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Turkish Press Review, 01-11-19
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
19.11.2001
CONTENTS
[01] ECEVIT SAYS NEW HOPE FOR THE ECONOMY
[02] G-20 VOWS TO COMBAT TERRORIST FUNDING
[03] CEM SAYS TURKISH CYPRIOTS WILL NOT BE ABANDONED TO
THREATS
[04] DERV�S: "IT IS A DEBT NOT A DONATION"
[05] CLERIDES, DENKTAS AGREE TO REVIVE PEACE TALKS
[06] SERDENGECTI: "WE WILL TAME THE INFLATION"
[07] TURKISH NEGOTIATOR GOES TO CHECHNYA
[08] UNDER CRITICISM, MUMCU DEFENDS STATEMENT
[09] TURKISH-ARMENIAN MEETING HELD IN US
[10] SECOND ROUND VOTING ON CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
[11] TURK KEEPS HEAT ON EU OVER TERRORISM
[12] SUDDEN SNOWFALL SPRINKLED OVER TURKEY
[13] TURKISH BOOK SPOTLIGHTED ON ITALIAN TV NETWORK
[14] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS...
[15] ISLAMIC COUNTRIES ON THE ROAD TO SECULARISM BY
FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)
[16] LITMUS PAPER FOR THOSE WHO HAVE EYES BY EROL
MANISALI (CUMHURIYET)
[01] ECEVIT SAYS NEW HOPE FOR THE ECONOMY
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said yesterday that
the additional financing on its way from the International Monetary
Fund has the promise of putting the economy back on firm footing.
Ecevit declared that there would be no any election before the
economic program is implemented. "An election during this period
would delay the success of the economic program, he said." Ecevit
also stated that the problems the coalition has faced in recent days
would not affect the future of Turkey's government. Ecevit remarked
that no decision had yet been reached as to when a contingent of
Turkish troops would be send to Afghanistan and how many soldiers it
would include, adding that those decisions are being made in light of
events new unfolding. Ecevit addressed the subject of the shape of the
government to came in Afghanistan, saying " There is an vacuum in
government and this vacuum should be filled with all the country's
ethnic groups, including the Pasthuns." /T�rkiye/
[02] G-20 VOWS TO COMBAT TERRORIST FUNDING
The third meeting of the G-20, a group including
G-7 countries and certain important markets such as Turkey was held in
Ottawa, Canada this weekend. The finance ministers for the group of 20
adopted an action plan on cutting off funding sources for terrorists.
Canadian Finance Minister Paul Martin, the meeting's host, called the
plan a decisive step in coordinating global resources in order to
deprive terrorists of money. He called for all countries to
participate in international efforts against terrorist groups'
financial resources, for making public lists of terrorists with frozen
assets, and for establishing financial intelligence units in each
country to track terrorist financing. /Hurriyet/
[03] CEM SAYS TURKISH CYPRIOTS WILL NOT BE ABANDONED TO
THREATS
Foreign Minister Ismail Cem reiterated over the
weekend that it was his government's intention to ensure that Turkish
Cypriots did not face new threats, adding that the matter was also
closely tied with Turkey's security interests. Cem also indicated that
the eastern Mediterranean region was of vital strategic interest to
Turkey. "No one should expect us to forgo our interests
here," Cem said. Cem's remarks came against the backdrop that
Turkish Cypriot President Rauf Denktas and Greek Cypriot leader
Glafcos Clerides had agreed on Saturday to hold face-to-face talks
next month. Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said on
Saturday that Turkey "sincerely" wants a revival of
reconciliation talks on the island. /Turkish News/
[04] DERV�S: "IT IS A DEBT NOT A DONATION"
State Minister for the Economy Kemal Dervis said at
a meeting held by the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and G-20
in Ottowa Canada this weekend that additional financing provided by
the IMF represented "a debt, not a donation." Dervis
remarked that the IMF Board has accepted the $10 billion additional
financing in principle and urged caution in the use of the new money.
Dervis said that Turkey was requesting the $10 billion for 2002 on top
of current arrangements. "We want the new financing to have an
appropriate term and cost, and the IMF is in agreement with us in this
regard." Dervis cautioned that the new resources weren't an
outright gift to, Turkey hence they should be used properly./T�rkiye/
[05] CLERIDES, DENKTAS AGREE TO REVIVE PEACE TALKS
In a procedural breakthrough, the leaders of
Cyprus' Greek and Turkish communities agreed over the weekend to hold
face-to-face talks next month. Greek Cypriot President Glafcos
Clerides told reporters that Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktas had
accepted his condition for a summit meeting attended by a senior
United Nations official and that the meeting would be held in the
first 10 days of December. Clerides and Denktas have not held direct
negotiations since September 1977 when they took part in UN-brokered
talks in Switzerland and come together at a social occasion on the
island the same summer. These direct talks were followed in recent
years by so-called "proximity" talks, in which the two
leaders sat in seperate rooms and negotiated through an intermediary.
Speaking on Saturday at Larnaca airport upon returning from Great
Britain, Clerides said he had received three letters from Denktas this
month. Clerides said that he had agreed to meet Denktas at any time,
as long as a UN representative was present. The UN envoy to Cyprus,
Alvaro de Soto, would attend their talks next month, Clerides said.
Denktas, for his part, said that he wants talks to find a way out of
the current deadlock over the divided island./Turkish Daily News/
[06] SERDENGECTI: "WE WILL TAME THE INFLATION"
Central Bank Governor Serdengecti also speaking at
the Ottowa meeting, said that the government's economic program had
been delayed due to the Sept. 11 attacks. She stated that it looked
possible to adopt a system which would bring inflation under control
next year. Serdengecti also said that after amendments were made to
the Central Bank law, the money authority was targeting price
stability as its next main objective./T�rkiye/
[07] TURKISH NEGOTIATOR GOES TO CHECHNYA
The first round of peace talks between Russia and
Chechnya was held yesterday in Moscow. Chechen President Aslan
Mashadov's representative Ahmet Zakayev and an accompanying delegation
traveled to Russia together with the representative for Turkish
Liberal Democrat Party (LDP) Chairman Besim Tibuk in order to meet
with Viktor Kazantsev, the representative for Russian President
Vladimir Putin's. Speaking before his departure, Tibuk stated that he
was going along to the meetings with the aim of helping to reach a
solution on the restive Russian province. Meanwhile, Zakayev said,
"The Turkish side has significantly contributed to the
organization of the talks. I'd like to thank both Turkey's politicians
and its people for their help and support for the Chechen
people." /All Papers/
[08] UNDER CRITICISM, MUMCU DEFENDS STATEMENT
Motherland Party (ANAP) Deputy Chairman Erkan Mumcu
claimed yesterday that all members of his party shared the critical
views he aired concerning Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit late last week.
Mumcu had criticized Ecevit as being obsolete and unable to manage
affairs of state. Speaking on CNN Turk yesterday, Mumcu said that
there was no need to engage in unnecessary quarrelling over the manner
of speech he had used in making these statements, and that the
important thing was to not divert from the right track, but rather to
see the truth and be realistic. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ecevit
remarked that the voices coming from ANAP were inappropriate from a
government coalition member. "I don't want to get involved in
polemics over Mumcu's statement I don't even believe that I should
take his words seriously," he stated. Other ANAP members
criticized Mumcu's statement and argued that his words should not be
considered as common views within the party. /All Papers/
[09] TURKISH-ARMENIAN MEETING HELD IN US
The Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation Commission (TARC)
is to meet today in New York. The commission, which held its first
meeting this July 9 in Switzerland, has taken significant steps
towards a rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia. The meeting will
last three days. In related news, TARC's activities made a mark on the
Assembly of Turkish-Armenian Associations meetings on Nov. 2, in
Washington. It was during this meeting that for the first time an
Armenian representative addressed the Turco-Americans. /Cumhuriyet/
[10] SECOND ROUND VOTING ON CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
The second round voting for a bill to amend Article
86 of the Constitution is to be held on Wednesday at the Parliamentary
Plenary Session. The bill proposes the regulation of certain issues
regarding parliamentarians such as retirement. During the round was on
Nov. 6, and bill was passed by a majority vote. /All Papers/
[11] TURK KEEPS HEAT ON EU OVER TERRORISM
Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said over the
weekend that victory against terrorism necessitated cooperation
between all nations as well as the building of a shared idea that
nothing could justify terrorist acts. Speaking at a panel on
"Political, Strategic, and Judicial Aspects of International
Terrorism and Turkey," Turk said that terrorism was a method of
politics which completely disregards the value of human life, and he
went on to tell the participants about the international agreements
against terrorism to which Turkey was is a signatory. In his speech,
Turk complained that Turkey had never received the support it expected
from the European community in its fight against terrorism and
criticized the EU for limiting the anti-terrorism efforts and
activities of its members. /Turkish News/
[12] SUDDEN SNOWFALL SPRINKLED OVER TURKEY
The approaching winter: asserted it self this
weekend with sudden and early snowfalls affecting some parts of
Turkey. Trabzon, Rize, Artvin and Gumushane saw the first snows of the
year. In the Eastern Black Sea region, snowfall that began after heavy
rainfalls closed a number of village roads. According to the Trabzon
Meteorology Institute, the snowfalls in the region are expected to
stop in the beginning of the week./Turkish Daily News/
[13] TURKISH BOOK SPOTLIGHTED ON ITALIAN TV NETWORK
Last week, Italian TV network RAI presented an
cetended feature on Turkish author Latife Tekin's book "Berci
Kristin Cop Masallari"( Berji Kristini Tales from the Garbage
Hills). The book was recently published in Italian version by Giunti
publishers, making it Tekin's second book ( along with "Sevgili
Arsiz Olum ) to be translated into another language./Cumhuriyet/
[14] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE
COLUMNS...
[15] ISLAMIC COUNTRIES ON THE ROAD TO SECULARISM BY
FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)
Columnist Fikret Bila writes on the recent
developments in Afghanistan and the discussion of 'Islamic countries
and secularism'. A summary of his column is as follows:
"Developments in Afghanistan and the scenes created by the
Taleban administration have sparked a discussion concerning secularism
and Islamic countries. We have stated time and again that the state
created by Ataturk should be taken as a role model by other
predominantly Islamic countries. In an interview with Prime Minister
Ecevit we reiterated these views and asked him if the incidents in
Afghanistan could lead to a move towards secularism in other Islamic
countries. Prime Minister Ecevit is indeed expecting such a move and
he believes that secularism will take root in the Islamic world in the
21st century. He says that it no one should expect Turkey to be
accepted as a role model in Afghanistan all at once. 'In recent years
we have witnessed certain negative and fundamentalist currents,' he
remarked. 'However, it turned out they were not as strong as had been
believed. I think that, with the contributions of Turkey, positive
developments will be witnessed in Afghanistan and the entire Islamic
world. Some steps towards secularism keep now being taken in northern
Africa, even though they are not official. The same goes for Syria,
Egypt, Jordan and a number of others. I believe that these
developments will accelerate, and any so-called 'clash of
civilizations' between the East and West is out of the question.' He
added that that Turkey's importance in the fight against terrorism has
increased but that still, the US and the West should be more serious
in their approach towards this fight. 'It is a well-known fact that
certain organizations which stage terrorist activities in Turkey are
still living in Europe and organize their activities from there.
Certainly, the EU countries must fulfill what is expected of them on
these issues.' Prime Minister Ecevit also said that a certain dynamic
had been propelled into motion with the developments in Afghanistan
and that it would not be possible to stop it."
[16] LITMUS PAPER FOR THOSE WHO HAVE EYES BY EROL
MANISALI (CUMHURIYET)
Columnist Erol Manisali comments on the attitude of
the EU towards the Cyprus, Aegean and European Security and Defense
Policy (ESDP) issues. A summary of his column is as follows: "The
Cyprus dispute is not an obstacle in the way of the development of
relations between Turkey and the European Union. On the contrary, this
issue and others should contribute positively towards Turkey's EU
membership. There is only one condition for this positive factor to
work: That is, the EU should genuinely want to admit Turkey into the
Union. If the EU wanted to admit Turkey into the EU it would have
viewed the situation quite differently and acted accordingly. It
should have taken the balances between Turkey and Greece into
consideration and approached the issues carefully and fairly. A final
solution for the Cyprus and Aegean problems should have been discussed
only after Turkey was admitted. Furthermore, the two political
establishments on the island should be admitted to the Union
simultaneously. In this way both a balance between Greece and Turkey
and the two communities on Cyprus would be established. The same
principle goes for the Aegean. The Aegean would be a sea used commonly
by both countries and the EU. Regarding the ESDP, Turkey could be
granted an exceptional status until it is admitted into the EU and
after that the problem would be solved in its natural course. Instead
of following such a policy, the imposition of certain solutions make
one wonder if the EU really has no desire to admit Turkey to the
Union. The EU and Athens are trying to get whatever concessions they
may snatch with the winds blowing in favor of the European Union in
Turkey. The EU and Athens will certainly try to use every advantage to
their favor, but we should not be a tool in their hands."
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