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Anadolu Agency: News in English, 01-01-10Anadolu Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Anadolu Agency Home Page at <http://www.anadoluajansi.com.tr/>Anadolu AgencyANADOLU AGENCY NEWS 10 JANUARY 2001 Wednesday CONTENTS
[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCANThese are some of the major headlines and their brief stories in Turkey's press on January 10, 2000. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.HURRIYET (LIBERAL)HASAN MEZARCI TO RETURN TO TURKEYHasan Mezarcı, a former deputy from the banned Welfare Party (RP) who had been imprisoned for insulting Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern and secular Turkey, decided to return to Turkey from Germany. Mezarcı who has recently declared himself as the ''the Messiah,'' said that ''his aim was to benefit from the law on conditional release.'' FIRST EVIDENCE IN OPERATION OF ''WHITE ENERGY'' MILLIYET (LIBERAL)PREMIER ECEVIT: STATEMENTS OF COMMANDER IS A PERSONAL ACTPrime Minister Bulent Ecevit said the statements of a commander on the energy operation was a personal act. Ecevit who met with the chief of general staff and the commander of the gendarme forces noted that both commanders were very upset about the issue. Noting that this was a personal statement of the commander, Ecevit said the military was exerting efforts to reveal the truth. A commander had previously said to a daily that the energy operation was being carried out by the gendarme forces and that Cumhur Ersumer, the minister of energy was informed about the issue in the last minute. The statements of the commander had caused discussions in Ankara. TWO FOREIGN BANKS BOOST MORALE OF TURKEY SABAH (LIBERAL)ECEVIT SAYS NO IMAGE OF QUASI-MILITARY REGIME SHOULD BE GIVENSpeaking to the paper, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said that ''it is very unfair to show a ministry as if it favours corruption and it is also a very big danger for the regime. I was very relieved when I saw that it is not the general staff which tries to speak ill of politics and politicians. If an image is given abroad showing a quasi-military regime in Turkey, this will impede Turkey's membership to the European Union (EU). GENDARME APOLOGIZES FROM YILMAZ CUMHURIYET (LEFT)PRESIDENT SEZER SAYS NEW CONSTITUTION SHOULD BE FORMEDPresient Ahmet Necdet Sezer who delivered a speech at the International Consitution Law Convention, stressed that the recent constitution should be restructured in accordance with the universal standards. Noting that the amnesty issue had damaged the public conscience, Sezer said Turkey should start to discuss the removal of Parliament's amnesty authority from the Constitution. COTTARELLI TO VISIT TURKEY RADIKAL (LEFT)ASSAILANT WHO ATTACKED DEAN WAS HIS STUDENTHalil Cihan, who stabbed Prof. Zekeriya Beyaz, the dean of Marmara University's Faculty of Theology was captured in southeastern Gaziantep province yesterday. Cihan was the student of Professor Beyaz. APPLICATION OF AGCA REJECTED TURKIYE (RIGHT)BAHCELI SAYS THEY FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTIONDevlet Bahceli, the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and Deputy Premier said that the operations staged in Turkey last year against corruption were the indicators of yesterday's misdeeds, not today's. ''The twelve operations including those titled 'Storm Operation,' and the 'White Energy' saved the Turkish economy from big losses. The contributions of these operations to our economy are more than 3,5 quadrillion liras. It is our parliament and our government which succeeded in that,'' said Bahceli. PRESIDENT SEZER SAYS CONSTITUTION HAS TO BE AMENDED ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)REVOLUTIONARY STATEMENT OF PRESIDENT SEZERPresident Ahmet Necdet Sezer said an amendment should be made in the articles of the constitution regarding the non-responsible status of the President. Sezer defended that the presidents could be sent to court for some of their acts. Noting that amendments should also be made on some of the articles of the Constitution, Sezer said the arrangements of the September 12 period should be made available for the examination of the judiciary system. -ALBRIGHT'S FORMER ADVISER SESTANOVICH SAYS BUSH'S ADMINISTRATION Staging a press briefing, Sestanovich said that he didn't believe that there was a real difference of opinion between parties in the U.S. upon the basic principles pursued by Clinton's administration about Caspian energy projects. Stephen Sestanovich said that the U.S. aims at taking under guarantee independence and sovereignty of regional countries, strengthening regional and economic cooperation, forming alternative energy lines and contributing to the U.S. investments by supporting the projects of Caspian energy. He added that the recent speculations of a change in the U.S. policy about Baku-Ceyhan project are baseless. -MORE THAN 10 TURKISH FIRMS TO PARTICIPATE IN INTERNATIONAL Issuing a written statement, Forum Fair Inc. said that the fair that is held by Messe Berlin GmbH will be open till Jan. 28. More than ten firms will participate in the fair. Ates Atalay, the deputy director general of Forum Fair Inc. said that no other Turkish firms will participate in the fair as the place given to Turkey in the fair is very small. Atalay stressed that the fair is a good opportunity for promotion of the Turkish products in Germany, adding that last year 1,683 firms from 58 countries attended the fair. -STATE MINISTER CAY MEETS WITH GEORGIAN FM MENAGARISHVILI Menagarishvili said that Turkey has always helped Georgia, adding that they want to further improve the bilateral relations. He also stressed the importance of being in close cooperation to put into practice regional projects. Cay said in his part that he discussed Kars-Tbilisi railway project with Georgian foreign minister, adding that they want to put into practice this project soon. Cay indicated that they want Turkish capital to come to Georgia. Cay will come together with members of the Turkish-Georgian businessmen association today and he will be recieved by Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze in the evening. -SEVEN STATUE PEDESTALS BELONGING TO HELLENISTIC PERIOD FOUND IN SELCUK - A total of seven statue pedestals dating back to Hellenistic period were found in the land of a villager in Belevi hamlet of Selcuk township in Aegean Izmir province on Wednesday. The villager who found a statue pedestal as he was plowing the soil, informed the mayor of Belevi; and the archeologists who came to the hamlet upon the call of the mayor, excavated seven statue pedestals. Archeologist Cengiz Icten told A.A. correspondent that the statue pedestals were dating back to third century B.C. and said ''there are writings on four of these pedestals. From the letters, it was understood that the statues were belonging to the Hellenistic period. We will make excavations in the region in the coming days and the sensitivity of our villagers on the issue pleased us.'' The pedestals would be displayed in the Efes museum. -INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL AND TOURISM FAIR TO BE HELD IN ISTANBUL The officials said that the fair will be held with the cooperation of Turkish Touring Agencies Association (TURSAB) and Turkish Hotel Managers Association (TUROB). The fair will be organized by the Istanbul Fair Company. The ITTE-2001 which is expected to be visited by 75 thousand native and foreign visitors, will bring together the tourism, internet, informatics and transportation sectors. The tourism companies, tour operators, travel agencies, hotels and hotel chains, holiday villages, car rental and alternative tourism companies, yachting and marina operators, holiday sites and holiday products will take place in the fair. -FM CEM SPEAKS IN SEMINAR ON COMMERCIAL AND ECONOMIC RELATIONS Cem said that there is a great potential between the two countries to develop the bilateral relations. Noting that Sudan constitutes ''a window that opens to Africa'' for Turkey, Cem said that Sudan is a neighbour of ten countries and it is a member of many economic institutions in its region. Cem stated that for Sudan Turkey constitutes a window that opens to the West and Europe. Cem said that the relations between the two countries have a long historical past, adding that ''despite that the relations between the two countries particularly improved in the last three years.'' In parallel to the new policy Turkey started in North and West Africa, Balkans, Central Asia and Caucasus, Turkey regards Sudan as a country by which it will come closer to West and Central Africa, Cem said. There is an ideal atmosphere between Turkey and Sudan to develop relations due to their similar culture, religion and friendship between peoples, said Cem and noted that ''there are many things which we can do together.'' Cem said that the legal infrastructure of the relations between the two countries will be completed by the formation of the joint economic commission and prevention of double taxation. Cem said that the Turkish businessmen who want to do business with Sudan have to apply for opening a permanent office in Sudan. ''Turkey and Sudan, both of us have the political will to have closer relations,'' said Cem. Sudanese Foreign Affairs Minister Osman Ismail said in his part that the economic relations between Turkey and Sudan have to improve. Ismail pointed out that they will discuss issues of further improvement of the existing cooperation between the two countries and determination of new cooperation areas in the seminar. Noting that land and sea transportation between Turkey and Sudan have to start and develop, Ismail said that Sudan wants to benefit from both cooperation and experience of Turkey. Ismail said that he believes Turkey will have important contributions to the development of Sudan. Sudanese Industry and Investment Minister Abdulhalim Ismail Al Mutafi called Turkish businessmen to invest in Sudan. Cem, will conclude his contacts this evening and return to Turkey. -PREMIER ECEVIT: Touching on the discussions regarding the ''White Energy Operation'' in the Democratic Left Party (DSP) group meeting, Ecevit said that there is not any organization behind the statement saying that soldier pushed the butten. Ecevit noted that there are a group of people who have not adopted the rules of the democratic legal state, behind this statement. ''We hope those who are responsible for this saddening incident will be found and the necessary legal procedures will be launched as soon as possible. If the necessary procedures are not done, a small group of people who want dictatorship in the society, can have baseless dreams and can try to provoke other people. Nobody should have doubts. The democracy in our country is rooted in such a way that it can never be toppled again and this democracy is operating in all the institutions,'' Ecevit said. Stating that some secret officials overshadowed the democracy, Ecevit continued, ''in accordance with the information I have received, there is not an organization behind the secret officials. I know that there is not the interior minister, the gendarme general commander, the chief of general staff or one of the official intelligence organizations of the state. There are some people who cannot adopt the rules of the democratic legal state behind the curtain. To this end, nobody inside and outside should have concerns about the regime in Turkey.'' Ecevit stated that the investigation into the ''White Energy Operations'' can be resulted soon, adding that he cannot make any other statements because the judicial organs are dealing with the issue. (To be continued) -PARLIAMENT DIALOGUE GROUP SAYS EU MUST CLARIFY ITS REAL Everybody should make equal sacrifice in fight against inflation, the group said. The state should not be in luxury and spend wastefully while people suffer under the load of economic difficulties, the statement said. ''Parliament is not very well informed about domestic and especially certain foreign developments. Pressures on Cyprus issue are increasing and dangerous games are being played. The Cyprus issue which is a national matter for us is being presented as a cost for our relations with the European Union (EU). This is not acceptable.'' ''The Accession Membership Document dated Dec. 4, 2000 is full of conditions and instructions which block the starting of membership negotiations. Suggestion of year 2010 for Turkey at the Nive summit, and mentioning about Turkey in a separate paragraph in the final declaration, not in the part about enlargement, indicate that Turkey is separated from the other 12 candidates. The EU should clarify its real intention regarding its relations with Turkey.'' -IT IS REVEALED THAT BRITAIN ACCEPTED THAT GREEK CYPRIOT Sources told A.A correspondent on Wednesday that these secret correspondences revealed that Britain officially approved that the legal Cyprus government was comprised of both the Turkish Cypriots and the Greek Cypriots. The sources noted that this view of Britain was recorded in the registers of the United Nations (U.N.). Sources close to the U.N. confirmed that Turkey, the other guarantor country besides Britain, and the Turkish Cypriots who were the partner of the Cyprus government founded in 1960, officially conveyed their similar views to the U.N. Basing on the same reason, the sources underlined that the current Greek Cypriot administration cannot be the successor of the independent joint Cyprus republic by only itself. This is the first announcement that Britain, which does not think that the last resolution adopted by the U.N. Security Council which referred to the Greek Cypriot administration as the ''Cyprus government'' is not inconvenient, had an opposite view in 1964 and that it officially conveyed this view to the U.N. It was revealed that Britain sent a note to the Turkish government on March 13, 1964 in which it said that the government of Her Majesty had totally the similar views (the Cyprus government was comprised of both Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots) with the Turkish government and in which it said that the British government drew the attention of the U.N. Secretary General to this issue with a memorandum. The memorandum was signed by Sir Patrick Dean, the then British permanent representative to the U.N. This attitude of Britain which was registered by the U.N. proved that the decisions taken in the name of the Cyprus goverment could be taken by the joint wills of Makarios, then Cyprus President, and Fazil Kucuk, then Vice-President of Cyprus, and the Turkish and Greek Cypriot members of the government. It was stated that within this framework, a peace force which had been established before the current peace force on the island, came to the island by the consent of both Makarios and Fazil Kucuk. To this end, the sources drew the attention that the current peace force should get permission from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) government to continue its mandate in TRNC territory and that the peace force commandership and the TRNC government should make an agreement. Although this issue was included in the Security Council resolution regarding the peace force which was adopted in December 1999, it was not included in the two other resolutions which extended the mandate of the peace force upon the initiatives of the Greek Cypriots. The attitude of Britain and the issues regarding the peace force were mentioned in the letter that Umit Pamir, the Turkish Permanent Representative to the U.N., sent to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan on December 21, 2000. Pamir's letter was published as a U.N. document and was submitted to all the U.N. members. -STATE MINISTER TOSKAY: The delegation including Toskay, Customs Undersecretary Nevzat Saygilioglu, Foreign Trade Undersecretary Kursad Tuzmen, Eximbank General Director Ahmet Kilicoglu, and Fuat Miras, the Chairman of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), visited the Heim Textile Fair. Visiting the stands of almost 120 Turkish companies participating in the fair and receiving information from the representatives of the companies, Toskay said that Turkey should join such fairs every year. Vakko, Yesim Textile, Ulusoy Textile and Bossa are Turkish companies participating in the fair. The fair will end on January 13. -TURKISH FISHERMEN'S ONLY HOPE IS TO FISH Necipoglu told the A.A that the weather had not been favourable to catch anchovy fish since the fish went up to the colder Russian waters. ''Small schools of anchovy passed from Turkish territorial waters and went to the Russian waters where the weather is more favourable to for their survival. Last year, we had caught 500,000 tons of anchovy. This year we caught only 150,000 tons. The fishermen are facing serious troubles this year,'' he explained. Necipoglu stated that their only hope is to get a permission from Russia to fish in its territorial waters. Russian authorities are asking for 4 billion TL for each boat, he said and added that fishermen cannot afford to pay this amount. The factories producing fish flour and fish oil are currently not operating due to insufficient amounts of catch, therefore, Necipoglu claimed that Turkey might have to export these products from Italy. -TOURISM MINISTER MUMCU: Mumcu told A.A correspondent that this success is gained by the dynamism and energic structure of tourism. Ten million 412 thousand 248 tourists visited Turkey in 2000, Mumcu said, adding that the number of tourists visiting Turkey increased 40 percent in 2000 when compared with 1999. Mumcu noted that the number of people coming from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member states also increased in 2000. The holiday resorts and the luxurious hotels worked with full capacity during the season, Mumcu stated, noting that he hopes the increase in the number of tourists coming to Turkey will rise this year. The Germans preferred Turkey the most in 2000. A total of 2 million 276 thousand 238 Germans visited Turkey in 2000. People from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries followed Germany with 1 million 376 thousand 695. British, American, French, Dutch, Bulgarian, Iranian and Israeli people were the other people who visited Turkey in 2000. A total of 6 million 697 thousand 909 people from OECD countries and 2 million 391 thousand 378 people from the East European countries visited Turkey last year. A total of 69.7 percent of the foreigners visited Turkey in 2000 preferred airway while 19 percent preferred highway and 11 percent preferred sea transportation. -DEATH TOLL RISES TO 16 IN SHIP ACCIDENT IN KEMER Officials told A.A correspondent on Wednesday that two more bodies were found on the shore in Kiris hamlet of Kemer and thus, the death toll rose to 16 in the ship accident. The officials said that an identity card belonging to Pakistani citizen Resit Emin Mohammad, some telephone numbers in Greece and a religious book were found one of the bodies. The other body is thought to be the body of a Pakistani teenager, the officials noted. Meanwhile, the relatives of Pakistani citizen Mukaddes Isbal who also died in the ship accident took the body from the morgue of Antalya State Hospital. -JUSTICE MINISTER TURK: The draft to the renew the Turkish Civil Code which was passed in 1926 is being discussed at the Parliamentary Justice Commission. Emin Karaa, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Justice Commission, said that the sub-commission ended its works and that the draft will be debated in the meeting. Speaking in the meeting, Turk said that the parliament is exerting a historic effort and that as the Turkish Civil Code is renewed, it will meet the requirements of the new millenium. Turk noted that the Turkish Civil Code is not only a law but it ensures the legal union. He hopes the draft which was prepared in the end of intense works, will be passed until February 17, the anniversary of the adoption of the Civil Code, Turk stated. Turk stressed that they paid attention to prepare the draft in accordance with the language of the Constitution and legal terminology, requesting the commission to act the same. The commission adopted the beginning of the draft without any changes. Upon the discussions on the simplification of language used in the Civil Code, Turk said that they not only simplified the language in the code but also they prepared a new law. -TALKS ON AGRICULTURE REFORM Opposition of the related ministries to the letter of commitment, which will be given to the World Bank, was discussed during a meeting that took place on Tuesday under the leadership of Husamettin Ozkan, the deputy prime minister. The participants decided to discuss the letter of commitment again with the World Bank in the direction of the opposition of agriculture and rural affairs ministry to reduce the customs duties in importation of wheat, animal products and animal feed. Agriculture and rural affairs ministry opposes to the demand of the World Bank to reduce customs duties in importation of animal products and animal feed, saying ''it was not for the benefit of Turkish farmers, and that it would negatively affect local production.'' ''Letter of Development Strategy,'' is expected to be submitted to the World Bank this month. -RESOLUTION ON SO-CALLED GENOCIDE ON ARMENIANS The French Parliamentary Foreign Relations Commission adopted the resolution on the so-called genocide on the Armenians on Wednesday. Diplomatic sources said that Ankara, which thinks that the possibility of the French parliament's passing the resolution is high, decided to continue its initiatives till the very end. Turkey also evaluated the initiatives which can be launched if the French parliament passes this resolution. The booklet which was prepared by Ankara as the same so-called genocide allegations were brought to the agenda also in some other countries, listed the things that could be done, including some political and economic measures. Emphasizing that it is the government that can give decision about the measures that can be taken against France, the diplomatic sources drew the attention that Turkey should take action by taking into consideration the possible damages it can face. Meanwhile, sources said that Ankara recommended the Turkish businessmen having business deals with the French companies to suggest the French companies trying to be effective on their government to prevent the resolution from being adopted. In the meantime, Ankara, which struggled against so-called Armenian genocide allegations in several countries in 2000, will continue to closely follow the issue in 2001. Deciding to take up the issue more comprehensively, Ankara will exert efforts to try to bring the genocide allegations to the format which it belongs; that is, to the scientific and historical process. The diplomatic sources pointed out that there has always been diplomatic contact between Turkey and Armenia, adding that the technicians of the two countries have come together in different platforms and that even the presidents of the two countries met in different platforms. The same sources drew the attention that despite all these contacts, Turkey is not at the point to permit trade with Armenia. Meanwhile, responding to a question, Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Faruk Logoglu said, ''Turkey's establishing diplomatic relations with Armenia is not an issue which is on the agenda.'' The resolution on the so-called genocide on the Armenians will be voted in the full assembly on January 18. If the deputies opposing to the resolution can collect 60 signatures in case the French parliament adopts the resolution, they have the right to apply to the French Constitutional Court within 15 days. But, the sources said that it is difficult to find 60 deputies who will oppose the resolution because the deputies will fear of losing the votes of the Armenian electors in the coming local elections. The resolution had firstly been adopted at the French parliament in 1998 and had been sent to the Senate for legalization. The resolution had been kept waiting at the Senate for two years. The government and the chairmanship council had refused to include the resolution on the so-called genocide on the Armenians into the agenda. However, the resolution had been adopted at the general assembly by the ''individual initiative'' mechanism. In accordance with the French Constitution, the resolution had not been legalized since it had been adopted by the ''individual initiatives'' mechanism and to this end it had been re-sent to the French parliament.
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