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Turkish Press Review, 02-05-28
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
28.05.2002
CONTENTS
[01] SEZER ARRIVES IN ROME TO ATTEND NATO-RUSSIA SUMMIT
[02] RECOVERED ECEVIT RETURNS TO HIS OFFICE
[03] BAHCELI VISITS GREAT WALL OF CHINA
[04] YILMAZ, DERVIS MEET WITH US SENATORIAL DELEGATION
[05] COALITION CELEBRATES THIRD ANNIVERSARY, ECEVIT HIS 77TH BIRTHDAY
[06] IZGI: “THE EU TRAIN WILL NOT BE MISSED”
[07] KAHKONEN PRAISES TURKEY UPON COMPLETING SECOND REVIEW
[08] AGREEMENT SIGNALS ALTERED RUSSIAN STANCE ON BAKU-CEYHAN
[09] ANKARA STREET NAMED FOR INDIAN POET TAGORE
[10] ISTANBUL HOME TEXTILE FAIR A RESOUNDING SUCCESS
[11] BARTHOLOMEOS URGES REOPENING OF ORTHODOX THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL
[12] SABANCI LAWYER APPEALS ERDAL RULING
[13] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…
[14] DEADLOCK IN POLITICS TO BE SOLVED BY SEZER
BY ISMAIL KUCUKKAYA (AKSAM)
[15] THIRD YEAR OF THE COALITION BY ORHAN BIRGIT (CUMHURIYET)
[01] SEZER ARRIVES IN ROME TO ATTEND NATO-RUSSIA SUMMIT
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer accompanied by Foreign Minister Ismail Cem
arrived yesterday in Rome to attend a NATO-Russia summit. Sezer stated that
Turkey welcomed the establishment during the summit of a new NATO-Russia
Council. Sezer said that decisions taken at the summit would usher in a new
era of NATO-Russian cooperation. /Hurriyet/
[02] RECOVERED ECEVIT RETURNS TO HIS OFFICE
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit left Baskent hospital yesterday after
undergoing 11 days of medical treatment there for a broken rib and a blood
clot in his left leg. “I am fine and I am in charge,” he told reporters and
throngs of people gathered together chanting supportive slogans in front of
the hospital before he left for his office. Today, he is expected to hold a
press conference at the Prime Ministry residence to mark the third
anniversary of the three-way coalition government and his 77th birthday.
/All Papers/
[03] BAHCELI VISITS GREAT WALL OF CHINA
Deputy Prime Minister Devlet Bahceli yesterday visited the Great Wall of
China. Calling the 2,400-kilometer long structure one of the greatest
wonders in the world, Bahceli said, “I have always wanted to see the Great
Wall of China since it is one of the most impressive monuments in the world
and it attracts many foreign tourists to China.” He declined to respond to
journalists’ questions on discussions over the future of the Turkish
government. Bahceli also visited the Turkish Embassy in Beijing.
/Cumhuriyet/
[04] YILMAZ, DERVIS MEET WITH US SENATORIAL DELEGATION
Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and State Minister for the Economy Kemal
Dervis yesterday met with a US delegation upon the invitation of the US
Embassy in Ankara. The delegation consisted of a number of US senators who
paid a one-day official visit to Turkey. Central Bank Governor Sureyya
Serdengecti, Treasury Undersecretary Faik Oztrak and Banking Regulation and
Supervision Board (BDDK) Chairman Engin Akcakoca also attended the meeting.
Among the issues which were discussed during the gathering were Turkey’s
current economic situation and discussions on Turkish-EU relations as well
as early elections. /Cumhuriyet/
[05] COALITION CELEBRATES THIRD ANNIVERSARY, ECEVIT HIS 77TH BIRTHDAY
Today has a special importance for Prime Minister and Democratic Left Party
(DSP) leader Bulent Ecevit, as the tripartite coalition government
celebrates completing its third anniversary in power, and Ecevit himself
celebrates his 77th birthday. The current 57th government has changed 10 of
its Cabinet ministers to date, while coalition junior partner Motherland
Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz joined the Cabinet on July 13, 2000, as
deputy prime minister and state minister. The majority of the approximately
400 draft laws presented to Parliament by the government during the past
three years have been enacted. The government has issued some 58 decrees
with the force of law, 4,293 decrees and 130 circulars. /All Papers/
[06] IZGI: “THE EU TRAIN WILL NOT BE MISSED”
Parliament Speaker Omer Izgi said yesterday that Turkey will not miss the
European Union train. Pointing to President Ahmet Necdet Sezer’s initiative
to hold a meeting with the coalition government leaders and other parties’
leaders in Parliament regarding Turkey’s EU membership process, Izgi said
that the meeting should be considered a normal and natural part of the
process. After addressing the opening of a symposium entitled “Erzurum and
Sivas Congresses” at Gazi University, Izgi told reporters that the EU was
one of the options laid out before Turkey. Regarding the discussions on
language and education, Izgi stated that the Turkish state was not against
teaching different languages in general, but that the language of education
could not be anything other than Turkish. Commenting on the death penalty,
Izgi said, “Greece, an EU member state, has a provision in its Constitution
for the death penalty in cases of war and threat of war. Turkey may abolish
the death penalty completely, but for the time being it is not urgent.”
/Turkiye/
[07] KAHKONEN PRAISES TURKEY UPON COMPLETING SECOND REVIEW
An International Monetary Fund delegation headed by Turkey Desk Chief Juha
Kahkonen yesterday completed the IMF’s second review. It is to present a
report on recent developments in Turkey’s economy to an IMF Executive Board
meeting in late June. Speaking to reporters, Kahkonen said that Turkey’s
government was doing a good job implementing its economic program. When
asked about rumors of early elections, Kahkonen stated, “You are doing well,
and I don’t want to make any speculations.” /Hurriyet/
[08] AGREEMENT SIGNALS ALTERED RUSSIAN STANCE ON BAKU-CEYHAN
Russian pipeline construction company Rosneftegazstroi and the Georgian
International oil company (GIOC) on Sunday signed an agreement in Tbilisi,
Georgia to construct a new pipeline. Under the new agreement, Russia is to
transport some of its oil to Ceyhan, Azerbaijan through a secondary
pipeline called the “Novorossisk-Supsa-Ceyhan” connected to the Baku-
Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. GIOC Chairman Georgi Canturya yesterday stated
that a Russian-Georgian partnership had been set up to construct the new
pipeline. Novorossisk is known as Russia’s main oil port in the Black Sea.
Since the Tengiz-Novorossisk, which Russia has so far considered an
alternative to Baku-Ceyhan, has increased sea traffic in the Bosphorus,
Turkey had offered Russia the opportunity to transport its oil through Baku-
Ceyhan. Although the Russian government has not yet made an official
statement on the issue, it seems that Russia has decided to change its
policy over Baku-Ceyhan. The new pipeline will also increase Russia’s
latitude in making oil exports. /Cumhuriyet/
[09] ANKARA STREET NAMED FOR INDIAN POET TAGORE
The Greater Ankara Municipality City Council yesterday passed a resolution
giving the name of Indian poet and philosopher, Rabindranath Tagore, to a
street in the Cankaya neighborhood. During its meeting, the council voted
and approved the “Chairmanship Article on Giving Rabindranath Tagore’s Name
on a Street in Ankara.” Fourth Street in Cankaya will be henceforth known
as Tagore Caddesi. Tagore, who was born in 1861 and died in 1941, is
thought of as the final representative of traditional Indian poetry. His
poems were inspired by the suffering of his people, and he passed away just
a few years before India achieved independence. /Aksam/
[10] ISTANBUL HOME TEXTILE FAIR A RESOUNDING SUCCESS
The EVTEKS 2002 home textile fair ended in Istanbul on Sunday, with
organizers reporting that deals totaling some $1.5 billion had been signed
at the fair, a record amount. The five-day event attracted some 68,000
attendees from Turkey and around 8,500 from 72 countries worldwide,
including Germany, the US, Russia, Italy, Israel, Greece, Japan, and the
United Arab Emirates. The 410 largest companies in the sector were
represented at the fair, which hosts ITF and the Istanbul Fair company
called the world’s second-largest home textile fair. /Sabah/
[11] BARTHOLOMEOS URGES REOPENING OF ORTHODOX THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL
Istanbul Patriarch Bartholomeos yesterday reiterated his call for the
reopening of the Orthodox theological school on Istanbul’s Heybeli Island.
Speaking to journalists during a visit to Capadoccia, Bartholomeos said
that he had repeated his request many times that theological schools
directed to educating young men of faith be opened. Concerning his request
to have the Heybeli Island school reopened, Bartholomeos added, “It was our
right to expect this from the Turkish government. We hope and believe that
the Education Ministry and Board of Higher Education [YOK] will deal with
this issue with understanding and find a solution as soon as possible.”
Then Bartholomeos reopened for visitors the 13th century Sarica Church, a
church near Urgup which had recently been restored. /Turkiye/
[12] SABANCI LAWYER APPEALS ERDAL RULING
Legal proceedings in the case of Fehriye Erdal, a fugitive from Turkish
justice for the murder of Istanbul businessman Ozdemir Sabanci, took
another turn this week with an appeal by Sabanci family lawyer Fernard
Schmitz. Some two weeks ago Belgium’s High Court of Appeals sent back to a
lower Bruges court a decision on whether Erdal should be tried in Belgium
for her crimes in Turkey. Erdal’s lawyers hailed this decision at the time.
Schmitz has now filed an appeal, however, arguing that Erdal should
definitely face a Belgian court for her crimes in Turkey. His appeal was
filed at the High Court of Appeals, which will most likely hear the case in
September. Turkey has been requesting Erdal’s extradition from Belgium for
some years, a request which Belgium has consistently refused. /Cumhuriyet/
[13] FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS…
[14] DEADLOCK IN POLITICS TO BE SOLVED BY SEZER
BY ISMAIL KUCUKKAYA (AKSAM)
Columnist Ismail Kucukkaya writes on the deadlock in politics in Turkey and
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer’s efforts to break through it. A summary of
his column is as follows:
“Everyone is talking about elections in Ankara. Conversations between
politicians, bureaucrats, ministers and journalists turn on the same
subject. The frequently asked questions in the political arena will be
clearly heard in the near future. The leaders’ summit President Sezer has
called regarding our relations with the EU will direct the route of
politics. A clear solution will be reached on the complete abolition of the
death penalty and broadcasting in mother tongue languages. Those supporting
EU membership and who are in favor of broadcasting in Kurdish and the
abolition of capital punishment will confront those who are against making
any concessions. If no solution is reached at the leaders’ summit, the
possibility of holding elections will be strengthened. At present, our EU
membership bid has turned into a matter of life or death for two parties.
The Motherland Party’s (ANAP) and Nationalist Action Party’s (MHP)
strategies are based on the last train to take Turkey to the EU. ANAP
believes that the only way for it to win in the elections is to project an
image as the party most strongly supporting admittance to the EU. Yilmaz
will give the message that anyone in favor of the EU should vote for ANAP.
He would probably say that our dreams of freedoms and getting rich can only
be realized by getting ourselves admitted to the EU. The aim of the MHP is
to become one of the major parties in the Parliament after a new election.
MHP leader Bahceli has become acquainted with the state and the system in
his first governmental experience and clearly issued the message that there
is no need to be afraid of the MHP. In the words of an aide to Bahceli, ‘If
the MHP can get into the Parliament again, it will remain one of the
indispensable pillars of politics in Turkey.’ MHP’s policy concerning the
abolition of capital punishment and broadcasting in the mother tongues will
be a determining factor in its success in the coming elections. Political
observers believe that general elections can be regarded as certain to take
place in the autumn of 2003.”
[15] THIRD YEAR OF THE COALITION BY ORHAN BIRGIT (CUMHURIYET)
Columnist Orhan Birgit writes on the completion of the third year of the
coalition government. A summary of his column is as follows:
“The completion of the Ecevit government’s third year in office is a first
in Turkish coalition politics. The Ecevit government, which is a compromise
between the nationalist right and the left, is the longest-running
coalition government in the republic’s history. The prime minister will
explain the performance of his government over the last three years to the
public in a press conference, and we can say that among the headlines will
be the passing of laws on banking, telecommunications, tax reform, the
abolition of regional directorates with aim of slimming down the state,
adding that the hope Turkey has passing through its economic crisis has
grown. There are rosy pictures the government can paint, but it is clear
that the most important problem awaiting the government will be the
discussions regarding the relations with the EU. The initiatives directed
at softening the MHP’s resistance concerning arrangements to be made in our
laws on the complete abolition of the death penalty and education in mother
tongue languages are becoming increasingly important. In addition to a
message Ecevit has sent to a newspaper on the issue, the leaders’ summit to
be held in Cankaya will be of historic significance. Another important
issue is that the tense relations between the prime minister and the
president have given way to a more civilized approach in a country where
there are those like Tayyip Erdogan who tries to change the agenda by
harping on the health of the prime minister, the president’s policy
demonstrate a guiding approach. Considering all these points in favor and
the presumptions that the coalition cannot live much longer, the minds of
the voters are boggled. This confusion helps the parties in power. If they
can pull themselves together, eliminate the frictions with the EU, and do
not make any concessions from the economic policy they are pursuing, they
will see that they have to answer the expectations of the public regarding
the changes in the law concerning political parties and elections.”
ARCHIVE
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