SEZER: "CONSTITUTION IS NOT AN OBSTACLE"

The Chairman of Republican Peoples Party (CHP), Altan Oymen and 16 members of CHP's central executive council visited President Ahmet Necdet Sezer to congragulate him and to wish him success. During the meeting, Sezer said, "The Constitution does not constitute an obstacle in abolishing the death penalty." Sezer said, "Citizens understood the negative results of the absence of CHP in the TGNA." and added "I hope wee see CHP in TGNA after the next election." Oymen expressed to the President the importance of the issues like democratization and the partisan implementations in the municipalities. /Cumhuriyet/

DISCUSSIONS OVER ARTICLE 312

The verdict for Necmettin Erbakan, has revived the discussions over the article 312 of the Turkish Penal Code. Politicians, thinking that the decision taken during the process of Turkey's full EU membership may negatively affect Turkey's benefits, have begun to discuss over various formulas, including to convene the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) for an extraordinary meeting to amend the article 312. The article, which is 167th on the waiting list of the proposals to be discussed at the TGNA, is expected to be pulled to the first rows and taken up at the beginning of the new legislative year. Meanwhile, Recai Kutan, the leader of the Virtue Party (FP), has begun to meet the leaders to ask for their support to abolish the article 312. All parties, excluding the Nationalist Action Party (MHP), which is anxious that separatist activities may increase, approach warmly to the amendment offer. /Turkiye/

CILLER: "WE REGRET THE VERDICT"

Stressing that they regreted the ratification of the verdict which envisaged to send Necmettin Erbakan to prison, leader of the True Path Party (DYP) Tansu Ciller, said, "We want to compete with our rivals on a political platform." Ciller paid a visit to Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO) and discussed the economic situation with the businessmen. Regarding the Erbakan case, Ciller said, "We do not want to enter polemics over the issue. It is our responsibilty to elevate the standarts of democracy and see that Turkey conforms to the norms of EU." /Turkiye/

EU: "THE DECISION DOES NOT COMPLY WITH DEMOCRACY"

The Council of European Parliament critized the one-year jail sentence for the former Prime Minister and the leader of the closed Welfare Party (RP), Necmettin Erbakan. The Speaker of the Parliament, Lord Russell-Johnson said that the ratification of the decision by the High Court of Appeals, which bans Necmettin Erbakan from politics for a life term and sends him to jail, did not suit to the principles of pluralistic democracy. Johnson said, "This decision contradicts with the basic norms and standarts of the Council of Europe concerning the expression and institutional freedoms." /Turkiye/

PERLE: "CYPRUS ISSUE CAN NOT BE SOLVED WITH PRESSURE"

Richard Perle, foreign affairs consultant of the US presidential candidate George W. Bush and former Deputy Secretary of Defense stressed that the US should not pressure to both sides living on the Island to find a solution to the Cyprus issue. Perle said, "Solutions obtained with pressure is not permanent, effective and usually, fair." /Cumhuriyet/

CYPRUS PROBLEM TO GO TO THE EU

Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreu will bring the Cyprus problem to the agenda of the EU Foreign Ministers' Council meeting which will be held on 10 July. As the proximity talks between the TRNC and the Greek Cypriot Administration go on in Geneva, Papandreu will state to the EU Foreign Ministers that Turkey is trying to gain more territory on the Green Line in Cyprus. Papandreu will also inform the EU Ministers on the meetings held between Ankara and Athens following the Helsinki process. It is known that Greece is not happy with the recent developments on Cyprus and therefore, Papandreu will complain of the stance taken by the TRNC President Rauf Denktas to the EU Ministers. He will also call on the EU to find a solution to the Cyprus problem. /Turkiye/

HIZBULLAH ON THE STAGE AGAIN

Seyhmuz Aziz who was one of the members of Diyarbakir Branch of Office Workers Union was fatally wounded by the armed attacks of two militans of Hizbullah yesterday. The weapon used in the attacks was determined as a Makarov pistol which was used also in previous Hizbullah shootings. The assailants also shot and wounded two policemen who tried to intervene at the time of the shooting. Diyarbakir's Security Chief, Gaffar Okkan stated that the murder of Aziz was a result of the interior conflict within the Hizbullah organization. /Cumhuriyet/

CAKMAKOGLU IN SOFIA

Minister of Defense Sabahattion Cakmakoglu went to Sofia, the capital city of Bulgaria, for an official visit. After a meeting with his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Noev, Cakmakoglu said that they discussed the bilateral relations and the recent developments in the region. Cakmakoglu was also receieved by President Petar Stoyanov. /Hurriyet/

TURKEY TO BE A BRIDGE FOR ENERGY TO EUROPE

The first step to carry the Caspian oil and natural gas through Turkey to Europe is being taken. The memorandum including Turkey and Greece into the project at the EU Commission is being signed today. The EU Commission has given its suppport to the project for carrying the Caspian oil and natural gas in the region with a pipeline over Turkey to Greece and Italy. The oil pipeline will bring political power, revenue from rent and oil to Turkey. EU Council's member Responsible for Foreign Affairs, Christopher Patten stated that this would ease the integration of connections between the Caspian, Black Sea, the Mediterranean and Northern Africa. He also added that he will exchange information with Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreu and and Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem on the work on pipelines, transportation of oil and natural gas, and technical cooperation./Milliyet, Cumhuriyet/

TURKEY'S FIRST INTELLIGENCE SATELLITE

Turkey will be able to control its territory from outer space with the first Turkish intelligence satellite. Problems like PKK terroristic activities and drug trafficking will be strictly controlled with the help of the photographs taken by the satellite. The satellite will take photographs from Turkey's borders for 24 hours. It will transfer the information to the land station in 3-5 minutes. /Sabah/

TURKS DEMONSTRATED IN PARIS

Turks living in Paris held a demonstration to protest the increasing rate of theft against themselves. Turks said that the thieves who introduce themselves as policemen stole the valuable things in their houses. They also said that the thieves who could not find anything valuable in the house, torture the house members and threaten the parents to kidnap their children. /Turkiye/

NEW AIRPORT TO OPEN IN ISTANBUL

It was announced that the Sabiha Gokcen International Airport currently under construction in Pendik, Kurtkoy is scheduled to be opened at the end of the year. The airport will be able to accomodate 45 planes parked on its apron and is expected to service 3 million passengers for international flights and 500.000 on domestic airlines. /Turkish Daily News/

RESTORATION WORKS AT DOLMABAHCE PALACE

The National Palaces Directorate, affiliated with the Parliament, has initiated a series of restoration works to protect the historical palaces and mansions which comprise Turkey's national heritage. Parliamentary Deputy Speaker Murat Sokmenoglu gave the details of the restoration works in Dolmabahce Palace. Sokmenoglu said that at the initial stage commissions including experts and museum researchers assessed the values of antique furniture, precious paper and carpets in the basement of Dolmabahce. Sokmenoglu added that scientific and technological methods would be used in the restoration, which will continue by the end of 2000. /Turkish Daily News/

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING THREATS ANTI-INFLATIONARY TARGETS

Collective bargaining which involves nearly 170,000 business places and about 350,000 workers this year is expected to pace on knife-edge. It causes concern that economic program deviate from the determined anti-inflationary targets in case that workers should insist on more than 25% wage-increase. And if employers disagree for the demand, then workers could go on strike. Until now, the two sides, have not shown any compromise. Experts point out that the wage increase model of `10 percent plus inflation' which is to be applied for civil cervants, should also be applied for the public workers, otherwise inflation will be inavitable fate for the 65 million people. The model makes the wages increase %25 for workers.

WORLD BANK INCREASES CAS CREDIT FOR TURKEY

Aydin Karaoz, General Director of Foreign Economic Relations Department of Treasury Undersecretariat, said that World Bank would increase the credit for Turkey by $250 million due to the CAS program (Country Assessment Program) so as to make the total volume of credit $2.5 billions for the year 2000. Karaoz said that they received $375 million economic reform credit last week and added that CAS credit would be ready in a few days which is going to support the ongoing structural reform program. /Hurriyet/

KOC-SONMEZ MERGES FOR ENERGY

ENTEK Power Plant, a joint venture of Koc and Sonmez Holdings, has been opened in Bursa. ENTEK cost 88 million dollars and has a 800-million kw/hr electricity and 115-ton/hr vapour capacity. /Turkiye/

TUPRAS GETS READY FOR EU

Turkish Petroleum Company (TUPRAS) will make a 1,800-billion dollar investment by the end of 2003. Aiming to increase the quality of its current productions to adapt them to EU standards, TUPRAS is also planning to implement a serious of projects to prevent environmental pollution and save energy. /Turkiye/

IKV CHAIRMAN: EU WILL BE WORLD POWER WITH TURKEY

Chairman of the Economic Development Foundation, (IKV) Meral Gezgin Eri? said that Turkey's membership would make EU a global power. Stating that integration with a muslim member, Eri? noted that EU can find new markets with the help of Turkey. Gezgin Eri? said that with the contribution of a muslim member with the EU would gain a unique vision of geographic and cultural prospects. Eris said: "To integrate with all the candidate countries is important for the EU but especially with Turkey. Because the EU will find new markets besides establishing bridges to the new geopraphic and cultural areas to make her a global power. She will share the current, effective power of Turkey in the areas of Balkans, Caucasia, Middle East, Black Sea". /Sabah/

WOLF COMES FOR OIL

The US President Bill Clinton's advisor responsible for the energy sources of Hazar Basin, John Wolf will meet the deputy undersecretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mithat Balkan. Wolf, who will go to Baku next week, will be also received by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit. In the meetings, Turkmenistan natural gas pipeline project will be discussed. /Milliyet/

GOVERNMENT IS DETERMINED TO BRING DOWN THE INFLATION

The chairman of the Koc Holding Administrative Board, Rahmi Koc said that the government was determined to carry out the disinflation program and acted accordingly. He said that the targets were to be reached step by step. He added that there were methods to decrease the inflation and Israel, Brazil and Argentina took drastic measures and decreased the inflation sharply in a shorter period. He said, however, Turkey chose to bring down inflation without negatively affecting the economy. /Sabah/

SIEMENS WINS THE ISKENDERUN POWER-PLANT CONTRACT

German industrial and technology group, Siemens AG, announced that an affiliated consortium has won an order worth 1.5 billion Euros ($ 1.44 billion) to build a power station near Iskenderun. In addition to Siemens Power Generation Group,the consortium comprises Germany's Babock Borsig Power AG and Turkish Gama-Tekfen. The Power-station will be operated by German company, Steag AG. /Sabah/

CABINET APPROVES VAKIFBANK PRIVATIZATION

The Minister of State, Rustu Kazim Yucelen said that the draft law on the privatization of Vakifbank submitted to the TGNA was opened to signature of the Cabinet as the decree in the force of law. Yucelen also said that organizational and functional changes would be made in the Directorate General of Foundations and Charities. Also the Directorate would be made an institution with a private budget instead of an administration with an additional budget. /Sabah/

850 MILLION DOLLARS LOAN TO GARANTI AND YAPI KREDI BANK

Garanti Bank and Yapi Kredi Bank will get $ 850 million dollars from foreign capital markets. Garanti Bank signed the syndication loan agreement totalling $ 400 million dollars with Libor plus 4.75 interest rate for one year period. The loan will be used for the renewal of the existing credit of $ 250 million taken the previous year. The syndication credit was signed yesterday in Istanbul by ABN Amro, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Barclays Capital, Bayerische Landesbank, Commercial Bank of Greece and Deutsche Bank. Yapi Kredi Bank also agreed to receive $ 450 million syndication credit, the biggest amount so far, from foreign capital markets. The agreement will be signed on 11 July in Paris. /Sabah/

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

ROUTE MAP FOR THE AEGEAN BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)

Columnist Sami Kohen comments on the recent studies of non-governmental organizations concerning the rapprochement between Turkey and Greece. A summary of his column is as follows: "For some time non-governemental initiatives are influencing the Turco-Greek rapprochement. The strong will for peace and friendship displayed by both nations have led diplomats and government officials to make new evaluations. Recently, a Turkish-Greek group which does not have any official status has carried out a different mission than the other initiatives. The difference of this initiative lies in the fact that, it handles critical problems between the two countries and takes a step further than the others to create a climate of confidence and friendship. The name of the group is, 'Turco-Greek Forum'. This Forum had been formed with the efforts of late Admiral Guven Erkaya and two public relations firms in London (RUSI) and Oslo (PRIO). The Political Analysis Group of the organization has prepared a document submitted to the foreign ministers of both countries. The content of the document was made public this week. Forum begins its work by defining the problems in the Aegean and draws up the following list, the continental shelf, territorial waters, air space and arming of the Greek Islands. As can be recalled, all Greek governments had claimed that there was only one problem in the Aegean and that was the continental shelf. On the other hand Turkey had given the priority to other issues mentioned on the list. It can be said that there is a disagreement between Turkey aand Greece on the definition of the issues in the Aegean. The sides in the Forum have overcome this disagreement and mentioned all problems. This is an important development. This does not reflect the official Greek view and in no circumstances leave it under any obligation. However, the fact that leading Greek personalities taking part in the Forum are taking these into consideration, show that that there is a trend in Greece to produce realistic policies. Following the definition of the problems, a method for solution of the problems is suggested. According to this, the continental shelf issue should be taken up first. However, this is closely related to territorial waters and air space. There is an important point the Forum underlines on this issue and that is that the sides should determine a timetable for the negotiation of these problems, such as two or three years. During this time the status quo in the Aegean should remain as it is. If the problems can be solved within this period it would be a success. Otherwise both sides should take these problems to the The International Court of Justice at the Hague and be ready to accept its decision. The Forum suggests that the problem concerning the arming of the islands should be taken up as the last issue. The atmosphere of confidence hoped to be established by then will facilitate the finding of a solution. In practice, this document draws up a route map for the solution of the Aegean problems. The contribution of a non-governmental organizations cannot be more. The rest concerns diplomats and the governments. We hope that the officials both in Ankara and Athens give a new direction to their politicies benefiting from this route map."

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