PRESIDENT SEZER VISITS CENTRAL ASIA

President Ahmet Necdet Sezer's five-day visit to Central Asian States begins today with President Sezer's arrival in Uzbekistan. During his visit in Tashkent, agreements will be signed on five different issues, one of which is the cooperation in the fight against terrorism. President Sezer will then visit Turkmenistan to meet with Saphar Murad Turkmenbashi. The talks in Ashkabat will be mainly comprised of transporting Turkmen natural gas through the Caspian Sea. /Milliyet/

COUNCIL OF MINISTERS CONVENES

The Council of Ministers will meet today to review the final budget numbers for the next fiscal year. The council will also decide on the 2001 bonus for civil servants. The bonus is expected to be between 15 and 18 percentage. The budget will be sent to the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) tomorrow. /Turkiye/

TELEPHONE DIPLOMACY TO END VIOLENCE IN MIDDLE EAST

As all eyes turn to an emergency summit to be held in Egypt, Turkey continues its efforts to end the violence in the Middle East by engaging in telephone diplomacy with Palestinian, Israeli and US leaders, in addition to other regional figures. After Arafat and Barak agreed on Saturday to hold an emergency summit in Egypt aimed at ending more than two weeks of violence, Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem decided to postpone his meeting with his Greek counterpart, George Papandreou, in order to focus on diplomatic contacts and initiatives relating to Middle East tensions. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit made a phone call to his Israeli counterpart Ehud Barak urging Barak to end the violance. Conveying his deep regret over the violence, Ecevit told Barak to try and reduce the tensions in the region, adding that confidence needed to be restored between the two leaders. Mr.Ecevit briefed Barak about his phone calls to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and conveyed Arafat's message to Barak. Barak had Ecevit pass a message on to Arafat. Prime Minister Ecevit told the reporters that there was still a lack of confidence on both sides. "But both sides have confidence in us, and as such are trying to encourage positive result," Ecevit said. /Turkish Daily News/

TURKISH AND IRANIAN HIGH SECURITY COMMITTEES MEET

Meetings between Turkish and Iranian High Security Committees began yesterday in Tehran. The meetings are being held between the Turkish delegation including the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior, Saim Cotur, and the Iranian officials to discuss the security and border issues between the two countries. The Turkish delegation also includes officials from the Office of the Chief of General Staff, the Foreign Ministry and the Gendermarie. /Cumhuriyet/

FOURTH TURKISH PLANE IN BAGHDAD

The fourth Turkish plane carrying aid landed at the International Baghdad Airport yesterday. There were seven people including two doctors on the plane which brought vaccines and food for 20,000 children. /Star/

PROTEST MARCHES IN BERLIN AGAINST ARMENIAN RESOLUTION

Some 5,000 Turks took to the streets in Berlin to protest the Armenian resolution currently tabled in the US House of Representatives. Before the march, Turkish Federation representative Mehmet Kars read a statement prepared by Turkish nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Germany. The statement pointed out that under Byzantine rule Armenians were not allowed to enter Costantinople, but after the Ottomans conquered the city and renamed it Istanbul in 1453, Armenians lived there in peace for the next several hundred years. /Turkish Daily News/

EURASIAN AND AFRICAN MINISTERS OF AGRICULTURE MEET IN ANKARA

The Eurasian and African Agriculture Ministers' Food Reassurance and Security Summit was held in Ankara. Turkey hosted the summit attended by ministers of agriculture and high-level officials from Syria, Sudan, Senegal, TRNC, Uzbekistan, Kyrghiztan and Hungary. In a declaration issued after the summit, it was stated that the famine problem throughout the world should be solved immediately. "The only way to fight against famine is to improve the agriculture and to protect natural sources.", said the declaration. The officials agreed to pursue action plans on both local and global levels to avoid the famine and ensure food security. /Cumhuriyet/

KOREAN WAR VETERANS IN KOREA

Turkish Korean War veterans who were invited to Korea by the government arrived in Pusan. They first visited the cemetary where Turkish soldiers are buried and then participated in various ceremonies to mark the 50th anniversary of the Korean War. /Turkiye/

ALL SET FOR GENERAL CENSUS NEXT SUNDAY

The Chairman of the State Institute of Statistics (DIE) Sefik Yildizeli said the general census will be carried out Sunday Oct.22. This would be the last census if the Mernis (electronic and computer-registered identity cards for everyone) project can be put into effect. Mr. Yildizeli said that this census will be the most comprehensive of its kind and that it is of the utmost importance for everyone to give accurate and honest information as the resultant database will be used in the formulation of health, education, development and other policies. /Turkish Daily News/

BAKU-CEYHAN OIL PIPELINE PROJECT STARTS

The final agreements regarding the largest energy project of 21st century, Baku-Supsa-Ceyhan oil pipeline, will be signed between the Mepco Company and the host countries. Accordingly, the first agreement will be signed tomorrow in Azerbaijan, on Oct. 18 in Tblisi, and on Oct. 19 in Ankara. The pipeline is expected to be completed by the end of 2001. The line will be 1,700 km in length and its 1,000-km section will be constructed in Turkey. The cost of the project is around $2.5 billion. /Turkiye/

ENERGY PURCHASES FROM RUSSIA

Georgian Energy Minister David Mirtskulava has announced that electricity purchases from Russia will first pass through Georgia on its way to Turkey. He said a company called Electro Peredaca would supply the Russian electricity to Turkey. The Kafkasioni power plant between Georgia and Russia is to be used to supply the energy, which will supply Turkey with 100-110 megawatts of power daily. /Turkish Daily News/

TURKISH SATELLITE TURKSAT 2-A BE DELIVERED

Minister of Transportation Enis Oksuz went to France to take delivery of Turksat 2-A, the most developed satellite in Europe. /Aksam/

TENDER GIVEN FOR MOBILE POWER STATIONS

The tenders for the purchase of the four mobil power stations put forward for a short term solution to the energy crisis were carried out last week and firms delivered their biddings to TEAS. The offers will be evaluated in a short time and agreements will be signed with the selected firms. The mobile power stations expected to be running by the end of year, will produce one billion kwh power annually. They will be located in Kirikkale, Antalya, Kastamonu and Batman. /Turkiye/

TURKEY'S SHARE IN TEXTILE INDUSTRY TO INCREASE

15 high-level authorities from DuPont Lycra visited the International Textile Fair (ITS 2000). Berkeley Miller, Dupont Lycra's Sales and Marketing Director for Turkey, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, said that Turkey's share in the world textile industry would increase. Mr. Miller stated, "This increase will not take place just in Europe, but also in the US market. We see Turkey as a developing market for the textile industry." /Sabah/

STATE MONOPOLIES (TEKEL) PRODUCE CIGAR

The Director of State Monopolies(TEKEL) Mehmet Akbay said cigars production would begin in 2001. Mr. Akbay said the machinery necessary for cigar production will be assemblied in the following months. Per the the agreement signed in Havana, Cuba in 1997, the enterprise will be under the joint ownership of TEKEL and Cates company. According to the agreement, during the first two years cigars will be made from Cuban tobacco, afterwards both Turkish and Cuban tobacco will be used. Mr. Akbay said that the cigars would be marketed under the brand name of "Fonseca" and plan to produce 10 million cigars annually. /Aksam/

ENERGY PURCHASES FROM RUSSIA

Georgian Energy Minister David Mirtskulava has announced that electricity purchases from Russia will first pass through Georgia on its way to Turkey. He said a company called Electro Peredaca would supply the Russian electricity to Turkey. The Kafkasioni power plant between Georgia and Russia is to be used to supply the energy, which will supply Turkey with 100-110 megawatts of power daily. /Turkish Daily News/

GAPROPARK PROJECT

Uzeyir Garih, the head of Alarko Companies Group, said that when the GAPROPARK Project of a technopark was completed, modern city of 50,000 workers and 150,000 people would be created. lived. Stating that the GAPROPARK would be an information center, Mr. Garih said, "This project will direct the local farmers to a more qualified production. Product diversification and purchasing will be ensured." /Cumhuriyet/

BEST TRANSLATION AWARD TO TURKISH PROFESSOR

Prof. Necdet Adabag, lecturer in the Faculty of Language, Culture and Geography in Ankara University, received the best translation award in the International Translation Competition held by the Italian Culture Ministry. Prof. Adabag said, "To translate the books related to one`s profession is one of the most important duties for a scientist." /Cumhuriyet/

INTERCONTINENTAL EURASIAN MARATHON IN ISTANBUL

The 22th Eurasian Intercontinental Istanbul Marathon was run yesterday with approximately 50.000 people participating. The marathon started at the Anatolian part of the Bosphorus bridge and finished in Taksim. The main target of this year's Eurasian marathon was to promote Istanbul's candidacy for being the host city of 2008 Olympics. /Aksam/

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

DOCUMENTS PROVING THE GENOCIDE CLAIMS FALSE BY SUKRU ELEKDAG (MILLIYET)

Former Ambassador Sukru Elekdag writes on the Armenian question. A summary of his column is as follows: Armenian historians and their suporters claim that during the First World War the Union and Progress Government ruling the Ottoman Empire, planned to annihilate the Armenian nation and that 'relocation' of Armenians was a convenient scenario to enact this plan. Armenian radicals based their claims on a book full of lies by an Armenian called Arom Andonian titled 'Memeoirs of Naim Bey: Official Turkish Documents on Armenian Relocation and Massacre" in 1920. According to the book, Naim Bey, an Ottoman civil servant, gave the cryptic messages proving the Armenian Genocide to Andonian. In the messages Minister of the Interior Talat Pasha, gives the orders to massacre the Armenians to the Governor in Aleppo. Two historians, backed by the Turkish History Institution (TTK), Sinasi Orel and Sureyya Yuca analyzed the documents found in Andonian's book and proved that they were forgeries.(The Real Aspect of the Telegraphes Attributed to Talat Pasha, TTK, Ankara, 1983) Following substantiation of the forgery, Armenian historians did not mention Andonian's book. However, they did not desist from their allegations that Anatolian Armenians were massacred by special organizations under instruction of the Ottoman Administration during the relocation. The Armenian historians do not have concrete evidence to prove the allegations. Rather, when pressed, they either say the orders were given orally or were destroyed by the Ottomans. In fact, documents in the archives from the Ottoman Period show that the Government attached great importance to the protection of the Armenians during the relocation. Talat Pasha's order sent to the Governors of Erzurum, Diyarbakyr, Elazyg, and Bitlis dated 14 June 1915 ordered: the protection of the Armenians, punishment of those escaping or those attacking them, that every measure to prevent attacks by the villagers and clans on the itinerary, and severely punishing those trying to kill the Armenians or take their property.(Document:1) The Ottoman Empire was engaged in a World War and a civil war simultaneously. Massacres by the Armenians led to the retaliation by the Muslim population. An order Talat Pasha sent to the Governor of Diyarbakir on 12 June 1915, revealed the importance the Ottoman Administration attached to the protection of the lives of Armenians and Christian population.(Document:2) In a cryptic message Talat Pasha stated that he had received information concerning a massacre of 2,000 Armenians and Christians. He the Muslim population in surrounding villages were going to revolt and asked for the verification of the news and ordered the violence against the Christians in the region to stop immediately. At a time when the Ottoman Empire was fighting for its survival, the Armenians were in full cooperation with enemies at the front and in the country. When the Russian Army entered Ottoman territory they were led by regiments of Armenian volunteers. The Armenians in the Ottoman Army either escaped with their arms and joined the Russian army or formed gangs. They brought out the weapons they had hidden in churches and schools for years and attacked Turkish villages left defenceless as the men were fighting at the front. As if these were not enough, Armenian gangs were harassing the Ottoman armies behind the lines, preventing the operation of the units, breaking the supply lines, trapping the convoys of the wounded, and destroying bridges and roads. Then came the Van revolt. Armenians massacred Turks and other Muslims in the city and surrendered Van to the Russian Army. The Russian Tsar, Nikolai I, sent a telegraph dated 21 April 1915 to the Armenian committee in Van thanking them for the services rendered to Russia. The Ottoman Government called on the Armenian Patriarch and leaders in Istanbul to stop the massacre of the Muslim population and cease cooperation with Russian forces or it would take necessary measures. When this warning was not heeded, the Government sent a secret circular to Governors and sub-governors on 24 April 1915. In this circular the closing of Armenian committee centers, the seizure of all their documents and the arrest of the leaders was ordered. In accordance with the circular 2345 Armenians were arrested. Armenians commemorate the anniversary of this incident every year as Genocide Day. The continuing uprisings by the Armenians and the activities of their gangs in Anatolia adversely affected the capabilities of the Turkish Army. Therefore, Acting Commander-in-Chief Enver Pasha was left with no alternative but to demand deportation of the rebels and their supporters. The decision to relocate the Armenians were taken under these conditions...As can be seen the incident represented as genocide to the world does not fit the definition. The Ottoman Government had no intentions of annihilating the Armenian population as clearly revealed by Talat Pasha's instructions.

OLD ISSUES