THE LOAD TURKS CAN BEAR BY AYHAN KATIRCIKARA (TURKIYE)
The Minister of State Responsible for Economy, Kemal Dervis
discussed the recent economic conditions with the coalition
leaders yesterday before beginning his visit to the US. Certain
hotly debated issues on the prior laws which were put as
conditions by the international financial institutions for future
credits were primarily discussed during the meeting. /Cumhuriyet/
The main topic discussed during the National Security Council
yesterday meeting was the economy. State Minister for Economics,
Kemal Dervis, accompanied by Undersecretary of Treasury, Faik
Oztrak and Governor of the Central Bank, Sureyya Serdengecti,
participated in the meeting and gave a comprehensive brief to the
NSC members about the new economic program. Reportedly, Mr.
Dervis cited the expected foreign financial support may be about
$15.3 billion. Additionally, at the meeting presided over by the
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, the effects of the new economic
program on defense and security ventures were also evaluated.
/Turkiye/
State Minister for Economics, Kemal Dervis, will leave for the US
today to attend the IMF and the World Bank Spring Meetings.
During the meeting to be held in Washington on April 26-30, Mr.
Dervis will give information about the economic program.
Additionally, he will meet with international finance circles to
get financial aid for Turkey. Minister Dervis will proceed to New
York on April 30 and will leave the US on May 1. On his way to
Turkey he is also expected to visit Germany. /Turkiye/
Foreign Minister Ismail Cem met yesterday with his Australian
counterpart Alexander Downer, who is currently in Turkey for an
official visit. Speaking after the meeting, Downer said,
"Australian people view Turkish people as very good friends.
Bilateral relations between the two countries is a symbol proving
how a war can make two different nations friends." /Cumhuriyet/
Delivering a speech on the April 24 Commemoration Day for the
Armenian Genocide Victims in the US, President George Bush did
not use the term "genocide" in his statement recollecting the
pains suffered by the Armenians in the post-World War I period
despite the intense pressure by Armenian lobbies. Refraining even
from using term "massacre", which was used by former American
Presidents when speaking on the issue, Bush used the term
"killing" in his declaration. Bush said, "Today is the day
commemorating one of the worst tragedies in modern history. Today
is the date when 1.5 million Armenians were deported by force and
killed in the last years of the Ottoman Empire." Stating the
killing of the Armenians left its mark on the 20th century, Bush
said he shared the grief of Armenian- Americans and other
Armenian people abroad. He added the best way to honor the
memories of Armenian people killed in the past was to help
improve today's Armenian welfare and security. Bush's declaration
is expected to create great anger within the Armenian community
in the US since they were putting pressure on the President to
use the term "genocide". Members of the Armenian lobbies at the
American House of Representatives held a ceremony yesterday in
the Congress building. Meanwhile, Turkish Coordination Council in
Germany held a meeting protesting the allegations of the
so-called Armenian genocide. /Cumhuriyet/
Ankara warned the US up to the last minute not to use the term
"genocide" in President George Bush's declaration commemorating
April 24. The warnings by Turkey stated if the term genocide is
used, bilateral relations would be seriously damaged. Stating
politicians cannot decide upon a historical incident, Turkey said
it is the duty of historians and academicians to judge the past.
Turkey is concerned over Armenian attempts to have their
allegations approved as they have successfully done so in 17
states of the US. Turkish officials are closely following the
ceremonies held to commemorate the so-called Armenian genocide
victims. /Cumhuriyet/
France has extradited the ASALA terrorist Varujan Garbisyan, the
criminal responsible for the Orly Massacre (bombing the Turkish
Airways bureau in the Orly Airport), which resulted in 8 deaths in 1983. Garbisyan was sentenced to life imprisonment. /Sabah/
Armenian groups organized anti-Turkey demonstrations on April 24,
the so-called Armenian genocide day. Around 400 Armenians
gathered in Athens and walked towards the Turkish Embassy. Greek
police prevented them from reaching the street where the Embassy
is located. The demonstrators burnt a Turkish flag. Similar
demonstrations also occurred in Thessalonica, Moscow and Tehran.
/Milliyet/
The expropriation law, one of the laws which was named as
priority law for the success of the economic program by Economy
Minister Kemal Dervis, was approved yesterday at the Turkish
Grand National Assembly (TGNA) Plenary Session. The law compels
the state institutions not to expropriate without obtaining
enough appropriations. /Sabah/
State Minister for Economics, Kemal Dervis, gave information
about the economic program to the Turkish Grand National Assembly
(TGNA) Planning and Budget Commission members for 2.5 hours.
Following the meeting, closed to media, Mr. Dervis said, "I had
the opportunity to explain the economic program to commission
members. I think it was a fruitful meeting." /Turkiye/
The Herald Tribune stated the US would help Turkey because of her
strategic importance. According to the Herald Tribune, the Bush
Administration thinks the IMF failed in its Turkey program. An
American committee chaired by US Secretary of Treasury Paul
O'Neill has begun its work to avoid a bigger economic loss.
/Sabah/
The European Security and Defense Identity (ESDI) was discussed
at a panel held in Washington on Monday. While some speakers
defended the necessity of the formation of the EU members' self
security and defense policies, former CIA head, James Woolsey,
and former Secretary of Defense deputy, Richard Perle said a new
formation to rival NATO is unnecessary. Additionally, emphasizing
that it would be a big mistake to exclude non-EU member NATO
countries from the ESDI, including Turkey, Perle and Woolsey
pointed out that NATO and EU should act together. /Turkiye/
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev will come to Turkey to
attend the Summit of Turkish speaking Countries. Tonight Turkish
Industrialists and Businessmen Association(TUSIAD) will host
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev for a dinner on the
celebration of tenth anniversary of the establishment of the
Kazakhstan Republic. Kazakh Foreign and Culture Ministers will
also participate in the dinner. /Star/
A high ranking official in the IMF said the Fund will provide new
credit to Turkey. The official said, "The international community
thinks Turkey deserves to be supported and an amount of new
resources will be provided for Turkey's use." /Milliyet/
THE Istanbul Stock Exchange index surpassed 10,000 point level
thanks to the signal for the new resource to be received from the
IMF. The Treasury sold TL210 trillion three-month state bonds at
a 110.8% and TL716.5 trillion six-month bonds at a 107.8%
compound interest rate at yesterday's public offer. /Milliyet/
Addressing the Central Bank 69th Share Holders Meeting, the
Governor, Sureyya Serdengecti said, "The Central Bank will
intervene in the foreign currency markets to a limited extent
when necessary, within the framework of the floating currency
exchange regime in coming days." He added they will intervene
only if an excessive floating occurs. /Turkiye/
Finance Minister Sumer Oral said the G-13 Finance Ministers have
a supportive attitude towards the decisions taken to restore the
economic conditions in Turkey. /Star/
Greek Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos will come to Istanbul
on Friday. Venizelos will attend the meeting of the Turkish-Greek
Business Council. /Star/
The head of the Turkish Association of Travel Agencies(TURSAB),
Basaran Ulusoy, said Russians are the highest spending tourist
group in Turkey. "We expect around 1.5 million Russian tourists
to visit Turkey," said Ulusoy. After the raid by an armed group
at Swiss Hotel, conditions were quickly normalized there. The
representatives of grand hotels said there is no cancellation of
reservation to date. /Milliyet/
The British newspaper "The Independent" advised travelers to go
to Turkey, as holiday in Turkey are very inexpensive. /Milliyet/
The State Minister Responsible for Human Rights, Rustu Kazim
Yucelen said on Tuesday that human rights issues should be
practiced daily and not considered a dream. "If Turkey wants to
keep in touch with this era and reach a developed, civilized
level, it must consider human rights issues in this context,"
Yucelen stated. Protecting and improving human rights issues are
not responsibility only of the state, Yucelen said, and all
related sides of the issue should cooperate. Yucelen added that
his ministry is organizing regional meetings on human rights
issues as part of his activities. /Turkish Daily News/
Former Turkish President Suleyman Demirel will travel to New York
today to attend the Middle Eastern Research Commission meetings.
Demirel is expected to meet with the Committee members. The
Committee was established to search for the reasons behind the
struggles in the Middle East. /Cumhuriyet/
The Justice Ministry sent the bill regarding the change of
Article 16 in Anti-Terror Law. The bill provides the inmates the
opportunity of education and sports. Death fasts were held in
F-type prisons for protesting the former content of article 16.
/Star/
Amid the Justice Ministry's present submission of bills
introducing certain ameliorations to F-type prison conditions,
one inmate in a special prison in the western province of
Kocaeli's Gebze district announced that she has decided to quit
her death fast. A further 12 other inmates at the same prison
announced an end to their hunger strike protest soon after. All
were protesting the transfer of prisoners to new F-type prisons
last December, and were putting forward some political requests,
including the abolition of State Security Courts. /Turkish News/
The Virtue Party (FP), the closure trial of which is still
continuing in the Constitutional Court, presented its final
written defense yesterday. The case is expected to end in June.
Stating they will give an additional period to the FP for oral
defense, President of the Constitutional Court, Mustafa Bumin,
said, "We will first listen to the Public Prosecutor in Chief and
then the party." /Cumhuriyet/
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's spouse, Nane Annan visited the
earthquake victim children in Izmit. Nane Annan took information
about the Psychosocial School Project carried out jointly by
UNICEF and the Turkish Ministry of National Education during her
visit to Kocaeli Governor, Kemal Onal. /Cumhuriyet/
Russian Federation has approved Turkey's establishment of a
General Consulate in Novorossissk. The Consulate's domain will
include the Republic of Adigey, and the regions of Krasnodar and
Rostov. /Cumhuriyet/
An election was held yesterday for the European Court of Human
Rights (ECHR) Judges from 18 different countries who completed
their term of duties at the Plenary Session of European Council
Parliamentarians Assembly. Turkish judge Riza Turmen was
reelected to the ECHR. /Sabah/
The Constitutional Court celebrates the 39th anniversary of its
foundation today. The court checks whether laws, decrees with the
power of law and statutes are in harmony with the constitution,
and hears party dissolution cases. /Turkish News/
The Turkish Young Businessmen Association(TUGIAD) presented
awards for successful projects designed in 2000. Enka-Intergen,
Ford-Otosan, Is-Tim, Petrol Ofisi, Tepe-Akfen-Vie (TAV) and
Turkcell received awards in different categories. /Hurriyet/
Thousands of Australian and New Zealand tourists came to
Canakkale to attend the "Dawn Ritual" which takes place on the
Gallipoli Peninsula, on the occasion of the 86th Anniversary of
ANZAC deployment, on Wednesday. /Turkish Daily News/
Prof. Mualla Selcuk, the first female member appointed to the
Religious Affairs General Directorate Supreme Board of Religious
Affairs, took her office on Tuesday along with the board's other
members. /Turkish News/
UNESCO Turkey National Commission cautioned Saudi authorities not
to demolish the El-Cihad castle in Mecca constructed in the 18th
century by Ottomans. The commission sent a letter to Saudi
authorities calling upon them to obey the Contract on Preserving
the Cultural and Natural Heritage, dated 1972. Previously, Saudi
Arabia declared their decision to destroy the historical castle
to build a five-star hotel. /Turkiye/
The 18th Ankara International Music Festival will begin on April
28, Saturday. The most famous chorus of the world, Wiener
Singverein, Dimitris Sgouros and cello player Mischa Maisky will
perform at the festival. /Cumhuriyet/
Columnist Veysel Gani comments on the campaign launched on
education by volunteer workers. A summary of his column is as
follows:
"There is no need to stress the importance of education and
training for the individual, family and the nation. There is a
consensus on the need for education and the time has come to
discuss how to provide it. Today the level of education in former
British colonies in the Far East and India is above average. No
one can say anything against the curriculum in the French schools
being taught in Northern African countries such as Tunisia,
Algiers and Morocco.
However, the aim of education is to reach the targets by
preserving national culture, language, ethics and values. The
cost of this project which would present education opportunities
for a million children is approximately $70- $100 million. The
project will cover children between the ages of 7-16 and aim to
raise world citizens. The organization launching the campaign is
one of the most successful and credible non-governmental
organizations in the country."
Columnist Ayhan Katircikara comments on the recent campaigns
launched by the Armenians. A summary of his column is as follows:
"At a time when Turks need to shakeup and reform, they have
countered Armenian terrorist actions, then the PKK terror and
following that, the libel campaign of the Armenian diaspora and
now the 'Pontus problem' organized by Athens. Ankara can overcome
all slander and hostility campaigns only if it can put everything
in its right place. Istanbul deputy Bulent Akarcali diligently
works on the issue. He does not evade self-criticism. He brings
some solutions to the problem. He says that the State does not
have a research and action plan while the activists of the
campaign are moving towards their goal. In Switzerland the
so-called Armenian Genocide Allegations were rejected by a 70-73
vote. However, no note of appreciation was sent to those voting to
reject the bill. In the United States, academicians should be
brought together to investigate the charges. There are more
documents in the United States than elsewhere. We cannot silence
these allegations by force. The Turkish History Foundation does
not have an English text on the issue. Genocide has become a
faith in the West. Therefore, we must explain the truth about
the Armenian State and the diaspora to them. Armenia is a
terrorist State bearing ill-will. Armenians are unemployed in
Armenia with limited use of electricity and other amenities.
Armenians in Diaspora are comparing themselves to Jews. However,
when Israel was founded it had a population of 600,000. Today the
population is six million. Armenia had a population of 3.5
million in 1990. Today it has a population of 2.5 million.
Armenians are fleeing from Armenia to live decently. The
animosity towards Turkey serves to hold their own identity and it
should be exposed to the world and prevented.
A Turkish diplomat has said that the assassins of Ambassador
Galip Balkar, murdered in Belgrade were protected first by
Milosevic and then sent to Armenia. He is still there. Dashnak
and Hinchak terrorist committees are still in action. The number
of people they have murdered are more than those killed by the
PKK or the Hizbullah. This should be explained to the world.
Armenia first has to be a responsible State.
Turkey sent 100,000 tons of grain to Armenia without expecting
anything in return. She has recognized the Armenian State
immediately. However, we have begun to discuss the issue and this
is a beginning."
