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Anadolu Agency: News in English, 01-04-16Anadolu Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Anadolu Agency Home Page at <http://www.anadoluajansi.com.tr/>Anadolu AgencyANADOLU AGENCY NEWS 16 APRİL 2001 Monday CONTENTS
[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCANThese are some of the major headlines and their brief stories in Turkey's press on April 16, 2001. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.HURRIYET (LIBERAL)BOMBS OF BRUNCHEconomy chief Kemal Dervis made statements to Hurriyet correspondent in a brunch on Sunday. Dervis said, ''there were problems in economy. If no crisis had occured in the National Security Council (NSC) meeting, the crisis could have erupted a few months later. Maybe, it would not be so severe. The public welcomed the program. We will work more. A political crisis in Turkey may be very bad. It would be wrong if the Central Bank intervened in the U.S. dollar. When the balances are established, the U.S. dollar will decrease to an appropriate level.'' NINE PKK TERRORISTS KILLED, FIVE SOLDIERS DIE MILLIYET (LIBERAL)ONE MORE PERSON DIES IN DEATH FASTCanan Kulaksiz, a university student aged 19 who was death fasting to support the protests in the prisons from outside, died. Thus, the number of people who died of hunger strikes and death fasts reached 12. TOURISTS COME TO MARMARIS, TRADESMEN HAPPY SABAH (LIBERAL)IMPORTANT STATEMENT FROM U.S.The U.S. Embassy in Ankara said that the new economic program indicates that the Turkish government is determined about stability and reforms and promised to extend support. The statement said that they are excited about the implementations. Carlo Cottarelli, the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Turkey Desk Chief, also supported the economic program. I AM CLOSE TO ECEVIT, I AM DEMOCRATIC LEFTIST CUMHURIYET (LEFT)DISK CHAIRMAN CELEBI SAYS POVERTY WILL INCREASESuleyman Celebi, the chairman of the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers' Unions (DISK), said that the state announced that savings would be made in the public sector to take the debt interests under guarantee. Celebi said, ''it is obvious that the state is trying to make this saving by zero percent rise in the salaries of the public employees. It is unacceptable to propose a zero percent rise in the salaries of the employees in an atmosphere when the inflation rate is foreseen as 60 percent.'' Celebi noted that the new economic program foresaw three percent shrinkage of the economy, Celebi said, ''this means that unemployment will increase, the income level of the labourers will decrease, that is poverty will increase.'' LAWS OF DERVIS IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY INTENSIVE WEEK OF TREASURY RADIKAL (LEFT)SILENCE: 12TH DEATHCanan Kulaksiz was an 19-year old university student. She had been death fasting to protest the F type prisons to extend support to her uncle who was in prison. Death toll in death fast protests reached 12. Justice ministry refuses the calls to talks. ''OKSUZ LIED'' Officials of DHMI denied the statement of minister Oksuz who said there were already flights to that province. Officials said the planes were not flying continously and that the planes were not carrying personnel. They said even the DHMI general director wanted confirmation from the minister to get on the plane. TURKIYE (RIGHT)NO TURNING BACK FROM THE PROGRAMState minister Kemal Dervis, who had breakfast with the Ankara representatives of the big newspapers in social facilities of the Central Bank, made striking statements regarded with the new program: -Parliament works well -U.S. dollar will reduce -My political line is ''democratic left'' -I am loyal to prime minister Ecevit. -The crisis was to erupt even if there was not the Sezer-Ecevit argument. -Foreign credits will come at the beginning of May. -I am very optimistic about foreign support -Agreement with the IMF to take place on April 28. -Istanbul to become finance center of the region -Left is not the same it was in 1960's. -Program is not mine, but the government's. -There can not be enmity against foreign capital -I have gone to General Staff to brief about economy. -Cheap sale to foreign capital in crisis atmosphere is dangerous -I am hopeful for the future, we will be relaxed in three months -Our reserves would go if we intervened to the foreign currency. -Our target is absolute and continuous success. RESPONSE FROM BAHCELI TO SO-CALLED GENOCIDE TALE Bahceli said, ''we hope the countries, which have positive relations with Turkey, will scrap the plans of daily benefit of some lobbies, and have a rational point of view.'' ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)EXTRA SALARY TO THOSE WHO WORK IN BOARDSCivil servants who work in boards like Capital Market Board, Higher Board of Radio and Television (RTUK), and Banking Regulatory and Supervisory Board (BRSB), get a salary that is three times higher than the other civil servants. The government, as on the one side tries to shrink the state, on the other side sets up boards where high salaries are being paid. DPT CONSULTANT ERDOGAN DERVIS CALLS FOR SUPPORT FROM PRESS -SOUTHEASTERN ANATOLIA REGION EXPORTS 10.5 MILLION PRODUCTS The fresh fruit, vegetable and industrial product exports of the region decreased 57.7 percent in the first three months of this year when compared with the last year. The region had exported 24 million 902 thousand U.S. dollar fresh fruit, vegetables and industrial products in the first three months of 2000. The region exported 2 million 883 thousand chemicals, 2 million 565 thousand U.S. dollar iron and non-iron products, 1 million 676 thousand U.S. dollar ready-made clothes, 1 million 169 thousand U.S. dollar cement, 2 million 246 thousand U.S. dollar fresh fruit and vegetables, electrical and electronical devices and other products. The products were mainly exported to the Middle Eastern and European Union (EU) countries and the Turkish republics. -IMF STARTS PREPERATIONS ON FINANCE PACKAGE International finance circles and experts in Washington D.C. reminded the statement of Carlo Cottarelli who said that the Turkish government and the IMF members continue deliberations on the program and said that by this statement, the IMF meant that it started to discuss the finance package for Turkey with its members. These circles said that the dimension of IMF's support to Turkey's new economic program will be revealed as the final and official text of the program is turned into a letter of intent. The IMF Executive Board is expected to vote for Turkey's letter of intent in May. -IMKB WHICH HAS WELCOMED ECONOMIC PROGRAM EXPECTS FOREIGN SOURCE The IMKB started to increase due to the positive reflections of the new economic program unveiled by State Minister Kemal Dervis on Saturday, on the monetary markets. The IMKB, which exceeded 9 thousand points at the beginning of the first session, is around 9.100 points for the time being. The ''foreign source'' chapter of the program which is said to be announced in the following days is very important, the experts said. The experts noted that they expect a horizontal course around 9 thousand points in the IMKB due to the foreign source expectations. The experts stated that they also expect the relaxation in foreign exchanges and decrease in interest rates, adding that these developments will pay the way for the market. -ISRAELI CONSULATE GENERAL IN LOS ANGELES SAYS THEY DO NOT SUPPORT While the Armenian lobby in the U.S. reacted to Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres who defined the allegations that Armenians were subject to genocide like the Jews as ''meaningless'', the Israeli Consulate General in Los Angeles released a statement about the attitude of Israel. The statement said that this issue concerns the historians, not the politicans. Israel will assume neither a historical nor a political attitude about the issue, the statement noted. The Armenian lobby in the U.S. applied to the Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles to search about the correctness of the views that Peres expressed to the A.A correspondent prior to his visit to Turkey and to this end, the Israeli Consulate General published the statements of Peres. Then, the Armenian lobby launched a message campaign which protested these statements. The Armenians in the U.S. sent messages to the governmental organizations in Israel through the American National Armenian Council and asked for the condemnation of Peres' statements. Meanwhile, the Assembly of Turkish American Associations sent letters, messages and e-mails to the Israeli parliament, prime ministry and foreign ministry and launched a thank you campaign for Peres' statements. Addressing the A.A correspondent on April 9, Peres extended support to Turkish thesis regarding the so-called genocide allegations and defined the allegations of Armenians that they were subject to a genocide like the Jews as ''meaningless.'' Peres had said that they rejected drawing such a similarity and that nothing similar to the genocide on Jews had been experienced in the world. What Armenians had faced had been a tragedy, but not a genocide, Peres had added. [02] STATE MINISTER DERVIS DUE TO U.S.ANKARA, April 16 (A.A) - State Minister Kemal Dervis will go to the U.S. in the last week of April to attend the spring term meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.When going to the U.S. to attend the IMF-World Bank meetings between April 16 and 30, Dervis will stop in Frankfurt and London and held contacts with the international banking circles. Dervis will meet with the international finance circles and the economy chiefs of the G-7 countries in Washington D.C. and inform them about the economic program. Meanwhile, Dervis will hold a meeting with the representatives of the Turkish textile sector in southern Antalya province on April 22. -CENTRAL BANK DRAFT LAW SUBMITTED TO PARLIAMENT (1) The general preamble of the draft law, which is comprised of a total of 17 articles, said the need to make amendments to the law occurred within the framework of the developments recorded with the world, mainly the European Union norms, regarding economic conditions and central banking since 1970, when Central Bank Law had taken effect. The preamble said the draft law, which was prepared within this framework, pointed out that the principle target of the Turkish Republic Central Bank was to provide price stability, and that the bank was the only authorized and responsible in determining and implementing the monetary policy of the bank. The functions, which the bank undertakes with the new arrangement, are listed as below: ''-The bank, aiming to continue to fight against inflation which is its primary target, is equipped with the assignment and authority to determine the inflation target together with the government. The bank is authorized to provide price stability, to directly determine monetary policy means used in central banking to provide price stability, and to fight against inflation. -In order to realize its principle target, the bank is envisaged to benefit from open market operations, foreign exchange and effective operations, discount rate, advanced money operations, cash reserve requirements and other monetary policy means which it would find as appropriate. -In order to provide effectiveness in realization of price stability, Money Market Committee is set up within the body of the bank considering the implementations in the world. -To increase the analytical and statistical sufficiency, required by the inflation targets, the bank is authorized to collect every kind of statistical informations that will be regarded as necessary to cover the developments in economy and balance of payments, and all statistical informations pertaining to financial system. -Within the scope of the authority and assignment to provide stability in financial system, the bank is authorized to take required measures to cover the sysem and make evaluations to strengthen the basis of the financial system, and to prevent the risks in financial system to spread to the sector in general. -TRANSPARENCY The preamble noted that the bank is foreseen to support the growth and stability policies of the government not to contradict with the aim to provide price stability. The Central Bank enabled the control of the profit and loss calculations in the balance sheet by independent control organizations to provide the transparency when determining the monetary policy, the preamble stated. The preamble pointed out that the law foresees the presentation of reports on the bank transactions to the Council of Ministers two times a year, the preparation of term reports related with the implementation and the announcement of these reports to the public. The provision that none of the authorities will be able to give orders to the bank to ensure the bank reach its main targets and economic principles and to use its authorities efficiently and independently. -FOREIGN MINISTER CEM DUE IN TRNC TRNC Directorate of Protocol said that the airplane carrying Cem and accompanying delegation was expected to land at the Ercan Airport at 17:40 local time. President Rauf Denktas of TRNC will receive the delegation. Later, President Denktas will host a dinner in honor of Cem. Foreign Minister Cem is scheduled to meet on Tuesday with General Sukru Sariisik, the Commander of Turkish Peace Forces in Cyprus; Parliament Speaker Ertugrul Hasipoglu; Prime Minister Dervis Eroglu; and Deputy Prime Minister Mustafa Akinci. Cem will meet with leaders of opposition parties having seats at the TRNC parliament after partaking in a luncheon to be hosted in his honor by President Denktas. He will come together with representatives of business circles and press organs separately. Hayati Guven, the Turkish Ambassador to TRNC, will host a dinner in honor of Cem. On Wednesday, Cem will come together with President Denktas at breakfast. He is expected to leave TRNC for Turkey after staging a press conference. Yigit Alpogan, the Deputy Undersecretary of Foreign Ministry; Ertugrul Apakan, the Ambassador of TRNC to Turkey; and Huseyin Dirioz, the Deputy Spokesman of Foreign Ministry; will accompany Cem during his visit to TRNC. -FIRST JEC MEETING BETWEEN UZBEKISTAN AND TURKEY Uzbek Foreign Economic Relations Minister Elyar Ganiyev will represnt the Uzbek side, and the State Minister Abdulhaluk Cay will represent Turkey in the meeting. Ganiyev will come to Turkey on April 18 with a delegation of five persons to chair the JEC from Uzbekistan. The agreement on foundation of the JEC was signed in Tashkent on July 9, 1995 but the JEC meeting could not be held due to various reasons till today. The issue came to the agenda during the visits of Foreign Minister Ismail Cem and President Ahmet Necdet Sezer to Uzbekistan last October, and they decided to hold the meeting in the first half of this year. Turkey and Uzbekistan signed three agreements namely Protection and Encouragement of Investments dated 1992, Agremeent on Prevention of Double Taxation dated 1996 and Agreement on Commercial and Economic Cooperation dated 1998 to date. -TURKISH CIVIL SERVANTS UNION PROTESTS INCREASE IN THEIR WAGES A group of civil servants who are members of Kamu-Sen convened in front of Sirkeci post office and protested the increase in civil servants' wages. Speaking on behalf of the group, Hanefi Bostan, the chairman of Kamu-Sen's office in Istanbul criticized the unveiled economic programme and claimed that ''Mr. Dervis isolated the public employees from the preperation process of the programme and didn't ask for our support. Thus, nobody can expect us to extend support to the programme.'' Bostan said that in a survey carried out by TUBITAK, Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey, it was found out that 56,9 percent of the households in Turkey are at the point of starvation. According to that survey, the starvation level is 655 million TL, he said. Bostan added that they decided to send part of the increase in civil servants' wages to State Minister Dervis, who stays in Hilton Hotel, Ankara and contribute to his expenses. -WORLD BANK WELCOMES TURKEY'S NEW ECONOMIC PROGRAM Releasing a statement, the World Bank said on Monday, ''with effective implementation and adequate international assistance, this program can help Turkey recover from the crisis and lay the groundwork for future sustainable growth.'' The statement noted, ''the World Bank, in particular, applauds the program's emphasis on structural policies, on measures to improve the climate for foreign direct investment and on social programs which will prepare the ground for future recovery and to provide immediate help to poor families who are coping with the new economic crisis.'' ''The World Bank also expects to lay particular emphasis in its support to structural reforms especially in banking, agriculture, energy, telecommunications as well as the social programs focused on women and children,'' the statement added. -TURKISH AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA SENSOY SAYS TURKISH-RUSSIAN Speaking in an international conference held by Bilgi University of Turkey, Eastern Studies Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences and Moscow State University's Asian-African Institute, Sensoy recounted that the history of the diplomatic relations between the two countries is more than 500 years. ''Important progress was recorded in the relations particularly in the economy field, however the economic relations have not been sufficiently reflected to the political relations,'' said Sensoy. Noting that Russia has a special place in the political horizon of Turkey, Sensoy said that the two countries need projects such as Blue Stream. Sensoy said that there are not big problems between the two countries today, adding that different views which come out from time to time stem from the relations with third countries. ''Thus I don't think that the future of our relations is problematic, on the contrary stronger cooperation in economy will further improve the existing level of the relations,'' he said. Ilter Turan, the Rector of Istanbul Bilgi University said in his part that the two countries represent the mixture of European and Asian cultures, adding that westernization movements in both countries are similar to each other. The westernization process started in military fields in both countries, he added. ''The two countries have to plan their cooperation themselves,'' he added. Turkish and Russian academicians will present 19 reports to the conference about the relations between the two countries. -TARTAR, ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR OF PARLIAMENT, IN BRUSSELS Tartan who is currently in Brussels to participate in the contacts of parliamentarians and scientists from the candidate countries to the EU, said that they had held talks with David Martin, the Vice President of European Parliament, and with nearly 30 deputies for the last 10 days. ''The year 2001 is extremely important for Turkey in regard to the EU full membership process. The EU Progress Report to be announced in November, will be a determinative factor for Turkey's EU process. A positive report will open the ways for Turkey. Turkey should record new progress in democratization and human rights for a positive report. At the same time, Turkey should decrease inflation rates to the EU standards. It is impossible to shorten the EU membership process with current inflation rate and economic system,'' he said. Noting that the EU did not have any prejudices against Turkey, Tartan said, ''the EU wants Turkey to expend more efforts to solve its economic, social and cultural problems. Turkey should put forward a project including various alternatives. Otherwise, it cannot take further steps. ''Turkey has been taking steps to remove its deficiencies in economy, and to improve democratization and human rights. Turkey's efforts should be more effective,'' he said. Noting that all units of the EU had not yet received Turkey's National Program, Tartan added, ''however, EU officials described the document as a further step with good-will. They told me that they expected Turkey to take further steps on incomplete and controversial issues.'' -MEETING OF COUNCIL OF MINISTERS ENDS (2) Addressing journalists following the four-hour meeting of Council of Ministers, Yucelen said, ''at the meeting, the economic program which was disclosed by State Minister Kemal Dervis last weekend, was assessed once again. We considered the new economic program positive, and decided to support it fully. All ministers will fulfil their responsibilities in accordance with the program.'' Yucelen said, ''we believe that Turkey would seize the trend of growth and our economy would be put in the right tract in the second half of the year after announcement of financial and monetary policies and monetary figures in the coming days.'' He stressed that parliamentary agenda was taken up at the meeting, and some draft laws were scrutinized at the meeting. Yucelen told reporters, ''the Council of Ministers decided to take up bills which are necessary for the success of the new economic program, and submit them to the parliament in the coming days.'' ''In parallel with the measures taken last week to relieve tradesmen, the Council of Ministers decided to implement the former credit interest rates for farmers' credits and agricultural credits till the end of 2001. A plan will be prepared within the framework of an agreement to be reached by Ziraat Bankasi and with creditor institutions for farmers' credits which came to an end. Duty loss will be met within the framework of budget capabilities,'' he told reporters. Referring to rumours about zero increase in salaries of public workers, Yucelen said, ''State Minister Mehmet Kececiler said that zero increase was out of question. He noted that an increase would be made in salaries of public workers in parallel with the increase in salaries of civil servants.'' -TURKEY-NETHERLANDS HIGHWAY TRANSPORTATION Releasing a statement, the transportation ministry said on Monday that Yasar Coban, the director general of highway transportation, would head Turkish delegation while C.H. Fabius, the chairman of highway transportation department of Dutch transportation ministry would lead Dutch delegation at the two-day meetings. The statement said, ''prior to the meetings, a new agreement on international highway transportation will be signed between Turkey and the Netherlands. Ahmet Balci, the deputy undersecretary of transportation ministry; and Sjoerd Gosses, the Dutch ambassador to Turkey; will sign the agreement. After signing of the agreement, the International Highway Transportation Agreement signed on May 21, 1971 will be terminated.'' -ETIBANK INVESTIGATION Istanbul DGM Chief Prosecution prepared this petition for Cavit Caglar, who is wanted in Turkey due to investigations of Egebank and Etibank in order to bring him back to Turkey when he is captured abroad and for his trial. The report which was submitted to the Justice Ministry notes that Caglar committed the crimes of ''fraud'' and ''getting involved in illegal procedures in sale of the bank.''
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