EU, US AND TURKEY BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE)
A step to soften the crisis at the top of the State and to
relieve the markets came from President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. After
Prime Minister Ecevit's initiative to convene the National
Security Council (MGK) meeting again, Sezer suggested to Ecevit
they meet for the weekly ordinary meeting at 15:30 today.
However, Ecevit said he would not go to the Cankaya Presidential
Palace to attend this meeting because he would be preparing for
the Balkan Summit in Skopje. The press, who were willing to learn
the opinion of Sezer concerning the crisis, were at Cankaya
Presidential Palace and interested in the new Brazilian
Ambassador to Turkey, Brian Michael's letter of confidence
presentation ceremony. However, Sezer did not reply to the
journalists' questions concerning the crisis during the ceremony.
However, he gave a written reply to Ecevit's complaint that
'Sezer does not make any statement that supports the economic
program'. In a statement issued by the Presidential Press Centre,
it was stated, "The President maintains his hope that the
economic program, which is carried out by the government, will
ensure the implementation of the economy on a firm basis and
supports the steps taken for the implementation of the program.
Sezer also gave a kind reply to Ecevit, who took the first step
to convene the MGK meeting again and invited Deputy Prime
Minister Husamettin Ozkan to the meeting on Monday. /Aksam/
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer will attend the D-8 Summit that will
be held on February 25 in Cairo, Egypt. Foreign Minister Ismail
Cem will accompany President Sezer. A written statement from the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that President Sezer would have
bilateral contacts as much as his schedule would permit. After
the summit, the Cairo Declaration is expected to be announced
that will outline the decisions made at the summit. /All papers/
Deputy Prime Minister and Nationalist Action Party (MHP) leader,
Devlet Bahceli, said he hoped that the crisis between President
Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit would be
solved during the National Security Council (MGK) on Monday.
Bahceli completed his five-day visit to Turkmenistan and returned
to Turkey yesterday. At Ashkabad Airport he made an evaluation of
the crisis that occurred at the MGK meeting and pointed out that
Turkey needed stability more than anything. Bahceli added that
everyone should contribute to ensure stability. /Aksam/
In the wake of the recent crisis between President Ahmet Necdet
Sezer and Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, Motherland Party (ANAP)
Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz evaluated the
recent crisis in the National Security Council (MGK) meeting in
his ANAP's group meeting in Parliament. Defining the event as an
"accident which should be rapidly overcome", Yilmaz noted that
the crisis had seriously damaged the economy. /All papers/
Certain non-governmental organizations including Turk-Is, Hak-Is,
TOBB and TESK, will meet today to discuss the recent political
crisis between President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister
Bulent Ecevit. These organizations will also discuss the recent
economic and social problems in detail. /Cumhuriyet/
The bill on the so-called Greek genocide will be changed. It was
stated that the word genocide will not be used in the bill which
was prepared by the Interior and Culture Ministries and was
presented for the President's approval. According to the Greek
newspaper, the Daily Vima, instead of using the word genocide,
the bill will include the following statement "The commemoration
Day for the Asia Minor Disaster". According to Vima, President
Kostis Stephanopulos and Prime Minister Kostas Simitis agreed to
exclude the articles which would damage bilateral relations with
Turkey. It was stated that the two ministers preparing the bill
were cautioned. /Cumhuriyet/
It was stated 13 people would be tried in Greece, concerning the
terrorist leader Abdullah Ocalan's entrance to the country just
before his capture in Kenya. Ayfer Kaya and Cengiz Yakar, known
as aides to Ocalan, are among the 13 people to be tried.
/Cumhuriyet/
According to diplomatic sources, France's Ambassador to Ankara,
Bernard Garcia, was summoned to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign
Affairs on Monday and warned about the lawyer of the ASALA
terrorist organization and Republican Unity Party deputy Patrick
Deveciyan's statements against Turkey. Turkey's concerns over
Deveciyan's insults were conveyed to Garcia and further
information on the issue was demanded by Turkey. Meanwhile, the
Chairmen of the TGNA Interparliamentary Friendship Group sent
letters to their counterparts, protesting the French Parliament's
approval of the so-called Armenian genocide bill. The chairmen of
the Turkey-Macedonia, Turkey-Bulgaria, Turkey-Greece,
Turkey-Albania, Turkey-Romania, Turkey-Bosnia-Herzegovina groups
sent letters to their counterparts. The letters stressed the
approval of the bill served to extenuate France's own crimes and
cruelties in her colonies. Stating that the approval was used for
domestic politics in France, the letters said French politicians
distorted the historical facts for their own interests. Turkey's
Ambassador to Paris also sent a letter to the Chairman of the
French National Assembly and Chairman of the Republican Unity
Party denouncing Deveciyan's insults against Turkey. /Cumhuriyet/
The TGNA Justice Commission debated the Turkish Civil Code. The
Commission approved the article containing the statement "The
spouses manage the family together" instead of the statement "The
husband is the head of the family." Male dominance in the family
was removed by approval of the article. Marriage was redefined as
a "union" in the new 186th article. The Commission also discussed
the articles related to marriage and divorce. /Turkiye/
The bill on the "Liquidation of Some Funds" was approved in the
TGNA Plenary Session yesterday. The liquidation was cited in the
additional intent letter presented to the IMF. /Cumhuriyet/
The Constitutional Court gave an additional 15 days to the Virtue
Party (FP) for preparing its defense in the lawsuit concerning
the closure of the party. The Party had demanded an additional
period to prepare its initial defense. /Cumhuriyet/
The American Secretary of State Colin Powell, said the function
of the European Identity of Security and Defense (ESDI), which is
expected to be established by the European Union (EU), should
take place within NATO, disagreeing with approach of some EU
member countries such as Germany and France. Powell issued a
statement after meeting the German Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Joschka Fischer, and said "The US supports the ESDI, the planning
function of which should be within NATO. If we can add the
European force to the possibilities of NATO and if NATO and the
EU countries consent to use their military potential, then there
is no reason for the European force to weaken NATO. Powell
delivered a warning to Fischer that the new European Force should
not be based on a parallel planning or a rival structure to
NATO. These very important messages by Powell mean full
support to the thesis espoused by Turkey against the European
Union concerning the ESDI. /Aksam/
The Commander of Air Forces, General Ergin Celasin, went to
Israel to pay an official visit. During his three-day visit,
Celasin will view the Turkish F-4 planes, which are modernized by
Israel. He will be briefed by the Turkish officials concerning
the Popeye-2 rockets that are launched from air to land and hold
meetings concerning the maintenance of the Arrow missile defense
system. During his visit, General Celasin will be briefed on the
latest situation in the region by the Israeli army staff. In
these briefings, which will be also attended by military
intelligence officials, the latest information concerning the
threat of armament and missiles in the region will be discussed.
/Aksam/
Chief of General Staff, Gen.Huseyin Kivrikoglu, went to Tunisia
yesterday to hold official talks. The Office of the Chief of the
General Staff issued a written statement saying that
Gen.Kivrikoglu would return to Turkey on February 24. /All
papers/
A project titled "Promotion of a Systematic Approach to
Environmental Management" was launched in order to improve
technical cooperation in environmental management between Turkey
and Germany. The project's aim is the forming of a structure
within the Environmental Ministry which will prevent various
kinds of pollutants. Mugla and Bursa were chosen as the pilot
cities in Turkey. Environment Minister Fevzi Aytekin and the
Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Rudolf Schmidt,
will attend a meeting in Ankara in the near future to further
discuss the project. /All papers/
Interior Minister Sadettin Tantan is paying an official visit to
Bulgaria. An 'International Emergency Intervention System Backed
by Computers' was set up between Turkey and Bulgaria in addition
to police of Georgia, Albania and Azerbaijan police forces.
Tantan is expected to meet with Bulgarian Interior Minister
Emanuel Yardonov. Tantan, who will go to Plovdiv, will visit the
Muradiye Mosque during the continuing restoration. /Hurriyet/
A "Center for Studies and Researches on Earthquake Measures"
(DETEM) was established in Ankara. Middle East Technical
University (METU) will support the work of the center. The
initial meeting of the center was held at METU yesterday. Prof.
Ergim Altinay from the Civil Engineering Department at METU is
the technical assistant of DETEM. Speaking at the meeting,
Altinay said, "DETEM will be engaged in determining the
resistance of buildings to earthquakes, preparing projects to
strengthen the buildings, and carrying out ground studies where
new buildings will be constructed." /Cumhuriyet/
It was stated that the European Bank of Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD) would give financial support to Baku-Ceyhan
pipeline project. EBDR's First Deputy Chairman Charles Frank said
that the project was financially beneficial. /Turkiye/
Following the recent crisis in the National Security Council
(MGK) meeting on Monday, the IMF delegation said: "The problem is
political, the Fund can do nothing." The delegation stated that
there was no need for the sixth term review of the stand-by
agreement and no need for the letter. The delegation noted that
the payment of the third portion of the additional reserves worth
$2 billion to be extended in March was frozen until economic
developments reach a certain level. The IMF delegation departed
from Turkey yesterday. IMF Spokesman Conny Lotze said in a
statement yesterday that they were in continuous contact with
Ankara and they were waiting for the new measures to be taken.
/Milliyet/
A cash shortage paralyzed the Turkish banking system yesterday,
driving overnight repo rates as high as 7,500 % as the economic
managers were gathered in Ankara to find a solution. The Istanbul
Stock Exchange (IMKB) main-100 index recorded its biggest ever
loss of 18.11 %, or 1,588 points, to close the day at 7,181
points. In the bond market, the yield on the most heavily traded
March 21 bond had soared to 154.6 % at the end of the day.
The government convened the economic managers and discussed its
options on the existing monetary policy. The Central Bank is
pursuing a monetary policy in line with its pegged exchange rate
regime, which restricts its ability to give cash beyond
IMF-imposed limits, unless in the case of a foreign currency
inflow. Under the new system, exchange rates will be left to move
within a gradually widening band around a central path determined
by the Central Bank. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer announced
yesterday that he was backing all economic measures the
government was set to introduce. Meanwhile, the international
rating agency, Standard and Poor's announced that it was
concerned about the situation in Turkey and was monitoring it
closely for a possible downgrade. /All papers/
The decrease in the Istanbul Stock Exchanges (IMKB) of %29 in the
last three days negatively affected other countries. The decrease
resulted from the fact that foreign investors, who invest in the
Stock Exchanges of the developing countries, began to discharge
their portfolios in the IMKB, and this spread to the stock
exchanges of other neighbouring and developing countries. The
Russian Stock Exchange, which closely follows the Turkish market,
lost a great deal of value in the last three days. Similar
developments occurred in the stock exchanges of the former East
Bloc countries. /Aksam/
Chairman of the Executive Board of Sabanci Holding Company, Sakip
Sabanci, said that President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime
Minister Bulent Ecevit should meet as soon as possible and the
National Security Council (MGK) should be held earlier. Sabanci,
saying that the time is precious, added, "The MGK will convene on
Monday and this date is too late. Sezer and Ecevit should meet
tonight due to these extraordinary conditions." /Aksam/
The Ericsson and Siemens companies have won the GSM 1800 bid.
Ericsson will establish the necessary infrastructure and Siemens
will establish the base stations. /Turkiye/
The International Travel and Tourism Fair (ITEE 2001), which
brings together representatives of the tourism, communications,
Internet, and transportation sectors, will be opened by Tourism
Minister Erkan Mumcu today. The fair, which will take place at
the CNR International Fair Center, will continue until February
25. /All papers/
Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna comments on the relations between Turkey,
EU and the US. A summary of his column is as follows:
"Turkey who cannot improve and expedite her relations with the
EU, will probably get closer to the US, her ally of 50 years with
whom she has intertwined relations. In that case, it may be
exaggerated to say, but Ankara will have to accept what
Washington says.
The policies of improving relations with third and fourth blocs
besides the EU and the US are being prepared in Ankara. This is a
perfect recipe which will drive Turkey to an underdeveloped state
in the 21st century. Certainly there is another world apart from
the EU and the US. Turkey must follow rational policies towards
all states. However, those who choose to leave the EU and US are
dreamers still living in the past.
Turkey will establish the EU standards in the country and
following this will become a member of the Union if she chooses
to be. The relations with the US will always follow a steady
course at the highest level.
This is the rational policy. No one in Turkey can follow a policy
in line with his feelings, dreams, expectations, interests or
lies. Particularly when we are at a stage to take the steepest
turn in our restructuring history... Turkish interests and
improvement can only be furthered by reason, knowledge,
capability and experience.
We are living in a world where Pax Americana is valid. However,
there is no rule which says super powers do not make mistakes.
Just as the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Empires have made
serious mistakes, the US may follow the same route. However,
those who hope to see a decrease in US influence will not live
long enough to see it.
We do not know if it is correct for the US to attack Saddam so
much for her own interests. What is clear is that the Gulf War
has dealt a severe blow to Turkey's efforts to leave poverty
behind. We live in the same region with Iraq. Notwithstanding
these facts, it is hard for a state, where per capita income is
3,000 US dollars, to explain her complaints to Washington.
However, diplomacy is needed to overcome these difficulties and
dilemmas."
