VISIT TO PRESIDENT SEZER

President Ahmet Necdet Sezer received assistant Head Rabbi of Turkey, Ishak Haleva, the Head of Turkish Jewish Community, Ryfat Saban, the honorary head of the Turkish Jewish Community, Bensiyon Pinto, and the assistant head of the Turkish Jewish Community, Daniel Navaro at the Cankaya Presidential Palace yesterday, Anatolia Agency reports. The meeting was closed to the press.

MEMBERS OF TUSIAD AND TISK VISIT THE PRESIDENT

Members of the Association of the Turkish Industralists and Businessmen (TUSIAD) and the Turkish Employer Unions Federation (TISK) were received by the President Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday. The Chairman of the TISK, Refik Baydur said that they had presented Sezer a report, expressing their views on economy. He also stated that they had told the President their desire for enacting of the Economic and Social Council (ESK) as soon as possible. The TUSIAD delegation also paid visits to Minister of State, Responsible for Privatization, Yuksel Yalova, and Minister of Justice, Hikmet Sami Turk. /Turkiye/

MOSCOVICI: "RELATIONS WITH TURKEY WILL INCREASE"

The French Minister responsible for the European Union (EU)-France relations, Pierre Moscovici, said that the relations between Turkey and EU would develop during the term presidency of France. Emphasizing Turkey's importance for EU, Moscovici stated that French President, Jacques Chirac, wanted to pay a visit Turkey soon. Pointing out that they would take concrete steps to improve the European Security and Defense Identity (ESDI), Moscovici said that at the EU Leaders Summit, which will be held in Nice on December, certain decisions were expected to be taken on this subject. /Turkiye/

GEN. RALSTON IN TURKEY

During his two-day visit to Turkey, NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR) Joseph W. Ralston was received by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit. During the receptions, the Chief of General Staff Gen. Huseyin Kivrikoglu accompanied him. Ralston's visit to Turkey was his first visit abroad to a NATO country. Gen. Ralston stated that he came to Turkey to express their pleasure concerning Turkey's role in NATO. /Hurriyet/

MESUT YILMAZ TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR RELATIONS WITH EU

The draft law for the establishment of a general secretariat responsible for relations with the European Union was ratified at the TGNA last night. There is a rumor in political circles that if the Chairman of the Motherland Party, Mesut Yilmaz, takes part in the government as a minister, he would be responsible for relations with the European Union. For this reason the new law has been named in public as "The Law for Mesut Yilmaz". /Aksam/

OIC MEETING

As Turkey accelarates its last-minute efforts regarding the election of a new secretary-general of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Mahathir Muhammad, Malaysian Prime Minister, critised the Araps for their alliance with "the enemies of Islam against the Ottomans" during World War I. Speaking at the openning ceremony of the 27th meeting of OIC foreign ministers as the prime minister of the host country, Muhammad stated that the Arab's support for the British and French against the Ottoman Turks had only meant changing one administration for another. A total of 56 countries are attending the four-day meeting, along with four observer states. Although the main topic of the meeting is "Islam and Globalization", countries which have announced candidates for the post of secretary-general have been lobbying busily. Turkey has announced Ambassador Yasar Yakis as its candidate for the position of OIC secretary-general, a first in Turkish history. /Turkish Daily News/

BLACK SEA COUNTRIES TO FORM A NAVAL FORCE

Six countries on the Black Sea coast have decided to form a naval force. A letter of intent which will indicate the basic principles of the force, called the Black Sea Naval Cooperation Misson Group, or "BLACKSEAFOR", is expected to be signed today in Ankara. A statement from the Foreign Ministry said that the letter of intent will be signed by Turkey, Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia and Ukranie. BLACKSEAFOR will be responsible for conducting joint humanitarian missions and search and rescue efforts. /Turkish Daily News/

TRNC PRESIDENT RAUF DENKTAS RECEIVES ALFRED MOSES

President Rauf Denktas of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has stated that they were not certain as to whether the third round of Cyprus promixity talks scheduled to be held in Geneva would take place. Denktas received US President Bill Clinton's Special Cyprus Envoy, Alfred Moses, and US State Department Cyprus Special Coordinator, Thomas Weston. Following the meeting which lasted for an hour, Rauf Denktas stated that the meeting had gone well. Alfred Moses said that they impatiently await the third round of talks to be held, Anatolia Agency reports.

TURKEY HESITATES TO ATTEND MEETING

Turkey, which is excluded from EU`s new structure established for the security and defense of Europe (ESDI), has not decided yet if she will participate in the meeting of the allied countries which are not members of EU in Brussels. Ankara is hesitant to attend the meeting which is planned to get together the six countries that are excluded from EU`s decision-making mechanisms with Javier Solana,the coordinator of European Security and Defense Identity. Norway had announced on 3 July that the objective of the meeting to be convened in Brussels will be to provide the excluded countries the chance of conveying their views to EU directly. However, the diplomatic sources emphasized that the Brussels meeting is not the platform which Turkey would prefer. /Cumhuriyet/

ECEVIT WARNS THE WORKERS

Economic and Social Council (ESC) under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit held a meeting yesterday. In his inaugural speech, Ecevit said that in the market economy and in the process of globalization everything could not be expected from government and in order to decrease the inflation there should be compromise among workers, farmers, employers and government. He added that private sector had also duties for curbing the inflation. Wage increases should not make workers and civil servants to suffer from inflation and at the same time, it should not affect investments. The Chairman of the Turkish Employees Confederation (Türk-Is), Bayram Meral said he understood Prime Minister Ecevit and added "We are hopeful for the future of the relations between employees and employers". On the other hand, the Turkish Revolutionary Employees Confederation (DISK) did not participate in the ESC meeting. Vahdettin Karabay, the Chairman of DISK, said that the structure and agenda of ESC was controversial, and the demands of the participating organizations were not taken into consideration. /Milliyet/

UNBECOMING STANCE OF AL GORE

The US Vice President and the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party, Al Gore, is ready to promise everything to the Iraqi dissidents. He did not allow the Turkish Anatolian News Agency reporter to enter the photo-session held prior to the meeting he conducted with the Iraqi dissidents. It was a matter of curiosity what Al Gore wanted to hide from the semi-official news agency of Turkey. The meeting Al Gore held with Barzani, Talabani and the chairman of the so-called Iraqi National Council, Ahmet Celebi is followed with concern in Ankara. It is stated that prior to the meeting in Washington, the US Ambassador to Ankara has informed the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit. /Aksam/

ASSOCIATION OF BALKAN CHAMBERS (ABC) CONVENES ON THURSDAY

Association of Balkan Chambers will hold a meeting on 29 June at the Ceylan Intercontinental Hotel in Istanbul. At the meeting, cooperation in the Balkans, restructuring of Southeast Europe, integration with the European Union and relations with the Southeast Cooperation Initiative (SECI) will be discussed, Anatolia Agency reports.

BORAY URAS IN ANKARA

Boray Uras arrived at Ankara yesterday evening. After the death of his daughter and his son-in law in a traffic accident at Baghdat street in Istanbul, Uras had started his long walk from Istanbul to gain public support for the new traffic law to be promulgated. Uras is going to meet the people, who were supporting him throughout his journey, at 10.30 at Atatürk's Mausoleum. Uras said that the new traffic law may not be enough to prevent the traffic accidents and remove the deficiencies in this issue, but it would be a start point. /Cumhuriyet/

STABILITY IS THE KEY

Treasury Undersecretary Selcuk Demiralp, who met European investors last week, stated that there is a significant confidence for Turkey in the foreign countries and that if stability is maintained, Turkey will definitely achieve her goals. Demiralp said, "We have to keep this confidence alive. The views of foreign countries are important for the success of the economic program." Demiralp pointed out that the foreign investors knew both the Turkish domestic market and the economic program well and were careful in taking the effects of political developments into consideration. He added that the foreign circles found the results of the first 5 months as successful but noted that this performance should be maintained until the end of the programme . Demiralp also stated that the relations among the coalition partners were closely followed by the foreign investors. /Sabah/

RESPECT FOR LIFE PROJECT

The ITU AND TUSIAD are preparing a project with which a city with 777 houses in the district of Arizli, Kocaeli will be established. Istanbul Technical University (ITU) and Turkish Industralists and Businessmen Association (TUSIAD) aim to solve the housing problem which emerged after the Marmara earthquake with their "Respect for Life Project". The houses will be resistant to earthquakes. The authorities aim that this project will be a model for future ones. The cost of the houses was estimated to reach $ 17 million and the cost of the infrastructure is $ 10.6 million. TUSIAD will finance this project with a donation campaign that will be carried out in Turkey, Europe and the US. /Cumhuriyet/

5 YEAR DEVELOPMENT PLAN APPROVED

The 8th Five Year Development Plan was approved in the plenary session of the TGNA yesterday. With the proposals of the opposition paBrties, the planning of written, oral and visual programmes for an education dedicated to national, moral and ethical values in the pre-school period was accepted. In addition, it was decided to continue religious education in schools. /Cumhuriyet/

USE OF CONSUMER CREDITS INCREASES

Union of Banks in Turkey has reported that consumers' credit drawings from the banks have rapidly increased in the first three months of the year by five folds compared with the same period in the last year. According to the report, which was prepared by the data collected from 30 banks in Turkey, consumer credit drawings reached TL 1 quadrillion during the first quarter of the year because of the sharp fall in the interest rates in Turkey./Hurriyet/

LOAN INCREASE

Turkey aims to arise its loan which is expected to be given by the World Bank in the scope of the Country Aid Strategy (CAS), from 2,250 billion dollars to 3 billion dollars. According to the financial sources, the World Bank principally accepts the increase taking into consideration of Turkey's need. If the loan increases to 3 billion dollars, the total amount of loan which was given to Turkey by the World Bank will be 6 billion dollars. /Turkiye/

EXPORTS INCREABSED BY %13

Besides the rapid increase in the imports, the export figures also rose by %13 in April. Foreign trade deficit reached %54. Compared to the same period of last year, the imports reached $2 billion 213 million increasing by %13.3, whereas the exports reached $ 4 billion 346 million increasing by % 30.3 this year. /Sabah/

MOUNT NEMRUT WILL BE RIVAL TO THE PYRAMIDS

The Tomb of the King Antiacos at the Nemrut Mount in Turkey is expected to make greater echoes and be much more important than the Pyramid built for Pharaoh Tutankhamon in Egypt in understanding the historical periods and civilizations that passed away. During the 8th Kommagene Festival in Kahta district of Adiyaman province in Turkey, the chairman of the Mount Nemrut Foundation, Maurice Crijns, said to the reporters that the tomb in the mount Nemrut which they plans to open, would be much more important sample of the ancient graves, reports Anatolia Agency.

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

ONCE MORE? SEDAT SERTOGLU (SABAH)

Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna writes on the necessity of national unity. A summarBy of his column is as follows: "As always, today there are attempts to disrupt our national unity, separate the country and divide the people. Generally they have powerful supporters. Those who work against the unity of Turkey have close relations with foreign circles. As in all countries, in Turkey people can be convinced by material or imaginary aims. The State defends itself against these movements and actions by executing the will of the people. This defence may cost dearly, lead to great sufferings and may last long. The attempts to divide our nation as Turk versus Kurd, Sunni versus Alewite, secular versus religious are going on. Those who want to squeeze money by bribery, to take office and come to power are fanning the fire of hate. Foreign circles whose plans on Kurds have failed are testing the Alewites today. They are trying their utmost to reduce the status of Kurds and Alewites from first class citizens to that of a minority. However, both Kurds and Alewites don't feel themselves as minorities. The passing away of retired Admiral Guven Erkaya has been an occasion to fan a conflict between those who favour secularism and those who favour fundamentalism. There are claims to the effect that differences of opinion exist between the National Security Council and General Staff concerning the EU standards. There are rumours that the military does not want the country to enter the EU. These are all nonsense. The military will adapt itself more quickly than the other sectors of the society to EU standards. As we approach these standards the attempts to divide us will be reduced to nil."

REFORM INITIATIVES AT THE OIC BY KENAN AKIN (TURKIYE)

Columnist Kenan Akin comments on the reform initiatives at the meeting of the Organization of Islamic (OIC). A summary of his column is as follows: At the Organization o Islamic Conference meeting in Kuala Lumpur,the Malaysian capital, the reformist initatives brought to the agenda are drawing great interest. The 27th meeting of the OIC is entitled 'Islam and Globalization'. The organization was formed by Islamic countries but could not exert a notable influence until today. The reformist initiatives are expected to give moral support to poor countries. The OIC which could not implement the decisions taken at meetings properly is expected to be more influential in the 21st century. The candidacy of Turkey for the General Secretary of the organization is considered to be one of the reformist initiatives. Meanwhile, the speech delivered by the Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed is expected to have great impact. The first time in 90 years, the Ottoman Empire was recalled with due respect. The conference at Kuala Lumpur will be the scene of unaccustomed, interesting and reformist initatives./Turkiye/

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