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Turkish Press Review, 00-04-17Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>17.04.00Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...[02] ZEMIN TO VISIT DEMIRELPresident Suleyman Demirel will receive the Head of State of People's Republic of China, Jiang Zemin, as his last counterpart world leader in his duty period of seven years. Cankaya Presidential Palace and Ankara has been preparing for the visit of Zemin between 18 and 21 April. Zemin will visit Ankara and Istanbul with an accompanying delegation of 100 people, will also tour Yerebatan Palace, Hagia Sophia and Sultanahmet Mosque. Zemin will also receive a State Medal from Demirel. /Milliyet/[03] LEADERS' MEETINGThe leaders of the coalition government will meet again today in order to determine presidential candidates. After that, Premier Bulent Ecevit will meet the leaders of the Virtue Party (FP) and True Path Party (DYP) and discuss the selected names. The candidate will be determined by elimination until the weekend. /Hurriyet/[04] KUTAN: "CANDIDATE MAY BE FROM THE MILITARY"The Leader of the Virtue Party (FP) Recai Kutan stated that the candidate for presidency might be also someone from the military. During the FP Kocaeli Province Congress, Kutan said, "We don't discriminate against civilians or people from the military. Every Turkish citizen, complying with the criteria in the Constitution, may be a candidate." Replying to a question, Kutan stressed that he thought the chance that ANAP Leader Mesut Yilmaz might be elected president was very small. /Hurriyet/[05] TURKEY COMMEMORATES OZALTurkey's eighth President Turgut Ozal will be commemorated today on the seventh anniversary of his death. The commemoration ceremony will begin with a visit to Ozal's mausoleum by a group from the Motherland Party (ANAP), led by Party Chairman Mesut Yilmaz. During the day a conference for the occasion will be held in Ankara. The Turgut Ozal Computer Centre, the Turgut Ozal Museum and the ANAP Internet Centre will open the same day as well. /All papers/[06] SECOND ROUND FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN TRNCThe presidential election held on Saturday in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) failed to provide an outright victory and there will be a runoff ballot on April 22. President Rauf Denktas garnered 43.67 % of the vote, less than the required minimum of 50 %. Denktas' rival, Prime Minister Dervis Eroglu, followed Denktas with 30.14 % of the vote, making him eligible to participate in the runoff together with Denktas. /All papers/[07] THE US ATTENTION TO TRNC ELECTIONCarefully watching the presidential election of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), the US hopes for important developments in the solution of the Cyprus issue this year, whoever wins the election. Circles close to the US administration stated that the US was ready to cooperate with the new president during the third round of proximity talks between the sides on May 23 in New York. In the meantime, the TRNC presidential election is also widely covered in the Greek-Cypriot media. The "Mahi" newspaper declared Rauf Denktas as the favorite of the election. /Aksam/[08] CHP AT SOCIALIST GROUP MEETINGDeputy Chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP) Inal Batu and Deputy Secretary-General Sule Bucak attended the Socialist Group meeting of the European Parliament as associate members. The CHP will participate in the Socialist Group meetings every month from now on. Deputy Chairman of the Socialist Group, Pierre Schori, delivered a speech at the meeting and said that they were supporting Turkey's EU membership. During the meeting, it was also noted that the decisions taken in the Association Council meeting were positive and concrete steps taken by Ankara in the field of human rights would further develop the relations between Turkey and the EU. The Socialist International group meetings were held in Brussels on April 10-11. /Turkiye/[09] HEALTH MINISTER IN AZERBAIJANHealth Minister Osman Durmus will visit Azerbaijan on April 17-20. According to a statement issued by the Health Ministry, Durmus will hold a series of talks for the developments of relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan in the field of health. Durmus will depart from Ankara's Esenboga Airport at 10:40 a.m. today. /Turkiye/[10] TURCO-POLISH COOPERATIONPresident Suleyman Demirel said that Turkey and Poland are two countries with similar structural problems, that both are on the way to sustaining economic conditions in line with being a member of the EU, the Anatolia News Agency reports. Speaking at the Turco-Polish Business Council meeting in Istanbul over the weekend, which was also attended by Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, Demirel said, "Turkey and Poland are two partners sharing the same role of constructing the new image of the EU". Demirel stated that Turkey will encourage its businessmen to invest more in Poland. The signing of a free trade agreement between the two countries, which is scheduled to take place on May 1, will constitute an important step in developing ties between Turkey and Poland, stressed Demirel. "This agreement will enable the development of business relations and help to increase the trade volume between the two countries to the desired $1 billion" he added.Speaking at the same meeting, Polish President Kwasniewski said that Poland is ranked as the 50th country from which Turkey imports goods and services and that there is much to be done to increase the volume of trade between the two countries to more desirable levels. [11] AIR FORCES COMMANDER VISITS ROMANIATurkish Air Forces Commander Gen.Ergin Celasin will go to Romania today as the official guest of Romanian Air Forces Commander Maj.Gen.Gheorghe Bucse. Celasin will return to Turkey on April 20. /Turkiye/[12] TURKISH TRADE DELEGATION TO VISIT IRANA trade delegation consisting of Turkish businessmen will visit Iran between May 27-31 to attend meetings and discuss the iron, chemical, plastic, automotive, packaging, food, glass, textile and electronic goods sectors. During the visit, which will be chaired by Foreign Trade Undersecretary Kursat Tuzmen, a seminar entitled "Turkey-Iran Trade Joint Investment Possibilities" will be held. /Turkish Daily News/[13] NAVAL FORCES FROM BLACK SEA COUNTRIES MEETThe naval forces' commanders of Turkey, Bulgaria, Goergia, Romania and Ukraine, in addition to Russia's Black Sea Fleet commander, will meet at the third Black Sea Naval Forces Commands meeting which will be hosted by the Turkish Naval Forces on April 19-20 in Istanbul. The meeting's objective is to contribute to the development of security, cooperation and relations between the countries. In addition to these countries' participation, naval forces from Albania, Azerbaijan, Greece and Italy, the NATO Southern European Alliance Forces commander and the NATO Southern European Navy Forces commander will attend the meeting as observers. /Turkish Daily News/[14] AMBASSADORS IMPRESSED BY SOUTHEASTERN ANATOLIAThe ambassadors of Germany, Australia and Canada, who made a trip to the southeastern city of Mardin during last week's Tourism Week as guests of the Tourism Ministry, were amazed by the city's beauty, the Anatolia News Agency reports. The ambassadors sent the world a message, saying that the region is secure. German Ambassador Rudolf Schmidt stated that they were most impressed by the city's natural beauty and culture and added that it is Turkey's wealthiest region in terms of diversity, with groups of people speaking different languages including Turkish and Arabic. The Australian and Canadian ambassadors highlighted Mardin's historic wonders in their statements.Meanwhile, OGER Tourism Company Coordinator Huseyin Baraner stated that they were planning to organize tours to the region for the area's promotion and development. /All papers/ [15] TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM PLANNED FOR BOSPHORUS, DARDANELLESPreparations to install a traffic control and observation system for ships in the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits have been completed. The project was initiated by Turkey's Maritime Undersecretariat and will be constructed by US firm Lockheed-Martin. Maritime authorities stated that the system's construction will begin after a work permit for the project has been approved by the Supreme Council of Public Accounts. The system is expected to prevent most accidents in the Turkish Straits. /Aksam/[16] GSM BIDDINGThe second GSM-1800 bidding which was expected to be held last Friday was however postponed today at the request of the participating consortiums, and will be held instead at 02:00 p.m. The tender will start at 2.526 billion dollars and by the completion, about 3 billion dollars will enter the State's cash register, including the Value Added Tax (VAT). /Hurriyet/[17] EUROPEAN REGION TO BE ESTABLISHED BETWEEN TURKEY AND GREECEThe Meric River, which draws the border between Greece and Turkey and which creates some problems between the two countries when its river-bed changes, brought recently the two countries together for peace. Mayor of Edirne, in Turkey and the Mayor of Evros, in Greece, met in order to establish the Evros-Edirne European Region in which border trade will be made, the cultural activities will be organized and attempts will be made to solve environmental problems. Mayor of Edirne, Cengiz Varnotopu and eight other Mayors represented Turkey and 13 Mayors from Greece represented Greece during the meeting that was held in the office of Ferre Municipality, attached to Evros. Varnatopu issued a speech, saying, "The Turkish and the Greek people, whose religion is different and whose cultural characteristics are more or less the same, will improve their friendship." /Milliyet/[18] FOREIGN CAPITAL PERMISSION AMOUNTING TO $26 BILLION IN 20 YEARSThe amount of foreign capital, which was allowed since 1980, reached 26 billion 60 million dollars and the amount of actual access reached 12 billion 488 million dollars. According to the data of the Treasury Undersecretariat, the number of the companies with foreign capital and which are active in Turkey reached 5,024 and the total capital of these companies is 1 quadrillion, 753 trillion, 475 billion TL. /Sabah/[19] ALARKO'S INVESTMENT IN UZBEKISTAN AMOUNTING TO $55 MILLIONChairman of Alarko Group of Companies, Uzeyir Garih, stated that they would continue their investments in the Turkish World. Alarko, which has implemented an airport project amounting to 55 million dollars with the British Laing and the Japanese Marubeni consortium, also have investments in Uzbekistan, Russia and the other Turkish-speaking Republics. Uzeyir Garih, who opened Urgenc Airport with the Minister of Communications, Enis Oksuz, stated that Uzbekistan and Central Asia would be opened to the world thanks to this airport and that particularly commercial planes will benefit from this airport. Garih added that Urgenc Airport had a capacity of 7.5 million passengers and that this will influence all sectors of society, mostly Uzbekistan's economy. /Sabah/[20] FREE ZONE IN TURKEYAn important development is expected concerning the 'free zone that is subject to the special status' that will greatly increase the commercial relations between Turkey and the US after the election of the Congress in the US. As a parallel of the agreement of trade and investment that was signed during the discussions, it was pointed out that the agreements of promotion and release of the mutual trade and investment should be signed. In the minutes of accord, which was signed, Turkey's wish to sign an agreement of free trade with the US and the establishment of a free zone that is subject to the special status in Turkey was included. /Sabah/[21] DEMIRALP: "INTEREST IN TURKEY WILL INCREASE"Treasury Undersecretary Selcuk Demiralp who is currently in Washington to attend IMF-World Bank spring meetings said that he had met foreign investors in Boston and New York and replied to their questions. Demiralp remarked that the high demand for the GSM tender within free market rules had a very positive effect on the foreigners and stated that administrators of investment funds were supporting Turkey's policy and would arrive in Turkey to make investments. /Turkiye/[22] POSITIVE VIEW FROM THE IMFThe State Minister responsible for the economy, Recep Onal, said that he had held meetings with the Acting Chairman of the IMF, Stanley Fischer, the Head of the World Bank James Wolfensohn and his Deputy, Johannes Linn. Onal pointed out that he had told officials from the IMF and the World Bank that Turkey could achieve privatization worth $10 billion exceeding the target of $7.6 billion this year. Onal remarked that officials from the IMF and the World Bank viewed the economic developments in Turkey as positive. /Turkiye/[23] MESSAGE TO ISTANBUL FROM THREE RELIGIONSThe International Prophet Abraham Symposium, which was organized by the Cultural Dialogue Platform, came to an end with the closing session that was held in Firat Cultural Centre in Cemberlitas. Men of religion from the US, Greece, Israel and Indonesia attended the closing session of the symposium, which started in Harran, Turkey on 13 April and which was organized with the support of the State Minister Sadi Somuncuoglu, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Tourism, Foundation of Journalists and Writers and Asya Holding. Greek religious man, Prof. Gregorius Ziakas, delivered a speech during the meeting and said, "The common characteristics of the three celestial religions should be pointed out to insure the security and peace of the world today." /Milliyet/[24] 107 KILOS OF HEROIN SEIZEDIn a recent search of an automobile in Bahcelievler, Istanbul, 107 kilos of heroin were seized. One person was taken into custody in regard to the incident and four persons are still being sought by the authorities. /Cumhuriyet/[25] FATIH TERIM WATCHES LEEDS UNITED-ARSENAL MATCHGalatasaray Coach Fatih Terim flew to England in a private plane to watch a Leeds United's league match with Arsenal. In a press statement issued before leaving for England, Terim stated that if they passed this round, Arsenal would be a possible rival and that it is quite normal for a professional football coach to watch a critical match. Responding to a question on whether he was disturbed about possible negative reactions from Leeds United supporters and whether he had taken any precautions, Terim said that he is 'for peace, not war, since he is a sportsman' and added that he was prepared for such reactions if it would help the Leeds United supporters release their tension. Terim returned to Istanbul the same evening.The second match between Galatasaray and Leeds United in the UEFA Cup Semifinals will be held in England on April 20. The score of the first match was 2-0 in favour of Galatasaray. Only a total of VIPs from Turkey will be able to watch the match in England following the decision taken by the UEFA last Friday to ban Turkish supporters from the second match. /All papers/ [26] FOREIGN MINISTRY'S WARNINGThe Foreign Ministry warned Britain once more to increase precautions to protect Turkish citizens after the latest attacks against the Turkish Salih Reis Frigate's military crew and a Turkish student in Britain. /Hurriyet/[27] TABA BRANCH OPENS IN ANTALYAAt a ball celebrating the Turkish-American Businessmen's Association (TABA) opening in Antalya, US Embassy Commercial Counselor John Bredenstine stated that the US is trying to develop trade relations and investments between Turkey and the US. Bredenstine said that current bilateral trade figures, which are approximately $6 billion, had increased about 50 % in the last five years. He also said that a delegation consisting of representatives from US architectural and construction firms will come to Turkey in the fall to hold meetings in Istanbul and Antalya, where they will discuss tourism and infrastructure projects. /Turkish Daily News/[28] NATO SHIPS TO VISIT MARMARIS HARBOURAccording to the Turkish Naval Forces' General Secretariat, eight ships belonging to NATO's Standing Naval Forces Mediterranean (Stanavformed) will dock in Marmaris Harbour from April 18-21 under Turkey's East Mediterranean 2000 military exercise. While in Marmaris, the ships will be open for public visits on April 19-20. /Turkish Daily News/[29] VILLAGE INSTITUTESThe Republican People's Party (CHP) celebrated the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Village Institutes. Yesterday, the CHP gathered hundreds of teachers from all around of Turkey, graduated from the Village Institutes, in Ankara. During his speech at the "Village Institutes Festival", the CHP Leader Altan Oymen stated that at the beginning of the Republic, the need for educated people was insured by the Village Institutes and in a short period they had made great contributions to the education of Turkish people. He pointed out that the Institutes were one of the most important accomplishments of the Republic. /Hurriyet/[30] RE-ORGANIZATION IN DEFENSE INDUSTRYThe Undersecretary of the Defense Industry, Prof. Ali Ercan, stated that they would re-organize the defense industry sector in the coming months. Stressing that companies in the defense industry in West were getting stronger by merging, Ercan underlined that that kind of re-structuring was also necessary for Turkey. He also said that they would create certain incentives to encourage companies to merge. /Aksam/[31] EZINC: NUMBER ONE IN SOLAR ENERGYOne of the leading companies in water heating within the solar energy sector, came first in Turkey with 120,000 solar collectors and made the top five list in Europe and the Middle East. Operating in Kayseri on 15,000 square metres and possessing ISO 9002 Quality System Document, Ezinc Company produces more than half of Turkey's exports in solar energy collectors. /Aksam/[32] US TO JOIN "KURDISH" CONFERENCE DESPITE TURKEY'S REACTIONAs a conference entitled "The Kurds Search for Identity" gets underway today in Washington. Turkey has voiced its uneasiness to the US. Ankara conveyed its disquiet to the American side once more during US Assistant Secretary for Near East Affairs Edward Walker and US Special Coordinator for Transition in Iraq Francis Ricciardone's visit to Ankara at the end of last week. /Turkish Daily News/[33] TURKEY TO BUY 40 MORE SEA SPARROWS FROM USTurkey will order an additional 40 surface-to-air Sea Sparrow missiles from the US, which will strengthen the misile fleet of the Turkish Naval Forces Command (DDK). The Sea Sparrows, with a range of 96 kilometres, are valued at about $12.7 million and will be attached to Turkey's Meko class frigates. /Turkish Daily News/[34] TOURISM IN TURKEYA total of 688,401 tourists visited Turkey in the first two months of this year, most coming from Germany, Romania and Bulgaria. 92,414 tourists came from Germany, 79,945 tourists came from Romania and 24,551 tourists came from Bulgaria during the first two months of the year 2000. /Star/[35] DAME KIRI TE KANAWA TO STAGE CONCERT IN TURKEYDame Kiri Te Kanawa, who is a famous soprano singer from New Zealand, will come to Turkey to stage two recitals during the 28th Istanbul Music Festival. Kiri Te Kanawa will stage her concert in Hagia Eirene Museum between 9 and 13 June and the pianist Julian Reynolds will accompany her. /Cumhuriyet/[36] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...[37] A NEW PERIOD IN TURCO-EU RELATIONS BY SUKRU ELEKDAG (MILLIYET)Former Ambassador Sukru Elekdag comments on the recent meeting of the Turco-EU Association Council. A summary of his column is as follows:"The Turco-EU Association Council meeting, which was held after an interval of three years, is the beginning of a new period in the relations between Turkey and the EU. The most important decision taken at the meeting is the start of a screening process for Turkey as a strategy to be followed before its participation in the EU. Eight joint sub-committees to be formed with this purpose will conduct studies on research and analyses to harmonize Turkish regulations with European Law. The EU Commission will prepare the Participation Partnership document which determines the short and middle term priorities of Turkey in the harmonization with the EE and setting a calendar for them. The Participation Partnership document, which will be prepared by the EU in consultation with Turkey, will be a commitment by Turkey. Fulfilling the measures envisaged by the calendar will determine Turkey's pace in its progress towards EU full-membership. To prepare the document the EU Commission is planning to hold consultations with Turkish officials in the Fall. In line with the EU implementations, Turkey has to prepare a national programme in parallel with the 'Investment Partnership.' Ankara is planning to prepare this programme for the end of the year. The second important decision taken during the meeting of the Council is that the service sector between the EU and Turkey should be set free and negotiations on the cooperation concerning public purchasing should be set in motion. The intention of these negotiations is that Turkish citizens and companies provide services in sectors such as banking, communications, insurance and tourism to EU members. Furthermore, Turkey and the EU countries will provide each other with the opportunity to enter state tenders. Although, during the meeting the commitment of the EU was confirmed with the financial aid that will be extended to Turkey within a framework, it is understood that the aid to Turkey will be provided from the sources of MEDA and will be limited. The financial support programme of MEDA which was formed to provide aid for the Meditteranean countries in 1995 is far from meeting Turkey's needs. Therefore, Turkey would like to benefit from a programme such as PHARE founded in 1989 to reconstruct the economies of the Central and Eastern European countries following the collapse of the communist regimes in these countries. During the Council meeting it was announced that $180 million will be given to Turkey annually. In addition to this aid, Turkey can receive conditional loans from the European Investment Bank for projects. As for the $2 billion the EU promised Turkey for entering the Customs Union, only $750 million would be given as a loan by the European Investment Bank. During the meeting, Turkey's promises on abolishing capital punishment and the implementation of reforms on human rights issues were recalled. The report prepared by the State Planning Organization concerning the Copenhagen criteria show that Turkey has to make comprehensive changes in Turkish Laws and the Constitution. The report has to be studied by the Government without any further delay and instructions given to state institutions concerning the measures foreseen in the report. If the Turkish Government wants to start negotiations with the EU on full-membership within the next two years, it has to start intense studies on ways to participate in the EU." [38] CONCERN OVER CYPRUS IN EUROPE BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)Columnist Ferai Tinc writes on the concern over the Cyprus problem in Europe. A summary of her column is as follows:"During the three-day symposium of German Peace and Development (SEF) and Turkish Research Foundation (TAV) held in Potsdam the words 'The European Union has to take the Turkish-Cypriots into consideration' have been frequently heard. This stance, which has been voiced by officials influential in determining German foreign policy, stems from efforts to correct the imbalance created by the Helsinki decision. The negative effects of the Helsinki decision, which allowed Greek Cyriot Administration to be admitted to the EU before a solution was found to the problem, has begun to be seen. Greek Cypriot Leader Glafkos Klerides, in a statement he made a few days ago, said that the necessary grounds for the proximity talks did not exist. The negative messages coming from the Greek Cypriot sector were not limited to this. The polls showing that Greek Cypriots were against even a federative solution were published in the newspapers. While the Turkish Cyriots stated they would not step back from a 'confederative solution' the Greek Cypriots began to back off from even a federation. It has been understood that the Greek Cyriot Administration was relieved after being supported by the Helsinki decisions. It is stated that the EU Term President Portugese Foreign Minister Jaime Gama will meet TRNC President in Portugal. This is a promising development for opening independent channels between the Turkish Cypriots and the EU. There is no other way that the Turkish Cypriot society can express their will during the EU membership process of the Island. It has been understood that there is no way to add Turkish Cypriot representatives to the Greek Cypriot delegation. However, it is not known that direct relations with the Turkish Cypriots mean the recognition of the TRNC. The necessity of establishing relations has begun to take priority. Professor Heinz-Jurgen Axt, from Duizburg University stated that they could not leave the responsibility for a solution to only Turkish-Cypriots. "Listening to the views of the Turkish Cypriots on the negotiations for membership to the EU does not necessarily mean recognizing the TRNC. But we have to do this listening." Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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