Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
The European Union's (EU) Joint Consultation Committee (JCC)
meeting was held in Brussels for the first time after Helsinki.
During the gathering on 17 and 18 February, the Co-Chairmen of
the Turkish and the EU parties sat together with Committee
members sitting next to each other. During the discussions in
Brussels, it was decided that the JCC should be held more often.
It is also planned that the second meeting to be held in Selcuk,
Turkey, at the end of this June. Thus, the JCC's members will be
able to visit Ephesus as VIPs. Meanwhile, the Turco-EU delegation
from the JCC will visit Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, the
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Cem, and the EU's
representative to Turkey, Karen Fogg. /Hurriyet/
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit gave his thoughts on the results of
the Iranian polls. Congratulating the Iranian people, especially
the women and young people, Premier Ecevit said, "At the end of
the free elections in our neighbouring country, Iran, those who
desire to live along the lines of the modern world and to engage
in a more realistic democracy have won a great victory. A new era
has been begun in Iran. I wish this era will be good not only for
Iran but also for the whole Islamic world, including Turkey."
Ecevit added, "I believe it is probable that Iran will stop
exporting revolutionary ideas to other countries, and certain
anti-secular powers in Turkey will no longer consider Iran's
Islamic Revolution a source of inspiration. I hope that the new
Administration in Iran will also adopt a more determined and
coherent stance against separatist movements in Turkey."
/Cumhuriyet/
Civil Initiative Board members told Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit
that Turkey should work effectively on the process of European
Union (EU) membership and that the Economic and Social Council
(ESK) should be institutionalized. The General Chairmen of ESK
visited Ecevit at the Prime Ministry for one hour. The General
Chairman of Hak-Is, Salim Uslu, who is the current spokesman for
the Initiative Board, told Ecevit that during the process of
Turkey's membership to the EU, ties should be forged not only in
terms of the economy, but also in terms of social policies. Uslu
stated that they had told Ecevit that the work of the
non-governmental organizations should be made more effective.
Uslu further added, "During the meeting, we told Ecevit that the
EU wants to watch the steps taken by Turkey closely. We also told
him that changes to institutional laws which concern the
professional establishments and the unions should be made. Ecevit
told us that the government agreed with us over the
institutionalization of ESK." /Hurriyet/
The reactions against the detention of the three Mayors, members
of HADEP, are on-going. While citizens were demonstrating in
Diyarbakir and Siirt, in relation to the reactions from Europe,
Premier Ecevit said, "The West has to welcome and respect
Turkey's sensitivity over her territorial integrity. He also
stressed, "The ruling system is completely independent in Turkey.
This is Turkey's local issue and comes under the jurisdiction of
the Turkish legal system." Regarding the rumours of his orders
for the arrests, Ecevit also emphasized that he had never
intended to affect justice. /Cumhuriyet/
It was stated that the meetings in Baku between the Azerbaijani
and the Georgian working groups, which aim to remove any
hindrance to the process of implementing the Baku-Ceyhan
pipeline, would come to an end on 24 February. The Turkish
delegation and American President Bill Clinton's Special
Representative, John Wolf, are also expected to attend these
discussions along with the Azerbaijani officials. It is expected
that during the talks the disagreement concerning the cost
imposed on the pipeline between Georgia and Azerbaijan will be
removed to a great extent. According to official statements, the
agreement articles will be sent to the Azerbaijani, Turkish and
Georgian parliaments most probably this month. It is also
envisaged that the Caspian-Mediterranean petroleum and natural
gas pipelines, which will be constructed as part of the agreement
signed during the OSCE Summit in Istanbul on 18 November, will
begin to be built in 2001. /Turkiye/
The French bill relating to the so-called Armenian genocide is
going to be taken up at the French Senate today. Turkey has been
striving to prevent this initiative since last week but it has
been useless and her warnings over the matter have not been taken
into consideration by France. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit
pointed out that in the case that the bill is enacted,
French-Turkish relations would be badly damaged. Foreign Minister
Ismail Cem also declared, "The countries who support Armenian
racism, will be judged by history." While the French Ambaasador
to Ankara, Jean-Claude Cousseran, was being called to the Turkish
Foreign Ministry, the Turkish Ambassador to Paris, Sonmez Koksal,
visited the French Foreign Office and expressed Turkey's anxiety
regarding the matter. /Cumhuriyet/
The Bosnia-Herzegovinan Prime Minister, Ethem Bicakcic, and a
accompanying delegation arrived in Ankara yesterday evening on an
official visit. Bicakcic was welcomed by Turkish State Minister
Sukru Sina Gurel and other officials at Esenboga Airport.
Bicakcic and his accompanying delegation will leave Turkey on 24
February. /Turkiye/
Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Cem made a surprise
offer to the Swiss Minister of Foreign Affairs, Joseph Deiss,
saying, 'let's work together on the Civil Code'. Cem and Deiss,
who met in Ankara yesterday, discussed the steps to be taken in
order to improve relations between Turkey and Switzerland. It was
stated that Deiss had welcomed Cem's suggestion. /Aksam/
The Turkish Congress will be held in Samsun on March 24. The
Congress will be attended by representatives of almost all the
Turkish-Speaking Countries in Central Asia. The Mongols, who
fought against Turks in the past, are also expected to be present
at the Congress. President Suleyman Demirel, Prime Minister
Bulent Ecevit, Chairman of the Nationalist Action Party (MHP) and
Deputy Prime Minister Devlet Bahceli, many Ministers and
political party leaders are also invited to the Congress. The
three-day Congress will be organized by the Turkish-Speaking
States' and Communities' Foundation (TUDEV). /Sabah/
A total of 52.5 kilos of heroin was seized in the Gurpinar
district of Van yesterday. One person was taken into custody
concerning the heroin, the market value of which totals 1
trillion TL. /Star/
It is reported that 104 Chechens who fled Russian attacks in
Chechnya have been waiting on the Turkish border tyring to enter
this country for five days. The Chechen group mainly consisting
of women and children arrived in the Ahiska region of Georgia
last Thursday. However, since the refugees do not have passports,
they have not been able to enter Turkey. The Governor of Ardahan,
Ayhan Nasuhbeyoglu, said that they had sent clothes, dried food
and 75 blankets to the Chechens waiting on the border between
Turkey and Georgia. /Milliyet/
The Leader of the Motherland Party (ANAP), Mesut Yilmaz, has
proposed an 'open ballot' for a Constitutional amendment on the
re-election of President Suleman Demirel for five more years.
Replying to questions posed by journalists yesterday, Yilmaz
proposed that an open ballot could be organized following the
first Constitutional amendment on the Presidency and then the
parties would make their decisions as a group, the Members of
Parliament casting their votes in line with the party whip.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said that he was
optimistic due to the statements which have been issued by the
leaders of the parties on the re-election of President Demirel.
/Milliyet/
The trial of the Chairman of the now-defunct Welfare Party (RP),
Necmettin Erbakan, who is facing a one-year imprisonment, has
been postponed again. The State Security Court (DGM) in
Diyarbakir has extended a 10-day additional period until March 10
to hear opinions in Erbakan's defence. /Milliyet/
Members of the Motherland Party (ANAP), the Nationalist Action
Party (MHP) and the Democratic Left Party (DSP) will hold an
official discussion today of the Amnesty Draft Law which was
earlier vetoed by President Suleyman Demirel. It is reported that
the draft law may be placed on the agenda of the Turkish Grand
National Assembly (TGNA) next week. /Star/
The Head of the Istanbul Security Office, Hasan Ozdemir, said
that passport applications could now be made via the Internet.
Ozdemir stated that an on-line application could be made on
Istanbul Security Office's website address: iem.gov.tr. He added
that those whose births were registered in Istanbul will be able
to receive their passports in two working days whereas those
whose births were registered outside Istanbul would be able to
obtain their passports in four working days. /Sabah/
IMF's Turkey Desk Chief, Carlo Cottarelli, began to hold his
official meetings in Ankara yesterday. Cottarelli first met
Treasury Undersecretary Selcuk Demiralp and then State Minister
responsible for the Economy, Recep Onal, followed by the Chairman
of the Privatization Administration Board, Ugur Bayar. Cottarelli
made a statement after his meeting with Onal in which he said,
"We see that the IMF performance criteria were complied with for
1999. The high inflation rate in January derives from short-lived
hindrances, one of these being the price increase on agricultural
products due to the bad weather and the other being increased
taxes in December. To sum up, therefore, the increase in the
inflation rate is a temporary aberration and if this economic
programme we have set out is implemented, inflation will fall
over the coming weeks. 25% should be taken as a baseline and is
very important in terms of the efficency of these measures."
/Turkiye/
Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO) has published a report
entitled 'The Turkish Economy in the year 2000' which consists of
data on the Turkish economy from 1999 and outlines the general
picture envisaged for the year 2000. This report consists of
Turkey's Gross Domestic Product (GSMH), Turkish products,
employment, monetary indicators, price movements, developments in
the foreign trade. In the report it was stated that the annual
increase in the price of durable goods should be 20% in order
that inflation may be reduced to single figures. It was also
pointed out that the growth rate of 5.5% aimed at for the year
2000 was more than likely to come about; it is also expected that
exports will grow by 8.7% and imports will be boosted by 14.4%.
/Turkiye/
Yimpas has already proved that the Turkish character of
innovation is very powerful and is quickly implementing a massive
globalization venture. As a result, it is expected to become
known as one of the most widespread retailers in Europe and
Central Asia. The company has already signed five agreements in
Turkmenistan and recently launched one of the best shopping
centres in Ashkabad; the Yimpas-KST Shopping Centre was opened by
Turkmen President Saparmurat Turkmenbasi. Turkmenbasi evaluated
relations between Turkey and Turkmenistan during the opening
ceremony, on the same date as his birthday and the Flag Festival.
Turkmenbasi reiterated that, 'our two countries are one nation'
and pointed out that Turkish initiatives in investing in
Turkmenistan were of the utmost importance as he emphasized once
more that his country's natural gas reserves were very important
for Turkey. /Turkiye/
Governor of Central Bank Gazi Ercel will reveal the progress of
the anti-inflation programme at a meeting in Ankara today. In a
statement by Ka-Der (the Association for Educating and Supporting
Female Political Candidates), Ercel will supply information on
the struggle against inflation and provide examples from daily
life. Members of Ka-Der will query the anti-inflation programme's
influence on daily shopping, the duty of women in the
implementation of these measures, his point of view on the
decrease of Value Added Tax (KDV), the programme's influence on
special offers for consumer goods, public supplements, rents, the
increase in private school fees and his suggestions to small
investors on making good use of their savings. /Aksam/
There has been a break in the meetings on financial sector
harmonization laws which have been in progress for some time
between Turkey and the World Bank. The World Bank delegation
headed by Lalit Raina ceased the talks on the privatization of
the public banks and returned to Washington. It is reported that
the World Bank delegation has outlined a condition which foresees
the privatization of the public banks in order to extend the
financial sector harmonization loan of $1.5 billion. /Star/
The date for the Treasury to launch its bonds has been changed
due to the upcoming Feast of Sacrifice. According to a statement
issued by the Treasury, since the holiday will begin on March 11
and end on March 19, the date for the sale of bonds will be March
10. The statement said that the repayment date of the bonds, one
for two years and the other for 14 months, will not be changed.
The Treasury had previously announced that two separate bonds
would be issued on March 14. /Milliyet/
Sabanci Holding Company's Cimsa factory, which will be the
biggest in the production of white cement in the world, was
opened during a ceremony attended by Minister of Trade and
Industry Ahmet Kenan Tanrikulu yesterday. Tanrikulu said that
Turkey's industrial production index had begun to rise and
increased by 2 % in December 1999 when compared with the same
month in the previous year. Investment in the factory cost $60
million. /Sabah/
Finansbank has purchased a majority holding in a bank in Romania.
A statement sent from Finansbank to the Istanbul Stock Exchange
(IMKB) said that Finansbank had purchased 50.07% shares in the
Banca de Credit Industrial si Commercial S.A. based in Romania.
Finansbank will also be partner in the Finance Portfolio
Administration Joint Stock Company, which will be set up with a
fund of 1 trillion TL, by sinking 700 billion TL into the
company. It is also reported that the net profit of Finansbank in
1999 amounted to 65.7 trillion TL. /Sabah/
Victor Politis, who is the first person to promote the mortgage
system in Turkey, will come to Turkey for the second time. Many
people are homeowners in the US and in Europe due to the mortgage
system. The financial editor of CNN Business News, Myron Kandel,
will deliver a speech at a conference on 'New Dimensions in the
Real-Estate Sector' today. /Sabah/
A conference entitled 'The New World Order, Woman and
Reactionary' which was organized by the Republican Women's
Association, has ended. The final declaration of the Conference
stated that the women who had been crushed by reactionary forces
had come together for the first time to exchange their views and
experiences. Representatives from Algeria, Tunisia, Russia,
Palestine, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and the US asked for a common public
opinion against reactionary to be formed. /Cumhuriyet/
Aerospace engineer Gokhan Kayal has done a first by setting-up a
radar system for 'Endeavour', the space-shuttle which will soon
return to NASA's Kennedy Space Centre. Gokhan Kayal, who was born
in Ankara, graduated from Berlin Technical University. The
space-shuttle 'Endeavour' was able to take three-dimensional
photographs of the world thanks to Kayal's work at the
Jet-Propulsion Laboratories in California. The Turkish engineer,
who graduated from Fenerbahce High School in Turkey, stated that
he carried out a variety of different duties within the ENVISAT
satelitte project being undertaken by the Dornier Satellite
System company, part of the Daimler-Chrysler Aerospace Group, in
Germany. He further added that he had been sent to America to
work on digital photographing for the space-shuttle in 1998. He
said, "I was very excited when I saw a photo of Izmir amongst the
photographs sent back by the shuttle." /Hurriyet/
Columnist Gungor Mengi writes on the recent developments
concerning Presidential election. A summary of his column is as
follows:
"The feeblest link in the chain forming the accord to lengthen
President Demirel's term in office at Cankaya is the Motherland
Party (ANAP). That is why ANAP is weakening and their Chairman,
Mesut Yilmaz, is criticized for trying to dodge those issues he
has agreed to at the mini-summit of the coalition party leaders.
The statement Yilmaz issued yesterday is a challenge to protect
his own and his party's honour. However, it is a futile effort as
his proposal for voting to take place openly requires yet another
constitutional amendment. It can be described as the creation of
new problems in trying to solve others. Furthermore, those
politicians who are against the re-election of President Demirel
will oppose this amendment as well.
In fact, this rule in the Constitution plays a vital function
which is a more important role than that of saving ANAP's honour.
Secret ballotting is a constitutional guarantee to protect the
will of party political representatives in a situation where the
honour of the Republic is at stake.
Yilmaz is either convinced that the President has to stay in
office for another term or is being hypocritical. If he is
insincere, he deserves the ciriticism directed at him. If he
cannot convince his friends, even though he sincerely believes
that the re-election of the President is essential, he does not
deserve to be a leader. Due to this dilemma Turkey is losing
time. Our stability will founder because of these manoeuvres so
ANAP should stop using delaying tactics."
Nationalist Action Party representative Oktay Vural comments on
relations with the EU and the initiatives taken during the
candidacy process. A summary of his column is as follows:
"Our relations with the European Union have gained a new aspect
with the recognition and granting of candidacy status to Turkey.
The negotiation process, which has already begun will affect the
future of our ties. In the process of entering the EU, the
Copenhagen criteria play a significant role and the atmosphere
created as a result of adapting to these criteria wil be the
factor determining the date and direction of the entrance
process. Therefore, it is incorrect to give priority to only
one of these criteria and use it as a basis for the negotiations.
If this had been the case, that would have been presented as a
pre-condition.
Not only the taking one of the criteria as a basis, but also the
handling of unilateral compliance with this condition before the
negotiations have even started is wrong. In fact, during the
talks with European countries, differing views are seen. The
Co-Chairmen of Turco-European Joint Parliamentary Commission can
cancel a visit to Turkey becasue their wish to visit someone
convicted of seperatism is rejected. The legal situation in force
as of 1 February 1999, stating that permission for foreign
representatives who want to visit convicts can only be granted
within the framework of international agreements, can easily be
ignored. If the motive for the visit is not personal or because
of friendship, the possibility of a different reason comes to the
fore.
Another foreign statesman can dare to give his advice on our
education system and language during his visit and easily forget
that Turkey is an independent, constitutional state of law. And
another State is trying to claim that there was an Armenian
genocide in the past.
These attitudes reflecting particular views and mentalities,
although marginal, can be taken as a basis for regulating
relations with Turkey. All these approaches are far from
understanding Turkey. As Turkey has begun talks with the EU on
the entrance process, it is wrong to bring the policies of
foreign statesmen to the fore. The effort to grant a social
function to these ethnic values is behind this understanding.
When only one of the Copenhagen criteria is given priority, it is
understood that those who make this choice do not understand
them.
The negotiation process will begin for our entrance to the EU. If
these negotiations are to be successful, we have to understand
each other, distancing ourselves from marginal values. The
success of the talks depends on the victory of both parties.
There will either be a winner nor a loser at the end of this
process. Do the European Countries understand Turkey during this
period?
Everyone has to know that Turkey and the Turkish nation did not
have a philosophy based on separatism at any time in its history.
All people who want to live within the unity of the State and who
have the goal of serving the nation are members of society. The
Turkish nation has stood united against a separatist threat
recently, as had always been witnessed in the past. Separatism
has never taken root and, therefore, we all share common values
and we cannot permit their annihilation.
Foreign statesmen have to understand Turkey well during the
process of entering the EU. It is not that hard to see the whole
Turkey . We have to move away from double standards."
FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
TURKEY JOINS THE EUROPEAN UNION'S JOINT CONSULTATION COMMITTEE
SUPPORT FROM ECEVIT FOR IRANIAN REFORMISTS
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL CALL TO ECEVIT
ECEVIT: 'IT IS TURKEY'S DOMESTIC AFFAIR`
BAKU-CEYHAN PIPELINE
TURKEY'S WARNING TO FRANCE
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINAN PRIME MINISTER IN ANKARA
COOPERATION WITH SWITZERLAND
TURKISH CONGRESS ON MARCH 24
HEROIN SEIZED IN VAN
104 CHECHENS WAITING ON TURKISH BORDER
YILMAZ: "LET'S ORGANIZE AN OPEN BALLOT"
ERBAKAN'S TRIAL POSTPONED AGAIN
AMNESTY DRAFT LAW TO BE DISCUSSED AGAIN
PASSPORT APPLICATIONS ON INTERNET
IMF GIVES HOPE
REPORT FOR 2000 BY ISTANBUL CHAMBER OF INDUSTRY
YIMPAS THINKS 'GLOBAL'
GAZI ERCEL TO HOLD MEETINGS
WORLD BANK DELEGATION RETURNS TO WASHINGTON
TREASURY BONDS TO BE ISSUED ON MARCH 10
SABANCI: KING OF WHITE CEMENT
FINANSBANK PURCHASES BANK IN ROMANIA
MORTGAGE SYSTEM IN TURKEY
WOMEN AGAINST REACTIONARY
TURKISH MARK ON SPACE
FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
IT IS NOT NICE MR. YILMAZ BY GUNGOR MENGI (SABAH)
UNDERSTANDING TURKEY IN THE EU PROCESS BY OKTAY VURAL
(MILLIYET)