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Turkish Press Review, 99-02-01Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>01.02.99Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] IN WHAT DOES THE IMF TRUST AND WHY? -BY TURKEL MINIBAS (CUMHURIYET)[02] "THE OPERATION TO SAVE THE TURKISH LANGUAGE" -BY SEYDA APAYDIN (AKSAM)[03] STABILITY TWO-TIER ELECTIONS WOULD BRING -BY ENIS BERBEROGLU (HURRIYET)[04] CETIN HOLDS CONTACTS IN IRANFormer Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani expressed Tehran's discontent with Turkey's close cooperation with Israel at a meeting with visiting Turkish Parliament Speaker Hikmet Cetin yesterday. Rafsanjani claimed that President Suleyman Demirel had told him that Turkey would not become closer to Israel, and accused him of not keeping his word. Cetin responded that the relations between Turkey and Israel did not have a negative impact on Turkey's ties with other countries, including Iran.Speaking before the meeting on Sunday, Cetin said that his three-day visit to Iran had turned out to be very productive and promising. On Saturday, Cetin met President Mohammed Khatami and his Iranian counterpart, Natiq Nouri, and said after the meetings they had agreed that relations between Turkey and Iran should be boosted. Cetin said that fighting against international terrorism was one of the major topics discussed during the meetings. Khatami also invited Demirel to visit Iran. /All papers/ [05] DEMIREL: "EITHER PARTY OR COUNTRY"In an interview with the `Hurriyet' daily, President Suleyman Demirel expressed his views on the most burning issues on the agenda of Turkey.As to the possible implementation of the `two-tier' election system which has been rigorously debated, Demirel said, "We are always delegating power to a minority. However, the majority of the people should be introduced to the administration. When you are seeking a vote of confidence, you seek the approval of the majority of Parliament. But when it comes to the municipality, you directly elect the mayors. In this respect, two-tier elections would be a step forward in democracy, in which the consent of the people is essential. A two-tier election system would both ensure the superiority of the consent of the people, and bring stability. If one opposes the implementation of this new system due to his or her reservations against voting for a less favorable party at the second stage, this would mean a very apparent violation of the interests of the whole country for mere party interests. You will either include the people within the regime, or overlook the alienation of the people from the regime." With regard to the recent attempts by the Attorney General of the Court of Appeals against the PKK-oriented HADEP (People's Democracy Party), Demirel said, "If a political party does not oppose separatism, if it does not place a critical distance between itself and terrorism, that party apparently violates the Constitution and the legal order. Under these circumstances, the Attorney General will do what is required. You cannot ask "What will the world say, then?" Demirel also said: "There is nothing strange in the military's statement of their views on national problems, especially on those affecting national security. The state has a hierarchical order, and it is quite natural for the military to express their views within such a framework." /Hurriyet/ [06] ECEVIT SAYS OCALAN IN ITALYPrime Minister Bulent Ecevit yesterday made a surprising statement by saying that the PKK leader, Abdullah Ocalan, had returned to Italy. "According to information from a very reliable source in Italy, he should have arrived in Italy by now" he told reporters. However, Ecevit said he did not know where exactly Ocalan might be holed up.Ecevit said that Ankara was uncertain at that moment whether Ocalan went to Italy to stay or whether he had simply stopped there en route to another destination. "Ocalan will have difficulty finding himself a hideaway. That is some sort of punishment for him" Ecevit added. Ecevit accused European countries of having supported PKK terrorism until the point when its leader began to be a thorn in their sides as well. "They closed their doors to that snake when it began to threaten them" he said. In Rome, the Italian government quickly denied that Ocalan had gone back to Italy. Despite Ocalan's departure from Rome on January 16, his lawyers filed documents formalizing his request for political asylum in Italy. Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini also denied Ecevit's statement concerning Ocalan's whereabouts. Speaking to the Italian news agency, ANSA, Dini said that he would 'deny claims that Ocalan, the cause for the crisis between Turkey and Italy" is in Italy. /All papers/ [07] ANKARA CRITICIZES US BOMBARDMENTAs the US aircraft based at Incirlik Air Base in Adana, in Southern Turkey, continue to bomb Iraqi artillery in the northern no-fly zone, Ankara once again raised its voice, saying that US intelligence concerning Iraqi activities is inadequate. The criticism came from Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, who appeared live on one of the state-run Turkish Radio and Television Corporation's (TRT) television station yesterday. He said that the latest explosion near the Iraqi town of Mosul, which alerted the Incirlik base on Thursday, had led US aircraft to bombard the region.Referring to that incident, Ecevit said: "There was the expectation of a missile attack for a few hours at Incirlik. This shows the seriousness of the risks that Turkey and Iraq face as the crisis has escalated. Reciprocal provocations have escalated the crisis". Ecevit added: "The UN Security Council resolution that followed the end of the Gulf War in 1991 requires that Iraq's territory remain united. It also calls on the ethnic groups in Iraq to find a solution by establishing dialogue among themselves. But attempts to establish such a dialogue are being prevented". Ecevit reiterated that Washington does not have a clear policy on Iraq. Yesterday, 22 aircraft belonging to the Northern Watch Operation took off from Incirlik, attacking some targets in Northern Iraq. Defence Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said that the planes from Incirlik did not take part in the operations. Turk added that the planes were only monitoring the no-fly zone. /All papers/ [08] THE NETHERLANDS TURNS DOWN OCALANThe Netherlands government announced that they would never let Abdullah Ocalan enter their country in order not to damage their friendly relations with Turkey. At midnight Dutch television announced that the chief of the PKK, Abdullah Ocalan, would arrive at Rotterdam Airport within the next few hours. However, the Netherlands Ministry of Justice announced immediately after the TV news that they would not give permission for the plane to land at Rotterdam Airport. The Turkish Ambassador to the Hague, Bilgin Unan, said that the Netherlands' Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials had given him guarantees that Ocalan would not be allowed to enter their country. /Sabah/[09] 'NO' TO A KURDISH STATE FROM THE USOne of the Middle East specialists working for the US Central Intelligence Agency, Ellen Laipson, stated that the territorial integrity of Iraq would be protected after the fall of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Laipson added that in Iraq and other countries there were Kurds who cherished the dream of an independent Kurdish state. Laipson, in thestatement she made at a meeting held by the 'Middle Eastern Policies' Institue in the US Congress, said that she was expressing her personal views, not those of the organization she worked for.Laipson added that in an Iraq after Saddam Hussein, its territorial integrity, stability and democracy as well as its relations with neighbouring countries should be analyzed. /Turkiye/ [10] PKK SUBMIT COMPLAINT TO ATHENS AGAINST GREEK AMBASSADORIt was learned that the terrorist PKK organization had complained to Athens about the Greek Ambassador to Rome, Alessandro Sandis, because he had not visited Ocalan during his stay in Rome. The PKK member responsible for European Affairs, Kani Yilmaz, had brought up the matter during a meeting he held with the Greek Public Security and Foreign Minister in Athens but did not receive the answer he was looking for. /Turkiye/[11] KUTAN: PARLIAMENT WILL NOT PASS LEGISLATION ON ELECTIONSThe Chairman of the Virtue Party (FP), Recai Kutan, answered the questions posed by political affairs' reporters in the break given during the meeting of the General Administrative Board of his party. Kutan, who stated that both the general and local elections should be held together on April 18, claimed that the legislation concerning two tier-elections would not be passed by Parliament. Kutan said, "We are against any changes to be made in the Election Law just before the elections." In answer to reporters who recalled that the President was insistent on this subject, Kutan said, "It is his view. The FP does not have agree with him on every subject." /Turkiye/[12] CINDORUK: NO LEADERSHIP CRISIS IN DTPHusamettin Cindoruk, the leader of the Democratic Turkey Party (DTP), stated that there is no question of leadership in his party. Cindoruk said, "Following the decision of the extraordinary congress, I tried to show that I am always ready to step down from the leadership. When we retreated from this decision, the question also disappeared." /Hurriyet/[13] BARIS MANCO DIESBaris Manco, one of the stars of Turkish pop and rock music for more than 25 years, died last night of a heart attack. It was reported that he fainted during a telephone conversation with a friend at 23:30 last night, and died despite intense medical efforts at the Siyami Ersek Cardiology Center two hours later.Manco was born in Istanbul in 1943. He started his musical career in the late 1950s and became one of the founders of Turkish ethnic-rock. With his group Kurtalan Express, he gave numerous concerts in Turkey and abroad. Producing more than 200 songs (for which he composed both the lyrics and the music), he was elected `State Artist' in 1991. He also received numerous medals from the French and Belgian governments. /Hurriyet/ [14] TURKISH SCIENTISTS IN THE USWorld-renowned Turkish scientist Prof. Ali Erdemir, known for his research on technology, held a party in his villa in Chicago for Turkish lecturers who were conducting their research at Chicago's Argon laboratories. Prof. Erdemir stated that they wanted to achieve close cooperation with Turkish scientists and added that these relations should be widened in order to notify their counterparts of the recent developments in the world. /Turkiye/[15] INITIATIVE BY 'TURKSEKER' ABROADThe Director-General of Turkish Sugar Factories, Selahattin Hun, stated that this year they would accelerate their projects to build sugar factories abroad. Recalling that the first such factory 'Sarky�ld�z�' had begun operating some time ago in Horzem, Uzbekistan, Director- General Hun said that they had put up a tender for a second factory. Hun added that they also aimed to build sugar factories using Turkish technology in Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. /Turkiye/[16] A NEW ERA IN ENERGYThe Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources decided to take mobile power plants into consideration in order to close the gap between the production and the consumption of energy in Turkey. Two agreements were signed for two mobile power stations so as to find both short and medium term solutions to Turkey's energy requirements. It was decided that two mobile power plants are to be stationed in the provinces of Van and Hakkari. /Turkiye/[17] TURKEY TO ATTEND 83 FOREIGN FAIRSTurkey will attend 83 international fairs this year. Turkish export goods will be exhibited at the 10 of the 83 international fairs in which Turkey will participate Turkey will also take part in the International Zagreb Fair as an EU partnership country. Textiles, marble, food and the automotive sectors will be among the sectors exhibiting Turkish goods. /Milliyet/[18] TRILLION DOLLARS LOOKS FOR A NEW ADDRESSAt the end of the "European Fixed Investment Summit", organized by the Global Real Estate Institution between 26-28 January in Paris, Turkey was declared to be the safest country in which to invest the almost $1.3 trillion fund which had been held back due to the financial crisis in the Far East, Latin America and Russia. The representatives of international banks, finance institutions, fund and fixed yield investors, as well as of investment institutions declared at the summit that Turkey, which is an emerging market, would have a bright future and that she would be the "new address" for a significant proportion of international funds. /Milliyet/[19] 41 HADEP SUPPORTS ARE TAKEN INTO CUSTODY IN ISTANBULForty-one members of HADEP, (People's Democracy Party), who were planning like to organize a demonstration against the investigation opened by the Public Prosecutor, Vural Savas, in order to close down HADEP, were taken into custody by Istanbul police. The police did not permit the demonstration, claiming that HADEP supporters had not requested permission for the meeting beforehand. /Sabah/[20] "PRIVATIZATION WILL CONTINUE"The Minister of State responsible for the economy and Deputy Prime Minister Hikmet Ulugbay, announced that privatization would continue at full speed. He said that privatization applications which began in 1998 and those which would start in 1999, will be carried out with determination and without causing unemployment. Ulugbay added that they expected $ 4 billion from privatization sales in 1999. /Aksam/[21] EXPORT TO 90 COUNTRIES FROM GAPTwo hundred kinds of agricultural, industrial and animal goods were exported to 90 countries from the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) region. The total amount of the goods exported was $ 605.3 million. Representatives of the GAP region said that they aimed to increase the total amount to be exported in 1999. /Aksam/[22] SABANCI EXHIBITION TO BE IN LOS ANGELESThe Sakip Sabanci Calligraphy Collection, which is still being exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum, is going to be shown at Los Angeles County Museum between 20 February and 17 May in California. Officials from the museum said that Ottoman calligraphic art was of international importance adding that the collection included examples from the 16th century to the 20th century. /Aksam/[23] BAKU-CEYHAN TALKS TO BE HELD IN EARLY FEBRUARYTechnical talks aimed at outlining an agreement on the Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline will be held in early February between high-level officials from Turkey, the Azerbaijani oil company SOCAR and the international consortium AIOC, the Anatolia news agency reports. The talks are expected to be held in the first week of February either in Ankara or Brussels.[24] 10 TERRORISTS KILLEDDuring a conflict between the Turkish security forces and the members of the PKK terrorist organization in the Cemiskezek district of Tunceli, one non-commissioned officer died and five security officials were wounded, and three PKK members were killed. According to a statement by the Emergency Rule Region authorities, during another conflict near the Dicle district of Diyarbakir, seven PKK terrorists were killed. While one PKK member was captured in Van, two security officials died. Officials noted that operations in these regions were progressing well. /Cumhuriyet-Milliyet/[25] GREEK TANKER GOES AGROUNDThe 821 gross-tonne Greek-registered tanker, 'Kemstar', which was sailing from Gebze to the Piraeus Port of Greece went aground in Bozcaada after it departed from the Canakkale Straits. Officials noted that operations to rescue the tanker were in progress. /Cumhuriyet/[26] POLAT: CHP CANDIDATEThe Chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP), Deniz Baykal, noted yesterday that businessman Adnan Polat was among the candidates wishing to become Mayor of Istanbul. The final candidate from the CHP to stand for the Istanbul Municipality will be determined during a preliminary election on February 14. /Cumhuriyet/[27] BARTHOLOMEOS GOES TO SWITZERLANDThe Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarch I.Bartholomeos went to Zurich yesterday morning to attend the World Economic Forum, which is taking place in Davos, Switzerland. /Cumhuriyet/[28] RAILWAY TO GEORGIAIn order to facilitate transportation from Erzurum, one of the most important commercial centres in Eastern Anatolia, railway construction towards Georgia and Nakhichevan should be speeded-up. The Secretary-General of the Eastern Anatolian Exporters' Union, Fikret Kabakus, made a statement to the Anatolia news agency and said that when the 210-kilometre length of track is constructed between Horasan-Benliahmet-Igdir-Aralik-Dilucu-Sederek-Nakhichevan and Culfa, exports from this region especially from Erzurum will be enabled to further develop. /Cumhuriyet/[29] CUMULATION BOOKLET BY DTMThe Foreign Trade Undersecretariat (DTM) has published a booklet on the formation of a 'Pan-European Origin Cumulation System' which has been attended by Turkey since January 1. In the booklet, it is pointed out that the system, which will create new commercial opportunities between the countries and allow them to receive the utmost benefit from agreements, will add new dimensions to mutual commercial relations. /Cumhuriyet/[30] TURKMEN NATURAL GAS PROJECTA new energy project that is being developed, seeks to transport natural gas from Turkmenistan to Turkey via Azerbaijan, Georgia and the Caspian Sea. The Enron petrol company is expected to present the results of its feasilibity study to the Turkish and Georgian Energy Ministries. It is further expected that a delegation from the Turkish Energy Ministry will fly to Goergia's capital, Ashkabad, for the presentation of the feasibility study. /All papers/[31] DEMIREL PRAISES TRT ON ITS 31ST ANNIVERSARYPresident Suleyman Demirel, on the 31st anniversary of TRT's (Turkish Radio and Television Corporation) first broadcast, said yesterday that this had been a huge step that had built a bridge between the government and the people 31 years ago. "TRT has made enormous progress in the last 31 years. It has been providing a very important service to the Turkish people, both those living in Turkey and those living abroad, as well as to the Turkish-Speaking Republics" Demirel said in a written message he sent to Yucel Yener, TRT's general director. /All papers/[32] PARLIAMENT TO DISCUSS BENEFITS FOR WIDOWSThis week, Parliament will discuss a Banking Bill and draft Law which aims to improve the situation of veterans and the widows and children of soldiers killed in the line of duty. Although a trend towards a consensus, proposing that the post-election government prepare its own budget, emerged in inter-party talks, the Parliamentary Planning and Budget Commission will meet tomorrow to handle the final part of the 55th government's 1999 budget, the budget of the Finance Ministry. /All papers/[33] GENERAL STAFF OUTLINES MILITARY'S WEAPONSThe Turkish Armed Forces' (TSK) acquisition programme for the next 10 years, which allows for the purchase of new weapons and equipment during that time span, has been determined by the General Staff, the Anatolia news agency reports. The General Staff has assessed what the needs of the four branches of the military (The General Staff, Army, Air Force and Navy) will be during the next 10 years. It has asked both the State and private institutions that produce weapons and military equipment in Turkey to begin production according to the detailed reports issued by the General Staff.[34] ECEVIT: MILITARY OPERATION NECESSARYIn Ankara, Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit stressed yesterday that a military intervention in Kosovo had become necessary, and expressed Turkey's readiness to participate in it. In remarks during a programme broadcast on the TRT-INT channel, Ecevit blamed Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic for the on-going turmoil in Kosovo.Ecevit stressed that there were profound historic and cultural bonds between Turkey and the people of Kosovo. He added that a large amount of humanitarian aid had been collected for the Kosovar people, and ways for sending it to the province were being looked into. /All papers/ [35] "TURKEY HAS A HUGE OPPORTUNITY IN TOURISM"The Director of the Turkish Research Centre, Faruk Sen, has noted that Turkish tourism will receive a higher interest from Europe in 1999 when compared to 1998. He said that there would be an 18 % increase in the number of German tourists visiting Turkey this year. Sen added: "We anticipate that 2,350,000 or 2,400,000 tourists will visit Turkey in 1999". The results of the research conducted by the Turkish Research Centre will be announced during a Tourism Fair to be held in Essen, Germany, in March. /Cumhuriyet/[36] FIRST TURKISH FAIR IN ALGERIA TO BE HELD IN MAYPreparations for the first Turkish Export Products' Fair to be held in Algeria between May 18-21 have begun. Idil Akin, the Foreign Relations Coordinator of Ladin Corp, the organizer of the fair, noted that this enterprise will be a fine opportunity to bridge the trade deficit between Algeria and Turkey. It is reported that Algeria needs textile, food, automative, and electric-electronics sector outputs. The total volume of trade between Algeria and Turkey was about $550 million in the first six months of 1998. /Hurriyet/[37] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...[38] IN WHAT DOES THE IMF TRUST AND WHY? -BY TURKEL MINIBAS (CUMHURIYET)Turkel Minibas, a columnist from the daily 'Cumhuriyet' newspaper, says the following in his article today: "Do you remember those days when our close relations began? The newspapers have noted that the IMF turned a red light into a green light. The 56th government put the IMF's assertive issues on its agenda. The Democratic Left Party (DSP) government will: *determine its privatization target by convening the Privatization Supreme Board while the IMF delegation is meeting financial circles in Istanbul; *implement the articles of the Banking Law which have been suspended; and *open the Social Security reform to discussion...The government has signalled that it is determined to abide by the 'Staff Monitoring Agreement' signed between the IMF and Turkey. On the other hand, the government brought the two-tier election model onto the agenda to establish an assembly to implement these issues. It has been understood that Turkey has taken steps towards the 'two-tier' policy and an 'ultra-liberal' model in her economy. Thus, no more breakthroughs need to be implemented fo fulfill these bitter prescriptions". /Cumhuriyet/ [39] "THE OPERATION TO SAVE THE TURKISH LANGUAGE" -BY SEYDA APAYDIN (AKSAM)Seyda Apaydin, a correspondent in the Aksam newspaper, conducted an interview with the youngest Minister in the 56th government, the Minister of State, Aydin Tumen. During the interview, Tumen answered Apaydin's questions relating to the issue for which his Ministry is responsible.One of the issues they talked about was the future of the Turkish language. Aydin Tumen, who is also responsible for the Ataturk Language History Supreme Board, said that they had prepared a project to save the Turkish language from the influence of foreign languages. As for that, he added, they aimed to start a campaign because laws or restrictions alone were not enough to re-arrange things. Tumen noted that they would establish a commission to cleanse the Turkish language of the negative effects of foreign languages. /Aksam/ [40] STABILITY TWO-TIER ELECTIONS WOULD BRING -BY ENIS BERBEROGLU (HURRIYET)In his column in Hurriyet, Enis Berberoglu reflects on the search for stability in Turkey. A summary of his column is as follows:"The main cause of the two tier election debates, which heated up in a period of less than three months before the elections, is evident: i.e., the search for stability.... Those defending two tier elections say that they want stability in administration. In other words, they want a party in power which has the strong support of the majority of voters. However it is highly doubtful that stability in administration is the guarantee of the stability of the regime....During the ten year period between 1950-60 there was stability in the administration but this did not prevent the coup d'etat of 1960. The example of Ireland could also be given. For 50 years The Unionist Party won all the elections held but stability in administration did not stop the violence..... In democracies elections have two aims, the first being 'stability in administration' an the second 'fairness in representation'. The second principle was not taken into consideration in Turkey as it should have been." /Turkiye/ Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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