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Turkish Press Review, 01-05-22
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
22.05.2001
CONTENTS
[01] PRESIDENT SEZER TO VISIT EASTERN AND SOUTHEASTERN
ANATOLIA
[02] ECEVIT'S STATEMENT CONCERNING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
[03] CEM: "TURKEY IS BOTH EUROPEAN AND ASIAN"
[04] COUNCIL OF MINISTERS MEETING
[05] CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO BE DEBATED THIS WEEK
[06] VURAL: "TURKEY CAN BE AN EU MEMBER WITHIN TEN
YEARS"
[07] EU FORMAT FOR NEW BILLS
[08] BULUNC: "EU SHOULD BEHAVE WITH COMMON SENSE"
[09] BAHCELI TO GO TO GERMANY AND FRANCE
[10] CILLER SPEAKS AT PANEL ON 'ROLE OF WOMEN IN POLITICS'
[11] GURUZ: "WE ARE DETERMINED TO STIFLE
FUNDAMENTALISM, SEPARATISM AND RADICALISM"
[12] PKK MILITANTS KILLED IN BINGOL
[13] TURKISH-GREEK JOINT RESCUE TEAM
[14] TURKEY AND SYRIA TO IMPROVE COOPERATION
[15] GUREL'S SUPPORT FOR THE TURKISH PEOPLE IN THE US
[16] US DELEGATION VISITS CORUM
[17] INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION SEMINAR BEGINS IN ISTANBUL
[18] YEREVAN'S DEMAND FOR THE OPENING OF A NEW RAILWAY
[19] BURGAZ AND EDIRNE CONSULATES
[20] EUROPEAN TURKS WANTS TO CONTRIBUTE TO THY AND TELEKOM
PRIVATIZATIONS
[21] DERVIS TO TOUR ANATOLIA
[22] TUSIAD ASKS FOR REFORMS
[23] CAPITAL INCREASE BY PRIVATE BANKS
[24] DEUTSCHE BANK RECOMMENDS TURKISH BONDS
[25] UNKNOWN TURKEY TO BE PROMOTED
[26] TURKISH TOURISTIC INVESTMENTS IN BULGARIA
[27] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE
COLUMNS...
[01] PRESIDENT SEZER TO VISIT EASTERN AND SOUTHEASTERN
ANATOLIA
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer will travel to Van and
Hakkari on May 30. Chief of the General Staff, General Huseyin
Kivrikoglu will accompany the President. /Cumhuriyet/
[02] ECEVIT'S STATEMENT CONCERNING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said the debates
concerning the collective bargaining should be solved without causing
any strikes and tension. During the meeting of the Council of Ministers
yesterday, State Minister Mehmet Kececiler spoke on the debates
concerning the issue. Ecevit listened to other Ministers and said all
people should shoulder their responsibilities in order to overcome the
economic bottleneck. Ecevit said, "It will be highly beneficial for
everyone if the process of disagreement does not last any longer."
/Sabah/
[03] CEM: "TURKEY IS BOTH EUROPEAN AND ASIAN"
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Cem, said Turkey
is both European and Asian. He added, "This multi-identity is
important for us." Addressing Political Affairs Commission meeting
in Ankara organized in the scope of the Council of Europe Parliamentary
Assembly meetings, Cem gave information about Turkish foreign policy and
Middle East issue. He said they recently made certain changes in
traditional Turkish foreign policy. Regarding a question on the
Greek-Cypriot administration's EU membership topic, the Minister said,
"If Greek-Cyprus is included in the EU, Turkey's response to that
will be very harsh and this will not good for anyone. I prefer a
settlement in Cyprus, acceptable by both sides." /Turkiye/
[04] COUNCIL OF MINISTERS MEETING
Delivering a speech at the Council of Ministers
meeting held yesterday, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit wanted to receive
information about the investigations being held into the recent CASA
planes accidents. Minister of Defense Sabahattin Cakmakoglu said the
Office of the Chief of the General Staff was investigating the accidents
and would later inform the government about the results. Minister of
State responsible for the Economy, Kemal Dervis, informed the Council of
Ministers about the loans to be taken from the IMF and World Bank. The
bill on the local administrations was also discussed during the meeting.
A sub-commission consisting of Interior Minister Sadettin Tantan,
Minister of Finance Sumer Oral, Public Works and Housing Minister Koray
Aydin and Minister of State Mehmet Kececiler was established to
determine the final form of the bill. /Cumhuriyet/
[05] CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO BE DEBATED THIS WEEK
The constitutional amendment package consisting of 51
articles will be debated at the Interparties Reconciliation Committee
this week. A sub-commission determined the amendments which should be
made immediately by examining all the articles of the Constitution. The
package annuls the parliamentary authority to approve the decisions of
the death penalty except for the war times. It also brings restrictions
to the authority of the President. /Cumhuriyet/
[06] VURAL: "TURKEY CAN BE AN EU MEMBER WITHIN TEN
YEARS"
Secretary General for the EU, Volkan Vural, said
Turkey would become an European Union member within ten years. Speaking
at a meeting with European Turkish Businessmen's Association(ATIAD)
members, Vural said Turkish-EU relations entered a new era after the
Helsinki Summit. He said: "Our economy is being restructured, which
is necessary for EU membership. We are taking important steps toward
acceptance with the review of some laws in Parliament. We have also
taken steps in political issues but they have been overshadowed by the
economic crisis." /Turkish Daily News/
[07] EU FORMAT FOR NEW BILLS
The Turkish General Secretariat for the EU has begun
a joint work with the European Union Council to examine the
harmonization of the Bill on the Establishment and Broadcasting of Radio
and Televisions and the Bill on Bids with the EU criteria. These bills
are very important for Turkey since they are within the criteria which
Turkey should meet to become a full EU member. It was stated the Bill on
Radio & Television Higher Board prepared by the Parliament was far
from meeting the EU expectations. Meanwhile, the European Union Council
is expected to present a report on the regulations of the public bids in
the EU countries and evaluating the pros and cons of the bill prepared
by Turkey to the Secretariat General for the EU. /Cumhuriyet/
[08] BULUNC: "EU SHOULD BEHAVE WITH COMMON SENSE"
Ahmet Zeki Bulunc, Ambassador of the Turkish Republic
of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) to Turkey, said, "In case the
Greek-Cypriot Administration is included in the EU, an unstable period,
full of crises, will begin in the Eastern Mediterranean." Attending
a panel in Bursa organized by Uludag University, Bulunc called on the EU
to act in common sense. Regarding the recent decision of the European
Court of Human Rights against Turkey, Ambassador Bulunc said, "The
Court's decision was political, not legal. Between 1963 and 1974,
massacres against Turks were carried out by EOKA in Cyprus, however, the
same international institutions did nothing to stop that violence."
/Turkiye/
[09] BAHCELI TO GO TO GERMANY AND FRANCE
Deputy Prime Minister and the Nationalist Action
Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli will go to Europe on 29 May. Bahceli
will stay in Europe for one week. He will first go to Germany and then
to France. Bahceli will attend the General Council of the Turco-European
Federations and hold meetings with Turkish businessmen and other Turkish
people living abroad concerning the economy. /Sabah/
[10] CILLER SPEAKS AT PANEL ON 'ROLE OF WOMEN IN POLITICS'
True Path Party (DYP) leader Tansu Ciller said on
Monday that although about 30 percent of her party, and of others, at
grassroots are women, this was not reflected in Parliament, adding,
"Full democracy is the product of a local notion, and full
democracy cannot exist without the presence of woman." The panel,
organized jointly by the DYP Istanbul Provincial Organization, Germany's
Christian Democratic Party (CDU), and the Liberation Turkish-German
Friendship Association (Hur-Turk), took place at the Atakoy Crown Plaza
Hotel. Ciller said in the speech she gave there that the panel
contributed to the strengthening of the friendly ties between Turkey and
Germany. /Turkish News/
[11] GURUZ: "WE ARE DETERMINED TO STIFLE
FUNDAMENTALISM, SEPARATISM AND RADICALISM"
Higher Education Board (YOK) Chairman Professor Kemal
Guruz said on Monday: "We are determined to root out separatism and
radical fundamentalism. If anyone has anything to say to us because of
this, I would be proud to give the necessary response." Professor
Guruz made a presentation on "Higher Education Systems in Turkey
and Abroad" at a panel at Ankara University's Institute of Natural
Sciences, in which he talked about the history of the university as a
higher education institution, the development of universities, and the
currently used systems of higher education. /Turkish News/
YILDIRIM 2001 MOBILIZATION EXERCISE STARTS
The first stage of the planned manoeuvre by the
Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), the Yildirim (Thunder) 2001 Mobilization
Maneuvers, has begun, Anatolia reported Monday. The General Staff's
General Secretariat issued a statement saying that the exercise would be
held by Land Force Command units in Izmir-Bornova and Naval units in
Bartin-Amasra until June 12. The mobilization system's check, reserve
troops' training exercises, developing coordination between military and
public institutions in case of a mobilization, and joint operations
among ministries, public institutions and armed forces will be performed
during Yildirim 2001. Some 2,229 reserve troops, 118 vehicles and some
elements from public institutions will participate in the first stage of
the exercise. /Turkish News/
[12] PKK MILITANTS KILLED IN BINGOL
Eleven PKK militants were killed during the
operations held in Bingol within three days. A security official was
killed by the PKK militants during the operations. /Cumhuriyet/
[13] TURKISH-GREEK JOINT RESCUE TEAM
Turkey and Greece have established a 80-person
special rescue team to operate in natural disasters. "Joint Ellenic
Turkish Stand By Disaster Response Unit" will have two coordination
centers in Athens and Ankara. /Hurriyet/
[14] TURKEY AND SYRIA TO IMPROVE COOPERATION
The friendly relations between Turkey and Syria,
which started growing in the wake of the apprehension of terrorist
leader Abdullah Ocalan, are gaining impetus with the mutual efforts of
border provinces, Anatolia reported Sunday. A protocol was signed
between Kilis and Haleppo governors, envisaging increasing cooperation
in the fields of education, culture and sports. Concrete steps to this
end were taken in these fields with a joint decision taken by the
education, culture, and sports committees of the two border towns.
/Turkish News/
[15] GUREL'S SUPPORT FOR THE TURKISH PEOPLE IN THE US
State Minister Sukru Sina Gurel returned from the US
to Turkey. Gurel attended the Turkish march and said the importance of
Turkish community living in the US was 'firm and indispensable'. He
said, "From now on the importance of the Turkish people in the
fields of science, art and politics will be felt much more."
/Sabah/
[16] US DELEGATION VISITS CORUM
A US delegation chaired by the Assistant Counsellor
responsible for the Political Affairs at the US Embassy in Ankara Larry
Silverman, visited Corum and met with the Corum Governor and Mayor to
get information about the problems of the province. Stating that they
see Turkey as a close ally, Silverman said after the meetings that they
were paying visits to various cities in Turkey to be informed about the
current problems and to find ways for the solutions to those problems.
/Cumhuriyet/
[17] INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION SEMINAR BEGINS IN ISTANBUL
An inter-regional seminar titled "International
Cooperation National Implementation_Process of Approval," organized
by the contributions of the United Nations Organization of the Banning
of the Nuclear Tests started in Istanbul. Deputy Undersecretary of the
Foreign Ministry, Sencar Ozsoy, said at the seminar that the Nuclear
Test Ban Treaty is very important for stopping the development of
nuclear weapons. Turkey gives special importance to nuclear disarmament.
"Turkey is at the center of regional disputes and as a result of
this, our country is actively involved in the efforts to ease the
nuclear threat," said Ozsoy reminding that Turkey signed the
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty on September 24, 1996. /Turkish Daily News/
[18] YEREVAN'S DEMAND FOR THE OPENING OF A NEW RAILWAY
Armenia has announced that she is ready to open the
railway lines stretching to the Turkish border. Medimax Agency in its
article on the contacts of the Minsk Group within the framework of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Nagorno
Karabakh, stated that a high level Armenian official said they were
ready to open the railway within a month if their proposal was accepted.
American Co-Chairman of the Minsk Group, Carey Cavanough, said they
considered Turkey would be pleased with such a proposal however it would
not be correct to begin the works without reaching a solution on the
Karabakh issue. /Cumhuriyet/
[19] BURGAZ AND EDIRNE CONSULATES
Bulgaria and Turkey will reopen Consulates in Burgaz
and Edirne. Turkish Ambassador to Sofia, Tahsin Burcuoglu, said the
agreement was reached concerning the Consulates that are expected to
open before September. /Sabah/
[20] EUROPEAN TURKS WANTS TO CONTRIBUTE TO THY AND TELEKOM
PRIVATIZATIONS
European Turkish Businessmen's Association (ATIAD)
wanted new regulations be made for the participation of the Turkish
citizens living in foreign countries into the Turkish Airlines (THY) and
Turk Telekom privatizations with their capital worth Euro 15 billion.
Presenting a report explaining their request to the Minister of State
responsible for the Economy Kemal Dervis, ATIAD said the government
should not forget possible contributions of the Turks living in foreign
countries to the new economic program. ATIAD delegation also met with
Minister of State Tunca Toskay and Secretary General for the EU Volkan
Vural. /Cumhuriyet/
[21] DERVIS TO TOUR ANATOLIA
State Minister for Economics, Kemal Dervis, is
beginning his tour to Anatolian provinces today. The first stop of his
visit will be Gaziantep. Dervis is expected to meet with representatives
of real sector in the region and discuss the new economic program.
/Turkiye/
[22] TUSIAD ASKS FOR REFORMS
Association of Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen
(TUSIAD) asked for reforms in the political and legal systems. Chairman
of the TUSIAD, Tuncay Ozilhan declared a report titled,
"Democratization Perspectives in Turkey and EU Copenhagen Political
Criteria" in a press conference. Evaluating the report, Ozilhan
said, "The reforms asked by TUSIAD for many times, completely cover
the EU political criteria." Stressing the economic crisis stemmed
not only from economic imbalances but hitches in politics, Ozilhan said,
"If Turkey enters into a re-structuring process, it must also
include the political structures. We will continue to make pressure
through all means for democratization." /Turkiye/
[23] CAPITAL INCREASE BY PRIVATE BANKS
Banking Regulation and Supervision Board(BDDK)
announced that it will closely observe the capital increase by private
banks totalling $1.4 billion. Private banks are committed to either
raise their capital and find capital-like loans, or decrease the number
of branches and personnel. If the banks do not fulfil their commitments,
BDDK will take the required measures. /Milliyet/
[24] DEUTSCHE BANK RECOMMENDS TURKISH BONDS
Deutsche Bank recommended investors to increase the
share of Turkish Eurobonds in their portfolios. The bank said Turkish
government took drastic measures and carried out legal actions to put
the economy on a firm ground. The bank expected that economic reforms
will reduce the political risks. /Milliyet/
[25] UNKNOWN TURKEY TO BE PROMOTED
Oger Tour, one of the prominent tour operators in
Germany, is working to promote the historical sites in Turkey which have
not taken a share in the tourism market so far. Oger Tour manager Nina
Oger said they were trying to promote "Unknown Turkey" to
foreign tourists. Oger said, "Germany is very important for Turkish
tourism. We are planning to send one million German tourists to Turkey
this year. The new Unknown Turkey market will attract more German
tourists." /Cumhuriyet/
[26] TURKISH TOURISTIC INVESTMENTS IN BULGARIA
Magic Life International hired a touristic complex on
the Black Sea coast in Bulgaria. The director of the company, Cem Kinay,
said Bulgaria will be a hotspot for European tourism very soon and they
also consider to operate some other hotels as well. /Hurriyet/
[27] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE
COLUMNS...
TIME TO LISTEN TO TUSIAD by ILNUR CEVIK (Turkish Daily
News)
Columnist Ilnur Cevik writes on the positive role of
the democratization report by the TUSIAD. A summary of his column is as
follows: "The Turkish Businessmen's and Industrialists' Association
(TUSIAD) has made public a major report urging democratic reformation in
Turkey. It is time someone told this government that without political
reforms you cannot bring about economic and social reforms. It has to
put its house in order to which also means an effective fight against
corruption and irregularities. The conservative establishment in Turkey
has been preventing even the mention of "political reforms".
There are too many circles in Turkey who do not even want to hear about
the Copenhagen criteria. So TUSIAD has taken the bold move to remind
everyone that Turkey needs to implement the Copenhagen criteria and thus
legislate political and social reforms. TUSIAD is aware that as long as
you cannot correct the crooked political system you cannot go far in
revamping the economy and finding real salvation. This means not only
changes in the election laws and laws on political parties but also
ending the corruption shame in Turkey. Both the United States and Europe
want transparency in the Turkish political system. We feel that valuable
organizations like TUSIAD should push for political reforms. This
contribution will be vital and will really help in transforming our
country into a real parliamentary democracy. It is time all pressure
groups in Turkey, from professional groups to trade unions and employer
associations, unite to add their voice to the TUSIAD demand for
democratization."
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