DEMIREL LAID CYBER FOUNDATION

Yesterday, President Suleyman Demirel laid the cyber foundation for TUBITAK- Turkey's National Information Infrastructure Master Plan, at Cankaya Residential Palace. During the promotion ceremony of the venture, President Demirel called upon the Turkish young people and scientists to implement 'inventions`. He said, "It is an age of science. We have to prepare ourselves for this age. Our people from the scientists to workers in the fields have to comply with it." The venture, is set up to the year 2010, in the settlements with a population of more than 20,000, 75% of the houses will be connected to the network. The cost of the venture will be 70 billion US dollars. /Milliyet/

COALITION LEADERS MEETING

The leaders of the coalition partners will meet today at two o'clock. They will try to reach a decision whether to elevate the capital punishment ruling against the terrorist chieftain Abdullah Ocalan for pariamentary debate, or to hold the file at the Prime Minister's Office in compliance with the precautionary measures issued by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Premier Bulent Ecevit will propose waiting for ECHR. The Nationalist Action Party (MHP) requests that the ruling be forwarded immediately to Parliament for debate. In addition to the leaders their staff will also attend the meeting. Since the sides declared their views clearly before the meeting, a compliance seems difficult. The Chief of the Motherland Party (ANAP) Mesut Yilmaz is going to undertake the role of mediator. Meanwhile, before the leader's summit, ECHR's General Secretary Wolgang Peukert declared that the ECHR's decision doesn't tie Turkey and said, "ECHR cannot order governments." /Aksam/

SPEEDY PERIOD WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION (EU)

Relations between Turkey and the EU are entering into a period of renewed vigour; while preparations for mutual high-ranking visits are continuing, Turkey will attend a political consultancy meeting with the EU-member countries tomorrow. Having become an EU candidate following the decision taken during the Helsinki Summit on 10th-11th December 1999, Turkey will attend this meeting in Brussels for the first time under its new title. The EU has considered Turkey's strategic situation and requested it to be the country to launch the discussion during the meeting entitled 'Eastern Europe and Central Asia'. /Turkiye/

LE MONDE: "ANKARA'S HORIZONS WIDEN"

The Turkish government's implementation of structural reforms and its serious policies against inflation are not only positively welcomed by our allies in Europe, but also have gained the trust of the international financial community. In many articles in the European press, it is published that the policy which the Turkish government is following has imbued companies throughout the world with confidence and they are awaiting action in the economy over the next few months. In these same articles, it is stated that the Turkish economy has solved its inflation problem and that EU candidacy has removed many obstacles before Turkey. In addition, it was underlined that Turkey has passed an important stage in signing an agreement with the IMF. In the French 'Le Monde' newspaper yesterday, it was declared: 'Turkey's EU candidacy has opened up new vistas to Ankara'. /Turkiye/

TRIPARTITE CAUCASIAN UNION OPPOSED TO RUSSIA

After the Russian Federation's military operation in Chechnya began to threaten the Caucasus, first Turkey, then Georgia and Azerbaijan, started an initiative aimed at obtaining regional stability. The details of the pact that was placed on the agenda during Azerbaijani President Haydar Aliyev's visit to Ankara will be discussed during the Turkish President's visit to Georgia on 14th and 15th January. It is expected that after research into the treaty is ended, the leaders of the three countries will announce the tripartite union to the world. It was further stated that after a solution to the problem of the Upper Karabagh is reached, Armenia will also be invited to join the alliance. /Cumhuriyet/

'ARMENIA WILL PROFIT TURKEY'

It was stated that improvements in commercial relations between Turkey and Armenia and the opening of their border gate would be of immense benefit to Turkey. Trabzon Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (TTSO) Executive Board Chairman Sadan Eren said that he found the words of the Azerbaijani President, Haydar Aliyev during his last visit to Turkey - that is, that Turkey would not cause any problems over the possibility of relations with Armenia or the opening of the gate - very pleasing. Eren said, "The Armenian border gate which is likely to be opened will be very profitable for Turkey. Armenia is still an important market for Turkey, a country which exports many goods to Armenia via Georgia and Iran. The establishment of commercial relations, which would allow for the possibility of direct export, will contribute to the improvement of trade in the Eastern Black Sea." In addition, the Chairman of Trabzon's Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TSIAD), Nadir Saral also stated that the opening of the border gate between Armenia and Turkey would be very important for Trabzon in terms of better trade. /Turkiye/

INVITATION FROM ALIYEV TO BAHCELI

Azerbaijani President Haydar Aliyev invited Nationalist Action Party (MHP) leader, Deputy Turkish Prime Minister Devlet Bahceli, to his country. It was revealed that Aliyev made his request to Bahceli during a meeting that was held the day before yesterday. It was stated that Bahceli had accepted this invitation in principle, however, he had not confirmed a date for his visit. /Cumhuriyet/

CILLER'S PROPOSALS

The Leader of the True Path Party (DYP) Tansu Ciller will meet with the party leaders to discuss democratic policies. Ciller will propose the restructuring of the State before entering the EU. She is going to ask for support for a new State concept; expanding individual rights and freedoms, selecting the president by public vote for a term of five years and twice only, ensuring ruling unity and superiority of law, a State of exact democracy and a servant of the public and bringing statism an end. /Aksam/

TOWN OF A THOUSAND HOUSES: TURK-IS

The Turk-Is Chairman's Council will be convened on 20th January in Sakarya, in order to discuss the support to be given to the earthquake victims. The General Chairman of Turk-Is, Bayram Meral, stated that they would discuss the problems workers face in the earthquake-hit region and the situation of those workers who had lost their job due to the disaster. Meral further added, "We are preparing to construct a "Turk-Is" town of one thousand houses in the earthquake-hit region. For this purpose, we are docking the daily pay of each of the workers amounting to 2 trillion TL up to now." /Cumhuriyet/

TERRORISM GOING ON

During the funeral ceremony organized in Elazig for the six soldiers who were killed during clashes with terrorists in Ovacik town, Tunceli, the Third Army Commander General Tuncer Kilinc said that traitor attacks were still continuing and he didn't comply with the view that terrorism had almost ended. During his speech Gen. Kilinc emphasized that the Turkish Armed Forces would fight against terrorism to the end. He also said, " The fight against terrorism should be carried out altogether. The idea to prevent terrorism only by the Armed Forces is wrong and such a struggle lasts too long." /Aksam/

AYVAZ KORKMAZ TO BE EXTRADITED TODAY

One of the key names in the underground world, Ayvaz Korkmaz, who has been wanted by Interpol for the past two years, is being brought to Turkey from the Ukraine today. A one-week period of supervision in order to question Ayvaz was requested in Istanbul's State Security Court and an expert team was set up from the Organized Crime section of the Directorate General of Security and Istanbul's Directorate of Security. Meanwhile, it was stated that Ayvaz was wanted because he incited someone to attemp murder in Tekirdag. /Sabah/

ALARM FOR 'FLU

In a statement issued by the Health Ministry, pointing out 'flu epidemics in Europe, it said that the cold weather causes an increase in respiratory illnesses, especially incidents of flu, was to be expected and citizens were warned against the epidemics and asked to be cautious. /Milliyet/

KIVRIKOGLU IN FRANCE

The Chief of General Staff, General Huseyin Kivrikoglu, has gone to France on an official visit. During the General's trip as the French Chief of General Staff's guest, a military framework agreement which aims to improve military and defence industry relations between the Armed Forces of the two countries, in accordance with the 'Turco-French Action Plan 2000', will be signed. /Cumhuriyet/

FEDERATION OF EUROPEAN STUDENTS' CULTURAL EXCHANGE

The Federation of European Students (AEGEE) in Ankara and Athens will implement a cultural exchange programme entitled 'From a Common Culture to a Culture of Peace'; forty-four students from Turkey and Greece will take part. The AEGEE has representatives in organizations such as the EU, the OSCE and the UN and has branches in 286 cities. Cem Tuzuner, who is responsible for Ankara Cultural Exchange Programme's Public Relations stated that students from Athens and Ankara will meet for the first time on 22nd April. /Cumhuriyet/

ECONOMY EXPERTS HOPEFUL FOR TURKISH ECONOMY

The precautions taken for the Turkish economy and the policies that are being followed are being carefully observed by international credit and finance institutions. The support that is given to Turkey is not only economic, but also has some political and strategic benefits; for example, the U.S.A.'s support is due to the fact that it considers Turkey to be very important because of its geo-strategic location. A Senior Economist at ING Baris Bank in London, Philip Poole, has pointed out that American support is based on its view that Turkey is a source of stability both in its own region and in the Balkans. International experts underlined that the reason the economy shrank by 4% on average last year was due to the earthquakes that occurred in Turkey which had a detrimental effect on the economy. These experts further added, however, that growth in the year 2000 is expected to reach 9%. /Sabah/

FISCHER: "GOOD BEGINNING FOR TURKEY"

IMF Deputy Director Stanley Fischer believes that the plan of action for the Turkish economy seems to be good so far. Fischer said, "The increase in energy prices might push up inflation rates to a higher level than expected. The standards which fix stock exchange prices, part of the agenda prepared by Turkey, will also cut interest rates." /Sabah/

TURKISH BUSINESS FAIRS IN THE YEAR 2000

Turkish businessmen are preparing to attend many fairs this year; it was disclosed that Turkey will attend 84 fairs at a national level in other countries in the year 2000. At these fairs, organized in many different countries, a great variety ofproducts from clothing to marble, food to vehicles, will be exhibited. It was stated that Turkey's star was on the rise due to the advantage of its geographical situation and, potentially, Turkey could become the centre of the region. The sector of fairs is continuing to grow in spite of some of its problems. /Turkiye/

TREASURY BOND ISSUE

The Treasury raised 1.5 billion US dollars through a 30-year global bond issue on January 10th. This 30-year 1.5 billion US dollar bond issue led by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Saloman Smith Barney has a 11.875 percent coupon payment. Half of these bonds, which were issued through the global Bond Market, were sold in the US market, and 50 percent in European and world markets. The Treasury Undersecretariat said the bond issue was the greatest amount of foreign borrowing which had the longest maturity. /Hurriyet/

DECREASE IN OIL PRICES

The Oil Office has stated that there has been a decrease of 5% in the price of oil. The government decided to drop the price of liquid petroleum as part of its anti-inflation endeavours. Thus, as part of this decision, the first step was taken by cutting the price of oil. /Sabah/

SAVING ON VEHICLES

The Finance Ministry is ready to put into effect a series of procedures to save on public expenditures. Accordingly, vehicle buying for high ranking officials will end which has been critisized harshly for years. All except ministers and undersecretaries, officiers such as deputy undersecretaries and general directors and will have to take a taxi on their way of work and later they will charge it to their organizations. /Hurriyet/

FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...

THE IMPORTANT MINI-SUMMIT BY DOGAN HEPER (MILLIYET)

Columnist Dogan Heper writes on the mini-summit the Coalition party leaders will hold today. A summary of his column is as follows: "Today the leaders will meet to discuss the Ocalan case. The solution is in the hands of the Nationalist Action Party. The stances of the Motherland Party (ANAP) and Democratic Left Party (DSP) are known. They want to wait for the verdict of the European Court of Human Rights. However, the Nationalist Action Party (MHP) seems in favour of carrying out the death sentence and based its election campaign on this premise. Some repesentatives are saying that if Turkey is to abolish the capital punishment, she may well execute Ocalan before lifting the death sentence. Turkey has entered a hard but positive path. Would it be considered wise to break up the Coalition for Ocalan? For the first time, a belt-tightening policy is being implemented at the cost of losing votes. That is to say, when the Coalition is acting wisely on other important issues despite the possibility of losing votes, why then should it act emotionally in the Ocalan case? When all is taken into consideration, it is believed that MHP will act reasonably. Moreover, the MHP is not in power by itself. Waiting for the verdict of the European Court of Human Rights does not mean that the possibility of carrying out the sentence is entirely out of the question. The de eath sentence is legal, but carrying out the sentence will be a political decision. Turkey is one of two countries at the door of the EU who still have capital punishment. Eventually it will be abolished. The politicians are ready to take out this article. Furthermore, the death sentence has not being carried out in Turkey for years. For a long time, there has been peace in South Eastern Turkey and conflicts seem to be over. This situation can last and our aim should be to reap the benefit of it. The question has other factors in addition to the death sentence. The State of Emergency is being lifted, however, no economic steps are being taken in Eastern or Southeastern Anatolia. Ocalan is asking for peace but continues to make threats through his lawyers. The impression that the PKK is retreating is given however, there are armed militants on the mountains. Ankara should take the South Eastern problem in hand in a planned and determined way. This has to be so, whether or not Ocalan's death sentence is carried out."

PRESS MONOPOLY BY EROL MANISALI (CUMHURIYET)

Columnist Erol Manisali writes on the press monopoly. A summary of his column is as follows: "The most serious obstacle before democracy in Turkey is the monopoly structure in the area of "communications"; it is upsetting the economic and political order. This is serious because, if there is no accontability in a society, rights cannot be differentiated from wrongs. Furthermore, one cannot know what has happened and what has not happened. In fact, sometimes what people may believe to be true may prove to be false. Therefore, transparency of action is required by all societies. During the time in power of Hitler and Stalin, people were misled and events were distorted and in this atmosphere of monopolism, right and wrong changed places. At present, in Western Europe, the activities of the press and television are arranged to provide a socio-domestic balance and accountabilit; there are strict rules to ensure this. Thus, the vehicles of social communication are prevented from being gathered in the hands of certain persons. In Turkey, the first thing to do to attain the Western European standards is to abolish the communications monopoly and provide for pluralism within the media. If this cannot be done, certain powerful bodies hold the monopoly of the media in their hands and direct the economy- and even foreign policy - in line with their interests. They may even use this as a weapon held over the heads of politicians, bureaucrats and the intelligentsia. The present technology provides for the media to be used as a strong political, economic and cultural tool. One can influence people with the bombardment from newspapers and televisions and can obtain great economic benefits by threatening politicians. Therefore, The first thing to do in Turkey is to abolish the monopoly over the press. Then, and only then, can the media take its place as the fourth power in the country."

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