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Turkish Press Review, 00-09-21Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>21.09.00Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS[02] MINISTERS MEET TODAYThe Council of Ministers will hold a meeting today during which a report prepared under the coordination of the Prime Ministry Human Rights Coordinator High Comitttee, and entitled "The measures Turkey has to take within the Copenhagen criteria" will be discussed. /Star/[03] SCOPE OF AMNESTY EXPANDThe Constitutional Court's decision, which was announced yesterday, over the annulment of the law regarding the crime of expression has inspired the hope for general amnesty. Including the crime of expression, the Government is planning to expand the scope of the amnesty and rearrange the bill which is waiting at the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) after being vetoed by the President. The amendment which enables the abolishment of Erbakan's punishment is also expected to be included in these arrangements. Yesterday, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit met his staff to discuss the decision of the Constitutional Court and the amnesty. After the 1.5-hour meeting, stressing that the Government was awaiting the promulgation of the reasoning of the Constitutional Court's decision in the Official Gazette, Minister of Justice Hikmet Sami Turk said: "As the Constitutional Court's decision's reasoning will be binding for the legislative, executive and administrative bodies, the Government will prepare and present a bill to the TGNA to cover the gap in the legal procedure as soon as possible. /Turkiye/[04] FM CEM IN BRUSSELSForeign Minister Ismail Cem, who is currently in Brussels to hold contacts within the framework of the European Union, met the Head of the European Parliament Socialist Group Baron Crespo yesterday. Mr. Cem also held contacts with the co-chairmen of the Greens Group, Paul Lanoye and Heidi Anelli Hautala. Stating that there were good relations between Turkey and the European Union Commission, Mr. Cem said after the meetings, "However, there was a lack of dialogue between Turkey and the EU Parliament. The absence of the Turkish members in the EU Parliament is causing misunderstanding on certain issues regarding Turkey. It is true that a significant effort is required to understand one another." Later, Mr. Cem met Head of Christian Democrats Group Hans Gert Pottering and the Head of Liberal Group Patrick Cox. Mr. Cem's contacts were over after his meeting with the EU Commissioner responsible for the enlargement Gunther Verheugen. A delegation including Deputy Undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry Akin Alptuna, Deputy Director-General of the EU Affairs Zergun Koruturk, Deputy Spokesman of the Foreign Ministry Huseyin Dirioz and Turkey's permanent representative to EU Nihat Akyol, is also accompanying to Mr. Cem in Brussels. /Cumhuriyet/[05] TURKEY-ECHRA state petition lodged by the Greek-Cypriots against Turkey at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) was heard yesterday. Turkey did not attend the hearing since it protested Greek-Cypriots' attempt to use the ECHR as a political instrument to attain the solution they desired in the Cyprus issue. Head of the Court Louis Wilhaber stated that the Turkish government informed them about their not attending the trial and added that the Turkish government had the right to give up its defense right according to the regulations of the Court. Diplomatic sources stated that Turkey had explained its views in great detail on the Cyprus issue in the previous trials however since this was the Greek-Cypriots' fourth application to the ECHR and Turkey believed that such manoeuvres were just political ploys by the Greek-Cypriot administration, Turkey chose not to avail itself of its right of defense. Greek persistence showed clearly that they tried to use the European Court as a political instrument. /Cumhuriyet/[06] ARMENIAN BILL TO BE VOTED TODAYThe bill on the so-called Armenian genocide is going to be voted today at the House of Representatives' International Operations and Human Rights Subcommittee. If it is accepted by the Subcommittee, the bill will be voted at the International Relations Committee and if it is also ratified there, then it will be brought to the floor of the House of Representatives. On Oct. 6, The House of Representatives will go into recess for the election of new deputies. If the bill does not pass through the Congress by that time, the Armenian lobby is expected to put a new similar bill on the agenda during the new legislation year, which will begin in January. /Turkiye/[07] MEETING TO DISCUSS THE EXPORTS AT PRIME MINISTRYA meeting to discuss the necessary measures for supporting exports was held at the Prime Ministry yesterday. Deputy Prime Minister and State Minister Husamettin Ozkan presided over the meeting and State Ministers Tunca Toskay and Recep Onal, Finance Minister Sumer Oral and a number of bureaucrats attended the meeting. After the meeting, Mr. Toskay stated that they had discussed Turkey's foreign trade in great detail and evaluated the preparations to increase exports. /Sabah/[08] CAKMAKOGLU TO VISIT AZERBAIJANDefense Minister Sabahattin Cakmakoglu traveled to Azerbaijan yesterday for an official visit. Prior to his departure Mr. Cakmakoglu held a press conference saying that he was going to seek ways to increase military cooperation with Azerbaijan. "I am going to Azerbaijan at the invitation of Defense Minister Gen. Sefer Abiyez. We will discuss bilateral relations in addition to regional issues during my visit. We will also find an opportunity to discuss defense industry cooperation with Azeri officials. Before my visit certain representatives of Turkish defense companies also went to Azerbaijan.", he said and added that he would meet Azerbaijani Prime Minister Artyur Rasizde and Foreign Minister Vilayet Guliyev during his visit. /Turkish Daily News/[09] GENERAL STAFF HOSTING NATO LOGISTICS MEETING IN ANTALYAThe fall meeting for integration of NATO logistics is to take place today and tomorrow in Antalya as hosted by the Turkish General Staff. Some 44 representatives from 15 NATO member states are expected to attend the meeting. Turkey's contribution to peace operations, coordination of logistics activities and computer support are among the issues that will be discussed during the meeting. /Turkish Daily News/[10] ONAL IN IMF AND WORLD BANK MEETINGSState Minister Recep Onal will represent Turkey in the IMF and World Bank Fall meetings on Sept. 26-28 in Prague. The governor of the Central Bank Gazi Ercel and Treasury Undersecretary Selcuk Demiralp will participate in the meetings to discuss the economic structure and current economic situation in Turkey. They will also meet the representatives of the international financial institutions to give information about the monetary and exchange rate policies that Turkey will implement in 2001. /Milliyet/[11] KARS-TBILISI RAILROAD PROJECT MEETINGA meeting is to take place in Ankara on Sept. 28 at which Turkey-Georgia railroad project will be discussed. The meeting will determine what has to be done in order to bring the project to life in the shortest possible time. The project will cost approximately $600 million to complete and will allow Central Asian and Caucasus railroad traffic to transit Turkey and connect to Russian and Iranian railroads. The connection is also expected to make a significant contribution to regional trade. /Turkish Daily News/[12] D-8 REPRESENTATIVES MEET FOR ENVIRONMENTExperts from the D-8 countries, Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Indonesia and Pakistan, met to determine the cooperation issues concerning the environment. During the meeting at the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of the Environment, the Environment Ministry's Deputy Undersecretary Okan Ucer said, "We have been in cooperation concerning the areas of trade, industry, telecommunications, finance, banking and privatization, science, technology, struggle against poverty, agriculture, energy and health. During the meeting that was organized in Dakka last year, the environment was added to the list of the D-8 cooperation issues. We will discuss the efforts to be exerted concerning this issue." Ucer also pointed out the importance of the environment in terms of the harmonization with the European Union (EU). The meeting, which will also continue today, was closed to the press yesterday. /Cumhuriyet/[13] TURKISH PEOPLE SUPPORT FULL EU MEMBERSHIPAccording to the results of a public opinion survey, 68.7 percent of the Turkish people supports the full EU membership. People rejecting the membership are 9.9 percent. According to the survey 21.4 percent of the people are undecided on the EU membership. In other words, people are not certain what the consequences of the full EU membership will be. The reasons that were cited by the people who favour the full EU membership are as follows: 1. The full EU membership will affect the economic development in a positive way. 2. It will lead to an increase in the importance of Turkey in the international arena and also her prestige in the region. 3. It will help the efforts to reach the level of Ataturk's ideal of contemporary civilization. 4. It will consolidate the maintenance of domestic peace and the resolution of the South Eastern problem. People who do not support the full EU membership state their reasons as follows: 1. Turkish national and religious identity may be negatively affected. 2. National economy will be dependent on the European economy and will be exploited by the EU. 3. In terms of the development of the economy, Turkey will always stay behind the highly developed European states' economies. /Milliyet/[14] TURKISH FEMALE JURISTS' SUCCESSLawyer Aysen Onen, who is a member of the Association of Turkish Female Jurists, was elected Deputy Chairman of the Federation of International Female Jurists (FIFCJ). FIFCJ's 17th General Congress was organized in Toledo, Spain with the participation of 200 delegations from 30 countries between 6 and 10 September. Nine female jurists represented Turkey on behalf of the organization during the General Congress. Meanwhile, Aysel Celiker, Ayla Babila and Aysen Onen were elected as members to the Council. In addition, it was decided that the next Congress of the FIFCJ would be organized in Turkey in the year 2001. /Hurriyet/[15] TURKISH RESEARCH CENTRE (TAM) MEETINGThe Turkish Research Centre (TAM), based in Essen, Germany, organized a meeting about 'The Importance of the Foreign Enterpreneurs in terms of Northern Rhine Westphalia Economic Policy'. Director of TAM, Faruk Sen, said that new methods were necessary to reorganize the issue of immigration to and immigrants in Germany and that the foreign enterpreneurs and the immigrants should be protected. /Cumhuriyet/[16] INTERNATIONAL COTTON RESEARCH GROUPS MEETING IN ADANAInternational Cotton Research Groups Meeting, which was jointly organized by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Cotton Advisory Council (ICAC), Cukurova University (CU), CU Cotton Research and Implementation Centre (PAUM) and supported by the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK), started in Adana. At the meeting, during which increase in the value, profit and quality of cotton will be discussed, Director of PAUM, Prof. Oktay Gencer pointed out the importance of the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) for Turkey. The International Research Groups Meeting, which was attended by 92 scientists, started with the opening speech of the CU Rector Prof. Yalcin Kekec and other guest scientists. /Cumhuriyet/[17] WORLD BANK'S LOANThe decree with the power of law (KHK), which was prepared under the conditions put forth by the World Bank to restructure the whole financial sector and the public banks, was sent to President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. If President Sezer signs the KHK, it is expected that the World Bank will approve the loan amounting to 1 billion 250 million US dollars, the first slice of the financial sector harmonization loan and the financial aid to restructure public banks. /Aksam/[18] MOODY'S NEW CHIEF TO TURKEYAs the credit rating institution, Moody's' Turkey analyst, Hannan Amin Salem resigned from his duty, Kristin Lindow was appointed to this duty. The Moody's delegation, comprising David Levey and Kristin Lindow, will arrive in Turkey in the near future to examine the developments in the Turkish economy. After meeting the officials from Treasury Undersecretariat, Central Bank, Ministry of Finance and representatives from private banks, the Moody's delegation will return to New York. Meanwhile, in Moody's analysis about Turkey, it was pointed out that an increase might occur in Turkey's rating in a short period of time and that the necessary criteria for this increase are examined. /Aksam/[19] FABER CASTELL: "TURKEY IS A VERY ATTRACTIVE MARKET"The world-famous pencil producer company, Faber-Castell's boss, Count Anton Wolfgang von Faber-Castell, attended a conference at Ciragan Hotel in Istanbul yesterday to promote Faber-Castell's new series of pencil and said, "Turkey is a very big market. There are millions of young people in Turkey, and this makes Turkey very attractive for us." Faber-Castell, who entered the Turkish market through the representative office of the Adel Pencil Company in 1969 and became the partner of this company in 1995, added, "Turkey has changed and improved greatly during the last 31 years. Today I am here as Turkey's friend, the partner of Anadolu Group, a guest and a salesman." /Hurriyet/[20] PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS FAIRThe first international petroleum and natural gas fair and congress in Turkey, TURKIOG 2000, will be held on Nov. 16-18 in Istanbul. TURKIOG 2000 will be organized with the support of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, the Turkish Petroleum Corp. (TPAO) and the Turkish Pipeline Transportation Company (BOTAS). /Turkiye/[21] ZEUGMA ANCIENT CITY ON THE INTERNETBelkis Zeugma Ancient city is being introduced to the world on the web site, whose address is www.zeugma2000.com. On this site, information is given on the settlement of the city, history, strategy and archeological map of Zeugma, the protection of works of art, Gaziantep Museum, news centre, project groups in Zeugma, Ministry of Culture, Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) Regional Development Administration and other institutitons which contributed to the project. Zeugma is described as the 'Turkish Pompei' on this web site. The work in Zeugma is financed by the Packard Humanities Institute (PHI). /Cumhuriyet/[22] DOCUMENTARY ABOUT HASANKEYFA documentary about Hasankeyf, which will be inundated under the water of Ilisu Dam, was prepared and sponsored by the huge international company, Hewlett-Packard, which also extended financial support of 5 million US dollars to Zeugma ancient city. The film entitled 'On the Shore of Discovery' was made with the cooperation of Atlas Media and the Middle East Technical University's Centre of Researching Historical Values in 45 days. Hewlett-Packard Company's Marketing Director, Tayfun Topkoc, said that this documentary would contribute to the promotion of Turkey abroad if it is shown in the international film festivals. /Hurriyet/[23] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS[24] EYES ON ANKARA BY SEMIH IDIZ (STAR)Columnist Semih Idiz writes on the Resolution concerning the so-called Armenian Genocide to be discussed at the related subcommittee of the House of Representatives. A summary of his column is as follows:"H. Res.398 regarding the so-called Armenian Genocide will be discussed in the related subcommitte of the House of Representatives. It is reported that there is a chance for the resolution being passed, as both Democrats and Republicans who want to have the majority of seats in the Congress are vying for Armenian votes. In other words, the issue has nothing to do with the so-called 'Armenian Genocide'. If it had been the case, the problem could have been discussed at length. However, the question at hand concerns internal politics. A handful of congressmen unaware of the world events are defending their own interests in their constituencies. Their stances would be no different in any unrelated case. If this Resolution is passed, nothing will change for Turkey. What happened when the European Parliament, Swedish Parliament and the Lebanon Parliament accepted the so-called genocide bills? There is no need for concern if resolution 398 is accepted and sent to the higher committe. This would inevitably help Armenian leader Robert Kocharian as he would have drawn the attention away from the poor situation of his country struggling against drought. However, this would not alter anything for Turkey. American diplomats are stating this fact. However, they are making these statements with different reasons. They are trying to calm Ankara down as they foresee a crisis in the relations with Turkey. There is a fine distinction to be observed. There may be no changes for Turkey but not in its relations with the US. When the US Administration says that it is not responsible for what is going on in the Congress, the answer may be that the Turkish State is aware of the fact and the US Administration should not be offended by the reaction of the Turkish Government. If Turkey's international prestige is to be used as a bait in American domestic politics, it has to have a cost and a concrete price at that. At present there is a petroleum crisis and as a result, the importance of the Caucasus and the Caspian Basin is increasing. What is more, Saddam is getting more audacious by each passing day, the Middle East problem has not been solved and the Balkans are not as calm as they should be. When all these problems are taken into account, Turkey's geographical location concerning them should be understood. If the US Administration cannot explain all these facts to self-centered Congressmen there is not much we can do. However, Turkey can take different steps. Such as closing the Incirlik air base from where US aircraft are taking off and bombing Iraq. International relations are based on 'mutual interests'. If the US Congress wants to upset this balance it should know the price it will pay for it. Turkey should be able to explain these to the Congress. Armenia has made its stance clear. We all know the speech Armenian President Robert Kocharian's delivered in the UN Millennium Summit. Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian has reinforced this statement with the statement he made at the UN General Assembly floor on Monday. Armenian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ara Papian said Saturday that the passing of the Resolution 398 was a must for them. As long as this stance continues, no sign of good-will, be it short or long term, should be expected from Turkey towards Armenia. In fact the good-will gestures made before should also be withdrawn. For example an air corridor was opened for Armenian planes a few years ago. However, as this gesture was not returned in kind, developments which can be defined as 'giving an inch and losing a mile' took place. This corridor should be closed and if the Armenian Government would like to follow a longer route let them do so. At the moment, the important thing is what will the Turkish Government do rather than Washington." Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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