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Turkish Press Review, 01-05-14
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
14.05.2001
CONTENTS
[01] SEZER: "MOTHERHOOD IS SACRED"
[02] PRISON REFORM TOPS PARLIAMENT AGENDA
[03] CEM TRAVELS TO BRUSSELS
[04] STEPHANOPOULOS: PROBLEMS CANNOT BE SOLVED WITH DIALOGUE
[05] GROSSMAN TELLS OF MISSILE DEFENSE
[06] STATE MINISTER SINA GUREL TO VISIT THE US
[07] TURKISH CIVIL CODE TO BE AMENDED
[08] AMBASSADOR KOKSAL RETURNS TO FRANCE
[09] DURMUS VISITS SWITZERLAND
[10] TURK VISITS ROMANIA
[11] BAHCELI VISITS SAMSUN
[12] MEETING OF IMF GOVERNORS TOMORROW
[13] INTERNATIONAL FINANCE INSTITUTIONS' DIRECTORS TO CONVENE IN ISTANBUL
[14] TREASURY'S NEW TENDER
[15] PANEL ON FACTS ABOUT ARMENIAN ALLEGATIONS
[16] HOPE FOR KOBIs IN GAP
[17] US WRITER SWIMS ACROSS DARDANELLES
[18] TURKISH STUDENT WINS US HELICOPTER SOCIETY AWARD
[19] EDUCATIONAL AID TO DOGU AKDENIZ UNIVERSITY IN TRNC
[20] FRIENDSHIP AND PEACE MARCH
[21] SUNEXPRESS FLIGHTS BETWEEN ANTALYA-FRANKFURT
[22] ACTIVITIES OF TURKISH AUCTION HOUSE ESKIDJI
[23] HUGE ANCIENT HERCULES STATUE FOUND IN IZMIT
[24] EFES PILSEN IS THE THIRD IN EUROPEAN BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
[25] HAMZA YERLIKAYA: EUROPEAN CHAMPION FOR THE FIFTH TIME
[26] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS
[27] THE LAST TWO CRITICAL DAYS BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE)
[28] THREE FRIENDS BY GUNGOR MENGI (SABAH)
[01] SEZER: "MOTHERHOOD IS SACRED"
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer issued a message to mark the Mothers' Day.
Stressing to bring up children as civilized persons to whom the future
will be entrusted, is under the responsibility of mothers, Sezer
congratulated all mothers' Mothers' Day. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit
and the True Path Party (DYP) leader Tansu Ciller also issued messages
on the occasion of the Day. /Turkiye/
[02] PRISON REFORM TOPS PARLIAMENT AGENDA
Prison reform bills will top the agenda of Parliament this week, since
the economic emergency laws caused their postponement for a while. One
of the bills allowing prisoners in high-security F-type prisons to take
part in communal activities inside jail has been approved by Parliament
recently. Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said that two other bills
were soon to be brought onto Parliament's agenda, but a series of
emergency bills designed to overcome the current economic crisis led to
the postponement of the debate on the bills for a few weeks. /Turkish
News/
[03] CEM TRAVELS TO BRUSSELS
Foreign Minister Ismail Cem will travel to Brussels today to attend the
meeting of the EU member and candidate countries' foreign ministers.
New proposals on the European Security and Defense Identity will be
discussed during the meeting. Cem will meet with EU Commissioner
responsible for Enlargement Gunther Verheugen tomorrow to discuss the
implementation of the National Programme and the Partnership Council
meeting to be held in June between Turkey and the EU. /Cumhuriyet/
[04] STEPHANOPOULOS: PROBLEMS CANNOT BE SOLVED WITH DIALOGUE
Greek President Kostis Stephanopulos argued that problems between
Turkey and Greece could not be solved through dialogue. Delivering a
speech at the ceremony held to commemorate the Greeks alleged to be
killed by the Ottomans in 1822, Stephanopoulos claimed the European
Court of Human Rights (ECHR) convicted Turkey for the crimes she
committed on Cyprus. He added Greece wanted to establish peaceful
relations with Turkey and argued Turkey was in search for solutions to
the problems between the two countries, through means contrary to the
international principles. He said, "Problems between Turkey and Greece
cannot be solved via dialogue." /Hurriyet/
[05] GROSSMAN TELLS OF MISSILE DEFENSE
Visiting Turkey as part of a US tour aimed at consulting her allies
about the proposed missile defense system, the Assistant Secretary of
State Marc Grossman said the United States would like to see as many
countries as possible joining the proposed system. The US delegation
was visiting Turkey in an effort to marshal support for President
George Bush's National Missile Defense plan, a ballistic missile
defense system meant to counter threats coming from weapons of mass
destruction (WMDs) The United States believes the system is a necessity
under the changing security environment as a deterrence mechanism to be
used against "rogue states." Grossman maintained a better effective
deterrence mechanism should be introduced under current circumstances.
"We have been listening to our allies and they are mainly agreeing with
our viewpoint," he went on. Asked whether this new system would cover
allies outside NATO, Grossman said the decision in that regard lies
with these allies, emphasizing the United States favors participation
of as many countries as possible. /Turkish News/
[06] STATE MINISTER SINA GUREL TO VISIT THE US
State Minister Sukru Sina Gurel will visit the United States to
participate in the "Turkish Day March" in New York, as well as to
conduct some discussions about the Cyprus question and on the problems
of Turkish Americans Community. He will arrive in Washington first and
meet with US State Department Cyprus Special Coordinator Tom Weston,
several congressmen, the Association of Turkish-American Assemblies
(ATAA) and Turkish American Council members, as well as members of the
powerful Jewish lobby. /Turkish News/
[07] TURKISH CIVIL CODE TO BE AMENDED
Turkish Civil Code is being rewritten 76 years after its first
declaration. The new bill was approved at the Parliament except for 80
articles regulating the sharing the assets in case of a divorce.
Minister of Justice Hikmet Sami Turk evaluated the bill as a modern one
based on the principle of equality between the spouses in all realms.
The bill is written in a contemporary language. It is expected to be
debated at the Parliamentary Plenary Session in June. /Cumhuriyet/
[08] AMBASSADOR KOKSAL RETURNS TO FRANCE
Turkey's Ambassador to France Sonmez Koksal returned to France on
Sunday, ending a four-month old diplomatic row over a French law
recognizing the alleged killing of Armenians during the Ottoman Empire
as genocide. Ambassador Koksal was withdrawn and Turkey said it was
reviewing economic and political ties with France after French
President Jacques Chirac has signed the bill passed by Parliament on
January 18. Turkey also retaliated against several French companies,
cancelling hundreds of million dollars worth of contracts, including a
project to launch country's first spy satellite. Koksal said at
Istanbul's Ataturk airport, "Turkish-French relations have been hurt by
this incident. But, I believe that both sides will do their utmost to
heal this wound." /Turkish Daily News/
[09] DURMUS VISITS SWITZERLAND
Health Minister, Osman Durmus, went to Switzerland yesterday to attend
the 54th general assembly meeting of the World Health
Organization(WHO). Durmus said various health topics, such as
nourishment of children, control of infectious diseases, controlling
the use of tobacco, the quality of medicine and psychological health
will be discussed at the meeting. /Sabah/
[10] TURK VISITS ROMANIA
Justice Minister, Hikmet Sami Turk, went to Bucharest yesterday for an
official visit upon the invitation of his Romanian counterpart Rodica
Stanoiu. Before his departure, Turk said both Turkey and Romania
undersigned the European Convention for the Extradition of Criminals as
being two members of the Council of Europe. /Sabah/
[11] BAHCELI VISITS SAMSUN
Deputy Prime Minister and the leader of the Nationalist Action
Party(MHP), Devlet Bahceli went to Samsun yesterday to attend the
enlarged regional consultative meeting of his party. Bahceli said at
the meeting that, the government is determined to continue the fight
against corruption and those who are involved in these ativities will
be punished immediately. Bahceli said, in order to exonerate the
politicians, their immunities should be restricted, so that courts
would decide whether there is an element of crime or not. /Sabah/
[12] MEETING OF IMF GOVERNORS TOMORROW
The IMF Executive Governors will convene tomorrow to decide on the
$14.3 billion credit to be given to Turkey. Nine out of 14 laws, which
were the pre-conditions for the credit, were approved by the Turkish
Parliament. The law on Turk Telekom and Banking Law are the most
important laws and were passed in Parliament last week. /Hurriyet/
[13] INTERNATIONAL FINANCE INSTITUTIONS' DIRECTORS TO CONVENE IN
ISTANBUL
Following World Bank's support and IMF's expected support for Turkey's
additional letter of intent, world's leading finance institutions'
representatives are coming to Turkey this week to examine investment
opportunities in Turkey after the recent economic crisis. Finansinvest
will host a conference entitled, "Turkey After the Crisis: Economic and
Institutional Situation and Expectations" in Istanbul on May 17-18.
About 100 representatives from 20 countries are expected to attend the
conference. /Turkiye/
[14] TREASURY'S NEW TENDER
Tomorrow, the Treasury will launch a 91-day bond tender. The Treasury
had planned to borrow a minimum amount of TL 754 trillion. The bills
are value dated May 16 and the redemption is scheduled for Aug. 15,
2001. /Turkiye/
[15] PANEL ON FACTS ABOUT ARMENIAN ALLEGATIONS
A panel discussion on the facts about the Armenian allegations will be
held at the Office of the President of the Gazi University in Ankara at
2:00 p.m. on May 15. The panel discussion will be headed by a lecturer
from the Gazi University, Prof.Refet Yinanc. The Head of the Turkish
History Institution, Prof.Yusuf Halacoglu, a lecturer from the Gazi
University Prof.Osman Metin Ozturk and Coordinator of the Republican
History at the Bilkent University Assc. Prof. Esat Aslan will deliver
speeches at the panel. /All Papers/
[16] HOPE FOR KOBIs IN GAP
Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) proposed a GAP
(Southeastern Anatolian Project) Credit Guarantee Fund and a GAP
Investment Partnership Company to be established concerning the Small
and Medium Scale Enterprises (KOBIs) in the GAP region. TOBB prepared a
report on the current conditions in the GAP region to help KOBIs
improve and new KOBIs be opened. /Cumhuriyet/ JAPANESE WEEK TO BE HELD
MAY 19-27 The Turco-Japanese Association will hold some activities in
Turkey between May 19-27 to develop friendly relations and promote
Japanese culture. Japanese Imperial Prince Mikasa is also the honorary
president of the association. A 20-member committee, with the
participation of Japanese cartoonists, will arrive in Turkey on May 19.
A joint cartoon exhibition of Turkish and Japanese artists will be held
in the Turkish-Japanese Foundation's hall in Ankara on May 22. /Turkish
News/
[17] US WRITER SWIMS ACROSS DARDANELLES
An American travel writer, Joseph A. Oakes, 67, swam across the
Dardanelles. Oakes is known for his many articles in US and British
magazines. He started his challenge from the Dardanelles' European
shore at the Port of Eceabat and finished on the Anatolian coast, near
Canakkale Marina. He swam the nearly three miles in two hours and 15
minutes. /Turkish News/
[18] TURKISH STUDENT WINS US HELICOPTER SOCIETY AWARD
Ilkay Yavrucuk, a student at Georgia Technical University, has won
first prize for his unmanned space craft project to Mars. Yavrucak
developed his project in cooperation with his two friends at the
University and received the first prize of the American Helicopter
Society. He also won the American Helicopter Society's "Superior
Student" award for his study of an early warning system for attack
helicopters which he developed under the sponsorship of the Boeing
Company. /Turkish News/
[19] EDUCATIONAL AID TO DOGU AKDENIZ UNIVERSITY IN TRNC
It was reported Turkey has given $55 million to the Dogu Akdeniz
University (DAU) in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)
since 1979. Stating Dogu Akdeniz University was a state university, the
mission of which is to promote the TRNC, DAU President Prof. Ozay Oral
said, "Our university promotes the TRNC with its qualified education at
the international level." /Cumhuriyet/
[20] FRIENDSHIP AND PEACE MARCH
A "Friendship and Peace March from the Mediterranean to Aegean" was
held in the Datca Peninsula. The organizer of the march, Turgay Sonmez,
said they were happy since a great number of people participated in the
peace march. /Cumhuriyet/
[21] SUNEXPRESS FLIGHTS BETWEEN ANTALYA-FRANKFURT
SunExpress has begun its scheduled flights between Antalya and
Frankfurt. Director General Paul Schwaiger said they made such a
decision since tourism in the Antalya region was significantly
improving. He added at the press conference held in Frankfurt yesterday
that the results of a recent survey proved that Turkish tourism would
further improve. /Cumhuriyet/ DAMSEL-FAIR 2001 WARFARE MANOEUVRES START
NATO Naval Southern Command will hold the Damsel-Fair 2001, Actual Mine
Warfare Manoeuvres, in the Kusadasi- Doganbey area on May 15-26. The
NATO Commander, Italian Adm. Luigi Lillo, will also observe the
manoeuvres. Turkey will participate in the manoeuvres with a rescue
ship, mine sweepers and an underwater defense team. /Turkish News/
[22] ACTIVITIES OF TURKISH AUCTION HOUSE ESKIDJI
One of the largest auction houses in Turkey, Eskidji, will organize
auctions abroad, such as in Dubai, Thessaloniki, Brussels and
Washington. The owner of Eskidji, Dikran Masis said, theirs was the
first foreign auction house which obtained permission to hold auctions
in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. /Sabah/ ARIA TO INVEST $1 BILLION The
general director of the Telekom Italia, the Italian partner of the Aria
GSM Company, Marco De Benedetti, said they will make investments worth
$1 billion. Benedetti said there are currently 75,000 customers of
Aria. /Hurriyet/
[23] HUGE ANCIENT HERCULES STATUE FOUND IN IZMIT
Officials have found a three-meter tall statue of Hercules dated to
2200 BC. The head, an arm and a leg of the statue are missing, but
museum officials said it is the most precious artefact found in Izmit
to date, of which ancient name was Nicomedia. /Turkish Daily News/
[24] EFES PILSEN IS THE THIRD IN EUROPEAN BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Efes Pilsen beat CSKA Moscow by 91-85 yesterday in Paris and became
third in the European SuproLeague competition. /Sabah/
[25] HAMZA YERLIKAYA: EUROPEAN CHAMPION FOR THE FIFTH TIME
Hamza Yerlikaya, Olympic Champion for two times and World Champion in
wrestling, broke a record receiving his fifth gold medal in the
European Championship. During the European Wrestling Championship in
Istanbul, Turkish National Team came first with five medals in total
while Russia came second and Georgia third. /Turkiye/
[26] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS
[27] THE LAST TWO CRITICAL DAYS BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE)
Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna writes on the importance of the two last days
before the IMF Executive Board meeting. A summary of his column is as
follows: "If tomorrow everything goes on smoothly, we shall overcome
the economic crisis and a new era of reparation will begin. The crisis
will continue even if there are small hitches on the way and this in
turn may lead to a third crisis. We may have to accept harsher terms
in such a situation. Therefore, we have to be very careful in what we
write and do not digress from moderation. We are trying not to add fuel
to the fire by our criticisms. When the crisis begins to slow down we
can increase the dose of our criticisms. On the other hand, this does
not mean that we shall praise those who led Turkey into such a
situation. Certainly, we know that the groundwork of the crisis was
very deep and first became apparent in 1994. Therefore, the present
Government cannot be held totally responsible for this situation.
However, the present Coalition came into power knowing what it
inherited from the previous governments with the challenge that it will
correct all that was going wrong. However, it was not able to prevent
the crisis. It could not carry out any reforms. The Government closed
its ears to those who said that the time for small reforms had passed
and it was the time for a State reform. The Coalition reluctantly
approached the modern standards of the EU by shuffling its feet. It
could not take radical measures against wasteful expenditure and
robbery as soon as it came to power. It could not get rid of
narrow-minded people unable to free themselves of their prejudices. The
crisis erupted following a dispute between the President and Prime
Minister who were bothsincere in their beliefs. Turkey became poorer in
a day as the citizens did not trust in the administration and the
system."
[28] THREE FRIENDS BY GUNGOR MENGI (SABAH)
Columnist Gungor Mengi writes on the effect of Dervis' appointment as a
minister in the Cabinet. A summary of his column is as follows: "This
Coalition has at least saved Turkey from falling into frequent
Government crises. The formation of such a coalition government showed
that such a compromise culture can exist in our region. Significant
compromises were reached on structural reforms and the fight against
corruption. As crises could not topple this cabinet, there will not be
a government crisis. Social desires which request a total change in
politics, both structural and with its actors have found a new hope in
Kemal Dervis. The Government has acted correctly in bringing Dervis to
Turkey but in a way prepared its own future. At present, Dervis is seen
as the defender of desires in the society and its driving force. Every
opposition to Kemal Dervis will improve Dervis' stature in society, and
people will support him more. Political structure based on sharing the
profits of the State cannot go on. The society in favour of a change
has ignored the slanders directed against Dervis because of the Telekom
law. The Government has seen that their share in the victory achieved
together with Dervis will be far greater than getting rid of him."
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