DEMIREL: "IT IS A DEMOCRATIC ACTION"

President Suleyman Demirel replied to journalists' questions yesterday following the rejection of the constitutional amendment for the re-election of the President for five more years and said, "Despite the signatures of 406 deputies, the constitutional amendment was not approved by the Turkish Parliament. Various comments can be made on this issue however, in fact, it is a democratic action". Meanwhile, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit will be received by Demirel at the Presidential Palace at 4:30 p.m. today. /Cumhuriyet/

FIRST ROUND OF VOTING ON APRIL 27

The process concerning the election of a new president will begin on April 16. Candidates will apply to the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) between April 16 and 25. The first round of voting is planned to be held on April 27. According to the Constitution, the process for choosing the new president is to begin one calendar month before the incumbent president's term in office expires, in this case May 16, 2000. In the first two rounds, the candidates need to pull in at least 367 votes in order to stand a chance of being elected. If no candidate can attract the required number of votes in these two rounds, then the third round the required number is reduced to 276. If no one can get even this number of votes then the top scoring candidates will go on to the fourth round. In the fourth and final round, one of these must win at least 367 votes. If that fails to happen then in Parliament is dissolved and the country goes to the polls to elect a new Parliament. It is expected that Parliament will support one of the final candidates in order to avoid a general election, as stipulated by this provision of the Constitution. /All papers/

DEMIREL'S SCHEDULE

President Suleyman Demirel, who will be in office for 40 more days at Cankaya Palace, is going to Bolu today to attend a ceremony for delivering houses for the earthquake survivors. Tomorrow, leaving for Baku on a two-day official visit, Demirel will go to Istanbul next week. On April 14-15, he will host the Polish President and at the end of the month, the Chinese President. In a press meeting, President Suleyman Demirel will evaluate his seven-year Presidential term, before leaving his post, on May 16. /Milliyet/

CILLER: "TGNA WILL FIND A DEMOCRATIC SOLUTION"

The True Path Party (DYP) Leader Tansu Ciller said that a democratic solution would be found to the election of the new President by the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA). Ciller visited Sarajevo yesterday as the guest of Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidential Council President Alija Izzetbegovic. Ciller is expected to meet Bosnia-Herzegovina Federation Chairman Eyup Ganic and Prime Minister Ethem Bicakci during the visit. /Cumhuriyet/

GERMAN PRESIDENT'S VISIT

German President Johannes Rau's three-day official visit to Turkey is continuing. Yesterday, President Demirel presented a 'State Merit` to President Rau. During the ceremony held at Cankaya Palace, Demirel pointed out to Johannes Rau's anti-racist efforts. Thanking for the 'Merit`, President Rau stressed that it would encourage him to continue to work for the friendship between Turks and Germans. Then, Rau presented Demirel the highest German state medal, 'Order of Merit`. The two presidents will visit Bolu today, and attend a ceremony for delivering houses for the earthquake survivors. Later, the German President will proceed to Istanbul. /Hurriyet/

LEADERS' SUMMIT

The partners of the Government, confronted with the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA)'s rejection of the proposal on the Constitutional amendment, will meet on Tuesday to ascertain a presidency candidate. /Hurriyet/

REACTIONS IN FOREIGN MEDIA

The result of the Constitutional amendment ballot which prevented Suleyman Demirel to remain in office for five more years, has been widely covered in foreign media. Greek media regarded the rejection of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) as 'Ecevit's defeat` and the 'closure of the Demirel's term`. Russian press stated that Demirel would not quit politics, whereas, having no official position, he would have a situation similar to Deng Siao Ping, who ruled the government behind curtains in China, once. The newspapers in Holland stated, "The Turkish Parliament has rejected Ecevit's Constitutional amendment proposal." One of the leading newspapers in the US, the 'New York Times` said, 'The result of the ballot was not a defeat only for Demirel but also for Ecevit, who strived to extend Demirel's term in office.` The Reuters agency commented that Premier Ecevit entered a battle, which he should never have attempted and his authority was shaken. Azerbaijan Presidency Foreign Affairs Directorate Nevruz Memedov said, "We wished Demirel to remain in office". Stressing that President Suleyman Demirel had made great services for the Turkish World, and on the ballot, Memedov pointed out that such results were normal in politics. /Milliyet/

CEM IN TOKYO

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Cem, who is currently in Tokyo for an official visit, yesterday met the Emperor's uncle and the Honorary Chairman of the Turco-Japanese Friendship Association, Prince Mikasa and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yohuei Kono separately as part of his official talks. During the meeting between Cem and Prince Mikasa, cultural relations between Turkey and Japan and the archaeological excavations going on in Turkey under the auspices of Prince Mikasa were deliberated. Afterwards, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Cem, attended the luncheon hosted by the Co-Chairman of the Turco-Japanese Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group, Kenzo Muraoka. During the luncheon, political dialogue between Turkey and Japan, economic cooperation, commercial relations and relations concerning tourism were discussed. /Turkiye/

4,000 HECTARES OF FORESTS BURNT

A written statement issued by the Forestry Ministry said that out of 83 forest fires in various places throughout Turkey, 81 was taken under control while the forest fires in Sile-Agva and Izmit-Akcaova are still on-going. As a result of the forest fires during which a total of 3,548 hectares were burnt, no casualties were reported. /Cumhuriyet/

WOMEN'S SOCIALIST INTERNATIONAL MEETING

A member from the Republican People's Party (CHP) Demet Isik will attend the Women's Socialist International meeting to be held in Brussels on April 7-8, 2000. During the meeting, the issues such as an equal representation of male and female members at all institutions and decision-making mechanisms in Socialist International-member countries will be discussed. /Cumhuriyet/

TRNC TOURISM

A seminar on 'Human Rights and Total Quality in Tourism' organized by the Offices of the Head of the State and Deputy Prime Minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) was held in the TRNC yesterday. A member responsible for the Tourism Training Department of the Istanbul Technical University's Foundation, Saban Ali Yasaroglu, proposed the establishment of the 'Tourism Council' at which high-level officials from the tourism sector in the TRNC could be represented. /Cumhuriyet/

COOPERATION IN THE FIGHT AGAINST ORGANIZED CRIME

As part of the 12th Conference of the Ministers Responsible for Local Administrations of the Council of Europe, a security cooperation agreement was signed between Turkey and Estonia. Turkish Interior Minister Sadettin Tantan said, "A lasting stability in the region is essential for Turkey which maintains its effective cooperation with regional countries having historic, humanitarian and cultural ties with the Balkans". During the Conference which started in Istanbul yesterday, Tantan delivered a speech concerning the agreement signed between Turkey and Estonia and said that this agreement concerns cooperation for struggle against drug trafficking, organized crime, money laundering and terrorism and also an exchange of information on these issues. The Deputy Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, Hans-Christian Kruger, pointed out that the Council attached importance to cooperation between local democracy and local administrations. Many officials from local administrations including 19 Ministers from 41 member-countries are attending the Conference which will end today. /Cumhuriyet/

GERMANY ORGANIZES OPERATIONS AGAINST PKK

Operations have been mounted against the PKK terrorist organization in various towns of the the province of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany. The provincial authorities stated that during the operations 37 houses, shops and refugee hostels had been searched and some propaganda material found. Officials said that no one was taken into custody during the operations. The PKK was banned in Germany by the Interior Ministry in 1993. /Star/

TURKEY AND CHINA WORK TO IMPROVE ENERGY COOPERATION

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Cumhur Ersumer, who has been on an official visit to China since Wednesday, met Chinese President Jiang Zemin yesterday, the Anatolia News Agency reports. During the meeting with Ersumer, Zemin said he would work to promote Chinese-Turkish relations. Zemin is scheduled to come to Turkey for a visit on April 18-20. Ersumer and Minister of Transport Enis Oksuz went to China on Wednesday at the invitation of Wu Yi, the Chinese Deputy Prime Minister responsible for energy. Ersumer and Oksuz are expected to focus on energy issues during their visit. Ersumer stated that Turkey is inviting Chinese investors to take part in energy projects since Turkey's need for energy will be great between the years 2010 and 2020. The Turkish delegation will return to Turkey on April 9.

TURKEY AND HUNGARY SEEK TO COOPERATE IN DEFENCE

Defence Minister Sabahattin Cakmakoglu has said that good relations which already exist between Turkey and Hungary will provide grounds for the formation of climate of cooperation in which a common defence understanding and joint defence projects can be developed, the Anatolia News Agency reports. Hungarian Defence Minister Janos Szabo visited Turkey yesterday to meet his counterpart and discuss defence issues. Speaking after meeting with Szabo, Cakmakoglu said that during the meeting they discussed the issue of implementing previously-signed agreements between Turkey and Hungary to regulate cooperation in defence industry and military training.

GOKALP VISITS JORDAN

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Husnu Yusuf Gokalp, will go to Jordan on April 11 as the official guest of Jordanian Minister of Agriculture Hashem Al-Shoul. According to a Ministry statement, the two will discuss improving agricultural and commercial relations between the two countries. The visit will last four days and Gokalp will come back to Turkey on April 15. /Turkish Daily News/

TURKEY'S THIRD SATELLITE TO BE LAUNCHED

Turkey's third satellite, Eurasiasat-1/Turksat-2A, will be launched into space from French Guyana in August. With the launching of this satellite, which will be the most powerful in Europe, television broadcasts can be watched from the Atlantic to China. The sattelite, which cost $260 million, is expected to bring in a revenue of $1 billion in 15 years. The satellite was produced by Eurasiasat, a company established with the with the cooperation of Turkish Telecom and French Alcatel Space in November 1996 in Monaco. /Turkish Daily News/

HIZBULLAH TERRORISTS ARRESTED

Ten militants of the Hizbullah terrorist organization were arrested by Diyarbakir State Security Court (DGM) yesterday. The 10 militants had been taken into custody during operations against Hizbullah in Diyarbakir and after questioning the 10 appeared in court, from where they were subsequently transferred to prison. /Star/

KARKAMIS DAM AND HES OPEN TO PRODUCTION

Karkamis Dam and Hydroelectric Station (HES), built along the same lines as the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) and the Border-Euphrates Project have been completed 48 days before the deadline. Karkamis Dam and HES are on the Euphrates, as are the Keban, Karakaya, Ataturk and Birecik dams, and are both close to the Syrian border line. The Karkamis Dam consists of six units. Five of the units started production on December 20, 1999, when they were opened by President Suleyman Demirel. The sixth unit will start production on April 12. /Turkish Daily News/

BANKING CONTROL AND SUPERVISORY COUNCIL ON DUTY

The Chairman and the members of the Banking Control and Supervisory Council (BDDK) started their duty yesterday. Chairman of the Council, Zekeriya Temizel, stated, "Transparency is one of our basic principles. No-one should doubt that we will inform the public." /Sabah/

CHAIRMAN OF SKAL INTERNATIONAL IN ISTANBUL

Skal International has been bringing together the professionals of tourism sector since the day it was established in Paris and the Chairman of Skal International's World Chairman, Richard Hawkins, arrived in Istanbul and attended the banquet organized in his honour yesterday at Hilton Hotel in Istanbul. The Chairman of Istanbul Club was the host of this banquet during which the problems of tourism sector were discussed. Minister of Tourism, Erkan Mumcu, and high-ranking officials of the sector attended the banquet. /Sabah/

FRANCE PRAISES TURKISH TOURISM

The 'Le Figaro' daily newspaper published in France, suggested that the opportunity of spending a holiday in Turkey this year should not be missed. The headline of this article, was 'You are both in Europe and Asia in three hours' and the detailed information on how the holiday can be enjoyed was given in this article. Meanwhile, the estimates made by the World Tourism Organization (WTO) are promising concerning the tourism sector in Turkey. According to the WTO estimates, the number of the tourists who will visit Turkey this year will reach 10.2 million. /Aksam/

'CAMPAIGN TO OVERCOME INFLATION'

Chairman of the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB), Fuat Miras, and the Chairman of the Turkish Exporters' Assembly (TIM), Okan Oguz, visited the Minister of Finance, Sumer Oral, State Ministers Recep Onal and Tunca Toskay and requested support for the 'Campaign to Overcome Inflation'. During this visit, Minister of Finance, Sumer Oral, stated that nothing should spoil the political stability, otherwise, the burden of its responsibility will be great. Onal said, "We are in favor of every effort in the struggle against inflation." State Minister Recep Onal said, "The economic programme that we prepared will be successful." In addition, State Minister Tunca Toskay stated that they were fully supporting this campaign and that exports in the year 2000 will be better than those of 1999. /Aksam/

ISTANBUL STOCK EXCHANGE'S ACHIEVEMENT

Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB) became the most profitable stock exchange market in the world in 1999. According to the IMKB Annual Report data, the shares of the IMKB gained value at a ratio of 485.42%. IMKB was followed by Helsinki with 161.98% and Helsinki was followed by Rio de Janerio with 152.93%. /Aksam/

INTEREST IN THE TREASURY BONDS

The bonds issued by the Treasury which have a five-year term and amounts to 600 milllion euros attracted great interest. The banks in Europe requested the amount of these bonds to be increased. Officials stated that the amount of these bonds will be increased due to high demands. It was stated that this increase proved confidence in the economic programme in Turkey. /Aksam/

RAMSTORE IN SOFIA

Ramstore Bulgaria A.D., which is a partner of Migros, is planning to open a supermarket in Sofia on an area of 15,000 square meters in November 2000. In a statement Migros sent to Istanbul Stock Exchange, it was stated that the construction of the supermarket is envisaged to cost 12 million dollars. /Aksam/

TUSIAD CHAIRMAN THANKS DEMIREL

Chairman of the Executive Board of the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD), Erkut Yucaoglu, said, "We thank Demirel for his important services". Yucaoglu also wished that the Turkish Grand National Assemly (TGNA) will have a new candidate and reach an agreement on him and that Turkey will return to the political and economic agenda required by the International Monetary Fund's stand-by agreement and the EU candidacy. /Turkiye/

PRIVATE-SECTOR ALLOWED TO IMPORT DUTY-FREE COM

The private sector will be allowed to utilize a tariff quota opening for corn imports from Romania and Hungary, for 45,000 tons and 55,000 tons, respectively, according to a communique published in yesterday's Official Gazette by the Foreign Trade Undersecretariat. The opening allows for duty-free imports. The quota was first assigned to the Turkish Grain Board, which had initiated a bid process for importing corn from both countries, but then gave up the quota after receiving unsatisfactory bids. /Turkish Daily News/

SATELLITE FAIR IN ISTANBUL

The AEF Satellite 2000 Fair sponsored by Hannover-Messe International opens today in Istanbul. Around 120 companies from 23 countries are displaying their satellite, cable TV and multimedia technologies. Information on Turkey's third satellite Turksat 2A, which will be launched in August, is also being presented. Participants include Alcatel, Arianespace, Comsat, Eurasiasat, Eutelsat, Grundig, Ikusi, Iridium, Nokia, Philips, Protel and Sharp. /Turkish Daily News/

GALATASARAY DEFEATS LEEDS UNITED

Galatasaray is the winner of the football match which it played with Leeds United last night at Ali Sami Yen Stadium in Istanbul. Galatasaray won with a score of 2-0. The second match will be played in Britain on April 20. /Sabah/

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

THE FUTURE IS IMPORTANT BY ORHAN BIRGIT (CUMHURIYET)

Columnist Orhan Birgit writes on the results of the ballot on the constitutional amendments and states that the future is more important than what has happened. A summary of his column is as follows: "The TGNA did not give the support required for a constitutional amendment and President Demirel is now a guest at the Presidential Palace until May 16. If we leave aside the rule which requires 3/5ths of the votes in the TGNA for a constitutional amendment, we can say that Demirel has received the support necessary for a vote of confidence. Although a constitutional amendment was being voted on, the votes were cast by those who wanted to see the President serve for five more years and by others who did not want to see him as President any more. Old left-wing politicians, old friends who had long parted ways and some fanatics who viewed the ballot in the Parliament as a show of their respect to late President Ozal were among those who did not want see him as President any more. Radical Islamist newspapers were jubilant over the results. We also have to take into account those who were not pleased by the performances of Demirel as Prime Minister or President during the period following the 12 September coup. Whatever the reason may be, a great change has taken place in Turkey and in Demirel's words we have to view the decision of the Parliament with respect and understanding as a democratic action."

TURKISH DEMOCRACY AND STABILITY BY HASAN MESUT HAZAR (TURKIYE)

Columnist Hasan Mesut Hazar comments on the ballot which took place at the TGNA on constitutional amendments. A summary of his column is as follows: "The ballot on constitutional amendments at the TGNA was closely followed in the US. As the ballot coincided with the annual regular meeting of the Turkish-American Business Council, the words 'Demirel, democracy and stability' were used frequently during the conference. Business circles, and Americans who had investments in Turkey viewed the solidarity between Ecevit and Demirel as an indication of politial and economic stability. The same circles were concerned of a rupture in the harmony between the coalition partners if the proposal was rejected. What concerned them was not the re-election of Demirel but turning of the situation into a governmental crisis. The Chairman of Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Assosication, Erkut Yucaoglu, in his press conference had stressed the same issue and called on for the continuation of political stability. The most frequently asked questions in Washington were, "Will Turkey continue with the economic programme she has accepted and be successful and will she be able to implement the necessary changes to conform with the Helsinki criteria in the process of full-membership to the EU? There was no official reaction to the decision from the US. This may be because the Administration viewed the question as an internal affair of Turkey."

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