Anadolu Agency: News in English, 01-04-01

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ANADOLU AGENCY

NEWS

01APRİL 2001 Monday

-TURKEY-PRESS SCAN

These are some of the major headlines and their brief stories in Turkey's press on April 1, 2000. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

HURRIYET (LIBERAL)

The Labor Platform held protests in several cities yesterday showing its reaction to the government and the economic crisis. The Labor Platform which is formed by non-governmental organizations and labor unions distributed people copies of their alternative program. A big crowd also gathered in Ankara's Guvenpark. Chairmen and officials of labour unions including Bayram Mereal and Recai Baskan also attended the protest at Guvenpark.

KOREA DID IT, WHY NOT US?

Representatives of the government, employees and employers discussed the economic crisis at the Economic and Social Council yesterday. Dervis who spoke at the beginning of the meeting said social solidarity was essential to overcome Turkey's economic troubles. ''Korean Central Bank had a crisis three or five years ago and it lost 30 billion U.S. dollars in one week. They overcome the crisis with an examplery social solidarity. However, in Indonesia, they failed to form a social concensus and the economic crisis is deepening. We can pull ourselves out of this situation by working together also,'' Dervis said.

MILLIYET (LIBERAL)

The Turkish economy which shrank by 6.4 percent in 1999 grew by 6.1 percetn in 2000. The gross national product per capital increased by 106 dollars to 2,986 U.S. dollars, the State Statistics Insitute (DSI) reported. In 1999, this figure was 2,800 U.S. dollars.

FLOATING OF FOREIGN CURRENCY EXPECTED TO BRING MORE TOURISTS

Turkish Travel Agencies Association (TURSAB) Chairman Basaran Ulusoy has said that the current figures are indicating a sharp increase in the number of tourists visiting Turkey this summer. Floating of the foreign currency is expected to increase the tourist number by five to ten percent. This means 500,000 more tourists. Ulusoy also remarked that the floating of the dollar negatively affected domestic tourism.

SABAH (LIBERAL)

The Foreign Ministry decided to save money after the recent economic crisis as its budget worth of 292 million dollars decreased by 80 million dollars due to devaluation of Turkish lira. First of all, the Ministry requested its embassies to suspend works of repair or painting, to decrease the number of guests in dinners and to end luxurious spendings.

ECEVIT WARNS SAYING THERE IS ONLY ONE TURKEY

Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said during the Economic and Social Council meeting held yesterday that ''economy had an accident, but we have to overcome this crisis by getting the necessary measures without disturbing our trust in ourselves. There is only one Turkey and only one government in today's circusmtances. We must support it and particularly support its new economic programme.''

CUMHURIYET (LEFT)

The Ankara Municipality is spending billions of liras to promote some routine works such as cleaning and increasing green areas in the city which all municipalities are obliged to do. Municipatlity companies or contractors are paying for these spendings. This is also the safest way to transfer money to supporters since these works are done without bidding. Even within the Virtue Party (FP), there are several party members who are criticizing the municipality for spending so extravagantly for promotion activities especially during an economic crisis.

PKK WORKING TO BECOME NATIONAL

A report presented to the National Security Council (MGK) by security units said that after the capture of Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK was trying to hide behind a ''democratic republic'' statement, but it was in fact trying to set up a ''state and a nation.'' The report which also assessed the organization's activities abroad, stated that the PKK had a meeting in France and decided to found the Kurdish government in exile in Europe within two years. The report also remarked that the French intelligence knew about the meeting.

RADIKAL (LEFT)

The interrogation of Dinc Bilgin, the former owner of Etibank and his son Onay Bilgin continues at Istanbul Finance Department upon the order of State Security Court (DGM) Prosecutor Ercan Cengiz. The police also try to find Mustafa Caglar, the former owner of the bank and other administratorr.

EARTHQUAKES SHAKE AFYON

Two slight tremors shook western province of Afyon at midnight. Kandilli Observatory recorded a quake measuring 3.1 on the Richter scale at 01.09 and another one measuring 3.0 at 01.51 local time. The epicenter of the two quakes is Bolvadin twonship of Afyon.

TURKIYE (RIGHT)

Former President Suleyman Demirel visited Premier Bulent Ecevit yesterday. Ecevit welcomed Demirel at the stairs of the building. Upon the request of reporters, Ecevit and Demirel shook hands and posed for photographers. Demirel said after the meeting that Turkey will overcome the recent economic crisis, and there is no need to get panic.

GOVERNMENT ASKS EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES FOR MORE SACRIFICE

The government came together with the employers and employees in the Economic and Social Council meeting. No concrete measures have been taken at the meeting, yet it was stated by the Prime Ministry press centre after the meeting that ''The cost of the national economic programme must be shared by all segments of society in a just and balanced way.''

ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)

Recai Kutan, the leader of the Virtue Party (FP) said that State Minister Kemal Dervis has a status which is superior than the prime minister as the fourth partner of the ''virtual government.'' ''In that respect, our political interlocutor is State Minister Kemal Dervis,'' said Kutan adding that they will extent full support to the new bills and privatization if they are in line with the understanding of the Virtue Party (FP).''

CONTENTS

[01] 11TH ANTALYA INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND COOPERATION CONFERENCE ENDS

[02] SOKMENOGLU:THERE IS NO GENOCIDE IN TURKISH HISTORY

[03] TURKEY AIMS TO HOST 12 MILLION TOURISTS THIS YEAR

[04] DE CROO:''WE'RE AWARE OF TURKEY'S EFFORTS TO ADOPT EU CRITERIA''

[05] AZERBAIJAN PRESENTS GEORGIA DRAFT AGREEMENT ON NATURAL GAS PIPELINE

[06] FOREIGN TRADE DELEGATIONS TO VISIT TURKEY IN 2001

[07] JEWS AND TURKS LIVING IN U.S. COME TOGETHER ON JEWISH HOLIDAY

[08] MIRZAOGLU:''TURKEY HAS NO INTENTION OF BANNING THE PASSAGE OF FOREIGN SHIPS AND TANKERS FROM ITS STRAITS''

[09] MAKOVSKY SAYS IN HIS REPORT ON TURKEY THAT U.S DOES NOT THINK TURKEY IS ON BRINK OF ECONOMIC COLLAPSE

[10] STATE MINISTER YALOVA GOES TO BRITAIN

[11] FINANSBANK HOLLAND N.V. OPENS BRANCHES IN BERLIN AND MUNICH

[12] DERVIS-ORAL MEETING ENDS

[13] TURKISH STUDENTS IN U.S. CONTRIBUTE TO ECONOMY

[01] 11TH ANTALYA INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND COOPERATION CONFERENCE ENDS

Democrat Turkey Party Chairman Ismet Sezgin said that Turkey had been performing its responsibilities for NATO for 50 years. He also indicated that Turkey, during this time, turned to a front country from a wing country.

Some of the participants will join a tour to Aspendos which will be organized by the Turkish Atlantic Council on Sunday.

[02] SOKMENOGLU:THERE IS NO GENOCIDE IN TURKISH HISTORY

Speaking at a panel discussion on the Armenian problem at Buyuk Ankara Hotel on Saturday, Sokmenoglu said Turkey, which forms a bridge between Europe and Asia, had always faced plots and intrigues throughout the history.

Sokmenoglu said today's human rights supporters are accusing Turkey for what happened 85 years ago during the deportation of Armenians and they ignored the causes that led to this deportation.

''As the historians clearly explain, there is no genocide or crime of humanity in the Turkish history. On the contrary, Turks always offered shelter to non-Muslims who suffered a genocide or faced cruelty,'' Sokmenoglu said.

''Those who need to be ashamed are those who caused the deaths of thousands of innocent people in Sudan, South African Republic, Ireland, India, Russia, Anatolia, Northern Africa, Algeria, Tunisia, Bosnia, Rwanda, Nahcevan and Karabakh. Those who built the Sevres Treaty, through their secret plots, tried to divide the Turkish land by the PKK. When this didn't yield any results, they used the Armenian allegations for the same purposes,'' he concluded.

[03] TURKEY AIMS TO HOST 12 MILLION TOURISTS THIS YEAR

According to 2001 Investment Program's data, 41 trillion TL was assigned for tourism investments this year. The Tourism Ministry will make the biggest investment in the sector which is 15 trillion TL. State Railways, Ports and Airports (DLH) will spend 7,2 trillion TL while the Highways General Directorate will spend 6,1 trillion TL for tourism investments.

The Foreign Ministry will invest 1,5 trillion TL for Gelibolu (Gallipoli) Peninsula National Park project. It will spend another 1,5 trillion for other national park and wildlife projects.

The Retiree's Pension will spend 4,5 trillion TL for a meeting hotel and a pool in Bursa and 500 billion TL for the modernization of a number of hotels in other cities.

Germany based Turkey Studies Center Director Prof. Faruk Sen said they were expecting a sharp increase in the number of foreign tourists visiting Turkey this year. ''Over three million Germans are expected to visit Turkey this year. More than half of this are preferring the Antalya region,'' he said.

He also remarked that unfortunately Germans who have low income levels are coming to spend their vacations in Turkey. He said people in tourism sector should focus more on activities that would draw wealthy tourists like the golf field in Belek. ''We should find a way to bring old and wealthy tourists to Turkey. These people would spend at least three months in Turkey,'' he added.

Sen said Turkey's tourism income would not increase if it continues to draw only tourists with low incomes even if the tourist number rises. He also suggested that inviting famous people to Turkey and hosting them at five star hotels would be a good promotion for Turkey.

[04] DE CROO:''WE'RE AWARE OF TURKEY'S EFFORTS TO ADOPT EU CRITERIA''

Turkish-Belgian Trade Association held a meeting on its 75th foundation anniversary at Istanbul's Conrad Hotel on Saturday night.

De Croo, remarked that he was one of the three Belgian politicians, who said that the EU should accept Turkey's candidacy before the Helsinki Summit and he drew attention to the legal changes Turkey implemented since 1999.

''The Belgian government is aware of Turkey's efforts to adopt the EU criteria. The National Program constitutes a big step towards starting the membership negotiations with the EU. However, there are still certain points that need clarification and some obstacles to be lifted,'' he elaborated. He said Turkey was an essential stability factor for the EU on its southeast border and an important partner to maintain stability and peace.

Speaking on the economic troubles of Turkey, De Croo said he believed Turkey would emerge stronger from the economic crisis.

''Privatization of telecommunication, electricity and airlines sectors and taking a number of measures to defeat inflation will encourage foreign investors and this will bring economic growth. Belgian companies, despite the economic situation, will remain interested in making investments in Turkey,'' he said.

Turkish-Belgian Trade Association Chairman Ali Zihni Seydioglu indicated that the association was not only active in the commercial field but also was working to boost cooperation in cultural areas between the countries.

[05] AZERBAIJAN PRESENTS GEORGIA DRAFT AGREEMENT ON NATURAL GAS PIPELINE

Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Abid Serifov said, during a press conference, that the draft agreement was consisted of four articles. He indicated that the two sides would get together after Georgia examines the draft agreement.

He also remarked that Georgia was interested in buying the natural gas which will be passing from its own territory. The matter will be discussed in the future.

Azerbaijan is expected to export 79.7 million cubic meters of natural gas to Turkey between 2004 and 2018. The natural gas will be transferred to Turkey through a 900 kilometer line which will start in Azerbaijan, pass from Georgia and end in Erzurum, Turkey.

[06] FOREIGN TRADE DELEGATIONS TO VISIT TURKEY IN 2001

Foreign Trade Undersecretariat (DTM) officials said the program which was first started in 1998 aims to bring together Turkish exporters and foreign entrepreneurs. The program which is coordinated by DTM aims to bring Turkish exporters with foreign trade delegations and give them tours at a number of facilities.

The visits will be scheduled so that the visitors will be able to attend fairs related to their sectors.

[07] JEWS AND TURKS LIVING IN U.S. COME TOGETHER ON JEWISH HOLIDAY

The dinner was held in Congregation Beth Elohim Synagogue and the performance of the Turkish folk dance group composed of students caused great interest.

Egemen Bagıs, the Chairman of Federation of Turkish-American Associations said in the dinner that the dinner will further strengthen the relations between Turkey and Israel.

Noting that the cultural, economic, social and political relations between the two countries will develop by holding similar activities in the future, Bagıs stressed on the importance of respecting different cultures and beliefs.

Bagıs later gave as a gift the book titled ''Synagogues of Anatolia'' to Shelley Lieff Parker, the ADL's New York office chairman.

[08] MIRZAOGLU:''TURKEY HAS NO INTENTION OF BANNING THE PASSAGE OF FOREIGN SHIPS AND TANKERS FROM ITS STRAITS''

Responding to a question on the transportation of Kazakh oil from the straits, Mirzaoglu said ''Turkish straits are open to international ship traffic including tankers that carry Kazakh oil. We absolutely have no intention to ban the Kazakh tankers. We're ready to do our best to help friend countries in their efforts to market their oil in world markets.''

However, Mirzaoglu said that the Turkish straits were already overloaded and passage of more tankers would block the traffic completely at these points.

Every year, 82 million tons of oil and oil derivations are transportated from Turkish straits and any accident might have disastrous consequences for human life and the environement, he said.

Mirzaoglu also stated that 24 million tons of Kazakh oil was expected to be transported at the first stage and then this amount would rise to 67 million tons. ''We are not talking about banning the straits to foreign ships. But we have to take certain measures to protect the straits and the environment,'' he concluded.

[09] MAKOVSKY SAYS IN HIS REPORT ON TURKEY THAT U.S DOES NOT THINK TURKEY IS ON BRINK OF ECONOMIC COLLAPSE

Makovsky, an expert of The Washington Institute for Near Eastern Affairs, a think thank in the U.S., defended the view in his new report on Turkey that the U.S. is not willing to do anything beyond boosting Turkey's morale.

Makovsky said that yet the U.S. has to help in Turkey's reaching certain strategic aims if it wants to cooperate with Turkey about Iraq.

Makovsky mentioned the economic crisis in Turkey and said that the U.S. has doubts about the usage of new funds by Turkey in a productive way and this strengthens its general policy of being against economic interventions.

If Turkey and the IMF agree on a new programme and if the U.S. is convinced about the determination of Turkey, the U.S. will probably extend support to IMF's releasing the remaining fund of 6.25 billion U.S. dollars to Turkey, said Makovsky. He claimed that the aid Turkey requested from the U.S. was not expected to come soon.

Makovsky commented that if the U.S. had the opinion that Turkey, its important strategic ally was close to economic collapse, it would help Turkey generously, but the U.S. administration does not think that this is the case for Turkey.

Kemal Dervis, the new economic boss wants the U.S. to extend aid to Turkey now rather than making a great amount of aid to Turkey later, but the U.S. does not acept this mentality for the moment, Makovsky claimed.

Alan Makovsky said that there are many more persons in the Bush administration who know and who have sympathy for Turkey compared to the previous administrations in the U.S. Yet the approaches of the new administration regarding the issues that concern Turkey's national interests are either uncertain or different from those of Turkey, Mavkovsky remarked.

Referring to Iraqi issue, Mavkovsky said that it is an issue which has created most of the difficulties in the relations between Turkey and the U.S. for a long time. He underlined that Turkey is against toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime by use of force.

Noting that Turkey is worried by possible formation of a Kurdish state in north of Iraq if Saddam is toppled, Makovsky said that the officials in the Bush administration who are the closest to Turkey are the ones who favour tough policies in Iraq.

Alan Makovsky foresaw that Turkey will accept to abide by the new sanctions wanted by the U.S. in Iraq although Turkey does not want them.

Makovsky added that the Bush administration's giving importance to Baku- Ceyhan pipeline in the last weeks is very positive for Turkey, adding that yet the U.S. has to isolate Iran and support further strengthening of the independence of former Soviet republics in the region for the success of the project.

[10] STATE MINISTER YALOVA GOES TO BRITAIN

Yalova, told reporters at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, that Turkey has to gain trust in international relations.

Yalova will deliver a speech at the conference which will be participated by international investors.

[11] FINANSBANK HOLLAND N.V. OPENS BRANCHES IN BERLIN AND MUNICH

A statement released from the bank said that the bank was going too open branches also in Dusseldort and Vienna. Finansbank Holland N.V. General Director Sinan Sahinbas said that Finansbank Holland N.V made a net profit of 13 million euros in 2000.

He said the bank was becoming better known in European finance markets and drawing more attention every day.

[12] DERVIS-ORAL MEETING ENDS

Responding to questions of journalists together with State Minister Dervis, Oral said that they took up the budget in the meeting and recounted that certain macro economic sizes changed by the adoption of the floating exchange rate system. Noting that certain amendments have to be done in the budget in parallel to that, Oral said that the new economic programme will alse cause certain changes on the budget.

Oral said that savings should be done over public expenditures more than ever, adding that they evaluated these issues with the officials of the Treasury, Finance, State Planning Organization and Central Bank.

Oral said their talks were beneficial, adding that the works will continue for a few days at the technical level.

Upon questions of journalists asking if new taxes were in question, Oral said that they don't welcome taxes like property tax or a similar one.

When reporters asked their views about the methods of finding an additional source which is equal to 2 percent of Gross National Product (GNP)

Dervis said that they took up all the issues in the meeting, adding the works would continue on Monday. Dervis stressed that they particularly focused on decreasing the expenditures as much as possible in the meeting.

Noting that an additional source which is equal to GNP's 1,5 percent is necessary for Turkey, Dervis said that this will be enough for re-assurance in economy. ''We are searching for finding it in the best way,'' Dervis said.

[13] TURKISH STUDENTS IN U.S. CONTRIBUTE TO ECONOMY

A research carried out by David Louscher and Alethia Cook who are members of Foresight International focused on the financial contribution of the Turkish students to the U.S. economy and the employment they created.

The Turkish students, besides university charges, pay for accomodation, educational equipment, food, clothes, health, heating, and travelling. The research revealed that all these needs created employment for 10,678 people every

year.

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