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Anadolu Agency: News in English, 00-05-06Anadolu Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Anadolu Agency Home Page at <http://www.anadoluajansi.com.tr/>AA News06 May 2000 SaturdayCONTENTS
[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCANThese are some of the major headlines and their brief stories in Turkey's press on May 6, 2000. The Anadolu Ajansi does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their occuracy.HURRIYET (LIBERAL)FIRST CIVILIAN PRESIDENTFor the first time, a judge who is not a member of a political party and who is not of military origin, has been elected as the Turkish President. Ahmet Necdet Sezer, the Chairman of the Constitutional Court has received more than 276 votes to be elected in the third round of the presidential election. ECEVIT CONGRATULATES SEZER MILLIYET (LIBERAL)DGM PROSECUTOR DISMISSEDOktay Cakır, the Chief Prosecutor of the State Security Court (DGM) whose relations with suspected people is being questioned, was dismissed from his office yesterday. Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said reporters that ''Melik Giray, the businessmen who died in the traffic accident was sending 50 sheep to the prison where Sedat Peker was jailed.'' WORLD BANK SUPPORTS ENVIRONMENTALIST PROJECTS SABAH (LIBERAL)WHAT WILL CHANGE IN TURKEY?The paper says that by the presidency of Ahmet Necdet Sezer, the religious affairs will be fully separated from state affairs and politics. Sezer noted that he wants the inflation to decrease and public expenditures to be limited. LIFE WITH GUARANTEE IS NO GOOD CUMHURIYET (LEFT)''I WON'T GIVE CONCESSIONS FROM OBJECTIVITY''Ahmet Necdet Sezer who was elected as the President of the Turkish Republic who spoke after the third round balloting in the parliament, said that his main task would be loyalty to the Constitution, secularism, objectivity and savings in public expenditures. PRODI:SEZER'S PRESIDENCY WILL POSITIVELY AFFECT TURKEY-EU RELATIONS RADIKAL (LEFT)SECRET OF CASE IS 750,000 DOLLARSThe paper says that there was 750,000 dollars in the case which the former State Security Court (DGM) Prosecutor Oktay Cakır took with him after the traffic accident which caused the death of businessmen Melik Giray. Police sources said that the money would be used to be given as bribes to some people in Ankara. YENİ BİNYIL (LIBERAL)DGM HEAD PROSECUTOR OKTAR CAKIR AT THE COURTIstanbul State Security Court (DGM) Head Prosecutor Oktar Cakir was interrogated at DGM on Friday as soon as he was released from the hospital. For two and a half hours, Cakir answered the questions of two inspectors from the Justice Ministry. During his interrogation, Cakir also found out that he was dismissed from his post until the investigation is completed. Higher Board of Judges and Prosecutors appointed Istanbul DGM Prosecutor Aykut Cengiz Engin to replace Cakir. INTERIOR MINISTRY HAD EARLIER WARNED ABOUT CAKIR TURKIYE (RIGHT)ANNUAL TERRORISM REPORT OF U.S. CAUSES TENSION IN ATHENSThe annual terrorism report of the U.S. State Department caused tension between U.S. and Greece, but Washington, D.C. said the report reflected realities. U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said they received reactions from the Greek government regarding the report. In the 1999 Global Terrorism Report, it was stated that some high level officials in the Greek government provided shelter to the head of the terrorist organization Abdullah Ocalan. The report also noted that Greece failed to take effective measures against the terrorism organization ''17 November'' which carries out attacks against Turkish, American and European targets. CEM:WE MADE PROGRESS IN FOREIGN RELATIONS ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)HOPE FOR A CHANGEThe way Ahmet Necdet Sezer was elected gave hope to masses of people who want change and democracy. Sezer, after receiving his official reports, delivered a speech where he stressed the supremacy of law, democracy, secularism and the state of law. He also said the public expenses and inflation should be dropped. Sezer was elected as the president with 330 votes in the Parliament. Other candidates Yalcintas got 113 votes, Somuncuoglu got 43 votes, Rasim Zaimoglu got 24 votes and Mail Buyukerman got 7 votes. THERE IS MONEY, NOBOBY WANTS IT [02] STATE MINISTER IRTEMCELIK RESIGNS HIS POSTANKARA - State Minister Mehmet Ali Irtemcelik resigned his post on Saturday.Irtemcelik showed the reasons of his resignment as ''the attitude of Premier Bulent Ecevit regarding the change of the Constitution in the context of the presidential election'' and ''his attitude against that on the principle.'' Issuing a written statement, Irtemcelik said that ''the nation will remember my stance towards the tendency of Mr. Ecevit which can't be accepted with reference to the respect towards the clear provisions of the Constitution and the will of the elected representatives of our nation.'' ''If I continued to take part in the government led by Mr. Ecevit, it would be a contradiction in respect of political ethics and impoliteness towards Mr. Prime Minister. On April 6, I presented my resignment letter to ANAP leader Mesut Yılmaz, but he didn't approve it. I told him that I wouldn't change my decision. Mr. Yılmaz said that he would discuss the issue with Prime Minister in an appropriate time. I believe that there is no reason for me to continue my post after the result taken in the presidential election.'' [03] PARLIAMENT SPEAKER AKBULUT IN STRASBOURG - AKBULUT:''COEPA HAS CONTRIBUTED A LOT TO THE SUCCESS OF COE''STRASBOURG - Parliament Speaker Yıldırım Akbulut said on Saturday that the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (COEPA) contributed a lot the success of COE.Speaking in the Heads of the European Parliamentary Assemblies' Conference, Akbulut said that COEPA carries out important functions both within its structure, and also in cooperation with other international parliaments. COEPA played an important role in the formation of the common European legal order, he said. Akbulut pointed out that ''we witness the reconstruction of Europe today. I would like to stress that we attribute importance to COE's taking the place it deserves in the new European architect. I believe that COEPA has great roles to play in this regard.'' The meeting will continue for two days and Akbulut will return to Turkey on Sunday. [04] STATE MINISTER MIRZAOGLU GOES TO CUBAISTANBUL - State Minister Ramazan Mirzaoglu went to Cuba on Saturday as the official guest of Cuban Transportation Minister Alvaro Peres Morales.Speaking to reporters at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, Mirzaoglu said during his contacts in Cuba he will search for cooperation opportunities between Turkish and Cuba in shipyard, ship construction, repair and sub-industry fields. He said his visit to Cuba will contribute to the fast growing economic and commercial relations between the two countries. He also noted that the two sides will sign agreements in maritime field. Turkey is working to develop commercial, economic and political relations not only with its neigbouring countries but also with Far Eastern and African countries, Mirzaoglu said. Mirzaoglu will also come together with ministers of Fishing Sub-industry, Foreign Investments Economic Cooperation, Foreign Trade as well as Cuban Foreign Minister. He added that they asked for an appointment from Cuban President Castro and hope to visit him too. [05] NEW DATE TO BE SCHEDULED FOR THIRD ROUND OF PROXIMITY TALKS ON CYPRUS ISSUENEW YORK - A new date will be scheduled for the third round of Cyprus talks supervised by the United Nations.The third round of talks which were planned to start on May 23 in New York were jeopardized after the leader of the Greek Cypriot Administration Glafcos Clerides went under an intestine surgery. Foreign Minister Ismail Cem who is currently in New York had a 40 minute meeting with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Friday. Besides the Cyprus issue, Cem and Annan also discussed Friday's attacks against the UN peace force officers in Sierra Leone and the situation in Northern Iraq and Kosovo. During the meeting, Annan told Cem that the third round of proximity talks will have to begin later than May 23 due to Clerides' surgery. Cem said Turkish Cypriot side made constructive suggestions for the solution of the problem and added that Turkey supported these efforts. Annan said he was glad to see Turkish-Greek relations improving noticeably. Regarding the situation in Northern Iraq, Cem said Turkey respects the UN system, but he stressed that Turkey suffered from the sanctions applied to Iraq. Turkey has a special interest in Kosovo and Sanjak, he said and noted that Turkey esteems great importance to the protection of minority rights. Cem and his delegation will leave New York for Turkey on Saturday night. [06] NEW YORK BASED HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH PLEASED ABOUT SEZER'S ELECTIONNEW YORK - The New York based Human Right Watch institution said the election of Ahmet Necdet Sezer as Turkey's 10th president will have a positive effect on Turkey's improvement of human rights and freedom of expression.Referring to the speech Sezer delivered last year as the Chairman of the Constitutional Court, Holly Cartner from Human Rights Watch said Turkey had great chances of making serious progress under the rule of its new president. Cartner also said they expected Sezer to remove the laws that limit freedom of expression in Turkey. [07] TURKISH TOURISM HEALING WOUNDS IN APRILANTALYA - People who make their living from tourism sector in Antalya are pleased after the number of tourists who visited Antalya in April increased by four times.People who were disappointed because of the low number of tourists in the first three months of 2000, are delighted by tourism figures of April. Turgen Sevki Bulut, Chairman of Professional Hotel Managers Union (POYD) said the developments were positive and added that this rise will continue in the coming months. ''Tourism suffered a great loss last year. Turkey will bandage its wounds this year. Good relations with European Union and Greece are very important for tourism. Greece, if not supporting Turkish tourism, is at least not obstructing it,'' Bulut said. Ahmet Barut, Chairman of Mediterranean Hotels Union (AKTOB) noted that the hotel reservations were at a very good level. ''We had an unexpected rise in April. This will continue in May and June. The Russian tourists have not started coming yet. The Scandinavian market is also not alive yet. Only western European tourists are now visiting Antalya,'' he explained. ''Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark is a very good market. We have not been able to bring as many tourists as we should have from these countries. Turkey must start campaigns in these countries,'' Barut said. Dutch tourists started showing more interest in Turkey, however a drop of 30 percent was observed in the British market, he also noted. [08] SPANISH RED CROSS TO BUILD HOSPITAL IN KARAMURSELANKARA - Spanish Red Cross will build a hospital with 32 bed capacity in place of Karamursel SSK hospital which suffered heavy damage in August 17 earthquake.The protocol for the new hospital was signed by Fikri Sahin, Undersecretary of Labour and Social Security Ministry and Ruben Can from Spanish Red Cross and Fatih Evren from Turkish Red Crescent. The construction of the hospital will be completed in six months. Authorities said the hospital which had a capacity of 120 beds suffered heavy damage and became unusable in the earthquake. Since that date, the hospital has been giving only policlinic service at its garage building. [09] CONDE NAST'' MAGAZINE PRAISES ''THE MARMARA BODRUM'' HOTELNEW YORK - ''Conde Nast Traveler Magazine'' listed ''The Marmara Bodrum'' Hotel in Turkey among the most perfect new hotels of the world on Saturday.The magazine publishes lists about the best hotels in the world four times a year. ''The Marmara Bodrum'' hotel was among the list in the magazine's May issue. The magazine tells its readers when to go to the mentioned countries, where to stay there and which rooms to prefer in those hotels. The correspondents of the magazine, who stay in the hotels by keeping their identities secret, determine the best 36 hotels of the world. [10] TAG HIGHWAY TO BE COMPLETED END OF MAYGAZIANTEP - One of Turkey's most important highway projects, Tarsus- Adana-Gaziantep (TAG) highway is about to be completed.A total of 2.11 billion U.S. dollars have been so far spent for the highway which was given by a tender to Tekfen-Intes-Impresit consortium on Marh 19, 1987. After Intes firm resigned from the partnership, Tekfen-Impresit consortium ran the highway's construction. Although the project was expected to end in 1991, some land slides and increased work delayed the construction of the highway. Apart from Bahce-Komurler part of TAG, a total of 291 kilometers of highway have been completed and opened to service. The remaining 25 kilometer part between Bahce and Komurler crossroads is expected to be finished until May 31, 2000. TAG highway has been built with the latest geometric standards used in the world. [11] IZTO STARTING PROMOTION CAMPAIGN FOR IZMIR IN U.S.IZMIR - Izmir Trade Chamber (IZTO) is starting a campaign for Izmir in the U.S. to promote Izmir and Aegean region, to create new business oppotunities and to contribute to Turkey's promotion.In a written statement of IZTO, it was said that a delegation of 22 people will have several contacts in the U.S. from May 7 to 15. The delegation will also meet representatives from Manhattan Trade Chamber in New York. IZTO stated that they informed 900 well known U.S. firms about their project and they are carrying out the project with U.S. promotion firm Wonderworks. The statement also noted that following their campaign in the U.S., they will start activities in EU countries. [12] TURKEY-EU JPC CO- CHAIRMAN COHN-BENDIT: ''TURKEY IS CLOSER TO EUROPE TODAY''BRUSSELS - European Parliament's Greens Group member and the Co- Chairman of Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Commission (JPC) Daniel Cohn- Bendit said on Saturday that the election of Ahmet Necdet Sezer as the President is an important step taken towards a democratic Turkey.Issuing a written statement, Cohn-Bendit said that the election of Sezer by the support of all political parties showed that the Turkish politics understood the need of change. ''The Chairman of the Constitutional Court Sezer is not only known as a good lawyer. He also drew attention of European people by his statements criticizing the undemocratic tendencies in Turkish Constitution and laws and defending the importance of freedom of expression,'' said Cohn-Bendit and added that Sezer's stressing the importance of the European Convention of Human Rights is the proof of his loyalty to European values. Daniel Cohn-Bendit said that the election of Sezer is a great step taken by Turkey towards Europe, adding he hoped political parties would extend support to the actions of the new president. ''Turkey is closer to Europe today,'' he added. [13] ANAP SECRETARY GENERAL BAS:''TURKEY STRENGTHENED ITS DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL LIFE DURING LAST PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS''ANKARA - Secretary General of the Motherland Party (ANAP) Abdulkadir Bas said on Saturday that presidential elections have always caused crisis in Turkey and added that during the last elections Turkey strengthened its democracy and political life.At a press briefing held at ANAP Headquarters, Bas said they were very pleased about Ahmet Necdet Sezer's election and wished him success. ''Election of a president with such a wide reconciliation proves the success of Turkish democracy,'' he said and added that reconciliation was essential for democracy. ''ANAP's share in this result will be appreciated by our people,'' Bas said and noted that his party always supported tolerance and reconciliation. ''We believe that we can overcome many problems through tolerance. The 57th government has stressed the importance of political stability and worked to deal with the presidential elections without hampering this stability. Some opposition parties, although they looked like they wanted reconciliation, wanted to create confusion within ANAP but their efforts were in vain. Those who set up this plot suffered from it and our venerable nation one more time had the chance to assess political parties,'' he asserted. Sezer's election through a wide reconciliation marks a new period in Turkish political life, he noted. ''We believe that, we will have the chance to solve many important problems in this environment. The state of law, basic rights and freedoms will prevail in the Turkish social life in this new period,'' he added. Bas also stressed that Sezer's approach in democratization and basic rights and freedoms was ''pleasing.'' Responding to a question over State Minister Mehmet Ali Irtemcelik's resignation, Bas said his resignation was a ''personal'' decision and declined to make a comment. When asked if there are other deputies within ANAP who are uncomfortable, Bas said ''ANAP never stops anybody from expressing their own opinions.'' [14] PRESIDENT DEMIREL IN TRNC: ''BOTH OUR KINSMEN AND ALSO TRNC ARE UNDER GUARANTEE OF TURKEY''LEFKOSA - President Suleyman Demirel, who is currently in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) said on Saturday that both the kinsmen and the TRNC are under the guarantee of Turkey.Demirel came to TRNC the same day for a working visit upon the invitation of TRNC Rauf Denktas. Speaking to reporters at Ercan Airport, President Demirel said that ''Mr. Denktas was re-elected, I congratulate him and wish him success in the great struggle he carries out.'' ''We worked together with Mr. Denktas for the Cyprus cause and we haven't had any conflict between us. The heroism of the Turkish Cypriot nation has caused a successful and proud struggle. Mr. Denktas is the hero of this cause. Here is the TRNC and it is governed by a democratic administration. It is under the guarantee of Turkish Republic. Our Cypriot brothers are not alone here. Turkey has made the Cyprus issue a national cause,'' said Demirel. Demirel said that he will hold contacts with Denktas regarding the Cyprus problem. TRNC President Denktas said in his part that ''we don't consider this visit as a fare-well one. It is obvious that we will be in continuous contact. We very well know the contributions of Mr. Demirel to Cyprus issue. It is enough only to remember Gecitkale, Bogazici incident. It was the Demirel government which took Greek soldiers out of the island without any bloodshed. We are grateful to Mr. Demirel.'' A.AAnadolu Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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