Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
The decree in the force of law (KHK) concerning the dismissal of
the civil servants who are allegedly involved in reactionary and
separatist actions will be sent to President Ahmet Necdet Sezer
either today or tomorrow. It is reported that the letter
explaining government's reasons for sending the decree back to
the President without any changes will be attached to the KHK.
The letter is prepared by State Ministers Sükrü Sina Gürel (DSP),
Faruk Bal (MHP) and Yüksel Yalova (ANAP). The government claims
that President Sezer does not have the right to reject a
government decree and has to sign it this time. Prime Minister
Bulent Ecevit said, "The President must sign the decree which
will be returned to him, but he can appeal to the Constitutional
Court if he choses to do so". /Turkiye/
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit will leave for Nevsehir to attend
the 11th International Hacibektas Veli Commemoration Culture and
Art Events which will be held on August 16-18. /Aksam/
A two-day Mufties Seminar which was held in Istanbul with the
participation of 81 mufties ended yesterday. A final declaration
was issued after the seminar. Evaluating the seminar, Chairman of
the Religious Affairs Department Mehmet Nuri Yilmaz said, "Turkey
will appear in the international arena with a new message of
Islam and she will be a model to the whole Islamic World.
Re-interpretation of the Holy Koran by Turkish experts will be
beneficial for the Islamic World." Stressing that their next
target was to ensure unity in the Islamic World, Yilmaz said
"without ensuring unity among Moslems nothing can be done."
/Sabah/
Seventeen suspects rounded up in "Operation Hope" of the Interior
Ministry to solve 22 different cases, including the
assassinations of columnist Ugur Mumcu, academicians Ahmet Taner
Kislali, Muammer Aksoy and Bahriye Ucok, will be tried today at
the Ankara State Security Court. /Aksam/
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that Turkey's export
of bonds attracts many investors thanks to the success of the
economic programme that it pursues. According to the information
obtained from the IMF report entitled "Financing in the
Developing Markets", Turkey's bonds' exports in terms of euro are
the most attractive ones among other developing countries.
/Cumhuriyet/
Turkey must increase its new power capacity from 2,500 to 3,000
megawatts (MW) to the existing system every year so as to avoid
an energy bottleneck and to secure an inexpensive electricity
supply to users, a report by the Energy Ministry said. The
nation's demand for electricity is projected to reach 134 billion
kilowatt-hours in 2000, 199.6 billion kWh by 2005, 290 billion
kWh by 2010 and 574 billion kWh by 2020. A draft energy annual
report has recommended that Turkey should seek to develop
alternative energy sources other than hydroelectric in order to
keep pace with growing electricity demand. It stressed the
considerable potential in solar, wind and biomass resources. The
report also called for building nuclear power plant, which would
allow Turkey to utilize nuclear technology. /Turkish Daily News/
At the "Quakes and Crisis Management" meeting organized by the
Human Resources Management Association (INKADE) in Istanbul,
Turkish state-run refinery administration (TUPRAS) general
director Husamettin Danis discussed the fires at TUPRAS's Izmit
refinery following the August 17 Marmara earthquake and gave an
update on the latest situation. Stating that the Aug. 17 quake
had damaged 2 percent of the Izmit refinery, Danis said the
repair works would be finished by Sept. 30 and that the refinery
would start to work at full capacity again. Danis also said that
the Aug. 17 and Nov. 12 tremors resulted in losses of almost $10
billion, and in a 6 percent contraction of the Turkish economy in
1999. He confirmed that TUPRAS's targets had been postponed for
two or three years. /Turkish Daily News/
Housing and Public Works Minister Koray Aydin said, "The
ministry has started a building campaign, and we are aiming to
complete 20,200 houses before the end of the year. A further
12,000 units donated by the World Bank and 4,500 others donated
by private bodies will be finished in May 2001. The repair work
on 53,000 partially damaged buildings is also continuing in the
region". /Turkish Daily News/
The Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) will be presented to the
foreign companies at an international fair on October 13-17. The
aim of the fair, which will be organized by Piramit-Ayyntap Fair
Company, is to encourage the foreign and domestic companies to
invest in Turkey's southeastern region. Company's executive
council chairwoman Ayten Genc said new investments will lead to
an increase in the economic and social development of the region
and added international fairs will be organized in the region
every year. Genc stated that the latest technological
developments will be presented to the people living in the
region. In the fair which has already attracted the attention of
the world's leading investment companies, marketing of the basic
materials produced in GAP will be presented. Companies active in
infrastructure, transportation, industry, health and tourism
sectors will participate in the fair this year. /Turkiye/
In the framework of the UNESCO's "Peace Culture and Opposition
Against Violence" program, 200 university students from various
countries will attend the "Peace Summit" in Kusadasi between 16
and 27 August. This activity is supported by the Prime Ministry's
Promotion Fund, European Commission, European Culture Fund,
European Youth Fund and many universities. It is reported that
during the Summit, issues such as seeking solutions to the
conflicts will be discussed. /Cumhuriyet/
KHK BACK TO THE CANKAYA PALACE
ECEVIT DUE IN NEVSEHIR
"TURKEY WILL BE A MODEL TO THE ISLAMIC WORLD"
"OPERATION HOPE" SUSPECTS FACE TRIAL TODAY
IMF COMMENDS THE ECONOMIC PROGRAMME IN TURKEY
TURKEY NEEDS 3,000 MW IN NEW ENERGY CAPACITY NEXT YEAR
TUPRAS RECOVERS FROM QUAKE DAMAGE
PERMANENT HOUSING FOR QUAKE VICTIMS
AN INTERNATIONAL FAIR FOR GAP
YOUNG PEOPLE AT THE "PEACE SUMMIT"