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Turkish Press Review, 00-08-04
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
04.08.00
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] UBS WARBURG LONDON: FINE TUNING ARE NEEDED FOR PRIVATE PENSION
FUNDS
[02] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[03] SEZER RECEIVES YAS MEMBERS
[04] ACADEMICIANS IN ANKARA
[05] ECEVIT RECEIVES NEWLY APPOINTED GOVERNORS
[06] CEM: "1974 TURKISH OPERATION IS NOT AN OCCUPATION"
[07] DENKTAS TO VISIT TURKEY
[08] WORLD BANK SUPPORTS THE VILLAGE-CITY PROJECT
[09] OKUYAN: " 10% THRESHOLD SHOULD BE ENFORCED"
[10] RENEWAL OF IDENTITY CARDS
[11] DRAFT LAW ON OPENING A 'JUSTICE ACADEMY'
[12] SHARP INCREASE IN ELECTRICITY PRICES
[13] INFLATION FIGURES FOR JULY
[14] STRUCTURAL OPERATIONS FOR STATE ENTERPRISES
[15] TURKEY PAYS FOREIGN DEBT AMOUNTING TO $ 33 MILLION
[16] SAYGILIOGLU: "TOURISM INCOME WILL REACH $ 8.7 MILLION"
[17] MOSQUE TO BE BUILT IN TURKMENISTAN
[18] AN INTERNET SITE FOR ECONOMY
[19] UBS WARBURG LONDON: FINE TUNING ARE NEEDED FOR PRIVATE PENSION
FUNDS
[20] APPRECIATION FOR ZEUGMA GROUP
[21] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[22] PLAN AWAITING REPLY BY ERTUGRUL OZKOK (HURRIYET)
[01] UBS WARBURG LONDON: FINE TUNING ARE NEEDED FOR PRIVATE PENSION
FUNDS
[02] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[03] SEZER RECEIVES YAS MEMBERS
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer received the Supreme Military
Council (YAS) members led by Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit in the
Cankaya Palace. The meeting was closed to press. After the
meeting President Sezer gave a banquet in the honour of YAS
members. Meanwhile, Supreme Military Council's meeting will end
today. The decisions will be presented to the President's
approval. The decisions are expected to be announced today.
/Turkiye/
[04] ACADEMICIANS IN ANKARA
Academicians who came to Ankara to voice their reaction to the
new rectorial appointments of President Ahmet Necdet Sezer did
not receive the support they expected. President Sezer and Prime
Minister Bulent Ecevit did not accept to meet them due to their
busy schedules. The walk organized by a group of academicians
from Samsun 19 Mayis University ended in Ankara yesterday.
Academicians first visited Ataturk's mausoleum, Anitkabir and
then met Motherland Party Deputy Chairman Salih Yildirim. They
met also True Path Party Deputy Chairman Mehmet Saglam. The group
who could not meet anyone from the Virtue Party and Democratic
Left Part returned to Samsun. /Cunhuriyet/
[05] ECEVIT RECEIVES NEWLY APPOINTED GOVERNORS
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit met the newly appointed 27
governors. Prime Minister Ecevit warned the governors about the
earthquake and asked them to take necessary measures in the
construction of the buildings. Meeting with the Interior Minister
Sadettin Tantan and the governors, Prime Minister Ecevit said, "
As Turkey is in danger of earthquakes, we must strictly control
the construction of the buildings. Scientific and technological
measures might decrease the number of dead and injured." The
governors also met Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and Devlet
Bahceli. /Turkiye/
[06] CEM: "1974 TURKISH OPERATION IS NOT AN OCCUPATION"
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ismal Cem, in a letter published in
the Italian daily La Stampa on Wednesday, said that 1974 Turkish
Peace Operation was not an occupation of Cyprus since it brought
liberation for 200.000 Turkish Cypriots living on the Island. Cem
also called for a realistic and just settlement for the Island.
Cem said, " The settlement model is clear for the Island: a
confederation consisting of two states. According to this model,
the two independent entities would transfer some of their
functions to confederal bodies. This would preserve both
differences and the similarities between the two nations living
on the island. /Turkiye/
[07] DENKTAS TO VISIT TURKEY
It was stated that the Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, who
did not accept the Prime Minister of the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Dervis Eroglu's request for a meeting,
will meet TRNC's President Rauf Denktas tomorrow. After the third
round of proximity talks in Geneva, Denktas will arrive in Turkey
and give information on proximity talks. In addition, opinions
will be exchanged concerning the governmental problem over the
bank crises in the TRNC. It was reported that Ecevit did not
accept Eroglu's request by saying, "It is impossible to hold a
meeting while Denktas is continuing the proximity talks in
Geneva". /Aksam/
[08] WORLD BANK SUPPORTS THE VILLAGE-CITY PROJECT
World Bank supported the Village-City Project, which Prime
Minister Bulent Ecevit has been trying to implement throughout
his political life. World Bank's Director to Turkey, Ajay Chibber
met the State Minister Husamettin Ozkan yesterday and discussed
the project. After the meeting, Chibber just said that they
evaluated the project. Village-City Project, which came on the
agenda of the World Bank upon the request of Ecevit, includes an
additional financing of $ 500 million. /Aksam/
[09] OKUYAN: " 10% THRESHOLD SHOULD BE ENFORCED"
Labour and Social Security Minister Yasar Okuyan said that the
law which imposes a 10% threshold for labour unions to conclude
collective bargaining agreements has not been enforced for 17
years. Okuyan added that they launched an investigation against
those who did not obey the law. Okuyan received the Chairman of
Labour Confederation (Hak-Is) Salim Uslu and a Hak-Is delegation
yesterday. Okuyan stated that 10 trade unions' permission to
engage in collective bargaining talks have been invalidated on
the grounds that they could not maintain the necessary 10 %
threshold. According to the law, unions should have at least 10 %
of the workers employed in a sector to be able to engage in
collective bargaining talks. Uslu said that Labour Ministry
should keep the bargaining power of the unions while making
amendments in working life. /Turkiye/
[10] RENEWAL OF IDENTITY CARDS
Central Population Administration System (MERNIS) project was
adopted by the Council of Ministers yesterday and decided to be
implemented. According to the project, every Turkish citizen will
have an Identity (ID) number consisting of eleven digits and the
ID cards will be renewed in five years starting from November.
Interior Minister Sadettin Tantan said that they supported the
removal of parts in ID cards stating marital status, religion and
blood type. /Hurriyet/
[11] DRAFT LAW ON OPENING A 'JUSTICE ACADEMY'
The draft law concerning to set up an academy for the in-service
education for judges and public prosecutors was submitted to TGNA
after signed by the Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit. According to
the draft, the academy will have a corporate body and scientific,
administrative and financial autonomy. The academy will organize
courses for judicial, administrative and military judges,
advocates, notaries and assistant personnel in judicial services.
Moreover, another draft law concerning the establishing of a
center for the education of the personnel in prisons and
detention houses was submitted to the TGNA. /Hurriyet/
[12] SHARP INCREASE IN ELECTRICITY PRICES
Deputy Director General of Turkey Electricity Distribution Inc.
(TEDAS) Osman Nuri Dogan said that Turkey is facing a bottleneck
in energy which might continue until 2002. Dogan stated that in
order to cope with the electricity shortage they will encourage
the public to save energy. Dogan said that a 50 % increased
tariff will be implemented to the households which use more than
150 kwh electricity as of August 1, 2000. Stating that the
decision for the increase was taken in a meeting which was
chaired by State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Husamettin
Ozkan, Dogan said "The decision was sent to Council of Ministers
and after it was approved the implementations began. Our aim is
to lead people to save energy." /Turkiye/
[13] INFLATION FIGURES FOR JULY
Wholesale Price Index (WPI) and Consumer Price Index (CPI) have
increased 1 percent and 2.2 percent in July, respectively. The
increase in CPI has originated 70 percent the rise in private
sector prices. The Treasury announced that wages and salaries of
civil servants and public workers, as well as subvention
purchases of agricultural products and prices of products by
State Economic Enterprises were kept within the limits of the
targets set by the economic program. It was stressed that private
sector set higher salaries for workers and prices for products
compared to the inflation targets. The increase in private
manifacturing industry index was 21.4 percent in the seven months
period, while public sector manifacturing industry remained at
13.9 percent level. It was further argued that a coordination and
compatibility is required between private and public sectors for
the success of the economic program. /Hurriyet/
[14] STRUCTURAL OPERATIONS FOR STATE ENTERPRISES
State Minister Recep Onal has said that preparations are underway
for very serious structural changes at the State economic
Enterprises. Onal has said that at the firts stage, 40 state
Economic Enterprises would be analyzed in general and then
special regulations would be applied for each of them. /Milliyet/
[15] TURKEY PAYS FOREIGN DEBT AMOUNTING TO $ 33 MILLION
Turkey paid a foreign debt amounting to $ 33.12 million between
1-2 August. According to the data obtained from the Central Bank,
$ 2.90 million of this amount was paid by the Treasury, $ 30.05
million was paid by the Central Bank and $ 0.17 million of this
amount consisted of the expenses such as documentation, books and
the membership revenues of the administrations with general and
suplementary budget. /Aksam/
[16] SAYGILIOGLU: "TOURISM INCOME WILL REACH $ 8.7 MILLION"
Turkey is expecting to exceed its targets in terms of the number
of tourists visiting Turkey and tourism. Tourism Ministry
Undersecretary Nevzat Saygilioglu said, "This year the estimation
of the Central Bank amounts to $ 7.2 billion. However, we are
going to exceed the numbers of the Central Bank and the tourism
income will be between $ 8.3 and $ 8.7 billion. In addition,
International Monetary Fund (IMF) considers our estimations to be
realistic". /Aksam/
[17] MOSQUE TO BE BUILT IN TURKMENISTAN
After having completed the restoration of the Tomb of Hoce Ahmet
Yesevi in Turkmenistan, Turkey will build a mosque in
Turkmenistan. State Minister and the Government Spokesman Rustu
Kazim Yucelen stated that the issue was discussed at the Council
of Ministers and a concensus was reached. Yucelen said, "State
Minister Yuksel Yalova gave information on the restoration works
in Turkmenistan and said that works will end next month. Then
Yalova briefed the other Ministers on the mosque that will be
built near the tomb in accordance with the international rules.
The construction of the mosque will be financed by the
Administration of Privatization Board". /Aksam/
[18] AN INTERNET SITE FOR ECONOMY
Ministry of State responsible for Turkey's Treasury has put an
Internet site into service. It will be possible to reach news and
number of statistics about Turkey and world economics. The site
aims to help domestic and foreign researchers to provide data
they may need as well as details of anti inflationist program and
its applications, official statements, press releases of the
Minister of State Recep Onal. Web adress of the Site :
www.economy.gov.tr /Milliyet/
[19] UBS WARBURG LONDON: FINE TUNING ARE NEEDED FOR PRIVATE PENSION
FUNDS
UBS Warburg London has prepared a report about a reform package
of Turkey's pension funds. UBS Warburg is of the opinion that the
draft which was prepared has no incentives to encourage capital
flow into Turkey. At the report, pension fund reform was
described as a step at the right direction which would support
capital inflow as well as contribute transformation in the
formation of understanding capitalist culture. /Milliyet/
[20] APPRECIATION FOR ZEUGMA GROUP
Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) Regional Development
Chairmanship supported the efforts of Zeugma Initiative Group,
which was formed to rescue Zeugma, and said they were ready to
cooperate. Chairman Dr. Olcay Unver stated that those excavations
had been going on since 1992 under the coordination of the
administration. 65 archeologists and 190 workers including Oxford
Archeology Group and the French archeologists were continuing
their works in 10 different regions. /Aksam/
[21] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[22] PLAN AWAITING REPLY BY ERTUGRUL OZKOK (HURRIYET)
Columnist Ertugrul Ozkok comments on Foreign Minister Ismail
Cem's article appearing in Italian daily 'La Stampa'. A summary
of his column is as follows:
"A sentence in Foreign Minister Ismail Cem's article attracted my
attention. He said that Turkey was still waiting for a reply to
the plan comprising ten points it has submitted to Greece on
confidence building measures. This plan was first mentioned
during Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou's visit to Turkey
on 19-22 January. In other words, Greece has not given a reply to
Turkish proposals for seven months.
These confidence building measures can be stated as limiting the
area of exercises in the Aegean and reducing their number;
turning and keeping on the recognition and identification systems
for military planes while flying in international airspace over
the Aegean; exchanging information between NATO operation centers
in Eskisehir and Larissa on the flights over the Agean;
conducting unarmed flights by military planes over the Aegean;
holding joint manouevres by the armed forces of both countries,
including partnership for peace exercises; mutual visits to ports
by ships belonging to the naval forces of the two countries;
inviting observers from the other country to the national
exercises; conducting mutual military control flights within the
framework of 'Open Skies' agreement; forming a joint military
committee by the two countries.
When carefully examined, it will be seen that this is a
meticulously planned confidence building measures package. It is
beyond comprehension why Greece has not answered this proposal.
However, Greece implements this plan in the Aegean without
answering the proposals.
There is a boom in the number of Turkish tourists visiting Greek
islands. In other words, the peoples of two countries are
implementing these confidence building measures spontaneously. As
such a peaceful psychological climate is seen in the Aegean, it
would be difficult to explain to the two peoples how their
airplanes and and ships can come against each other. Whom would
it benefit to oppose peaceful initiatives with political
concerns?"
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