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Turkish Press Review, 00-12-04
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
04.12.00
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[02] ACCESSION PARTNERSHIP DOCUMENT TO BE DISCUSSED IN BRUSSELS TODAY
[03] ATHENS' NEW PLOY
[04] DE SOTO ON CYPRUS
[05] DENKTAS: "WE STOP THE GAMES"
[06] SERVANTIE'S "ADMINISTRATIONAL MISTAKE"
[07] TRUMAN TO VISIT TURKEY
[08] RAMAZAN RECEIVES TURKISH CHARGE` D'AFFAIRS
[09] IRANIAN MEDIA FURIOUS WITH ARMENIAN PARLIAMENTARIAN
[10] MINISTRY OF TOURISM PROMOTES TURKEY
[11] BAYTUZUN RECEIVES "SERVICE MERIT" FROM MALDIVES
[12] CONSTRUCTION AGREEMENT OF THE RAPID TRAIN WAS SIGNED
[13] BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT BETWEEN TURKEY AND CYPRUS
[14] WATER PROJECT STARTS
[15] KOHLER: "WE WILL IMMEDIATELY READY THE NEW CREDIT"
[16] DTM TO COMPLETE REPORT ON WORLD AGRICULTURE TALKS BY YEAR'S END
[17] READY-TO-WEAR CLOTHING STILL BIGGEST EXPORT
[18] NATIONAL ANTHEM ON CD-ROM
[19] ANKARA EUROPEAN YOUTH FESTIVAL BEGINS
[20] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[21] EVIDENCES OF SO-CALLED GENOCIDE BY SUKRU ELEKDAG (MILLIYET)
[01] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[02] ACCESSION PARTNERSHIP DOCUMENT TO BE DISCUSSED IN BRUSSELS TODAY
Turkey's Accession Partnership Document (APD) will be discussed
at the EU General Affairs Council meeting in Brussels. After its
efforts to exclude Aegean and Cyprus issues from the APD, Turkey
is now waiting for a decsion to be made in Brussels. It was
stated that if Greece insists on including the Aegean and Cyprus
issues, a postponement decision, whereby the ADP is discussed
under the Swedish Presidency, could be taken in Brussels.
Alternative decision is to delay the discussions until the Nice
meeting. France has developed possible solution proposals for the
controversal issues. One of France's proposals is to add a new
paragraph called "political dialogue" which foresees Turkey
solving its problems regarding Aegean and Cyprus through
political dialogue and an improvement of its bilateral relations
with Greece, to the accession partnership document. Meanwhile,
Turkey argues that no other statement after the Helsinki
decisions can be included in the document. Greece demands another
paragraph be included in the document with a solution favoring
Greek demands to the Aegean problem. Greece is also in favour of
strengthening the statement in the Cyprus article. /Cumhuriyet/
[03] ATHENS' NEW PLOY
Officials from the Greek Foreign Ministry stated Greece will veto
the EU's financial aid, totalling Euro 785 million, for Turkey if
the EU does not pressure Turkey on the Cyprus issue. It was
stated that Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou will put the
issue on the EU General Affairs Council agenda at the Brussels
meeting. An official from the Greek Foreign Ministry said,
"Actually, Greece does not want to prevent financial aid to
Turkey. However, we want to be sure about the EU's loyalty to its
position regarding political reforms in Turkey." /Cumhuriyet/
[04] DE SOTO ON CYPRUS
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative to
Cyprus, Alvaro De Soto, arrived in Cyprus yesterday after
completing his meetings in Athens and Ankara. Reportedly, De Soto
will try to convince Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)
President, Rauf Denktas, to participate in the sixth round of the
proximity talks scheduled for January in Geneva. UN
Secretary-General Annan disregarded Turkish views in his solution
plan for Cyprus on Nov. 8th. Additionally, he opposed the
Turkish-Cypriots' demand for recognition of sovereignty on
Cyprus. For this reason, President Denktas declared he would not
join the sixth round of the proximity talks. Meanwhile, Turkish
journalists entering Southern Cyprus to cover De Soto's arrival
on the island, were faced with verbal harrassment by
Greek-Cypriot fanatics. About 50 Greek-Cypriots were taken away
by Greek-Cypriot policemen and UN Peace Force's soldiers. The
passing through Northern and Southern Cyprus was delayed for a
while due to the incident. /Turkiye/
[05] DENKTAS: "WE STOP THE GAMES"
Addressing the public, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)
President Rauf Denktas expressed the reasons for his withdrawal
from the proximity talks. Recalling they completed five rounds of
the proximity talks, Denktas said none of his proposals were
taken into consideration at the talks. Asserting that the TRNC
was being tricked during the talks, he said, "We will stop this
deception." Referring to Greek-Cypriot leader Glafkos Klerides'
statements, "We are attending the proximity talks as a tactic. We
say no, no matter what the Turkish side says", Mr. Denktas said,
"Nothing has changed, The Greek-Cypriots continue in their EU
membership process, have granted base to Greece, armament
continues and the Turks have still been accepted as a minority.
It is time to stop this." He added, "Hitherto, we attended the
talks without any preconditions, however, Annan's Nov. 8th plan
puts forward preconditions which are unacceptable." /Turkiye/
[06] SERVANTIE'S "ADMINISTRATIONAL MISTAKE"
The letter sent by the European Commission Chief of Turkey Desk,
Alain Servantie, to the so-called "PKK Presidential Council" is
considered a grave mistake in the EU's history. It also showed a
lack of seriousness in the EU to sensitive issues. Servantie
defended his actions by saying "To answer these kinds of letters
is the duty of the Commission and I did my job. But, I did not
recognize the initials 'PKK' in the letter." High-ranking Turkish
diplomats say, "Even if he could not recognize the initials, how
could he miss the word 'Kurdistan'? Has EU terminology changed?"
Furthermore, Turkish diplomats said this incident could not be
excused as an 'administrational mistake'." /Milliyet/
[07] TRUMAN TO VISIT TURKEY
US Deputy Treasury Minister, Edwin Truman, will visit Turkey and
meet with Finance Minister, Sumer Oral. /Milliyet/
[08] RAMAZAN RECEIVES TURKISH CHARGE` D'AFFAIRS
Iraqi Deputy State Minister Taha Yasin Ramazan received the
Turkish Charge` d'affairs to Iraq, Selim Karaosmanoglu, whose
term in office ended. During the meeting, bilateral relations
were taken up and a compromise to improve relations was reached.
/Turkiye/
[09] IRANIAN MEDIA FURIOUS WITH ARMENIAN PARLIAMENTARIAN
The Iranian media is furious with the Armenian parliamentarians
in the Iranian Parliament for their work in having the Iranian
Islamic Republic recognize the so-called Armenian genocide.
Calling the attempt a plot to sabotage Turkish-Iranian relations,
Iranian newpapers said voting on such a bill at the parliament
would cause a crisis between Turkey and Iran. /Turkiye/
[10] MINISTRY OF TOURISM PROMOTES TURKEY
The Ministry of Tourism has determined the principles of the
promotion campaigns to be pursued in 2001. For advertising
campaigns, the Ministry will focus on sun and sea for members of
the Commonwealth of Independent States and European markets with
the exception of France, Italy and Spain. Turkey's historical and
cultural wealth will be supplementary elements in promotions.
Regarding France, Italy, Spain and overseas markets, the
promotions will emphasize Turkey's historical and cultural
wealth. Among the projects to be carried out in 2001 as a part of
the promotional campaigns are meetings for world youth, free
honeymoon vacations in Turkey for 100 couples (who cannot afford
a vacation abroad), Santa Claus Festival in Demre where he was
born and lotteries for free holidays in Turkey. /Cumhuriyet/
[11] BAYTUZUN RECEIVES "SERVICE MERIT" FROM MALDIVES
Maldives Honorary Consular, Nihat Baytuzun, received a superior
service merit medal from the Maldives. Maldives Foreign Minister,
Fathulla Jameel, presented the medal to Mr. Baytuzun. The
Maldives is a collection of islands in the Indian Ocean.
/Hurriyet/
[12] CONSTRUCTION AGREEMENT OF THE RAPID TRAIN WAS SIGNED
The State Railways Administration (TCDD) assigned the
rehabilitation of the existing railways between Istanbul and
Ankara to a private group. The rehabilitation project will reduce
transportation to 4.5 hours. The construction will be finished in
42 months. /Milliyet/
[13] BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT BETWEEN TURKEY AND CYPRUS
Architect Prof. Ahmet Vefik Alp prepared a 60-km bridge project
which ties Turkey and Cyprus. Accordingly, the bridge to be
constructed between Anamur and Girne (Kyrenia), will reduce the
traveling time between Turkey and Cyprus to 45 minutes. The
bridge will mainly be comprised of a tube crossing 30 meters
below the sea. Prof. Alp also briefed TRNC President Rauf Denktas
on his project. /Turkiye/
[14] WATER PROJECT STARTS
The most comprehensive project developed by the Directorate
General of State Water Affairs (DSI) to find a long term solution
the the water shortage in the TRNC is underway. A tender was
opened last week for the engineering proposal of the project's
master plan which is supposed to cost 482 billion TL. After the
bidding results, the master plan work is expected to begin in
March 2001. /Turkiye/
[15] KOHLER: "WE WILL IMMEDIATELY READY THE NEW CREDIT"
The President of the IMF, Horst Koehler, made an announcement
yesterday supporting Turkey. Mr. Koehler said the IMF wants to
strengthen confidence in the Turkish market. The IMF will make
ready the reinforced credit package in a short time. The IMF
delegation will start negotiations today to design a new solution
package to the economic situation in Turkey. The five-member IMF
delegation will meet with officials from the Treasury
Undersecretariat and the Central Bank. /Milliyet/
[16] DTM TO COMPLETE REPORT ON WORLD AGRICULTURE TALKS BY YEAR'S END
A national working group formed with the Foreign Trade
Undersecretariat (DTM) will have its report on Turkey's national
views finished by year's end. It will be delivered to the World
Trade Organization (WTO) before that group's milennial round of
agriculture talks next year. The WTO talks on agriculture will
take place in March 2001 and are aimed at liberalizing world
agriculture. According to the WTO's Agriculture Agreement, member
countries pledged to make reductions in internal and export
subsidies and make concessions over market accession. According
to the agreement, developed countries are making gradual
reductions within the framework of their existing promises in a
six-year period. Developing nations have ten years. /Turkish
Daily News/
[17] READY-TO-WEAR CLOTHING STILL BIGGEST EXPORT
Ready-to-wear clothing exports held the largest share in overall
Turkish exports in January-October 2000 with a $5.95 billion in
foreign foreign sales. Iron and non-iron metals, textile and raw
materials followed with $2.82 billion and $2.59 billion export
volumes. Meanwhile, the floriculture industry showed the greatest
increase in exports. /Turkish Daily News/
[18] NATIONAL ANTHEM ON CD-ROM
The Culture Ministry will issue two new CD-roms, one covering the
Turkish national anthem and the other covering the Yunus Emre
Oratorio. Both will be conducted by Hikmet Simsek. /Turkish Daily
News/
[19] ANKARA EUROPEAN YOUTH FESTIVAL BEGINS
The Second Ankara European Youth Festival began in Ankara.
Emphasizing the importance of the meeting of Turkish and European
youth, Chairman of the Festival Committee, Ertugrul Senoglu, said
interest in the festival was significantly greater compared with
last year. Speaking at the opening of the festival, Minister of
State, Fikret Unlu said, "We will always support these kind of
activities." EU Turkey Representative Karen Fogg conveyed her
contentment over the meeting of Turkish and European youth. The
festival continues until December 8 and includes music and dance
shows, plays, short film workshops and exhibitions. /Aksam/
[20] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[21] EVIDENCES OF SO-CALLED GENOCIDE BY SUKRU ELEKDAG (MILLIYET)
Former Ambassador Sukru Elekdag writes on the need for
information to be made available to Turkish society on the
subject of the so-called genocide. A summary of his column is as
follows:
"Thousands of reports and commentaries have been published on the
so-called 'Armenian Genocide' Resolution presented to the US
House of Representatives and withdrawn due to President Bill
Clinton's efforts. Understandably there are many points occupying
the minds of the readers. A general evaluation of the issue will
shed light on the situation, if not answer all questions.
House Resolution 596 consists of three parts. The first part
states that the resolution is concerned with expressing the US
stance on the so-called Armenian Genocide. The second part states
the findings for the accusations. The third part includes calls
for the US President. For those who are not closely concerned
with the issue, the findings stated in the second part can seem
impressive. However, the documents put forth as evidence in the
resolution are either forgeries, distortions or fictitious.
For example, the resolution, in proving the so-called genocide
claims, states that following the First World War, high ranking
officials of the Ottoman Empire were tried and convicted in
military courts of planning and executing massacres against the
Armenian population. However, these expressions are a distortion
of facts... The Government referred to is the Freedom and
Accord, formed in place of the Union and Progress Party. The
courts formed by this puppet government accused persons wanted by
Britain with fictitious crimes. The false nature of these courts
are mentioned in British archives.
In the resolution reference is made to the reports by the US
Amsassador to the Ottoman court, Henry Morgenthau, trying to
prove the Young Turks engaged in a policy of terminating the
Armenian race. However, US historian Heath Lowry has proven
through his research that Morgenthau's sources consisted only of
radical Armenians. Furthermore, the resolution makes no mention
of US Ambassador Admiral Bristol's reports (Morgenthau's
successor) ,which prove false his predecessor's claims."
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