NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WARNS FRANCE

The National Security Council (MGK) met yesterday under the chairmanship of President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, Chief of the General Staff Huseyin Kivrikoglu and other ministers attended the meeting. The MGK warned France that approval of the so-called Armenian genocide bill would seriously damage bilateral relations between Turkey and France, and also adversely affect the stability and peace initiatives in the region. Meeting to discuss sanctions against France, the MGK decided to implement them gradually. France is expected to be excluded from state biddings and purchases. The MGK declared after the meeting: "In the light of the security and information reports, the MGK evaluated the results of the efforts carried out against illegal activities aimed at damaging the unity and security of the Turkish state. Foreign developments and their effects on Turkey were also discussed. Within this framework, the MGK condemns France for approving the so-called Armenian genocide bill. The approval will seriously damage both bilateral relations and stability in the region." It was stated that Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Cem gave information on the latest developments concerning the issue and conveyed his views about the sanctions to be implemented against France. /Cumhuriyet/

ECEVIT'S STATEMENT CONCERNING FRANCE

Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said the French nation should not be offended in case sanctions are implemented against France. Ecevit said, "The sanctions will be implemented in a way that will not affect the Turkish economy. The French nation is a friendly one. France is among the countries sending the highest number of tourists to Turkey. Let us not offend the French nation." Meanwhile, Ecevit met with French Ambassador Sonmez Koksal, who was recalled. /Aksam/

IZGI CRITISIZES BRITAIN

Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) Speaker Omer Izgi criticized Britain's preparations to bring allegations of the so-called Armenian genocide into the parliamentary agenda. Izgi said, "European countries are uneasy because they do not want a powerful Turkey in Europe and the Middle East. That is why they they accuse Turkey with crimes she never committed. However, these allegations are not important for us. We will tell everbody the truth and take the necessary steps for our future." /Turkiye/

ARMENIAN LOBBIES CONTINUE THEIR EFFORTS

Armenian lobbies continue their efforts in the US and Britain. While trying to bring a new bill into the agenda in the US, the lobbies are trying to include the so-called Armenian genocide into the Holocaust Commemoration Day in Britain. The Armenian Americans National Committee (ANCA) recalled US President Bush's promise to recognize the so-called Armenian genocide in his election campaign and wanted him to keep his promise. Armenian lobbies are trying to prepare a new bill to be brought to the agenda of the House of the Representatives. /Turkiye/

ALIYEV TO MEET KOCARYAN

Azerbaijan President Haydar Aliyev will travel to France as the official guest of the French President Jacques Chirac and will meet with Armenian President Robert Kocharian. Aliyev is expected to bring the aproval of the so-called Armenian genocide bill into the meetings agenda. Aliyev has previously said that Azerbaijan never recognized such a bill, and the Turkish state never carried out genocide in the past. /Turkiye/

AN END TO COOPERATION

The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) has unilaterally cancelled the Cooperation Agreement with Canal France International (CFI). As a reaction to the passage of a law recognizing the so-called genocide bill, TRT has cancelled the exchange and broadcasting television programs protocol it had signed with the CFI within the framework of cultural, technical and academic cooperation. TRT was buying films, series, documentaries and music programs from mthe CFI and broadcasting them./Milliyet/

REACTION IN THE CYBER WORLD

A web page was created and email address given for those wishing to express their reactions against France. The founder of the Brain Club, Hakan Topuzoglu, stated, "The entire Turkish nation wants to show its reaction to France. However, they have a difficulty in finding a place to express their reactions. Therefore, we prepared a web page on the internet for this purpose. We collect the reactions on the web page, whose address is: http://fransayaprotesto.8m.com. In addition, those who want to express their opinion will be able to express their emotions and opinions on the issue." /Aksam/

TURK:"WE PROMISED THE WHOLE WORLD"

Minister of Justice, Hikmet Sami Turk, said, "Turkey promised the whole world she would enact the draft law concerning the prisons and suspend the death sentence." Turk in a speech during the Law Commission meeting on the Execution of the Criminal Sentence, said the prison rules of the United Nations (UN) standards and the European Commission will be taken into consideration in the new regulation. Turk said draft laws concerning the 16th Article of Anti-Terrorism Law and the execution umpireship and monitoring rules should be completed as soon as possible. Turk added, "We announced that the F-type prisons could not be opened unless these laws are enacted. We made promises to whole world on this. The European Parliament discussed the issue of prisons for the second time. We should not forget that our prisons are the focal point of the world's attention." /Aksam/

LEADERS DECIDE TO POSTPONE REFORM OF CONSTITUTION

The debate on the constitutional amendment making it harder to close political parties and changing the term limits of the president from a seven-year term to two five-year terms, is being delayed. The three parties constituting the government did not include the constitutional amnedment, approved by the Parliamentary Constitutional Commission last week, in this week's parliamentary plenery session agenda. The first discussion on the constitutional amendment was expected to take place on Wednesday and the second on January 30. /All papers/

ECHR ACCEPTS TURKEY'S OBJECTION

The Chief of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) Luzius Wildhaber said the Court accepted Turkey's objection to the decision which sends Abdullah Ocalan's case to the Grand Chamber. /Cumhuriyet/

PARLIAMENTARIANS ASSEMBLY OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE SUPPORTS TURKEY'S PRISON REFORMS

The general council meetings of the Parliamentarians Assembly of the Council of Europe began in Strasbourg. Chairman of the Assembly, British Parliamentarian Lord Russel Johnson in a press conference said he supported the prison reforms in Turkey. Johnson added that the rebellions in the prisons were a result of activities by mafia-like and terrorist groups. /Cumhuriyet/

A CRITICAL MEETING FOR TURKEY

The European Parliament Foreign Relations Commission will determine its stance on the financial cooperation with Turkey today in Brussels. The Commission is expected to approve the Framework Convention, the legal basis of the Accession Partnership Document in February. The preparation for the Framework Convention is to be completed and proposals for change are to be presented today in Brussels. /Cumhuriyet/

SAHINBEY MONUMENT IS READY

The Mausoleum of Sahinbey, martyred November 5, 1919, in the struggle for independence against the French, then occupying Gaziantep and cooperating with the Armenians, was restored and readied for opening. The Sayinbey Monument will be opened on 8 February by the Governor Erhan Tanju. The 30-square meter monument, whose landscaping arrangement is being made, was constructed in a way that suits the memory of Martyr Sahinbey. /Aksam/

TURKEY FAVOURS TURKMENS

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Cem, received the Chairman of the Iraq Turkmen Front (ITC) Sanan Ahmet Aga at the Foreign Ministry yesterday. During the meeting, which was also attended by the Deputy General Director of the Middle East Department, Feridun Sinirlioglu, and the Ministry's Special Undersecretary Engin Soysal, opinions were exchanged concerning the situation of the Turkmens of the Northern Iraq as well as the general position of Northern Iraq. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Cem, said Turkey has always favored Turkmens and had defended their rights. Cem added that there has been an improvement in the situation of Iraqi Turkmens since last July, but it was not sufficient. Meanwhile, Chairman of the ITC, Ahmet Aga, began his speech thanking the Minister Cem on behalf of the ITC and the Iraqi Turkmens. Sanan Ahmet Aga stated that all he and the ITC wanted was equality with the all of the Iraqi citizens. He also pointed out that Turkmens were respectful of Iraq's territorial integrity and that they supported the principal of the constancy of borders. /Turkiye/

ENGLISH MINISTER'S CONTACTS IN TURKEY

The English Minister of Construction and Environment, Beverly Hughes, visited the Turkish Contractors' Association (TMB) and received information on the works of Turkish contractors. Beverly Hughes, in Turkey to investigate the English State Earthquake Commission's works in Yalova, said that England was willing to support and help the new urbanization and urban renovation in Turkey. Meanwhile, the Chairman of the TMB, Kadir Sever, stated Turkey could not have escaped the negative effects of the earthquake which occurred in 1999 completely and thanked England for its support during this process. Sever recalled that the English government undertook infrastructure works in Yalova without requiring any payment. /Turkiye/

HUNGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER MARTONYI IN ANKARA

Hungarian Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi and an accompanying delegation arrived in Ankara yesterday as the official guest of Foreign Minister Ismail Cem. Martonyi will be received by the Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit. Turkish and Hungarian delegations are expected to discuss regional and international issues as well as bilateral relations. The Hungarian delegation will travel to Capadoccia after leaving Ankara. /Star/

US HONOURS TURKISH VETERANS OF THE KOREAN WAR

The US will honour Turkish Korean War Veterans at a ceremony and reception at the Residence of US Ambassador to Turkey, W.Robert Pearson, on Thursday. At the ceremony, retired Maj.Gen.Elmer Pendleton will present Turkish veterans with certificates of recognition from former Defence Secretary William Cohen who signed these certificates in one of his last acts as Defence Secretary. /Turkish Daily News/

KANADOGLU: "THE LEGAL PROCESS IN THE FP TRIAL IS STILL UNDERWAY"

Newly-appointed Court of Cessations Chief Public Prosecutor Sabih Kanadoglu stated that the legal process in the case to dissolve the Virtue Party (FP) is still underway, the Anatolia News Agency reported. Kanadoglu started his new duty yesterday, visited Ataturk's Mausoleum and laid a wreath. He pledged in the guest book to defend the indivisible unity of the nation and country of the secular and democratic Republic of Turkey. /All papers/

TURKEY DEFEATS DRUG TRAFFICKING

The report prepared by the United Nations (UN) Drug Control Program stated Turkey had great successes in the prevention of drug trafficking. The World Drugs Report of 2000 stated Turkey and India were the biggest opium producers in the world during the 18th and 19th centuries, but the role of these two countries in the world's drug market has decreased. /Aksam/

200 TRILLION TL FOR GAP

An allocation amounting to 197.2 trillion TL was assigned at the end of 2000 to the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP). GAP aims at removing the difference in income distribution in Southeastern Anatolia, and is the biggest humanitarian development project in the region. The allocation is to ensure the project's completion in the planned period of time. Within this framework, 116 trillion TL of this investment allocation was reserved for the economic sectors including agriculture, mining, production, energy, transportation-communication and tourism. The remaining amount was reserved for investments to be made in housing, educatiton-culture, health and other public services. /Turkiye/

BAKU-CEYHAN PIPELINE

Chairman of the Georgian State Petroleum Company (GIOC) Gia Canturiya said that six more companies could participate in the sponsors' group during the implementation process of the Baku-Ceyhan petroleum pipeline. Canturiya said company representatives and working groups that are interested in the project will meet January 24th in Istanbul. He added, "During these meetings, which will be chaired by British Petroleum, the basic engineering works, the signed agreements, and pipeline's path will be discussed. /Star/

ENERGY OFFICIAL ARGUES FOR BLUE STREAM GAS PROJECT

Turkey would lose $238 million under a 'take or pay' article if a down-payment was not made to the consortium laying the Turkish section of the Russian Blue Stream natural gas pipeline, a senior energy official said yesterday. Pipeline Transportation Company (BOTAS) General Director Gokhan Yardim speaking at a news conference in Ankara said that the Samsun-Ankara section of the pipeline was delegated to a Russian-Turkish consortium in line with an inter-governmental agreement between the two countries. /All papers/

INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS FROM SAMSUN

The Samsun Active Power Union (SAGB), established in 1999 by 54 founding members, aims to enter the international market with a dried fruit and vegetable project based on the agricultural industry. The Head of the Executive Board of the SAGB, Mazhar Basoglu, stated that the international market research for the project was underway and said: "The basic aim of the SAGB was to produce fruits meeting international quality standards". /Hurriyet/

ERCEL TO ADDRESS WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

Central Bank Governor Gazi Ercel is departing for Switzerland on Friday to attend the World Economic Forum meeting. Ercel will address a panel entitled 'Emerging Markets: Hard Times Ahead?' to be held in Davos on January 29, and will return home on January 30. The forum will open officially on January 25 and last six days. /Turkish Daily News/

KORFEZBANK OPENS 706 BRANCHES TOGETHER WITH PT

An agreement signed between the Postal Administration (PT) and Korfezbank will integrate the post offices with the banking system for the first time in Turkey. In line with the cooperation project, 406 PT center are included in the system and 300 more new center will be automated bringing the total to 706. /Hurriyet/

ONAL'S STATEMENT ON JAPAN CREDIT

Minister of State Recep Onal said, in addition to the aid from the World Bank, Japan will give Turkey a co-financing credit totalling $750 million. Stating that they were working seriously on the financial sector, Onal said, "We have to reach the world standards in the financial sector so we can efficiently continue the economic program and yield positive results. We aim to restructure the public banks in a year." /Cumhuriyet/

DELAY IN IMF SUPPORT

The transfer dates of the IMF's Additional Reserve Facility Credit has been changed. The release date of the credit will be determined in accordance with the meeting schedule of the IMF's Council of the Executive Directors meetings. Additionally, to use the additional reserve, short letters of intent will be presented to the IMF. /Sabah/

2001 VERY IMPORTANT FOR PRIVATIZATION

World Bank's Director to Turkey, Ajay Chibber, stated the privatization program was of the utmost importance for the year 2001. Chibber added, "Turkey suceeded in implementing a convincing privatization program in 2000. However, the privatization program for the year 2001 is more important." Meanwhile, State Minister Yuksel Yalova said, "Turkey should complete the things she must do earlier than the envisaged date in order to be considered successful." /Aksam/

INVALUABLE PIECES OF ARTHEMIS TEMPLE TO BE EXHIBITED

It was stated that invaluable pieces, excavated from the Artemis Temple in Selcuk (one of the seven wonders of the world), and never exhibited until now, will be exhibited first in Vienna, then Istanbul, and finally will be brought to Ephesus Museum. /Aksam/

II. TURKISH WORLD CINEMA DAYS TO BEGIN

During the "II. Turkish World Cinema Days" of January 26-31, movies from Turkmenistan, Tataristan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Turkey and from other Turkish-speaking countries will be screened. Additionally, there will be opportunities to speak with guest artists, seminars and two photograph exhibiitons from the collection of Prof. Tevfik Ismaliov. /Cumhuriyet/

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

WHAT WILL ENGLAND DO? BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)

Columnist Sami Kohen writes on the developments concerning the 'Holocaust Commemoration Day' in England. A summary of his column is as follows: "News stating Armenians will be included in the Holocaust Commemoration Day next Saturday, shows that the campaign against Turkey is spreading and reaching international dimensions. The official statement made in response to the article published in the Sunday Observer shows the English Government does not want to include Armenians in the Commemoration. However, there is always the possibility that Armenians may demonstrate or try to have their voice heard during the commemoration ceremonies. For example, the BBC broadcast of the event may refer to the 1915-16 Armenian genocide. Despite the guarantees given, Turkish officials are concerned they may be faced with an Armenian demonstration during the Holocaust Commemoration Day. In fact, this event was planned for the commemoration of six million Jews who were the victims of 'mass murder' campaigns by the Nazis during the Second World War. Therefore, the term 'holocaust' is used instead of 'genocide' for the commemoration day. Only two months ago, State Minister responsible for Interior Affairs, Mike O'Brien, said in a statement before the House of Commons, that this event would only focus on the 'holocaust' and other massacres taking place after the Second World War, such as those in Bosnia and Rwanda. Other similar official statements stressed that the 1915 Armenian tragedy was not accepted as a genocide by the United Kingdom. Moreover,as the incidents involving Armenians took place long before the Second World War, their inclusion in the event was out of the question. Despite all these official statements, news was heard that Armenians were to be included in the ceremony, coming just at the time when Turkey was angry over and reacted to the French decision on the issue. Certainly, there is a great difference between the French decision and the development in England. France has declared by law that it recognizes the Armenian genocide. England does not recognize the incidents in 1915 as an Armenian genocide. The UK Construction and Environment Minister made an announcement to this effect in Ankara, while the Turkish Ambassador to London was given a guarantee in the same vein by the British Foreign Ministry. It is pleasing to see that England is maintaining its official position on the issue. However, while saying the Armenians will not take part in the program of the Commemoration Ceremony Saturday, the expression that Armenians could always commemorate the genocide in line with their own allegations leaves an open door. It should be recalled that Armenians are masters of the 'silent waters run deep' policy in benefiting from such occasions. The Armenian population in England is close to ten thousand. However, with the support of the Armenian lobby in the US they are trying hard to penetrate the commemoration of the Holocaust. The British Government bears the responsibility of preventing the exploitation of the event by the Armenians."

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