DEMIREL'S MESSAGES

President Suleyman Demirel received a delegation from Izmir Chamber of Trade yesterday. During the reception, Demirel talked about the presidential election and what he would do after ending his presidency. Evaluating his seven-year term in office, Demirel said, "I am leaving behind my neutral stance. After May 16, I will be a partisan. If I need to defend myself, I'll do it." Demirel stressed, "It is very important to be posted to such a position, but to leave it with personal honour is more important." He also added that he had served the nation for 50 years and he could serve 50 years more if he had the support of citizens. /Aksam/

DEMIREL'S LETTER TO CASTRO

While receiving ship building industrialists, President Suleyman Demirel accepted a suggestion to write a letter to Cuba's Head of State, Fidel Castro, in order to find solutions to some problems. Demirel said, "Castro is my friend. We have previously discussed agricultural issues together." Demirel also attended the Turco-Japanese Foundation's activitity, 'Spring 2000.' Chairman of the Turco-Japanese Foundation, Cafer Tayyar Sadiklar, gave Demirel a honorary lifetime membership and an album including Japanese calligraphy and a plaque of gratitude. /Cumhuriyet/

ECEVIT: NO NEED TO RESIGN

Yesterday, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit attended the "International European Union Council Meeting" which was organized by the Directorate of Religious Affairs. Before leaving for Istanbul, Premier Ecevit replied to the questions posed by journalists. Regarding discussions on the necessity of Ahmet Necdet Sezer's resignation from the Presidency of the Constitutional Court, Ecevit stressed that they had consulted authorities and there was absolutely no need to resign from his post because he was a candidate for the presidency. /Aksam/

AKBULUT PULLS OUT OF THE RACE

The Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA), Yildirim Akbulut, declared that he pulled out from the presidential candidacy, after evaluating the result of the second round of balloting. Thus, the number of the presidencial nominees decreased to six for the third round of voting which is expected to be held tomorrow. /Aksam/

CEM IN THE US

The US is approaching the rapprochement between Greece and Turkey positively and is taking concrete steps so that the problems between Turkey and Greece will be solved certainly. It was learned that as part of this, Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Cem, and the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, George Papandreou, who were invited to the US to receive the award that will be given by the East-West Institute, faced some pressures. US's Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) and the US former coordinator to Cyprus, Richard Holbrooke and State Secretary Madeleine Albright brought some interesting suggestions regarding the further rapprochement during the meetings with the Turkish and Greek foreign ministers. According to the Greek press, Holbrooke delivered a very important message from President Clinton to the Turkish and Greek foreign ministers during the dinner that was given for them. It was stated that in his message, Clinton mentioned the importance which he gave to finding a solution to the Cyprus problem by November, the month in which his term will come to an end. Meanwhile, Albright congratulated Cem and Papandreou, who received the award of 'the statesman of the year' in New York. Cem and Albright also signed the 'Open Skies' Agreement which will provide the Turkish air transportation with the opportunity to fly to 10 major cities in the US. /Cumhuriyet/

SOUTH KOREAN MINISTER VISITS ANKARA

A delegation from South Korea, including the Minister of Transport, Son Sulk, businessmen, academicians and a 30-person committee from South Korean non-governmental organizations visited Ankara Mayor Melih Gokcek yesterday. Gokcek said at the meeting that during his term in office he had gone abroad seven times and that one of those visits had been to Seoul. The delegation came to Turkey under the auspices of the Istanbul Culture Centre founded in Seoul in order to promote Turkey. They will leave Turkey on May 11 after visiting Cappadocia and Konya. /All papers/

DENKTAS' STATEMENT CONCERNING EUROPE

President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Rauf Denktas, issued a speech during the conference on the 'Developments in the Region and their effects on Cyprus' and said, "If the Greek-Cypriots become the single-sided member of the European Union (EU), then we will unite all our economic relations with Turkey, that is, the mother country, and form an economic union. Denktas stated that the fact that Europe involved itself in the issue of finding a solution to the Cyprus problem places more obstacles in the way of a solution. /Cumhuriyet/

KISLALI COMMEMORATED IN THE US

The name of the journalist Ahmet Taner Kislali, who was murdered last October in Turkey, was written on the journalists' monument of The Freedom Forum Organization in the US in honor of the World's Freedom of Press Day. Kislali was commemorated with the 40 other journalists who lost their lives last year, during the ceremony that was held in the Freedom Park in the State of Virginia. Names of 1,369 journalists are written upon the glass monument. /Sabah/

INFLATION GOING DOWN

April inflation data announced by the State Institute of Statistics (DIE) yesterday confirmed a strong downward trend in inflation, which ended at the lower end of market expectations. DIE placed the month-on-month wholesale price index (WPI) at 2.4 % Aand consumer price index (CPI) at 2.3 %, against market expectations centering on 2.5 % and 2.8 % for both indexes. April data showed the year-on-year WPI dropping to 61.5 %, from 66.1 % in March, and CPI to 63.8 % down from 67.9 %. Twelvemonth average inflation in April was seen at 58.7 % in wholesale prices and 66.0 % in consumer prices. For the first time since 1993, April wholesale inflation appeared below 3 %. In April last year month-on-month inflation was 5.3 % in wholesale prices and 4.9 % in consumer prices. /All papers/

10 PKK MEMBERS CAPTURED

Ten people, who were accused of being the members of the PKK terrorist organization and of being involved in various actions, were captured in Istanbul. In a statement issued by Istanbul's Directorate of Security's Branch for Combating Against Terrorism, the above-mentioned people were involved in the actions that took place following the capture of the chief of the PKK organization, Abdullah Ocalan. During a search of the clothing and houses of the suspects, a weapon and a charger, many medical equipment, a seal belonging to a primary school, two fake identity cards, a cellular phone and 295 million TL and 890 Deutsche Marks were seized. /Cumhuriyet/

81 KILOS OF HEROIN SEIZED

The police in Istanbul uncovered a gang who were attempting to smuggle heroin from Turkey into England. After the operations organized against the gang, 81 kilos 350 gr of heroin and seven kilos of hashish were seized. 15 people were detained concerning the incident. In addition, during an operation organized in Van's district of Baskale, 258 kilos of unadulterated morphine amounting to 5 trillion TL were seized. /Cumhuriyet/

MIRZAOGLU: "WE OWN OUR SEAS"

The Minister of State Responsible for the Maritime targets new ventures to increase the security on our seas. The Minister, Ramazan Mirzaoglu, evaluated the works of his Ministry. He stated that the security on our seas has not been insured properly and the measures needed following the accidents had not be taken quickly enough. To repair this laxity, Mirzaoglu said that important ventures would be implemented in the investment programme for the year 2000. Accordingly, two sea traffic control and emergency romork will be constructed and a helicopter will be bought for patrolling the straits and for traffic control stations. Emphasizing that the number of stations and boats were inadequate in Turkey, Mirzaoglu said that the number of boats would be increased to 31 in 2001, which would be used actively in sea accidents. /Turkiye/

PRESS FREEDOM

The Turkish Journalists' Association (TGS) organized a panel in Ankara on the occasion of World Press Day. The Minister of State Devlet Bahceli, the Leader of the True Path Party (DYP), Tansu Ciller, The Deputy Chairman of the Virtue Party (FP), Veysel Candan, the Chairman of the Turk-Is, Bayram Meral, a number of union members and journalists attended the meeting. During his speech, Bahceli stated that the press freedom case was an important part of our country's democratization. He said, "Free press becomes stronger by merging with its society's values and contributes to the country's democratization by reflecting the demands of the society." The Leader of the DYP, Tansu Ciller also stated that press and politics should be separated from one another. /Turkiye/

ISTANBUL TO BE A FINANCIAL CENTRE

The Capital Market Board (SPK) has prepared a 'Road Map' which the markets should follow considering the recent amendments to the law and and the effects of the technological developments on the markets. The 'Road Map' is like a guide book consisting of preparations which the SPK plans to realize within two to three years' time. The Head of the SPK, Muhsin Menguturk, said that such a market would make Istanbul a financial centre for Turkish and foreign investors. /Hurriyet/

TURKEY'S ATTRACTIVENESS IS INCREASING

The Salomon Smith Barney (SSB), one of the biggest investment advisory firms in the world, made an evaluation concerning the Turkish economy and said that the prices in the manufacturing industry have begun to decrease and therefore the downward trend in the inflation rate which began in March would continue. The SSB stated that as part of the economic programme which is currently being implemented, Turkey's attractiveness among other developing markets had increased. /Hurriyet/

TOURISM COOPERATION WITH ITALY

A Turkish delegation headed by Aldo Kaslowski, the Deputy Chairman of the Association of the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen (TUSIAD), will visit Italy to revive the tourism between Italy and Turkey. The delegation will hold meetings with the Italian Tourism Federation's members. They will discuss new investments and promotion programmes to increase tourism income between the two countries which decreased after the Ocalan case. /Milliyet/

JOHN WOLF'S STATEMENT ON THE BAKU-CEYHAN PIPELINE

US President Bill Clinton's Special Representative to the Caspian Energy Resources, John Wolf, stated that the final condition for the implementation of Baku-Ceyhan pipeline project is the approval of the Turkish-Georgian and the Azerbaijani parliamentaries on the agreement article. Wolf said, "The hardest part of the agreement was overcome when the Georgian Administration signed the 'guest country' agreement on 28 April. If the parliamentarians approve of the intergovernmental agreement by the end of May, then the construction of this pipeline will be concluded by the year 2004." /Sabah/

WOMEN IN THE WALL STREET: "TURKEY IS THE IDEAL COUNTRY"

Head of the Financial Women's Association (FWA), Pamela Packard, held a press conference at the conclusion of the conferences that lasted for three days, and said, "Turkey, which hosted our conference for the year 2000, is to us an ideal country." Packard stated that Turkey had a rapidly growing and dynamic economy and that they were very excited by the presence of many high-level businesswomen, women directors and high-level businessmen in Turkey. Packard further stated that if the Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit has time, then they would visit Ankara to meet Ecevit. Packard added that they would also visit the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and the Central Bank and meet high-ranking administrators. This delegation will conclude its contacts in Turkey tomorrow. /Sabah/

MUMCU: "TURKISH TOURISM WILL BOOM IN JUNE"

Turkey, which had many difficulties in terms of tourism last year, will break its record this year. The figures of April, which were sent to the Ministry of Tourism yesterday, pleased the government. According to these figures, there is a boom in tourism by 250% in Antalya and 178% in Mugla when compared to the Bfigures for last year. Minister of Tourism, Erkan Mumcu, stated that the real boom in tourims would occur in June in Turkey and that 10 million tourists were expecting to visit Turkey this year." Anticipating that the boom will be greater next year, preparations for next year have already begun. /Sabah/

INTERKORDSA'S BRANCH IN GERMANY TO BE OPENED TOMORROW

Interkordsa in Germany, which is one of the biggest producers of cord fabric and a share of 80% of which is owned by Korda, one of the initiatives of Sabanci Holding Company, is taking important steps to encourage growth. The new production facilities will be opened in Muhlhausen, Germany in order to meet the growing demands on their productions. Chief Executive Officer of Sabanci Holding Company, Hasan Gulesci, and the Group Chairman of the Rubber and Reinforcement Materials of Sabanci Holding Company, Guler Sabanci, will attend the opening ceremony of the new facilities, which will increase the production of the present capacity of production by two folds. /Sabah/

TURKEY'S PORTFOLIO

One of the US' largest intermediary institutions Merrill Lynch, declared that Turkey, Egypt and Russia's influence have been increased in the developing European model share's portfolio and they have positive expectations for the future of the reforms in Turkey. /Milliyet/

HAZELNUT EXPORTS REACH $597.1 MILLION

Turkey exported $597.1 million worth of hazelnuts -167,000 tons- in the 1999-2000 export season that opened on September 1, according to the Black Sea Hazelnut Exporters' Union. Over the same period last year Turkey earned $609.9 million from 148,700 tons of unshelled hazelnut exports. A total of 100 kilos of standard unshelled hazelnuts were sold at an average price of $345, down from $410 for the same period last year. /Turkish Daily News/

VENTURE OFFERS $29 MILLION FOR VILLA

A joint venture of Sultanahmet Tourizm A.S. and Four Seasons Hotels has offered $29 million to buy the Atik Pasalar waterside villa in Istanbul. The villa is being privatized on the condition that it is transformed into a five-star tourism facility. The group would pay 25 % of the price in advance and the rest within three years with 12 % interest. The selloff is subject to Privatization Administration Board (OIB) approval. /All papers/

AUTOMOTIVE EXPORTS UP

Turkey's automotive exports rose by 14 % to $885 million in the first four months of 2000 compared to the same period last year, Uludag Exporters' Union data revealed. Exports of transport vehicles continued to increase, while that of the automotive sub-industry were largely stalled, the union said. Car exports rose 50.7 % to $244.7 million. Sub-industry exports amounted to $411.9 million and commercial vehicle exports to $105.3 million. During the first four months of this year, tractor exports were up 150 % to $24 million. Exports of ships and vessels added up to $41.6 million and aerospace vehicles $20 million. /All papers/

KOC, FIAT START LOAN COMPANY

The Turkish Koc and Italian Fiat groups announced yesterday that they have started a company to support sales of Tofas and Fiat cars through loans to motorists. Speaking at a news conference in Istanbul, Head of the Koc Financing Group, Kutsan Celebican, said the initiative was aimed at making Turkish consumers car owners through a convenient and high quality financing service. Celebican further noted that finance was one area in which Koc has targeted growth. The Director of Strategic Marketing Department of Fiat's international finance company Fidis, Federico Mongelli, for his part, said Fidis would support the new company, Koc Fiat Kredi, by adapting existing products and developing specific ones for the Turkish market. /All papers/

MOODY'S TO EYE PROGRAMME BEFORE RATING UPGRADE

International rating agency Moody's will soon upgrade Turkey's sovereign rating, but wants to see whether the downtrend in inflation continues and whther the economic programme remains on track without compromise, an official from the agency said. Moody's Turkey analyst Hanan Amin Salem said Turkey would deserve a "BB" rating provided that it sticks to the current economic programme, the Anatolia News Agency reports. "Standard and Poor's upgraded Turkey's rating to Moody's level, which has long stood at B1", he said. "But if the programme remains on track and political stability is not disrupted, Turkey would earn a Ba3 rating, which would be a real upgrade". Salem added that the government has been faithful to the sell-off programme, interest rates have been declining and reforms have been determined, all of which he viewed as positive developments.

BUDGET SHOWS 1.8 QUADRILLION TL PRIMARY SURPLUS

The Treasury's cash position showed a primary budget surplus of 1.8 quadrillion TL in the first four months of this year according to provisional figures, the Treasury announced yesterday. The Treasury said that it had collected 8.7 quadrillion Tl in revenue and spent 6.9 quadrillion TL on the Bnon-interest budget. Interest payments added up to 8.7 quadrillion TL in the first four months. /Turkish Daily News/

TURKISH CONTRACTORS IN ROMANIA FAIR

The Turkish Contractors' Union will participate in a construction fair in Bucharest scheduled for May 9-13, public relations company N'PR announced yesterday. Last year 620 companies from 20 countries attended "Construct Expo 2000" sponsored by the Romanian Chamber of Industry and Commerce, N'PR said. During the fair, Turkish contractors will probe economic and commercial cooperation opportunities between the two countries. /Turkish Daily News/

AWARD FOR DENTAS PACKAGE

Following the award of "World Star" of the Organization of the World Package (WPO), Dentas Package and Paper Company, established in Denizli, was presented "TSE 1999 Gold Package Award". Ensuring the package needs of various sectors in the Turkish economy, Dentas Package and Paper has also been prefered by industrial giants, such as Unilever, Procter and Gamble, and Eczacubasi. In a short time, the company is expected to be offered to public. /Milliyet/

MERGED ARCELIK BOOSTS EARNING

Conglomerate Koc Holding's durable goods producer Arcelik, which recently merged with three other Koc subsidiaries, posted a net profit of 61.3 trillion TL last year, up by 139 % as compared with the previous year. The company's revenues rose by 109.9 % to 605.4 trillion TL, according to financial statements published in yesterday's papers. /All papers/

CAMPAIGN TITLED 'TURKEY BEATS INFLATION'

A campaign titled 'Turkey Beats Inflation' launched by the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) and the Turkish Exporters' Assembly (TIM) was made available for signatures during a ceremony attended by President Suleyman Demirel on April 21. The campaign will also be available for signatures throughout Turkey for many industrialists, exporters and other sections of the society. /Star/

PERIOD OF COMPETITION WITH COOPERATION

QAD Europe, Asia and the Middle East Marketing presented soft-ware programmes for the transfer to the e-economy to a total of 5,000 firms in 80 countries. The Director of the Department, John Hund, said that from now on, the quality of the products would not be the only issue for the competition and added, "E-Business is an exchange and cooperation. Therefore, the companies should also cooperate with their manufacturers". /Turkiye/

DISCUSSION ON THE GOLDEN MINE IN OVACIK

It was stated that a new system to mine gold will be used in the gold mine in Bergama's town of Ovacik, a statement received with varying reactions by environmentalists in Turkey. The Australian Normandy Company, which was waiting for permission to work the gold mine in Ovacik, demanded this issue be put on the agenda during the Australian Prime Minister John Howard's visit to Turkey eleven days ago. In an article in the daily 'Financial Review' concerning the incident, it was written that Howard met the Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and that Ecevit promised him that this gold mine will soon be up and running. This newspaper also wrote about a system that will decrease the worries and annoyance of the enviromentalists in Turkey. However, the details of this system were not detailed. If this company begins to produce gold from this mine, then it will extract 105,000 ounce of golden a year. /Cumhuriyet/

SEA TURTLE FESTIVAL IN ANTALYA

The Association for the Protection of Natural Life (DHKD) will hold a festival honouring the sea turtle species named "Caretta Caretta" on May 19-21 in Antalya's Cinarli district, near the turtle's natural home. The festival will feature concerts, yacht tours, jogging tours, panel discussions and exhibitions. /Turkish Daily News/

FAITH TOURISM IN AVANOS

At the EMITT 2000 tourism fair this spring, the Avanos Municipality was chosen as the best municipality serving faith tourism. Seen as an example of its efforts in faith tourism, Avanos is organizing an Easter ceremony to be held in the Zelve Pasabagi Church on May 7. Greek Orthodox Fener Patriarch Bartholomeos will participate in the ceremony, which is expected to be covered by television media from Greece and Italy. The ceremony is expected to attract a number of foreigners as well as citizens living in other regions of Turkey. /All papers/

FRANCE 2000 FAIR TO BE HELD IN ISTANBUL

'France 2000 Fair' will be held between 6 and 11 June in Istanbul. 150 French companies will attend this fair, which will be organized by the French Ministry of Economy's Promotion and International Fair Organization Commission (CFME-ACTIM) and the Commercial Advisory in Turkey. This cooperation between the small and medium-scale enterprises is also being supported by the two countries. French Embassy's charge d'affaires, Didier Lopinot, stated that they would organize this fair in Istanbul due to the importance they give to Turkey and the confidence they have in Turkey. /Cumhuriyet/

GALATASARAY'S SUCCESS

Galatasaray beat Antalyaspor by 5-3 during the final match of the Turkish Cup that was played in Ataturk Stadium in Diyarbakir yesterday and won the first cup of the season. The match's referee was Metin Tokat and the final score came during overtime. /Cumhuriyet/

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

SPEEDY PERFORMANCE BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE)

Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna expresss his expectations of the Government following the election of the new President. A summary of his column is as follows: "Tomorrow a new President will be elected. The new President will start his term of office on 16 May. Prime Minister Ecevit will submit the resignation of his Government to the President conforming with tradition. Some ministers in the coalition Goverment are expected to change during this process. If this is the case, the Government is expected to prepare a new programme and ask for a vote of confidence. This process may take a few weeks time and after that we hope the problems awaiting Turkey will be taken up in June. It cannot be claimed that nothing has been done during the last months but it is also clear that the country has focused its attention for the most part on the presidential race. It is apparent that the country is in need of courageous initiatives and speedy performance by the Government. President Demirel has stressed the need for state reform. Prime Minister Ecevit has emphasized that Turkey has been a European country in the past and is still one at present. However, the steps taken to cover the distances between European countries and Turkey are insufficient. Our relations with Turkish-speaking countries are stagnant. Time is of the essence. We are not using time efficiently and are frequently falling behind the times. We have to establish a dynamic mechanism and and help it achieve momentum. Our aim should be to catch up with the times both in democracy, economy, education and culture, administration and law. When we catch up with the times we shall see that the dream of a 'Great Turkey' has been realized. A 'Great Turkey' means a Eurasian State among the first ten countries of the world. It means a state within the present borders, but stronger and more confident than ever."

AN END TO 'DOG FIGHT' BY FATIH CEKIRGE (STAR)

Columnist Fatih Cekirge writes on the talks between Turkish and Greek Foreign Ministers. A summary of his column is as follows: "Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Ismail Cem and Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs George Papandreu are discussing a strategic problem in New York these days. Both Ministers were chosen 'statesman' of the year and they are trying to solve one of the most difficult historical problems in this part of the world, the Turco-Greek issue. Even though an immediate solution may not be in sight, taking the latest initiatives of the two Ministers into consideration, we can say that important doors may be opened for a solution. The first concrete steps for such a solution may be confidence building measures. Ismail suggested that ending the armed flight of Turkish and Greek warplanes (dog fights) may be one of these measures. Papandreu looks warmly upon the suggestion. This is probably the most vital development in solving the crisis which had occasionally caused the winds of war to blow in the Aegean. Ismail Cem has an intensive programe in New York. He had an important meeting with US Secretary of State Madeline Albright. The most strategic part of this meeting involved the threat posed by the fanatical religious terrorists in Central Asia and Caucasia. Albright conveyed the US sensitivity on the matter, referring to the files of CIA and Pentagon. According to these files Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are under the threat from fanatical religious terrorism. This movement is united with the 'Vahabi Terror' supported by Afghanistan and financed by Saudi Arabia. Albright stated that important duties befell Turkey on the stability of the Caucasus and Central Asia. Cem replied that Turkey was aware of the fact. As he was talking with US Permanent Representative to the UN, Richard Holbrooke, Cem explained to US senators and the Chairman of the American Press Society that Turkey had become a center of stability in the axis of the Balkans, Central Asia and Caucasus. These are important developments for Turkey's future."

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