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Turkish Press Review, 01-12-03
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
03.12.2001
CONTENTS
[01] ECEVIT SIGNALS SUPPORT FOR ESDP PROCESS
[02] BUSY DIPLOMATIC DAY FOR TURKEY AND TRNC
[03] DE SOTO: "CYPRUS MEETINGS ARE GREAT
OPPORTUNITY"
[04] CYPRUS EXPERT: "EU ACCESSION AND CYPRUS ARE
SEPARATE ISSUES"
[05] IMF DELEGATION VISITS TURKEY
[06] JUSTICE MINISTER TURK EVALUATES RECENT JUDICIAL
DEVELOPMENTS
[07] BUDGET DEBATES TO BEGIN
[08] TREASURY TO SELL 217-DAY BILLS
[09] BUSINESS REPORT ON TURKEY SPOTLIGHTS EU ACCESSION
[10] MILITARY TANKS TO BE MODERNIZED
[11] TURKISH PAINTER TO BE COMMEMORATED
[12] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS
[13] ISSUES WHICH MUST BE EXPLAINED TO MR. POWELL BY
SUKRU ELEKDAG (SABAH)
[01] ECEVIT SIGNALS SUPPORT FOR ESDP PROCESS
Following a summit yesterday at the Prime Ministry,
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit signalled that Turkey had accepted in
principle the basic framework of European Security and Defense Policy
(ESDP). A written statement said, "As a NATO ally and a candidate
for European Union membership, Turkey supports the ESDP process."
However, diplomatic sources indicate that Ankara had obtained a
guarantee from the EU that the Union's forces would not intervene in
Cyprus or on Aegean issues. Turkey will also reportedly be given a say
and the right to participate in operations in its region. Speaking to
reporters, Ecevit said that Turkey's expectations has been largely
met. /Türkiye-All Papers/
[02] BUSY DIPLOMATIC DAY FOR TURKEY AND TRNC
Annemie Neyts, the deputy foreign minister of
Belgium, which is currently the EU term president, will visit Ankara
tomorrow to hold meetings with Turkish officials on the issue of the
European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP). US Secretary of State
Colin Powell will also arrive in Ankara tomorrow in order to consult
with Turkish officials on the ESDP, Cyprus and the operations in
Afghanistan. Another important meeting scheduled for tomorrow will be
in Lefkosa, Cyprus between Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)
President Rauf Denktas and Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides.
/Sabah/
[03] DE SOTO: "CYPRUS MEETINGS ARE GREAT
OPPORTUNITY"
The United Nations is reportedly quite hopeful
concerning the imminent face-to-face meetings between Turkish Republic
of Northern Cypriot (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas and Greek Cypriot
Administration leader Glafcos Clerides, the first such meetings in
many years. UN Cyprus Special Advisor Alvaro De Soto will represent UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan in Cyprus tomorrow and will take notes.
De Soto characterized the meetings as a "great opportunity"
and said that he didn't want this promising opportunity to be missed.
De Soto told Turkish daily Milliyet about his role in and hopes for
the meeting. He said great expectations surrounded the momentous
gathering and that if no progress was made, the current stalemate
would reassert itself, which he said would be an unfortunate for the
two leaders. De Soto added, "We hope that this meeting will spur
a restart of the meetings held under the auspices of the UN. A
solution for Cyprus should be discussed by the Turkish Cypriots and
the Greek Cypriots. As I understand it, Mr. Denktas and Mr. Clerides
have both accepted holding a face-to-face meeting in which a
representative from the UN secretary-general will be present without
an agenda or preconditions. The secretary-general wanted me to
represent him. As usual, I will be there and be ready to help both of
the parties in any way they find appropriate." /Milliyet/
[04] CYPRUS EXPERT: "EU ACCESSION AND CYPRUS ARE
SEPARATE ISSUES"
Benoit Hambuckers, an architect of the Customs
Union Agreement also known for his work on the Cyprus issue for the
EU, remarked yesterday that Turkey's EU accession and the Cyprus issue
must be de-linked. "The former is a matter of Turkey-EU
relations, but the latter is a problem that should be solved by the
United Nations," said Hambuckers. "These issues are
completely different, but unfortunately in the political arena people
tend to consider them as related issues." He added that Turkey
has recently taken significant steps despite its economic and
political problems. /Milliyet/
[05] IMF DELEGATION VISITS TURKEY
An IMF delegation headed by Turkey Desk Chief Juha
Kahkonen arrived in Ankara yesterday. The delegation is scheduled to
meet with Turkish authorities chaired by State Minister for the
Economy Kemal Dervis today at the Treasury Undersecretariat. Then
members of the IMF delegation, in groups, will hold meetings with the
Treasury, Privatization Administration (OIB), State Planning
Organization (DPT), Finance Ministry, and Banking Regulation and
Supervision Board (BDDK), as well as Central Bank officials. The
delegation officials are also expected to visit Istanbul to meet with
representatives from Turkey's financial sector as well as
industralists. Laying the groundwork for the new economic program,
which will be supported by nearly $10 billion in loans, will be the
main topic of the meetings. Policies on banking, the public sector and
measures to revive the economy and attract foreign investors will also
be taken up. The delegation is expected to leave Turkey in
mid-December. If the meetings have not been completed at that time,
then they will resume in January. /Turkiye/
[06] JUSTICE MINISTER TURK EVALUATES RECENT JUDICIAL
DEVELOPMENTS
Speaking to TV channel TRT yesterday, Justice
Minister Hikmet Sami Turk answered questions on a bill on State
Security Courts (DGM) which was recently vetoed by President Ahmet
Necdet Sezer as well as conditions in Turkish prisons. Stating that
the bill was designed to decrease the burden of DGM, Turk said,
"The DGM's main purview covers the crimes committed against the
country's territorial integrity and against guiding principles of the
republic. The bill proposes excluding the cases dealing with organized
crime from the DGM's judicial domain. This would help the DGMs to
perform their main duties better, as it would keep out superfluous
cases." Turk also asserted that conditions in Turkish prisons had
caught up with European standards. Recalling that significant
regulations had been enacted in recent years concerning prison
conditions, Turk stated that European delegations had voiced their
satisfaction with these regulations. /Cumhuriyet/
[07] BUDGET DEBATES TO BEGIN
The Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) will
begin to debate on the 2002 Budget Bill this week. Today, meetings on
the budget as a whole will be held. Representatives from the True Path
Party (DYP), the Motherland Party (ANAP), the Felicity Party (SP), the
Democratic Left Party (DSP), the Nationalist Action Party (MHP) and
the Justice and Development Party (AKP) will express their views on
the whole of the budget. Tomorrow dabates on separate state
organizations' budgets will be taken up one-by-one. Debates are
scheduled to be completed by Dec. 12. /Turkiye/
[08] TREASURY TO SELL 217-DAY BILLS
Tomorrow Treasury will hold an auction of bills
with a redemption period of 217 days. At the first bid in December,
the bills are value dated Wednesday, Dec. 5 and their redemption is
scheduled July 10, 2002. /Turkiye/
[09] BUSINESS REPORT ON TURKEY SPOTLIGHTS EU ACCESSION
Private business organization UNICE, of which many
of the European Union's leading industrialists and businessmen are
members, has lifted Turkey's spirits with just released report. The
document emphasizes European business circles' support to Turkey's EU
membership and enumerates Turkey's preparations towards that end. It
also puts forth several steps Turkey could take in order to harmonize
itself with the Copenhagen criteria, as well as problems with doing so
and ways to overcome these problems. The report states that Turkey has
been working very hard with other candidate countries for EU
membership. The report also indicates that Turkey should give priority
to structural reforms in order to ensure a balance in the
macroeconomic field and that the first step towards that end had been
taken in March 2001. /Milliyet/
[10] MILITARY TANKS TO BE MODERNIZED
The Defense Industry Undersecretary (SSM) is
reportedly attaching great importance to a project to modernize
Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) tanks. The TSK is set to finance the
project at an expected cost of $700 million. Israeli Company IMI will
be the main contractor, while Turkey's Machine and Chemistry Industry
Institution is expected to be the sub-contractor. /Turkiye/
[11] TURKISH PAINTER TO BE COMMEMORATED
Garanti Art Gallery will commemorate the eight
anniversary of the death of renowned painter Abidin Dino with an
exhibition entitled "Master Artist Abidin Dino: Sketches of 60
Years" to be held on Dec. 5-31. Nearly 20 sketches that the
painter made between 1930 and 1990 will be exhibited at the exhibit.
/Cumhuriyet/
[12] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS
[13] ISSUES WHICH MUST BE EXPLAINED TO MR. POWELL BY
SUKRU ELEKDAG (SABAH)
Retired Ambassador Sukru Elekdag writes on issues
which he says should be explained to US Secretary of State Colin
Powell. A summary of his column is as follows: "US Secretary of
State Colin Powell has a busy schedule in Ankara. Iraq, the Cyprus
problem, the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) and economic
relations are among the most important issues to be discussed.
However, for the US a possible military operation of Iraq will be the
most significant problem amongst all. Turkey is opposed to such an
operation. Nevertheless, as it is trying to get US support on the
above-mentioned issues, it doesn't want to give the impression that it
disagrees with Washington on Iraq. Therefore, there has been a
softening in Turkish the approach towards the issue. The victory
against Taliban in Afghanistan which was achieved in a much shorter
period than expected, has strengthened the hand of the Bush
administration hawks who would like to topple Saddam. However, the US
stands alone in an operation against Iraq, as there is no concrete
evidence showing that Iraq cooperated with Al Qaida on the Sept. 11
attacks. Therefore, the US-which is unable to bring NATO into the
fray- is trying to base its decision on Baghdad's violation of UN
Security Council resolutions, and its expulsion of arms control
supervisors, and its production of weapons of mass destruction.
However, under the present circumstances it would be very hard for the
US to engage in military operations against Iraq with the aim of
toppling the Saddam regime. Such an operation would require not only
the use of Incirlik and other bases in Turkey, but also Turkey's
active participation. In fact, many famous journalists are spinning
dozens of scenarios in US newspapers on just what concessions Ankara
will be rewarded for its support. The US secretary of state has to
know that Saddam's regime cannot be toppled by air bombardment alone.
A prolonged air bombardment will result in a great number of civilian
casulaties as well as reactions in the international community. The
Iraqi opposition, unlike the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, is not
armed and ready to wage war.Therefore, the US must will have to use
land forces in such an operation. Such a war may result in street
battles on Iraqi territory.Therefore the US must take into account
that it might suffer heavy losses. The operation may lead to the
proclamation of a Shiite Islamic state in the south of Iraq, or the
southern part of Iraq may decide to unite with Iran. These
developments would create instability and lead to geo-political quakes
in the Gulf region and the Arabian Peninsula. The operation may lead
to the establishment of a Kurdish state in the north. Such a
landlocked new formation surrounded by four states in the region which
all have Kurdish populations would be a source of instability for the
Middle East. We believe that as a former chief of General Staff, Mr.
Powell will evalute these strategy issues. Howeve, if all warnings our
are to no avail and the US begins an operation there, Turkey will do
everything in its power to defend its interests and the lives and
rights of its Turkmen kinsmen in Iraq."
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