IS IT ENOUGH FOR OPTIMISM? BY OKTAY EKSI (HURRIYET)
Yesterday, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit met with President Ahmet
Necdet Sezer. Following the weekly meeting, Mr. Ecevit told
reporters they had a fruitful meeting in which they discussed
various local and foreign issues, including recent economic
developments. Responding to questions posed by journalists, the
Prime Minister said the new economic program will have three
stages: to take active measures in the banking sector, to ensure
stability in interest rates, foreign exchange, macro-economic
balances and finally, to assure a steady economic growth
beginning from the second half of this year. Stressing they hope
to resume a new period of decreased inflation after an intense
study of a couple months, Mr. Ecevit said they agreed upon the
new law regulations which should be enacted soon. These include,
the supplementary budget, amendments in Banking Law, closing the
remaining funds, etc. /Turkiye/
Speaking to the press after his regular meeting with President
Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said Turkey
would continue to contributing to peace efforts peace in the
Balkans where the crisis is ongoing . Emphasizing the Balkans
cannot bear another war, Ecevit said, "Albanian guerillas must
stop their violent activities immediately. There are many
Albanians living in Macedonia. They are also concerned about the
violence. No one expected a guerilla operation to be responsible
for so much violence." /Cumhuriyet/
After the National Program (NP) was approved in the Council of
Ministers, Minister of State and Deputy Prime Minister Mesut
Yilmaz informed the TGNA on the NP. Emphasizing that Turkey did
her utmost to fulfill its responsibilities on the path towards
full EU membership, Yilmaz stated the NP took sensitive issues
into consideration. He added, "We cannot make any concessions
over the unity of our country and basic premises of our Republic.
Pointing out the necessity of putting the NP into effect
immediately, Yilmaz said the government is determined to do so.
He added that all political parties should support the
government. /Cumhuriyet/
State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said Turkey
must place priority on the construction of new dams in order to
make the best use of its water sources. Speaking at a meeting
held at the State Water Works(DSI) headquarters on occasion of
World Water Day, Yilmaz said both global and domestic usable
water sources were gradually being used more extensively for
economic and technical purposes. Yilmaz said Turkey is not a
water-rich country, but sources are sufficient enough to meet its
current demand as well as the demand for the near future.
/Turkish News/
State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Devlet Bahceli said
Turkey is struggling to assure a stable economy by decreasing the
chronic inflation and restructuring its organs. Speaking at the
first joint meeting of the 4th Economic Congress Science
Committee, Bahceli said, "We will succeed because of the strong
and dynamic structure of the Turkish economy and the will of the
people." /Turkiye/
Tunisian President Zeynel Abidin Bin Ali arrived in Ankara
yesterday to pay an official visit. During a tête-à-tête,
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and his Tunisian counterpart
reportedly held comprehensive bilateral discussions.
Additionally, following the meetings between both countries'
delegations, four agreements were signed. /Turkiye/
US Secretary of State Colin Powell sent a letter to congressmen
from the State of Maryland. Several congressmen brought
allegations of the so-called Armenian genocide to the legislative
agenda. Powell's letter stated that the US Administration would
not consider such attempts its foreign policy. /Cumhuriyet/
The Chairman of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Horst
Kohler, said Turkey could overcome the effects of its economic
crisis. Kohler discussed some of the reasons for the crisis
saying, "While trying to prevent a new crisis, the IMF should
also take the present situation and expectations into
consideration." Kohler answered questions during an interview
with the German weekly 'Die Zeit' and said, "There is no reason
for a global crisis to occur." /Hurriyet/
The Greek Minister of Defense, Akis Tsohatzopoulos, in an
interview with the 'Hurriyet' daily said for the first time, the
Turkish threat has decreased. Within this atmosphere, Athens
would prepare a new doctrine valid until 2003. Tsohatzopoulos added,
"We decided to remove the state of war in Greece, declared during
the Cyprus Peace Operations in 1974, to reduce our army, and to
remove the mines in the Meric region. Now, conditions between
Turkey and Greece are much better. I believe the meetings to be
held under much better conditions will give much better results
than the past. We have decreased the tensions and begun
cooperating in the security field. Soldiers on both sides of the
border have proven they can live together as good neighbors.
However, there may not always be good relations between good
neighbors all of the time. Now, it would be reasonable to close
the book on the past and to begin increasing confidence building
measures." /Hurriyet/
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit thanked entrepreneurs for their
conciliatory attitude. In order to make this conciliation more
effective, Ecevit said the Economic and Social Council(ESK) will
convene March 31. /Milliyet/
Kemal Dervis told Bulent Ecevit that some basic reform laws
should be adopted immediately in order to facilitate the foreign
resource negotiations he will hold. Some of the postponed bills
on structural reform will be submitted to the parliament while
Dervis is abroad. Some of them involve Central Bank law,
abolishment of funds and the Civilian Aviation law. /Milliyet/
The California Senate unanimously adopted a bill on the so-called
Armenian genocide commemoration day April 24. The bill will also
be sent to the State congress. /Milliyet/
The Chief of the General Staff, Huseyin Kivrikoglu continues his
visit in Pakistan. The leader of the military administration,
Gen. Pervez Muserref received Kivrikoglu. Muserref said they will
transfer rule to a civilian administration. Muserref said local
elections are being held step by step. /Milliyet/
According to the Turkish National Program, reforms harmonizing
with EU requirements in education will begin this year. The
program foresees access to the Socrates education program,
applied in EU countries, by November 2001. Compulsory education
will be also extended to 12 years as a midterm reform.
Additionally, the application which envisages giving a "Diploma
Supplement" to students graduating from universities will start
in June 2001 in all higher education institutions. /Turkiye/
State Minister for Economy Kemal Dervis met with German Finance
Undersecretary Caio Kai Koch-Weser and Finance Minister Hans
Eichel in Germany. At a press conference after the meeting Eichel
said they will help Turkey receive the necessary support from the
IMF and the World Bank. Eichel said Germany may give bilateral
assistance if the IMF and World Bank gives the guarantee. Eichel
said, "However, before that the economic program should be
clarified and implementation begun. Turkish people should be
aware that confidence would be built at the international level
if this program is definitely be implemented." Dervis said, " The
hardship in Turkey's economic conditions continue, but now it is
comparably better. The next two-three weeks are important. We
must work hard. 15 amendment bills are being submitted to the
parliament. We have to decrease the interest rates. Dervis will
travel to the US today and meet with US Treasury Department
officials. /Milliyet/
The Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen Association (TUSIAD)
Delegation, currently in France, met with the directors of the
MEDEF (Employers' Confederation) yesterday. The recent crisis
between Turkey and France due to France's approval of the
so-called Armenian genocide bill and possible ways to overcome
the recent financial crisis in Turkey were among topics discussed
during the meeting. Promising to convey Turkey's views on the
Armenian issue, MEDEF said it will visit Turkey during July of
2001. /Cumhuriyet/
Minister of Finance Sumer Oral said the 2001 budget will be
redrawn in accordance with the newly emerging conditions
following the recent financial crisis. Oral said preparations for
the 2001 budget would be completed after the new economic program
was clearly declared. He added that savings would be an important
part of new budget. Stating certain conditions would be placed on
the use of electricity, water and oil, Oral said new regulations
would also be put into effect concerning the use of mobile phones
and the purchase of private cars. Oral added that the new
economic program would be implemented in harmony and without any
concessions. /Cumhuriyet/
The Banking Supervision and Regulation Board (BDDK) will hold a
series of meetings with representatives of the banks negatively
affected by the recent financial crisis. It was stated meetings
will be completed within 3-5 days. According to the BDDK's
written statement, meetings will be held in Ankara and Istanbul.
/Cumhuriyet/
US Secretary of State Colin Powell gave the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline
project open support on behalf of the Bush Administration. Powell
met the Georgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Menagirishvili in
Washington and mentioned his official support for the Baku-Ceyhan
pipeline project. Meanwhile, a delegation of 13 people from seven
US states are in Istanbul searching for new cooperation
opportunities with Turkish companies. /Aksam/
Both the political and economy sectors are looking toward the
month of April when the three part economic program will be
declared. Additionally, the 28 April IMF meeting holds great
importance for Turkey as a $3 billion loan will be released.
Following that, a $5.2-billion loan, in total, is expected from
the World Bank, the EU and Japan. /Turkiye/
The Turkish Union of Chambers and Stock Exchanges (TOBB) and an
accompanying delegation would like the government to write the
financial and the real sectors. After visiting the State Minister
and the Deputy Prime Minister Husamettin Ozkan, the Chairman of
the (TOBB), Fuat Miras, said, "During our meeting, we mentioned
that the real sector could not exist without the financial
sector, and the financial sector could not exist without the real
sector. We gave our opinion on possible solutions for reversing
the negative situation in the real sector. /Aksam/
The State-owned paper concern SEKA Enterprise in Dalaman was
solemnly transferred to its new owner, Mopak A.S., at a signing
ceremony in Ankara yesterday. A contract completing the sell-off
was signed by Privatization Administration Board President Ugur
Bayar and the owner of Mopak, Mehmet Ali Molay. /Turkish Daily
News/
Italian Unicredito Bank stated it has begun making plans to bid
for one of the banks currently under the control of the Saving
Deposit Insurance Fund. According to the information released by
the Italian news agency, Ansa, Unicredito Bank, based in Milan,
has been closely following the developments in Turkey. The bank
has confidence in State Minister Kemal Dervis' restructuring
work. /Aksam/
The owner of Microsoft, Bill Gates, met with Turkish businessmen
and Microsoft's Turkish administrators during the Paris
'Microsoft Administrator's Summit'. Gates said they place a lot
of importance on Turkey. He went on to explain Microsoft's new
vision, called NET. He told Turkish administrators that the use
of information technologies has spread rapidly in Turkey;
Microsoft sees great potential in Turkey for its business.
/Aksam/
The world's biggest information technologies fair, Cebit 2001,
opened in Hannover, Germany. An annual event, Cebit 2001, has
8,015 companies from 68 countries participating. Eight Turkish
companies, including Vestel, Time Communication, Datateknik, Eta,
Mikrosoy, Profilo Telra, Telesis and Ideyapi are among the
participating companies. /Aksam/
The Channel Project which will provide an alternative waterway to
the Straits will connect the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea through
the Sakarya river. $257.6 million is required for the
project's construction. The Provincial Governor of Sakarya, Cahit
Kirac, said they sent feasibility reports to the Ministry of
Transportation. The channel construction will ease the traffic in
the Straits. /Sabah/
Gendarmerie and police forces have launched a wide-ranging
investigation to uncover the perpetrators of Wednesday's attack
against a military escort guarding Gendarmerie Regional Commander
Maj. Gen. Bekir Ugurlu. The investigation into the attack is
being led by Ugurlu himself. Police and gendarmerie teams are
conducting searches at several checkpoints on the Ankara-Corum
highway. /Turkish News/
Daylight saving time will begin this weekend. In order to save
energy and remain in the same time zone as the European
countries, clocks will be put forward one hour at 1:00 a.m.
Sunday, March 25. They will go back again October 28. /Turkish
News/
Sabiha Gokcen, the adopted daughter of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and
the first woman pilot in Turkey, died at 89. She was the symbol
of the modern Turkish woman. /Milliyet/
A prominent figure in the construction sector, Ali Riza Carmikli
passed away at the age of 81. Carmikli is known for constructing
thousands of houses, factories, facilities, as well as industrial
regions and infrastructure within Turkey. /Cumhuriyet/
The first children's government was established in accordance
with the Children's Rights Convention. The Prime Minister of
their government is the Chairman of the Child Abuse Prevention
and Rehabilitation Association, Prof. Oguz Polat. There is a
children's coordinator, ten year old, Rifat Cankat, and two child
speakers within the government. The NGOs which carry out
children's rights activities have formed a "Turkish Children's
Rights Coalition." The government will work to prevent all kinds
of discrimination and abuse against children. /Cumhuriyet/
Aydin Provincial Culture Director Ozgen Karaca said 345.000
tourists visited Aydin during 2000. He said the greatest number
of tourists visited the ancient city of Afrodisias, which
contains the most important architecture, art and sculpture of
the Antique Age. /Cumhuriyet/
The earthquake that occurred in Afyon's subdistrict of Bolvadin
was predicted 37 hours before the earthquake. Chairman of the
Istanbul Technical University (ITU) Earthquake Prediction
Project, Dr. Berk Ustundag, said, "After determining the
earthquake, thanks to a technical tool located at Pamukkale
University on 20 March, 2001 at 19:30, we sent this determination
to Chief Advisor of the Prime Ministry's Special Secretary,
Mustafa Serdar, Office of the Governor of Denizli and Afyon on 22
March at 00:16. Then, an earthquake registering 4.8 on the
Richter scale occurred in Afyon's subdistrict of Bolvadin.
/Hurriyet/
Pianist Ece Demirci will give a concert on March 28 in Japan. The
concert will take place at the Turkish Embassy in Tokyo. /Sabah/
Columnist Oktay Eksi comments on the Greek Government decision to
reduce the number of troops in her Armed Forces. A summary of his
column is as follows:
"Akis Tsohatsopoulos is the second name Turkish public follows
most closely after Theodoros Pangalos. Pangalos is known for his
tactless speeches. If Tsohatsopoulos makes one positive remark on
Turco-Greek relations, he is bound to void its effect by
expressing two other contradictory opinions. However, this time
he has not contradicted himself. We hope Tsohatsopoulos has
uttered his statements with the belief that his evaluation is
sound.
We receive his statements skeptically because Tsohatsopoulos
seems to represent anti-Turkey viewpoint in the Simitis
Government. He is the Minister who just after August 17
earthquake, said Athens could not enter into direct or indirect
talks only because Turkey wanted to do so. He expressed his
belief that the only solution was to freeze the Turco-Greek
dialogue, and Greece was responding to Turkish demands by the
determined foreign policy she followed and her deterrent power.
We also recall the hostile statements about Turkey he made during
a speech on Crete.
However, if the views expressed during an interview with Nur
Batur reveals his own opinions, we can hope that one of the
obstacles before Turco-Greek relations will be removed.
Reportedly Tsohatsopoulos said the threat from Turkey has
decreased, the number of troops in the Greek Armed Forces would
be reduced to 80-90,000, the mine fields on the border of Maritza
river would be removed and they were ready to increase the
confidence building measures in the Aegean.
For us, the priority in these confidence building measures is
to disarm the Aegean islands, armed in violation of the Lausanne
Treaty. Turkey also believes the expansion of territorial waters
from six miles to 12 miles to be 'casus belli'. In response, the
Greeks say if Turkey withdraws this 'casus belli', (for what they
believe their due right to expand their territorial waters), the
rest may be negotiated. Of course, there is another condition,
the abolition of the Aegean army in exchange for the disarming of
the Aegean islands.
The Continental Shelf in the Aegean Sea and other rights are
different issues to be discussed. The important point is who will
take the first step to break this deadlock. According to history
Greece has been the aggressor for two centuries and Turkey the
defender. Therefore, expressions of good will fall upon Greek
shoulders where issues of essence are concerned."
