DEMIREL GIVES AWARD

President Suleyman Demirel attended an award ceremony organized by Ankara Journalists' Organization at the Cankaya Presidential Palace yesterday, stating that politics and also being the head of state was such a hard thing and defended that every politician who served the country should be protected. Demirel presented the award to the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Rauf Denktas, for the 'Man of the Year' and said, "Denktas is receiving this award on behalf of the people of the TRNC, the Turkish army, martyrs and veterans who struggled for the rights of the Turkish people in the past" and added that Denktas' service to his country should be appreciated. Can Dundar, Bulent Capli and Nihat Ozcan received the award for 'Publisher of the Year' and 'Artist of the Year' went to Prof. Dr. Gurer Aykal. /Turkiye/

ECEVIT RECEIVES DENKTAS

The President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Rauf Denktas, who arrived in Ankara yesterday to receive the Award for the 'Man of the Year', also received Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit's full support for the Presidential election in the TRNC. Ecevit welcomed Denktas at the airport and discussed the interesting developments on the Cyprus issue over the past few months. Ecevit also pointed out the importance of Denktas' experience and his talent of leadership in this process and said, "The fact that Denktas is the President of the TRNC is a great chance both for the Turkish people in Cyprus and Turkey. The TRNC should be recognized as a separate independent country. The world does not accept it officially yet but this reality has begun to be accepted actually and Mr. Denktas' leadership has great support on this issue." Denktas said, "We made our path correctly with the courage and light given by Ankara." /Milliyet/

ECEVIT GIVES DINNER PARTY

Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit will give a dinner party today for the European Union-member countries' Ambassadors to Ankara. It was stated that the dinner will start at 20:00 and will be held at the Prime Ministry's Official Residence. /Cumhuriyet/

ECEVIT NOT TO VISIT PAKISTAN

Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit who will visit India at the end of this month will not go to Pakistan. Pakistan has previously insisted on Ecevit's visit claiming that there were historical ties between Turkey and Pakistan which dated back many years. However, Ecevit has not made an appointment with the military leader Gen.Muserref, in case it could be misunderstood as supporting the coup in Pakistan. /Sabah/

SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE AGAIN ON THE AGENDA

Pro-Armenia senators in Freance are to bring the so-called Armenian genocide draft bill to the agenda again. These senators are expected to ask that the draft bill be debated at the session of the general council today and to exert efforts for the draft bill's approval following a fait accompli. There have previously been such initiatives in France which worried Turkey regarding the so-called Armenian genocide. /Aksam/

ALARM FOR ASALA

Due to rumors that the Armenian terrorist organization ASALA will again start attacks on Turkish targets, especially Turkish diplomats abroad, all foreign representatives are in state of alarm. The Turkish Foreign Ministry asked that all Embassies, Permanent Representatives and General Consulates abroad increase their security measures against possible ASALA attacks. According to information obtained by intellegence services, the ASALA is planning to organize sistematic attacks once again to bring the Armenian case to the world. /Hurriyet/

HADEP THANKS THE STATE

The Chairman of the People's Democracy Party (HADEP), Ahmet Turan Demir, said that they had received constructive responses from the state officials to whom they applied for permission to hold celebrations for Nevruz. Demir held a press conference at the party building in Diyarbakir and stated that Nevruz means peace, brotherhood and democracy and invited everyone to the Nevruz celebrations. He especially thanked the Governor of Diyarbakir for his contributions to the celebrations. /Aksam/

GERMANY DEMANDS TURKEY'S SUPPORT

Germany demanded Turkey's support for Horst Kohler, who has been nominated for the Presidency of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by the European Union (EU). Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit received Germany's Ambassador to Ankara, Rudolf Schmidt, in his office yesterday and after the meeting, Schmidt said that the Leopard tanks topic was not discussed and added, "I asked for the support of your government for Horst Kohler, who was nominated by us and the EU for the Presidency of the IMF." /Milliyet/

US 6TH FLEET COMMANDER IN TURKEY

The US 6th Fleet Commander, Vice-Admiral Daniel J. Murphy, who arrived in Turkey as the official guest of the Commander of the Turkish Naval Forces, Admiral Ilhami Erdil, inspected the Turkish Fleet Command. Murphy, who arrived in Golcuk by helicopter, was welcomed with a ceremony and then met the Turkish Fleet Command, Admiral Bulent Alpkaya. The delegation will visit Ataturk's Mauseloeum and the Commander of the Turkish Naval Forces, Admiral Ilhami Erdil and then tour Ankara's historical and touristic places. /Turkiye/

GUVEN: "WE BECAME A LEGEND IN CANAKKALE"

The Commander of the Naval Battle Academy, Rear Admiral Ilker Guven, said, the "Victory of Canakkale is a very important historical event which changed the Turkish nation's fate and the course of history." The 85th anniversary of the Victory of Canakkale, was celebrated in a ceremony held at the Command of the Naval Battle Academy. The Deputy Commander of the Naval Battle Academy, Lieutenant General Erdinc Demirbilek, students of the Academy and students of the Private Dogus High School attended the celebration. After observing a minute of silence in memory of the martyrs and the playing of the National Anthem, Rear Admiral Guven said, "I should point out that we, that is, the members of the Turkish Armed Forces, are following the way of the Great Ataturk and his friends from the Army." /Turkiye/

ORDER OF MERIT FOR GEN. EDIP BASER

The 2nd Chief of the General Staff, General Edip Baser has been awarded with the 'Special Order of Merit` by the US, due to his accomplishments, especially in Kosovo, where he was the Commander of NATO's Southeastern European Ally's Land Forces. The Chief Commander of the Southeastern Europe Ally's Forces, Admiral James Ellis presented the Order of Merit to Gen. Baser in a ceremony organized at the US Ambassador's residence in Ankara. /Hurriyet/

ILKIN'S STATEMENT CONCERNING AMERICAN HELICOPTERS

Turkey's Ambassador to Washington, Baki Ilkin, made a statement in the 'Washington Post' newspaper in which he said that Turkey preferred American helicopters. As a result, there is the impression that Ankara prefers the 'King Cobra' helicopters, manufactured by the American Bell-Textron Company, in the 4 billion dollar open bid for 145 attack helicopters. /Milliyet/

TANK BARGANING BETWEEN GERMANY AND UKRAINE

Rivalry is increasing between the countries, in the 7 billlion dollars tank bid opened by the Turkish Armed Forces. Ukraine and Germany have intensified their lobbying in Ankara. The Ukranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Boris Tarasyuk, and representatives of the Rosvoorouzhenie Company who have made a bid arrived in Ankara yesterday. Germany's Ambassador to Ankara, Rudolf Schmidt, visited Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit yesterday. Ukrainian officials made an attractive offer to Turkey and pointed out that they would not bring any technical limitations to the purchases. Ukrainian officials also stated that if Turkey would select the T-84s, then they would offer new joint production and export projects. /Cumhuriyet/

ERSUMER: "TURKEY'S WATER ON WORLD'S PLATFORM"

The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and Deputy Prime Minister, Cumhur Ersumer, went to Holland to attend the World's Second Water Forum, yesterday. In a statement, prior to his departure from Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, Ersumer said that Turkey has always taken part in the international meetings concerning water issues and added, "It is known that Turkey's rivers which flow into the Mediterranean Sea are on sale to the world's platform. Especially, the 500,000-tons of water daily capacity water in Manavgat could be purchased by Mediterranean and other countries throughout the world. We also have a venture which will enable Turkey's water to be transported through pipelines to Cyprus". /Aksam/

TURCO-GREEK COOPERATION IN TOURISM

A maritime company in Antalya has launched initiatives to cooperate with Greek maritime agencies in order to attract more yachts to the Turkish coasts. The owner of the Gunmar Maritime Company, Huseyin Cahit Ariturk, stated that there were more than 200,000 yachts visiting the Mediterranean coasts each year, but only 10,000 yachts of these come to the Turkish coasts. He added that following the cooperation with the Greek maritime agencies, the yachts that visited Greece would now also be able to come to the Turkish coasts. /Aksam/

BUREAUCRATS WILL PARTICIPATE IN G-20 MEETINGS

High-level economy officials will go to Hong Kong in order to attend the G-20 meetings which consist of the world's developing economies including Turkey. The Turkish delegation comprising the Treasury Undersecretary Selcuk Demiralp, the Deputy Undersecretary Ferhat Emil, the Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank Sukru Binay and the advisor to the Finance Minister Vedat Ozden will attend the meeting which will be held in Hong Kong on March 25. /Aksam/

TURKEY'S RATING TO INCREASE

Fitch IBCA and DCR became the world's third biggest rating company and their analysist to Turkey, Jaime Sanz, stated that the new company considered the Turkish economy to be very positive. Sanz said, "The economic programme being implemented by the government has begun to give positive results and the success criteria promised to the IMF is being reached. Turkey has begun to make some arrangements to social security reforms, tax, international arbitration and banking and as a result, a general balance of the public sector is being created." According to information, Fitch IBCA, in cooperation with DCR, is preparing to increase Turkey's rating. It was stated that they would increase Turkey's rating from B(+) to BB(-). /Turkiye/

ORAL: "THE RESULTS ARE POSITIVE"

The Minister of Finance, Sumer Oral, stated that February's budget results reveal that the economic programme, aimed at decreasing the rate of inflation and ensuring the stable growth has begun to give positive results. Oral made a written statement pointing out the improvement in taxes and said, "There was an increase of 105% in the taxes collected during the first two months of the year when compared to the same period last year." /Turkiye/

TURCO-AMERICAN BUSINESS COUNCIL

The Head of the Turco-American Business Council, Mustafa Koc, said that nearly 500 Turkish officials and businessmen would attend the 19th term joint meeting of the Council to be held in Washington between March 28 and 30. Mustafa Koc stated that the meetings would be mostly on a general level and aimed at promoting Turkey. Koc said, "Clinton's visit to the US and Turkey's EU candidacy have made these meetings more important. We will meet officials from the IMF, the World Bank, OPEC and the US Eximbank. Discussions will also be held on concrete projects with representatives from the private sector. Information will be supplied on the economic potential in Turkey". /Aksam/

TOPRAKBANK RECEIVES SYNDICATION LOANS

Toprakbank will receive $50 million one-year term syndication loans to be organized by the ABC Group, Baden-Wurttembergische Bank, the Bank of New York, Bayerische Hypo-und Verenisbank, Credit Agricole Indousuez and Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank. Koc Bank Nederland has received one-year term 'club' loans worth $30 million. The agreement concerning the loans was signed in Amsterdam on March 17. /Aksam/

BANKING PANEL IN TURKEY

A panel on 'Turkish Banking and Financial Systems in an atmosphere of low-rate inflation' will be organized by the Turkish Banks' Union (TBB) in Istanbul on March 30. A statement issued by the TBB said that Daniel Yariv, from the Israeli Central Bank, Abebe Aemro Selassie, from the IMF, Reha Yolalan from the Yapi and Kredi Bank and Assc.Prof.Fatih Ozatay, from Ankara University will deliver speeches during the panel discussion. /Aksam/

KOC: 'WE ARE READY FOR COOPERATION`

The Chairman of Koc Holding Company's Construction and Mining Group, Mustafa Koc pointed out that Sakip Sabanci's proposal for merging was worthwhile. Koc said, "Our companies are not at a higher enough level to compete with the world by themselves. In efficiency, we are ready to cooperate in every areas in order to tackle the world's giants. Dogus Holding Company also shares these views." /Star/

ERDEMIR SPENDS $1.5 BILLION FOR CAPACITY INCREASE

The General Director of the ERDEMIR, Sener Macun, said that they had spent $1.5 billion between the years 1989 and 1999 to a capacity increase and modernization venture. Macun stated that despite the negative aspects being experienced in the world's iron-steel sector, they had reached their target for production and sales. He further added that they would also continue to invest in this sector. /Aksam/

EXPORT PRODUCTS FAIR IN BAGHDAD

The Turkish Export Products Fair will be held in Baghdad between April 17 and 21. Many Turkish companies will attend the Fair displaying their products such as automobiles, foodstuff, electric equipment and generators. /Sabah/

SPACE CAMP TURKEY

The first space camp of Turkey, set up within the structure of the Aegean Free Region, will open in June. The Public Relations Manager of Space Camp Turkey, Melda Guner, said that a protocol was signed with 14 companies for the foundation membership. The space camp in Turkey is also the first in the Middle East, Southern Europe and is the seventh in the world. The camp in Izmir aims to increase interest in education of space and science. /Aksam/

WORLD'S YOUNG PEOPLE IN ISTANBUL

Turkey will host the 'International Chairmen's Meeting', for the Association of Industrial and Economic Sciences' Student Apprenticeship Committee (AIESEC) which is held at different places each year. Nearly 200 students from 80 countries arrived in Istanbul to attend this meeting, during which the AIESEC's targets for the next year and the Executive Board of the General Centre in Holland will be determined. The meeting will begin today and last for ten days at Ataturk Cultural Centre and Students will discuss issues such as the improvement and the spread of the student exchange programmes. /Milliyet/

ATAKIR'S CONCERT

Antalya Symphony Orchestra celloist Safak Atakir will perform a concert at Texas State's El Paso Symphony Hall, US. He will also speak about 'Classical Music in Turkey' to Cornado University students. /Cumhuriyet/

GALATASARAY IS THE TEAM OF THE YEAR IN EUROPE

The only sports channel in Europe, Eurosport, has elected Galatasaray as the most successful football team for the year 2000. Eurosport has prepared a 15-minute documentary on Galatasaray and will announce this decision on March 23 when a second match will be played between Galatasaray and Real Mallorca. Eurosport will also broadcast in Turkish as from April 15. /Sabah/

AWARD FOR NASUH MAHRUKI

The International Olympics Committee (IOC) is going to present 'Sport and Universe Award 2000` to Nasuh Mahruki for his accomplishments in mountaineering and his works in the rescue team AKUT. Last year, the IOC presented the 'Sport and Ethics Award` to Suleyman Saba also from Turkey. /Hurriyet/

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

IMPORTANT DAYS BY KENAN AKIN (TURKIYE)

Columnist Kenan Akin writes on the importance of the present days Turkey is passing through. A summary of his column is as follows: "We have to underline that Turkey is passing through important times and that great care should be taken to ignore all provocations. The Government, which is trying to find ways to beat inflation and searching for compromise on other issues, is faced with the possibility of conflicts spreading onto the streets. Although all measures have been taken not to give way to an incident during the Nevruz celebrations today, there may be some who would like to demonstrate illegally. These measures have to be widened so as not to allow the exploitation of the permission granted to the Nevruz celebrations, not to provoke masses and orientate them towards illegal demonstrations. We hope that People's Democracy Party will be respectful of the laws and that no incident will take place. If we leave Nevruz and its celebrations aside, the amendment of certain articles of the Constitution should be enacted as soon as possible, by the TGNA. It is time for the Coalition parties to come to an understanding on the 5+5 formula (the term of presidency). If the Government cannot act speedily and pass this amendment, together with others, signs of expected instability will appear. The Turkish people expect the TGNA to work harder after the ten day recess, and to take the country to a brighter future."

THE EU AND AN ABSURD DECISION BY SEMIH IDIZ (STAR)

Columnist Semih Idiz writes on the latest decision of the EU to give translations of EU Laws in Turkish to the Greek-Cypriot Administration. A summary of his column is as follows: "It is a fact that Turco-European relations are passing through hard times. It is also known that although, the European side has certain commitments, the ball is mainly in Turkey's court. It is also no secret that the Government is in a tight spot concerning human rights and the clearly imposed "Kurdish issue". In fact, the EU is saying that all these pressures are based on the "Copenhagen criteria" which are equally valid for all countries and is trying to show that it is in the right regarding pressures applied on Ankara. Certainly, this should be considered normal, as Turkey is the country who wants to be admitted into the Union. However, some developments on the European side make us wonder if these are the fruits of good-intentions. They are deliberately putting forth some conditions which they know will be understood as humiliating onthe Turkish side. While doing this they act as if to quench the thirst of the Turkish side to enter into the EU. The latest example of this is the granting of a subvention to the Greek-Cypriot Administration, for three million Euros for the translation of the European Union Law into Turkish by the EU Commission. When I read this news in the paper I could not help myself and asked "Who took this absurd decision?" It is certain that those who made this decision are trying to give Turkey a message on the candidacy of the Greek-Cypriot Administration to Turkey. They mean that Turkey's full-membership into the EU depends on the solution of the Cyprus problem. However, while doing so, leaving aside offending Turks and Turkey, they are preparing serious grounds for future problems. The text, which will be translated by the Greek-Cypriots, will be accepted as the official translation for the EU. Whenever a problem occurs, this text will be taken as the basis. As everyone is aware, the hardest texts to translate are those concerning laws, be it in Turkish, English or French. In this case, Turkey cannot trust a text which will be prepared on the Greek-Cypriot side. After the translation has been completed , experts in Ankara will carefully review it in order to see if European Laws is translated correctly. That is to say, one act the transtlation, will be repeated twice. What if the translation is bad and does not conform with the legal language used in Turkey? Will the Commission take Turkey's objections into account? If so, it can be asked why it did not give the translation to Turkey in the first place. Let us assume that the Commission says that Turkey is objecting deliberately and this is the text which it considers official. I find it hard to believe that the intentions of the Commission are good. If they did not want to give the three million Euros, we could have helped them. Turkey could have found the necessary finances and gave the translation to Turkish experts. I believe they wanted to give a message on Cyprus to Turkey. However, this is a message conveyed which destroys all while trying to accomplish something.The EU Commission members have a standard rhetoric on the candidacy of Cyprus. They are frequently saying that this candidacy is not closed to the Turkish side and they would like to see Turkish-Cypriots represented during the negotiations. This leads us to ask this question to them," Would not it be better if you had given the translation of the European Law to the Turkish-Cypriot side?" Then the Turkish-Cypriots would have been encouraged on for the EU entry. This attitude has justified and only increased the lack of confidence the Turkish-Cypriots have in the EU. This arbitrary attitude has shown that just being a European does not save someone from acting stupidly."

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