VISIT TO THE LAST FISHERY IN THE BOSPHORUS BY
FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)
Meeting under the auspices of Transportation
Minister Enis Oksuz, high-ranking bureaucrats from relevant ministries
and organizations hammered out a bill on the privatization of Turk
Telekom over the weekend thus ending weeks of controversy over the
matter. Announcing the result Oksuz told reporters later that this
whole issue should now cease to be a matter of curiosity. Officials
from the Transportation Ministry, the Undersecretariat for the
Treasury, and the Privatization Administration got together on
Saturday morning in the Prime Ministry and worked out the final draft
of the bill that will enable privatization of Turk Telekom. Oksuz
explained that the issues that are sensitive for the Chief of the
General Staff's office, as well as his own ministry, had been fully
addressed in the draft bill. According to the deal hammered out, 95
percent of Turk Telekom will be sold. But foreigners will only be
allowed to buy 45 percent of this and will be prevented from gaining a
strategic decision on making position. The remaining five percent of
Turk Telekom will be reserved for the small investor, and will first
be offered to PTT and Telekom and Telekom workers. /Turkish News/
Representatives from labor and economy bureaucrats
will meet today to discuss new proposals concerning collective
bargaining accords. Turk-Is Chairman Bayram Meral and members of the
executive council, Ministers of State Kemal Dervis, Mehmet Kececiler
and Finance Minister Sumer Oral will meet today to reach a consensus
on the collective bargaining accords. Meanwhile employers are expected
to meet with Dervis tomorrow. Turkish Employers Unions Confederation
(TISK) will present a report titled "Economic Program and Our
Working Life: Observations and Proposals" to Dervis tomorrow. Th
Confederation is expected to demand an immediate solution to the high
interest rates problem. /Cumhuriyet/
State Minister Kemal Dervis said that the IMF
Executive Board would discuss Turkey's program on May 15 and make its
decision. Dervis held a press conference at the Treasury
Undersecretariat yesterday. Dervis recalled that the Executive Board
of the World Bank had already decided to accept a policy in line with
the IMF Executive Board's decisions. Dervis stated that the proposal
to be presented to the IMF Executive Board envisaged the entry of
nearly $15 billion from IMF and World Bank sources for the next nine
months of the year. Dervis noted that Turkey presented the letter of
intent to the IMF last Friday and added that the financial assistance
was based on the enactment of the laws. He said that the Banking and
Telecom Laws were very important in this regard. /Turkiye/
The law which foresees amendments to the Central
Bank law went into effect after it was published on the Official
Gazette on Saturday. No government authority will be able to give
orders to the Central Bank, and a Money Market Committee will be set
up within the body of the Central Bank. The preamble of the law,
comprised of a total of 17 articles, said the need to make amendments
to the law arose within the framework of international developments,
especially European Union norms, regarding economic conditions and
central banking since 1970, when the Central Bank Law originally took
effect. The preamble said that the law pointed out that the principle
target of the Central Bank was to provide price stability, and that
the bank was the only authorized unit responsible for the
determination and implementation of monetary policy for the bank.
/Turkish News/
The agenda of the Turkish Parliament is expected to
be dominated this week with two crucially important drafts. The
Speakership Council is expected to decide to offer to parliamentary
debate with priority the drafts amending laws on the execution of
penalties and administration of prisons. The government will present
the draft amending the Banking Law. If debates at the Planning and
Budget Commission on the draft are completed by midweek, parliamentary
debate over the draft is expected to be held on Thursday or Friday.
The Parliamentary Justice Commission will continue debating the draft
amending the Civil Code. /Turkish Daily News/
A European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) delegation
of four, chaired by the ECHR Chairman Luzius Wildhaber, arrived in
Turkey to hold meetings. The delegation, which will meet with the
members of the High Court of Appeals and Constitutional Court, also
includes Turkish judge Riza Tulmen. /Cumhuriyet/
EU Special Envoy for the Middle Eastern Peace
Process, Miguel Moratinos, will arrive in Ankara today. Moratinos, who
will discuss Jordanian Egyptian peace plan with the Turkish officials,
will be received by Foreign Minister Ismail Cem and Foreign Ministry's
Deputy Undersecretary, Ambassador Ugur Ziyal. The EU and Turkey are
trying to fill the gap which was opened due to the decrease in the US
interest in the Middle Eastern Peace Process after the election of the
Bush Administration. /Cumhuriyet/
The National Program Turkey prepared for EU
membership has been debated at the House of Lords in Britain. Some of
the Lords who participated in the debate called on the British
government to strengthen relations with Turkey and support Ankara in
its bid for EU membership. Responding to questions on Turkey, the
parliamentary spokeswoman responsible for international relations
Baroness Scotland of Asthal indicated that the British government had
welcomed the National Program but added that they expected more
information on the process of reforms. Answering a question on
Turkey's place in European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP), she
said they supported Turkey's position on the issue. /Turkish Daily
News/
Interior Minister Sadettin Tantan will travel to
Iran on the invitation of his counterpart, Abdulvahit Mousavi Lari.
Tantan will reiterate his request for cooperation in the fight against
terrorism. This will be the first visit of its kind since 1994.
Gendarmerie Chief of Information, Gen. Ali Aksoz and Head of the
Security Department, Emin Aslan, Head of Information Department,
Muzaffer Erkan, and the Head of the Foreigners Department Mustafa
Ilhan will accompany Tantan. Tantan will also be received by Iranian
President Muhammed Hatemi and relay the goodwill messages of President
Ahmet Necdet Sezer. /Milliyet/
Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party Leader Mesud
Barzani will arrive in Turkey tonight. Barzani will be received by
Foreign Minister Ismail Cem and Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit tomorrow.
He is expected to discuss security issues such as the fight against
the PKK terrorist organization and recent developments in Northern
Iraq with the Turkish officials. Additionally, Washington Agreement is
among the issues to be discussed during the meetings. /Cumhuriyet/
The Greek government has decided to take certain
important steps in improving the rights of the Turkish minority living
there particularly in Western Thrace. The steps include plans to
increase quotas in Greek universities for Turkish students, to give
more autonomy to Turkish foundation administrations, provide more
state aid to Turkish minority's schools and to re-accept citizenship
for those who formerly lost their citizenship within the scope of
these new steps. /Turkish Daily News/
Former Turkish President, Suleyman Demirel, who is
the member of Middle East Fact-finding Commission, completed his work
in New York and returned to Turkey yesterday. The final report
prepared by the members of the commission was presented to US
Secretary of State Colin Powell by commission chairman George
Mitchell. Speaking after his arrival, Demirel held a press conference
in Istanbul saying that people who want peace in the Middle East
should be patient and have good intentions. /Turkish Daily News/
Sabih Kanadoglu, the Chief Prosecutor of the
Supreme Court of Appeals, will make his verbal statement about the
additional indictment in the closure case against the Virtue Party(FP)
on Tuesday. The Constitutional Court has invited Kanadoglu to present
his verbal statement following the FP's submission of its last defense
on April 24. After the submission of the verbal statements of the
chief prosecutor to the FP, FP officials will make their verbal
defense on May 15. The reporter of the case, Mehmet Turhan, will
prepare a report about the additional indictment if the court
considers it necessary. Later, the case will be heard on its own
merits, at a date to be determined by Chief Judge Mustafa Bumin.
/Turkish News/
The Treasury will repay $137.4 million in foreign
debts. This week the Treasury will also issue ten-month state bonds
worth $600 million this week. Single price system will be implemented
at the offer. Bond repayment will be carried out on March 6, 2002.
/Milliyet/
The European Union granted 13 million Euro for
projects to improve the quality infrastructure. The Quality
Association(Kalder) and the Treasury Under-Secretariat will supervise
the grant. The fund will contribute to the improvement of standards,
competitive power and efficiency for achieving a stronger economy.
/Hurriyet/
Three important Bosphorus passage projects and
Izmit Gulf Passage project will be built by the build-operate-transfer
system. The projects are expected to cost about $5.3 billion. They
will be operated by the related firm group for a while and then will
be transferred to Directorate-General of Highways. /Cumhuriyet/
A total of 80 percent of all permanent housing
units in Kocaeli, Duzce and Sakarya have been completed with the help
of World Bank credits, Prime Ministry Project Management Unit Izmir
Regional Director Ahmet Ericdem said on Saturday. "Some 7,476
housing units in Kocaeli, 2,608 in Sakarya, and 1,004 in Duzce are
being built with a $240 million World Bank credit. The foundation for
these housing units was laid on August 15 last year. The high-tech
methods and concrete used in the construction render these buildings
resistant to high-magnitude earthquakes. /Turkish News/
The Commission consisting of nine lecturers who
convened for the preparation of the labor security bill has completed
its studies. According to the bill based on the ILO Convention No 158,
the employers will not be able to dismiss any employees due to unjust
reasons. The bill has been presented to Labor Minister Yasar Okuyan.
/Turkiye/
Turkish contractors will come together with the
representatives of the Polish construction sector which has an annual
volume of $18 billion. With the joint initiatives of the Foreign Trade
Undersecretariat (DTM) and the Polish Economy Ministry's Foreign
Capital Agency (PAIZ), Turkish contractors will meet with the
representatives of the Polish construction sector. The representatives
of the both sides will attend the seminars to be held on May 7 in
Ankara and on May 9 in Istanbul. /Turkiye/
GSM operator Aycell will start cell phone services
on the GSM 1800 band all over the world before the end of May. Aycell
is currently working to establish representative offices, and will
start signing up customers within the month. /Turkish News/
US based company Sykes, which acts as an
"information technologies solution partner" for companies
all over the world, has opened a "solution center" in
Istanbul. Sykes provides services from 62 centers in 15 countries with
17,000 employees and a $603 million annual revenue. Sykes Executive
Board Chairman John Sykes, who came to Turkey to visit the Sykes
center in Istanbul, held a press conference yesterday. He said that
they opened the center in Istanbul to show their confidence in Turkey
and its strategic location. /Turkish Daily News/
A mobile electricity power plant will be installed
in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus(TRNC) to supply electricity
demands there to avoid dependency on foreign sources. The Turkish
Electricity Corporation(TEAS) and the Cyprus Electric Corporation(TEK)
will cooperate in the project. The mobile power plant is rated at a 30
megawatt production capacity, and will be managed by Cyprus TEK for
the first five years. The complete energy production project, costing
nearly $5 million, includes transportation and transformer systems
that will carry electricity from the plant to consumers. /Turkish
News/
Turkish train which departed from the Nusaybin
Train Station arrived in Baghdad Train Station. Foreign Trade
Undersecretary Kursat Tuzmen and Iraqi authorities welcomed the train
which carried State Railways (TCDD) Director General Vedat Bilgin and
other authorities in the Baghdad Train Station. Speaking to the press,
Bilgin said trade volume between the two countries before 1982 was
great and added their current aim was to reach that level again.
Stating Turkey was trying to improve her commercial relations with
Iraq, Tuzmen said, "Our policy is completely aimed at improving
our foreign trade especially with our neighbors. Certain products,
which are permitted to be carried to Iraq by the UN, will be
transported by train between Turkey and Iraq which started operating
after 19 years again. /Cumhuriyet/
Minister of Culture, Istemihan Talay, said the
dance show named 'Sultans of the Dance' should also be performed
abroad. Replying to the questions of the press after watching the show
in Mydonose Showland two days ago, Talay said, "This performance
is not just a show. It is a ritual, a kind of worship and a prayer.
This an extraordinarily successful work of art." 90 dancers
perform Anatolian music, rhythm, folk dances and dances in a modern
style in the 'Sultans of the Dance'. The show will be performed in the
Broadway next season. /Cumhuriyet/
The Culture Ministry will participate in
international book fairs to take place in Warsaw, Prague, and
Jerusalem, a Culture Ministry statement said on Sunday. According to
the statement, the Jerusalem book fair will take place between May
7-11, the Prague book fair will be held between May 16-20. At these
fairs, the Culture Ministry will display Turkish Linguistic
Association (TDK) publications, Is Bank publications, and its own
publications about Turkish language, culture, art, history, and
tourism and Ataturk. /Turkish News/
The Scientific and Technical Research Council of
Turkey (TUBITAK) will hold an "Invention Festival" in
TUBITAK's Feza Gursey Hall on May 11-12 in Ankara. The festival, to
which 200 child inventors applied thus far, is encouraging creativity
not only in adults, but also in children. /Turkish News/
The Turkish documentary, "Anatolia's
Light" by Nedret Cagatay was elected as the best documentary by
UNESCO, reflecting the tolerance in Anatolia. The documentary focuses
on religions in Anatolia lived throughout centuries. The Asian
Broadcasters Union(ABU) offered to telecast the documentary in 13
Asian countries. "Anatolia's Light" will also participate in
12th International Archaeological Science Festival in Italy.
/Milliyet/
The famous touristic site Cappadocia has seen a 100
percent increase in the number of tourists coming into the area in the
first four months of the year when compared to the same period last
year, the Anatolia News Agency reported yesterday. /Turkish Daily
News/
Columnist Ferai Tinc comments on the pollution in
the Bosphorus due to the the passage of oil-tankers and extinction of
fish species in the Straits. A summary of her column is as follows:
"Yesterday we went fishing in the last remaining fishery in the
Bosphorus. From an old fisherman in the Bosphorus who came from a
family of fishers for two centuries, we learnt that at the beginning
of the century the number of fisheries in the Bosphorus, where nets
were cast, was 52. At the moment there is only one such fishery left.
That is the Beykoz Dalyan. It is on the verge of closure too. Due to
the pollution and maritime traffic in the Bosphorus the fishers are
close to calling quits. One of the seamen said that the increase in
maritime traffic was so high that no fish was left in the Bosphorus.
He added that most of the responsibility lay with the oil tankers.
These tankers left their bile waters and when the fishers woke up
early in the morning they saw that their nets were covered with tar.
Even if there was fish in the net under the tar, it was of no use and
they were returned to sea. The species seen not too long ago are no
more caught in the Bosphorus. The organizer of this visit, Chairman of
Turkish Sea Research Foundation Prof. Bayram Ozturk showed the
jelly-fish in the muddy waters and said that they ate all the fish and
larvae. These jelly-fish entered the Bosphorus with the ballast-waters
of the oil tankers in 1987. The ships passing through the Marmara Sea
and the Bosphorus are leaving 40 tons of toxic dyes. Today the amount
of toxic dyes left only in the Istanbul Strait is close to three tons
a year. What about tomorrow? Does anyone calculate the damage the
increasing traffic will incur when the Kazakh oil coming to Russian
Novorississk port incur on the Bosphorus? The fight for survival of
the last fishery in Istanbul may be considered the fight of Istanbul
for survival. How long can Turkey stand on her own feet with Istanbul
fighting for survival?"
