RED CARD BY GUNGOR MENGI (SABAH)
The April 23 National Sovereignty and Children's Day was
celebrated all over Turkey yesterday. Ceremonies in certain
region were delayed due to heavy rain and storms. Among the
figures visiting Ataturk's Mausoleum (Anitkabir) were Turkish
Parliament Speaker Omer Izgi, Virtue Party Chairman Recai Kutan,
Ministers of State and Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz,
Husamettin Ozkan, Devlet Bahceli and parliamentarians. Student
groups performed shows during the ceremonies in May 19 Stadium.
/Cumhuriyet/
The Chechen terrorists supporting the Chechen struggle against
the Russian army raided the Swisshotel in Istanbul to draw
world-wide attention on Sunday. Naming themselves as "Chechen
Struggle Group", the terrorists surrended their weapons to the
security forces after the incident. The hostage crisis began at
11:00 pm on Sunday. The terrorist group including Muhammet Emin
Tokcan, known as one of the organizers of the abduction of
Eurasia ferry in 1996, entered the hotel and fired their guns
into the air. The 13-person Chechen terrorist group took the
guests in the hotel as hostage. The incident ended peacefully after
the Chechen terrorists surrendered. /Cumhuriyet/
Turkey harshly denounced the recent Chechen terrorists' raiding
of the Swisshotel in Istanbul naming it a "terrorist activity".
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said, "It is impossible for us to
let the supporters of Chechen terrorism survive in Turkey. All
necessary precautions will be taken immediately." Foreign
Ministry Speaker Huseyin Dirioz stated, "We are very sorry
because such a hostage crisis caused by 13 armed terrorists,
naming themselves as sympathizers of the Chechen struggle against
Russia and claiming their aim was to voice their concerns to the
world, took place. We are pleased the incident ended peacefully."
Remembering Turkey carried out a great struggle against
terrorism, Dirioz said, "Turkey is a country claiming no kind of
terrorism will be tolerated and we argue the struggle against
terrorism requires international cooperation. We harshly denounce
all activity that risks people's lives generally, and the Chechen
terrorists's recent hostage activity specifically. /Cumhuriyet/
The National Security Council (MGK) will meet to discuss the
recent economic crisis, the new economic program and the social
damage caused by the recent economic problems. Economics Minister
Kemal Dervis and bureaucrats related to economics will also
attend the meeting for the first time to inform the MGK members
about the new economic program and its targets. Dervis will
inform the Planning and Budgeting Commission members about
current economic conditions in a confidential session. Dervis and
economy bureaucrats are expected to relay information about the
foreign financial aid to be received in the future and austerity
measures. It was reported officials will debate the laws enacted
recently or the laws expected to be enacted soon since the
economic program requires them to do so. /Cumhuriyet/
Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit spoke to the New York Post
on the weekend and said that even though Turkey had been facing
difficulties recently it was temporary, as he believes his
Government had been taking necessary precautions with the help of
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. He
noted that Turkey had transformed from a state-controlled economy
to a free-market economy within the last 15 years. "Turkey
suffered from chronic inflation for many years. The newly
prepared economic program aims to solve the high inflation
problem. Even if Turkey has faced certain difficulties in recent
times, I believe that it is temporary. The government has been
taking the necessary precautions with the help of IMF and the
World Bank," he said. /Turkish Daily News/
France declared she supports Turkey's initiatives to get
financial aid from international finance institutions.
Reportedly, French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin sent a letter to
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and conveyed France's support of
Turkey's efforts to overcome the recent crisis. /Turkiye/
During an interview with the French daily, "Liberation",State
Minister for Economy, Kemal Dervis, said "Without a good
government ruling, we cannot get international support."
Stressing the importance of the review of the state's role in
economics, Dervis said a comprehensive discussion should be
undertaken on the politics-economy relationship. Dervis added,
the lower level of society would be the group most affected by
the crisis and he pointed out that was not fair. Additionally,
Dervis will attend the National Security Council (MGK)'s and
Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA)'s Planning and Budget
Commission's meeting today to give a comprehensive brief about
the economic program. /Turkiye/
Negotations on confidence-building measures will start today
between Turkey and Greece. Greek Foreign Ministry Spokesman Panos
Beglitis said at a press conference that Greek NATO Permanent
Representative Ambassador Vasilis Kaskarelis and Turkey's NATO
Permanent Representative Ambassador Onur Oymen would participate
in the meeeting to be held at NATO Headqarters in Brussels. At
previous negotiations in Brussels, it was decided that both
countries should tell each other about their military maneuvers's
time and location in the Aegean Sea. /Turkish News/
The Turkish-Greek Joint Women's Peace Initiative (WINPEACE) asked
for the governments of both Turkey and Greece to turn "postponed
military cuts" into a lasting reduction. Members of WINPEACE,
founded in 1998 jointly by Turkish and Greek women to look for
ways for peaceful solutions to disputes between the two
countries, met in Istanbul. Margarita Papendreou, Greek Foreign
Minister George Papendreou's mother, was the speaker for the
Greek side, while journalist Zeynep Oral represented Turkey.
After the discussions, a joint declaration was announced on
Monday which said the postponed military expenditures of both
Greece and Turkey should be turned into a lasting military
reduction. The resulting savings should be used in education,
health, social security and to eradicate inequality between women
and men in both countries. /Turkish Daily News/
Baku Executive Board Chairman Hacibala Abutalibov said on Friday
that a fountain at Baku's Martyrs' Cemetery was demolished in
order to minimize the risk of a flood. He also stated that the
Government had requested consultations with Turkey's Baku
Ambassador Kadri Ecvet Tezcan, but that their request had gone
unanswered. Water and natural gas pipelines pass underneath the
fountain, he stressed. /Turkish News/
Mukadder Basegmez, Virtue Party (FP) Istanbul Deputy who had
announced his resignation from the party on Thursday withdrew his
resignation on Friday. /Turkish News/
The Advisory Board of Parliament has been summoned by the
coalition political parties to convene today in a bid to complete
the debate on two pivotal bills seen as vital for the economic
program. The coalition partners will propose at the Advisory
Board, an extension of Parliament's working hours until the end
of debates on the proposed change in the expropriation law and
the law which will enact augmentation of the autonomy of the
Central Bank to determine fiscal policies. Coalition partners
will also propose that working hours in Parliament increase.
/Turkish Daily News/
The Virtue Party(FP) will give its last defense at the
Constitutional Court following the deliverance of Chief Public
Prosecutor, Sabih Kanadoglu, his final opinion. /Sabah/
As the death toll of inmates who starved to death as a result of
the death fasts reached 17 on Monday, Council of Europe
Parliamentarians Assembly (AKPM) British Deputy Russel Johnson
accused leftist terrorist leaders of forcing inmates to go on
hunger strikes. He held a press conference on Monday and talked
about the reasons behind the death fasts. Drawing attention to
the behavior of the inmates, who move according to the strict
ideology and hierarchic order of leftist terrorist organizations,
Johnson said those people who are striking were forced to do so
by the leaders of the terrorist organizations. Stressing that
this situation should end, Johnson urged the Turkish government
to take the necessary steps to bring the deaths to an end. While
Johnson said they supported Turkey's efforts to leave the
dormitory-type wards and to transfer new prisons with rooms
housing one to three people. He added the inmates being
transferred to new prisons should be allowed to be involved in
social activities. /Turkish Daily News/
Greek Economics Minister, Yanos Papandoniou, said the IMF and
World Bank will give $10 billion to overcome the economic crisis
in Turkey. Papandoniou said the decision taken at the EU
Economics and Finance Ministers' meeting(ECOFIN) to support
Turkey will also be supported by Greece. "Economic and political
stability are two mutually interdependent concepts. Therefore, we
favor EU assistance to support the efforts of Turkey." /Milliyet/
An article in the American newspaper Washington Post called on
the Bush administration to support Turkey in the IMF and World
Bank meetings to further the US interests in the region. The
article said the economic crises in Argentina and Indonesia
partially resulted from political instabilities. If
liberal political groups cannot solve financial problems,
reactionary groups may take over the power. /Milliyet/
The seventh summit of Turkish speaking countries will be held in
Istanbul, April 26-27. The summit will be hosted by President
Ahmet Necdet Sezer. Presidents of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are expected to attend
the summit. /Turkish Daily News/
A law defining the legal infrastructure of the Economic and
Social Council is published in the Official Gazette. The Council
will bring officials, labor and employee unions and bar
associations together under its umbrella. /Turkish Daily News/
The Bush Administration's new approach to sanctions against
Baghdad would boost the economies of Iraq's neighbors, US
Assistant Secretary of State Edward Walker said in a statement
sent to Reuters on Saturday. Washington is crafting a new policy,
called "smart sanctions", in response to criticism from its
allies in the Middle East and Europe, which have said the
international embargo unfairly targets Iraqi civilians. Smart
sanctions will focus on revenue used for Iraqi military purposes
and importing weapons capabilities while lifting restrictions on
civilian goods. /Turkish Daily News/
The director of the Capital Market Board (SPK), Dogan Cansizlar,
said the newly established Union of Brokerage Firms will play an
important role in the establishment of professional ethics in the
sector. Cansizlar also said the Investors Protection Fund will
contribute to the confidence in the capital market. /Milliyet/
The General Assembly of the Central Bank will convene today in
Ankara. During the convention, elections will be held for the new
members of the Bank's Assembly and the Supervision Board.
According to the December 31, 2000 balance sheet, the Bank gained
$827 million profit. Half of the profit will be transferred to
the Treasury, the main shareholder of the Bank. /Milliyet/
The Treasury will hold two separate state bond bidding today. A
three-month bond in TL210 trillion and a six-month bond in TL500
trillion will be offered. /Milliyet/
A group of 200 leading Turkish and European businessmen will
visit southeastern Turkey in May as a part of a tour organized by
the VIP Tourism company. The trip called "Visit to the Legendary
Southeast" will take place on May 23-27 and its aim is to promote
southeastern Anatolia abroad and boost tourism in the region. The
tour will start in Gaziantep and follow a route passing through
Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Mardin, Batman and Adiyaman. Six foreign
journalists will also be in the group. /Turkish News/
A signature campaign for abolishing the visa requirement for
Turkish citizens was started on the Aegean island, Khios, close to
Izmir. The collected signatures will be presented to Greek Prime
Minister Costas Simitis on his visit to the island on May 4-5.
/Sabah/
Dario Fo's "Woman Plays" prepared by the Izmit Greater City
Municipality Provincial Theaters will be performed in Finland
during the European Woman Theater Festival between June 7-10.
There will be some shows, seminars and workshops during the
Festival. /Cumhuriyet/
Turkish businessmen from 100 different companies will visit Ghana
to improve commercial relations. A Turkish Products Fair will be
organized in Ghana between April 26-29. /Cumhuriyet/
The Bilkent Symphony Orchestra received great appreciation in the
"International Musici Artis Festival" in Belgium. The orchestra
gave private concerts under the auspices of Valonia Head of
Government, Herve Hasquin and Turkish Ambassador to Belgium,
Temel Iskit. /Cumhuriyet/
Almula Ozen, State Opera and Ballet Artist, was invited to the
International Ballet Contest to be organized on May 26 in
Helsinki. Ozlem will represent Turkey with her leading
performances in ballets such as "Sleeping Beauty", "Canakkale
Martyrs" and "Dance with Symphonies". /Cumhuriyet/
Yapi 2001 Istanbul Fair will take place between May 2-6 with the
participation of 50 Turkish and foreign firms. Various firms from
Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Austria, the US, Romania, Italy,
Switzerland, Poland, Israel and Britain will attend the fair.
/Star/
Turkish economic giants Koc and Sabanci Groups are targeting more
than $2.2-billion exports in 2001. The Sabanci Goup expects to
increase its exports to $720 million this year. The Group has 19
foreign partnership and 8 foreign investments. Meanwhile, the Koc
Group aims at raising its exports from $962 million to $1.5
billion this year. The Koc Group, reaching a number of 41
companies and representatives in 24 countries abroad, will take
important steps in exports with companies such as Tofas and Ford
Otosan. /Turkiye/
Large Polish infra-structure projects will be promoted to Turkish
contractors in two seminars to be held in Istanbul at the
beginning of May. With the largest population in Mid-Europe at
38.6 million, Poland has a 1.5-million dwelling shortage.
Additionally, modernization will be planned in her 4808 km
network of highways. Chairman of the Union of the Turkish
Contractors, Kadir Sever, said, "Poland is a very attractive
market for Turkish businessmen. If
the projects are financed, we can get business from this
country." /Turkiye/
The London Financial Times said yesterday Turkey has a price
advantage compared to other holiday resorts. The paper said
especially around Antalya there are best quality hotels with
competitive prices. According to the newspaper, the Association
of British Travel Agencies(ABTA) named Turkey "best value" for
the 2001 holiday season. Devaluation made Turkey an attractive
resort for tourists. ABTA announced Turkey as the best country
for holiday value. /Sabah/
Columnist Gungor Mengi comments on the recent developments in
Turkey. A summary of his column is as follows:
"State Minister Kemal Dervis has likened the economy to a
football game and said that it sank into one crisis after another
due to goals scored against itself and it would score many goals
this year. One of the scorers would be tourism. However, our
scorer was injured at the beginning of the game because of an
unprecedented kick on the limbs. A group of armed gunmen who
thought they were serving the cause of Chechnia, raided Istanbul
Swissotel and took innocent people including many tourists as
hostages. They lived in fear for hours. The event was given as
flash news in all the world's media. The aim was to draw the
attention of the world to the Chechnian cause. Violence or
bloodletting was not the purpose. However, to violate the freedom
of people by gun and frightening them is called terrorism and no
reason can alleviate the crime.
Turkey made a grave mistake by showing weakness in an event when
the same group hijacked the Eurasia ferryboat in 1966 for the
same reason. Facilitating their escapes from semi-open prisons
created the impression that if the cause is important, crimes of
terrorism could be forgiven in this country. Even though these
terrorists may be regarded as 'freedom fighters' by the public,
they should have been punished for terrorism by the State. They
were not. That is why they have committed a new crime which has
damaged Turkey's image. Turkey is already on the bad news agenda
of the world due to the economic crisis, street-demonstrations by
masses and hunger strikes in prisons. This incident has topped
them all at the beginning of the tourism season.
If we are to go on comparing the incidents to a football game,
during the Eurasia ferryboat incident, Turkey had shown a
yellow-card to these activists. Now it is time to show them the
red-card. The same mistake should not be repeated twice. Turkey
has to support the Chechen issue within legal boundaries.
However, this should not create a weakness for our security and
national interests.
Turkey should show that she will not allow her territory to be
used as the hunting ground for terrorist organizations or a field
to be used for their activities by a speedy and fair trial.
Meanwhile Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk stated that the bills
required to eliminate the reasons for hunger strikes were brought
to the Parliament. The issue has begun to be solved. The will of
the parties in power has been revealed and only a certain amount
of time is needed for the Parliament enact these bills. To persist
in hunger strikes has become a matter of suicide for the person
and murder for the organization which has given the order to do
so. European Council Parliamentary Assembly Chairman, British
deputy Russel Johnson yesterday criticized the leaders of the
communist organization who issued the order for death fasts. The
bills in the TGNA meet the improvement demands in F-type prisons.
To what cause will the new deaths serve? No one can expect mercy
from these organizations. The recent developments should be told
to the prisoners on the verge of death."
