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Turkish Press Review, 02-01-25
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
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Press
& Information
Turkish
Press
Turkish
Press Review >>
Foreign
Press Guide
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
25.01.2002
CONTENTS
[01] SEZER BRIEFED ON BANKING BILL
[02] ECEVIT: "TURKEY WILL BE INFORMED BEFORE ANY
DECISION IS MADE ON IRAQ"
[03] DERVIS: "WE'RE FACING A CRITICAL TURNING
POINT"
[04] YILMAZ ON VISIT TO GERMANY
[05] BAHCELI: "WE ARE NOT BLOCKING THE MINI DEMOCRACY
PACKAGE"
[06] BILL WOULD ADD TO MGK MEMBERSHIP
[07] JOURNALIST MUMCU COMMEMORATED
[08] TUSIAD GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO CONVENE
[09] US OPENS MISSION IN NORTHERN CYPRUS
[10] CABINET, PARLIAMENT TO WORK ON PROPERTY TAX ISSUE
[11] S&P CONTINUES CONTACTS IN ANKARA
[12] THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS
[13] END TO EMBARGO ON CYPRUS IN SIGHT BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)
[14] RESULTS OF THE US VISIT BY ORHAN BIRGIT (CUMHURIYET)
[01] SEZER BRIEFED ON BANKING BILL
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday received
State Minister for the Economy Kemal Dervis and a group of bureaucrats
at the Presidential Palace. Dervis reportedly briefed the president
about a bill proposing amendments to banking and underlined that the
bill was a priority of the IMF's expectations from Turkey. Sezer is
expected to examine the bill before Jan. 28 and decide whether to
approve or return it to Parliament. /Turkiye/
[02] ECEVIT: "TURKEY WILL BE INFORMED BEFORE ANY
DECISION IS MADE ON IRAQ"
Speaking to his Democratic Left Party (DSP)
parliamentary group yesterday, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said that
Turkey's strategic importance was so important that it would be
impossible to launch a military operation in the region without
Turkey's knowledge or, even more, without its contribution. He
underlined that Turkey would have fore knowledge of any military move
against Iraq. Ecevit also cautioned Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein,
"The messages coming from US President George Bush are very
important, and I hope that Saddam will take them into consideration.
Saddam's continued defiance of the international community is
unnecessary." The prime minister also said that Turkey was
planning to lead the international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan.
/Hürriyet/
[03] DERVIS: "WE'RE FACING A CRITICAL TURNING
POINT"
State Minister for the Economy Kemal Dervis
yesterday released a statement saying that fiscal discipline to
improve public sector balances was one of the most important levers to
bolster the credit worthiness of the Turkish economy adding that the
current period was a critical turning point for the success of
Turkey's economic program to gain steam. Dervis also stated that
international financial institutions intend to increase and continue
their support for Turkey's economic program. /Hürriyet/
[04] YILMAZ ON VISIT TO GERMANY
Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz traveled to
Dusseldorf, Germany yesterday on a private plane. Welcoming Yilmaz
upon his arrival were Institute of European Affairs Chairman Jurgen
Gramke, Turkey's Essen Chief Consul Ahmet Akarcay and Dusseldorf Chief
Consul Ates Oktem. During his visit, Yilmaz is scheduled to attend a
meeting with representatives of leading German companies who are
interested in investing Turkey and who are working with Turkish
companies in Essen. /Cumhuriyet/
[05] BAHCELI: "WE ARE NOT BLOCKING THE MINI DEMOCRACY
PACKAGE"
Deputy Prime Minister and Nationalist Action Party
(MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli yesterday met with US Ambassador to Ankara
Robert Pearson at the Prime Ministry. Bahceli told Pearson, "We
are not standing in the way of the mini democracy package in
Parliament." Meanwhile the Harmonization Bill widely known as the
mini democracy package passed the Parliamentary Justice Commission
yesterday. /Aksam/
[06] BILL WOULD ADD TO MGK MEMBERSHIP
A bill proposing a number of changes to the
structure and decision-making progress of the Turkish Security Council
(MGK) was accepted at Parliament's Constitutional Commission
yesterday. The bill, which targets changes to both the structure of
the MGK and its Secretary-General Law, consists of two articles. One
article would revise the MGK's official membership and reads as
follows: "The MGK is made up of the prime minister, chief of
general staff, deputy prime ministers, the ministers of justice,
national defense, the interior and foreign affairs, the land, sea and
air forces commanders and gendarmerie general commanders, all under
the chairmanship of the president." This revision would make
Turkey's deputy prime ministers and justice minister MGK members for
the first time. /Cumhuriyet/
[07] JOURNALIST MUMCU COMMEMORATED
Yesterday the assassination nine years ago of Ugur
Mumcu, a prominent writer for Turkish daily Cumhuriyet was
commemorated through Turkey by thousands of people. Representatives of
political parties and democratic mass organizations honored his
memory, and ceremonies were held at Cumhuriyet's main office in
Cagaloglu, Istanbul, and on a street named after him in Ankara. The
slain journalist was commemorated at the Turkish Parliament as well.
At the opening of its plenary session yesterday, Deputy Speaker Yuksel
Yalova said, "A more democratic country where unidentified
assassinations do not occur is both our desire and our responsibility.
It gives us hope that the murderer of Ugur Mumcu, who was a defender
of the principles of republicanism, democracy, freedom and human
rights and a beacon for writers everywhere were at length captured and
condemned." Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal,
CHP Secretary-General Onder Sav, CHP deputy leaders Cevdet Selvi and
Esref Erdem and Deputy Secretary-General Mehmet Sevigen visited
Mumcu's wife Guldal Mumcu, head of the Ugur Mumcu Foundation for
Researcher and Journalists. During a commemoration ceremony, Guldal
Mumcu expressed her hope for freedom without terrorism and added,
"If we cannot see that destroying another person is the same
thing as destroying one's self and just perpetuates a vicious circle,
then all humanity is fated to destruction and word 'freedom' will lose
all meaning." _Cumhuriyet
[08] TUSIAD GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO CONVENE
The Turkish Industralists' and Businessmen's
Association (TUSIAD) Ordinary General Assembly meeting will be held
today. Treasury Undersecretariat Faik Oztrak, Central Bank Governor
Sureyya Serdengecti and Banking Regulation and Supervision Board (BDDK)
Chairman Engin Akcakoca will address the meeting and brief the
participants about economic policies and expectations for the future.
/Turkiye/
[09] US OPENS MISSION IN NORTHERN CYPRUS
The United States opened a new mission building
yesterday in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). TRNC
President Rauf Denktas, Turkey's Ambassador to Lefkosha Hayati Guven,
TRNC Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertugruloglu, Education Minister Ilkay
Kamil and other high-level officials attended a reception to open the
mission. /Hürriyet/
[10] CABINET, PARLIAMENT TO WORK ON PROPERTY TAX ISSUE
Finance Minister Sumer Oral said yesterday that a
proposed amendment to a controversial bill concerning property tax
would be presented to the Parliament within few days. Oral stated that
work on the contentious topic was continuing and that the bill would
be taken up at the Cabinet's meeting on Monday. Stressing that the aim
of the new arrangement was to bring relief to Turkey's citizens, Oral
added that the requirement to make full declarations on properties
would be lifted. /Turkiye/
[11] S&P CONTINUES CONTACTS IN ANKARA
Evaluators from Standard & Poor's (S&P),
one of the world leading credit rating agencies, continued their
contacts in Turkey this week. The S&P delegation met with Treasury
Undersecretary Faik Oztrak on Wednesday and were also received by
State Minister for the Economy Kemal Dervis yesterday. The delegation
is expected to prepare a report about Turkey's economy, with the
emphasis on its solvency. /Turkiye/
[12] THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS
[13] END TO EMBARGO ON CYPRUS IN SIGHT BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)
Columnist Ferai Tinc writes on the Cyprus report
prepared by Andras Barsony and accepted by the Council of Europe. A
summary of her column is as follows: "The Cyprus report accepted
by the Council of Europe this week carries a number of important
clues. The Council, whose current membership which also covers a vast
area stretching from the Caucasus to the Eastern Bloc countries,
represents not only the views of Europe, and it lacks any authority
for sanctions. However, the recommendations of the Council form the
first step of European Union decisions. As in all cases, Brussels take
into consideration the reports and decisions accepted by the Council
on Cyprus or Turkey before forming an opinion on the given issue.
Therefore, looking at the report prepared by Hungarian parliamentarian
Andras Barsony we can see that views of the Greek Cypriots are no
longer the only ones being taken into consideration on the Cyprus
issue. This aspect of the problem is expressed in the report. Up until
now, Turkish Cypriots were only consulted regarding Cyprus when the
issue was debated at commissions. Now, however, the Turkish Cypriots
are being urged to participate more effectively in the Council of
Europe Parliamentary Assembly and in studies in the commissions.
Furthermore, they were not characterized as the 'representatives of
the Turkish Cypriots' but as 'elected representatives of the Turkish
Cypriot community'. This is a first. Certainly, this doesn't add up to
a recognition of the TRNC. However, it is the first time that the
Council's registers recorded that there was an elected administration
on the north of the island. A representative from the Turkish Cypriot
community has the right to participate in the meetings together with
the Greek Cypriot delegation in line with Council decisions, but this
time the participation mentioned goes a step further than the
framework of this decision. It means that in the coming period, a
Turkish Cypriot parliamentarian may be able to speak at the plenary
session in addition to Greek Cypriot parliamentarians. Certainly, this
should not be expected to happen immediately. We can see the beginning
of a process which may be accelerated through shrewd policies. The
second important point in the report concerns the unfair embargo which
has been imposed on the Turkish Cypriots for so many years. In line
with a provision added through the initiative of a Dutch
parliamentarian and accepted by a large majority, the report calls on
the European Union to open its markets to products manufactured in the
TRNC. What is more, it stresses that trade between the EU and TRNC
should not be affected by differences of opinion on political matters.
When we consider that the representatives of Turkish and Greek Cypriot
trade chambers are meeting in Athens, it is clear that the embargo
will be lifted. The third issue in the report concerns the ban imposed
by the Greek Cypriot administration on tourists' passage to the north.
The report requests that the hindrances to passage to the North be
lifted. All these developments show that there is a direct relation
between economic pressure and the process towards a solution. The
solution climate is forcing everyone to be careful. The Barsony
report, which was accepted by a large majority at the Council of
Europe Parliamentary Assembly, stresses the necessity for a solution
on the island for the admittance of Greek Cypriot administration. In
their quest to reach a solution, difficult days await both Turkish and
Greek Cypriots."
[14] RESULTS OF THE US VISIT BY ORHAN BIRGIT (CUMHURIYET)
Columnist Orhan Birgit writes on the consequences
of Prime Minister Ecevit's visit to the US. A summary of his column is
as follows: "Prime Minister Ecevit evaluated his recent visit to
the US upon the invitation of US President Bush for the press and also
gave a detailed report at his party's parliamentary group meeting
yesterday. The visit took place in a favorable atmosphere. This spring
climate between the two countries should be understood as the natural
result of Turkey's geographic location, the importance of which has
increased greatly since the Sept. 11 attacks. In fact, Prime Minister
Ecevit has spoken about the US president's complaints concerning
Iraq's leader both in a special television program and during the DSP
parliamentary group meeting. He stressed that Washington would like to
get rid of Saddam through diplomatic means. It is understood that
Baghdad has gotten the message as Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz is
holding talks in Moscow and Beijing. Iraqi deputy prime minister's
statement after his return to the country will show whether Saddam has
learnt his lesson. Turkey's policies pursued regarding Cyprus and
Turkish-Greek relations were not rejected by the US. The direct talks
carried out by the two leaders on the island is an implementation of
the method Ankara has argued for all along. Furthermore, steps have
been taken to form a strategic economic partnership between Turkey and
the US. For years we have been reproaching the US that it only
remembers us when military or political issues come to mind. Today it
can be said that the time has come to work on mutual trade. Also, it
should not be forgotten that the prime minister's visit to the US has
dashed the hopes of those waiting for early elections."
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