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Turkish Press Review, 02-03-27
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
27.03.2002
CONTENTS
[01] MACEDONIAN PRESIDENT VISITS ANKARA
[02] ECEVIT: “THE ECONOMIC CRISIS HAS EASED”
[03] BAHCELI: “TURKEY’S EU NEGOTIATIONS SHOULD BEGIN THIS
YEAR”
[04] KARZAI’S VISIT POSTPONED
[05] EU: “THE PKK IS A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION”
[06] DENKTAS: “SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO MODEL COULD WORK IN
CYPRUS”
[07] SWEDISH PARLIAMENT TURNS BACK GENOCIDE ALLEGATIONS
[08] HARMONIZATION BILL PASSES PARLIAMENT
[09] TOURISM MINISTER TASAR TRAVELS TO MOSCOW FOR FAIR
[10] WORLD BANK CONSIDERING LOAN TO TURKEY
[11] WEST BANK GUNFIRE TAKES TURKISH CASUALTIES
[12] LIO OIL TO PLANT OLIVE TREE FORESTS
[13] KOREAN DANCE GROUP PERFORMS IN ISTANBUL
[14] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…
[15] A DIFFICULT TASK BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
[16] THE PLOY OF SEPARATISTS BY GUNGOR MENGI (SABAH)
[01] MACEDONIAN PRESIDENT VISITS ANKARA
Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski arrived in Ankara yesterday to
pay an official visit upon the invitation of President Ahmet Necdet
Sezer. At a dinner in honor of his Macedonian counterpart, Sezer
reiterated Turkey’s support for Macedonia’s territorial integrity and
independence. /All Papers/
[02] ECEVIT: “THE ECONOMIC CRISIS HAS EASED”
Before attending a diner hosted by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer in
honor of Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski yesterday, Prime Minister
Bulent Ecevit told reporters that Turkey’s economic crisis had recently
eased. /Hurriyet/
[03] BAHCELI: “TURKEY’S EU NEGOTIATIONS SHOULD BEGIN THIS
YEAR”
Deputy Prime Minister and Nationalist Action Party (MHP) leader
Devlet Bahceli yesterday spoke about Turkey’s EU membership process
during his speech at his party’s parliamentary group meeting. Pointing
to Turkey’s importance for the EU, Bahceli said, “One of Europe’s
biggest political-strategical faultlines passes through Turkey.” Bahceli
stressed that Turkey had implemented most of the short-term targets
proposed in its National Programme, and added, “Turkey has demonstrated
its determination to integrate with the EU. We hope that the EU will
begin full membership negotiations with Turkey this year.” /Turkiye/
[04] KARZAI’S VISIT POSTPONED
Afghan interim government Prime Minister Hamid Karzai’s visit to
Turkey which was scheduled for today has been postponed due to the
earthquake in northern Afghanistan which took place yesterday. Karzai is
expected to visit Ankara tomorrow and to leave on Friday. Turkey will
send a special plane to transport Karzai. Karzai is scheduled to meet
with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and
Foreign Minister Ismail Cem. Major topics on the agenda are recent
developments on the question of Turkey’s command of the ISAF
peacekeeping force in Afghanistan. /Hurriyet/
[05] EU: “THE PKK IS A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION”
A just completed report prepared by the European Union Commission on
cigarette smuggling refers to PKK as a “Kurdish terrorist network,”
apparently the first time that the EU has recognized this. The report
says that the terrorist organization had made large sums of money
marketing smuggled US cigarettes funneled by prominent US tobacco
companies, and thus that these US companies were financially supporting
terrorists and terrorism. The report especially emphasizes that the US
government characterizes the PKK as a “terrorist organization,” and also
says that the group carries out terrorist activities in Europe. In these
respects the report contradicts the EU’s own list of terrorist groups
prepared after last September, which notably failed to include the PKK.
/Turkiye/
[06] DENKTAS: “SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO MODEL COULD WORK IN
CYPRUS”
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas
said yesterday that the model exemplified by the Balkan states of Serbia
and Montenegro could also work in Cyprus. “Montenegro and Serbia’s
relationship is close to what we want, recognizing each other while
still having a unifying effect,” Denktas added. But this model was
rejected by one Greek administration spokesman on the grounds that it
lay outside the guidelines set down by the United Nations. /Hurriyet/
[07] SWEDISH PARLIAMENT TURNS BACK GENOCIDE ALLEGATIONS
The Swedish Parliament announced earlier this week that it would be
improper for it to make an official determination regarding allegations
of a so-called Armenian genocide, stressing that such issues must be
evaluated by historians rather than politicians. The Parliament also
admitted that it had acted incorrectly by recognizing the allegations
two years ago since there was no United Nations resolution covering such
matters. Recalling that the 1948 UN Convention on Genocide was not
retroactive, the Parliament supported Turkey’s views considering
discussions over the allegations. Murad Artin, Swedish Left Party
representative and parliamentarian, had previously presented a motion to
the Parliament’s Foreign Relations Commission. The motion argued that
the Ottoman Empire had committed genocide against the Armenian people at
the beginning of the 20th century and that the Parliament must recognize
this fact. After analyzing the motion, the commission presented a report
to the full Parliament stating that no official decision could be made
on the issue and stressing the importance of openness and historical
understanding of events which should be investigated by professional
historians. /Cumhuriyet/
[08] HARMONIZATION BILL PASSES PARLIAMENT
A key harmonization bill passed the Turkish Parliament yesterday as
part of Turkey’s ongoing effort to make its laws match European Union
norms. The bill proposes amendments to nine articles in the Constitution
and would widen the freedom to establish foundations as well as revise
criteria for closing political parties. /Sabah/
[09] TOURISM MINISTER TASAR TRAVELS TO MOSCOW FOR FAIR
Turkish Tourism Minister Mustafa Tasar left the country yesterday to
attend the ninth International Moscow Travel and Tourism Fair. Speaking
to the press prior to his departure, Tasar stated that the Moscow Fair
was very important to Turkey as a significant opportunity to promote
Turkish tourism. Tasar stated that he believed tourism would greatly
help Turkey surmount its economic problems. /Cumhuriyet/
[10] WORLD BANK CONSIDERING LOAN TO TURKEY
A delegation from the World Bank will come to Turkey next week to
hold meetings to look into providing domestic exporters and medium-sized
business with loans through Istanbul Approach, a public-private
oversight board. The Turkish Treasury Undersecretariat and the World
Bank’s Representation in Turkey also stated that a financial and public
reform sector loan totaling $1.35 billion was on the WB’s Executive
Board agenda. After the loan is approved in April, it is to be given to
Turkey in three installments of $450 million apiece. Turkey will use the
loan in order to restructure public banks, strengthen the banking sector,
fight against corruption and improve its public debt service. /Milliyet/
[11] WEST BANK GUNFIRE TAKES TURKISH CASUALTIES
One Turkish member of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron
(TIPH) on the West Bank died last night in gunfire from parties unknown,
while another was wounded. Maj. Cengiz Toytunc and Lt. Huseyin Ozarslan
were traveling south of Halhoul, near Hebron, in a car belonging to the
TIPH unarmed observer force when they came under gunfire. A Swiss
observer in the same car, Katrine Brooks, was also killed. Israel Army
spokesman blamed Palestinian gunman for the shooting, but Hebron Mayor
Mustafa al-Natsheh accused Israeli Army forces. A written statement from
the Palestinian Authority expressed condolences to Toytunc’s family.
Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Huseyin Kivrikoglu learned about the
attack during a reception given in honor of Macedonian President Boris
Trajkovski. Stating that the incident was an act of terrorism,
Kivrikoglu said that the attackers had opened fire on the international
observer force’s car without knowing that there were Turks inside.
Turkish Consul General in Damascus Huseyin Avni Bicakci said that an
investigation was being launched into the incident. /Aksam/
[12] LIO OIL TO PLANT OLIVE TREE FORESTS
Turkish company Lio Oil, which provides 5% of the olive oil on
international markets, announced plans yesterday to establish olive tree
forests in the provinces of Mugla and Balikesir. Lio Board of Directors
Chairman A. Sevket Aksoy said that they expected the forests to bear
fruit in three years’ time. Stating that Lio had increased sales last
year to $68 million in spite of difficult economic conditions, Aksoy
said, “Some $56 million of this came from our exports to over 30
countries. Our sales and exports will increase with the olive forests
project.” /Milliyet/
[13] KOREAN DANCE GROUP PERFORMS IN ISTANBUL
A Korean traditional dance group, Jung Je Man, yesterday staged a
performance at the Ataturk Culture Center in Istanbul. Representatives
from the Turkish Culture and Foreign ministries as well as Korean
Ambassador Young-Ki Kim and Korean War veterans attended the Korean
night jointly organized by the Korean and Turkish Culture Ministries.
/Cumhuriyet/
[14] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…
[15] A DIFFICULT TASK BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
Columnist Sami Kohen writes on sending Turkish troops to Afghanistan
and taking over the command of the International Security Assistance
Force (ISAF). A summary of his column is as follows:
“If a poll had been taken on sending troops to Afghanistan and
Turkey’s taking command of the international force when the military
operation began, clearly a great majority of the population would have
supported the idea. If such a poll were taken today, the results are
anybody’s guess. However, it is certain that support for the idea of
taking military responsibility has weakened and the numbers of those
opposed to it are growing with each passing day. The reason for this is
clear: the Turkish people know the situation in Afghanistan better now
and understand the risks involved in sending Turkish troops and taking
over the command of the international force. That is why the Turkish
government, who knew the situation even better, has been hesitant and
insistent on the conditions it put forth. The picture in Afghanistan
where the international community is trying to establish peace is a
cause for grave concern. Although the Taleban has been overthrown, many
al-Qaida forces got through the operation’s net, and Kabul is still far
from controlling the country. The warlords are all based in their own
territories. Ethnic and religious clashes are continuing. The country is
far from being a nation-state. There is no national army or police force
to establish peace and security in the country. The situation in
Afghanistan where the Turkish troops and, if it comes to pass, the
Turkish commander who will take command of the ISAF will serve is this
complicated. The government is expected to announce its final decision
this week. Certainly, it will be a very hard decision. The argument in
favor of taking over the command of the international forces and
increasing the number of the Turkish troops serving there is that it
will increase Turkey’s credibility and influence all over the world,
strengthen Turkey’s presence in Central Asia, and provide the
opportunity to get more active support from the West. On the other hand,
the risks involved are great. First of all the lives of Turkish troops
are in question. No one wants a Turkish soldier to lose his life in
Afghanistan. Some diplomats are warning Turkey not to get bogged down in
Afghanistan and saying that the Turkish Parliament’s approval should be
gotten before sending troops there.”
[16] THE PLOY OF SEPARATISTS BY GUNGOR MENGI (SABAH)
Columnist Gungor Mengi writes on the terrorist organization PKK’s
change of name. A summary of his column is as follows:
“The PKK has taken the expected turn and changed its name to PAG and
with this decision called itself the ‘People’s Freedom Party.’ As it is
established by the PKK, it is reasonable to expect that PAG will be a
party, or at least as much as the PKK was one. Can there be a party made
up of hordes of murderers established with the aim of dividing the
nation and the country, and who killed 30,000 people. The PKK was the
bloodiest, most ruthless terrorist organization of the recent past.
While it keeps the remnants of its armed bandits left after its defeat
in the mountains as a threat, it cannot convince anyone with any common
sense that it will no longer engage in armed actions and has instead
become a ‘party’. If the opportunity to wash the blood off the hands of
the terrorists is granted this easily, terrorism will continue without
end. It is impossible to believe that PKK has adopted a new identity by
simply removing the words ‘communist’ and ‘Kurdistan’ from its name for
now. A political party does not deal in armed threats. Any such
organization is called a terrorist organization throughout the entire
world. The main issue here is to formulate new policies which will not
damage our national goals. We must not leave aside issues to our
country’s potential benefit with the sheer reasoning that ‘they too want
it,’ as societies ruled not even by their minds but by their complexes
are governed by their enemies. The separatist organization, during its
congress where it changed its name, decided to give support to campaigns
for Kurdish radio-TV, education in Kurdish and abolition of the death
penalty. These are among the medium-term goals Turkey has promised to
keep to be admitted to the EU. Our society is already discussing them
and has even covered some distance in accomplishing them. It is a ploy,
a trap by the separatist organization to show itself as a player in to
these discussions and to try to provoke a social reaction and increase
the power of those opposed to reforms. When these reforms are carried
out, the administrators of the organization who are responsible for so
many murders will be left in the lurch, and will be left tongue-tied
trying to explain why they persist in maintaining armed militants in the
mountains. However, if their ploy in provoking the public and Parliament
takes hold, they will continue to find supporters for the role of
‘underdog’ they are playing. Where is the self-confidence we must have
as a nation which has defeated terrorism? We must be self-confident and
govern ourselves instead of being governed by others”
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