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Turkish Press Review, 01-10-24
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
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Press
& Information
Turkish
Press
Foreign
Press in Turkey
Turkish
Press Review >>
Press
Guide
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
24.10.2001
CONTENTS
[01] SEZER RECEIVES DECREE CONCERNING GOVERNORS
[02] WORK ON NEW CONSTITUTIONAL PACKAGE
[03] MGK TO CONVENE ON OCTOBER 30
[04] AFGHAN SUMMIT IN TURKEY
[05] PARRIS: TURKEY SHOULD NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE
OPERATION
[06] TURKISH ARMED FORCES TO PURCHASE UNMANNED PLANES
[07] US CONGRESS EXPECTED TO APPROVE SALE OF AWACS
[08] US CYPRUS COORDINATOR HOLDS TALKS IN ANKARA
[09] PRODI ASSURES TURKEY OF EQUAL FOOTING
[10] BAHCELI: "EU SHOULD END ITS HYPOCRITICAL
POLICIES"
[11] TURKEY HARSHLY REACTS TO EP
[12] UGSAD TO EXAMINE POST SEPT. 11
[13] EDUCATION MINISTRY GIVES CHANCE TO ADULTS
[14] TASAR RECEIVES ROMANIAN AND DUTCH REPS
[15] FINANCIAL TIMES: TURKEY WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG
[16] GEN. BIR WARNS
[17] TURKISH RED CRESCENT PLANE IN ISLAMABAD TODAY
[18] 12 HIZBULLAH MEMBERS CAPTURED
[19] PKK OPERATION
[20] EUROPEAN STUDENTS TO GATHER IN ANKARA
[21] VARYAG WAITING FOR GREEN LIGHT
[22] THINK TANK TO DEBATE "POST 11 SEPTEMBER"
[23] DERVIS MEETS WITH CAKAN
[24] DEPECHE MODE IN TURKEY
[25] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE
COLUMNS...
[26] THE GAME OF DELAYING TURKS BY MUMTAZ SOYSAL
(HURRIYET)
[01] SEZER RECEIVES DECREE CONCERNING GOVERNORS
Reportedly, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer approved
the decree concerning the governors of six provinces, which was sent
to the Presidential Palace by the Interior Ministry. Mugla Gov. Lutfi
Yigenoglu, and the Icel Gov. Senol Engin were appointed to Ankara.
Under the decree, the Interior Ministry Deputy General Director of
Personnel Mustafa Yigit has been appointed as the Governor of Ardahan;
the Interior First Undersecretary of Law Atif Tig as the Governor of
Icel; Deputy Undersecretary of Ministry of the Interior Rasih Ozbek as
the Governor of Manisa; Rize Gov. Erdal Ata as the Governor of
Kocaeli; Deputy Governor of Istanbul Bulent Karagol to the Rize
Governorship and the Secretary General of the Ministry of the
Interior, Huseyin Aksoy, to the Mugla Governorship. /Cumhuriyet/
[02] WORK ON NEW CONSTITUTIONAL PACKAGE
A sub commission formed by the Interparties
Advisory Council, has begun its studies on the new constitutional
package. The sub commission headed by Constitutional Commission
Chairman Turhan Tayan convened yesterday and discussed new proposals
other than 14 articles slated for amendment. The group's work is
scheduled to be completed in one month, and it will submit its
proposals to the Commission. /Turkiye/
[03] MGK TO CONVENE ON OCTOBER 30
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer is to chair this
month's meeting of the National Security Council(MGK), which will be
held on Tuesday 30 Oct. The meeting will start at 2.00 p.m. and will
discuss both domestic and foreign developments will be
discussed./Turkish Daily News/
[04] AFGHAN SUMMIT IN TURKEY
Turkey is planning to bring together former leaders
of Afghanistan in order to decide on an alternative government after
the eclipse of the Taleban regime. Turkish Foreign Ministry has stated
that this idea belongs to Afghanistan, not Turkey. Prime Minister
Bulent Ecevit said that he would be pleased to see the Afghan
opposition coming together in Turkey./H�rriyet/
[05] PARRIS: TURKEY SHOULD NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE
OPERATION
Former US Ambassador to Turkey Mark Parris said
that Turkey should not participate in the Afghanistan operations
conducted from air and land. Parris pointed out that the US had not
requested such participation. He said that Turkey's support should be
limited to logistic, intelligence and operational experiences.
/Turkiye/
[06] TURKISH ARMED FORCES TO PURCHASE UNMANNED PLANES
In the midst of the military campaign in
Afghanistan, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) have speeded up six large
arms purchase projects. Reportedly, the TSK will purchase unmanned
planes which have been used effectively in Afghanistan operations. The
projects, estimated to cost about six billion dollars, are scheduled
to be completed by the beginning of 2002. /Turkiye/
[07] US CONGRESS EXPECTED TO APPROVE SALE OF AWACS
An American magazine, Defense News, said that the
US Congress would easily approve the sale of AWACS planes to Turkey.
An authority from the Pentagon stated that Turkey's importance had
increased following the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the US and that
there would be no problem in the approval of the planes' sale. A
Turkish authority also said, "Turkey stands with the US during
the fight against terrorism. Strengthening the Turkish Armed Forces is
parallel to US interests and the US administration is also aware of
this fact." /Turkiye/
[08] US CYPRUS COORDINATOR HOLDS TALKS IN ANKARA
US State Department Cyprus coordinator Thomas
Weston met a Turkish delegation under the chairmanship of
Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal at the Foreign Ministry, the Anatolia news
agency reported Tuesday. After a two-hour meeting, Weston said that he
had discussed Cyprus with the Turkish delegation. "We talked
about the United Nations and the UN Secretary-General's efforts
regarding Cyprus," he stated. He did not answer journalists'
questions after the meeting. Sources indicated that the United States
is anxious to start a new process leading to a solution to the Cyprus
problem, but Weston did not make any concrete suggestions. Weston's
tour will include Athens and Nicosia, and US State Department Cyprus
Board Director James Sivers is accompanying him. He will depart for
Athens today after visiting President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. /Turkish
News/
[09] PRODI ASSURES TURKEY OF EQUAL FOOTING
European Union Commission Chairman Romano Prodi has
assured Turkey that no discrimination would made against Turkey in
terms of its membership when the future of the EU will be discussed at
a coming summit, Anatolia news agency reported on Tuesday. In his
meeting with Turkey's permanent EU representative Nihat Akyol, Prodi
said that they had not reached a decision on how the summit would be
formed, and assured Turkey that it would be given equal treatment with
other candidate countries. In addition, Prodi said that the
disagreements on the shape of the summit and decision-making
mechanisms between the member countries still persist, and that he
believed that this problem would not be solved before the Laeken
Summit. /Turkish News/
[10] BAHCELI: "EU SHOULD END ITS HYPOCRITICAL
POLICIES"
Calling the EU policy toward Turkey a hypocritical
one, Deputy Prime Minister and National Action Party (MHP) Chairman
Devlet Bahceli said that it was high time for the EU to give up its
two-faced and obscure policies towards Turkey and instead clarify
them. Speaking at the MHP group meeting, Bahceli said that the EU
countries showed with their policies that they were nothing but
Turkey's pseudo-friends. Bahceli denounced a recent statement by the
Belgian Prime Minister, which was made as the EU Term President,
arguing that constitutional amendments in Turkey were not clear
enough. He added, "The EU should decide what it wants to do. The
EU should see that it is high time for them to clarify their
hypocritical policies which lead to the application of double
standards. That's what the Turkish nation wants from the EU."
Speaking also on recent discussions on the 2002 budget, Bahceli said
"The budget was prepared using realistic methods. We should
accept that certain criticisms against the government were correct.
However, we cannot say that the IMF is acting with good will
concerning Turkey's economic program." /Milliyet/
[11] TURKEY HARSHLY REACTS TO EP
Turkey has harshly reacted to a proposal prepared
by certain European Parliament (EP) members which include their
allegations concerning the so-called Armenian genocide. The proposal
was presented to change EP's Turkey report. Turkey's EU Representative
Ambassador Nihat Akyol said in the letter he sent to EP members that
if the proposal in question were approved, relations between Turkey
and the EP would seriously be damaged. /Star/
[12] UGSAD TO EXAMINE POST SEPT. 11
The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and their aftermath
will be discussed in a panel named "Turkey's role in the world
after Sept. 11," which is being organized by the National
Security and Strategic Research Association (UGSAD). The panel
discussion will be held at the Turkish Union of Chambers and
Commodities Exchanges (TOBB) Conference Hall today at 6:00 p.m. It
will be chaired by Professor Hasan Koni. The participants included
retired Gen. Kemal Yavuz, Journalist- Author Mehmet Ali Kislali and
retired Gen. Inal Batu. /Turkish News/
[13] EDUCATION MINISTRY GIVES CHANCE TO ADULTS
The Education Ministry will accept adults who did
not receive an elementary school diploma in a program for them to
attend open learning elementary schools. The Ministry's decree was
issued in the Official Gazette on Tuesday. Under the decree, adults
may attend open learning elementary schools, and courses will be
supported with the latest educational technology, such as computers,
CD-ROMs and radio and TV programs. /Turkish News/
[14] TASAR RECEIVES ROMANIAN AND DUTCH REPS
Tourism Minister Mustafa Tasar received Romanian
Ambassador to Turkey George Ciamba and his Dutch counterpart Iznak
Hendrik Gosses at his office, the Anatolia news agency reported
Tuesday. Tasar said that Turkey placed importance on improving social
and cultural relations via tourism and that cooperation between
private companies was very important. The Romanian and Turkish Travel
Agents' Unions will hold a joint workshop November 22-25 in Istanbul
and Turkey will participate in a tourism fair in Romania in the
forthcoming days, Tasar added. /Turkish News/
[15] FINANCIAL TIMES: TURKEY WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG
An article written by Judy Dempsey in Financial
Times said, "Turkey wants to pursue a more active foreign
policy." Dempsey quoted a high level EU authority's statement,
saying, "For years Turkey has been talking about the threat of
terrorism and accusing Europe of not taking its warnings seriously.
Now Turkey has been proven right." He added that Foreign Minister
Ismail Cem had evaluated Turkey's role in the process of the
establishment of the new Afghan regime during his recent tour of
Central Asian countries. /Turkiye/
[16] GEN. BIR WARNS
Retired Gen. Cevik Bir said that those who govern
Turkey should take all necessary precautions to keep the country from
war and added, "Turkey should be excluded from this war."
Bir remarked that a common definition of terrorism should be made and
that this definition should be accepted by the great majority of the
world. He further stated, "This kind of definition can be made
only by the United Nations (UN). The definition of terror to be made
by the European Union (EU) would stab Turkey in the back."
/Cumhuriyet/
[17] TURKISH RED CRESCENT PLANE IN ISLAMABAD TODAY
Turkey is sending a plane belonging to the Turkish
Red Crescent carrying aid supplies in the lead up to President Ahmet
Necdet Sezer's visit to Pakistan. With this visit Ankara is planning
to display its full support for Pakistan. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer
will visit Pakistan on 25-26 Oct. in response to Pervez Musharraf's
visit./Turkiye/
[18] 12 HIZBULLAH MEMBERS CAPTURED
During operations against the Hizbullah
organization in Icel, 12 of its members were captured along with a gun
and two hand grenades. According to the Security Directorate General
of Icel, Hizbullah has recently initiated propaganda efforts in order
to regain prestige that it had lost among its grassroots. It was
further stated that a total of 12 Hizbullah members, six in Mersin and
the others in Tarsus, were captured and were determined as being
involved in its activities. /Cumhuriyet/
[19] PKK OPERATION
According to a statement released by the Emergency
Rule Governorship, during operations carried out by the security
forces in the rural area of Sirnak and Van, four PKK members were
killed and two members were captured. /Cumhuriyet/
[20] EUROPEAN STUDENTS TO GATHER IN ANKARA
Autumn Agora 2001, the General Assembly of the
"Association des Etats Generaux des Etudiants de l'Europe"
(AEGEE-The European Students Forum), will be held in Ankara on October
25-28. This year, nearly 600 students from all over Europe will gather
at the Middle East Technical University (METU) to take part in Autumn
Agora 2001, organized by AEGEE-Ankara. The main topic of the
discussions will be terrorism and the war in Afghanistan. There will
also be panel discussions, workshops, seminars, conferences and many
other activities as part of the Agora. /Turkish News/
[21] VARYAG WAITING FOR GREEN LIGHT
Coastal Safety and Salvage Services Director H�cum
Tulgar has announced that as of Thursday the order for former Soviet
aircraft carrier Varyag to move through the Turkish Straits could come
at any time. Tulgar told reporters that all necessary preparations had
been completed and that they were expecting the go-ahead any time
after Thursday. He noted that both foreign and Turkish tug captains
had been going over the technical details and putting the final
touches on their plans. Two tugs will be at the Varyag's prow, two
each on the port(left) and starboard(right) flanks and two to the
stern, and there will also be an escort tug, a fire-fighting tug,
three rescue boats, three rapid intervention boats and an 80-strong
shore complement. The most treacherous part of the journey will be the
80 degree course change needed Kandilli and this could take up to 20
heart-stopping minutes./Turkish Daily News/
[22] THINK TANK TO DEBATE "POST 11 SEPTEMBER"
The National Security and Strategic Studies
Association (USGAD) is to debate developments following the terrorist
attacks on the United States and their effects on Turkey. The debate
will be titled "Turkey's Role in the Changing World Order
Following 11 Sept." and will be held at the Union of Chambers and
Commodities Exchanges (TOBB) conference hall tonight. Speaking at the
panel will be retired General Kemal Yavuz, newspaper columnist Mehmet
Ali K��lal� and retired Ambassador �nal Batu./Turkish Daily News/
[23] DERVIS MEETS WITH CAKAN
Minister of Energy Zeki Cakan and Minister of State
responsible for the Economy Kemal Dervis will meet today. They are to
discuss financing and privatization of the energy sector. They are
expected to take up 25 build-operate-transfer projects and transfers
of management rights for power plants and electricity distribution
facilities. Following the meeting, they are to hold a joint meeting to
announce their decisions after the meeting. /Star/
[24] DEPECHE MODE IN TURKEY
Following the release of their latest album this
May, world famous music group Depeche Mode will come to Turkey as part
of its "Exciter" world tour. The concert will be held at
Abdi Ipekci Sport Hall on October 30 at 9:00 p.m. and will be
sponsored by MTV. /Cumhuriyet/
[25] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE
COLUMNS...
[26] THE GAME OF DELAYING TURKS BY MUMTAZ SOYSAL
(HURRIYET)
Columnist Mumtaz Soysal commented on the European
Union meeting concerning Turkey. A summary of his column is as
follows: "As the Government was busy armwrestling with the
Presidency in sending a message to the printing house, it missed the
opportunity to react to a game played in another part of Europe. The
game was declared by the current president of the European Union,
Belgian Prime Minister Verhofstadt: Turkey was not going to be invited
to the planned 'convention' following the Laeken Summit where the
future of the EU will be discussed with the participation of its
member candidates. The reason given is that Turkey's full-membership
negotiations with the EU have not started. The same reasoning was
given at the time when explaining the distribution of the seats when
the members would become candidates. The threadbare excuse of delaying
tactics is once more repeated. One of the aims behind these delaying
tactics is to dissuade Turkey from opposing Geek-Cypriot membership
for beginning its own membership negotiations and even try to get it
make some concessions and then exclude it anyhow. However Ankara had a
great opportunity to expose this hyprocritical approach when a joint
war against terrorism was very much on the agenda. It is the time to
turn to Brussels and ask a question which would embarass everyone:
'Aren't you ashamed to embrace an administration which has founded
itself on the blood shed by terrorism, excluded the Turkish population
by oppressing them with terrorist activities, and sheltered scores of
terrorist organizations ranging from ASALA to PKK and Bin Laden?' The
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' representative in the US capital,
Ahmet Erdengiz, recently wrote a letter to 'The Washington Times'.
which was published on October 8 was penned upon the publication of an
article by Greek Cypriot representative Marcoulis, who holds the title
of ambassador. After introducing Marcoulis, who expressed his regrets
after the Sep. 11 attacks as the representative of a regime which
dared to change the date of the foundation of the republic from the
date of its establishment on Aug. 16 to the EOKA terrorist
organization's foundation day on Oct. 1, Erdengiz went on to cite the
other activities of that 'state'. These activities include embracing
the PKK with open arm, and giving them permission for fundraising,
providing a passport for PKK terrorist organization leader Ocalan,
enabling him to enter Athens and Nairobi, laundering money for
Milosevic, and providing banking services for Bin Laden... The letter
also mentioned former NATO commander, Gen. Wesley Clark's statement to
CNN on Sep. 14: 'The south of the island is one of the main transit
centers used by terrorists in passing to Europe and the US.'
Furthermore, the letter also quoted former CIA Chief James Woolsey's
statement published in the Italian daily 'La Repubblica' on Sept 19.:
'The most notorious country in laundering the finances of terrorists
is the Greek Cypriot Administration. We told our friends in Brussels
to tell the Greek Cypriots that as long as they do not reveal
information concerning Bin Laden's finances to us, they will not be
able to enter the EU even if they waited for 400 hundred years
more."
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