|
|
|
Turkish Press Review, 02-06-18
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
<LINK href="http://www.byegm.gov.tr_yayinlarimiz_chr_pics_css/tpr.css"
rel=STYLESHEET type=text/css>
<map name="FPMap1">
</map>
<map name="FPMap1"></map>
Press
& Information
Turkish
Press
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
18.06.2002
CONTENTS
[01] SEZER VISITS IRAN
[02] SEZER POINTS TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTS
[03] BUYUKANIT: "TURKEY'S FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM SHOULD BE SUPPORTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY"
[04] SP GIVES CONDITIONAL SUPPORT TO DSP
[05] THIRD PETITION FILED AGAINST RTUK LAW
[06] GUREL: "GREEK CYPRIOT ADMINISTRATION CANNOT BE AN EU MEMBER BEFORE TURKEY"
[07] LEADERS' SUMMIT TODAY TO DISCUSS THE ECONOMY
[08] ECHR GRAND CHAMBER TO HEAR RP CLOSURE CASE
[09] COOPERATIVE BEST EFFORT-2002 MANEUVERS BEGIN IN GEORGIA
[10] THREE COUNTRIES' JOURNALISTS MEET IN ANKARA
[11] ECEVIT MEETS WITH ECONOMY OFFICIALS
[12] IFC: "WE HAVE BELIEF AND CONFIDENCE IN TURKEY"
[13] BREKK: "TURKEY CAN REACH ITS TARGETS FOR THIS YEAR"
[14] HARVARD TURCOLOGY JOURNAL PRESENTED TO HACETTEPE
[15] CARDINAL MARTINI TO VISIT SELJUK
[16] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[17] PRESIDENT SEZER'S IRAN VISIT BY SEMIH IDIZ (STAR)
[18] WHAT IS EXPECTED FROM THE PRESIDENT?
[19] BY ISMAIL KUCUKKAYA (AKSAM)
[01] SEZER VISITS IRAN
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer went to Tehran, Iran yesterday to pay a two-
day official visit upon the invitation of Iranian President Muhammed
Khatami.Before his departure, Sezer stated that he would search for ways to
improve economic, trade and security relations between the two countries.
He said that the Turkish-Iranian Joint Business Council (KEK) would start
work as a result of this visit, and that Turkish literature would be taught
in Iranian universities. Sezer then left for Tehran. After a welcoming
ceremony at the Sadabat Palace, the two leaders met face-to-face and then
interdelegationary meetings were held. At a joint press conference, Sezer
said that Turkey wanted to improve its relations with all its neighbors,
including Iran on the basis of mutual respect and non-interference in each
other's internal affairs. He also emphasized the importance of cooperation
in the fight against terrorism, especially in the aftermath of the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks. The Turkish president also met with Iranian Vice
President Muhammed Riza Arif and then attended a dinner hosted by Khatami
in his and the delegation's honour. /All Papers/
[02] SEZER POINTS TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTS
Before leaving for Iran for an official visit, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer
attended a ceremony held in the province of Igdir to initiate a project to
prevent wind erosion. Addressing the ceremony, Sezer said that activities
to preserve Turkey's natural beauty and work to increase the nation's
prosperity were both going well. He remarked that Turkey should follow the
articles of the United Nations Accord for Struggle Against Deforestation to
which it is a signatory. /Turkiye/
[03] BUYUKANIT: "TURKEY'S FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM SHOULD BE SUPPORTED BY
THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY"
Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit said yesterday that new
methods and new arrangements were needed to fight the changed face of
terrorism. Speaking at the opening ceremony of "Silk Road-2002 General-
Admiral Seminar," Buyukanit characterized terrorism as "the plague of our
age." Buyukanit said that Turkey's struggle against terrorism should be
supported by all international platforms, including the UN, NATO and the
EU. Arguing that terrorism respects no boundaries and thus is a very
serious problem for all countries, Buyukanit remarked that international
cooperation girded with great determination was vitally important. He
praised the European Union's adding the PKK to its list of terrorist groups,
but urged it to also include KADEK, which he said was a clear continuation
of the terrorist group under a different name. /Turkiye/
[04] SP GIVES CONDITIONAL SUPPORT TO DSP
The Felicity Party (SP) yesterday indicated provisional support for the
Democratic Left Party's (DSP) death penalty abolition push in the context
of the DSP's tour to support its initiative. The SP suggested yesterday
that arrangements concerning the broadcasts and education in mother tongue
languages should be made together with the issue of the death penalty.
While the True Path Party (DYP) has announced that it can't support
abolishing the death penalty, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has
asked that a constitutional amendment on abolition of the death penalty be
submitted. The DSP staff, which is continuing to work on a bill concerning
the abolition of the death penalty, visited the SP group yesterday and
requested its support. The SP staff had previously evaluated the issue at
the Prime Ministry Council and now decided to support the decision to lift
the death penalty. However, the SP decided not to announce its full support
before the bill, which the DSP is to submit, becomes definite. During the
visit, the SP group stated that it didn't ask for any preconditions
concerning lifting the death penalty and asked the DSP what sort of a
change it requested. The DSP group replied that work was underway and
changes would be made in four separate laws, but it didn't give detailed
information. The SP group also suggested that an interparty commission be
established in which such issues as broadcasting and education in mother
tongues can be discussed. /Hurriyet/
[05] THIRD PETITION FILED AGAINST RTUK LAW
Deputies from the Nationalist Action Party (MHP), Felicity Party (SP),
Justice and Development (AKP), Socialist Democratic Party (TDP) and Great
Union Party (BBP) yesterday filed a petition at the Constitutional Court
asking it to annul certain sections of Article 2 of the Supreme Board of
Radio and Television (RTUK) Law. Their petition follows the one filed by
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and a previous one they themselves filed.
Justice and Development Party (AKP) group deputy leader Mehmet Ali Sahin
and the Felicity Party's (SP) deputy Mustafa Kamalak presented a petition
to Constitutional Court Secretary General Ahmet Hamdi Yapıcı. Speaking to
reporters yesterday, Yapıcı said that it was impossible to amend the RTUK
law through petitions and that it needed to be revised to be amended.
/Cumhuriyet/
[06] GUREL: "GREEK CYPRIOT ADMINISTRATION CANNOT BE AN EU MEMBER BEFORE
TURKEY"
Speaking to a key Turkish-European Union body yesterday, State Minister for
EU Relations Sukru Sina Gurel made a firm stance on Cyprus and Turkey vis-à-
vis their respective EU membership bids. Addressing the Turkey-EU Joint
Parliamentary Commission in Brussels Gurel said, "If the EU takes a final
mistaken decision and causes separation on the island, Turkey and the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus [TRNC] will do what integration process
requires." He added, "Whether there is a solution or not, Cyprus cannot be
a member of the EU before Turkey." Gurel contended that statements saying
that the Greek Cypriot administration would join the EU regardless of a
solution, which certain EU figures have been making, were both hindering a
solution and, if carried through, would violate international law.
/Milliyet/
[07] LEADERS' SUMMIT TODAY TO DISCUSS THE ECONOMY
The government coalition leaders' summit will convene today in order to
discuss the economy, which has been feeling the effects of Prime Minister
Bulent Ecevit's illness and the debate on lifting the death penalty. The
summit is planned to be held at Ecevit's home so that he can participate or
at the Office of the Prime Minister. If Ecevit is unable to participate,
Ecevit's Democratic Left Party (DSP) will be represented by Deputy Prime
Minister Husamettin Ozkan. Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said
yesterday that State Minister for the Economy Kemal Dervis would
participate in the summit as well and brief the participants on Turkey's
economic situation. /Hurriyet/
[08] ECHR GRAND CHAMBER TO HEAR RP CLOSURE CASE
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is scheduled to hear tomorrow an
appeal filed by the ex-leaders of the defunct Welfare Party (RP). Last year
a five-member EHCR court decided the case should be heard by the 17-member
Grand Chamber. The court in Strasbourg will hear from both the Turkish
government and lawyers representing the RP administrators, Necmettin
Erbakan, Sevket Kazan, and Ahmet Tekdal, and will issue a decision some
time thereafter. Turkey's Constitutional Court closed down the RP in 1998.
/Cumhuriyet/
[09] COOPERATIVE BEST EFFORT-2002 MANEUVERS BEGIN IN GEORGIA
The first NATO maneuvers on Georgian soil since Georgia's independence from
the Soviet Union a decade ago started yesterday under the leadership of
NATO Southeastern European Common Forces Commander Gen. Oktar Ataman. The
Vaziyani military base near Tblisi is the headquarters of "Cooperative Best
Effort-2002" maneuvers, which are being participated in by Armenia, Austria,
Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova and Russia, all
signatories of a partnership agreement with NATO, along with six NATO
members, Turkey, Canada, Greece, Hungary, United Kingdom and the US. The
maneuvers will last for 10 days. /Hurriyet/
[10] THREE COUNTRIES' JOURNALISTS MEET IN ANKARA
The "Armenia-Azerbaijan-Turkey: Journalists Initiative 2002" met in Ankara
yesterday. After the meeting, Armenian reporters visited Anitkabir,
Ataturk's mausoleum, and the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM). The
meeting was sponsored by Turkey's Diplomatic Correspondents' Association
(DMD), the Turkish Democracy Foundation (TDV), Azerbaijan's "Yeni Nesil"
and Armenia's Yerevan Press Association. /Cumhuriyet/
[11] ECEVIT MEETS WITH ECONOMY OFFICIALS
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit yesterday was briefed by economy officials
about the current state of the economy. Attending the 40-minute meeting
were State Minister for the Economy Kemal Dervis, Central Bank Governor
Süreyya Serdengecti, Treasury Undersecretary Faik Oztrak, Treasury Vice
Undersecretary Hakan Özyıldız and Banking Regulation and Supervision Board
(BDDK) Chairman Engin Akcakoca. Dervis stated at the meeting that current
uncertainty in Turkish politics was casting a shadow over the economic
program. He warned that continuation of this uncertainty in the long term
would harm the program and jeopardize all the government's efforts. The
state minister also suggested a leaders' summit to address economic issues.
Ecevit reacted positively to this suggestion, and asked Dervis to prepare a
detailed report on the economy for the coalition partners' leaders.
/Cumhuriyet/
[12] IFC: "WE HAVE BELIEF AND CONFIDENCE IN TURKEY"
International Finance Cooperation's (IFC) Turkey Director Sujata Lamba said
yesterday that the financial support which the IFC had provided for Turkey
since its economic crisis began last February totaled $350 million. Stating
that the amount of financing that it extended to Turkey last year was $150
million and this year so far was $200 million, Lamba said that this showed
that the IFC believes in Turkey's future and has confidence in its economy.
Lamba added that Turkey was the fourth-largest recipient of IFC support,
that it had a share of 4.5% in the IFC's global portfolio, and that
Turkey's portfolio surpassed $1 billion together with the resources given
to its commercial banks. The IFC is the World's Bank's private sector
leading arm. /Aksam/
[13] BREKK: "TURKEY CAN REACH ITS TARGETS FOR THIS YEAR"
In an interview yesterday, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Representative
to Turkey Odd Per Brekk told Reuters that Turkey had succeeded in reducing
inflation and restarting its growth and predicted that Turkey could reach
its targeted 3% growth rate at the end of this year. Brekk added,
"Financial indicators have been hurt due to political uncertainty but we
hope that everything will be all right in a few days." Brekk said that the
IMF Executive Board was expected to convene this month to discuss the
second review of Turkey's economic program, but that the exact date of the
meeting hadn't been determined yet. Brekk said that the IMF was waiting for
Turkey to send its Letter of Intent (LOI) concerning the second review soon
and added, "An IMF delegation is planning to come to Turkey for the third
review in the second or third week of July." When the IMF Executive Board
approves the LOI on the second review, a loan tranche amounting to $1.1
billion is to be released. /Hurriyet/
[14] HARVARD TURCOLOGY JOURNAL PRESENTED TO HACETTEPE
The 25th issue of Harvard University's "Journal of Turkish Studies," North
America's first and only journal of Turcology, was presented yesterday to
Hacettepe University Philosophy Department head Ionna Kucuradi, to which
the issue is dedicated. The presentation at Hacettepe's Ankara campus was
attended by Sivas deputy Cengiz Gulec, Hacettepe Rector Tuncalp Ozgen,
Anatolian University's Dr. Sıtkı Erinc, Bogazici University's Dr. Zeynep
Davran, and Harvard University's Dr. Şinasi Tekin. The journal has been
issued annually since 1977 by Harvard's Department of Near Eastern
Languages and Civilization. /Milliyet/
[15] CARDINAL MARTINI TO VISIT SELJUK
A group of some 700 Catholic believers, led by Milan Archbishop Carlo Maria
Martini, will hold a ceremony at the Saint Jean Church in Seljuk today. The
ceremony will be conducted by Archbishop Martini, who is considered a
leading contender to succeed Pope John Paul II. Martini and the
accompanying group were welcomed with a great interest in Seljuk today. The
group will go to the church early in the morning and then will hold a
ceremony at the House of the Virgin Mary in the evening. The Catholics will
also visit Selcuk Municipality and then listen to a classical music concert
given by the Izmir State Symphony Orchestra in Ephesus. Then the group will
leave Seljuk. /Aksam/
[16] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[17] PRESIDENT SEZER'S IRAN VISIT BY SEMIH IDIZ (STAR)
Columnist Semih Idiz writes on President Ahmet Necdet Sezer's visit to
Iran. A summary of his column is as follows:
"We were so involved with Turkey's EU membership bid that we forgot the
surroundings of Turkey and the opportunities and problems which they
present. Today, the area stretching from the Middle East to the Caucasus is
an environment we cannot ignore. Developments in these regions influence
Turkey in one way or other. Certainly if Turkey is one of the most
important countries in the region, Iran is another. None of the countries
which try to preserve the strategic balances and have political, economic
and military plans towards the future can ignore the presence of Iran.
Following the overthrow of the Shah, in 1979 important problems cropped up
between Turkey and Iran. Some of them still exist today. It cannot be
denied that that at the base of the problems between the two countries lies
the fact that these two form an 'antithesis' of the other. Turkey's secular
system and Iran's mullah regime based on religious laws cannot reach an
agreement on an ideological platform. Finally, just as Ataturk's Turkey
forms a threat for Khomeini's Iran, the Khomeini regime is a danger for our
regime based on secular modern values. Therefore, it is clear that National
Security Council (MGK) Secretary-General Gen. Tuncer Kilinc's argument
putting forth Iran as an alternative to EU is not feasible. The difference
in our regimes is not the only factor making this impossible. There are
other important issues, namely the different points of view held by both
countries towards the Middle East problem due to strategic calculations
towards the Caucasus. However, these basic disagreements do not mean that
these two countries cannot get on well by taking some basic principles into
consideration, namely non-interference in each other's affairs. It is
another fact that the region they are in is like a powder keg ready to
explode at any moment, which forces them to get on well. In fact, the
relations between Ankara and Tehran haven't come to a breaking point even
at the most difficult of times. Relations were conducted at least at a
minimum level at all times. Meanwhile the energy corridor project developed
between Iran and the EU and expected to pass through Turkey is presenting a
potential for cooperation. This kind of projects prove that they can play
the role of a catalyst for the elimination of sources of tension. Countries
which launch such great joint projects certainly avoid any approaches which
could endanger their completion. On the other hand, we cannot ignore the
important developments in Iran we must follow closely, albeit without
interfering in their affairs. There is a dispute between reformist
President Khatami and the conservative religious leader of the country
Ayatollah Khameini. The most important point for us is the preventing an
exporting the regime with the increasing strength of reformists. If the
mullahs gain the upper hand, the issues of tension between the countries
may flare up again. However, there are other important problems between the
two states. Among them the support given to the PKK terrorist organization
by the hardliner conservative mullahs can be cited. In fact, this issue has
become a traditional topic in talks between the countries. Even if Ankara
and Tehran are cooperating on this issue during the presidency of Mohammed
Khatami, the presence of parties supporting the PKK in Iran cannot be
ignored. When these problems and opportunities are taken into consideration,
the significance of President Ahmet Necdet Sezer's visit to Tehran becomes
apparent."
[18] WHAT IS EXPECTED FROM THE PRESIDENT?
[19] BY ISMAIL KUCUKKAYA (AKSAM)
Columnist Ismail Kucukkaya writes on President Ahmet Necdet Sezer's Iranian
visit and what is expected from it. A summary of his column is as follows:
"President Ahmet Necdet Sezer has gained the esteem of the people with his
principled stance since his election to office. His fervent belief in the
rule of law and modesty as a person has made the presidency one of the most
respected institutions in the country. Recently, his performance has
improved as a president. Following the illness of Prime Minister Ecevit,
Sezer began to take the initiative and is trying to fill a probable gap in
our diplomatic relations which could lead to disastrous results. Due to its
geographic location, Turkey has to be on alert at all times. Currently,
many intrigues and complex plans by various countries and diplomatic
strategies taking all calculations into account are taking place around us.
Therefore, Turkey has to be vigilant, strong and at peace while moving on
the road Ataturk has charted out for it. The best way to accomplish this
lies in strengthening its economy and increasing its volume of trade with
its neighboring countries. We aim to bring our relations with Iran on a
sound track, a country with which we had tense relations for some time. In
trade relations there is an unfavorable picture for Turkey. We plan to
export more to Iran in order to balance this out. However, Iran has to
desist from its stance supporting terrorism and quit acting as an exporter
of its regime. That is why Turkey approaches Iran rather shyly. Turkish
intelligence units have reported that the PKK-KADEK terrorist organization
is in close contact with Iran. The terrorist organization has requested
that Iran turn a blind eye to its activities on Iranian soil, which means
not interfering with its trafficking of money, goods, arms, and humans. The
report stated that Osman Ocalan, Islamic Movement representative Ali
Abdullah Aziz, Iranian Intelligence representative Ferzadi Mahmudi and two
members of the Iranian liaison team met in Gelan, Iran on May 26 to discuss
these problems. President Sezer will present this report during his talks
and call on Iranians not to support terrorism."
ARCHIVE
<script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript" src="http:/_www.byegm.gov.tr_statistic/countcode.js">
</script>
|
