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Turkish Press Review, 00-09-22
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
22.09.00
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] TURKEY HARSHLY WARNS THE US ON THE SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
BILL
[02] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[03] PRESIDENT SEZER RECEIVES NEW US AMBASSADOR
[04] CABINET MEETING
[05] TURKEY HARSHLY WARNS THE US ON THE SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
BILL
[06] A LEGAL SOLUTION TO SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
[07] DENKTAS' STATEMENT ON TURKEY'S ROLE IN TRNC
[08] FOREIGN MINISTRY'S STATEMENT ON THE TRNC
[09] VERHOFSTADT'S STATEMENT CONCERNING FEHRIYE ERDAL
[10] FULL EU MEMBERSHIP NEGOTIATIONS MAY START AT THE END OF 2001
[11] ERCEL: THE MOST SUCCESSFUL CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR
[12] DEMIREL: "TURKEY HAS A BRIGHT FUTURE CONCERNING ENERGY"
[13] ITALIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY UNDERSECRETARY TO VISIT TURKEY
[14] STATE MEDAL TO YASARGIL
[15] DIPLOMATIC STATUS FOR THE IMF BUREAUCRATS
[16] FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES INCREASE
[17] TURKEY'S AND ISRAEL'S BIGGEST FABRIC COMPANIES MERGE
[18] STOCK INVESTORS APPROACH 2 MILLION
[19] THIRD SOUTHEASTERN ANATOLIA PROJECT (GAP) FAIR
[20] RUSSIAN AWARD FOR ISTANBUL STATE THEATRE
[21] LAODICEA TO BE UNEARTHED
[22] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[23] HOW TO STOP THE ARMENIANS BY H.MESUT HAZAR (TURKIYE)
[01] TURKEY HARSHLY WARNS THE US ON THE SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
BILL
[02] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[03] PRESIDENT SEZER RECEIVES NEW US AMBASSADOR
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer received newly appointed United
States Ambassador W. Robert Pearson at the Cankaya Presidential
Palace yesterday. Presenting his credentials to Mr. Sezer, Mr.
Pearson said, "I will be honored to represent my country in your
country." Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Sencer Ozsot was
also present at the meeting. Mr. Pearson visited Anitkabir,
Ataturk's mausoleum, after his meeting with President Sezer.
/Cumhuriyet/
[04] CABINET MEETING
Yesterday, the Council of Ministers held a meeting presided over
by Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit. After the 3.5-hour meeting,
Premier Ecevit held a press conference with Deputy Prime
Ministers Devlet Bahceli and Mesut Yilmaz. Stressing that the
Government gives great importance and priority to the
preparations for the full EU membership, Mr. Ecevit said that
during the meeting, they had discussed the studies of the Human
Rights Coordinator High Board, and, especially, the documents on
human rights, democracy and superiority of law had been evaluated
and they had decided to accept those documents as reference.
Premier Ecevit also said that the energy problem, faced by
Turkey, had also been discussed and the Council of Ministers had
been fully briefed on the situation of the energy sector by the
authorities from the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.
/Turkiye/
[05] TURKEY HARSHLY WARNS THE US ON THE SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
BILL
The US House of Representatives' International Operations and
Human Rights Sub-Committee accepted the so-called Armenian
genocide bill by a majority of votes yesterday. The bill is
expected to be taken up in the International Relations Committee.
Turkey harshly reacted to the approval of the bill. "The approval
of the bill will constitute a significant obstacle in the
normalization of bilateral relations between Turkey and Armenia.
The approval will not contribute positively to the attempts
aiming to achieve peace and stability in the Caucasus. In
addition, it is clear that the acceptance of the bill will
seriously damage the bilateral relations with the US. Therefore,
we hope that during the discussions to be held on the issue, the
House of Representatives will act with commonsense and decide not
to approve the bill by taking the possible negative consequences
into account." said the Foreign Ministry's written statement.
/Cumhuriyet/
[06] A LEGAL SOLUTION TO SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Retired Ambassador Gunduz Aktan said that the most rational
solution to the question of the so-called Armenian genocide can
be achieved through arbitration. The Subcommittee of US House of
Representatives approved the Bill on the issue, yesterday.
Answering a question "How should act Turkey from now on related
to the issue", Mr. Aktan said that it would be wrong to leave the
issue to the evaluations of historians. Mr. Aktan said, "
Armenian historians are very influential on this issue and made
their views accepted by the western public opinion. However,
accepting the claims is not a solution, as it is contrary to
historical facts. To accept a crime that was not committed by our
ancestors would be wrong. The problem can only be solved by legal
procedures. Armenians have not considered to apply to the
International Court of Justice until now, since the Court cannot
approve the so-called genocide. A peaceful solution can only be
achieved through arbitration. The parties should submit their
views and proofs to the arbitrators and the arbitrators would
give a fair decision./Milliyet/
[07] DENKTAS' STATEMENT ON TURKEY'S ROLE IN TRNC
The President of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Rauf
Denktas met United Nations special representative to Cyprus
Alvaro de Soto yesterday. After the meeting, Mr. Denktas stated
that Turkey did not govern the TRNC. Speaking at the hearing
against Turkey in the European Court of Human Rights, Mr. Denktas
said, "Asserting that Turkey governs the TRNC is a big mistake.
Turkey protects and supports the TRNC as it is justified in
certain agreements. Turkey gives full support to us. Therefore we
feel ourselves powerful enough to engage in discussions with the
Greek-Cypriots. It's no use to sue Turkey, because we rule our
own state and they protect us." /Cumhuriyet/
[08] FOREIGN MINISTRY'S STATEMENT ON THE TRNC
Stating that the Greek-Cypriot administration did not have the
right to sue Turkey at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)
for the Cyprus issue, the Foreign Ministry pointed out that the
only address for the Greek-Cypriots is the Turkish Republic of
the Northern Cyprus. Spokesman of the Foreign Ministry said,
"This is the fourth lawsuit brought by the Greek Cypriots to the
European Court of Human Rights concerning the Cyprus issue.
Therefore, Turkey decided to waive its right to defend itself in
accordance with the regulations of the ECHR. /Turkiye/
[09] VERHOFSTADT'S STATEMENT CONCERNING FEHRIYE ERDAL
Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt and the Belgian Minister
of the Interior Antoine Duquesne made statements about Fehriye
Erdal during the conference about the 'Future of the European
Union (EU)' which was organized by the European Political Center
at the Pale Palais D'Egmont, Belgium. Turkish Ambassadors to NATO
and the EU and the Turkish businessmen were also invited to this
conference. Verhofstadt said, "The fact that Fehriye Erdal was
not extradited to Turkey should not be considered as a hostile
attitude towards the Turkish Government and Turkish State. The
Belgian Government is considering the issue as a legal trial.
This should not be regarded as a political problem." Meanwhile,
Duquesne said, "If a development occurs concerning the issue, the
Turkish press will be the first to hear that. This is a very
sensitive issue, which is discussed by the Belgian Government
very carefully." /Sabah/
[10] FULL EU MEMBERSHIP NEGOTIATIONS MAY START AT THE END OF 2001
Foreign Minister Ismail Cem said that the target date for the
start of the full EU membership negotiations will be the end of
2001, after he met the representatives of the European Parliament
and EU Commission in Brussels. Mr. Cem said, "We should do our
best in order to start this process as soon as possible. If we
can adapt ourselves to the norms of the Union, we can apply for
the full membership negotiations in 2001. /Milliyet/
[11] ERCEL: THE MOST SUCCESSFUL CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR
The economic journal "Global Finance" has elected the Governor of
Turkish Central Bank Gazi Ercel the most successful governor of
the year. Also another economic journal "Euromoney" had granted
Ercel the same award a while ago. Mr. Ercel will get his awards
at the ceremonies to be organized by the fore-mentioned journals
in Prague and in London. Mr. Ercel will deliver speeches at the
ceremonies and talk about Turkish economy, the stabilization
program and monetary and exchange rate policies. Ercel will also
participate in the conference entitled "The Possible Risks in
Developing Markets" organized by Deutsche Bank along with the
Central Bank Governors of Brazil, South Korea and Mexico.
/Milliyet/
[12] DEMIREL: "TURKEY HAS A BRIGHT FUTURE CONCERNING ENERGY"
Ninth Turkish President Suleyman Demirel attended a ceremony
during which Turcas 2 fuel oil tanker was launched to the sea and
said, "Turkey will turn out to be an energy terminal station in
three or four years and Turkey has a bright future concerning the
issue. Turkey will have a second bridge with the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. The important role of petroleum and
natural gas will continue. Turkey is also determined to take
place among the best 10 economies in the world." /Sabah/
[13] ITALIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY UNDERSECRETARY TO VISIT TURKEY
Italian Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Umberto Vattani is
scheduled to come to Turkey to hold contacts with his Turkish
counterpart Faruk Logoglu on Sept. 25. According to the Turkish
Foreign Ministry, they will discuss issues such as bilateral
relations between Turkey and Italy, the European Union and
regional issues. /Turkish Daily News/
[14] STATE MEDAL TO YASARGIL
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer presented Prof. Gazi Yasargil with
the State Distinguished Service Medal. During the ceremony,
President Sezer said, "Prof. Yasargil introduced new methods to
the neuro-surgery." President Sezer also recalled the fact that
Prof. Yasargil was elected the 'man of the century in the
neuro-surgery'. President Sezer added, "Turkey is proud of Prof.
Yasargil, who pleased our people with his success." Meanwhile,
Prof. Yasargil thanked President Sezer and said that the medal
was the most valuable present he had received. /Aksam/
[15] DIPLOMATIC STATUS FOR THE IMF BUREAUCRATS
The government has granted diplomatic immunities to the officials
who will work at the representative office of the IMF in Turkey.
The representatives will stay in Turkey in order to monitor the
implementation of the economic stabilization program. The
representatives will not have the judicial immunities which is
usually granted to the ambassadors, but they will be exempted
from taxes. /Milliyet/
[16] FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES INCREASE
The Turkish Central Bank's foreign exchange reserves increased by
$ 572 milion between Sept 8-15. The foreign exchange reserves,
which were $ 23.9 million on Sept. 8, reached $ 24.6 billion on
Sept. 15. /Turkiye/
[17] TURKEY'S AND ISRAEL'S BIGGEST FABRIC COMPANIES MERGE
Turkish Guney Industry and Israeli Polgat Textiles, which are
among the biggest fabric companies in their countries, merged. 55
percent of the shares of the new company, Guney-Polgat Company,
which was established as a result of the merger, belong to the
Guney Industry and 45 percent of its shares to the Polgat
Textiles. Head of Baser Holding Textile Group, which owns the
Guney Industry, Bulent Baser said, "We are planning to enter the
United States market. With this new merger Turkey will take
advantage of the Customs Union with the European Union and Israel
will benefit from its Free Trade Agreement with the US."
/Hurriyet/
[18] STOCK INVESTORS APPROACH 2 MILLION
The number of Turkish stock market investors rose by
approximately 1 million over the past year, according to the data
from the Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB) Settlement and Custody
Bank (Takasbank). Accounts with Takasbank numbered 1,967,153 on
Sep. 15, of which 1,356,824 were holding share certificates. On
Sep. 20 of last year, 882,492 accounts were open and 563,132 of
them were active. Falling interest rates and massive public
offerings such as those by state-owned refinery Tupras and mobile
operator Turkcell this year attracted individual investors in
particular to the Turkish stock exchange. /Turkish Dailly News/
[19] THIRD SOUTHEASTERN ANATOLIA PROJECT (GAP) FAIR
The Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), which is the biggest
project of the Republic of Turkey with an investment of 32
billion dollars, will promote the region's potential during the
'Third GAP Fair' between 13 and 17 October. GAP Fair has been
previously visited by 300,000 people. Head of the GAP Council of
Fair Organizations, Ayten Genc, said, "More than 200 foreign and
Turkish investors are expected to attend the GAP Fair this year.
We have been working on the organization of this fair for more
than five years with a huge budget. I believe that we will reach
our goal with this fair. Our only aim is to bring the investors
and the people living in the region together. /Sabah/
[20] RUSSIAN AWARD FOR ISTANBUL STATE THEATRE
During the 'Brest Bellaja Vezka 2000 Festival', the Istanbul
State Theatre received the Special Award with the play entitled
'Yemenimin Uclari', which was staged last year. 'Yemenimin
Uclari' was deemed worthy of this award due to the fact that it
reflected the problems of ethical values stemming from
modernization. This festival was attended by the theatre groups
from China, France, Russian Federation, Lithuania, the US and
Ukraine between 9 and 13 September. /Sabah/
[21] LAODICEA TO BE UNEARTHED
Laodicea, the largest ancient city in Denizli will be unearthed
by a joint study of Venice University, Pamukkale University and
Denizli University. The site is being investigated before the
excavations which are expected to start next year. It is said
that the ancient city was full of the ruins of the Hellenistic,
Roman, Byzantine and Seljuk periods. /Hurriyet/
[22] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[23] HOW TO STOP THE ARMENIANS BY H.MESUT HAZAR (TURKIYE)
Columnist H.Mesut Hazar writes on the acceptance of the so-called
Armenian Genocide Resolution at a subcommittee in the House of
Representatives . A summary of his column is as follows:
The efforts to pass a resolution from the US Congress on the
so-called Armenian Genocide were accelerated. The first session
on the subject was held last week at the subcommittee last week.
Yesterday, the subcommittee decided to send the resolution to the
International Relations Committee. The resolution is expected to
be sent to the Congress after being accepted there next week.
This dangerous gamble played by furious Armenian militants and
their accomplices will succeed if the Turkish Government and the
TGNA, which have to issue declarations, do not intervene and the
so-called Armenian Genocide Resolution will be accepted.
The American Congress goes into recess on October 6, as elections
will be held in November. The elections will renew the members of
the House of Representatives and a new President will be elected.
The Republicans and Democrats are fighting for a majority of the
seats in these elections. The November Elections are expected to
pass in a highly competitive manner. The Republicans may lose the
slim majority of seats they have in the House of Representatives
and that is why this resolution which has been waiting at the
sumcommittee and was not expected to be floored in the Congress
this legislative year, suddenly was taken into the agenda.
House of Representatives Speaker Hastert, met the representatives
of the Armenian church and community in California last week.
Hastert promised the Armenians to send the resolution to the
Congress. Thus the process began and it was understood during the
sessions at the subcommittee that both the subcommittee chairman
Christopher Smith and the pro-Armenian deputies delivered
speeches in favour of the resolution in line with the promises
they made and sent messages to their constitutents. They did not
care what the specialists had to say or the sagacity to listen to
historical facts.
Therefore, Turkey has to act with determination on the issue.
Measures can be taken to stop the the Armenian hold over the US
Congress but these should be implemented as soon as possible.
Actions speak louder than words, and we have to act instead of
talking about them."
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