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Turkish Press Review, 02-04-29
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
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Press
& Information
Turkish
Press
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
29.04.2002
CONTENTS
[01] SEZER PURSUES TRIPLE COOPERATION IN CAUCASUS
[02] TURK: “SEZER ACTED AS IF HE STILL HEADED THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT”
[03] SWEDEN: “THE PKK SHOULD BE INCLUDED ON THE EU LIST OF TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS”
[04] CILLER: “AMNESTY BYPASSED THE NATION’S WILL”
[05] COMMISSION RATIFIES UN CONVENTION
[06] KUTAN: “TURKEY’S CURRENT SYSTEM IS A BUREAUCRATIC OLIGARCHY”
[07] TURKEY, ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN TO FURTHER DIALOGUE AT MAY NATO MEETING
[08] ANKARA WATER PROJECT COULD RECEIVE JAPANESE FUNDING
[09] MINISTRIES MOVE AGAINST HARMFUL HORMONES
[10] ISTANBUL HOSTS CONSTRUCTION FAIR THIS WEEK
[11] ISTANBUL FILM FESTIVAL ENDS
[12] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…
[13] AMNESTY CONFUSION BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)
[14] AN EXPECTANT BAGHDAD CELEBRATES BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)
[01] SEZER PURSUES TRIPLE COOPERATION IN CAUCASUS
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Azerbaijani President Haydar Aliyev and their
Georgian counterpart Eduard Shevardnadze are to meet in the Black Sea city
of Trabzon today. The summit aims to improve bilateral relations and
cooperation between the three countries. Joint projects on energy, economy
and transportation will be discussed at the summit. Other major issues to
be discussed by the three national leaders are security problems as well as
oil and natural gas pipeline projects. /Cumhuriyet/
[02] TURK: “SEZER ACTED AS IF HE STILL HEADED THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT”
Speaking on President Ahmet Necdet Sezer’s veto this weekend of the
government’s controversial amnesty bill, Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk
said yesterday that President Sezer had acted as if he were still chief
justice of the Constitutional Court. Turk said that Sezer should have
approved the bill and then applied to the Constitutional Court to have it
annulled, adding that his move had opened up a legal vacuum. Criticizing
Sezer for what he called “violating the Constitution,” Turk noted that the
six-month time period given to Parliament to pass the amnesty law had
ended. Meanwhile, Constitutional Court acting Chief Justice Hasim Kilic
yesterday agreed that a vacuum had resulted from Sezer’s veto. “After
correcting the parts the President pointed out, Parliament should swiftly
pass the bill,” said Kilic. /All Papers/
[03] SWEDEN: “THE PKK SHOULD BE INCLUDED ON THE EU LIST OF TERRORIST
ORGANIZATIONS”
The Swedish government recently came out in favor of including the
terrorist group PKK on the EU’s terrorist organizations list to be released
on May 2. Swedish Cabinet Undersecretary Hans Dahlgren stated that the
Swedish government would demand that Brussels add the PKK to the revised
list. Furthermore, Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, who is currently
visiting Washington, stated in an interview with the TT News Agency that
Sweden supported the idea that the EU list should include all groups which
commit acts of terrorism. “Sweden made clear its stance against the PKK a
long time ago,” said Lindh. “Since we believe that the PKK is a terrorist
organization, any list of such organizations should not fail to include
it.” /Cumhuriyet/
[04] CILLER: “AMNESTY BYPASSED THE NATION’S WILL”
True Path Party (DYP) leader Tansu Ciller said yesterday that the nation’s
will had been bypassed regarding the new amnesty law. After voting at her
party’s delegation elections in Sariyer, Istanbul, Ciller told reporters
that the DYP had been against the amnesty law from the very beginning.
Stressing that in a democratic country no one could defend the release of a
man accused of murdering a writer, Ciller remarked that this chaos alone
constituted sufficient demonstration of the need for a new government.
/Aksam/
[05] COMMISSION RATIFIES UN CONVENTION
Under a bill ratified yesterday by Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Commission,
Turkey is to join 136 other countries in ratifying a UN Convention on
Transnational Organized Crime. The convention in question entails
cooperation across borders to combat human trafficking, drug smuggling, and
the illegal arms trade. The bill is expected to be discussed by the full
Parliament later this week. /Cumhuriyet/
[06] KUTAN: “TURKEY’S CURRENT SYSTEM IS A BUREAUCRATIC OLIGARCHY”
Felicity Party leader (SP) Recai Kutan yesterday attended a meeting of the
Turkish Volunteers’ Foundation at Istanbul’s Cemal Resit Rey Concert Hall.
In a speech to the group, he said that nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
such as theirs formed a vital part of Turkey’s democracy. Turkey’s problems
concern us all, not just politicians, he remarked. Kutan added that
Turkey’s current governmental system was not in fact a democracy, but
rather a “bureaucratic oligarchy.” /Turkiye/
[07] TURKEY, ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN TO FURTHER DIALOGUE AT MAY NATO MEETING
The foreign ministers of Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan are scheduled to
meet at a NATO meeting in Reykjavik, Iceland on May 14-15. Turkish Foreign
Minister Ismail Cem will meet his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts
Vilayet Guliev and Vartan Oskanyan in order to further dialogue and discuss
common problems. Turkey is placing a high premium on this gathering since
Ankara considers it a significant opportunity for normalizing bilateral
relations with Yerevan. At a conference entitled “Seeking Stability in the
Caucasus” held last February, Cem had previously proposed such a meeting
between the three countries to discuss the problem the disputed enclave of
Karabagh. /Cumhuriyet/
[08] ANKARA WATER PROJECT COULD RECEIVE JAPANESE FUNDING
Japanese credit institution JBIC is in final stage negotiations to provide
funding for a planned drinking water project for Ankara, reports said
yesterday. The State Water Works (DSI) is handling the talks with JBIC,
which often gives credits to fund infrastructure projects. If the
negotiations are successful, JBIC would provide $300 million to DSI as a
first stage. The second installment of credits would be provided according
to the progress of the project. /Star/
[09] MINISTRIES MOVE AGAINST HARMFUL HORMONES
The Agriculture and Health Ministries have issued joint directives this
week in an effort to prevent danger to public health from food laced with
hormones. Such artificial hormones are chemicals used widely in animal
husbandry to promote growth in animal husbandry to promote growth as well
as milk and egg production, but some scientists have sounded warnings about
the effect trace amounts might have on human health. Accordingly, the new
directives set maximum levels for a number of veterinary hormones, while
strictly banning the others as posing too much of a risk. The latter group
of chemicals is as follows: Aristolochia spp. Chloramphenicol, Choloform,
Chlorpromazin, Colchicin, Dapson, Dimetridazol, Metronidazol, Nitrofurane-
Furazolidone, and Ronidazol. /Cumhuriyet/
[10] ISTANBUL HOSTS CONSTRUCTION FAIR THIS WEEK
Construction firms will be hawking their wares and showing off the latest
technological advances at the 25th annual International Construction Fair
in Istanbul starting this Wednesday. The three-day fair, dubbed
“Construction 2002-Istanbul Fair,” expects to attract participation from
nearly 500 domestic and foreign construction companies./Milliyet/
[11] ISTANBUL FILM FESTIVAL ENDS
The 21st Istanbul Film Festival ended yesterday. The festival honored
Italian filmmaker Nanni Moretti on Saturday, presenting him with a special
award. The festival committee also presented an honorary award to British
director Stephen Frears. The Golden Tulip, the festival's top prize for a
new film, went to "Magonia" by Dutch director Ineke Smits. /Cumhuriyet/
[12] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS…FROM THE COLUMNS…
[13] AMNESTY CONFUSION BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)
Columnist Fikret Bila comments on the just vetoed amnesty law. A summary of
his column is as follows:
“If President Ahmet Necdet Sezer hadn’t vetoed the latest amnesty law,
would convicts such as Mehmet Ali Agca and Haluk Kirci have received a ‘get
out of jail free’ card? Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk addressed this
question when I spoke to him yesterday. ‘The press looked at the early
release law and interpreted it to mean that these men would be released,’
he said. ‘However, it was by no means certain that they would benefit from
this law and get out. One would hare to check each of their files
individually.’ Justice Minister Turk cannot predict for certain the fates
of Agca and Kirci, instead saying that their files need to be examined. So
what will happen next? Minister Turk points out that a legal vacuum has
opened up following President Sezer’s veto, and so he emphasizes that a new
law should be enacted as soon as possible. It is no surprise that the
subject of amnesty resulted in confusion. Let’s remember, the push for
amnesty originally came from Democratic Left Party [DSP] deputy leader
Rahsan Ecevit, also the wife of the prime minister. Her aim was to bring
back into society’s fold those who ended up in prison due to petty crimes
and who are considered ‘victims of fate’ and their social conditions. The
aim was to provide people who turned to crime due to economic hardship with
jobs. Rahsan Ecevit made an effort to ensure that the ‘victims of fate’ who
were released from prison under last year’s amnesty law would be brought
back into normal society. She helped them to find jobs. Mrs. Ecevit’s aim
was limited to this. However, the result was just the opposite. While this
old conditional release law was enacted by commissions one by one, it
turned out to be an ‘amnesty of supporters’ from the coalition partners. It
was very likely that the Constitutional Court would annul the law, which is
just what happened. This new arrangement for conditional release for
‘victims of fate’ turned out almost to be a ‘general amnesty’ covering such
convicts as Agca and Kirci. Neither the public nor the Ecevits’ conscience
could stomach this. It will be hard for the government to put together a
palatable conditional release law after this point.”
[14] AN EXPECTANT BAGHDAD CELEBRATES BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)
Columnist Ferai Tinc comments on the latest developments in Iraq. A summary
of her column is as follows:
“This is a geography of symbols and hints, in other words, the geography of
feigned ignorance. Saddam Hussein’s 65th birthday celebrations were based
on them as well. The parade attended by representatives from all the cities,
schools and institutions in Iraq was held on Palestine St. in Baghdad.
There were Palestinian flags flying next to Iraqi flags, and banners called
on Saddam to lead Palestine. One of the slogans read, ‘Let us save Saddam
and Palestine from the US.’ The message given by Iraqi youth to the
international press was, ‘Saddam is the only Arabian leader who defends the
interests of the Palestinian people and the Arabian nation.’ The biggest of
the messages within these symbols was meant for US President Bush.
According to some Iraqi observers, these celebrations were an ‘unofficial
referendum.’ The fact that the most repeated slogan of the celebrations was
‘Bush, listen to our voice, we love Saddam’ strengthened the hints of
referendum. During the sweltering holiday the procession was too crowded
and the slogans of love for Saddam were too much. I talked to some of the
people. Were they pretending ignorance? Iraqi observers are of the opinion
that a US attack is immanent. Iraqi Deputy President Taha Yasin Ramazan
told US network NBC over the weekend that the US could attack anytime,
which is shown as evidence of this expectation. When I understood the
feelings of the people I talked with yesterday on Baghdad’s streets, I
thought they were right. They consider the rhetoric out of Washington as a
direct insult towards them and their national identity. Thus, they hold
tight to Saddam. Could they possibly help him more? While coming to Baghdad
through Amman, a Canadian painter with whom I shared the 10-hour bus ride
invited me to an exhibit that he will open here to support the Iraqi nation
and told me about a civilian network that they had established against a
new US attack. One 74-year-old Japanese researcher, who traveled 20 hours
from Tokyo to attend the International Solidarity Conference, said, ‘The US
dropped an atom bomb on us. The US is the biggest terrorist.’ Yesterday in
Iraq was a sort of preparation for the critical meeting to be held by UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Iraqi Foreign Minister Naci Sabri later
this week.”
ARCHIVE
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