian court for
crimes she committed in Turkey, adding that courts in Belgium have no
such authority. In the trial postponed to May 3, the court will decide
whether she can be tried in Belgian courts for crimes she committed in
Turkey. /Turkish News/
[15] EASTER CELEBRATED IN ISTANBUL
Istanbul Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarch
Bartholomeos, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christian,
led thousands of faithful in a candlelit procession early Sunday to
celebrate Easter. Following the two-year-old warming in relations
between traditional rivals Greece and Turkey, thousands of Greek
tourists have traveled to Istanbul to celebrate Easter at the
patriarchate. /Turkish News/
[16] ARBITRATION CENTER TO BE ESTABLISHED IN ISTANBUL
Justice Ministry is preparing a bill on the
establishment of an International Arbitration Center in Istanbul,
which will deal with settling the disagreements arising from legal
relations through arbitration. /Milliyet/
[17] POSTPONEMENT OF FARMERS' CREDIT REPAYMENT
Agriculture Minister, Husnu Yusuf Gokalp will
request today at the cabinet meeting the postponement of TL1.5
quadrillion debts of farmers. The draft bill includes the delaying of
the farmers' credit repayments to the Agricultural Credit
Co-operatives, debts to Agricultural Enterprises General Directorate
(TIGEM) and to Turkish Electricity Distribution Company (TEDAS).
/Sabah/
CAKMAKOGLU: MODERNIZATION OF F-4s IS NECESSARY FOR A
[18] MORE EFFECTIVE SERVICE
Defense Minister Sabahattin Cakmakoglu said
yesterday that the aim in modernizing 54 F-4 fighter jets was to make
sure that they serve the military more effectively in the 2000s. In
response to a written question by Virtue Party (FP) Bitlis Deputy Zeki
Ergezen on the modernization of F-4 fighter jets, Cakmakoglu said that
26 jets had been modernized in Israel and that 28 in Turkey, at the
First Air Supply and Maintenance Center facilities, and added,
"The modernization studies commenced in May 1994, and a bid was
invited in January 1995 for the modernization of F-4 fighter jets. The
project was commissioned to the Israeli Aviation Institute (IAI) in
accordance with the decision of the Cabinet and the Defense Industry
Executive Committee, on the condition that the Israeli government
would provide the financial sources needed to execute the
project." /Turkish News/
[19] ODD AND EVEN CAR PLATE PRACTICE IS ON WAY
The odd and even car plate program will be put into
action for official cars in Istanbul tomorrow. The practice is brought
about by the office of the Istanbul Governor aiming at implementing
energy saving measures. The vehicles of emergency, security, legal
institutions and Armed Forces, as well as the vehicles of the fire
department are excluded from the program. /Turkish Daily News/
[20] BUSY WEEK FOR TREASURY
Undersecretariat of Treasury will open the third
bid of the month this week. Undersecretariat also has repayments this
week. It will repay $800 million in foreign debts and one quadrillion
22.6 trillion TL in domestic debts. /Cumhuriyet/
[21] REAL ESTATE INVESTORS MEET IN ISTANBUL
Well-known real estate investors will come to
Istanbul to participate in the Real Estate Summit-2 between April
17-19 organized by the Real Estate Investment Partnership Association
and the Finance World. With the participation of the Capital Market
Board Collective Apartments Administration and Global Real Institute,
and the support of one of the organizers of the International Fair
Organization REED-MIDEM, and Barcelona Meeting Point, the summit is
due to take place at the Ciragan Palace. /Turkish Daily News/
[22] EMPLOYEMENT GUARANTEE BILL READY BY END OF MONTH
Minister of Labour and Social Security Yasar Okuyan
said the work on the employement guarantee bill will be completed by
the end of this month. Stressing the law is among the most important
laws to ensure social peace in society, Mr. Okuyan said the work on
the bill is continuing for 7-8 months, and as soon as it is completed,
will be presented to the TGNA. /Turkiye/
[23] TURKISH POWER IN BAVARIA
According to a research conducted by Turkish
Research Center in Germany, Turkish citizens have an important role in
economics in Bavarian province. Turkish investors employ 42,000
workers and make a DM1.8-billion investment in the region. /Turkiye/
[24] FORD FACTORY TO BE OPENED
Ford Otosan will officially open its factory in
Golcuk on April 20, 2001. Chairman of the Koc Holding, Rahmi Koc and
Chairman of the Ford Motor Jacques A. Nasser are expected to attend
the opening ceremony. The factory will be one of the important
production and export centers of Ford. It was constructed on a
1.6-million metre squares open and 160-thousand meter squares covered
area. The factory has a 150-thousand vehicle capacity and will employ
4 thousand workers. /Hurriyet/
[25] TURKISH POETRY IN THE NETHERLANDS
Many Turkish poets attended the Poetry Festival
organized in The Netherlands jointly by the Popyrus and Troya
Foundations. There were a panel titled "Poetry and
Language", poem readings and a contest within the festival.
/Cumhuriyet/
[26] ZEUGMA WALL PAINTINGS TO BE RESTORED
A group from Ankara University Capital Vocational
College took 92 wall paintings unearthed from Zeugma ancient city last
year under protection to restore. Deputy Director of the Project,
Bekir Eskici said the project will be completed on May 23.
/Cumhuriyet/
[27] TURKISH FESTIVAL IN NEW YORK
The Turkish Culture Festival will begin on April 21
and the traditional Turkish Day March will take place on May 19. The
march will be held at Madison Avenue and a large number of Turks both
from New York and elsewhere will participate. There will also be
various performances at the Dag Hammarskjold Park near the
"Turkevi" (Turkish House) building. The most important
activity of the culture festival organized by the Turkish-American
Foundation Federation (TADF) will be "Turkish Children's
Day," to take place on April 23, the same day as
"International Children's Day." /Turkish News/
[28] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS
[29] THE LAST TRAIN BY SEDAT SERTOGLU (SABAH)
Columnist Sedat Sertoglu comments on the economic
program announced by State Minister for Economics Kemal Dervis. A
summary of his column is as follows: "We are entering a new week
with new hopes due to the announcement of the economic program by
Kemal Dervis. What is important is the speedy enforcement of the
program as much as its announcement. Everyone should comply with this
program as we do not have any other alternative. If we cannot succeed
in this, we shall even remember these past few days fondly in the
future. Therefore, we all have to ask, 'What can I do to contribute
for the success of this program?' It is not the time to play the
devil's advocate especially for the opposition parties and economics
professors. Everyone knows the reason of every sentence and therefore
should not be treated as a fool. No one should destroy Turkey, in the
name of dissidence. The opposition parties, the Virtue Party and the
True Path Party should not follow populist stances and obstruct the
success of this program. Such stances would only decrease their
popularity and will not ensure extra points for them. To support this
program is not supporting the Government. We have to separate the two
and have a look at the program itself. The next few months we will be
faced with great difficulties. Unemployment will rise, hard days will
follow. However, then economic growth will begin. The start of growth
means the decrease of unemployment and those who are left jobless
today will be employed. Then we may be able to see the light at the
end of the tunnel. Kemal Dervis said that we shall remember these days
as a nightmare in the future. We believe this, we want to believe
this. However, Dervis cannot succeed in enforcing this program all by
himself. We can achieve this goal when politicians,trade unions,
non-governmental organizations, media, small businessmen and peasants
all work hand-in-hand. The Government has to show that it is
tigthening its belt and seriously adopting this program. From now on
we will enter a road with important turning points. We have to follow
every step taken in this direction and be courageous. The Government
should be monitored and we should insist on the enforcement of this
program. We expect from the Coalition Government to say,'Stay behind
the program as it is our last chance to salvage the economy. Let us
not miss this train. It is time you kept your promises in supporting
the program'."
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