SEZER SIGNS THE ACCORD ON STRUGGLE AGAINST INFLATION

President Ahmet Necdet Sezer signed the 'National Accord on Struggle Against Inflation', which was prepared as part of the campaign called 'Turkey Defeats Inflation' that is jointly carried out by the Turkish Assembly of Exporters (TIM) and the 'Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Stock Exchanges (TOBB). According to the information obtained from TIM, it was stated that Sezer, who received the Chairman of the TIM Okan Oguz and the members of the Executive Board at Cankaya Presidential Palace, was presented with the report of export and the 'National Accord on Struggle Against Inflation', which was opened to signature by the 9th Turkish President Suleyman Demirel on 21 April 2000. /Aksam/

LECTURERS THANK SEZER

Lecturers of Dokuz Eylul University (DEU) thanked President Ahmet Necdet Sezer due to the fact that Prof. Emin Alici was appointed as rector. In the announcement that covered the newspapers on behalf of the lecturers of DEU, it was said that the democratic struggle, which has been going on since the election of the candidate rectors on 19 June, was resulted with the victory of democracy and law and that Alici, who got the most of the votes was appointed as rector. In the announcement, it was further added, "We thank President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, whom we are pleased to see and trust that he acted as a man of law and in a democratic way to end this process sucessfully". Lecturers of DEU also thanked the media, which covered the issue widely, to non-governmental organizations, to the political parties and deputies and to the people living in Izmir, who supported them. /Turkiye/

FOREIGN MINISTRY ON CELAL TALABANI

Foreign Ministry made a written statement concerning the leader of Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Celal Talabani's statement on "Message from the PKK" which was conveyed to Prime Minister last week. Talabani had met with Prime Minister Ecevit and had stated that they continued to fight with the PKK. After the meeting, it had been stated that Turkey would not accept any messages from the PKK terrorist organization. In Foreign Ministry's statement , it was stated that Talabani should continue his fight against the PKK more efficiently. Meanwhile, Deputy Spokesman of Foreign Affairs Ministry Huseyin Dirioz said, "Turkey does not ask for Talabani's mediation. Mediation and fighting are two different things. We call on Talabani to fight against PKK". /Cumhuriyet/

UNIONS' REACTIONS TO KHK

Civil servants unions requested President Ahmet Necdet Sezer to veto the decree in the force of law (KHK) concerning dismissing civil servants who are involved in reactionary and separatist actions. Chairman of Republican Peoples' Party Altan Oymen said that the decree in the force of law in concern could not be defended. Visiting Republican Peoples' Party headquarter, Head of Memur-Sen Fatih Ugurlu stated that the decree in the force of law would lead to a totalitarian regime in Turkey. Public Workers Unions Confederation sent faxes to President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and European Trade Unions Confederation (ETUC) to voice their reaction over the decree in the force of law. /Cumhuriyet/

TURKEY AND IRAN SIGN NATURAL GAS PROTOCOLS

Turkey and Iran signed protocols in Ankara yesterday concerning Turkey's import of Iranian natural gas. General Director of BOTAS Gokhan Yardim and Undersecretary of Iranian Oil Ministry Hamdullah Muhammadnejad signed the protocols. With the protocol signed yesterday, Turkey will buy Iranian natural gas as of July 30, 2001 and will buy 228 billion cubic meters of Iranian natural gas in the next 25 years. Turkey and Iran have agreed on technical measurements on both sides of the border for management of the pipeline. /Cumhuriyet/

ITALIAN DELEGATION FOR REFUGEES

Italian authorities are seeking the help of their Turkish counterparts to prevent illegal smuggling of immigrants to Italian shores, too wide to patrol effectively. Coming from all around the world those immigrants seeking asylum from Italian authorities call themselves "Kurds" to facilitate their admittance, since Abdullah Ocalan, the head of PKK terrorist organization, was hosted by Italians two years ago. The official Italian delegation discussed the possible precautions with Turkish officials. Also, Italian Foreign Ministry also called Turkey's Ambassador to Rome, Necati Utkan to convey their uneasiness on the issue. Utkan in reply said that Turkey was very sensitive on the smuggling of illegal immigrants and was ready for cooperation to solve this problem. /Milliyet/

BUSH'S MESSAGE CONCERNING CYPRUS

In the document of principles of the Republican Party, whose general congress in Philadelphia is still ongoing before the Presidential elections in the US in November, there were some issues that concerned Turkey greatly. In the Republican Party's document of principles' section concerning foreign affairs, the efforts for finding a solution for the Cyprus issue through peaceful ways were supported and it was requested to respect the demands of the Turkish-Cypriots. According to the observers, the Republican Party pointed out the importance of the opinion of Turkish-Cypriots. /Turkiye/

BAHCELI TO ATTEND ERCIYES CONGRESS

Deputy Prime Minister and the Chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Devlet Bahceli will go to Kayseri on 5 August to attend Erciyes Congress. Bahceli will make various inspections and attend opening ceremonies in Kayseri and then leave Kayseri for Erciyes Mountain, where the Congress will be held. He will return to Ankara on 6 August. /Turkiye/

TURCAS 1 LAUNCHED TO THE SEA

The tanker 'Turcas 1', which is 110 meters in length and which was built at a cost of 6 trillion 350 billion TL at Tuzla Dockyard for Turcas Petroleum Company, was launched to the sea with a ceremony. Delivering a speech at the launching ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said, "The Ministry of Maritime Affairs will be established next year. The solution of the problems that the maritime affairs face today is one of the basic conditions for the development of Turkey. We will use all opportunities to raise the Turkish maritime affairs to a level in compliance with the potential of Turkey and of the sector. We are determined to support all kinds of initiatives for this purpose".

18 KG OF HEROIN SEIZED IN GAZIANTEP

Teams of the Narcotics Department of Ankara's Directorate of Security carried out an operation and seized 18 kg of heroin in Gaziantep. Police pretended to be a customer and five drug dealers were captured while trying to sell the heroin for DM 11,000 per kilo. These five people were taken into custody and the heroin that was seized was delivered to Gaziantep's Directorate of Security. /Turkiye/

MUMCU ON 2000 TOURISM REVENUES

Minister of Tourism Erkan Mumcu delivered a speech on tourism revenues in the year 2000 at the meeting of Turkish Young Executives and Businessmen Association concerning Turkey's promotion in the world. Mumcu said that this year's results for tourism revenues will surprise everybody in Turkey. Mumcu stated that despite the low number of tourists came to Turkey this year, the tourism revenues will be high. Stating that British tourists came to Antalya instead of German tourists this year, Mumcu said that this was a result of successful promotion campaigns. Emphasizing the importance of advertisements in tourism sector, Mumcu mentioned the preparations for tourism in the year 2001 and added that they will search for new markets. /Cumhuriyet/

STATEMENTS OF TURKCELL AND TELSIM CONCERNING BASE STATIONS

Turkcell and Telsim gave an end to the debates concerning the base stations and stated that these stations were in accordance with the standards of the European Telecommunication Standards Institute (ETSI). Officials from Turkey's leading GSM operator, Turkcell, stated that these stations were built according to the 'Electromagnetic Compatibility-EMC' report, which is accepted as the world standard and which is determined by the European Union (EU). Meanwhile, officials from Telsim stated that all the radio base stations and their equipment that they export had the certificate of 'Guaranteed Production' that is given by the EU. They further stated that Telsim was a member of the GSM Association and that all the equipment that they use were in compliance with the standards of the ETSI. /Aksam/

SATELLITE BIDDING WAS CANCELLED

Turkey cancelled the military observation satellite bidding, which was given to the Israeli IAI Company before. Meanwhile, the reason for the cancelation was not explained and it was revealed that a new list of conditions in accordance with the new technologic developments and concerning the project would be prepared again and that it would be opened to another international bidding. /Aksam/

EUROSTAT'S ANNALS ON EU CANDITATES

According to the data in EUROSTAT's annals on the candidate countries for European Union, Turkey is the country where the highest birth rate was recorded since 1998. In addition, Turkey is also the country which has the highest amount of gross domestic product with ECU 175.8 billion. /Cumhuriyet/

BIRSEN IN NASDAQ

Chairmans and the high-ranking administrators of 10 stock exchanges from Turkey, Middle East, Basra Bay and Greece, met Nasdaq Stock Exchange officials to discuss opportunities of cooperation. During these meetings, which were also attended by the Chairman of Istanbul Stock Exchanges (IMKB) Osman Birsen and the Deputy Chairmen Aril Seren, Huseyin Erkan and Sezai Bekgoz, the opinions were exchanged concerning the cooperations to be made between the countries in the region. /Aksam/

ERCEL'S STATEMENT ON BANKS IN THE FUND

The Central Bank Governer Gazi Ercel said that in the report submitted by the consulting firm Mc Kinsey, it was recommended that, instead of merging the banks in the Savings Account Insurance Fund by the state, the would-be new owners of the banks merge the banks they bought. Ercel hoped that selling of the banks in the fund will be completed until the end of the year. He also said that determination of the amount and control of required reserves accounts of the banks, in which around $2 bilion was accumulated, will be left to the discretion of the banks themselves. /Milliyet/

INFLATION IN JULY IS EXPECTED HIGHER THAN JUNE

Following low rates of inflation in June the figures are expected high again in July to be %1.7 because of the price raising of crop and private sector production (espeacially food, health care, housing). Before, banks and financial institutions were estimating wholesale inflation for July to be between %0.9-1.2. /Milliyet/

DIRECT FLIGHTS FROM GERMANY TO GAP REGION

Oger Turk Tour started direct flights from Germany to Gaziantep. It was stated that the planes of Oger Turk Tour, which carried workers from Germany and which returned to Turkey without any passengers before, has started the scheduled flights upon request. It was reported that the planes of Oger Turk Tour fly to Stuttgart on Mondays and to Hannover, Munster and Hamburg on Tuesdays. /Aksam/

ADDITIONAL FLIGHTS BETWEEN NEW YORK AND ISTANBUL

Turkish Airlines started its additional flights between New York and Istanbul. These round-trips that take place only on Tuesdays will continue until the end of August. However, it is expected that additional flights will be organized for September, too, if the number of passengers is satisfactory. /Turkiye/

BESIKTAS ADVANCES TO THIRD TOUR IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP LEAGUE

After a 1-1 draw with Bulgarian Levski Sofia football team last night in Sofia, Besiktas Football advanced to the third tour in the Champions' League. In the first match which was held in Istanbul, Besiktas beat Levski Sofia 1-0. /Hurriyet/

`MASTER RALLY 2000' STARTED IN SAMSUN

Master Rally 2000, a part of the off road world championship have started in Samsun yesterday. Competitors who are going to follow the route through the provinces of Amasya, Sivas, Kayseri, Aksaray, Ankara, Eskisehir will arrive at Istanbul on August 6./Milliyet/

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

AN INTERESTING DIPLOMACY OF ARTICLES BY ERTUGRUL OZKOK (HURRIYET)

Columnist Ertugrul Ozkok comments on the articles of Greek and Turkish Foreign Ministers published in Italian 'La Stampa ' newspaper. A summary of his column is as follows: "Recently an interesting diplomacy, a diplomacy of articles is seen between Turkey and Greece. Yesterday, one of the leading Italian newspapers 'La Stampa' published Foreign Minister Ismail Cem's article. This practice is not frequent in the history of Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In fact, this article is a reply to the article of another Foreign Minister. Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou had explained his views previously on Turkish-Greek relations and the Cyprus issue in 'La Stampa'. Foreign Minister Ismail Cem who believed Turkish views should be expressed as well sent a reply to this article. In the article there are interesting details, as a reference to the Madrid Declaration. After a long time Turkish Foreign Ministry is referring to the Madrid Declaration for the first time. This may not please the Greek side as in the Declaration both sides agreed not to take any further steps unilaterally. It was interpreted as the de facto removal of the problem extending the territorial waters to 12 miles from the agenda. With this declaration Greece accepted not to extend its territorial waters in the Aegean to 12 miles unilaterally. In return Turkey was leaving its stand of 'casus belli' (considering the extension of Greek territorial waters to 12 miles as a cause of war). This meant that the tension in the Aegean would be reduced and a threat of war would be removed. However, whatever the reason, the Greek side made no reference to this Declaration lately. Foreign Minister Cem also stated that the rapprochement between the two countries brought a great economic and cultural liveliness to the Aegean. Another sentence which is interesting is that, 'The people of two countries not only left the politicians behind but also put the greatest barriers not to return to the days of conflict by politicians.' These words have a covered message to the Greek Foreign Minister. Cem means to say that, if they continue in the old conflicts they would be acting against the wishes of the public. In the article Cem also stated that to improve the relations with Turkey, Athens had to solve certain democratic and human rights problems itself. In the past this was a criticism and condition directed against Turkey by Athens unilaterally. However, Turkey is beginning to harp on the issue that Greece also has important human rights problems in the country. Certainly, the rights in question are the rights of the Turks living in Western Thrace. Thus, Western Thrace which has not been mentioned for long is brought to the agenda again. I hope this diplomacy of articles is not the indication of a return to the past, as the people of both countries have left the old conflicts behind."

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