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Turkish Press Review, 01-10-01
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
01.10.2001
CONTENTS
[01] NEW LEGISLATIVE YEAR TO BEGIN
[02] CEM VISITS WORLD TRADE CENTER RUBBLE
[03] ECEVIT SPEAKS ON CNN TURK
[04] ANKARA IS CONTENT WITH UN RESOLUTION
[05] TASAR IN JAPAN
[06] TURKISH SHIP SINKS
[07] DERVIS TRAVELS TO THE US
[08] EU JUSTICE AND INTERIOR MINISTERS MEET
[09] NEW ANTI-TERRORISM CODE FOR TURKISH STRAITS
[10] IDEF 2001 ENDS
[11] STATE MINISTER GUREL MET RUMANIAN FM
[12] ASELSAN COOPERATES WITH DEFENSE INDUSTRY UNDERSECRETARIAT (SSM)
[13] GREEK PRIME MINISTER SIMITIS URGES COOPERATION WITH TURKEY IN THE AREAS OF NATURAL GAS AND ELECTRICITY
[14] TURKEY: THE SAFEST COUNTRY
[15] ANTALYA GOLDEN ORANGE FILM FESTIVAL BEGINS TODAY
[16] METU FOLKLORE FESTIVAL TO BEGIN
[17] FROM THE COLUMNS....FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS
[18] A FIGHT OF THE INSTINCT AND THE INTELLECT BY SEMIH IDIZ (TURKISH NEWS)
[01] NEW LEGISLATIVE YEAR TO BEGIN
The Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) which has been working since
Sep. 17 on Constitutional amendments will start its 21st legislative year
officially today. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer is expected to address the
Parliament. Speaker Omer Izgi will host a reception on the occasion of
the opening of the new legislative year. On the other hand, the Parliament
will hold the second round meetings for the debates on the Constitutional
amendment package tomorrow. /All Papers/
[02] CEM VISITS WORLD TRADE CENTER RUBBLE
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ismail Cem visited the wreckage of the World
Trade Center, which had been destroyed in the Sep. 11 attack. Speaking
during his emotional visit which lasted for more than two hours, Cem stated
that the event was a real catastrophe and he felt deep sorrow. Meeting with
New York Mayor Rudolf Giuliani, Cewm conveyed the condelences of the
Turkish people and the Turkish government. Informing reporters about his
meeting with the U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, Cem said that he had
told Annan that he was not optimistic since a solution had already been
presented by the EU to the Greek Cypriots. "So, why would they seek for a
solution through the UN?" Cem said that it was the Turkish side who was
really looking for a solution for the Cyprus problem. Cem, who had
completed his contacts in the US, will discuss ways to struggle against
terrorism with the German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer in Berlin on
Monday. /Turkish Daily News/
[03] ECEVIT SPEAKS ON CNN TURK
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit spoke on CNN Turk yesterday. Upon a question
reminding Ecevit of TUSIAD's (Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen
Association) criticism towards the government arguing that it should
withdraw and that new elections should be held, Ecevit stated that TUSIAD
was not justified in its claims. Ecevit said that the economy was going
well until September 11th incident and that all the industrialists had been
aware of this fact. Stating that certain changes would certainly be made in
the economic program, Ecevit said, "The world has changed. It's not
possible for us to remain the same." He stated that the efficient use of
domestic resources along with foreign ones, stable fiscal policies and a
breath of relief for the manufacturing industry would all speed up
Turkey's economic recovery. He said that he viewed such criticisms as wrong
and unfair taking the fact into consideration that the current government
inherited lots of problems from the previous ones. When the criticism
arguing that Turkey remained passive in the aftermath of September 11th was
recalled, Ecevit said, "This criticism is totally unjust. The US
retaliation has not been determined clearly yet. That's why we have not
been approached for any other request than that of the allowance of the
lift off and landing of planes. We'll cooperate with the US as much as our
conditions allow." /All Papers/
[04] ANKARA IS CONTENT WITH UN RESOLUTION
Turkey has stated that she was content with the UN Security Council
resolution on combating terrorism. "What we highly hope is the complete
implementation of this resolution with a determination and without
discriminating no matter where and how the terrorist activities are
carried out." said a statement by the Foreign Ministry. The statement said
that Turkey was open to all kinds of platforms and cooperation against
terrorism. The resolution foresees eradicating the financial resources of
terrorism, preventing terrorist activities including the preparation period,
forming close cooperation between UN members, not providing terrorists
with the opportunity of being a refugee and so on. /Cumhuriyet/
[05] TASAR IN JAPAN
Minister of Tourism Mustafa Tasar is continuing his contacts in Japan.
Tasar opened a exhibition of Japanese painter Yoshio Toyomasu entitled,
"Views from Turkey" in the Tokyo Turkish Mosque. He is expected to meet
with Japanese Minister of Landl, Infrastructure and Transport Chikage Oogi
and representatives from Japanese tourism agencies today. /Turkiye/
[06] TURKISH SHIP SINKS
The ship Kaptan Yasar, transporting minerals sank yesterday in the Black
Sea off the Romania coast. 10 Turkish crew members in life crafts were
rescued by Romanian rescue boats. /Turkiye/
[07] DERVIS TRAVELS TO THE US
Minister of State Responsible for Economy Kemal Dervis arrived in the US to
hold a series of meetings with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the
World Bank and authorities from American administration. Dervis will meet
with the US Secretary of Treasury Paul O'Neil and IMF Deputy First Chairman
Anne Krueger and then will organize a press conference in Washington. He is
expecteed to meet with IMF Chairman Horst Kohler and IMF Deputy Chairman
for Europe Johannes Linn tomorrow. He is also scheduled to come together
with Turkish-American Business Council members and World Bank Chairman
James Wolfensohn on Wednesday. Following Dervis and his accompanying
delegation's meetings with IMF authorities in Washington, the additional
intent letter is to be given to the IMF: Normally, the $ 3-billion fourth
loan slice is expected to be extended to Turkey in the mid -October
following its approval by the IMF Executive Board. /Turkiye/
[08] EU JUSTICE AND INTERIOR MINISTERS MEET
Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk on Friday condemned all terrorist attacks,
and mentioned the experience of Turkey on the issue. Turk also stressed the
importance of cooperation in the fight against terrorism. Addressing a
meeting in which the justice and interior ministers of EU countries and the
13 candidate countries attended, Turk said Turkey supported the plans and
the decisions of the EU council regarding the fight against terrorism. Turk
also gave information about judicial reforms and measures that Turkey had
undertaken to combat human smuggling and illegal immigration. Turk also met
Guenther Verhuegen, the EU Commissioner for enlargement, Belgian Justice
Minister Marc Verwilghen and Belgian Interior Minister Antoine Duquesne.
/Turkish News/
[09] NEW ANTI-TERRORISM CODE FOR TURKISH STRAITS
The Maritime Undersecretariat has sent a circular to related institutions
saying that to avert the possibility of a terrorist attack on the Turkish
Straits, they should take all necessary measures and be on alert. According
to the circular, all aircraft seeking to hold air displays over the Straits
must obtain permission from the Undersecretariat In the possibility of an
armed assault against ships carrying dangerous cargo, some security
perimeters will be set up along the coast of the Straits. All seaside
buildings, facilities, docks, marinas, oil refineries and harbors will take
their own measures against terrorist attacks. /Turkish News/
[10] IDEF 2001 ENDS
IDEF 2001 5th International Defense Industry, Aviation and Maritime Fair
ended yesterday. The high-level participation in the fair was limited due
to the September 11th incident. However, it was stated that people's
interest in the fair was quite high, especially in the electronic security
equipments. /Sabah/
[11] STATE MINISTER GUREL MET RUMANIAN FM
Sukru Sina Gurel held contacts with Romanian Foreign Minister Mircea Geona
during a trip to Romania. Increasing efforts to heighten cooperation among
the two countries made up an important part of our talks said Gurel, who
added that he believed there was great potential for such a development.
Gurel is expected to meet Turkish representatives and businessmen, with the
aim of "gaining first hand knowledge of the problems of 1500 Turks living
in Romania." /Turkish Daily News/
[12] ASELSAN COOPERATES WITH DEFENSE INDUSTRY UNDERSECRETARIAT (SSM)
ASELSAN signed a Stinger (KMS) Project agreement with the SSM during IDEF
2001. The agreement, which consists of selling KMS systems to the SSM was
signed by SSM Deputy Undersecretary Unal Tamgac and ASELSAN Deputy Chairman
of Board, Oltan Evren. The KMS systems have been designed by Turkish
engineers and are said to have important technical and tactical
characteristics - which distinguish them from their foreign counterparts.
KMS systems compose a major part of low altitude air defense and can be
operated day or night, in bad weather and in cases of mobile air targets.
/Turkish Daily News/
[13] GREEK PRIME MINISTER SIMITIS URGES COOPERATION WITH TURKEY IN THE
AREAS OF NATURAL GAS AND ELECTRICITY
Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis spoke at the opening ceremony of a
natural gas plant in Komotini (Gumulcine), which he said he believed
natural gas and electricity connections among Greece and Turkey would
provide positive steps . The Prime Minister voiced further plans, saying a
natural gas connection between the two countries could be extended to Italy
in the future. Stating that power plants constructed in various parts of
the country had led Greece to become an energy center in the region, Smitis
added that the success of the project would contribute to the transfer of
energy among countries. /Turkish Daily News/
[14] TURKEY: THE SAFEST COUNTRY
Turkey has become one of the favorite places for European tour operators.
According to them, she is the safest country to travel to. Tour Operators
Association General secretary and Oger Tours Consultant Huseyin Baraner
stated that one of the world's biggest tour operators, who participated in
the congress called "Tourism in the Future" held in Germany , had called
Turkey the safest country in the world. "From now on, Turkey is an
indispensable country for those tour operators. They have decided to
increase the number of their investments in Turkey," Baraner said. /Turkish
News/
[15] ANTALYA GOLDEN ORANGE FILM FESTIVAL BEGINS TODAY
The 38th Golden Orange Film Festival will begin today in Antalya. 250
artists from movie industry will attend the festival where 11 movies will
contest. Additionally, an exhibition named "Golden Orange Open Air Museum"
will be opened within the scope of the festival. /Sabah/
[16] METU FOLKLORE FESTIVAL TO BEGIN
The Fifth Inter Universities Folklore Festival organized by the Middle East
Technical University (METU) will begin on October 18. The festival will
last three days and various universities will participate in it. /Turkiye/
[17] FROM THE COLUMNS....FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS
[18] A FIGHT OF THE INSTINCT AND THE INTELLECT BY SEMIH IDIZ
(TURKISH NEWS)
Columnist Semih Idiz comments on Samuel Huntington's book the 'Clash of
Civilizations'. A summary of his column is as follows:
"The September 11 attack on the United States has highligted the 'Clash of
Civilazitions' thesis in a way that the author of this thesis, Samuel
Huntington could never have imagined. He is, of course, denying that he
ever foresaw a polarization between the Islamic and Christian worlds, and
saying that he predicted a much broader based division. The 'clash of
civilizations' we are witnessing today is indeed between Islam and
Christianity whether we like it or not. Officials in the West are denying
this vehemently and reacting angrily to such suggestions- as they did last
week to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi over his totally uncalled
for remarks about the superiority of Christianity. But this does not
change the undercurrent among the Christian masses in the West who, even if
they do not say so openly because it would be politically incorrect,
nevertheless feel in their heart of hearts that there is a 'never the twain
shall meet' situation between Christians and Muslims. It is of course,
also true that many Muslims see Christians as 'Godless infidels'. For many
educated person who believes in the universality of human nature, all of
this is highly questionable. The fact that certain views are prevalent
among ignorant Christian and Muslim masses does not make these views any
truer or absolute in any way. For Turkey- a totally unique Islamic country
as is becoming more apparent with every passing day- the 'Clash of
Civilizations' issue was put in its proper place nearly 80 years ago with
the adoption of secularism and the total separation of religion and the
state. The key here is that religion is a totally personal matter between
man and God and not a means to run a society.Turkey's adoption of
secularism has not however, meant that the issue has been laid to rest.
Quite to the contrary, the resurgence of political Islam in the 1990s, as
well as the advent of Islamic terrorism and its many examples in this
country, go to show that the system has to remain vigilant against attempts
to hijack the state for the sake of imposing religious agenda. This
attempted imposition is not restricted to Islam or Turkey. It was only
recently that such an advanced European country as Ireland accepted divorce
or contraception. The 'clash of Civilizations' is not really between
religions, even though it appears to be so, but between imposing
religiosity and a secular system that has respect for all its citizens
regardless of whether they are religious or not or what their personal
beliefs may be."
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