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Turkish Press Review, 02-01-31
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
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Press
& Information
Turkish
Press
Turkish
Press Review >>
Foreign
Press Guide
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
31.01.2002
CONTENTS
[01] SEZER RECEIVES SWEDEN'S DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
[02] ECEVIT VISITS BULGARIA
[03] ECEVIT TO SEND LETTER TO SADDAM
[04] YILMAZ SPEAKS ON TURKEY'S EU HARMONIZATION
[05] TURKISH COMMANDER: "IF CYPRUS NEGOTIATIONS FAIL, CRISIS COULD ENSUE"
[06] SESSION ON TURKEY AT THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
[07] VERHEUGEN: "EU AID WILL CONTRIBUTE TO PEACE ON CYPRUS"
[08] TAYLOR: "TURKEY COULD WRITE A SUCCESS STORY FOR THE WORLD"
[09] BANKING BILL RE-APPROVED BY PARLIAMENT
[10] ERDOGAN MEETS WITH TURKISH JOURNALISTS IN WASHINGTON
[11] WORLD BANK LOAN MEETINGS TO END THIS WEEK
[12] ISRAELI AMBASSADOR SPEAKS ON MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS
[13] PANGALOS: "GREECE SUPPORTED OCALAN"
[14] TURKISH "WOLVES" ON SCREEN AT BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL
[15] TURKISH PIANIST RECEIVES GRAND PRIZE IN RUSSIA
[16] TURK NAMED TO TOP PEPSI POSITION
[17] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[18] THE AEGEAN PROBLEM HANDLED AT LAST BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
[19] LET'S NOT SPOIL IT BY SEMIH IDIZ (STAR)
[20] ECEVIT IN BULGARIA BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE)
[01] SEZER RECEIVES SWEDEN'S DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer received Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Lena
Hjlem-Wallen yesterday in Ankara. Sezer told Hjelm-Wallen that the Turkish
people appreciated Sweden's support for Turkey's bid for full EU
membership. Remarking that Turkey was still doing its utmost to meet the EU
criteria, Sezer stated that there was a strong political will behind
efforts towards this goal. /Cumhuriyet/
[02] ECEVIT VISITS BULGARIA
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit yesterday left for Bulgaria for a two-day
official visit. As part of his first day's contacts, Ecevit met with his
Bulgarian counterpart and the country's former king, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
During their meeting, bilateral relations, regional developments and
agreements on cleaning up mines on the country's mutual borders were
discussed. Speaking at a state dinner in his honor, Ecevit pointed to
Turkey's years-long struggle against terrorism. Stressing that both
countries wanted to further develop bilateral relations on all fronts,
Ecevit added that Turkey and Bulgaria would fill an important gap in the EU
when they became members. Previously, before his departure from Turkey,
Ecevit told reporters that as soon as he returned from his trip he would
begin initiatives to help end Israel's pressure on the Palestinian
territories. Earlier this week, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat sent a
message to Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Ecevit asking for their
immediate help in resolving the situation. /All Papers/
[03] ECEVIT TO SEND LETTER TO SADDAM
A draft of a letter to be sent to Iraqi leader Saddam Husein by Prime
Minister Bulent Ecevit has been prepared by Turkish Foreign Ministry
officials. The draft reportedly points to the importance that Turkey
attaches to its neighbor Iraq and then calls on Saddam to allow
international weapons inspectors into the country and also to cooperate
with the UN. If he does not do these things, the letter continues, there
could be negative consequences, and mentions US President George W. Bush's
determination in this regard. /Turkiye/
[04] YILMAZ SPEAKS ON TURKEY'S EU HARMONIZATION
Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz told his party's group meeting
yesterday that the regulations Turkey must formulate on freedom of thought
and expression should be in compliance with the rulings of the European
Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights and
warned that otherwise, they would have to be changed later. "We briefly
discussed this issue during the leaders' summit and the coalition parties
decided to work on preparing these regulations in their own groups," he
said. "I believe that the coalition parties will reach a consensus in terms
of our targets. We have to be in compliance with the EU point of view."
Addressing the recent petition drive for Kurdish-language education, Yilmaz
stated, "Turkey's official language is Turkish, and education cannot be
given in any other language. We never made any promises to accept this, and
the EU hasn't asked us to. The parties behind this campaign are trying to
trap Turkey. A handful of separatists don't have the right to stand in the
way of Turkey's road to development." /Sabah/
[05] TURKISH COMMANDER: "IF CYPRUS NEGOTIATIONS FAIL, CRISIS COULD ENSUE"
Turkish Land Forces Commander Gen. Hilmi Ozkok said yesterday that the
current negotiation process between Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
(TRNC) President Rauf Denktas and his counterpart Glafcos Clerides could
lead to a new crisis in the Eastern Mediterranean should the two leaders be
unable to reach a solution at the conclusion of the process. In such an
eventually, the Turkish Armed Forces
(TSK) would play a part, Ozkok added. Gen. Ozkok made the remarks while on
visit to the island to carry out inspections of the Turkish Cypriot
Peacekeeping Force and to attend military seminars. Ozkok also said that in
the absence of a solution for the island, Turkey would remain opposed to
European Union membership for Greek Cyprus.
/Hürriyet/
[06] SESSION ON TURKEY AT THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
The 2002 World Economic Forum (WEF) begins today in New York City, a shift
from its usual venue of Davos, Switzerland made to show solidarity in the
wake of last September's terrorist attacks. Since the nations of the world
have been caught in a global economic recession, this year's meeting will
focus on restoring sustained economic growth. A session titled "Turkey's
Vision" will be held on Feb. 3 as a part of the Forum. Foreign investors
will be informed about the recent measures taken by the Turkish government
to improve domestic economic conditions. In addition, Turkish Foreign
Minister Ismail Cem is expected to hold bilateral meetings with US
Secretary of State Colin Powell as well as his Greek, Afghan and Israeli
counterparts George Papandreou, Abdullah Abdullah and Shimon Peres. He is
also expected to meet with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The issues to
be spotlighted during his meetings with Powell and Abdullah are the
reconstruction of Afghanistan and Turkey's role in that process. He will
also convey Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's recent messages to Peres.
/Cumhuriyet/
[07] VERHEUGEN: "EU AID WILL CONTRIBUTE TO PEACE ON CYPRUS"
In a speech at a European Parliament (EP) meeting yesterday, EU
Commissioner for Enlargement Guenther Verheugen briefed the EP members on
financial aid to be delivered to 10 EU candidate countries by the EU
Commission. Verheugen stated that if a permanent solution was reached on
Cyprus, the EU was ready to grant 206 million euros to the northern part of
the island. Remarking that this proposal was a significant opportunity for
the Turkish Cypriots, Verheugen reiterated his prediction that the island
might become a full EU member if a political solution was found. Meanwhile,
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas remarked
that such EU aid must be delivered directly to the TRNC, not via the Greek
Cypriot administration. /Cumhuriyet/
[08] TAYLOR: "TURKEY COULD WRITE A SUCCESS STORY FOR THE WORLD"
US Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs John Taylor said
yesterday that if Turkey continues to maintain its present stability, it
could eventually write a "success story" for the world. Speaking on the
Turkish economy, Taylor also predicted that the International Monetary Fund
would approve Turkey's Letter of Intent. Turkey is now facing the important
tasks of implementing its economic program and achieving economic growth,
after having passed numerous reform laws it pledged to international
lenders.
/Hürriyet/
[09] BANKING BILL RE-APPROVED BY PARLIAMENT
The Banking Bill was approved in Parliament yesterday by a vote of 211-71
without any amendments. Last week President Ahmet Necdet Sezer vetoed the
sixth, seventh and first provisional article of the bill and sent it back
to Parliament for reconsideration. Under the Constitution, the president
cannot veto the bill again. However, he can appeal to the Constitutional
Court to have the law annulled. /Turkiye/
[10] ERDOGAN MEETS WITH TURKISH JOURNALISTS IN WASHINGTON
Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday
held a meeting in Washington with members of the Turkish media. Erdogan is
currently visiting the US to attend this weekend's World Economic Forum.
Erdogan told the journalists that his party was planning to open an office
in the US capital. /Cumhuriyet/
[11] WORLD BANK LOAN MEETINGS TO END THIS WEEK
World Bank Turkey Director Ajay Chibber stated yesterday that the bank was
very close to concluding its meetings concerning Turkey's Public Sector and
Financial Sector Harmonization Loan. Chibber met with US Treasury
Undersecretary John Taylor yesterday morning. Afterwards, Chibber said that
the meetings were about to come to an end and that an announcement on the
loan would come by this weekend. Talks concerning the $1.3 billion WB loan
to Turkey have been continuing for nearly two months. /Aksam/
[12] ISRAELI AMBASSADOR SPEAKS ON MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS
Israel's Ambassador to Turkey David Sultan said yesterday that the
cooperation between the two countries against terrorism would continue.
Sultan, who took his post in Ankara six months ago, told the Aksam daily
Turkish-Israeli bilateral relations were in very good shape. Saying that
the two countries were as one on many issues, Sultan said that strengthened
cooperation on defense was of critical importance. He added, "Our
cooperation has become stronger in terms of the common front against
terrorism. In addition, Israel wants to increase its transfers of military
technology to Turkey, technology which also has civilian applications.
Although the Middle East peace process is currently stalled, sooner or
later it will be revived. But Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat must
decisively move against terrorism and terrorists. During the Clinton
administration, Arafat had a great opportunity for make peace but he passed
on it and then failed to take a stance against terrorism." In related news
Turkey has reportedly been continuing to forward suggestions to Israel and
the Palestinian leadership in order to help end the terror and violence in
the Middle East. Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Huseyin Dirioz said
that Turkey was maintaining contacts with both sides. /Aksam/
[13] PANGALOS: "GREECE SUPPORTED OCALAN"
Former Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos said yesterday that
several years ago the highest levels of Greece's government had supported
terrorist PKK head Abdullah Ocalan's taking refuge in his country, adding
however that he had not given such support. Appearing on Greek TV station
MEGA, Pangalos claimed that Ocalan had been brought to the country without
his knowledge, and that when he knew of Ocalan's presence he offered to
deliver him to the European Parliament. "But Prime Minister Costas Simitis
and the other Cabinet ministers rejected my proposal," he added. He claimed
that his only role in the case had been approving Ocalan's stay at the
Greek Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. Costas Baduvas, a former Greek
transportation minister, also appeared on MEGA and said that Greece's
policy of supporting the terrorist PKK had begun during the term of late
prime minister Andreas Papandreou and had continued under Simitis.
/Turkiye/
[14] TURKISH "WOLVES" ON SCREEN AT BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL
A Turkish movie "Hungry Wolves" directed by Yilmaz Guney will be screened
at the 52nd Berlin Film Festival this year. The Festival is set to begin on
Feb. 6. /Cumhuriyet/
[15] TURKISH PIANIST RECEIVES GRAND PRIZE IN RUSSIA
Turkish pianist Gokhan Aybulus was awarded the Grand Prize for his
performance at the Fourth International Marina Yudina Piano Contest in St.
Petersburg, Russia. Aybulus is an undergraduate student at Moscow's
Tchaikovsky Conservatory. /Cumhuriyet/
[16] TURK NAMED TO TOP PEPSI POSITION
The Pepsi-Cola Company announced yesterday that it was naming Okay Egdirci
to the post of deputy marketing chairman for Europe and Central and
Southern Africa. In his new position, Egdirci will market Pepsi products to
over 50 countries. /Milliyet/
[17] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[18] THE AEGEAN PROBLEM HANDLED AT LAST BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
Columnist Sami Kohen comments on the placing of the Aegean problem on the
table for discussions. A summary of his column is as follows:
"The Turkish,Greek and international communities recently learned that
Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem and Greek Foreign Minister George
Papandreou had been secretly discussing the Aegean dispute for some time
when Prime Minister Ecevit touched on the issue during his visit to
Washington. Responding to a question posed by a journalist, Prime Minister
Ecevit said that the two foreign ministers were working on the issue, and
added, 'We have to wait for them to develop their view of the issue.' This
week there were signs that that the two ministers were ready to begin a
dialogue on the Aegean. The statements by Mr. Papandreou and the foreign
ministry spokesman in Athens show that great distance has been covered
regarding the problem. In fact, next week Cem and Papandreou are expected
to meet in New York and then in Istanbul on Feb. 12 and complete the
preliminary steps towards starting the dialogue and also make an official
statement. It is an important development for Greece and Turkey to place
the main dispute between themselves on the table, benefiting the improving
climate seen over the last two years. Until now there were two disputes
standing in the way of a dialogue, over the Aegean problems and the way in
which they could be solved. If Cem and Papandreou have come to the point of
beginning a dialogue, they must have reached an accord on general terms.
For many years Athens has insisted that there was only one cause for
disagreement in the Aegean and that was the continental shelf. For the
Greeks the issues of territorial waters and airspace were not open to
discussion as they were concerned with Greek sovereignty rights. Greece
believed that the issue should be taken to the International Court of
Justice at the Hague as it was not a political but a legal issue. Ankara
expressed the belief that there were many disputes besides the continental
shelf in the Aegean and that they should all be solved through a dialogue
as they were political. Recently, flexibility has been observed in the
approaches of both sides. It seems that Cem and Papandreou are about to
form the background for a dialogue. This by itself is an important
development."
[19] LET'S NOT SPOIL IT BY SEMIH IDIZ (STAR)
Columnist Semih Idiz writes on the makeup of the delegation from Turkey to
be sent to the upcoming European Convention. A summary of his column is as
follows:
"The European Convention which will meet soon will have a crucial
importance for the 'old continent'. The European Union has come to a point
where it cannot go back and is looking towards the future. The questions
asked within this context are not merely academic. They are closely
concerned with the life of the Europeans. Will the European Union be a
confederal or a federal institution? How much authority should be vested in
the European Parliament? Is there a need for a binding European
Constitution? Should EU membership be granted in stages? Answers to these
and many other vital questions will be sought there. In short, this will be
a serious platform where the attendees are expected to make concrete
contributions. That is to say, people 'eligible' must participate in the
delegation to be sent there. They have to know the issue well, in addition
to speaking a foreign language. Otherwise, this platform will witness the
lack of harmony among us, just as it has been the case in the European
Council Parliamentary Assembly. I would like to express my opinion as a
taxpayer on the issue and state my preferences as to who should be sent to
the Convention. I agree with retired Ambassador Ilter Turkmen that
Independent Istanbul Deputy Mehmet Ali Irtemcelik should be one of the
delegation members as he has all the requirements for this important duty
and knows full well that the aim of the Convention is not to vent our anger
at others, but get some results. The second name I would suggest is Sevket
Bulent Yahnici from Nationalist Action Party (MHP), as he has different
views on the EU and continually studies the EU and the acquis
communautaire. This is a very serious issue and we should not spoil the
process of determining who will attend the delegation as we have on similar
issues before."
[20] ECEVIT IN BULGARIA BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE)
Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna comments on Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit's visit to
Bulgaria. A summary of his columns is as follows:
"Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit will return from Bulgaria today. Bulgaria was
a part of the Ottoman Empire for over 500 years, from 1362 to 1908. It
split from the empire only in 1908 and became an independent kingdom.
Ferdinand, Bulgaria's first king, was the grandfather of its third and
final king and its present prime minister, Simeon
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Turkey, then a constitutional monarchy, appointed a
staff officer, Ali Fethi Bey (later Prime Minister Fethi
Okyar), as ambassador to the young state. His close friend, staff officer
Maj. Mustafa Kemal
Bey, was the military attaché, and later of course founded our Republic.
Then our neighbor was the most loyal and faithful satellite of Soviet
Russia for 45 years. In 1970, I paid my first visit to this country with
the prime minister of the period, Suleyman
Demirel. There I saw the hardest and toughest strain of communism. In the
capital Sofia, the windows of the apartments were covered with curtains,
made of old newspapers. In the 90s, I paid an official visit to this
country twice with then President Suleyman
Demirel. This country, which had never before experienced liberalism and
democracy, was trying to be like Western Europe. Today, Bulgarian citizens
can enter all the EU member countries without heeding a visa, and the
nation will join the EU club before Turkey.
Orthodox and Slavic Bulgaria had no objections to the EU regulations and
principles. Over the past decade, they too have seen corruption. This is
one of the reasons why they made their former king a prime minister and put
him at the head of the executive branch.
Turkey's Achilles' heel is that we come from a tradition of empire that
lasted for 2,000 years. However, we have had 200 or 300 years to come to
realize that we cannot control the world. In such a long period of time,
our mentality has unfortunately not adapted to the reality of our
situation. Now we have to live in compliance with the world's rules.
I know this view might rankle some readers. Some people will ask me if I'm
implying that we should take Bulgaria as an example. There will be those
who will remind me that the one who modernized Bulgaria was our Tuna state
Governor Midhat Pasha. However, it is the unconditional principle of my
profession to help people see the truth.
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