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Turkish Press Review, 00-05-17Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>17.05.00Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...[02] SEZER'S TERM IN PRESIDENCYThe 10th President of the Republic of Turkey, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, took over the Presidency from Suleyman Demirel after swearing in at the TGNA yesterday. Sezer will receive Premier Bulent Ecevit and following the meeting Ecevit is expected to hold a press conference. /All papers/[03] CONGRATULATIONS FROM THE WORLDPresident Ahmet Necdet Sezer has received a number of congratulatory messages from world leaders. The US President Bill Clinton, Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, Pakistani Leader Pervez Muserref, Iranian President Hatemi, the Leader of Cuba Fidel Castro, the Leader of Libya Muammar Kaddafi, the King of Sweden Karl 16th, the Russian Head of State, Vladimir Putin, and the Secretary General of the European Council, Walter Schwimmer, expressed their pleasure at Sezer's Presidency. /Aksam/[04] TUSIAD SUPPORTS NEW PRESIDENTErkut Yucaoglu, Head of the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD), said that he is sure new President Ahmet Necdet Sezer will be an implementer and inspector of the economic and political reform process in the 21st century, the Anatolia News Agency reports. In a written statement, Yucaoglu said that Turkey has established its long-expected political stability and that the first results of an inclusive economic programme were starting to be achieved. He said that this new stability was the determining factor in parties' consensus on a presidential candidate.[05] UCOK'S MURDER ALSO UNCOVEREDThe police, who captured the suspects in the murders of the writers of the 'Cumhuriyet' daily, Ugur Mumcu and Prof. Ahmet Taner Kislali, reached important information on the murder of Associate Professor, Bahriye Ucok, who was killed in 1990. It was stated that besides this murder, which is considered to be of Iranian origin, there are also promising developments concerning the assasination of Muammer Aksoy. After the interrogation of Hasan Kilic, Necdet Yuksel and Ferhan Ozmen, who are still in custody, and after the evidence gathered was investigated, the information on the murderer of Ucok was obtained. An official explanation was not made concerning this development but a high-ranking official confirmed the news that these murderers had been discovered. /Milliyet/[06] EU COMMISSION DELEGATION TO VISIT TURKEYA delegation from the European Commission is to come to Turkey tomorrow, the Anatolia News Agency reports. The arrival of the delegation will see the start of the first official deliberations on integrating Turkey's laws with the EU's and towards Turkey's membership of the EU Environmental Agency. The delegation will hold a series of meetings with the Foreign Ministry, the State Planning Organization (DPT) and the Undersecretaries for the Treasury and Foreign Trade together with the Turkish Atomic Energy Agency (TAEK) and the State Institute of Statistics (DIE). The delegation will leave on Friday.[07] SUPPORT FOR TURKEY INCREASESTurkey received the support of its partners during the 'Defense Ministers' and Foreign Affairs Ministers' Meeting', which was organized by the Western European Union (BAB) in Porto. Turkish Minister of National Defense, Sabahattin Cakmakoglu, who represented Turkey during the meeting, stated that the clearest support was from England, Norway and Sweden and that the other countries were not against Turkey. It was noteworthy to see that other countries were also viewing Turkey's problems seriously. Meanwhile, NATO, which wants to increase its military power in Kosovo, conveyed this request to Turkey. The General Secretary of NATO, who met Cakmakoglu, wanted Ankara to increase the number of its soldiers in Kosovo. /Milliyet/[08] IRAN'S HELP FOR TURKEYIt was uncovered that the Jerusalem Warriors' Organization, which is ruled by the religious leader Hamanei and based in Iran, is directing seven radical Islamic groups in Turkey. In addition, it was revealed that the C-4 explosives, which were found in Sincan as part of the operations for uncovering the murder of Kislali, were of US origin and that these explosives were delivered to Turkey through Iran. The first criminal investigation on these weapons, which were seized during the operation's leg in Sincan was completed. Then it was stated that the C-4s were of the 'old type,' produced 20 or 25 years ago, and that these might have been entered into this country during the period of time in which there were good relations between the US and Iran before the Islamic Revolution. /Milliyet/[09] TANTAN: "WE ARE INVESTIGATING EVERYTHING"The Minister of the Interior, Sadettin Tantan answered journalists' questions on the progress of the Police Operation Hope before joining the Parliamentary Internal Affairs Commission, the Anatolia News Agency reports. When asked to clarify what he meant by 'Search through the archives,' Tantan replied, "Just by asking this question it proves that you have not done any archive work. Not just police archives, but your archives as well will bring you closer to the facts. We expect our young journalist colleagues to do their archive work and inform the public accordingly."[10] TURCO-GREEK FRIENDSHIP GETS TIGHTThe "Bodrum-Cos Aegean Water Sports Festival" which is organized together with Bodrum and Cos Offices of the Sub-governor is on-going. As part of the festival, 60 Turkish and Greek sportsmen are competing in various areas. Attending the opening of the festival, Minister of State Fikret Unlu and Greek Deputy Minister Responsible for Sports, Zaharapulos Spilios stated that the festival would contribute to strengthening the friendship between Turkish and Greek nations. The festival will last until May 19. /Cumhuriyet/[11] MANOEUVRE IN CYPRUSThe 'Toksotis-Vergina 2000' manoeuvres, which are being held within the framework of Greek Joint Defense Doctrine, started at the southern part of Cyprus yesterday. This manoeuvre, which aims at developing the coordination between the Greek-Cypriot Army and the Greek Armed Forces, will continue for two days and the Greek war planes and the warships will also attend this manoeuvre. /Milliyet/[12] NINE MORE HIZBULLAH TERRORIST ORGANIZATION MEMBERS CAPTUREDDuring operations held by the Directorate of Security's Department for Combatting Terrorism, nine teachers, including the Director of Sakarya Primary School, Tahir Gunes, were detained under suspicion of helping the Hizbullah terrorist organization. It was stated that the interrogation of these teachers was continuing. /Turkiye/[13] TIME: "AMERICA SHOULD KEEP ITS PROMISE"In an article that was published in the last issue of 'Time' magazine, it was reported that the issue of the attack helicopters, which should be sold by the US to Turkey, and which amounts to four billion dollars was not clarified. In the article, it was written, "The US promised to sell helicopter to Turkey and now it should keep its promise." According to the agreement, four billion dollars will be paid for 145 attack helicopters, which are supposed to be sold by the US to Turkey. /Turkiye/[14] GENERAL CELASUN IN HUNGARYCommander of the Air Forces, General Ergin Celasin, went to the city of Veszprem in Hungary to pay an official visit. Celasin and the accompanying delegation were welcomed by the Hungarian Air Forces' Commander, General Istvan Talla, at the military airport. The Turkish military delegation will meet Hungarian military officials during meetings that will continue until Friday and discuss ways to improve relations between the two countries, the mutual training of officers and other military issues. The Hungarian Air Forces will also present demonstrations of the MIG-29 and MIH-24 war planes for the Turkish military delegation. /Turkiye/[15] ROMANIAN CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF IN TURKEYRomanian Chief of General Staff, Maj.Gen.Mircea Gheorge Chelaru, has visited Turkey's Chief of General Staff Gen.Huseyin Kivrikoglu. Maj.Gen.Chelaru was met by Gen.Kivrikoglu with a military ceremony at the General Staff Headquarters. Maj.Gen.Chelaru will stay in Turkey until May 19 and will then visit Istanbul, Isparta and Antalya. /All papers/[16] COMPENSATION FOR SOLINGEN ARSONISTSFour Neo-Nazis who set fire in Solingen, Germany seven years ago which caused the death of five Turkish girls and two women, were ordered to pay compensation. In 1995, the four were sentenced to prison terms between 10 to 15 years for "murder, attempt to murder and arson in many places." Yesterday, they were brought to court again. According to the decision of the Wuppertal Court of First Instance, the four were sentenced to pay 250,000 DM and monthly 360 DM to the families of the victims as compensation. /Aksam/[17] 'DESTRUCTIVE EARTHQUAKE IS INEVITABLE'A seminar was held entitled 'The world's integration on the issue of earthquakes after those that occurred in Turkey and Athens in 1999,' which was organized by NATO, Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) and Istanbul Technical University (ITU). The announcement presented during this seminar was terrifying. The scientists are expecting earthquakes to occur in Istanbul, Cinarcik, Biga, Tekirdag, Armutlu and Elmacik. A lecturer at ITU, Prof. Naci Gorur, who undertook the management of the seminar, explained the common point that was reached by the scientists and said, "Most of these scientists agree that the risk of an earthquake in the Marmara region increased after the latest earthquakes occurred. This earthquake, which is expected to occur in about 30 years, will be above 7.0 on the Richter scale. However, this opinion should be considered to be only a 'possibility' for now." /Milliyet/[18] HARRAZI: "ECEVIT HAS INTERFERED IN OUR DOMESTIC AFFAIRS"Iranian Foreign Minister Kemal Harrazi has claimed that Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit has interfered in Iran's domestic affairs. According to IRNA, the Iranian official news agency, Harrazi in a statement yesterday said that Ecevit's statements were not compatible with diplomatic traditions.Meanwhile, Spokesman of the US State Department, Richard Boucher, held a press conference yesterday and recalled that Turkish police had captured many people related to the Mumcu and Kislali murders. Boucher said, "However, the Turkish government has avoided making any official comment concerning the allegations of an Iranian connection to the incidents before it receives the complete results of the investigations." /Hurriyet/ [19] APPROVAL FOR INVESTMENTSThe Minister of the Environment, Fevzi Aytekin, stated that as of today the Ministry of the Environment would be more effective in investments. Aytekin stressed, "Anyone who wishes to invest in our country will have to take the view of the Ministry of the Environment. Without confirmation, the projects will not be able to get EU loans." /Aksam/[20] IMF'S INTENSIVE AGENDAThe Turkish government's performance began to be examined seriously for the first time yesterday within the framework of the stand-by agreement, signed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF delegation, which arrived in Ankara yesterday, is continuing the technical discussions during which the developments of the last four months are being reviewed. The delegation is also continuing its discussions with the Privatization Administration Board (OIB), with the Ministry of Finance and with the other related institutions. During these meetings, the performance of the economy for the last four months, State Economic Enterprises (SEES) balance, interior and foreign borrowing, the public banks, the funds and the latest situation of the local adminstrations will be discussed. The Chief of IMF Turkish Office, Carlo Cottarelli, will also arrive in Turkey tomorrow and meet the Treasury Undersecretary, Selcuk Demiralp, on 22 May. The delegation will stay in Turkey for nearly two weeks. /Turkiye/[21] PLATINUM AND SILVER LOAN AT ISTANBUL GOLD EXCHANGEChairman of Istanbul Gold Exchange, Serdar Citak, stated that they had provided the right to receive loans of silver and platinum to have transactions at the Valuable Mines Loan Market. Citak added, "Thus, a new solution was found to the problem of the financing of the valuable mines sector. The people or the establishments that take place within this sector will have the opportunity of finding sources in more convenient conditions thanks to these loans. This will increase the power of competition both in the valuable mines sector and in the sector's international market and, thus, contribute to the economic improvement a great deal." /Milliyet/[22] VAN-ET TO INVEST IN 4.5 MILLION DOLLARSVan-Et Factory will spend 4.5 million dollars for its turkey poultry project. Director of Van-Et Factory, Mumir Karam, stated that they had saved the Agricultural Vocational High School's inactive facilites thanks to this project. Karam added, "The turkey poultry project, which was started in order to improve the turkey processing in the region and the marketing of it, reached its final stage. First of all, we have completed the infrastructure of the facilities belonging to the Agricultural Vocational High School. In the following days, breading turkeys will be started for four months and then they will be distributed to the citizens. We will reach the position that we deserve in a short period of time." /Milliyet/[23] SUCCESS OF ADVERTISING AGENCIESTurkey won one of the awards for best automobile advertisement of the year in the world. The advertising company, called 'Pars_McCann-Erickson, which is active in Turkey, won the mansion award in the branch of the best press announcement with the two press announcements prepared for Opel Corsa in the category of 'The Best Awards,' which is given by 'Advertising Age' magazine. This award is the one and only award that was given by this magazine to a Turkish advertising agency. /Turkiye/[24] TWO FAIRS TO BE HELD IN ISTANBULITF-Istanbul Fair Company, will organize the '2nd International Home Textile Fair' between 25 and 28 May in order to exhibit the latest developments in home textiles with the support of the Home Textile Industrialists. 400 Turkish and foreign firms will attend this fair, which will be held at the CNR International Fair Centre. In addition, another fair, which will gather the latest developments in metal technology, will be held between 24 and 28 May by the ITF-Istanbul Fair Company due to the Metal Week. /Turkiye/[25] RECORD IN FOREIGN INVESTMENTThis year, Turkey is waiting for the highest figures in the actual inflow of the foreign investment in its history. The Foreign Capital General Director of the Undersecretariat of Treasury, Mehmet Onaner, stated that they expected an actual inflow of foreign investment about 1.5 billion dollars by the end of the year 2000. /Aksam/[26] PROMOTION OF TOPKAPI PALACE WITH CD-ROMThe Topkapi Palace CD-Rom prepared under the sponsorship of the Turkish Economy Bank was promoted to the press yesterday. The CD-Rom which aims to promote the Topkapi Palace to foreigners in English, German, French and Turkish cost a total of nearly $200,000. Everyone has the opportunity to order the CD-Rom from this Internet address: 'www.amazon.com'. /Hurriyet/[27] IMKB ON THE RISEThe positive effect on world stock exchanges caused by the US announcement saying that there was no increase in the consumer prices in April also affected the Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB). The IMKB index rose by 2.82 % yesterday and reached 17,429 points. /Hurriyet/[28] WORLD BANK TO CONSIDER LOANS TO TURKEY ON MAY 18World Bank executive directors are scheduled to consider a $760 million Economic Reform Loan (ERL) to Turkey on May 18, the Bank's Ankara office announced yesterday. The ERL, which is designed to support the government's reform efforts in public expenditure, management, social security, agriculture, telecommunications and energy, will be released in two tranches. The loan will also support the disinflation programme and acceleration of privatization, the Bank said. A $384.6 million first tranche is expected to be given once the loan is signed at the end of May, the Turkish Treasury said yesterday. Release of the second tranche will depend on the continued commitment of the government to the economic reform programme.Meanwhile, World Bank President James Wolfensohn will start a three-day visit to Turkey on May 25, which is regarded as an indication of the importance the Bank attaches to Turkey. /All papers/ [29] AGRICULTURE MINISTER VOWS TO STICK TO IMF DEALTurkish Agriculture Minister Husnu Yusuf Gokalp vowed not to breach the government's stand-by deal with the IMF in setting wheat support prices, despite reactions from the agriculture sector. Gokalp said wheat support prices would be revealed soon and would please everyone. "Wheat farmers will get a price commensurate with their labour" he added. According to Turkey's stand-by deal with the IMF, grain support prices must not be higher than 35 % above world prices, which will mean around an 8 % nominal increase in Turkish wheat prices from last year. /All papers/[30] TREASURY SELLS NET TL 1.44 QUADRILLION FRNs AT AUCTIONThe Treasury yesterday sold a net TL 1.44 quadrillion of 14-month floating rate notes (FRNs) at an annual compounded yield of 46.13 %, which appeared in line with market expectations, dealers said. Bids totalled TL 1.8 quadrillion, where uncompetitive sales to primary dealers amounted to TL 145 trillion and those to the public sector to TL 533.3 trillion. The FRNs are value-dated May 17 and mature on May 15, 2002. /All papers/[31] HAZELNUT EXPORTS REACH $597.3 MILLIONTurkey exported $597.3 million worth of unshelled hazelnuts -172,100 tons- in the 1999-2000 export season that opened on Sepember 1, according to the Black Sea Hazelnut Exporters' Union. Over the same period last year, Turkey raised $626.6 million from 152,600 tons of hazelnut exports. /Turkish Daily News/[32] RECORD SEASON IN TOURISM EXPECTEDTourism Minister Erkan Mumcu evaluated statistical surveys of Turkish tourism at a meeting held yesterday in Antalya, the Anatolia News Agency reports. Mumcu said the occupancy-rate for tourist accomodation would exceed figures from 1997, the 'golden year in tourism.' Motherland Party (ANAP) Leader Mesut Yilmaz joined the meeting following his visits to touristic sites and met local administrators, representatives from chambers of commerce and industry and non-governmental organizations.[33] WAITING FOR THE GAMETurkish football team Galatasaray will face British Arsenal team in the UEFA Cup tonight. The kick-off will be at 21:45 on the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen. The Turkish Television and Radio Corporation (TRT) will broadcast the game. /Cumhuriyet/[34] 80 AIRPLANES TO COPENHAGEN TODAYNearly 11,000 people have received visa to go to Copenhagen to attend the Galatasaray-Arsenal match this evening. Eighty airplanes will depart from Turkey for Copenhagen today. It is reported that the income of tourism agencies almost amounts to TL 1.5 trillion.Meanwhile, the Head of the Turkish Union of Travel Agencies (TURSAB), Basaran Ulusoy, said that Galatasaray has made great contribution to the promotion of Turkey with the matches it played in various European countries and the successful results it achieved. /Star/ [35] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...[36] IMPORTANT MESSAGES BY PRESIDENT SEZER BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)Columnist Sami Kohen comments on the inauguration speech delivered by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. A summary of his column is as follows:Ahmet Necdet Sezer who began his duty as President presented messages regarding the policies he will follow both within the country and abroad, in the inauguration speech he delivered during the swearing in ceremony which took place at the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA). This speech has drawn attention to the priority the new President attaches to the supremacy of law, democracy, human rights and freedoms. Sezer, who mentioned these issues in his speech, stated that Turkey had a lot to accomplish in these fields and that the Presidency would play an active role in achieving them. It is also an important point that the new President has said that reaching modern standards would not be possible without abandoning policies and implementations similar to those in a police state. In his speech, Sezer mentioned the necessity of protecting secularism and the territorial integrity of the country, social peace, fair income distribution, justice and education. He also dwelt on the issues of corruption and terrorism. He maintained that as the President, he would use all of his power to end terrorism. On the issue of terrorism, he stated that although the influence of terrorism was decreasing it has not been eradicated as yet and the Turkish Armed Forces should be supported in this fight. On foreign policy the new President recalled that the basic principles of Ataturk were still valid and stated that he would follow an honourable foreign policy. He also mentioned the criteria adopted by the EU and said that it was necessary to adopt these values. According to Sezer, the success of Turkey in improving democracy will increase its chances of integrating with the EU. It is apparent that the President knows the connection between the stiuation in the country and foreign relations. In other words, the speed with which Turkey can carry out the reforms which will advance respect for human rights and freedoms and democracy will determine Turkey's chances of integrating with the EU. Sezer stated that Turkey has to carry out these reforms not because our allies see it as a requirement, but because of the importance we attach in catching up to modern standards. As he was known to be in favour of new initiatives in the fields of democracy, human rights and freedoms, his accession to Presidency was viewed as an encouraging development. His speech has reinforced this sentiment. In the words of Stephen Kinzer, New York Times correspondent in Turkey, the accession of Sezer to the Presidency is an indication of an extraordinary changes in Turkey. 'The recent developments in Turkey show that Turkey seems ready to welcome political reforms.' 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