STALIN IS NOT DEAD AFTER ALL BY ORHAN BIRGIT (CUMHURIYET)
Azerbaijani President Haydar Aliyev, on an official visit to
Turkey, addressed the parliamentarians in the Turkish Grand
National Assembly (TGNA) yesterday. In his speech, Mr. Aliyev
emphasized Turkey's importance to Azerbaijan. Accompanied by
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, the Azerbaijani President will
proceed to Istanbul today to attend a conference at the War
Academy Command. /Turkiye/
Kemal Dervis began his duties as the State Minister Responsible
for the Economy after taking his oath in the Parliament
yesterday. During a press conference he held yesterday morning,
Dervis said there were some difficulties in the banking sector.
He added," However, the state guarantee on saving accounts will
continue. There is also no liquidation or consolidation. We are
seeking to find the best way of restructuring the banking
sector." Regarding new economic program, he said, "We are trying
to prepare a comprehensive program and we will declare it as soon
as it is ready. The program will be easily understood by
everyone. We also expect media's support during the explanation
of the program to the public." /Sabah/
The State Minister Responsible For the Economy, Kemal Dervis,
will meet with the heads of the Turk-Is, Hak-Is and DISK Labor
Unions. Dervis will give information about the main points of the
national economic program and ask for their support. On the other
hand, the heads of non-gevernmental organizations forming the
Labor Platform said they will hold demonstrations unless their
opinions and approvals are also taken. Dervis will receive the
Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen Association (TUSIAD)
delegation tomorrow. The delegation will present suggestions
regarding the disinflation program. Dervis will meet with the 350
heads of Chambers and Commodity Exchange on Friday. /Milliyet/
State Minister Kemal Dervis subsequently received US Ambassador
Robert Pearson and EU Representative, Ambassador Karen Fogg
yesterday. Dervis requested Fogg to relay to the EU that Turkey
is awaiting its support. Regarding Pearson's visit, Dervis said
the Ambassador reiterated the US support. /Milliyet/
Turkey's Secretariat General for European Union is preparing to
rewrite the National Program's Economic Criteria Chapter in
accordance with the new economic program to be prepared under the
chairmanship of the Minister of State Responsible for the Economy
Kemal Dervis. A high level official said the Secretariat will try
to complete the draft of the new National Program before the
Council of Ministers meeting on March 19. /Cumhuriyet/
Minister of State Faruk Bal said public banks, namely Emlak, Halk
and Ziraat, would be turned over to an independent high board.
The establishment of an independent board is seen as a first step
in the efforts to rehabilitate the banking sector, a centerpiece
of the new economic program. Members of the council will be
selected from the three bank directors. The council will be
affiliated with the Minister of State Responsible for Economy,
Kemal Dervis. Bal stated government was targeting the
privatization of Emlakbank within three years. Meanwhile, Deputy
Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said the reorganization of state
banks would eliminate their exposure to political influence. "The
new program will entail the elimination of this political
pressure," Yilmaz said. /Cumhuriyet-Turkish Daily News/
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer ratified the appoinment of Sureyya
Serdengecti for the Governorship of the Central Bank. Serdengecti
is former Deputy Governor of the Bank. /Milliyet/
Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said the government has
neglected the social and psychological dimensions of the former
economic program which resulted in devaluation and price
increases. Yilmaz said the new economic program requires the
support of international finance institutions. They expect to
receive $15 billion from different sources. /Aksam/
A Turkish delegation of 164 businessmen travelled to Baghdad
yesterday. The delegaton headed by Undersecretary of Foreign
Trade, Kursad Tuzmen, is holding a series of meetings with Iraqi
authorities to discuss economic relations between the two
countries. Recalling that Turkey has lost $30 billion due to the
embargo imposed on Iraq, Mr. KUrsad said Turkish businessmen want
to improve economic relations with Iraq. /Turkiye/
The US Administration said Turkey could establish economic
relations with Iraq however, the embargo should not be violated.
Spokesman for the US Secretary of State Richard Boucher said, "We
have created an Iraqi policy which will increase anti-smuggling
measures and prohibit the transfer of cash and weapons along the
borders of Iraq. The policy will also facilitate Iraqi civilian's
access to food and medicine. When discussing our new policy, we
took the interests of Turkey and other neighboring countries into
consideration." /Cumhuriyet/
At the invitation of Iraqi Minister of Electricity, Minister of
Energy and Natural Resources, Cumhur Ersumer, left for Syria
yesterday to attend the opening ceremony of the interconnnection
project's Jordan-Syria section. The ceremony will be held at the
Der Ali Power Plant, 30km south of Damascus. Expected to attend
the ceremony are the Syrian and Egyptian Presidents and the King
of Jordan, and ministers Iraq and Lebanon. /Turkiye/
Another sound reaction to the Greek government's allegations of
the so-called Asia Minor Genocide came from Greek International
Law Professor, Aleksis Iraklidis, at the Athens Pandino
University. Stating the incidents taking place in Western
Anatolia during 1922 could not be considered a genocide,
Iraklidis said "The real disaster occurred after the war and the
assaults were by Greek soldiers." In his article for the Ta Nea
Daily paper, Iraklidis stated "If we insist on speaking without
knowing the historical facts, and continue to defend the
allegations of genocide, the Turks might also argue that
expulsion of the people of Turkish origin from the Balkans was
genocide. Greece and other Balkan armies perpetrated extremely
violent activities, particularly in 1912." /Cumhuriyet/
Replying to reporters' questions about the news alleging Armenia
would demand land from Turkey in the TGNA, Minister of State
Suayip Usenmez said, "Turkey does not covet an inch of other
countries' territories. Anyone who demands land from Turkey will
receive the necessary answer." Usenmez added, "It is unthinkable
that Turkey yields an inch of her territories to another country.
We can never accept such a thing." /Cumhuriyet/
25 members of the US House of the Representatives sent a letter
to US President George W. Bush stating that the US Administration
should help Turkey overcome the recent economic crisis. The
letter stated, "We believe the US should give her full support to
Turkey." /Cumhuriyet/
The US Secretary of State has declared it was content with the
Sahdeniz natural gas agreements signed between Azerbaijan and
Turkey. American officials said the agreement would also enhance
the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline project. Spokesman of the US Secretary
of State, Richard Boucher said in his written statement, "The US
Administration supports the project which will strengthen the
east-west energy corridor." /Cumhuriyet/
Eight deputies will travel to Cuba to attend the
inter-parliamentary union meeting between April 1-7. Cuban Head
of State Fidel Castro is expected to receive the deputies. /Star/
US aeronautics giant Lockheed Martin confirmed Turkey would be
participating in the Joint Strike Fighter project (JSF). Turkey
will contribute investments to the project to the tune of $1.302
billion. The Lockheed Martin JSF team is competing with Boeing to
build the JSF for the United States and United Kingdom over a
four-year period. A statement from Lockheed Martin said Norway
and Denmark too were willing to join in the project and the
Netherlands had expressed eagerness to join. /Turkish News/
The fast train project to which Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit has
attached great importance is finally to be carried out. During a
Cabinet meeting on Monday, Transportation Minister Enis Oksuz
gave detailed information on the project, which will reduce rail
travel time from Istanbul-Ankara to 135 minutes. /Turkish News/
The Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchange (TOBB) will
convene in Ankara March 16. During the "TOBB Chairmen Meeting"
the recent economic developments in Turkey and its reflections on
businessworld will be discussed. /Turkiye/
Upon the suggestion of Deputy Prime Minister Devlet Bahceli the
Treasury and the Central Bank will make arrangements to encourage
Turkish workers abroad to invest their savings in Turkey. In
order to obtain support for the national economic program, joint
works will be carried out with the Turkish Businessmen, Turkish
federations and associations in Europe. Currently, according to
data by the Deutsche Bank, Turkish citizens living in Germany
have a total of $59 billion in savings accounts. In other
European countries they have $80 billion in deposits. /Milliyet/
The Central Bank is expected to announce its annual profit as $1
billion. After the general board meeting in April, the Central
Bank will be able to transfer half of the profit to the Treasury,
the main shareholder of the Bank. The profit, which is far above
expectations, will decrease the Treasury's debt burden.
/Milliyet/
"Le Nadir" research ship will conduct investigations in the
depths of the Marmara Sea. The research hopes to map the fault
lines. /Miliyet/
An article published in the Washington Post said the US should
politically support its NATO ally, Turkey, in overcoming its
economic problems. The article said Turkey is the last largest
economy fighting rampant inflation. If Turkey solves its internal
problems, a happy end may be reached in the 20 year old war
against inflation. /Hurriyet/
The government is eyeing a $3.2 billion increase in tax revenues
budgeted under the new program, through accelerating inflation
and a parallel rise in oil prices. The government now projects
tax revenues to reach $37.5 billion this year, compared to the
$34.4 billion in the original budget. An increase in tax revenues
would come particularly from the liquid fuel consumption tax
(ATV) and value added tax (VAT) as the price of oils and other
goods increase. /Turkish Daily News/
Trojan Treasures selected from different Turkish Museums will be
displayed in the German cities of Stuttgart, Braunschweig and
Bonn March 17, 2001-February 17, 2002. The Ministry of Foreign
Affairs announced the exhibition will be opened by President
Ahmet Necdet Sezer and German President Johannes Rau. /Hurriyet/
The Ministry of Culture will participate in the "14th Tehran Book
Fair" May 8-18. During the fair, books promoting Turkey and
Turkish writers will be displayed. /Turkiye/
The Republic of Turkey State Railways (TCDD) reopened the
Istanbul-Tehran train route last night for the first time in 19
years. Trains will depart from Istanbul Haydarpasa Railway
Station on Mondays and arrive in Tehran after a 70 hour trip.
/Turkiye/
The Strategic Technical Economic Research Center will hold a
conference titled "Arena of Energy" between March 19-20. The
conference will have opening speeches by former President
Suleyman Demirel and by Minister of Energy Cumhur Ersumer. Among
the figures giving speeches at the conference, are Energy
Ministry Undersecretary Yurdakul Yigitguden, State Planning
Organization Undersecretary Akin Izmirlioglu and World Bank's
Turkey Representative Ajay Chhibber. /Cumhuriyet/
The match between Galatasaray and Paris Saint Germain was
interrupted for 25 minutes due to the violent incidents among the
audiences. Two Turkish spectators were wounded during the
incidents. Many Turkish spectators were also beaten in fist
fights. After the incident, Turkey said France she was
responsible for the incidents as French police forces failed to
protect the Turkish spectators. Undersecretary of Foreign
Ministry Kaya Turkmen demanded that security measures be
increased in France. /Cumhuriyet/
Columnist Orhan Birgit comments on the recent developments in
Armenia who has demanded the cancellation of the Kars Agreement
(1921). A summary of his column is as follows:
Josef Stalin embodied the imperialism of the Soviet Empire as the
hawkish dictator of his country. As he ruthlessly oppressed his
internal opponents, he acted abroad in alliance with the
democratic states of the West against Nazi Germany and fascist
Italy. As a consequence of this alliance, US President, Franklin
D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill and the
leader of Liberated France, Charles De Gaulle, met in Yalta
(1945) to draw the map of a new world.
The Soviet Union demanded Kars, Ardahan provinces and the Straits
from Turkey as spoils of war. These aggressive tendencies,
nurtured by the Soviet leader of Georgian descent, were met with
strong reaction by the Turks who hold national unity and honor
above everything else. Soviet imperialism did not obtain an inch
of Turkish territory. The 1920 Gumru Peace Agreement signed with
the official representatives of the Armenian Republic was
confirmed in a ceremony exchanging documents in 1922 in the
Armenian capital, Yerevan.
Those who questioned the underlying reasons for what was seen as
innocent historical studies conducted by the Armenian diaspora
were accused of paranoia. Surely, the diaspora which revived
allegations of massacres were not trying to annul the Gumru
Agreement and uphold the map of Sevres!
When the US Congress discussed these allegations, certain circles
tried to soften the blow by saying these would be left on paper.
The beginning part of the Congress resolution was even concealed
from the public by excluding it from the translation.
During similar initatives started in the Italian Parliament, the
EU Parliament and finally, the French National Assembly, the
authors of these initiatives, under the guise of innocence, told
the same story.
On March 12 Erzurum celebrated its liberation from the Armenians
peacefully, with parades and various symposiums. However, an
important development was also seen on March 12. Armenian
President's Human Rights Commission Chairman Hayrikyan
disregarding the Gumru Agreement his state had signed, saying
they had started a campaign for the return of Kars and Ardahan
provinces. Therefore, he wanted to say the aggressive and
imperialist policies of Stalin we thought were dead and buried in
1953 have come back to haunt us.
There are two important lessons we must learn from this new
Armenian policy concerning Turkey's internal and foreign
policies. From now on, Turkey should not hesitate to slap the
real intentions of Armenia (announced by Hayrikyan's campaign
started in the name of the Armenian President) in the faces of
those who venture to discuss and accept so-called Armenian
genocide allegations in their parliaments. The question begging
to be asked is how they can trust a nation which disregards a
signed agreement when it suits them, and then believe them when
they present documents. We should not forget this duty falls also
on the citizens of this country and we should never forget that
aggressors, imperialists, supporters of the Treaty of Sevres are
all looking for an opportunity to harass Turkey at a time when
she is in great economic difficulty.
Today, we need national unity and solidarity more than anything
else. The Government, with an awareness that the burden of
responsibility lies on its shoulders, should ensure the national
program is adopted by the wide masses. The opposition parties,
and the organizations forming the Labour platform should not
begin a campaign against the program right from the start without
knowing what it is all about. "
