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Turkish Press Review, 01-04-04Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning04.04.2001CONTENTS
[01] SEZER IN HOLLANDPresident Ahmet Necdet Sezer travelled to Holland on a three-day official visit at Queen Beatrix's invitation. Prior to his departure, President Sezer told reporters this was the first visit between the two countries at the of head of states level. Stressing Holland's support for Turkey's EU membership process, Sezer said, "We have good economic relations with Holland. Our bilateral trade volume has reached $2.5 billion. We want to develop the cooperation between our countries' firms." On the first day of his visit, Mr. Sezer met with Queen Beatrix. In the evening he attended a dinner in his honour hosted by Queen Beatrix. The President is scheduled to meet with Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok at The Hague today. /Turkiye/[02] ECEVIT: "INFLATION RATE WILL DROP"Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said, "The Inflation rate will drop as necessary measures are taken." Ecevit said the inflation rate is expected to be high for a couple of months, but will decline after the measures taken show their result. /Hurriyet/[03] DERVIS: "NO NEED TO WORRY"The coalition leaders convened yesterday to discuss the rapid increase in exchange rates. State Minister for the Economy Kemal Dervis said, "This situation is not permanent. There is no need to worry. The increase in the exchange rates does not emanate from a massive buy-up by the citizens, rather people have confidence in TL, as seen in today's public offer. Similar things happen in other countries which have experienced this kind of crisis." /Milliyet/[04] MHP, ANAP CALL FOR URGENT REFORMSDenying any responsibility for the economic crisis, the leaders of two governing coalition parties announced Tuesday the crisis was structural in nature and needed to be addressed through radical reforms. Nationalist Action Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli and Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz also agreed that Turkey had the potential to overcome the crisis, and announced their parties would give full support to enact a series of urgent economic reforms. Bahceli claimed the one-and-a-half-year-old economic stabilization program did produce some very positive results, such as a decline in inflation rates and an improvement in certain macroeconomic indicators. But the causes of the November and February crises were essentially structural, he said. Yilmaz agreed with Bahceli saying systemic failures were behind the recent economic crisis. He reiterated the government has the will to take the necessary steps to get Turkey out of crisis. /Turkish News/[05] FINN : "TURKS WILL OVERCOME THE CRISIS"Assistant US Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Helena Finn said, "The recent economic crisis in Turkey is being discussed seriously at the US State Department and Treasury. Turkey will find a way to overcome the crisis. Turks are courageous and capable of overcoming the crisis." /Star/[06] GERMANY SUPPORTS NEW ECONOMIC PROGRAMSpokesman for the German Foreign Ministry said the German government would give support to Turkey's new economic program. He said, "The Federal government must do everything to make international financial institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank, help Turkey. The Foreign Policy Spokesman for the Christian Democratic Union Parties, Karl Lamer, said the German government should send aid to Turkey immediately. Lamers added, "As far as I have learned from the IMF Chief Horst Kohler, Turkey needs DM30 billion to recover economically. All EU countries must do their utmost to help Turkey, and so must the IMF. " Meanwhile, Press Spokesman for the Office of the German Prime Minister said possible ways for giving financial aid to Turkey were discussed during German Prime Minister Gerhard Schroder's meeting with US President George Bush. Additionally, Deutsche Bank officials are still continuing their contacts with the Turkish institutions on the financial aid issue. /Cumhuriyet/[07] TURKEY: ALL WAR CRIMINALS SHOULD BE TRIEDThe Foreign Ministry evaluated the arrest of former President of the Yugoslavia Republic, Slobodan Milosevic in a written statement. The statement said Milosevic's arrest was an important step towards improving democracy in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Stating Milosevic must be tried for his crimes against humanity, Turkey stated all war criminals must also be tried for peace and stability to return to the region. "We must all support such attempts. We expect Milosevic will also be held accountable for crimes he committed in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. We support the works by the former Yugoslavian War Crimes Courts to sustain peace and stability in the region. /Cumhuriyet/[08] PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION MAKES CONTACTS IN WASHINGTONA parliamentary delegation headed by Parliament Foreign Affairs Commission Chairman Kamran Inan began contacts with US officials on Tuesday. The delegation met with Marc Grossman, responsible for political affairs at the State Department, Chuck Hagel from the Republican Party - a known friend of Turkey - and Richard Perle, former Deputy Secretary of Defense. The delegation also had a meeting with Bob Livingston and Gerard Solomon, who hold top positions with a Turkish lobbying firm. During a meeting with representatives of the US Turkish community, delegation members discussed economic developments, opportunities to promote Turkey, and new developments regarding the so-called Armenian genocide allegations in the US. The delegation is expected to meet with US Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz. /Turkish News/[09] WEU CHAIRMAN BUHLER :EUROPE CAN NEVER HAVE PROPER DEFENSE WITHOUT TURKEYWestern European Union (WEU) Provisional Assembly of European Security and Defense Chairman, Klaus Buhler said yesterday Europe would never have a proper defense policy without including Turkey. Buhler and the chairmanship accompanying delegation, who are in Ankara as official guests of the Parliamentary WEU Assembly, met yesterday with National Defense Commission Chairman Hasan Gulay and commission members. Gulay told Buhler he was not happy with the decisions taken at Nice Summit, and that Turkey was determined to remain fully loyal to the decisions taken at the last year's Washington summit. He noted Turkey had no objections against EU's making use of NATO facilities, but the alliance's support of the EU could not be unilateral and unconditional. /Turkish News/[10] STATE MINISTER GUREL IN THE USMinister of State, Sukru Sina Gurel, currently in the US, is holding contacts with the Florida elected officials to prevent a so-called Armenian genocide resolution from being brought to the House of Representatives agenda. It was stated Katherine Harris, Florida's Secretary of State, promised to oppose attempts by the Armenian lobbies to bring their allegations to the agenda. Harris has promised to support Turkey, stating such issues should not be brought to the agenda of the House of Representatives in Florida. She evaluated attempts by the Armenians as hostile. Gurel will be on air to demand support against the Armenian attempts. /Cumhuriyet/[11] REFORM BILLS BEFORE PARLIAMENTParliament started talks on the 15 economic reform bills yesterday. At the same time, the Budget and Planning Commission began examining a bill to revise the budget's year-end targets. Finance Minister Sumer Oral said there was no need for pessimism and that Turkey would get through the economic turmoil. /Turkish News/[12] 'DIFFICULT DECISION ON CYPRUS'The EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Gunter Verheugen, at the "European Voice" conference this week said, "The best scenario for the European Union is for Cyprus to become a member of the EU after a political solution unites the island". While calling upon both Turkey and Greece to be "as constructive as possible" in order to reach a solution, he added if there was no solution, the EU would have to make a difficult choice on whether to admit the southern Greek Cypriot Administration or not. /Turkish News/[13] ADDITIONAL PERIOD FOR VIRTUE PARTY'S DEFENSEThe Constitutional Court has given an additional 15 days to the Virtue Party (FP) for its defense. At the final defense, FP Chairman Recai Kutan and the Chief Public Prosecutor of the High Court of Appeals, Sabih Kanadoglu, (who demands the FP be closed) will deliver their final speeches. The Constitutional Court is expected to reach a decision by the end of May. /Star/[14] SOUTHEAST EUROPEAN AMBASSADORS TO GATHER IN BURSAThe Civilian Thought and Democracy Movement Association (SDH) will hold a meeting for the ambassadors of eight Southeast European countries in Bursa April 6-8. The meeting will be supported by the Bursa Governorship, with the assistance of the Greater Bursa Municipality, the Bursa Industrialists and Businessmen's Association (BUSIAD), the Bursa Trade and Industry Chamber (BTSO) and the Uludag Exporters Union. Ambassadors from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, Greece, Macedonia and Yugoslavia will attend the meeting. /Turkish News/[15] ANKARA WELCOMES PAPANDREOU'S REMARKSAs Ankara awaits Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou's visit, Turkish Defense Minister Sabahattin Cakmakoglu said he welcomed the Minister's remarks published in the Turkish media calling upon Turkey to take steps on disarmament. But, he stressed Turkey wanted to see action not words. Papandreou's visit will begin tomorrow. "If they are sincere in their proposals, they should make a gesture," Cakmakoglu said in response to reporters questions before his party's group meeting. On the eve of his visit to Turkey, the Greek Foreign Minister said both countries need the patience to find lasting solutions to decades-old disputes to create a lasting peace in the region. /Turkish Daily News/[16] GREEK PRESS SUPPORT PAPANDREOU'S MESSAGEGreek media published positive articles in response to Papandreou's moderate messages. The papers, Eleftherotypia, Ta Nea and Ethnos, said yesterday to Papandreou, "Suggest that Ismail Cem jointly reduce armament and defense expenditures. Even, propose a non-aggression pact between Greece and Turkey, so instead of paying lots of money to the American weapons industry, both Greek and Turkish citizens can have enough money to live on. /Sabah/[17] BOSTANCIOGLU: EDUCATION IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR USIn a press conference during an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) meeting, Education Minister Metin Bostancioglu said courses at Popular Education Centers were concrete examples of grassroots education. He said 3.2 million Turkish citizens had undergone courses on culture, arts and handicrafts. The Education Ministry considers in-service training courses most important, stressed Bostancioglu, adding that 220,000 civil servants had been trained recently. He stated efforts were under way to bring computer technology into schools. /Turkish News/[18] KIZILAY SENDS AID TO KOSOVO BY PLANEKizilay (the Turkish Red Crescent) has sent medical and stationery items via military cargo plane to Kosovo. Kizilay issued a statement saying Macedonian refugees who had taken shelter in Kosovo due to conflicts in Macedonia would receive one-and-a-half tons of medical supplies and stationery items brought in by Turkish Air Force cargo plane to Prizren, Kosovo. /Turkish News/[19] IZMIT TAKES PART IN JOINT FIRE-FIGHTING EXERCISEIzmit Municipality Fire Department Chief Emin Pehlivan said it is very important to cooperate with neighbouring countries during natural disasters. Pehlivan issued a statement after a joint fire exercise with Balkan countries, saying the Izmit fire department had taken part in the exercise with two vehicles and seven personnel. He said Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Macedonia also participated with their fire fighting crews. "We prepared for this exercise for four months," said Pehlivan. "This exercise will be performed in a different country every year." /Turkish News/[20] TOURISM CONNECTIONS WITH RUSSIARussians have engaged in reservations for Turkish holiday resorts at the Moscow Tourism Fair. The Turkish stands at the fair drew great attention. Tourism Minister Erkan Mumcu said 1,8 million tourists are expected from Russia and the former Soviet republics this year. /Milliyet/[21] TREASURY UNDERSECRETARIAT'S TENDERThe Treasury Undersecretariat yesterday sold TL1.02 quadrillion worth of four- month bills at an annual compound yield of 150% in the first domestic borrowing auction for April. The bills are value dated April 4 and redemption is scheduled for Aug. 8. Meanwhile, the Treasury will make a TL347,927.4-trillion repayment today. /Turkiye/[22] ZORLU HOLDING'S SUCCESSA leader in the Turkish Textile sector, Zorlu Holding, caused a decline in the unemployment rate from 17-18% to 7% in Warrenton County, Georgia. Zorlu Holding, winner of "Turkey's Most Successful Group" award, given by the Turkish-American Business Council, overcame the "strict quota" barrier by increasing its production 50% in one year. The factory began production in Warrenton County, Georgia, 1.5 years ago. It, established on a 10,000 square meter close area, produces 100% cotton linens. /Turkiye/[23] OKSUZ SAYS CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT REQUIRED FOR TELEKOM SELL-OFFMinister of Transportation, Enis Oksuz said a constitutional amendment was required for the sale of a 51% stake in Turkish fixed-line monopoly, Turk Telekom. Yesterday Minister Oksuz met with State Minister Kemal Dervis in Ankara. The two ministers discussed issues related to the planned sell-off of Turk Telekom and Turkish Airlines. After the meeting, Oksuz said he was confident a constitutional amendment was necessary, adding however, that he didn't bear any prejudices on the issue. /Turkish Daily News/[24] BECKER: "WE SHOULD PERSUADE FINANCIAL CIRCLES FROM DRAWING MONEY OUT OF TURKEY"The Chairman of Mercedes Benz Turk AS, Till Becker said, "In 2000 the Turkish economy overheated. It will be difficult to eliminate the effects of the crisis. But, we should persuade the IMF, World Bank and the financial circles to stop drawing money out of Turkey. We have confidence in Turkey and our investments will continue." /Hurriyet/[25] MIGROS IN BULGARIAThe chain store, Migros will open its first branch in the Balkans with a store in Bulgaria. The Koc group also opened their fourth store in Moscow despite the economic crisis. /Aksam/[26] GALATASARAY BEATS REAL MADRIDGalatasaray beat Real Madrid 3-2 yesterday in Istanbul. /All papers/[27] PROPOSAL FOR A JOINT EUROPE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP WITH GREECEThe Greek Football Federation(EPO) asked the Greek government whether they can arrange a 2008 European Football Championship with Turkey. The Greek newspaper Eleftherotypia said Turkey and Greece should submit a joint application to UEFA. /Sabah/[28] AWARD TO TOPKAPI PALACEThe Barcelona Dealers Antiques Association will give the Golden Medal Award to Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. The Association evaluated the Topkapi Palace as one of the preeminent museums in the world. Representatives of the Association will visit Istanbul to give the award between April 13-17. /Cumhuriyet/[29] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...[30] CRISIS CAN BE A CHANCE BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)Columnist Sami Kohen writes on Turco-Greek relations. A summary of his column is as follows:"It is clear what 'new ideas' the Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou will voice during his visit to Ankara from the interview he gave to Turkish journalists in Athens the previous day. Papandreou's message covers three important points: to continue the rapprochement policy with patience, decrease military expenditures, and break the vicious circle concerning Cyprus. Dialogue is continuing but the core of the matters regarding the Aegean have not been yet discussed. There should be an accord on this issue. Greece has suspended a $4.4 billion Eurofighter project and Turkey can take steps in the same direction. A solution in Cyprus will provide an opportunity for the Turkish-Cypriots to be represented in the European Union. Papandreou's words show Greece is more confident of herself than ever and has taken the initiative to direct Turco-Greek relations. Greece is carrying out integration with Europe as fast as she can. Prime Minister Simitis aims to elevate the quality of life in Greece to that of other European countries. Therefore, he does not want any friction with Turkey. Athens sees continuing the rapprochement policy as beneficial, but preserves her opinions on main issues. If these problems are not resolved before 2004, the European Union will be a party to the matter. Greek diplomacy, backed by the EU, is confident and at ease. The reason why Greece has unilaterally decided to decrease military spending is to enact Simitis' new policy. The Greek Government will use part of the money saved to reach EU economic and political standards, and to allocate funds for purposes such as the Olympic games preparations. Now, she is expecting a similar gesture from Turkey. Turkey feels obliged to modernize her Armed Forces not only because of the threat coming from Greece, but also from threats posed by other border countries. Additionally, it would be in Turkey's best interest not to enter an arms race with Greece. This economic crisis can be an opportunity to decrease some of the military expenditures. In fact, the Defense Ministry is taking steps in this direction. On Cyprus, Papandreou's words confirm the official Greek stance. At the moment the issue is blocked. New initiatives are needed to bring both sides to the table and to find a realistic solution. However, the Island cannot be demilitarized without any sign of a solution being present. This would be acting in a manner contrary to usual practices. In short, the messages and new ideas Papandreou will present are worth discussing. The climate of rapprochement creates a new opportunity to find solutions to basic problems." Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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