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Turkish Press Review, 00-12-05
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
05.12.00
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 CRISIS OVERCOME
[03] ECEVIT ATTENDS NICE SUMMIT
[04] DE SOTO MEETS WITH DENKTAS AND CLERIDES
[05] CAKMAKOGLU IN BRUSSELS
[06] ESDI MEETINGS BEGINS
[07] IMF TO ENSURE FOUR TYPES OF LOAN
[08] US SUPPORT FOR TURKEY
[09] ISTANBUL UNIVERSITY DENOUNCES THE EUROPEAN UNION
[10] LEADERS MEET WITH BUREAUCRATS
[11] BUSINESSMEN VISIT ECEVIT
[12] HUMAN RIGHTS BUREAU IN DIYARBAKIR
[13] GERMANY LOOKS FOR NEW WAYS TO SELL LEOPARD II TANKS TO TURKEY
[14] TURKEY'S THIRD SATELLITE : TURKSAT 2-A
[15] OYK TO MEET THIS WEEK
[16] ATATURK AIRPORT, ONE OF EUROPE'S BEST AIRPORTS
[17] EU'S FINANCIAL AID FOR TURKEY APPROVED
[18] RELIGIOUS LEADERS MEET IN RAMADAN SUPPER
[19] TUZMEN: "TURKEY SHOULD ENTER CHINA'S MARKET"
[20] SURVEILLANCE IN ACCIDENT-PRONE HIGHWAYS
[21] IKTISAT-SOCIETE COOPERATION
[22] STATUE OF ATATURK IN MEXICO CITY
[23] AWARD TO TURKEY'S PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN IN RUSSIA
[24] 'LES MONDE DIPLOMATIQUE' PRAISES AHMET ALTAN
[25] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS
[26] WAR CLOUDS IN THE MIDDLE EAST BY SEMIH IDIZ (STAR)
[01] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS
[02] ACCESSION PARTNERSHIP DOCUMENT CRISIS OVERCOME
The European Union General Affairs Council convened yesterday in
Brussels and discussed Turkey's Accession Partnership Document.
The council decided to put the Cyprus and Aegean issues in the
document under the title of "The Strenghtened Political Dialogue
and Political Criteria". EU Term President France's Foreign
Minister, Hubert Vedrine, said a compromise parallel to the
Helsinki decisions was reached. He added, "The new formula found
for the Cyprus issue was accepted both by us and Turkey."
/Turkiye/
[03] ECEVIT ATTENDS NICE SUMMIT
Turkey found the revised Accession Partnership Document generally
positive. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and Foreign Minister
Ismail Cem are leaving for Nice, France today to attend the EU
Summit to be held Dec. 7-9. /All Papers/
[04] DE SOTO MEETS WITH DENKTAS AND CLERIDES
UN Special Representative to Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, travelling
to Cyprus to resume the proximity talks, met with Greek Cypriot
leader Glafkos Clerides and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
(TRNC) President Rauf Denktas yesterday. It was stated that Mr.
de Soto tried hard to persuade Mr. Denktas, who had announced his
withdrawal from proximity talks. Mr. Denktas said, "Proximity
talks are ended for the Turkish side." /Cumhuriyet/
[05] CAKMAKOGLU IN BRUSSELS
Minister of National Defence, Sabahattin Cakmakoglu, flew to
Brussels yesterday to participate in the NATO meetings. During
the two-day meeting, defence ministers of NATO member countries
are expected to discuss topics such as the recent situation in
the Balkans, NATO-EU relations and the European Security and
Defence Identity (ESDI). /Turkiye/
[06] ESDI MEETINGS BEGINS
The European Security and Defence Identity (ESDI) Assembly began
meetings in Paris. During the first session, Turkish
parliamentarian from the Democratic Leftist Party (DSP) Atilla
Mutman critisized Turkey's exclusion from the ESDI decision
mechanisms. Recalling that Turkey was ready to participate in the
European army with a 6-thousand soldier brigade, Mutman said this
demonstrates the importance Turkey attaches to the ESDI.
/Turkiye/
[07] IMF TO ENSURE FOUR TYPES OF LOAN
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) discussions reached the
final stage. It was stated the opening of an urgent 'bridge loan'
was on the agenda. Spokesperson for the IMF, Conny Lotze,
speaking to an Anatolia News Agency reporter in Washington, said
if an agreement is reached during the negotiations and if
decision concerning the additional source is discussed on 21
December, then the loan would be available to the Turkish
government on 23 December. He added the Executive Board of the
IMF would decide the number of the slices into which the
additional loan would be divided. IMF's Turkey Desk Chief, Ajah
Chibber, IMF's 1st Region Chairman Michael Deppler, the Turkish
Desk Chief Carlo Cottarelli and the IMF Banking Expert Stephan
Ingues, began their contacts yesterday, while Deputy Prime
Minister Husamettin Ozkan, Treasury Undersecretary Selcuk
Demiralp, and the Cenral Bank Governor Gazi Ercel met at the
Prime Ministry to evaluate the situation. Chairman of the IMF
delegation, Deppler then went to the Prime Ministry with
Cottarelli and Ingues to meet with Ozkan. The IMF's requests
concerning the bridge loan are as follows: clean the sick banks
in the banking industry without spoiling the system; give firm
guarantees to the foreign market concerning privatization; speed
up the purification of the funds; strengthen the measures to
restrict consumptionand be devoted to the inflation target in the
price politics. /Aksam/
[08] US SUPPORT FOR TURKEY
It was learned that the US Consul General to Athens, Nicholas
Burns was holding contacts in Athens himself. It was further
stated that Burns pointed out the economic problems in Turkey and
adding that if this crisis grows, will have some negative impact.
Meanwhile, US Consul General to Ankara, who paid a courtesy visit
to the 9th Turkish President Suleyman Demirel, said, "The US is
strongly supporting Turkey's membership to the European Union
(EU)." /Aksam/
[09] ISTANBUL UNIVERSITY DENOUNCES THE EUROPEAN UNION
Istanbul University Rector denounced the letter sent by the
European Union (EU) Commission's Turkish Desk Chief, Alain
Servantie, to the so-called Chairmanship Council of the PKK
terrorist organization. The statement issued by the IU Rector,
stated, "This letter is a lack of respect and is a latent attack
against our unitary State structure and against our national
unity." /Hurriyet/
[10] LEADERS MEET WITH BUREAUCRATS
Leaders of government parties and economy bureaucrats met
yesterday after completing their contacts with the IMF
delegation. Prime Minister and Chairman of Democratic Left Party
Bulent Ecevit, Deputy Prime Ministers, Chairman of Nationalist
Action Party, Devlet Bahceli, Chairman of Motherland Party, Mesut
Yilmaz, Ministers of State Husamettin Ozkan, Recep Onal, Minister
of Finance Sumer Oral, Treasury Undersecretary Selcuk Demiralp,
Central Bank Governor Gazi Ercel and Chairman of Banking
Regulation and Supervision Board Zekeriya Temizel, attended the
meeting. Mr. Ecevit informed the officials on the latest
developments and conveyed demands by the business organizations
on the economic program. /Hurriyet/
[11] BUSINESSMEN VISIT ECEVIT
A group of businessmen, including President of the Union of
Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB), Fuat Miras, and
President of the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's
Association (TUSIAD), Erkut Yucaoglu, visited Prime Minister
Bulent Ecevit yesterday. The businessmen requested a series of
measures be taken to reduce the negative effects of the fiscal
crisis on industry and exports. After the visit, President of
TOBB, Fuat Miras said, "We still have faith for the continuance
of the economic program and believe the government will take the
necessary measures to improve the situation." President of
TUSIAD, Erkut Yucaoglu said, "Prime Minister Ecevit said they are
close to an agreement on the principles with the IMF. Mr. Ecevit
said with the new supplementary credits of the IMF, the interest
rates will decline." /Sabah/
[12] HUMAN RIGHTS BUREAU IN DIYARBAKIR
In response to the meeting of the Human Rights Coordinator High
Council in Diyarbakir, a Human Right Bureau was established for
the city. The goal is to establish a Human Rights Bureau in every
city and province. /Cumhuriyet/
[13] GERMANY LOOKS FOR NEW WAYS TO SELL LEOPARD II TANKS TO TURKEY
German Prime Minister Gerhard Schroder is looking for new ways to
sell Leopard II tanks to Turkey. The sale is strongly opposed by
the German Greens Party. According to the Spanish daily El
Correro, Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Aznar, and his German
counterpart, Gerhard Schroder, decided to sell Spanish weapon
firm Santa Barbara, under licence to produce Leopard II tanks, to
German Leopard Krauss-Maffei-Wegmann firm. It was stated the
Spanish government made the decision after Mr. Schroder's
proposal regarding production of Leopard II tanks for Turkey in
conjunction with the Spanish firm. /Cumhuriyet/
[14] TURKEY'S THIRD SATELLITE : TURKSAT 2-A
Turkey's third satellite, Turksat 2-A (Eurosiasat-1) will be
launched on December 8 at the French Kourou base if
meteorological conditions are good. Turksat 2-A, which will meet
most of Turkey's communication needs, will be the biggest and
powerful satellite in Europe. With this satellite, Turkey will be
the fifth NATO country to have a military communication
satellite. /Cumhuriyet/
[15] OYK TO MEET THIS WEEK
The government will make important decisions about the
privatization of certain public institutions this week. The
Privatization High Council (OYK) is expected to meet this week.
The OYK is also expected to discuss and decide upon the
privatization of THY, Turk Telecom, Tupras and Isdemir.
/Cumhuriyet/
[16] ATATURK AIRPORT, ONE OF EUROPE'S BEST AIRPORTS
According to an interview by the daily International Herald
Tribune, Ataturk Airport Foreign Flights Terminal is one of
Europe's best airports. /Hurriyet/
[17] EU'S FINANCIAL AID FOR TURKEY APPROVED
The framework regulation for the financial aid Turkey will
receive was approved at the EU General Affairs Council meeting in
Brussels. Turkey will receive Euro 177 million from the EU each
year. In addition, the way for Turkey to receive aid totalling
Euro 5 billion from the Europe Investment Bank and the
Mediterranean Development Aid (MEDA) is opened. /Hurriyet/
[18] RELIGIOUS LEADERS MEET IN RAMADAN SUPPER
All the religious leaders attended the traditional Ramadan supper
organized by Marmara Group Strategic and Social Research
Foundation in Istanbul Dedeman Hotel. The leaders delivered
speeches during the supper which was also attended by the
Chairman of the Religious Affairs, Mehmet Nuri Yilmaz. The
speeches noted that the fact that the festivals of the three
major religions coincided this month and was a goodness of God.
The supper was attended by 12 religious leaders, including Greek
Orthodox Patriarch Saintete Bartholomeus L., Acting Chief Rabbi
in Turkey Leon Adoni and Acting Turkish Armenian Patriarch Kirkor
Damatyan. The religious leaders said this unity should set an
example for the whole world. After the speeches, plaques were
given to the leaders. /Aksam/
[19] TUZMEN: "TURKEY SHOULD ENTER CHINA'S MARKET"
Foreign Trade Undersecretary Kursat Tuzmen said the foreign trade
volume with China is unfavorable to Turkey. Mr. Tuzmen said
export opportunities to China should be sought out and exports to
China should increase. /Sabah/
[20] SURVEILLANCE IN ACCIDENT-PRONE HIGHWAYS
Directorate General of Security will install special cameras on
major highways, where a lot of accidents occur, with World Bank
loans designated for improving traffic security. Electronical
surveillance devices and cameras will be put on various points in
the roads. Further, traffic police will not stop the cars to
charge fines for exceeding the speed limit. Devices will track
cars going over the speed limit and fines will automatically be
issued by the center. /Milliyet/
[21] IKTISAT-SOCIETE COOPERATION
The statement issued by Iktisat Financing Renting, Factofinans
Asset Collection and Emek Insurance Company to the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), stated, "Societe General Bank and Iktisat
Bank are in close cooperation. As a continuation of this process,
a discussion of probable cooperation between the two banks is
underway. Within this framework, the discussions concerning the
financial and legal dimensions of the cooperation are continuing.
The conclusion of the negotiations are not dependant upon a
timetable. The need for intervention by authorities has not yet
been seen required." /Aksam/
[22] STATUE OF ATATURK IN MEXICO CITY
State Minister Suayip Usenmez returned to Turkey from Mexico. He
had attended the hand over ceremony of Mexico's Head of State. At
Ataturk Airport Minister Usenmez outlined the purpose of his
visit saying efforts to put a statue of Ataturk in Mexico City
were underway. Usenmez said, "There are also some contacts to
make Istanbul and Mexico City 'twin cities'. I went to Mexico to
attend the hand over ceremony of the Mexican Head of State
Vicente Fox Quesada representing the Turkish President Ahmet
Necdet Sezer. The Mexican people and administration were pleased
to see Turkey there. I also held some contacts to improve the
commercial relations between Turkey and Mexico." /Aksam/
[23] AWARD TO TURKEY'S PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN IN RUSSIA
Turkey's Promotional Campaign for the year 2000 was chosen "The
Best and Attractive Advertisement Campaign" in Russia. Dream
Design Factory (DDF) the producer of the campaign received the
award. The campaign is being sponsored by the Tourism Ministry.
The promotion films are stressing Turkey's cultural diversity and
historical richness. /Sabah/
[24] 'LES MONDE DIPLOMATIQUE' PRAISES AHMET ALTAN
The French magazine 'Les Monde Diplomatiqu' published an article
praising Ahmet Altan's novel "Kilic Yarasi Gibi" published in
France. The article titled "Love and Power Games" stated Ahmet
Altan is a successful writer, impressing his readers. /Hurriyet/
[25] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS
[26] WAR CLOUDS IN THE MIDDLE EAST BY SEMIH IDIZ (STAR)
Columnist Semih Idiz writes on the turmoil in the Middle East and
its effects on Turkey. A summary of his column is as follows:
"In Turkey all eyes are turned to the West and to the EU these
days. Turkey is at an historic crossroads. However, as all
attention is given to the West, the dangerous escalation in the
Middle East is going unnoticed. The bloody conflicts between the
Palestinian youth and Israeli soldiers can be witnessed every day
on television screens. However, daily television broadcasts
desensitizes the watchers. The idea that these people have been
clashing for years and that tomorrow the situation will be no
different, occuring to everyone. Naturally, this opinion presumes
that the dangerous situation in Israel will not spill over any
borders, therefore, Turkey should not be too concerned over the
situation.
We have seen that Turkey cannot separate itself from the
developments in the region through the provocative visit of
Israeli politician Ariel Sharon in late September. Although
Ankara does not have a comprehensive Middle East policy, the
countries in the region look to to Turkey for different reasons.
Sensing this, Ankara increased its interest in the regional
developments. The recent news coming from the region clearly
reveal that the incidents are not limited to Israel, but there is
always the possibility of an escalation covering Lebanon and
Syria. Certainly, we are aware of the conflicts between the
Hizbullah and Israeli soldiers on the Lebanon-Israeli border.
However, we are not aware of the campaign waged by the Christians
in Lebanon against Syria and their pronouncements as if they had
some expectations from this turbulent climate.
One of the most dangerous pronouncements on the issue was
published in French newspaper 'Liberation'. The Patriarch of the
Maronite Christians in Lebanon, Nasrallah Sfeir, claimed that
Syria's continued presence in the country would ignite a fire in
the region. Such a dangerous and provocative announcement by
Sfeir has blurred the issue. Various observers making statements
to the Arabian press say that Sfeir is trying to create a 'fait
accompli' in favour of the Christians who feel themselves
unprotected with the withdrawal of Israel from Southern Lebanon.
Certain Lebanese officials, sensing the danger, are saying the
words of Sfeir were taken from a statement made a month ago. They
claim that during the intervening time, Damascus and the Maronite
Patriarch have patched up their differences.
Another development illustrating the deteriorating situation is
the statement given to the Jerusalem Post by US Ambsassador to
Israel, Martin Indyk. Indyk said Israel may soon find itself in a
war with its Arab neighbours. Indyk, who used expressions
suggesting that there was no hope for establishing peace between
the Palestinians and the Israelis, clearly presented the
situation.
Certainly these developments should be closely followed by
Turkey. Ankara's close ties with Israel make this inevitable. If
the region is swept into a new war, the future of relations
between Turkey and Israel as well as Turkey-Arab relations gain
importance. The negative effects of such a war on Turkey should
be calculated very well. In short, we have to keep our eyes on
the West but also pay attention to the winds blowing from the
East."
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