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Turkish Press Review, 01-05-30
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
30.05.2001
CONTENTS
[01] ECEVIT TO ATTEND EU WORKING DINNER
[02] NATO MEETING IN BUDAPEST
[03] SEZER AND DEMIREL TO VISIT EASTERN ANATOLIA
[04] STATE BANKS ON THE AGENDA
[05] VURAL CALL
[06] CYPRUS ISSUE DISCUSSED AT THE NATIONAL SECURITY
COUNCIL MEETING
[07] GREECE REJECTS CZECH MODEL
[08] RUSSIA IS DETERMINED TO COMPLETE BLUE STREAM PROJECT
[09] BAGHDAD: "TALKS WITH ANKARA ON NATURAL GAS
PROCEEDING WELL"
[10] OCALAN'S CASE AT THE ECHR POSTPONED
[11] AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL ASKS PERMISSION TO OPEN BRANCH
IN TURKEY
[12] ISRAELI INITIATIVE TO SELL MISSILES TO TURKEY
[13] "TURKEY IS FAVORED FOR HER AUTOMOTIVE
PRODUCTION"
[14] BRITISH TRADE DELEGATION TO ARRIVE IN TURKEY
[15] TWO EARTHQUAKES IN ERZURUM
[16] BOSPORUS CONTROL SYSTEM TO BE COMPLETED THREE MONTHS
LATER THAN EXPECTED
[17] MORETTI PRAISES OZPETEK
[18] INTERNATIONAL LAW CONFERENCE IN ISTANBUL
[19] TURKEY IS THE FAVORITE OF EUROPEAN TOURISM MARKET
[20] DERVIS WILL GIVE A CONFERENCE ON KEMALISM IN ITALY
[21] CONQUEST OF ISTANBUL REENACTED
[22] FM: "OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE ALSO FEMALE
AMBASSADORS IN VATICAN"
[23] TELSIM IN LATIN AMERICA
[24] EUROPEAN OPHTHALMOLOGY CONGRESS IN ISTANBUL
[25] TURKEY'S FIRST CHILD GREEN CONVENTION TO BE HELD
[26] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE
COLUMNS
[27] CAN IT BE? BY SEDAT SERTOGLU (SABAH)
[01] ECEVIT TO ATTEND EU WORKING DINNER
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit will attend the EU
working dinner on June 15-16 in EU-term President Sweden's province of
Göteborg. Reportedly, Ecevit accepted Swedish Premier Goran Persson's
invitation. EU member and candidate countries' heads of states and
governments will attend the dinner and the initiatives on the European
Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) will be taken up. Foreign Minister
Ismail Cem is also expected to participate in the dinner. /Turkiye/
[02] NATO MEETING IN BUDAPEST
The NATO Council of Ministers' spring meeting was
held in Budapest yesterday. France and Germany put pressure on Turkey
to relinquish her veto power regarding the European Security and
Defense Policy. The EU wants to make use of NATO's strategic planning
capabilities for its Rapid Reaction Force. Foreign Minister Ismail Cem
spoke to the Financial Times yesterday and said Turkey will not allow
the use of NATO capabilities by another establishment, if she is not
included in it. /Milliyet/
[03] SEZER AND DEMIREL TO VISIT EASTERN ANATOLIA
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and the Chief of
General Staff, Huseyin Kivrikoglu, will visit Van and Hakkari today.
Sezer will visit the governors of the provinces and border patrol and
military units. Former President Suleyman Demirel will visit Erzurum
and attend a discussion in Ataturk University. /Milliyet/
[04] STATE BANKS ON THE AGENDA
State Minister for Economy, Kemal Dervis, said
following the solution of the grains price issue, the new topic to be
taken up will be restructuring of the state banks and liquidation of
Emlakbank. Stressing that restructuring the state banks was not an
easy revision, Dervis said, "Structural corruption of the state
banks was one of the important reasons of this serious crisis. About
TL20 quadrillion in losses has accumulated." About the structural
reforms in state banks and Emlakbank topics, among the commitments to
the IMF, an opposition is expected from the ministers from the
Nationalist Action Party (MHP) and workers of the bank. /Turkiye/
[05] VURAL CALL
The Turkish Secretary General for EU Affairs,
Volkan Vural stated much of the responsibilities on the way to the
full EU membership should be shouldered by the non-governmental
organizations in Turkey. He said this process should not only be
handled by the political authority and bureaucracy. Stating this is
the longest enlargement period in the history of the EU, Vural said
Turkey should accelerate her preparations towards full EU membership.
He added, non-governmental organizations have great responsibilities
in terms of informing the society about the EU and preparing them for
the integration with the EU. _Cumhuriyet
[06] CYPRUS ISSUE DISCUSSED AT THE NATIONAL SECURITY
COUNCIL MEETING
At the National Security Council(MGK) meeting
yesterday, the views regarding the Greek-Cypriot Administration's full
EU membership were reiterated. The statement following the meeting
said the unilateral application of Southern Cyprus, which breaches the
articles of 1960 agreements, will further deepen the division on the
island and push the peace and stability process in the Eastern
Mediterranean into an uncertain situation. Greek-Cypriots aim to turn
the island into a completely Greek island is the reason for the
impasse on the Cyprus problem. A compromise can only be achieved if
the sovereign equality of two societies is adopted. This is the
starting point for a lasting solution to the problem. /Milliyet/
[07] GREECE REJECTS CZECH MODEL
Greece reacted harshly to the proposal of Prime
Minister Bulent Ecevit about the implementation of the model of the
Czech Republic which foresees the recognition of two separate states
in Cyprus. Greek government argued the problem concerning the island
is the occupation of the island by the Turks. Spokesman of the Greek
Government, Dimitris Reppas, said the Cyprus issue should be solved in
accordance with the UN resolutions and a federal republic should be
established in Cyprus. /Hurriyet/
[08] RUSSIA IS DETERMINED TO COMPLETE BLUE STREAM PROJECT
Russia secured a $3 billion loan to complete the
Blue Stream Natural Gas Transfer Project. A statement by the Russian
Gasprom said the recent loan worth $1.8 billion was obtained from
Italian and Japanese financial institutions. The Blue Stream project
will start to operate at the beginning of 2002. Turkey will purchase
annually 16 billion cubic meters of natural gas. /Milliyet/
[09] BAGHDAD: "TALKS WITH ANKARA ON NATURAL GAS
PROCEEDING WELL"
Iraqi Oil Ministry Undersecretary Taha Humud Moussa
said negotiations on installing the natural gas pipeline between
Turkey and Iraq are continuing. In remarks to the Errafidain weekly,
Taha Humud Musa evaluated the Turkish-Iraqi natural gas pipeline as a
'strategic and alive project' and said the project would bring
economic benefits to both Turkey and Iraq. /Turkish Daily News/
[10] OCALAN'S CASE AT THE ECHR POSTPONED
The lawsuit filed by the leader of PKK terrorist
organization, Abdullah Ocalan, versus Turkey at the European Court of
Human Rights (ECHR) was postponed for three months. The Court decided
to postpone the lawsuit upon the demands of the lawyers of Ocalan as
they stated that they could not prepare a proper defense as it was
difficult to meet with Ocalan. /Cumhuriyet/
[11] AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL ASKS PERMISSION TO OPEN BRANCH
IN TURKEY
Amnesty International (AI), the international human
rights organization, has applied to the Turkish Interior Ministry for
permission to open a branch in Turkey. /Turkish News/
[12] ISRAELI INITIATIVE TO SELL MISSILES TO TURKEY
It was stated Israel has launched an initiative to
revive the project of selling missiles to Turkey which was first
planned in the recent years. According to an article in "the
Defense News", published in the US, Israel will ask for the
permission of the Bush Administration to sell Arrow missiles to
neighboring countries. /Cumhuriyet/
[13] "TURKEY IS FAVORED FOR HER AUTOMOTIVE
PRODUCTION"
Head of the world's largest automotive spare parts
fair "Automechanika", Michel-Alexandre Morlat, said Turkey
is one of the 10 countries, which is highly developed in automotive
and spare part production. "Turkey is the new favored center of
world automotive sector with her high-quality automotive production
and cheap man power. With the increasing economic stability, this
sector will further develop," Morlat said. /Milliyet/
[14] BRITISH TRADE DELEGATION TO ARRIVE IN TURKEY
A British trade delegation, headed by Chairman of
the British Foreign Trade Development Council, Sir David Wright, will
arrive in Turkey today. During its two-day visit, the delegation is
expected to meet with State Minister Tunca Toskay, Governor of the
Central Bank, Sureyya Serdengecti, Undersecretary of the Treasury,
Faik Öztrak, and Chairman of the Privatization Administration Board,
Ugur Bayar. /Turkiye/ JAPAN'S SUPPORT FOR TURKEY Japanese Prime
Minister Junichiro Koizumi sent a letter to Premier Bulent Ecevit
saying that he hoped Turkey would successfully implement the economic
reforms. He said, "I am happy that the IMF and the World Bank
have given support to your recent economic program. I wish your
efforts result in the prosperity of your nation." /Turkiye/
[15] TWO EARTHQUAKES IN ERZURUM
Two earthquakes shook Erzurum yesterday. The quakes
did not cause significant damages. /Cumhuriyet/
[16] BOSPORUS CONTROL SYSTEM TO BE COMPLETED THREE MONTHS
LATER THAN EXPECTED
State Minister Ramazan Mirzaoglu said the delivery
date for the towers which are being constructed in the Istanbul and
Canakkale straits within the scope of the 'Ship Traffic Management and
Information System' was delayed for three months later. He added the
system was supposed to begin working in 2001. /Cumhuriyet/ AMERICAN
AND BRITISH DELEGATIONS IN TURKEY The US and Britain sent delegations
consisting of high-level officials to Ankara in order to weather the
impasse on the issue of European Security and Defense Policy before
the Budapest meeting. It was reported that Turkey conveyed her
uneasiness over the issue to the delegations during the meeting which
was announced by US Secretary of State Colin Powell. /Cumhuriyet/
[17] MORETTI PRAISES OZPETEK
Italian movie director Nanni Moretti who received
the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival this year with his movie
titled 'The Son's Room' praised Turkish director Ferzan Ozpetek who
was highly acclaimed for his recent movie 'Ignorant Fairies'. Moretti
said, "We all should be proud of Ferzan. He is a great director
also in the international arena. Italy should be proud of him."
/Cumhuriyet/
[18] INTERNATIONAL LAW CONFERENCE IN ISTANBUL
The International Law Conference organized by the
International Bars Associations (IBA) convenes European lawyers in
Istanbul today. The conference is expected to last for two days.
/Cumhuriyet/
[19] TURKEY IS THE FAVORITE OF EUROPEAN TOURISM MARKET
Turkey, Cuba and Egypt are the favorite countries
for the European tourism market. It was stated Greek and Spanish
tourism officials are concerned over the dramatic increase in the
reservations by Europeans in Turkey. Chairman of the Oger Tour,
Huseyin Baraner, said, "The most favorite country for German
tourists is Turkey concerning the sales of the package tours. Cuba and
Egypt follow her." /Cumhuriyet/
[20] DERVIS WILL GIVE A CONFERENCE ON KEMALISM IN ITALY
State Minister Kemal Dervis responsible for the
Economy will travel to Rome to give a conference on Kemalism (Mustafa
Kemal Ataturk, the founder and the first president of the Republic of
Turkey)and to meet with Italian businessmen and politicians. Dervis
will deliver a speech titled 'Modern Republic of Turkey and the Role
of Kemalism' in Florence and then he will meet with Italian
businessmen. /Hurriyet/
[21] CONQUEST OF ISTANBUL REENACTED
The 548th anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul
was celebrated in Istanbul. An enactment of the entry of Fatih Sultan
Mehmet and his army into Istanbul was performed as part of the
ceremonies. /Turkish Daily News/
[22] FM: "OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE ALSO FEMALE
AMBASSADORS IN VATICAN"
Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Huseyin Dirioz
said on Tuesday that not only Turkey but also other countries have
sent female diplomats to the Vatican. In a statement released by the
Foreign Ministry, Dirioz said there are eight female ambassadors from
various countries including the US, the Philippines, Ukraine and New
Zealand in the Vatican. /Turkish Daily News/
[23] TELSIM IN LATIN AMERICA
Telsim began roaming service in South America.
Telsim, the first Turkish firm giving roaming service in Latin
America, agreeing with telecommunications companies in Argentina,
Brazil, Venezuela, increased the number of countries to which it gives
roaming service to 96. /Turkiye/
[24] EUROPEAN OPHTHALMOLOGY CONGRESS IN ISTANBUL
Four thousand ophthalmologists are expected to
attend the 13th European Ophthalmology Congress to be held between
June 3-7 in Istanbul. There will be various symposiums and
presentations during the conference. /Hurriyet/
[25] TURKEY'S FIRST CHILD GREEN CONVENTION TO BE HELD
The "First National Children's Environmental
Convention" will be held in cooperation with the Environment
Ministry and Koc Holding on May 31-June 2. According to the statement
issued by the Environment Ministry, the first national convention is
being organized to teach children how to keep the environment clean.
/Turkish News/
[26] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE
COLUMNS
[27] CAN IT BE? BY SEDAT SERTOGLU (SABAH)
Columnist Sedat Sertoglu comments on Prime Minister
Ecevit's statements concerning Cyprus. A summary of his column is as
follows: "Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit mentioned two points
during his talks with journalists and they are the necessity of
adopting a presidential system in the TRNC and following the example
of the Czech Republic and Slovakia in dividing the island into two. We
agree with the Prime Minister on the first point. The Turkish Republic
of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) should have passed on to the Presidential
system long before. This has not been done. However, it is better late
than ever. If such a system is accepted in the TRNC, the strange
relations between the Presidency and the Office of the Prime Minister
will come to an end. The second issue mentioned by the Prime Minister
is new and like it or not it is the first time Turkey has voiced an
opinion for a long time. The question is can it be implemented? It
should be recalled that Czechoslovakia was divided by the joint
decision of two communities living in the country. Czechs and Slovaks
living in the same Republic parted their ways by a common decision and
an amendment to the Constitution. If we have to follow this example,
the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots on the island have to reach an
agreement on establishing two separate states. The peoples of both
communities should agree to this decision. However this does not seem
possible. If the sides do not accept this solution it does not stand a
chance to be carried out. There are great differences between the
Czechoslovakian model and Cyprus. Someone has to explain Prime
Minister Ecevit that the only solution before them, in the interests
of the TRNC, is to reach their aim starting with the confidence
building measures package. Convincing the US Administration, a meeting
like Camp David can be organized with the participation of the US
representative. The Prime Ministers or the Foreign Ministers of Turkey
and Greece should attend this meeting in addition to the leaders of
both communities. Reportedly, Prime Minister Ecevit said that the
entry of the Greek Cypriot Administration into the EU as a full member
will lead to negative consequences. The Foreign Ministry should
furnish the Prime Minister and the Chief of General Staff with
comprehensive information over the issue baring all the facts and even
laying down possible scenarios. Former President Demirel used to say,
in order to see what can be accomplished we have to know what cannot
be done. Time is swiftly flying away on the Cyprus issue and what
cannot be done is clearly seen. Ankara should begin by learning what
globalization means and that it gives other countries the right to
intervene in the affairs of others. Furthermore, Europe is proceeding
towards a single monetary system, the possibility of lifting the
borders is increasing. We shall find the answers to our questions when
we ask ourselves where the world is going to?"
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