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Turkish Press Review, 00-09-28Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>28.09.00Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] PROBABLE ACTION PLANS AGAINST THE ENACTMENT OF SO-CALLED GENOCIDE BILL[02] FRANCE AGAINST THE APPROVAL OF THE SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL[03] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS[04] VOTE ON THE SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILLThe US House Committee of International Relations will vote today on the draft of the so-called Armenian Genocide resolution. The draft has passed in the subcommittee last week despite the reactions and preventive efforts of the US President and the Turkish government. The Republican chairman of the International Relations Committee which has 48 members, Benjamin Gilman told Turkish Ambassador to Washington, Baki Ilkin, that at this stage he could not prevent the passing of the resolution. On the other hand, Ambassador Ilkin presented a letter including a 89 year-old document to the members of the committee. In the letter, Ilkin said that the Armenians living in Istanbul and western Anatolia were not affected by the events taking place between 1915-1923 and currently 70,000s Armenian are living in Turkey and he defended that these facts make the genocide claims lose its value. The document he enclosed was a telegram sent by the British Ambassador to Washington, to the then British Foreign Minister Lord Curzon, on 19 July 1921. The telegram stated that the Ambassador went to the US State Department in order to look for documents regarding the cruelties of Turkish people against the Armenians, but he could not find any document supproting this allegation in the US archives. /Milliyet/[05] PROBABLE ACTION PLANS AGAINST THE ENACTMENT OF SO-CALLED GENOCIDE BILLTurkish Foreign Ministry stated that the sanctions that will be implemented on the US and Armenia will be of a kind that would not affect the vital interests of Turkey and will be of no use for the Armenian lobbies. On the other hand, National Security Council (MGK) will convene tomorrow and discuss the "action plan" that will be implemented against the US and Armenia. The following topics will be discussed at the meeting: 1. An ambassador to Iraq may be appointed. 2. Turkey is a profitable market for American arms producers and recently American firms have undertaken the bidding for attack helicopters. New American firms may be prevented from assuming the sale of tanks worth $7 million. 3. The tension between Turkey and Armenia would harm the stability in the Caucasus. The transportation process of regional energy resources to the world markets may be negatively affected. This would harm both the US and Turkey. 4. Strict measures may be taken against Armenia including imposing a severe embargo and the closure of the air corridor that is kept open for humanitarian reasons. 5. Deterrent measures may be taken against Armenia which reinforces its military cooperation with Russia. /Cumhuriyet/[06] KIVRIKOGLU'S STATEMENT ON THE SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILLChief of the General Staff, General Huseyin Kivrikoglu, harshly reacted to the US on the approval of the so-called Armenian genocide bill by the US House of Representatives' Sub-Committee. General Kivrikoglu said, "Before passing a judgement on others, countries should scrutinize their own past." General Kivrikoglu, who came to Izmir to attend the ceremony during which the foundation of the Naval Command Headquarter was laid, visited Governor Alaaddin Yuksel and answered a journalist's question on this opinion and reaction to the approval of the so-called Armenian genocide bill. General Kivrikoglu said, "These claims are totally groundless and those deciding in favor did so to get votes in the upcoming election even though they are aware of the fact. The countries should first clean their own consciences when and if their history is full of such indicents. There are so many things which must be done on the issue. The Government and other related institutions will evaluate this issue and take the necessary steps." Meanwhile, the foundation of the Naval Command Headquarters, which was decided to be moved to Izmir after the earthquake that occurred in the Marmara Region last year, was laid down yesterday by General Kivrikoglu. During his speech, General Kivrikoglu said, "The Naval Command Headquarters opens a new and meaningful page in history at the beginning of the 21st century." /Aksam/[07] FRANCE AGAINST THE APPROVAL OF THE SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILLFrench Ambassador to Ankara, Bernard Garcia, made a statement about the approval of the so-called Armenian genocide bill and said, "As the French Administration, we are completely against these types of initiatives. This issue should not be used for internal politics due to political concerns. The debates on this so-called genocide should be left to historians as it was said in Ankara." /Hurriyet/[08] ECEVIT: "DEVELOPMENT SHOULD BEGIN WITH RURAL AREAS"Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit visited Siirt and Sirnak and attended some opening ceremonies. Addressing people in Siirt, Mr. Ecevit explained the Government's initiatives on economy and fight against inflation. During his speech, members of the People's Democracy Party (HADEP) chanted slogans asking for peace. Replying to them, Ecevit said: "The people who want peace, should lay off their weapons first." In the Basagac village of Sirnak, Ecevit delivered keys of their new houses to the villagers who had left their villages because of terrorism. The houses were constructed in the scope of the "Center village" project. Recalling that for 15 years the people in eastern and southeastern Turkey have suffered a lot from terrorism, Ecevit said: "Now, terrorism is almost over in these regions with the measures taken by the government." He also stressed that they believed the development should begin with the rural areas, as half of the Turkish population earns his living from agriculture. Mr. Ecevit added: "The eastern part of Turkey will be at the same level as that of her western part." /Turkiye/[09] VERHEUGEN: "TURKEY IS ESSENTIAL FOR EUROPE"European Union (EU) Commission's member responsible for Enlargement Gunther Verheugen said that Turkey was essential for the EU. Verheugen said, "Turkey made great strides on the path to the EU and it is making very important preparations for the future. Turkey, which is a NATO ally, is not currently ready to be a member of the EU in terms of human rights. However, an improvement cannot be ensured by closing the door just like the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Party has done." /Aksam/[10] SIXTH ROUND OF CYPRUS PROXIMITY TALKS TO BE HELD FACE TO FACEIt was stated that the fifth tour of Cyprus proximity talks in Geneva between 1 and 10 October will be the last of the proximity talks and that during the sixth round of talks, President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Rauf Denktas and the leader of the Greek-Cypriot Administration Glafkos Klerides will be tried to be convinced to hold a face-to-face meeting in the US. /Cumhuriyet/[11] LETTER OF WARNING FROM TUSIAD MEMBERSChairman of the Turkish Industrialists' and Businesmen's Association (TUSIAD) Erkut Yucaoglu sent a letter to the members of the US Congress' International Relations Committee. In the letter, it was written, "The approval of this bill will harm the relations between Turkey and the US. Tragic incidents occurring during the war were described as a 'genocide' in this bill. In addition, the claims in this bill are supported with distorted facts and with the partisan declarations of witnesses." /Aksam/[12] MINUTES OF ACCORD TO BE SIGNED BETWEEN SYRIA AND TURKEY TODAYA minutes of accord, which was decided to be signed yesterday between the Syrian Minister of the Interior Mohammad Habra and his Turkish counterpart Sadettin Tantan, could not be signed since the Syrian side insisted on limiting the scope of this minutes of accord with four articles. However, this problem was solved and it was decided that the minutes of accord would be signed today. Among these four articles, a limited importance was attached to the issue of struggle against terrorism and Syria wanted that the cooperation should be restricted to the struggle against the PKK terrorist organization. Then Tantan, Habra and the General Director of Security Turan Genc met at the Directorate General of Security and the Syrian side accepted Turkey's request concerning the issue. In this minutes of accord, which will be signed today, the issues such as struggle against organized crime and smuggling, border security and the mutual training program will take place. /Hurriyet/[13] CEM TO VISIT UZBEKISTANForeign Minister Ismail Cem will visit Uzbekistan on 2 and 3 October. In a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry yesterday, it was revealed that during Cem's visit to Uzbekistan, the issues of developing and institutionalizing the relations between the two countries and strengthening peace and stability in the region will be taken up. /Cumhuriyet/[14] STATE MINISTER GAYDALI IN RUSSIAState Minister Edip Safter Gaydali has gone to Moscow as the official guest of Russian Atomic Energy Minister Yevgeni Adamov. The two ministers will reportedly discuss cooperation on bilateral nuclear matters. /Turkish Daily News/[15] STATE MINISTER GUREL IN UKRAINEState Minister Sukru Sina Gurel has gone to Ukraine for meetings on various issues. He will reportedly attend meetings concerning Turks resident in Ukraine and construction services. /Turkish Daily News/[16] HEALTH MINISTER DURMUS IN CROATIAAn agreement envisaging cooperation on health between Turkey and Croatia has been signed by Health Minister Osman Durmus and his Croatian counterpart Stavljenic-Rukaniva in Zagreb. The agreement reportedly covers exchanges of specialists, cooperation in medical training and education programs and the holding of joint meetings on health issues. /Turkish Daily News/[17] TURCO-GEORGIAN JOINT MANOEUVRESAfter the approval of the so-called Armenian genocide bill at the subcommittee at the US House of Representatives, Turkey and Georgia decided to hold joint "border violation manoeuvres" at Turkey's Armenian border. According to sources from the Turkish Land Forces Command, during the manoeuvres, various exercises regarding the violation of border penetrations will be carried out. In Caucasia, one of the controversial regions in the world, Armenia tries to strengthen her ties with Russia while Georgia prefers to come closer to Turkey to overcome her economic problems. /Turkiye/[18] SEVEN STARS 2000The first field manoeuvre Seven Stars 2000 organized by the Southeastern European Multinational Peace Force (SEEBRIG), is continuing in the Haskoy district of Bulgaria. Turkey, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Macedonia and Italia are attending the manoeuvres with the participation of a total of 1,640 soldiers. The manouvres will end on Sep. 30. /Turkiye/[19] ERCEL'S STATEMENTGovernor of the Central Bank Gazi Ercel delivered a speech about the 'Macro Economic Characteristics and the Future of the Turkish Economy' during the meeting entitled the 'New Face of Turkey' in Prague, where the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) meetings were being held. He said, "The current accounts deficit that occurred during the first half of the year can be overcome through the income to be earned in tourism sector and through the workers' remittances." /Aksam/[20] QUALITY AWARDS TO TURKISH COMPANIESTwo Quality awards of the European Foundation of Quality Management (EFQM) were given this year to Turkish companies in the category of Large scale institutions and Business units. Arcelik and Eczacibasi Vitra shared the "success award". The general manager of Arcelik, Nedim Esgin said, "The awards we took reinforce our belief in perfection and our motivation." The general manager of Eczacibasi Vitra, Sadi Burat said, " The fact that Vitra was presented an award is a success not only for the companies, but also for Turkey." /Milliyet/[21] UNDERGROUND NATURAL GAS DEPOTS FOR PROBABLE ENERGY SHORTAGEUnderground Depots will be built in the northern part of the Marmara Region and Degirmenkoy to meet the increasing natural gas demand in Turkey. The depots will be filled with gas when the reserves were at a low level to meet the demand. The construction will be completed in two years. The head of the Executive Board of Turkish Petroleum Joint Stock Company (TPAO), Osman Demirag said, " The need for natural gas in Istanbul is as high as 2 billion cubic meters. Therefore, the infrastructural projects should be immediately implemented. The filling process will start in 2004." /Cumhuriyet/[22] STATE MONOPOLIES (TEKEL) EXPORTS GRAPE JUICE TO FRANCEState Monopolies (Tekel) began to export concentrated grape juice from Tarsus Suma Factory to France. In a written statement by the Directorate-General of Tekel, it was reported that 500,000 litres of grape juice will be exported to France for now, as part of the agreement concerning the sale of 2 million litres of grape juice from Tarsus Suma Factory, foundation of which was laid on 24 December 1999 and opened on 17 July 2000. The remaining amount will be exported in 500,000-kg of consignments until 31 December. 10 million French franks are expected to be earned from this sale. /Hurriyet/[23] HAGIA SOPHIA CANDIDATE FOR SEVEN WONDERSAn internet message of Tourism Minister Erkan Mumcu was put on the website of Hacettepe University. In the message, Mr. Mumcu requested the support for the election of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul as one of the seven wonders of the world. /Cumhuriyet/[24] HAMZA YERLIKAYA WINS GOLD MEDALHamza Yerlikaya, Turkish World and Olympics Champion wrestler, won a gold medal defeating Hungarian Istvan Sandor Bardosi in 85 kg Greco-Roman wrestling final match. Thus, Turkey has won its third gold medal in the 27th Summer Olympic Games in Sydney. /All papers/[25] GALATASARAY'S SUCCESSGalatasaray defeated Scottish Glasgow Rangers in Champions League in the match played in Istanbul last night with a score of 3-2. Galatasaray now places at the top of group D. /All papers/[26] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS[27] A RAY OF HOPE BY GUNGOR MENGI (SABAH)Columnist Gungor Mengi comments on the recent internal political developments. A summary of his column is as follows:"The political atmosphere in Turkey resembles a cloudy autumn day. Suddenly a ray of sunshine appears in the sky while you are feeling down as a result of the dark clouds. The sun seems to say, 'Don't lose hope, I'm still here.' The case of the Virtue Party pending a decision at the Constitutional Court is a potential danger which can upset near future. If the Virtue Party is closed and the deputy status of the TGNA members coming from the Welfare Party are cancelled, Election may begin to be discussed. This would be the expiration of all the hopes in the last chance for the fight against inflation and would come to mean that the road to the EU is detonated. What can happen in by-elections? The seats vacated by the Virtue Party would be shared among other parties currently in Parliament. Then, pressure for the renewal of general Election will grow. Result would lead to instability, failure of all the efforts in the fight against inflation and entering a new turbulent era with the new Elections. These are very high prices to pay. However, yesterday, suddenly a ray of hope was seen in the skies. It was stated that the court-reporter at the Constitutional Court did not believe that there was satisfactory evidence for the demands to close the Virtue Party. The Virtue Party is accused of being the focus of anti-secular demonstrations and a continuation of the closed Welfare Party. However, the reporter has described some of the actions considered to be crimes as personal behaviour. No-one is claiming that the Virtue Party is brand new. However, it cannot be said those coming from Welfare Party have not learnt their lesson. Certainly, the members of the closed Welfare Party entered an organization following a policy akin to their opinions. The important thing is that they have stopped committing crimes. A decision ignoring this fact would only strengthen the hands of the radicals. The Virtue Party has paid the price of Welfare Party's crimes by losing in the Election. This experience has taught them the damages of statements inciting hatred among the public. Today, they are trying to persuade Europe that they are fighting for a democratic right. Their seeking refuge in democracy is an inmportant step. In Turkey, they have not learnt that exploiting religion is not a democratic right, but will learn it there. The continuation of this process is both to the benefit of the Virtue Party and the country. We hope that a decision confirming the reporter's view will come out of the Constitutional Court." Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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