SEZER IN AZERBAIJAN

Stressing that the relations between two countries would continue in harmony, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer visiting the friendly country, Azerbaijan, said, "The change of head of states does not effect our relations, the roots of date back to history, depend on friendship and ties of blood." President Sezer is in Baku for a two-day official visit at the invitation of Azerbaijani President Haydar Aliyev. He was welcomed at the airport by Aliyev with an official ceremony. After a meeting, Sezer and Aliyev signed a "Joint Declaration" regarding the visit. The declaration stated that during the meetings, the topics on the improvement of bilateral relations between two countries and regional and international issues were discussed. President Sezer also said that they had agreed to start the negotiations for transfering Azerbaijani natural gas to Turkey. Recalling that he would visit a camp where refugees were accommodated after the occupation of Azerbaijani lands, Sezer said Turkey's aid would continue to those people. /Turkiye/

SEZER: "INCREASE IN POPULATION CAUSES POVERTY"

World Population Day was celebrated yesterday. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer stated that if the increase rate in the world population remains the same, the countries will experience serious problems in future. President Sezer said, " High rates of increase in the population result in the unjust distribution of the resources and poverty." /Cumhuriyet/

DGPI PRESENTS A SHIELD TO PM ECEVIT

Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit yesterday received a delegation including Director General of Press and Information, Aydin Sezgin and State Minister, Rustu Kazim Yucelen due to the 80th anniversary of Directorate General of Press and Information. Yucelen presented a shield to the Prime Minister, together with the decision of Ecevit's appoinment as a translator to the Directorate General of Press and Information in 1945. /Cumhuriyet/

ISMAIL CEM COMPLAINS ABOUT EU FINANCIAL PACKAGE

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ismail Cem complains about lack of progress on the European Union's(EU) financial package for Turkey at a lunch hosted for EU ambassadors in Ankara. Cem expressed Turkey's satisfaction with the work of the Association Council and working groups, but complained about the lack of progress on the financial front. Cem told the ambassadors that the EU had not yet provided a financial package for Turkey. /Turkish Daily News/

NINE DEATH SENTENCES AT THE INDICTMENT OF OPERATION "HOPE"

The Public Prosecutor of Ankara State Security Court, Hamza Keles has finished the indictment of operation "Hope". Keles said that the murder cases on Ugur Mumcu, Bahriye Ucok, A.Taner Kislali and Muammer Aksoy had connections with Iran and had been definitely solved this time. Apart from these, Keles claims that he clarified 19 more murders including the assassinations of foreign diplomats, such as Israeli Ehud Sadan and American sergeant Victor Marwick. According to the indictment, Turkey branch of Jerusalem Warriors which is a subgroup of illegal Tevhid-Selam organization and Revolutionary Guards of Iran orientated by Iranian Secret Service (SAWAMA) was responsible for the murders. However, the decision on the murder of Turkish journalists and academicians were taken by the assassins themselves. They did not receive any instruction for their terrorist actions. Therefore, this Iranian-backed terrorist formation issue could not be enlightened properly. At the indictment, death sentence was requested for nine accused who were charged with "attempting to abolish the secular constitutional order". Keles also made it clear that the indictments were not based solely on the suspects' confessions but also upon expert testimony and forensic evidence such as fingerprints. /Hurriyet/

TURKEY PLACED 22ND IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2000

According to Human Development Report 2000 prepared by United Nations Development Program (UNDP), United States of America is the country which has the biggest economy of the world with its gross national product per capita of $ 7 trillion 903 billion. In the report consisting of 174 countries, industrialized countries are in the first rows. Japan with $ 4 trillion, Germany with $ 2.2 trillion and France with $ 1.5 trillion followed USA respectively. Turkey is 22th with $ 200 billion 500 million following Belgium, Sweden and Austria. /Sabah/

CYPRUS PROXIMITY TALKS TO CONTINUE

The third round of the Cyprus proximity talks is continuing in Geneva. UN Secretary General's Cyprus Special Representative Alvaro de Soto is meeting with the delegations headed by Greek-Cypriot leader Glafkos Klerides and President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Rauf Denktas. In the meantime, a number of representatives from EU countries are visiting the hotels, where the two leaders are staying and holding secret meetings with them. After meeting separately with De Soto today, Denktas and Klerides are expected to leave Geneva tomorrow. /Turkiye/

COALITION PARTNERS TO HOLD A SUMMIT

Coalition partners will hold a leaders' summit on 13 July. The coalition partners, who were waiting for the Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz to return from the US, will meet tomorrow and discuss the issues on the agenda. If Yilmaz wishes to enter the cabinet, a new arrangement will be made in the cabinet. The other three issues that will be on the agenda during this summit are as follows: amnesty, death sentence and Article 312. /Star/

RAPPROCHEMENT IN THE CENTRAL RIGHT

The rapprochement between the True Path Party (DYP) and the Motherland Party (ANAP), which began during the discussions over the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) investigation commissions's reports, gained a new dimension with the DYP leader Tansu Ciller's recent "New Path" offer. Ciller said that she would take ten steps, if ANAP leader Mesut Yilmaz took only one step, regarding the merging of the central right parties. Recalling that the chance of "Motherpath" which was established in 1996 was lost Ciller said that to get that chance again, ANAP's one step would be enough. /Turkiye/

ENVIRONMENTAL REWARD FOR GENDERMARIE

Minister of Environment Fevzi Aytekin presented a "Reward for Contribution to Environment" to the Gendermarie General Command for their afforestation and preserving environment works, carried out by gendarmerie units throughout the country. /Aksam/

CHIBBER: "TURKEY IS ON THE RIGHT TRACK"

World Bank Director in charge of Turkey Ajay Chibber said, "International Monetary Fund's (IMF) approval of Turkey's second letter of intention showed that Turkey's is on the right track." Chibber stated that Turkey is successful in continuing its disinflation program and structural reforms. Chibber said he found the ongoing economic program excellent. Turkey sent the second letter of intention on June 22 and the IMF executive directors' board approved the letter on July 6. Due to the approval, Turkey will receive third part of the total credit, $ 295 million, agreed to in the stand-by agreement signed at the end of 1999. /Sabah/

TURKCELL IS IN NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGES

Turkcell shares begun to be traded in the New York Stock Exchanges (NYSE) and Istanbul Stock Exchanges (IMKB) after the company offered shares worth $1.9 billion to private and institutional investors between July 3-7. Trading of shares in the New York Stock Market began with the speech of Market Chairman Richard Grosso and sounding of the gong by the chairman of the executive board of Cukurova Holding Company, Mehmet Emin Karamehmet. Before the floor trading, two seperate ceremonies were held both in New York Stock Market and the Wall Street, the world's big financial centre. As soon as the trading began at NYSE, the Wall Street turned into a carnival place. Excited by the shows and performances of Turkish folk dancers, Chairman of the NYSE Richard Grosso joined them for a while. Of the total public offer, 12.5 percent were alloted to domestic investors whilst 87.5 percent to foreign investors, totalled together $1.9 billion. Turkcell announced that the total sales in Turkey was 29 percent of total public offering. Turkcell's trading code at NYSE was determined to be TKC and transactions to be made in ADR units. Each ADR unit was priced $17.6 first. In Turkey, trading of Turkcell shares were in the market yesterday with the decision of IMKB. During the first day at NYSE, trading began with demand more than request so that ADR Unit rose from the $17.6 to the maximum $18.75 and closed the session $17.6. Trading code at IMKB for Turkcell was determined as TCELL. Public offering price of each Turkcell share was determined to be TL44,000 in Turkey. When trading began yesterday, it was about TL46.000, then heavy bids for Turkcell pushed the price TL48,500 level. Then balanced about the TL46,000 and closed the session TL46,500. Due to the heavy buoyancy in Turkcell trading, market capitalization of IMKB reached a total of $111 billion yesterday. $17.884 billion of it was of TURKCELL only. This means that market capitalization of TURKCELL reached %16.11 of the total. /Hurriyet/

FOUR TURKISH COMPANIES AT THE FORBES' LIST

Four companies from Turkey took place in the "800 Powerful Companies of the World" list of Forbes magazine. At the list, Koc group is on 451st line, Sabanci group 481st, Garanti Bank 611th and Tupras 792nd. Koc Group announced their profit $5.552 million for 1999. The market value of the group was declared as $5.406 million. The profits and market values of three other companies were announced as follows, respectively: Sabanci group $5.188 million, $5.766 million; Garanti Bank $4.077 million, $3.331 million; Tupras $2.953 million, $4.001 million. Daimler-Chrysler , Mitsui and Co, Mitsubishi, Toyota and Itochu were on the top of the list. The profit of the Daimler-Chrsyler in 1999 was declared $151.632 million. /Hurriyet/

HYDEN HOPEFUL ABOUT TURKEY

Neil Hyden,one of the Managing Directors of the World Bank, said that Turkey would be one of the most successful countries in the 21th century, if it continued its reform program assertively. After meeting the Minister of Education, Metin Bostancioglu, Hyden said,"We discussed the World Bank-backed projects and were immensely impressed by the success of the progress seen in these projects. The inflation in Turkey is in a downward trend. The budget is in good condition. The reforms carried out in education impressed us". /Hurriyet/

SUPPORT FOR EXPORTERS

State Minister Tunca Toskay announced after the Eximbank meeting yesterday, government has decided to pull the interests for eximbank credits in liras by 5 points, that is from the level of %30-34 to %25-29 to support the exporters. At a reception hosted by Union of Turkey's Exporters, Tunca Toskay added that Eximbank credit limits were raised TL1 trillion./Star/

'STRUGGLE SHOULD CONTINUE TO DEFEAT INFLATION'

Stressing that markets were tired of inflation, Chairman of the Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO), Sinan Aygun said that the TGNA should begin to new legislation year one month earlier and complete the structural reforms. The Deputy Chairman of Ankara Chamber of Industry (ASO), Erhan Peker, also asked government not to give even any concessions during the fight against inflation. /Cumhuriyet/

WAGE INCREASES ON 15 JULY

The Minister of Finance, Sumer Oral said that civil servants will get their increased wages on 15 July and the percentage of increase would be announced soon. Oral said that they would take a decision in accordance with the economic stabilization program. The cabinet will discuss the issue today. /Hurriyet/

MAINTENANCE IN AUTOMOTIVE FACTORIES

Local automotive giants, OYAK Renault and TOFAS announced that they would stop their production at the end of July and they would implement annual maintenance-repair period. Meanwhile, workers of OYAK Renault and TOFAS will have their annual holidays between July 28 and August 21, and between July 31 and August 14, respectively. /Cumhuriyet/

LOS ANGELES TIMES PRAISES THE OTTOMAN EXHIBITION IN US

The exhibition entitled 'Gold and Light Palace: Topkapi Treausury', which displays the magnificence of the Ottoman Empire and which has been exhibited at the Museum of Corcoran in Washington, is now being exhibited at the Art Museum in San Diego, US. A leading US daily, 'Los Angeles Times', published an article on the exhibition and wrote: "As the Ottoman Empire enlarged, it became richer with the lands it conquered and the Topkapi Palace became a centre of artists. The themes of war, conquest, the palace life and Islam can be seen in the works brought from Topkapi Palace." /Hurriyet/

TURKISH FASHION DESIGNER'S SUCCESS

Huseyin Caglayan, a Turkish-Cypriot fashion designer who was rewarded as the "fashion designer of the year" in Britain, was the subject of an article in the "Time" magazine's latest issue. Stating that Caglayan had not been designing the models to sell, the article said that he was combining fashion with technology. /Turkiye/

GEWANDHAUS BACH ORCHESTRA STAGES CONCERT

Gewandhaus Bach Orchestra staged Bach concerts both in Istanbul and Izmir. The 'Lyrical Demonstration of History', which was performed in the ancient city of Ephesus to a crowded audience, is an important event in terms of art. /Cumhuriyet/

INTERNATIONAL TANGO FESTIVAL IN MARMARIS

'Marmaris International Tango Festival', which will be organized by the Foundation of Promoting the Tourism in Marmaris, will be held between 16 and 21 September. In the framework of the festival, tango dance courses will be given, concerts will be staged and journeys and balls will be organized. /Cumhuriyet/

7TH INTERNATIONAL ISTANBUL JAZZ FESTIVAL CONTINUES

In the framework of the 7th International Istanbul Jazz Festival, Fazil Say and Kudsi Erguner will stage a concert at Lutfi Kirdar International Congress and Exhibition Centre today. During the concert, in which the two cultures, styles and instruments will meet, 'Fazil Say and Kudsi Erguner Jazz Quartet' will interpret Say's jazz compositions by making use of the rhythms of the Turkish music. /Cumhuriyet/

TWO DAYS OFF FOR STATE INSTITUTIONS

Due to the extremely high temperatures affecting daily life, state organizations and institutions are given two days off for Thursday and Friday. It is stated that record-breaking temperatures are expected across the country on Thursday. On Friday the weather will be rainy in the north of the country and temperatures will increase again after Friday. Meteorologists stated that these days are the hottest days of last 60 years and they warned people not to go out between the critical hours. /Cumhuriyet/

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

IN SEARCH OF NEW POLICIES IN ATHENS BY SEMIH IDIZ (STAR)

Columnist Semih Idiz writes on the recent search of new policies by Athens on the issues concerning Turkey and Greece. A summary of his column is as follows: "Both the news which appeared in daily 'To Vima', and Foreign Minister George Papandreou's statement to daily'Ta Nea', have shown that Athens is in search of new policies concerning issues which are creating problems between Turkey and Greece. As To Vima stated that Simitis and Papandreou were evaluating new formulas on the Aegean by a flexible approach, the interview Papandreou has given to Ta Nea confirms this. In fact, Papandreou still says that they prefer the issue to be solved by the International Court at the Hague. However, he displays a new stance on the Aegean. He means to say that Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit is concerned that the Aegean would be an enclosed sea. If this is a problem, this could be solved without infringing on the sovereignty rights. Papandreou goes on to say that if Turkey claims the half of the Aegean it would be faced with stiff opposition. Everyone knows that Turkey does not have such a demand. Ankara wants the preservation of the status quo of the international waters and Papandreou is well aware of the fact. He wants to make it clear that no right can be claimed on the half of the Aegean. In fact, this statement bears a message to the Greece which reserves the right to extend the limits of its territorial waters to 12 miles. Papandreou said, "Issues such as the continental shelf can be solved easily among neighbours. Our efforts are directed towards long-term goals. They are systematic efforts not only made to save the moment. Meanwhile, even though the ideas of late Admiral Guven Erkaya have been emphatically refused immediately, it shows that new ideas are being developed in Turkey too. What caused Athens to search for new policies at a time when Defence Minister Akis Tshatzopoulos asked for the suspension of a dialogue with Ankara due to the recent developments on Cyprus? Simitis did not hide his intentions to complete Greece's integration with the EU from the very first day he came to power. In fact, he even showed that he was ready to face the opposition of the Orthodox Church for this reason. His first aim was to have Greece accepted into the European Monetary Union and he succeeded in achieving this. However, he knows that stability is necessary for an improvement of relations with the EU. Therefore, a policy of rapprochement was followed. However, he knows that to serve long-term purposes serious problems have to be handled sooner or later in relations with Turkey. It is understood that the time has come to discuss these serious problems. The search in Athens reflects this fact. Meanwhile we have to mention that the recently declared EU's International Oil and Gas Transportation Programme (INOGATE) has shown that a new strategic dimension is being developed in the relations between Ankara and Athens. Certain people in Greece opposed this great project which foresaw the transportation of natural gas to Europe over Turkey saying that they would have to depend on Turkey for this. However, there is one point they are missing, and that is, this project has not been imposed on Greece by Turkey but the EU, as it is developing its long-term energy policy. However, the Cyprus issue still stands between the relations of the two countries. Time will tell if this problem will deal a blow to the rapprochement in the relations between two countries. One thing is certain, and that is, the new atmosphere seen in Greece is promising."

Turkish Press Review will not appear until 17 July.

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