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Turkish Press Review, 00-10-13
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
13.10.00
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] US REPRESENTATIVES RECEIVE CAMPAIGN MONEY FOR SUPPORTING GENOCIDE
BILL
[02] TGNA VOTES TO ELECT A SPEAKER BY CUNEYT ARCAYUREK
(CUMHURIYET)
[03] ECEVIT ANSWERS QUESTIONS ON CNN
[04] ECEVIT'S STATEMENT ON THE SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL
[05] REACTIONS TO THE ARMENIAN BILL CONTINUE
[06] US REPRESENTATIVES RECEIVE CAMPAIGN MONEY FOR SUPPORTING GENOCIDE
BILL
[07] AMBASSADOR ILKIN: "IT IS HARD TO BE OPTIMISTIC"
[08] ELECTION FOR THE NEW PARLIAMENTARY SPEAKER
[09] TURKEY'S REACTION TO THE WINDS OF WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST
[10] TURKEY WORRIES ABOUT THE RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE MIDEAST
[11] TURKISH CONSUL GENERAL TO JERUSALEM CONFINED IN GAZA
[12] ERIS MEETS VERHEUGEN
[13] 7 TURKISH COMPANIES RECEIVE AWARD
[14] $63 MILLION TO BE RECEIVED BY EUROPEAN COUNCIL'S DEVELOPMENT BANK
[15] TEXTILE AND CLOTHING EXPORTS INCREASE
[16] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[17] TGNA VOTES TO ELECT A SPEAKER BY CUNEYT ARCAYUREK
(CUMHURIYET)
[01] US REPRESENTATIVES RECEIVE CAMPAIGN MONEY FOR SUPPORTING GENOCIDE
BILL
[02] TGNA VOTES TO ELECT A SPEAKER BY CUNEYT ARCAYUREK
(CUMHURIYET)
[03] ECEVIT ANSWERS QUESTIONS ON CNN
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit attended CNN "Questions and Answers"
anchored by Riz Khan on CNN yesterday. Mr. Ecevit said Turkey has
been a European country for hundreds of years and has proved that
Islam, modernity and secularism could coexist harmoniously in
Turkey. Responding to a question about what steps would be taken
regarding the issue of minorities and religious freedoms
necessary for the full EU membership, Mr. Ecevit said,
"Minorities enjoy the same rights as the other people. Kurds have
intermingled with Turks. Some Kurds have been government
ministers." Asked for Turkey's reaction to US House of
Representatives approval of the Armenian genocide bill, Mr.
Ecevit said, "Turkish people strongly reject this bill. Turks
have not had any problems with the Armenians until now. Russia
and some other states in particular incited the Armenians to
rebel against the Ottoman Empire. Therefore, some measures had
to be taken. This cannot be considered a genocide. Ottoman
archives are open to general use and Armenian historians are free
to study them. Hence, it will be revealed that there has not been
a genocide as such." /Milliyet/
[04] ECEVIT'S STATEMENT ON THE SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said he was concerned that bilateral
relations between Turkey and the US would be damaged if the
Armenian bill was passed in the House of Representatives. "We
will continue protecting our nation's dignity," said Mr. Ecevit.
Stating that the efforts of the US Administration to avoid such
attempts against Turkey was appreciated by the nation, Mr. Ecevit
evaluated the European Parliament's decision on excluding the
allegations of the Armenian genocide from French Parliamentarian
Phillippe Morillion's Turkey report as as positive development.
/Cumhuriyet/
[05] REACTIONS TO THE ARMENIAN BILL CONTINUE
Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz suggested that the allegations
of the Armenian genocide be discussed in an independent council
consisting of Turkish, Armenian and non-interested group of
historians. "If they had scientific evidence, Armenians would
apply to International Court of Justice. Their aim is to have
their allegations, which distort the historical facts, approved
by using the House elections," said Mr. Yilmaz. Warning the
Armenian lobbies, he stated that Armenia would suffer the most if
the bill was approved. Meanwhile, speaking at the "Universities
in the New Millenium Conference" held in the Bogazici University,
American Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and
Cultural Affairs William B. Bader said, "As far as our historical
relations with Turkey are concerned, I do not think that these
latest developments over the Armenian bill are strong enough to
damage our bilateral relations." The US Ambassador to Turkey
Robert Pearson said Turkey was one of the closest US allies added
that the responsibilty of the Turkish and American politicians
was to protect the close relationship between the two countries.
/Cumhuriyet/
[06] US REPRESENTATIVES RECEIVE CAMPAIGN MONEY FOR SUPPORTING GENOCIDE
BILL
Republican Representative of California James Rogan and his rival
Democrat Adam Schiff received campaign money totaling $9.3
million, mostly from the Armenian lobby for the upcoming Nov.7
elections. A newspaper "Congress Daily" reported that two
politicians have broken the "donation record" with Mr. Rogan
collecting $5.7 million and Mr. Schiff $3.6 million. According to
sources in the Congress, the paper reported, Mr. Rogan may lose
his seat to Mr. Schiff in the elections and, therefore, is using
approval of this bill to guarantee success in the elections. In
Southern California, there are 30.000 Armenian voters within Mr.
Rogan's constituency. Mr. Schiff and Mr. Rogan both promised to
gain approval for the genocide bill. /Milliyet/
[07] AMBASSADOR ILKIN: "IT IS HARD TO BE OPTIMISTIC"
During a press conference, Turkish Ambassador to Washington Baki
Ilkin said that the so-called Armenian genocide bill might be
brought to the floor of the House of Representatives next
Tuesday. He added, "It is hard to be optimistic." The Ambassador
said, "The members of the House of Representatives face two
options: They can further their personal and party interests or
Turco-American relations, i.e. the security interests of the US."
Mr. Ilkin pointed out that in addition to President Clinton,
Secretary of State Albright also met with the Speaker of the
House and urged that the bill not be passed. /Turkiye/
[08] ELECTION FOR THE NEW PARLIAMENTARY SPEAKER
During the two rounds of voting held yesterday at the Turkish
Grand National Assembly (TGNA), none of the eight candidates were
able to obtain the 367 votes needed to be elected. The third
round of the balloting will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 17, in which
the candidate who obtains 276 votes will become the new Speaker
of the Parliament. /Turkiye/
[09] TURKEY'S REACTION TO THE WINDS OF WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST
An urgent meeting, chaired by Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, was
held in Ankara as Israeli combat helicopters fired rockets at
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's residential compound in the
Gaza Strip and a West Bank town yesterday. During the meeting in
which Undersecretary Ambassador Faruk Logoglu, Deputy
Undersecretary Ambassador Ugur Ziyal and other officials
participated, the latest developments in the Middle East were
discussed. The officials stated that Israel was to blame for the
latest incidents which are causing serious damage to the peace
process in the Middle East. It was also stated that the Tel Aviv
Administration must stop the military operations. After the
meeting, Israeli Ambassador Uri Bar-Ner, Palestinian Ambassador
Fuad Yasin and the DCM of the American Embassy, James Jeffrey,
were summoned to the Ministry. Meeting with Mr. Barner,
Ambassador Ziyal repeated Turkey's concern over the developments
and asked the Israeli Administration to stop its operations.
Meanwhile, Turkey's Israeli Ambassador Ahmet Uzumcu met with
Israeli Foreign Minister Sholomo Ben Ami. After the meetings the
Foreign Ministry issued a written statement: "We call on both
parties to contemplate reasons and possible consequences of the
violence. In order to alleviate the tension, we call on Israel to
stop the operations. Our views on the developments were conveyed
to the officials from the embassies of Israel, Palestine and the
US. We give full support to all the efforts aimed at ending the
incidents and maintaining peace in the region," said the
statement. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer phoned the President of
Egypt, Husnu Mubarek, the day before yesterday. Saying that they
are following the developments with great concern, the two
Presidents emphasized the need to restore calm in the region so
that the latest developments would not damage the future of the
peace process. /Cumhuriyet/
[10] TURKEY WORRIES ABOUT THE RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE MIDEAST
Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian clashes in the Mideast, Prime
Minister Bulent Ecevit said, "We were so hopeful about the peace
process in the Mideast, however, instead of peace, war has begun.
This is quite meaningless, as Israelis and Palestinians have to
live side by side, within their separate states. For this reason,
they have to understand each other and live in peace. Turkey is
trying to contribute to a peaceful solution as much as it can."
/Turkiye/
[11] TURKISH CONSUL GENERAL TO JERUSALEM CONFINED IN GAZA
Turkey's Consul General to Jerusalem, Huseyin Avni Bicakli, was
confined in Gaza during his visit to the area to give Turkey's
aid checque totalling a half million US dollars. His confinement
coincided with the Israeli bombardement of Gaza. Shortly after
Mr. Bicakli arrived in Gaza from Jerusalem, Israeli helicopters
and tanks began raining down rockets on Palestine. Mr. Bicakli
was to meet the Palestinian Minister of International Cooperation
and Planning before delivering the aid checque. /Aksam/
[12] ERIS MEETS VERHEUGEN
Economic Development Foundation (IKV) Chairman Meral Gezgin Eris
met the European Union (EU) Commission's Responsible Member for
Enlargement, Gunter Verheugen, and exchanged information about
the latest developments in the relations between Turkey and the
EU. Mr. Eris said, "Mr. Verheugen is working carefully on the
Partnership Cooperation Document, which is expected to be
announced on 8 November by the EU Commission. Verheugen said that
this document had to be successful and that any documents not
adopted by Turkey would be meaningless." Mr. Verheugen mentioned
that they were working hard to ensure that the Participation
Cooperation Document would satisfy Ankara and the capitals of the
EU member countries. Mr. Verheugen added, "If Turkey implements
its political reforms more rapidly, it will speed up the process
of Turkey's acceptance into the EU. We appreciate Turkey's
economic performance and this will be noted in the Evaluation
Report of the Participation Partnership Document." /Aksam/
[13] 7 TURKISH COMPANIES RECEIVE AWARD
7 Turkish companies were deemed worthy of 'New Millenium' awards
during the 28th International Quality Competition in Spain. The
competition, organized by the Trade Leaders' Club, selected 79
companies for the award from 14,000 participants in 120
countries. /Aksam/
[14] $63 MILLION TO BE RECEIVED BY EUROPEAN COUNCIL'S DEVELOPMENT BANK
European Council's Development Bank have approved $63 million for
use in constructing houses in Kocaeli, Sakarya, Duzce, Bolu,
Istanbul, Bursa and Eskisehir. These areas sustained damage in
last year's earthquake. /Turkiye/
[15] TEXTILE AND CLOTHING EXPORTS INCREASE
Turkey's textile and ready-wear exports increased by 2.7 percent
in the first nine months of this year compared to the same period
in 1999 and reached $7.6 billion. According to a report released
by the Turkish Clothing Industrialists Association (TGSD), the
ready-wear sector accounted for 28.5 percent of Turkey's total
exports for the said period amounting to $5.7 billion. Textile
exports accounted for 9.6 percent equalling $1.9 billion.
/Hurriyet/
[16] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
[17] TGNA VOTES TO ELECT A SPEAKER BY CUNEYT ARCAYUREK
(CUMHURIYET)
Columnist Cuneyt Arcayurek comments on the balloting in the TGNA
to elect the new Speaker. A summary of his column is as follows:
"Votes will be cast on two important issues for Turkey: First is
the election of a new Speaker to the TGNA (Turkish Grand National
Assembly), second is the voting on the pro-Armenian resolution
abroad. The election in Turkey reveals the contradictions among
us.
The election of a new Speaker for the Turkish Grand National
Assembly (TGNA) was viewed within the narrow limits of party
relations. However, it is becoming apparent that the talks
focused not on the character of the new Speaker, but from which
party he should be elected. None of the five parties in the TGNA
have the necessary majority to elect a Speaker. Even though the
two largest parties in the Parliament, DSP (Democratic Left
Party) and MHP (Nationalist Action Party) act together, they
still need votes from other parties. The True Path Party(DYP) and
the Motherland Party (ANAP) both need full support of a large
party. The possibility of electing a Speaker from the Virtue
Party is almost none. Today everyone is trying to elect a Speaker
out of this strange political structure.
Remembering the old days or taking lessons from the past seems to
be forgotten today. Why don't our leaders, who do not like their
past to be scrutinized, follow the examples of a 'gentlemen's
agreement' for the election of the TGNA Speaker?
In 1962, none of the parties could form a Government by itself.
However, two parties which were bitter rivals, the Republican
Peoples Party(CHP) and the Justice Party (AP) as well as a third
party, the New Turkey Party(YTP), agreed on a long-term solution
for the election of the TGNA Speaker. It was decided to let the
largest party have the right to announce a candidate for the
office. At this time a real statesman, Ismet Inonu and the
leaders of AP (who believed CHP to be instrumental in the
execution of its former leaders following the 27 May Revolution)
came to an understanding.
Today, however there is no general rule which could be applied to
every election with regards to a gentleman's agreement coming to
anyone's mind. Every party, except the Democratic Left Party
(DSP) has a candidate for the office. All parties act on the hope
that somehow the votes will be cast in their favour. Only now,
there are rumours that MHP, which is an important partner in the
Coalition, has asked that its candidate be supported. As there
were no candidates from the DSP, this rumour is believed to be
true. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit in suggesting the Speaker be
elected from MHP, affirmed his dedication to Coalition ethics as
well as proving that there had been an agreement between the two
parties."
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