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Turkish Press Review, 99-08-27Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>27.08.99Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...[02] BAYER OFFERS AID TO VICTIMSGerman pharmaceuticals company, Bayer, has decided to send an aid package of 3 million DM to the earthquake victims in the Marmara Region. A written statement said that Bayer was cooperating with some international aid institutions in order to transport the aid package to the disaster region and added that the firm's 900 staff and its two production facilities in Turkey were not damaged during the earthquake, the Anatolia News Agency reports.[03] NAVAZ SHARIFF VISITS YALOVAPakistani Prime Minister Muhammed Navaz Shariff inspected Yalova, a city seriously affected by the earthquake. Shariff who was welcomed by Labour and Social Welfare Minister Yasar Okuyan and Yalova Governor Nihat Ozgul was briefed by Minister Okuyan. Okuyan stated that according to official figures, 2,338 people died and 4,470 people were injured during the earthquake in Yalova and said that 30 % of the city had been severely damaged. Okuyan expressed his thanks for Pakistani help consisting of 86 tents and sanitation equipment. For his part, Shariff expressed his condolences over the tragic event. He said, "Pakistani aid will further continue. Pakistan is ready to do its best to rectify the destruction in Turkey". Shariff also visited Golcuk yesterday. State Minister Sukru Sina Gurel accompanied Shariff during his tour of inspection in Yalova, the Anatolia News Agency reports.[04] 40 TONS OF EMERGENCY AID FROM FRENCH RED CROSSThe French Red Cross has stated that it will send 40 tons of emergency aid for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey. The Red Cross will send the aid package consisting of tents, blankets and sanitation equipment by cargo plane in the next few days. French and Belgian Red Cross organizations sent 10 tons of emergency relief to Turkey immediately after the earthquake, the Anatolia News Agency reports.[05] UNDAC TUPRAS REPORTUNDAC has stated that the fire at the TUPRAS oil refinery will produce an extensive ecological effect in the region. An UNDAC official, Vladimir Sakharov, said in his report concerning the fire at the TUPRAS facilities in Izmit that a great part of the Izmit Gulf had been polluted with oil and oil products. Sakharov stated in his report that Turkish officials should immediately learn from the TUPRAS management the quantity and type of oil burnt during the fire. He added that in order to determine the extent of the pollution, samples of soil and plants in the disaster zone should be examined, the Anatolia News Agency reports.[06] TUPRAS TO BEGIN DISTRIBUTION NEXT WEEKThe General Director of the Turkish Petroleum Refineries' Corporation (TUPRAS), Husamettin Danis, declared that from the beginning of next week, TUPRAS will restart its distribution of all kinds of petroleum products. However, TUPRAS production which had to stop due to the earthquake will not start yet. Danis said that they had begun to transfer the crude oil an amount of 650 thousand tons, to the Aliaga Refinery and, the day before, the first consignment of 130 thousand tons of crude oil had already been dispatched. He noted that experts from their insurance company, their foreign consulting agency, Salomon Smith Barney, and TUPRAS are carrying out damage assessment work. /Aksam/[07] AID WORTH 42 TRILLION TLThe Prime Ministry has announced that as of August 25, 1999, international and national aid collected to help the victims of the earthquake in Turkey stood at 42 trillion TL. The Prime Ministry Crisis Desk stated yesterday that, of this total, 24 trillion TL came from foreign countries while the remaining 18 trillion was from inside Turkey itself. The Crisis Desk also remarked that 22.2 trillion TL in aid was expected to be received from various countries and added that this amount would arrive in Turkey stage by stage. The Crisis Desk stated that a total of 621 people have been rescued from the rubble to date. /Star/[08] NEW TAXES IN OCTOBERA draft law concerning new taxes to be imposed on taxpayers in order to overcome the economic losses stemming from the earthquake disaster has been postponed. The draft law which passed from the Planning and Budgetary Commission of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) to the General Council yesterday was postponed until October since the TGNA has decided to take a recess until the end of October.Meanwhile, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said yesterday that with the new arrangements called "earthquake taxes" new resources would be ensured, and therefore, the requirements of the victims would be met. At the same time the economy would revive which would make an important indirect contribution to the victims. /Hurriyet/ [09] FOREIGN AID TO TURKEY TO CONTINUEFinnish Foreign Minister Tanja Halonen and Foreign Relations Commissioner of the EU Commission Hans Van Den Broek have completed their round of talks in Turkey. Halonen and Van Den Broek who previously met Foreign Minister Ismail Cem and later Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit stated that EU aid to Turkey due to the earthquake would continue. Van Den Broek said that the amount of aid given by EU countries to Turkey in the aftermath of the earthquake was between 20 and 30 million Euros. He added that additional financial assistance of 25-30 million Euros would be discussed during the meeting of the EU Foreign Ministers to be held in Helsinki on September 4-5. Van Den Broek remarked, "I think that no EU member country will oppose this financial assistance". Halonen and Van Den Broek also pointed out that the solidarity shown between Turkey and Greece following the earthquake would positively affect Athens' stance towards Turkey. They also stressed that other EU countries were making supreme efforts to remove the Greek veto towards Turkey within the EU.Meanwhile, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said that $6-7 billion in aid was needed and he would send letters to the leaders of the EU and OECD countries for this purpose. /Hurriyet-Milliyet/ [10] ERIS: "2.2 BILLION EURO IS POSSIBLE"The Head of the Economic Development Foundation (IKV), Meral Gezgin Eris, said yesterday that with the implementation of the 60th Article of the 1963 Ankara Agreement, considered to be the basis of Turco-EU relations, incentives could be provided for investment in the disaster-hit region. Eris remarked that financial assistance which had previously not been able to be obtained due to the Greek veto should initially be ensured and added that financial assistance of 2.2 billion Euro could be obtained from the EU.Meanwhile, international institutions and foreign countries are continuing to help Turkey. Israel, the US, Uzbekistan, Australia, Turkmenistan, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Macedonia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Bulgaria will send more aid to Turkey. The Greek-Cypriot Administration has said that $100,000 in aid will be sent to Turkey. /Hurriyet-Cumhuriyet/ [11] TOSKAY: "AT LEAST $3 BILLION WILL COME FROM THE IMF"State Minister and Government Spokesman Tunca Toskay said yesterday that an agreement with the IMF was a possibility by the end of this year. Toskay stated that the agreement would include a fund of at least $3 billion. Tunca Toskay who attended the first new term meeting of the Ankara Chamber of Trade (ATO) remarked that the IMF would release 25 % of the quota for Turkey by October, which amounts to $325 million. He added that $261 million allocated from the World Bank for some ventures in Turkey would be initially used for the disaster region. /Hurriyet/[12] OECD THANKS TURKISH GOVERNMENTAn expert on Turkey from the OECD, Alessandro Goglio, described the courage displayed by the Turkish Government to continue with the reforms despite the earthquake as a good indication. The enactment of the Social Security Draft Law by the Turkish Parliament pleased OECD officials. /Cumhuriyet/[13] FOREIGN PRESSThe 'International Herald Tribune' newspaper stated that the earthquake in Turkey has shown that an international rescue force should be established under the umbrella of the UN. The 'Paris-Match' newspaper said that Turkey should be on the alert from now on. The Russian 'Obshaya' newspaper claimed that the arrival of this disaster was not unexpected. It added that this earthquake was the continuation of earthquakes which occurred in 1939 and in 1967 in Turkey.Meanwhile, 850 tons of emergency relief collected by the Israeli Government and the Israeli nation departed from Ashdot Port yesterday. Thirty tons of aid was also brought from Israel to Turkey yesterday. Sweden said that it will make an additional contribution of $4.8 million to the victims in Turkey while Poland is sending eight more trucks carrying medicine, food and blankets. The US will also send large tents in which 82,180 people could shelter to Turkey. The American tents will arrive in Derince Port in Turkey on three vessels. /Hurriyet-Star/ [14] VISA SIMPLIFICATION FOR CANADAIt is reported that Canada has decided to accelerate the applications made by Turkish people to live or spend their holiday in Canada and simplify the visa requirements. The Spokesman of the Canadian Immigrants' Ministry, Peter Lamey, issued a statement and said that this decision was made in order to help those who have been affected by the earthquake in Turkey. /Hurriyet/[15] ITALIANS SET UP TENTS FOR 400 PEOPLEForeign support for the victims of the earthquake is on-going. Italians have set up tents for 400 people at the Golcuk Naval Base Headquarters. Military staff and their families at the Turkish Fleet have been settled in the tents. /Hurriyet/[16] US SENATOR IN TURKEYUS Senator Richard Lugar visited Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit yesterday. A member of the Foreign Relations Committee of the US Senate, Lugar said, "We appreciate the efforts of the Turkish Government and we want to work with this Government. We think that we can do a lot in the future". /Cumhuriyet/[17] 'ELEFTEROTIPIA': RELATIONS ON A SUFFICIENT RICHTER SCALEWhile humanitarian relief campaigns from Greece are continuing for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey, continuous cooperation is being carried out between Turkish and Greek officials. The Greek press said that there has been a boost to friendship between the two countries. Greek Defence Minister Akis Cohacopulos phoned his Turkish counterpart, Sebahattin Cakmakoglu, yesterday and talked about the details of the aid campaigns. The Turkish Ambassador to Athens, Ali Tuygan, has sent a message to the Greek Orthodox Archbishop Hristodulos yesterday and thanked him for the financial and spiritual solidarity of the Greek Orthodox Church for the victims in Turkey.The "Elefterotipia" newspaper published in Athens said that the Turkish nation was extremely appreciative of Greek solidarity with them and had sent many messages of thanks to the Greek Consulate-General in Istanbul. The newspaper added that the Athens Mayor had been warmly welcomed in Turkey. /Cumhuriyet/ [18] "IF THE WEST DOES NOT HELP, THE FUNDAMENTALISTS WILL WIN"A US expert on Turkey, Alan Makovsky, has pointed out that the Western world should offer extensive economic support to Turkey in the aftermath of the earthquake. He expressed his concern over a possible increase in the strength of the fundamentalists following the earthquake in the Marmara Region. Israeli experts also say that the West should aid Turkey as Israel is doing. /Cumhuriyet/[19] LETTER TO TURKISH ASSOCIATIONS IN U.S. FROM CLINTONU.S. President Bill Clinton is determined to meet the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Rauf Denktas, and the Greek-Cypriot Leader, Glafkos Klerides, at the same place in order to solve the Cyprus problem, reported the Anatolian News Agency.A letter sent was sent to Clinton last month by the presidents of the American-Turkish Associations' Assembly (ATAA) based in Washington and the Federation of American-Turkish Associations (FATA) that is centered in New York. It concerned the Cyprus problem and was answered by one of the high-ranking officials in the U.S. International Security Council, Mara Rudman, in the name of the President. ATAA and FATA are of the opinion that a fair solution for Cyprus could be obtained by the acceptance of the political equality of both societies in accordance with the confederation proposed by Denktas. In the reply was sent to these two associations, signed by Mara Rudman in the name of Clinton, it was emphasized that the U.S. was determined to find a solution that will be able to meet the basic interests of the parties involved on Cyprus. It was written: "The President Clinton is determined to make the two sides on Cyprus sit around the conference table as soon as possible. The Cyprus problem can be solved fairly and permanently by meetings between both parties." The letter also stated that Tom Weston, who was appointed to the post of Cyprus Coordinator by the American State Secretary would pay an official visit to Cyprus at the beginning of September and that Weston would also come to Greece and Turkey to be briefed on the issue. Furthermore, reported that the President would appoint a special representative to replace Richard Holbrooke, who has been appointed to the post of UN Permanent Representative. Diplomatic sources in Washington report that the ex-Ambassador to Romania, Alfred Moses, is likely to be appointed in place of the current Cyprus Special Representative. [20] AID FLOOD FROM NEIGHBOURAs part of the aid to the Turkish earthquake victims from the Greeks, the Greek Municipalities' Union will donate 50 million Drahmis. The Onasis Pious Foundation also declared that they will donate 100 thousand dollars. Meanwhile, many Greeks are visiting or calling the Turkish Embassy in Athens to contribute to the relief effort. Some of them are as follows: *Marianna Vardinoyannis will donate 20 thousand dollars for the children. *Chairman of the Festival Cruisers' Maritime Company, George Poulidis, has given a cheque for 10 thousand dollars. *The owner of the Pleasure Cruise, Teris Cafos, gave a one-million-drahmi cheque. *Athens Workers' Union donated one million drahmis. *The Kioleidis Company proposed to give 10 prefabricated houses. /Milliyet/[21] SELJUK EPHESUS FESTIVAL CANCELLEDThe Seljuk Ephesus Culture, Art and Tourism Festival organized by the Seljuk Ephesus Tourism Foundation has been cancelled due to the earthquake disaster in the Marmara Region in Turkey. The Festival was supposed to be held on September 3-6 at the Ephesus Theatre. /Cumhuriyet/[22] ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY ANNOUNCES MEASURES TAKEN AGAINST POLLUTIONThe Ministry of the Environment announced in a written statement environmental measures that have been and are to be taken to prevent pollution following the earthquake that devastated northwestern Turkey on August 17, the Anatolia News Agency reports. The statement says that debris will be dumped in unused mine pits, adding that the sea will be cleared of the waste oil that spilled into it after the fire at the TUPRAS refinery. A team of geological, environmental, agricultural, mineral and chemical engineers and biologists working at ministry headquarters are still attempting to find a solution to the garbage and environmental pollution problems in Sakarya, Kocaeli and Yalova, says the statement.[23] IMKB INDEX TAKES A DOWNTURNThe Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB) reopened yesterday. The IMKB National-100 Index dropped by 579.24 points in the first session. IMKB Chairman Osman Birsen said that the Turkish economy could overcome the quake disaster. Birsen remarked that no measures will be taken to prevent a drop in the stock market, adding that this would mean intervening in the markets. /All papers/[24] SUPER CONCERTGreek citizens of Turkish origin could not previously have obtained the permission to stage a concert in Turkish in places in which the population of these people is high, such as Gumulcune and Iskece. But now has been decided that the West Thracian minority and Greek singers can stage a common concert. The concert, which will be attended by many singers such as Yeorgos Dalaras, will be held in Iskece on 30th August.The U.S.A. has congragulated Greece on its international policies. The American Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, sent a message to her counterpart, George Papandreu in which she explained that she expressed her pleasure and congragulated him for supporting Turkey. In the same letter, it was also written that Athens has created a turning point in the relationship between Turkey and Greece by coming to Turkey's help voluntarily. Papandreu is not alone in pursuing this politicy. The newspapers `To Vima', `Kathimerini', `Exusia' and `Avgi' published the message "forward!" in their articles. `Avgi' wrote: "it is time to dispose of vetos", `To Vima' wrote "vetos are like empty, tied-up boxes", `Kathimerini' wrote: "The role of vetos has come to an end" and `Exusia' wrote "Papandreu is meeting the leaders of the political parties in order to dispose of the vetos". /Sabah/ [25] REPENTANCE LAW ENACTEDPrior to a partial amnesty, the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) enacted the Repentance Law yesterday. According to the this Law, terrorists who have not committed any crimes or have not been faced with any legal proceedings prior to the day of the enactment of this Law will not be punished. The Law also foresees that those who were sentenced to death will have their sentence commuted to a nine-year prison sentence while life-imprisonment will be commuted to six years. The Head of the PKK terrorist organization, Abdullah Ocalan, and PKK members who killed security forces' members will not be able to take advantage of the Repentance Law. /Hurriyet/[26] NEW PAYMENT ON FOREIGN DEBTTurkey paid off 683.13 million dollars in foreign debt in the three weeks, between 2nd and 25th August. According to Central Bank data, 604.88 million dollars of the foreign debt belongs to the Treasury while 25.67 million dollars belongs to the Central Bank. Futhermore, since the begining of the year, 6.602 billion dollars of foreign debt payments have been achieved. /Aksam/[27] F-16 CRASHES IN BATMANThe anti-aircraft guns and one of the two rockets, which were found on the F-16 fighter that crashed while landing at Batman Military Airport, exploded and the other rocket was destroyed. An investigation into the incident, in which no-one either died or was wounded, has begun, reported the Anatolian News Agency.The pilot, who could not be identified, ejected safely with his parachute. The fire that occurred after the aircraft crashed was extinguished by Batman Airport Command's fire-extinguishing team. During the incident, although no-one was killed or injured, the airport was damaged. During the controlled destruction of the rockets and munitions, the road between Diyarbakir and Batman was closed to traffic for almost 2 hours. Officials stated that the Turkish Airlines (THY) aircraft would be able to land regularly at the airport on time. [28] CORLU AIRPORT TO BRIDGE TAJIKISTAN AIRLINES TO EUROPETajik Airlines picked up Corlu Airport as its first stop-off point for flights to Europe, the Anatolia News Agency reports. A ceremony was held at the airport to mark the event. Zeki Sanal, the Tekirdag Governor, remarked that Corlu Airport formed a bridge between Asia and Europe. "We have historical, cultural and economic ties with Tajikistan. Flights will help us to take this further. I hope that the friendship between Turkey and Tajikistan continues", he said.[29] NATIONAL LADIES' TEAM IN CANADAThe National Ladies' volleyball team left for Canada yesterday to participate in the World Championship which will be organized between August 28 and September 6, the Anatolia News Agency reports. The Turkish team will take on the Czech Republic on August 28, followed by the US on August 29 and Canada on August 30.[30] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...[31] RACISM -BY TAHA AKYOL (MILLIYET)Taha Akyol, a columnist for the daily 'Milliyet' newspaper says the following in his article today:"One of the news items which consoles us during these hard times is the gesture of brotherhood displayed by Greece. Who is responsible for the Turco-Greek dispute? The answer to this question is clear. However, this is not the issue now. The issue is 'Why do Turkey and Greece not reach a deal?' A great opportunity lies before us in that George Papandreu, a statesman with a vision, has become the Greek Foreign Minister following Pangalos. Papandreu knows that the Western Thracian Turks are not a threat to Greece and cannot be...Papandreu knows that Turkey and Greece's common interests will be a much stronger bond than their petty disputes. The earthquake has shown that there is a love existing between the two nations which have lived together for many centuries. The common interest of Turkey and Greece is in opening to to each other. The biggest obstacle in front of this is prejudice. What about the words of the Health Minister, Osman Durmus? Durmus does not know how to speak. The shadow of 'racism' will destroy Turkey's image. Minister Durmus should thank Greece for its gesture and announce that he sees Turco-Greek friendship as important". [32] THE COST OF THE EARTHQUAKE -BY SAVAS AKAT (SABAH)Savas Akat is a columnist on the daily `Sabah' newspaper. This is an article written by him published in `Sabah'.Following the Izmit earthquake, the death toll and the number of injured are increasing day by day. It can be understood that this, one of the strongest earthquakes of the 20th century caused many more deaths than were expected. After the first shock, speculations about the cost of the earthquake started immediately. Everyone says something. I do not think that these calculations are true. In Turkey, there is a tendency to exaggerate numbers. Obviously we do not have exact data. It is impossible to determine the extent of the havoc for now. However, we can calculate a little bit. First of all, the human loss is the biggest loss. What is the cost of the human life? 10,000 dollars? 100,000 dollars? 1,000,000 dollars? How will we be able to determine the losses of those who have lost their loved ones? The earthquake destroyed urban areas and thus the loss of human life was high. We can consider it to be the human investment; we call the educational level of these people, their work experience, their information and skills "human resources". They all have a social value. I think the educational level of those who died and were injured is higher than that of those who live in rural areas. We should also add this to our "humanitarian capital resources". We should examine the economic loss in two categories. One of them is that the production of goods and services halts in the aftermath of an earthquake. Offices are destroyed and workers join in the search and rescue efforts and this situation will lead to a loss in supply.The earthquake will cause an decrease in national income. I do not want to bore you with the details. The proportion of the contribution of the earthquake-hit regions to the national income is 7%; if manufacturing is interrupted just for a month, then it will cost 600 million dollars. Consumption will also decrease until society copes with the shock. Tourists will come to Istanbul more seldom than before, which means a loss of 1% of national income I estimate that the total manufacturing loss is 3 million dollars and 1.5% of the national earning. This loss happen a few months after the earthquake. However, the internal demand will increase again due to the construction works, etc., after October. The other economic aspect is that of wealth. This concept is different from the income. The most significant factor in this is the destruction of the buildings; 60,000 houses are thought to have been damaged. Let us consider it in square metres on average. So roughly 6 million square metres of housing has been lost. We can say that the average cost of reconstruction per square metre is 200 dollars, an amount of 1.2 million dollars. Let us add a similar amount of public buildings and offices to this figure which then climbs to 2.4 million dollars. This may be exaggerated but if we add the infrastructural damage to roads, the electricity supply, telephones, water, etc., then if that amounts to half of this amount, we are talking about 4 billion dollars. What about machinery and other equipment? Large companies are insured and their losses will be covered insurance firms abroad. Small companies on the other hand, generally forgo insurance; in that case we can estimate a loss of 1.5-2 billion dollars for them. So the total cost is around a maximum of 6 or 7 billion dollars. In conclusion, the maximum economic loss of the earthquake has been calculated. A loss in production of 3 billion dollars and a loss of wealth of 7 billion dollars equals 10 billion dollars, or 150 dollars per person. However, the distribution of the cost to the country is unequal. Unfortunately, the people who lost their loved ones are also those who have sustained this financial loss. Some of our compatriots in the earthquake-hit regions have lost all their "wealth". How can we cover their losses? We should find an answer to this problem as soon as possible. NOTE: Turkish Press Review will not be published on August 30 due to Victory Day holiday. END Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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