Anadolu Agency: News in English, 01-06-13

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ANADOLU AGENCY

NEWS

13 JUNE 2001 Wednesday

CONTENTS

[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCAN

[02] STATE MINISTER DERVIS'S CONTACTS IN NEW YORK KEPT CONFIDENTIAL

[03] JOINT MEETING OF NATO-EU MILITARY COMMITTEES HELD

[04] CLOSURE CASE AGAINST FP -CONSTITUTIONAL COURT STARTS ITS SECOND DAY DISCUSSIONS

[05] PRESIDENT SEZER TO VISIT ROMANIA

[06] TURKEY AND THE NETHERLANDS SIGN AGRICULTURAL COOPERATION MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

[07] TURKISH TROOPS LEAVE FOR BULGARIA TO PARTICIPATE IN ''SEVEN STARS- 2001'' MILITARY EXERCISE

[08] THIRD TERM MEETING OF TURKEY-GEORGIA JOINT ECONOMIC COMMISSION TO START IN TBILISI ON THURSDAY

[09] FOREIGN MINISTRY:''WE WOULD BE PLEASED IF GREECE REALIZES ITS PLAN NOT TO REQUIRE VISA FROM TURKISH TOURISTS WHO VISIT GREEK ISLANDS FOR ONE DAY''

[10] IRAQ GIVES TURKEY MESSAGE ABOUT DEVELOPMENT OF RELATIONS IN EVERY FIELD

[11] OKSUZ:''TWO NEW HIGHWAY TRANSPORTATION GATES WILL OPEN BETWEEN TURKEY AND GEORGIA''

[12] 150 AMERICANS OF ARMENIAN ORIGIN VISIT ANI RUINS IN KARS

[13] GURTUNA:''WE'RE OPEN TO COOPERATION WITH FOREIGN CITIES''

[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCAN

HURRIYET (LIBERAL)

MESUT YILMAZ CRITICIZES TANTAN WITHOUT GIVING HIS NAME
Deputy Premier and the leader of the Motherland Party (ANAP) criticized former interior minister Saadettin Tantan who resigned from the party without mentioning his name in the ANAP group meeting yesterday. Yılmaz said that ANAP was founded not to serve the personal career of anybody, but to serve the nation. Yılmaz said that those who join the party to serve the nation can be promoted to higher positions within the party, adding that the party can't allow certain persons to satisfy their own personal wishes and greed and then leave the party without reaching their goals.

MILLIYET (LIBERAL)

BELGIUM MAKES CONFESSION ABOUT ERDAL
Fernand Schmitz, the lawyer of Sabancı family said that he didn't see Fehriye Erdal, the suspect of Sabancı assassination, for a long time, adding that he does not have the legal right to meet with Erdal. He said that he conveyed his concerns to the Belgian Interior Ministry. Belgian Interior Minister Antoine Duquesn responded to him in a letter and said that ''Fehriye Erdal is in the place which is mentioned and she abides by conditions. But if Erdal wants to escape from the country, it is impossible to prevent that as there is no possibility of monitoring and following her all the time.''

SABAH (LIBERAL)

MIRAS HAS TO RESIGN
Fuat Miras, the Chairman of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) decided to resign as he was very angry in a quarrel in TOBB meeting last week. The resignation was put into force without his information. Miras said he decided not to resign this time. The problem will be solved in the TOBB Executive Board meeting.

CUMHURIYET (LEFT)

KARAHASANOGLU RELEASED
Sukru Karahasanoglu, the former Director General of Sumerbank, was released on condition from Vittore Prison in Milan, Italy, on June 8, 2001 During the trial about extradition of Karahasanoglu to Turkey, the judge decided to release Karahasanoglu due to his good conduct. Karahasanoglu whose passport was seized by Italian police during his capture, is not allowed to depart from Milan. He was captured in Milan on February 20, 2001, in an operation launched by the Interpol. Italian Foreign Ministry notified Turkish Embassy in Rome on the release of Karahasanoglu from the prison, on June 8.

RADIKAL (LEFT)

DEBT SWAP ON THE WAY TO EASE REPAYMENT PAIN
The Treasury invited the country's banks to swap lira-denominated bonds with papers linked to foreign exchange, hoping to lighten the state's crushing debt load by giving it more time to pay it back. The Treasury announced one U.S. dollar as 1,160,000 TL. The first swap auction will be held on Friday.

TURKIYE (RIGHT)

ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)

[02] STATE MINISTER DERVIS'S CONTACTS IN NEW YORK KEPT CONFIDENTIAL

The contacts of Dervis in New York are kept confidential. Officials in New York said on Wednesday that State Minister Dervis requested his contacts to be kept confidential.

Unofficial sources told A.A that State Minister Dervis planned to stay in Waldorf Astoria Hotel first, but he changed the hotel at the last minute as journalists learnt that.

Unofficial sources had said that State Minister Dervis would participate in the meetings that would be held in New York by Citibank and U.S. Central Bank today. Sources said that Dervis launches efforts to reassure the trust in Turkey.

The debt swap which was offered by the Treasury in Turkey will constitute an important place in Dervis's contacts. The Treasury said it wanted to swap short term domestic debt held by banks for a range of longer term foreign currency-linked paper.

Dervis won't proceed to Washington D.C. and leave the city within 24 hours.

Dervis is accompanied by Treasury Undersecretary Faik Oztrak, Banking Regulatory and Supervisory Council's Deputy Director Teoman Kerman and his assistant Oya Unlu.

[03] JOINT MEETING OF NATO-EU MILITARY COMMITTEES HELD

A statement was issued after the meeting noting that the meeting was held upon the instruction of EU Council and the North Atlantic Council, which are the decision organs of EU and NATO.

The statement pointed out that the initiatives of NATO and EU to strengethen cooperation in management of military crises will continue by taking into consideration the principle of equality.

Information was given to EU about the capabilities of NATO and its command structure and EU gave information to NATO about the crisis management operations it plans to carry out within the scope of the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP).

Turkey is represented in the meeting by a delegation headed by Turkey's Permanent Military Representative to NATO General Orhan Yoney.

EU and NATO Military Committees will convene again in fall.

[04] CLOSURE CASE AGAINST FP -CONSTITUTIONAL COURT STARTS ITS SECOND DAY DISCUSSIONS

The Constitutional Court delegation which started to discuss the case on Tuesday, convened at 10.00 local time on Wednesday.

Upon questions of reporters, Constitutional Court's Chairman Mustafa Bumin said that he could not say anything more than the things he told on Tuesday.

[05] PRESIDENT SEZER TO VISIT ROMANIA

Romanian Presidential Office Spokesman Corina Cretu said on Wednesday that the visit of President Sezer to Romania was planned during the summit meeting held between the presidents of Romania, Turkey and Bulgaria in Plovdiv city of Bulgaria in February this year.

[06] TURKEY AND THE NETHERLANDS SIGN AGRICULTURAL COOPERATION MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

Agriculture and Rural Affairs Minister Husnu Yusuf Gokalp and the Dutch Minister of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries Laurens Jan Brinkhorst signed the memorandum of understanding.

Holding a joint press briefing after the signing ceremony with Brinkhorst, Gokalp said that Turkey which is a candidate of the EU will benefit from the experience of the Netherlands in abiding with the EU norms.

''The relations between the two countries in the field of agriculture will further improve. The Netherlands comes among the first countries both in EU and in the world in agricultural production and its trade...Our existing agricultural relations will further speed up with the agreements signed during the visit of the Dutch minister,'' he said. An agricultural cooperation memorandum of understanding was also signed in Antalya which covers the decisions of Turkish-Dutch Agricultural Working Group and Veterinary and Plant Health sub-group, he added.

Gokalp stressed that he asked for the support of the Dutch minister to urge EU to accept Turkey to the Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (SAPARD) of the EU which aims at improving the agricultural infrastructures of the Central and Eastern European countries.

Noting that Turkey and the Netherlands will also make cooperation in the fields of genetics and biotechnics, Gokalp said that the Netherlands is very advanced in this field.

Brinkhost said in his part that the agrements signed between the two countries are important.

Turkey needs these agreements, said Brinkhorst adding that the Netherlands is pleased with Turkey's becoming a member of the EU.

''We welcome this, but there are many things to be done,'' said Brinkhorst, adding that ''Turkey recorded progress since Turkish officials' visit to the Netherlands last September.''

The guest minister invited Agriculture and Rural Affairs Minister Gokalp to the Netherlands once again at the end of his speech.

[07] TURKISH TROOPS LEAVE FOR BULGARIA TO PARTICIPATE IN ''SEVEN STARS- 2001'' MILITARY EXERCISE

The first part of Turkish troops comprising 21 officers, 20 non- commissioned officers, 175 soldiers and 70 vehicles of the 33rd Mechanized Brigade and 3rd Armored Brigade Commnaderships left for Bulgaria the same day.

Major Commander Can Iskit of the Turkish troops said that the first part of Turkish troops was composed of 79 personnel and 20 vehicles and they would give services like kitchen, hospital, motor vehicles repair and shower.

The remaining Turkish troops including armored vehicles will leave for Bulgaria with a train on Friday.

Seven Stars-2001 will take place in Bulgaria's Koren region between June 13- 30 with participation of Turkish, Albanian, Bulgarian, Italian, Macedonian, Romanian and Greek troops.

Meanwhile, the United States and Slovenia will participate in exercises as observers.

[08] THIRD TERM MEETING OF TURKEY-GEORGIA JOINT ECONOMIC COMMISSION TO START IN TBILISI ON THURSDAY

Releasing a written statement, the Foreign Trade Undersecretariat said on Wednesday that State Minister Abdulhaluk Mehmet Cay and Georgian Agriculture Minister David Kirvalidze would preside the two-day meeting.

Issues such as further improvement of commercial relations, development of cooperation in energy and industry sectors, improvement of border gates between the two countries, and opening of Cildir-Aktas Border Gate will be taken up at the meeting.

State Minister Cay is expected to reiterate during his contacts in Tbilisi that Turkey was determined to put into practice the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan crude oil pipeline project.

Trade volume between Turkey and Georgia increased by 36 percent to 286 million U.S. dollars in 2000 compared to figures of the previous year.

[09] FOREIGN MINISTRY:''WE WOULD BE PLEASED IF GREECE REALIZES ITS PLAN NOT TO REQUIRE VISA FROM TURKISH TOURISTS WHO VISIT GREEK ISLANDS FOR ONE DAY''

Meanwhile, it was reported that no political problems would be debated between Foreign Minister Ismail Cem and his Greek counterpart George Papandreou during the Samos-Kusadasi meeting on June 23-24. The two ministers will focus mostly on the development of cooperation in commerce and tourism. Cem and Papandreou will explore opportunities to increase communication and trade between Turkish and Greek merchants.

[10] IRAQ GIVES TURKEY MESSAGE ABOUT DEVELOPMENT OF RELATIONS IN EVERY FIELD

Sources said on Wednesday that Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Faruk Logoglu who had held contacts in Iraq in the beginning of the week met with Iraqi Vice President Taha Yasin Ramadan, Deputy Prime Minister and acting Foreign Minister Tariq Mikhail Aziz and Foreign Ministry Senior Undersecretary Nouri Al-Veis.

During Logoglu's contacts, the Iraqi side stressed the importance of opening of a second border gate between Turkey and Iraq in accordance with its desire to develop bilateral relations in every field.

The Iraqi side explained the reason for its objection to the U.N. Security Council's ''smart sanctions'' while Logoglu conveyed Turkey's opinion and assessments about the issue.

Turkish Foreign Ministry officials said that Logoglu's contacts in Iraq were important and beneficial for both the Turkey-Iraq relations and meetings of the U.N. Security Council on Iraq.

[11] OKSUZ:''TWO NEW HIGHWAY TRANSPORTATION GATES WILL OPEN BETWEEN TURKEY AND GEORGIA''

Oksuz and Georgian Transportation and Communication Minister Merab Adeishvili visited the International Transporters Association (UND) in Istanbul on Wednesday.

During the visit, Oksuz said that Georgia was one of the few countries which has land, sea, air and railroad transportation within its borders. ''We want to work together and share with our friend Georgia with whom we have no conflicts with,'' Oksuz said.

Oksuz also remarked that the customs related problems would be lifted completely between the two countries.

The completion of Kars-Tbilisi railroad is a priority for both himself and his Georgian counterpart, Oksuz said. ''Because railroads have a capacity to carry a great number of people and heavy loads.''

Responding a question on the highway transportation bill, Oksuz said he expected Parliament to pass the bill before the end of this month. He added that his ministry had reached an agreement with both transportation companies and the related ministries regarding the bill. ''This will be the first highway transportation law of the 78-year old Turkish Republic,'' he said.

Georgian minister Adeishvili said his country placed great importance in cooperation with Turkey and regarded Turkey as a strategic partner. He said he discussed a number of very important projects with Oksuz during the Turkey-Georgia Joint Transportation Commission meeting including Kars- Tbilisi raildroad and Batun Airport Project. He said that they also focused on the problems of transporters during their talks. ''We're working to bring a solution to the problems faced by the transporters. WE believe that we can overcome these problems by setting up joint companies.''

UND Chairman Cetin Nuhoglu said that Georgia was a door opening up to the Central Asia and that they wanted to establish a joint compnay in this country.

[12] 150 AMERICANS OF ARMENIAN ORIGIN VISIT ANI RUINS IN KARS

Some 150 Americans of Armenian origin last week visited Ani Ruins in Kars to hold a religious ceremony through the organization of the Turkish- Armenian Businessmen's Association and the Armenian Church in the United States.

Turkish-Armenian Development of Business Council Chairman Kaan Soyak who visited Kars Mayor Naif Alibeyoglu said the Armenians were celebrating the 1700th anniversary of the Armenians conversion to Christianity.

Soyak said they wanted the border gate to open between Turkey and Armenia. ''Ani Ruins are sacred for Armenians. If this gate opens, both commercial and tourism activities will increase significantly. There are six million Armenians who want to see Ani Ruins. The Armenian tourists who visit the area would greatly contribute to this city's economy,'' he explained.

Alibeyoglu said they supported friendship between Turks and Armenians. He remarked that they were working to make Gyumri and Kars sister cities. ''Caucasia will not be like the Middle East and the Balkans. We will not allow circles who don't want friendship between Turks and Armenians. Our friendship will further develop after the border gate opens,'' he concluded.

[13] GURTUNA:''WE'RE OPEN TO COOPERATION WITH FOREIGN CITIES''

Gurtuna had a meeting with 28 foreign diplomats inculding the consul generals of Germany, China, France, Italy, Russian Federation and Japan and the U.S. Assistant Consul General at Emirgan Beyaz Kosk on Wednesday.

Gurtuna briefed the diplomats about the activities his office has been carrying out during the two hour meeting. He said that they were trying to bring solutions to the problems caused by urbanization which stared 40-50 years ago and had some serious transportation and environment projects for the city. He also indicated that he wanted to turn the city to a center of culture and art.

''We also want to form grounds where diplomats could freely integrate with each other and thus serve the regional peace,'' Gurtuna said and added that he was open to cultural and technical cooperation with foreign cities. He said he valued the recommendations of foreign consul generals and that such meetings would increase information exchange between them.

''I hope you all leave Istanbul with pleasant feelings,'' Gurtuna told the diplomats.

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