FRENCH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY APPROVES THE SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL

French National Assembly approved the so-called Armenian genocide bill. The bill includes the following statement: "France recognizes the genocide to which Armenians were subjected to in 1915." In the session attended by only 50 of 577 parliamentarians, the bill was approved unanimously. If 60 parliamentarians object the bill in 15 days, one can appeal to the Constitutional Court for its annulment. However, French political circles stated it was impossible to find 60 parliamentarians opposing the bill just before the elections in March as they were afraid of losing the votes of Armenian lobbies. /All Papers/

TURKEY HARSHLY REACTS TO THE APPROVAL OF THE SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL

Turco-French relations has entered into a tense period never experienced before due to the approval of the so-called Armenian genocide bill. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit stated as the bill is in the French Constitutional Court, French President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Lionel Jospin had the chance to correct this grave mistake. He added that Turkey would take all necessary measures unless the bill is annulled. Summoning Mr. Garcia to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Cem said, "Turkey regrets that the French Government did not display any serious efforts during the debates. French government will be responsible for the security of the lives of Turks living in France because the approval of the bill might revive the Armenian terrorism." Turkey recalled Turkish Ambassador to Paris, Sonmez Koksal to Turkey for consultations. Meanwhile, the government declaration on the approval of the so-called Armenian genocide bill by the French National Assembly is as follows: "Notwithstanding all warnings, the French National Assembly has approved the so-called Armenian Genocide bill, making a grave mistake in the face of humanity and history. The Government of the Republic of Turkey strongly condemns this decision by the French National Assembly daring to accuse Turkey with a crime she has never committed by disregarding all historical facts and rejects the law with all its consequences. This law arousing the indignation of our nation, will cause great and lasting damage to Turco-French relations and lead to a serious crisis in our ties. This development will also adversely affect initiatives for establishing peace and stability in our region. France will have to bear the responsibility of all. The Government of the Republic of Turkey once more calls on the French Government to act in order to render this law ineffective. Turkish Ambassador to France, Sonmez Koksal has been recalled to Ankara for consultations." /All Papers/

PEOPLE REJECTING THE GENOCIDE WILL BE PUNISHED

After the approval of the bill on the so-called Armenian genocide by the French national assembly, a new debate appeared. It was stated that pro-Turkish initiatives to refute the so-called genocide claims could be punished in France. Prof. Huseyin Bagci from the Middle East Technical University, said counter arguments to this law will be punished in France, as it is the case in Germany on the holocaust issue. However, French State Minister, Jacques Queyranne, said, "The law is just symbolic and has no sanction power. The law does not aim to accuse Turkey." According to specialists on law, with the approval of the bill, according to the Gayssot law the denial of the genocides officially approved by the assembly will be considered a crime. With a little amendment in the article 29 of the Gayssot law, it will be possible to punish the people refuting the so-called Armenian genocide with up to five years imprisonment and payment of a fine up to 300.000 francs. /Aksam/

IZGI: "FRANCE MADE AN UNFORGIVABLE MISTAKE"

Following the acceptance of the so-called Armenian genocide bill in the French Parliament, Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) Speaker, Omer Izgi, said, "I condemn this go down in history as an unforgivable mistake and a black spot. In Turkish history there are no shameful events such as the genocide perpetrated in Africa and South America by European countries who adopt such decisions or attempt to do so." Mr. Izgi also called on the French Parliament to give up the decision. /Turkiye/

TURKISH PARLIAMENTARIANS: "FRANCE IS DOING WRONG"

Representatives of the parties in the Turkish Parliament harshly reacted to the Armenian bill passed in the French Parliament. Stressing that France was not ahead Turkey in human rights, and recalling what France had done in Algeria and other countries in Africa in history, Turkish parliamentarians claimed that France had no right to accept such a bill. They also added in Turkish history there was no discrimination against any groups regarding their race, language and belief. In the meantime, Chairman of the French Business Council and TUSIAD Executive Board Deputy Chairman, Aldo Kaslowski, said both countries should be more cool-headed. He emphasized it is easy to destroy relations but difficult to re-establish. /Turkiye/

MILITARY TENDERS ARE IN DANGER

Military circles argue "Military Spying Satellite" tender totaling $200 million, of which the pre-agreement was signed with the French firm Alcatel, will be cancelled and the 10 years of supply plan will be shelved. Turkey will wait for final words from President Jacques Chirac before implementing the action plan against France. There are currently four defense projects with France totaling $1.357 million. /All papers/

CALL TO BOYCOTT FRENCH GOODS

Chairman of Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO) Sinan Aygun, called everyone to boycott the French goods. Aygun stated that the business world should impose economic sanctions in response to the decision of the French Parliament in spite of the historical facts. Aygun recalled the economic sanctions that were effective on Italy and called everyone to boycott the French goods that enter Turkey through export. Aygun added, "I have serious doubts that the government was late to intervene in the issue. We lose blood in terms of foreign politics. In addition, it is not a coincidence that the so-called Armenian genocide bill's being enacted in France coincided with a period of time when the relations with the European Union (EU) became chilly. Turkey is besieged consciously and the business world should implement an economic punishment." /Hurriyet/

TURKEY CALLS FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AGAINST TERRORISM

Namik Tan, advisor at the Turkish Embassy in Washington, addressed a conference on the problem of terrorism and called for international cooperation in order to successfully fight terrorism, the Anatolia news agency reported. Tan pointed out that there are currently 24 regional conflicts being fought throughout the world and that 16 of these are in Turkey's proximity. He noted that Turkey is not flanked by two oceans and two friendly states like the United States and so when foreigners were evaluating Turkey's struggle against terrorism they had to bear in mind Turkey's geographical location. /Turkish Daily News/

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PACKAGE PASSES THE TGNA CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSION

The constitutional amendment package, including the 69th article on closing the political parties and reducing the term of the President of the Republic of Turkey, was approved in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) Constitutional Commission. According to the new regulations in the package, two third of the Constitutional Commission has to approve the closing decision of a political party being accused with committing crimes against the Constitution and the crimes the party is accused with should be proved with no doubt. Additionally, the term of President will be five years. Same person might be elected as President twice. /Cumhuriyet/

AUTHORITIES FROM FOREIGN MINISTRY TO INFORM EU COMMISSIONERS

Authorities from Ministry of Foreign Affairs will travel to Brussels next week to inform the EU Commission members on the economic developments in Turkey. After determining the framework of the national program, Turkish officials are now to give information on the economic program which Turkey is currently pursuing and the economic structural measures aimed to meet EU Maastricht criteria. /Cumhuriyet/

COUNCIL OF MINISTERS DISCUSSES TOURISM AND PRIVATIZATION

The Council of Ministers met yesterday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit to discuss the Turkish tourism in 2000 and the privatization program. The decision to privatize the TEKEL (Turkish State Monopoly) was made during the meeting. Meanwhile, Minister of State Rustu Kazim Yucelen emphasized the necessity of a structural reformation in the tourism sector. He added that they would present proposals to change certain laws on tourism. /Cumhuriyet/

CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTER RAQUE VISITS JOSE MARTI MONUMENT IN ESENYURT

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ismail Cem's official guest Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Raque visited Jose Marti Monument in Esenyurt, Istanbul yesterday. Stating that the visit of Cuban Friendship Group including TGNA members was great, Mr. Raque said, "We invited them to see the latest developments in Cuba's tourism sector." /Cumhuriyet/

'RETURN TO LIFE' DENOUNCED BY EP

The European Parliament (EP) made a decision requesting the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) and the Turkish government to establish an 'Independent Commission' to investigate the 'Return to Life' operation that was carried out in the prisons in December. The EP also wanted from the Turkish government to invite a delegation from the EP to Turkey in order to investigate the F-type prisons. The European Union (EU)-Turkey Joint Parliament Deputy Co-Chairman, Ozan Ceyhun, stated that if the operation is evaluated within the framework of the rule of law, it should be criticized. The new text of the decision is prepared by the EP, which discussed the issue during the plenary session in Strasbourg in December but decided not to make a decision as a result of the diplomatic initiatives of Turkey. On this text of decision it was stated that Turkey was a party to many agreements concerning human rights in the international plan and that agreements were signed to prohibit torture and it was requested to take measures so that this tragedy does not occur again. /Hurriyet/

ERIS' STATEMENT

Chairman of the Economic Development Foundation (IKV), Meral Gezgin Eris, said that it should not be expected that economic relations with a country, who treated Turkey this unfairly, can develop. Eris said that the bill's being discussed especially by France was a big contradiction and added, "France is a country, which requested the issue of Algeria to be referred to the history. It is impossible to reconcile such an important bill to be enacted by France with logic." /Hurriyet/

YASAR DYE GROUP OF COMPANIES' SUCCESS

The Coatings Agenda-Europe, one of the most important publishing organs in the world in terms of dye and ink sector, displayed Yasar Dye Group of Companies, among the huge companies in the world in its 2001 issue. In the statement made by Yasar Holding Company, it was stated that the list of the best 58 companies and groups in the dye sector of the world and that only one company was able to enter this list from Turkey. It was stated that Yasar Dye Group was the 23rd in terms of the amount of dye that is sold in liters and that it was the 24th in terms of endorsement. /Hurriyet/

CROATIAN NAVAL FORCES COMMANDER IN ISTANBUL

Croatian Naval Forces Commander, Vice Admiral Vid Stipetic, who is currently in Ankara as the official guest of the Turkish Naval Forces Commander, Admiral Ilhami Erdil, visited the Northern Naval Region Commander, Vice Admiral Ozden Ornek yesterday in Istanbul. Stipetic said that they wanted to benefit from the experiences of Turkey as a country that is newly established. /Sabah/

DHKP/C PREPARES NEW ATTACK PLANS

It has been determined that the illegal terrorist organization in the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C), which has caused armed and bomb attacks against police recently, was preparing to attack certain local police department buildings in Ankara and Istanbul, the Anatolia news agency reported. Police headquarters issued a circular to police departments in several districts alerting them to take the necessary measures for possible attacks. The circular recalled the organization's bomb attack on the Sisli police department on January 3 and that the organization had decided to sustain their attacks. The circular warned the police departments to take all necessary measures and wanted the police on duty at the entrances to police buildings to be careful. On the other hand, a high-ranking police official stated that the organization which had been suffering from lack of militants in the country was trying to move militants trained in explosives into Turkey, and so customs officials were alerted as well. /Turkish Daily News/

TURKISH STRAITS BECOME VIRTUAL PIPELINE

The number of tankers with petroleum passing through Turkish straits has been observed to increase significantly within this week. Following the decision by the OPEC countries regarding a 10 percent reduction in their oil production, the same European countries are reported to demand more Caspian petroleum. Maritime Traffic Stations officials have increased their security measures in order to prevent a possible hazard during the passage of huge petroleum tankers of 50 to 85 thousand tons. /Turkish Daily News/

U.S. AMBASSADOR TO VISIT IZMIR

U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Robert Pearson will make his first visit to Izmir and the Aegean region on January 19-20. In Izmir, Ambassador Pearson will meet with the governor, the mayor, and with the members of the Chamber of Commerce. Ambassador Pearson will attend a reception hosted by the Turkish American Businessmen's Association on Friday, January 19, and will attend Intergen's groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday, January 20. /Turkish Daily News/

TURK TELEKOM POSTS TL 491 TLN PROFITS IN 2000

Turkey's state telecommunications monopoly Turkish Telekom posted TL 491.41 trillion net profits, TL 2.519 quadrillion incomes and incurred TL 2.028 quadrillion expenses in 2000. The company forecasts TL 604 trillion net profits in 2001 and planned investment spending is at TL 420 trillion. Turk Telekom earned TL 451 trillion profits in 1999. /Turkish Daily News/

BOARD DECLARES FULL GUARANTEE FOR BAILED-OUT BANKS

The Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) will give all depositors' and creditors' unimpeded access to their funds in banks where it has taken over the shares, according to the provisions of the Banking Law, the Banking Regulation and Supervision Board (BDDK) declared in a press release yesterday. The BDDK announcement shows that the board's priority is to turn bailed-out banks into full-functioning entities but not to liquidate them. The government will also give a guarantee to deposits up to TL 50 billion in the banks, other than those bailed-out by the TMSF. /Turkish Daily News/

FORE RESERVED UP $1.5 BLN TO $26.5 BLN

The Turkish Central Bank's foreign exchange reserves increased by $1.49 billion to $26.59 billion in the week ending January 12, the bank announced on Thursday. The bank said that its gold reserves remained the same at $1.01 billion. Total foreign currency reserves of commercial banks and special finance institutions amounted to $16.72 billion as of December 26, according to most recent data available. /Turkish Daily News/

BILL ON ELECTRICITY MARKET ACCEPTED IN COMMISSION

A bill on electricity market which foresees the restructuring of the electricity sector and the opening of the competition was accepted by the commission for Natural resources, Knowledge and Technology. The aim of the bill is to establish a financially strong and stable electricity market which will operate under competitive conditions and to put forth the required regulations and supervision, in order to put adequate, good quality and cheap electricity to the use of consumers. The bill aims to increase the electricity supply vis-a vis the demand, thereby to reduce the electricity prices. A fund will be established to remove the cost differences of thermic and hydro-electric power plants from natural gas power plants. Hence, use of indigenous resources will be encouraged compared to the imported energy sources. /Aksam/

COOPERATION WITH GREECE IN NATURAL GAS SECTOR

A minutes of accord on cooperation was signed by the BOTAS (Pipeline Carriage Company) and Greek state natural gas company DEPA. Parties will work on the feasibility activities of a pipeline construction between the two countries under the framework of the South Europe Natural Gas Energy Circle financed by the European Commission. /Aksam/

TURKISH BROADCASTS IN VOICE OF AMERICA ABOLISHED

The Voice of America (VOA) decided to abolish the broadcasts in Turkish started in 1942. However, broadcasting in Kurdish, Armenian and Greek will continue. It was stated the abolishment of the Turkish broadcasts is due to the personnel cuts. /Aksam/

TUSIAD TO MEET TODAY

Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen' Association (TUSIAD) will meet today in Istanbul. The members of High Consultation Council Bureau Assembly, execution council and supervisor council will be elected during the meeting. Tuncay Ozilhan is expected to be elected as chairman of executive council. /Cumhuriyet/

DEMIRALP'S STATEMENT ON IMF MEETINGS

Treasury Undersecretary Selcuk Demiralp evaluated the IMF delegation's meetings. Stressing they have discussed three major topics- banking sector, privatization and structural revisions- with the delegation, Mr. Demiralp said there is not any problem in privatization. He also said they will make an announcement regarding the meetings today. The IMF delegation headed by Chairman of Turkey Desk, Carlo Cottarelli, met with the Banking Regulation and Supervision Board officials yesterday. The delegation is expected to leave Turkey today. /Turkiye/

TURKISH DESK IN ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY

The seventh President of the Republic of Turkey, Kenan Evren, said the Rector of the Atlantic University in the Florida State, US, requested his support to establish a Turkish desk on management at the university. Yesterday, Mr. Evren visited Minister of Culture, Istemihan Talay. After the meeting, he said Mr. Talay welcomed the idea and pledged to launch initiates on the issue. /Turkiye/

YAGMURDERELI GETS REPRIEVE

Prominent human rights activist Esber Yagmurdereli has been released under the terms of the Conditional Release Law passed at the end of last year, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday. Yagmurdereli, who is blind, was jailed three years ago on charges of spreading separatist propaganda when he made a speech about Turkey's Southeast, a region populated largely by Turks of Turkish descent. /Turkish Daily News/

AWARD TO TURKISH FIRM IN GERMANY

An order of merit will be presented to Spekon Spezialkonfektion GmbH from the Yegin Group by Scifennersdorf city council in Germany due to its contributions to the trade sector of the city. The order of merit was given only three times since the city's establishment. /Aksam/

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

FRANCE BOWS TO PROVOCATIONS NOT HISTORY BY MUSTAFA BALBAY (CUMHURIYET) Columnist

Mustafa Balbay writes on the approval of the so-called Armenian genocide bill by the French National Assembly. A summary of his column is as follows: The vote in the French National Assembly passed as expected. The bill on the so-called Armenian Genocide was approved unanimously by the 50 parliamentarians attending the debate. Those who supported the bill had attended the debate on the floor of the Assembly. If the French President Chirac or the Government do not apply to the Constitutional Court in 15 days, saying that the bill is against the Constitution, France will accept the Armenian allegations as law. Before going into the daily aspect of the the issue, I would like to recall the three-staged aims of Armenians: 1- First of all, it should be recognized throughout the world that Armenians were subjected to a genocide in 1915, 2-Following political pressures, Turkey should be made to recognize the so-called genocide. Almost simultaneously, compensation should be asked from Turkey. 3- After getting the compensation, territory should be demanded from Turkey. Until now, only the Armenians in Diaspora were claiming these. During the last two years, with the election of Robert Kocharian as President who came to Armenia from Diaspora, Armenia is behind these allegations as a state... This situation, displayed the necessity that Turkey should be closely concerned with the changes around its borders. Coming to France, it was clear that the bill was going to be accepted from the start. However, there was a serious debate. The view prevalent was that as the bill did not include any sanctions, it was against the Constitution. Although this may seem important, this part of the issue does not hold much significance at the moment. France may even say, "The law is passed but it does not have the power of sanctions. Therefore, to say that there has been no genocide will not be crime. Why are you making such a fuss over it?' This is not a realistic evaluation. Today the law accepted may not have any sanctions, but tomorrow upon an appeal to the court it may be changed and said a genocide accepted by law cannot be discussed and as such, necessary measures should be taken. If a country in Europe has accepted genocide as law for a nation, it becomes a crime to say that there has not been a genocide. France who leaves the allegations concerning itself aside by saying that these should be left to historians to decide, legalizes Armenian claims unanimously. Coming to Turkey, we can say that in such situations we are following a reaction policy. A series of reactions such as imposing an embargo on French goods, canceling visits to France, not admitting French companies into important tenders, laying black wreaths to the representations of this country. Certainly, it cannot be said that there is nothing else to do concerning the law is already adopted. However, the reaction to this bill had been taken long ago. It should be recalled that the French National Assembly decision comes at a time when Turkey is preparing her National Program, the EU is completing its preparations in establishing a European Army of 60,000, which does not include Turkey, steps are being taken for Armenia's NATO membership. It can be clearly seen that the approach of leaving history to historians does not carry much weight. Turkey should not be a by-stander but a country directing the events."

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