LEADERS' SUMMIT

The leaders of the parties in the coalition government met yesterday. During the two-hour meeting, Premier Bulent Ecevit, the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Devlet Bahceli, the leader of the Motherland Party (ANAP) and Deputy Prime Minister, Mesut Yilmaz and State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Husamettin Ozkan, discussed the topics of the debated fine-tuning in the stability programme, privatization and economic policies for the year 2001. Following the meeting, the coalition partners issued a statement on the decisions made at the meeting. Accordingly, -the privatization of TELECOM will be speeded up and completed in a short time, -effective precautions will be taken for power shortages and new projects will be developed for power supply, -measures will be taken to decrease the possible effects of the increase in the world oil prices. Meanwhile, replying to a question posed by a journalist, State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said that the government did not intend to increase the fuel oil prices. /Turkiye/

CEM MEETS ALBRIGHT

Foreign Minister Ismail Cem met the US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright yesterday in New York. During the meeting the issues such as the Middle East peace process, recent rapproachement between Greece and Turkey, so-called Armenian genocide bill, Washington's support for Turkey's full EU membership, European Union Security and Defense Identity and the Cyprus issue were discussed. Stating that he was pleased with the strong will of the Turkish government when human rights are concerned, Mr. Albright said that Clinton-Sezer meeting had been very beneficial. Sources from Foreign Ministry stated that US Administration was aware of Turkey's uneasiness over the so-called Armenian genocide bill. It was reported that Mr. Cem said, if the US Congress approves the Armenian bill, Turkey and the US will have serious problems in terms of bilateral relations. Meanwhile, American sources stated that Mr. Albright said, Turkey should encourage TRNC President Denktas to make certain concessions. Mr. Cem also demanded the US continue its support for Turkey's full EU membership. /Sabah-Cumhuriyet/

FOURTH ROUND OF THE PROXIMITY TALKS BEGINS

The fourth round of the proximity talks on Cyprus began in New York yesterday. United Nations (UN) General Secretary Kofi Annan met Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas and Greek-Cypriot leader Glafkos Klerides separately. Before the meetings, Mr. Annan said, he hoped that significant steps would be taken during the meetings. Stating that both Greek-Cypriots and Turkish-Cypriots are equal politically, Mr. Annan said, "It is time to advance at the meetings. The solution should create a peaceful and confidential future on the island." Meanwhile, TRNC President Denktas said, "The presence of the Greek-Cypriots is internationally recognized as `Cyprus Republic'. However, this title is unfounded. Greek-Cypriots use this title to enter the European Union. Our primary aim is to achieve reconciliation between the two sides." /Sabah-Cumhuriyet/

AMERICAN ARMAMENT FIRMS TO COUNTER ARMENIAN BILL

American Armament firms have started lobbying in favour of Turkey to prevent the so-called Armenian genocide bill to be passed in the US Congress. Head of Turkish-American Association Lincon McCurdy sent a letter to the Chairman of House of Representatives Dennis Hastert stating that Congress' approval to the bill would damage the bilateral relations between Turkey and the US. Stating that Turkey is a reliable ally for the US, Mr. McCurdy said the American firms which invested in Turkey would suffer loses in case that the bill is approved by the Congress. /Cumhuriyet/

COTTARELLI HOPEFUL ON ECONOMIC PROGRAM

IMF Chief of Turkey Desk Carlo Cottarelli and Treasury Undersecretary Selcuk Demiralp held a joint press conference yesterday. Mr. Cottarelli said that the privatization process of Turk Telekom should be accelerated and Turkey's budget would perform better than expected. Mr. Cottarelli said, "In the first eight months, the rate of inflation decreased to the lowest level since 1986. This occurred despite the increasing oil prices. Economic growth figures are also positive. Gross National Product is above the figure targeted by the program. We estimate the rate of economic growth as 7 percent." Mr. Cottarelli stated that imports increased due to the growing domestic demand and in order to curb it, the government had announced that some measures would be taken including the increase in the rate of Resource Usage Support Fund (KKDF) for the consumer credits. Mr. Cottarelli said, "I hope that Turkey will keep her determination to continue with the economic stabilization program in the next fiscal year. Mr. Demiralp said that for the time being there were no negative developments in the economy necessitating any change on the targets of the economic program. Mr. Demiralp said that there is nothing negative in the balance of payments to cause any concern and next year $2 billion will be received following the privatization of Turk Telekom. Mr. Demiralp also announced that the rate of KKDF was increased from 3 percent to 8 percent. /Milliyet-Hurriyet/

VURAL TO EXPLAIN FULL EU MEMBERSHIP

European Union Secretary-General of Turkey Volkan Vural said that they will hold meetings in various cities to talk about Turkey's full EU membership and Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz will also attend these meetings. Mr. Vural said, "The meetings will be organized with the cooperation of the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) and Council of Higher Education (YOK). /Hurriyet/

SCHARPING PRAISES TURKEY

German Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping said, "The German government is aware that Turkey, which is secular and improving in the light of Ataturk's principles, is a balancing factor against the fundamentalist actions." Stating that Turkey was an important ally for NATO and Europe, Mr. Scharping said, "The German government supports Turkey's full EU membership and tried to do its utmost on Turkey's receiving its candidate status." /Aksam/

NATO MANOEUVRES IN THE AEGEAN

NATO held manoeuvres in the Aegean Sea within the framework of the NATO Military Committee Meetings. During the meetings Greek Defense Minister Akis Cohacopulos gave a banquet in honor of the Committee. Delivering a speech at the banquet, Greek President Kostis Stephanopulos stated that Greece is in favour of living together in peace. "This desire for peace is also valid for our relations with Turkey. We want to establish friendly and constructive relations. I hope NATO also supports the policy of Greek government.", Stephanopulos said. The first round of the Meetings in Greece will end after a short tour to Salonica. The second part of the Meetings which will be held in Istanbul will begin on Sept. 16. /Aksam/

TURKISH ARMED FORCES TO BEGIN CONTACTS FOR ATTACK HELICOPTERS

The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) will begin its contacts next week to choose a firm for the production of 145 attack helicopters. Within the project undertaken by the Turkish Aerospace Industry (TAI) the aim is to increase the domestic contribution and technology transfer. The first contacts will be held for the American Bell Textron Firm's King Cobra model on Sept. 18. The Undersecretary of Defense Ministry, TAI and officials from the related firms will participate in the meetings during which the outline of the production program will be determined. /Cumhuriyet/

TURKISH SOLDIERS IN PEACE MANOEUVRES

A military unit, consisting of 17 Turkish and 14 Azeri soldiers, left for Romania after a ceremony held at the Etimesgut Military Airport in Ankara to participate in the Cooperative Best Effort-2000, NATO-BIO Manoeuvres. The manoeuvres, which will be held with the participation of 8 NATO and 8 BIO countries, aim to support the multinational peace. /Turkiye/

FRENCH RESEARCH SHIP INVESTIGATES FAULT LINES IN MARMARA SEA

French Le Suroit Research Ship owned by the French Marine Research Institution (IFREMER) started researches on the fault lines in Marmara Sea to clarify the question whether the fault line beneath the sea will be broken once or more than once. The administrator of the project Prof. Naci Gorur said, " Following this research we will comment on the seismic structure of the Marmara Sea with the data accepted by the academic world. The results taken from this research will end the statements made by people having insufficient knowledge and data regarding the issue." /Hurriyet/

INVESTOR SOROS BUILDS PARTNERSHIP WITH TURKISH ECONOMY BANK

Investor George Soros will establish a 'special capital fund' worth $150 million together with the Turkish Economy Bank (TEB). The fund will finance the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (KOBIs). Turkish KOBIs will use $90 million of the fund, the rest will be used by other Balkan countries. /Sabah/

SUCCESS OF PETOIL

A new consortium was formed by Turco-American and Azeri partnership to drill oil in Azerbaijan. The foundation agreement of the consortium was signed yesterday in the American Congress with the participation of Azeri President Haydar Aliyev and American senators. The consortium, formed by Turkish private company PETOIL (42.5%), US Texas based MONCRIEF OIL (42.5%) and Azeri SOCAR (15%), is planning to drill one million tons of oil in Misovdag and Kemalattin regions in Azerbaijan. /Turkiye/

GALATASARAY'S SUCCESS

Galatasaray began "European Champions League" with a victory. In its first match in Group D, played yesterday in Istanbul, Galatasaray beat French AS Monaco 3-2 thanks to the goals of Jardel, Hagi and Capone. Galatasaray will play its second game against S. Graz in Austria on Wednesday, Sep. 20. Meanwhile, tonight, Besiktas soccer team will also play against Milan in its first game in Group H in the Champions League. /All papers/

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

FROM MERAL TO ECEVIT BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)

Columnist Fikret Bila writes on the recent statement of Prime minister Bulent Ecevit concerning the words of IMF Turkey Desk Chief Carlo Cottarelli. A summary of his column is as follows: "It will not be wrong to say that the reaction shown by Prime Minister Ecevit to IMF Turkey Desk Chief Cottarelli's words is shared by his Coalition partners Mr. Bahceli and Mr. Yilmaz. It is possible to say that the reaction voiced by the Prime Minister is directed towards the style and timing of Mr. Cottarelli. At a moment when the Coalition Government was trying to search for a compromise, Mr. Cottarelli's statement on workers' wages in an imposing manner as if he was a member of the Cabinet led to the harsh reaction of the Prime Minister. This was shared by the Coalition Partners. Another important support for the Prime Minister's reaction came from the workers who formed the third leg of the trivet of "social compromise". Turk-Is Chairman Bayram Meral said that they approved of the statement made by the Prime Minister, and added, they had not sat on the table for collective bargaining for the public sector yet. He went on to say that they hoped to solve problem at the table and did not expect a new crisis. Mr. Meral said that the Government approached the issue in the same vein. M. Cottarelli's words were unfortunate to come at such a time. 'That is why Mr. Ecevit showed such a harsh reaction and he is correct in doing so.' Meral also said that this reaction should have been voiced by all the sectors in the society and added not only the political leaders but all social organizations should react to these words. However, he complained that this had not been the case. In an answer to the question on what their demands would be from the Government for a 'social compromise', Meral said that they would not be instigating a crisis when there was a chance for agreement. He believed that the wage increases should be above the rate of inflation as the Prime Minister had promised not to oppress people under the yoke of inflation. He said that they would not accept an increase equal to the targeted inflation rate and added that it has been already pronounced by the Government that the rate of inflation would be higher than the target set. The Chairman of Turk-Is Bayram Meral believes that a social compromise between the Government, workers and the employers would be the best solution."

WHAT BOTHERS ARMENIANS? BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE)

Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna comments on the allegations of the Armenian President in his speech at the UN Millennium Summit. A summary of his column is as follows: "It not only showed the audacity and dare but also the lack of political vision on the part of the Armenians when their President mentioned the so-called Armenian genocide committed by the Turks in his short speech at the UN Millennium Summit. He was depending not only on Russia which considered Armenia as a pawn even today, as it has always done but also on the Armenian diaspora who lived in prosperity in the US, France and all over the world. The Turkish President responded to this verbal attack with a few insufficient and unpretentious sentences quickly written and handed to him by Turkish diplomats. Although there were many things which could be done by the Republic of Turkey, he only asked the case to be left into the hands of the historians. He wanted to say that this was an 85 year old event which was left deep in the pages of history and the Turkish State had accounted for all those issues. However, the Armenians are not losing any international opportunity to keep the issue alive. After ASALA terrorist organization had been beaten, the PKK gangs sprung up. Now that those who believed there won't be any other terrorists around, began to use the Armenians again as they are afraid of Turkey's getting stronger. It is a wonder how the Armenians, a race of industrious and artisan people can be deceived so many times. A terrorist Armenian is an enemy and he will be treated as such. However, as a nation Armenians are our friends and we have shown this for centuries. We still believe so. Statesmen like Ozal, Demirel and Turkes sincerely called on the Armenians to give up the so-called claims of genocide, to evacuate the Azerbaijani territory and added that in return Turkey will lead them into prosperity and open up the country to the Black Sea and the world. Genocide and ethnic cleansing have never been a Turkish custom for the centuries it has ruled as a State. This runs in the veins of the Europeans. The have committed this crime even today in Bosnia, Kosovo and Azerbaijan.

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