LEADERS' CANDIDATE: AHMET NECDET SEZER

Yesterday, the leaders of the coalition government agreed on a presidential candidate. After the 9-hour meeting, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit announced that they were proposing the President of the Constitutional Court, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, as their candidate. Ecevit stated that Ahmet Necdet Sezer gave a positive reply to their offer. /Turkiye/

PRESIDENCY: THE SEARCH CONTINUES

According to the constitutional provisions, the 10-day candidacy period for the presidential elections will expire at midnight tonight. Since no applications will be accepted after the deadline, the new president will be elected from those applying within the legal candidacy period. A maximum of four voting rounds will be held for the presidential elections. Some of the deputies who have applied for the candidacy and others outside the Parliament who are expected to apply are as follows: Agah Oktay Guner (Motherland Party -ANAP-Balikesir Deputy), Oguz Aygun (Democratic Left Party -DSP- Ankara Deputy), Mail Buyukerman (DSP Eskisehir Deputy), Nevzat Yalcintas (Virtue Party -FP- Istanbul Deputy), Vecdi Gonul (FP Kocaeli Deputy), Dogan Gures (True Path Party -DYP- Kilis Deputy), Yildirim Akbulut (Parliament Speaker and ANAP Ankara Deputy), Ismail Cem (Foreign Minister and DSP Kayseri Deputy), Sabahattin Cakmakoglu (National Defence Minister and Nationalist Action Party -MHP- Kayseri Deputy), Kamran Inan (ANAP Van Deputy), Yilmaz Karakoyunlu (ANAP Istanbul Deputy), Kamil Turan (Dean of the Law Faculty of Gazi University), Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat (FP Adiyaman Deputy) and Ahmet Necdet Sezer (President of the Constitutional Court). /All papers/

MEMBERS OF CONSTITUTIONAL COURT VISIT ATATURK'S MAUSOLEUM

Led by Ahmet Necdet Sezer, the members of the Constitutional Court visited Ataturk's Mausoleum on the occasion of the 38th anniversary of the foundation of the Constitutional Court. After laying a wreath at the tomb of Ataturk, the delegation observed a minute of silence. Meanwhile, the President of the European Court of Human Rights, Luzius Wildhaber, is coming to Ankara today to attend the celebrations. /Turkiye/

BLUE STREAM PROJECT

OHS Group, which is implementing the Blue Stream Project's section in Turkey, is taking special precautions to ensure the safety of the Ladik fault line passage. In a statement issued by OHS Group, the special safety measures were developed for the Samsun-Ankara pipeline that will pass on the Northern Anatolia fault line in Samsun's district of Ladin. This design will be put into practice at the end of this summer. /Aksam/

TURKEY TO EXPORT SNAIL AND TULIP

Black snails amounting to 1 million, 500 thousand dollars will be exported to France from Ayanoglu Snail Factory in Devrek's town, Caydegirmeni. Owner of this factory, Sadik Ayanoglu, stated that they had exported frozen snails to France amounting to 2 million dollars from their factory that is functioning with a capital of 300 billion TL on an area of 20,000 square meters in 1997. In addition, special kinds of tulips, which were found in Sanliurfa's district of Siverek by chance, will be grown by using special techniques. Eyup Yildiz, who exports tulips from Otlu village to Holland, will be supported by Prof. Neset Arslan, who is a lecturer at Ankara University's Agricultural Department. /Aksam/

IPEKYOLU TO CHANGE THE BLACK SEA

According to Chairman of the Executive Board of Ipekyolu Valley's City Establisher and Manager Joint Stock Company, and the Governor of Sakarya, M. Cahit Kirac, the free zone, which is a project planned for the Black Sea Region, will have the status of 'free city' after the necessary legal arrangements are made. Governor Kirac issued a statement during a press conference, saying, "Sakarya Valley's Ipekyolu Free City will be built on the Black Sea shores." In addition, Governor of Kocaeli, Kemal Onal said, "If this project is implemented, then we will export goods to all of the countries bordering the Black Sea." /Aksam/

STANDARD AND POOR'S: "WE ARE WATCHING TURKEY CLOSELY"

One of the Directors of the credit rating company, Standard and Poor's, Marie Cavanaugh, stated that they were watching Turkey closely and that the budget and the privatization implementations during the first three months of this year were promising. Cavanaugh avoided giving an exact date for a possible credit evaluation and said, "We are evaluating the situation as long as we receive data. Our policy is to review each credit mark once a year. However, we are watching Turkey very closely." Meanwhile, the Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of DCR Turkey Duff and Phelps Credit Rating Co., Selcuk Abac, stated that he expected the international credit rating companies to increase Turkey's credit rating at some point. /Sabah/

SUGGESTION OF COMMON MARKET FOR THE TURKISH GOODS

Chairman of 'Buyuk Kulup,' Duran Akbulut, suggested the non-governmental organizations to work cooperatively and open a market abroad for the promotion of the Turkish goods. Akbulut said, "Turkish companies attend many fairs abroad. However, they do not receive enough profit for their products. The best way to introduce Turkish goods to the world is to create a system by which all products can be sold under the same roof and this will be possible if big markets are opened in specific venues." /Sabah/

180 FIRMS APPLY FOR THE TENDER

A total of 180 firms have applied for the tender put out for the construction of 12,068 houses via the World Bank loans for the earthquake victims. The Director of the Project Implementation Department, Nuran Ercan, said that the World Bank would grant $505 million for the houses and that the whole amount would not be used for the construction of the houses. /Star/

TREASURY HOLDS 21-MONTH AUCTION

The Treasury will hold a 21-month bond auction today with the aim of borrowing in the range between 200 trillion TL and 350 trillion TL, according to the Treasury's monthly borrowing programme. On Wednesday, the Treasury must repay domestic debt in the amount of 406 trillion TL. Its total repayment in April will add up to 4.6 quadrillion TL. /All papers/

EXIMBANK BOOSTS LENDING

Turkish Export-Import Bank (Eximbank) has reduced its lending rates further by an average of 4 % points to between 30 and 36 %, the State Minister responsible for the economy, Tunca Toskay, announced yesterday. Since December last year Eximbank has cut its lending rates by 50 %, Toskay told a news conference in Ankara. Between January 1 and April 20 Eximbank has extended loans to the tune of $1.2 billion, up by 20 % compared to the same period last year, plus insurance coverage of $700 million. Eximbank aims to provide a total of $8 billion in financing to exporters this year. /All papers/

SECOND MOBILE PHONE LICENSE TENDER RESCHEDULED FOR MAY 2

The Transport Ministry is set to conclude a mobile phone license tender on May 2 through an open forum bidding among four consortia, the Ministry announced yesterday. The Ministry said it would invite the four consortia to bid for the second GSM 1,800 license at a base price of $2.5 billion and with the same conditions as stated in the licenses' specifications, according to State Tender Law 2886, however, it was unclear whether they would accept the invitation. On April 17, four consortia that had placed bids for the first GSM 1,800 license withdrew from the competition, failing to provide the base price at which the first license was sold to the Is Bank-Telecom Italia consortium. /All papers/

IMF SAYS PROGRAMME WORKING OUT SO FAR

IMF European Division Head Michael Deppler said Turkey's economic programme has been working out fine so far. He warned, however, political stability is key to attaining the programme's goals. Deppler said the IMF Managing Board would review economic developments in Turkey on April 28. The Board will also tackle a supplementary letter of intent of 13 articles, at which time it is expected to release the $305 million second tranche of a $4 billion stand-by facility. Late last year, the fund agreed to support Turkey's disinflation programme with a three-year stand-by agreement. Deppler added that Turkey would hopefully fulfill the commitments listed in the main letter of intent by April 28. In a joint interview with IMF Turkey Desk Chief Carlo Cottarelli for the Anatolia News Agency, Deppler noted that Turkey was implementing an unprecendented programme with two basic targets of fiscal adjustment and disinflation.

EXPORTS SURGE IN APRIL

Turkey's exports rose by 20.9 % during April 1-20, sending the year-to-date increase to 5.1 %, the State Minister responsible for the economy, Tunca Toskay, announced yesterday, suggesting that sharp movements should be handled carefully. Exports during January 1-April 20 reached $8.1 billion, Toskay said. According to exporter unions data exports were up by 1.9 % to $6.2 billion in the first quarter as compared to the same period last year. /All papers/

GARANTI BOOSTS PROFIT 61 % IN FIRST QUARTER

Private Turkish lender Garanti Bank posted a net profit of 70 trillion TL in the first quarter of the year, increased by 61 % as compared to the same period of last year. The bank's total assets rose by 14.6 %, liquid asserts by 13.4 %, loans by 10.1 % and deposits by 14. 3 %, General Manager Ergun Ozen announced yesterday. Ozen said that the bank would continue raising syndicated loans. /All papers/

SAGEM GROUP INCREASES ITS INVESTMENTS IN TURKEY

The French Sagem Group, which is expanding in the mobile phone market with the support of Telsim, Turkey's leading GSM operator, is aimed at increasing its share in the Turkish market for mobile phones with the GPRS and WAP system. The Sagem Group, which is the biggest mobile phone producer in France with a turn-over worth nearly two quadrillion TL, will sell its products with state-of-the-art technology in order to increase its share in the Turkish market. /Star/

ARMENIANS MARK ANNIVERSARY OF SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

On the occasion of the 85th anniversary of the so-called Armenian genocide on Monday, Armenians in Moscow, Tehran, Brussels, Yerevan and Athens staged demonstrations in front of Turkish Embassies, and Israeli Education Minister Yossi Sarid reportedly proposed including accounts of this alleged incident in the Israeli high school curriculum. Demonstrators in Salonica and Athens burned Turkish flags and Salonica Governor Costa Papadopulos reportedly advised Turkey to follow the German example and admit to the alleged occurrence. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked the Greek government to take the necessary measures in responding to the demonstrations. US President Bill Clinton, in a statement concerning the incidents, expressed his sorrow. /All papers/

FAITH TOURISM TO BOOST RELATIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Turkey, Israel and Palestine will cooperate to develop 'Faith Tourism'. While meetings for cooperation between Turkey and Palestine in tourism began yesterday, the Israeli Tourism Minister will visit Turkey on May 18-19. According to the project, the three countries will organize joint tours. These tours will begin from Tel Aviv, later to Jerusalem and Beitlehem. The tours will then proceed to Antakya, Tarsus, Demre, Pamukkale and Ephesus. The First-Term Tourism Joint Commission Meeting was held between Turkey and Palestine yesterday. Turkish Tourism Minister Erkan Mumcu and Palestinian Tourism Minister Mitri Abu Aita attended the meeting. /Milliyet/

RESTRUCTURING IN AGRICULTURE

The Agriculture Ministry has begun to implement the 'Restructuring in Agriculture Programme'. For the programme worth $1.3 billion, the World Bank will provide financial assistance of 450 trillion TL. The Agriculture Ministry has also completed its feasibility studies for the industrialists who will invest in the agricultural industry in all the cities of Turkey. /Milliyet/

DOGRAMACI RECEIVES INDEPENDENCE MEDAL IN BAKU

Bilkent University's Trustees Delegation Chairman Ihsan Dogramaci was received in Baku by Azerbaijan Head of State Haydar Aliyev yesterday and was awarded the 'Medal of Independence' that country's highest honour. The medal has been awarded before to Suleyman Demirel. Dogramaci will participate in celebrations to mark his 85th birthday this evening. /All papers/

PALESTINIAN AIRWAYS START FLIGHTS TO ISTANBUL

Palestinian Airways announced that it will begin twice-weekly flights to Istanbul beginning on June 1. The flights will depart on Mondays and Thursdays. The air carrier was established two years ago through arrangement with Israel. /Turkish Daily News/

HIERAPOLIS ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM OPENS

Culture Minister Istemihan Talay stated at the opening ceremony of Hierapolis Archaeological Museum that museums were the mirrors of the city and added that this was why they had restored Hierapolis Museum and the Ataturk Ethnographic Museum in Denizli. He added that Denizli's Pamukkale was on UNESCO's world heritage list and was a natural and cultural teasure. /Turkish Daily News/

PRISONS TO BECOME EDUCATION CENTRES

Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk attended the opening ceremony of an exhibition called "Prisons Prepare for Rehabilitation in the 21st Century", and said in a speech that the Ministry aimed to convert prisons into places where inmates are educated and returned to society as trained workers. Turk remarked that there were 560 prisons in Turkey, only 157 of which had training facilities and added that they were going to establish more training centres where prisoners would be able to improve their skills. /Turkish Daily News/

TURKISH ARMY'S PRIDE

The 'Karapinar 2000 National Defence Industry and Land Forces Open Day and Fire Power Demonstration' was held in Karapinar near Konya yesterday, the Anatolia News Agency reports. President Suleymen Demirel, Chief of General Staff Gen.Huseyin Kivrikoglu as well as the defence minister and the chiefs of each of the armed services; army, navy, air force and gendarmerie. Demirel called upon the people of Turkey to continue supporting and trusting in the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) saying they were the force that guarantees Turks can sleep safely at night and look forward confidently to the future. /All papers/

BUSINESS DELEGATION FLIES TO BRUSSELS

A delegation from the Economic Development Foundation (IKV) will meet the European Commission and EU officials in Brussels on April 25-29, IKV said yesterday. The delegation will unveil Turkish business circles' views on Turkey's accession partnership and a national programme which is still under preparation, the IKV statement said. /Turkish Daily News/

AWARD FOR TURKISH POLICEMEN

Turkish policemen, on duty as part of the UN forces attempting to ensure order in Kosovo were awarded. 47 Turkish policemen of 125 presented to UN's "Superior Service Medal" at a ceremony organized in Pristina. The General Director of Security, Turan Genc, also attended the ceremony and congratulated the policemen for their accomplishments. /Turkiye/

DEFENSE SUMMIT IN WASHINGTON

The meeting of the "High Level Defense Group", organized annually to review the defense relations between Turkey and the US, will be held on April 27-28 in Washington. During the meetings, political and military developments in the world will be taken up and joint defense programmes will be reviewed. While the Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Gen. Edip Baser, presided over the Turkish delegation, The US Deputy Secretary of Defense, Frank Kramer, will preside over the American delegation. /Turkiye/

CHILDREN MEET IN EPHESUS

600 Children, coming from 36 countries around the world and invited to Turkey to participate in the celebrations for the 22nd International Children's Festival, met at the historical Antic Theather in Ephesus. During the last day of the celebrations, children staged examples of folk dances and were applauded enthusiastically by a large audience. /Cumhuriyet/

WEDNESDAY MEETINGS

The guest this month of the "Wednesday Meetings" which was organized in the memory of Prof. Tarik Zafer Tunaya, is the Judge of Bosnia-Hercegovina Court of Human Rights and an academician of Istanbul Bilgi University, Prof. Rona Aybay. The topic of the meeting, which will be held at Tarik Zafer Tunaya Culture Center tomorrow between 17:30 and 19:30, is the "International Protection of Human Rights and the Place of Human Rights Documents in the Turkish Judicial System". /Cumhuriyet/

HASHISH RAID

Security forces seized 350 kilos of hashish, two automatic weapons and a number of bullets in a shelter which was found during a raid in Hakkari. Officials suspect that the materials belonged to the PKK terrorist organization and an investigation related to the incident is underway. /Cumhuriyet/

TURCO-GREEK BUSINESSMEN'S MEETINGS

Turkish and Greek businessmen agreed to increase the trade volume between the two countries during the visit of the Izmir Trade Chambers'(IZTO) members to Greece on April 19-23. The 175-member delegation of IZTO visited trade chambers and mayors in Athens, Pire and Selonica. IZTO will also organize a "Mayors of Aegean Coasts and Aegean Islands" meeting on June 2-4 in Izmir where Turkish and Greek businessmen will meet. /Cumhuriyet/

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

WHAT KIND OF A PRESIDENT? BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)

Sami Kohen is a columnist in the daily 'Milliyet' newspaper and he comments on the characteristics that a President should have. A summary of his columns is as follows: "In the acts and explanations surrounding the Presidential elections, it is very important that the new President should have knowledge of foreign policy and speak at least one foreign language. In the past, this was not present among the criteria for presidential candidates. The fact that these knowledge of foreign affairs is considered to be among the 'reasons for preference' shows that Turkey's expectations concerning the foreign affairs have increased greatly when compared to the past. There are two reasons for this change: first, Turkey still faces many foreign problems and is begining to play an active role on the international platform. The second reason is that President Demirel made many contribution to the determination of Turkish foreign policy abroad and could even be considered the leader in foreing policy. The Turkish public and - in fact many foreign countries - expect the new President to follow in the same footsteps. In fact, the Turkish Constitution limits the President's duty and authority in the foreign policy but the Constitution that was adopted in 1982 gives the President the right to play an active role concerning this issue. In plain words, a President who has a knowledge of foreign policy, a vision and charisma, can add enthusiasm and energy to Turkish diplomacy and as Demirel was able to do recently. Demirel made many great contributions toward Turkey's opening up to the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Balkans and the Middle East. The leaders of the many countries in this region considered Demirel to be more than a President, but also a real friend. Demirel also gained the sympathy of many foreign leaders and it should be remembered that personal sympathies are very effective in terms of the international relations. During the period in which a new President will be elected, Turkey faces a very busy foreign policy agenda. The current state of the world, which has changed after the Cold War, makes it an obligation that Turkish policy reflect many issues at the same time and be more active. Undoubtedly, the President's role in Turkey's success in foreign policy is very large. Demirel's recent performance are the best example of this and this creates the expectation of the continuation of the same active efforts both in Turkey and abroad. That's why the Presidential candidates are expected to have knowledge concerning foreign policy."

WHY WE COULDN'T DECREASE INFLATION? BY YALCIN PEKSEN (AKSAM)

Yalcin Peksen is a columnist in the daily 'Aksam' newspaper. He comments on the reasons why Turkey could not decrease the inflation rate. A summary of his column is as follows: "Turkey did not know the meaning of the word 'inflation' during the 1960s. Even if this word was used by the economists for the situation of some other countries, the Turkish people considered this word to be a fictitious word. Then President Suleyman Demirel came into power and almost the whole 1970s was spent on learning the meaning of the word 'inflation.' In the 1980s, deceased President Turgut Ozal started a campaign entitled 'first the inflation rate should decrease' but he could not succeed in it. Although the campaigns entitled 'the inflation rate must be decreased' were implemented in the 1980s, it did not have positive results due to the fact that Tansu Ciller was on the stage. Now there is a campaign titled 'Turkey is overcoming the inflation.' A document of conformity was signed at the Cankaya Presidential Palace by President Demirel to show how serious we are concerning this issue. I hope we will not open a campaign in the year 2010 entitled 'What happened to the words 'Turkey is overcoming inflation?.' After the signing ceremony, President Demirel issued a speech to the journalists showing the document of conformity and said, "Inflation is the source of all the evil in a country and the edge of the iceberg." I think we will understand the value of President Demirel after his term in office ends and miss him very much, because Demirel's above-mentioned words cannot be uttered in haste and alone. Only a man of State can express a phrase similar to a proverb that reflects the economy, sociology and philosophy in a way that everyone can understand. After uttering these words, President Demirel put the blame on us indirectly, saying, "All parts of the society should make sacrifice while implementing this programme. No one should misunderstand it. Even if we are silent, we are not indebted to our silence." Perhaps nobody else understood what he meant by these last two sentences, but I think I got it. He is placing the blame on the Turkish people, and can hardly help himself from telling the Turkish people, who created the inflation, which is the source of all the evil, that they did not make enough sacrifices. If he was not silent, he would most probably say: "I have been in the power for forty years and I am tired of this inflation rate. It is enough, please stop it." You are right to say that it is we who have increased the inflation day by day and thank you for bearing us for forty years (!)."

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