ALL EFFORTS IN VAIN BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
Zeki Cakan, Motherland Party (ANAP) Deputy from Bartin
and ANAP Parliamentary Group Deputy Chairman was appointed the
Energy and Natural Resources Minister. Reportedly, President
Ahmet Necdet Sezer approved and sent the decree on Cakan's
appointment to the Office of the Prime Minister. Newly appointed
Minister Cakan was born in Zonguldak in 1950 and he is an electrical
engineer. /Turkiye/
Yesterday, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit received Iraqi Kurdistan
Democratic Party leader, Mesut Barzani. During the 40-min.
meeting, reportedly, Premier Ecevit conveyed Turkey's concern
over the terrorist PKK organization. Regarding the issue, Barzani
pledged to continue their fight against the PKK. Topics on trade
and new US new sanctions to be imposed on Iraq were also
discussed. /Turkiye/
Minister of Interior, Sadettin Tantan, said Turkish and Iranian
administrations wish to develop bilateral relations. Tantan, on
an official visit to Tehran at the invitation of his Iranian
counterpart, Abdulvahid Musavi Lari said he is paying a visit to
Iran to discuss security measures concerning both countries.
Tantan said, "If we cannot establish good relations on security
with our neighbors, we cannot also ensure economic
development." /Turkiye/
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit rejected NATO Secretary General,
George Robertson's request for increasing the number of Turkish
forces in Kosovo. Ecevit said in a letter he sent to Robertson
that Turkey has enough forces in Kosovo and they are completely
capable to carry out the tasks assigned to them. Currently,
Turkish forces are deployed in Prizren, Dragash and Mamusha,
which are very sensitive regions. This rejection is
considered to be a reaction against the exclusion of Turkey from the
European Security and Defense Identity(ESDI). /Hurriyet/
Syrian Transportation Minister Makram Obeid arrived in Turkey on
an official invitation made by Transportation Minister Enis
Oksuz. Obeid said that the main goal of his visit was to boost and
strengthen the relations between the two countries. He stated
that they wanted to develop cooperation on the land, air and
railway transportation between the two countries. /Turkish Daily
News/
Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Ismail Cem, conveyed Turkey's
views on the future of the European Union during an unofficial
meeting of the EU foreign ministers in Sweden on May 5-6. Cem
delivered a speech at a working lunch for foreign ministers of
both EU and candidate countries. In his speech, Cem informed the
participants of Turkey's point of view on various topics.
/Turkish Daily News/
The Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned Bosnian Serbs who
prevented the ground-laying ceremony of a mosque demolished by
Serbs during the Bosnian war. In a written statement from the
Ministry yesterday, it was stressed that Ankara was deeply
concerned about the latest developments in Bosnia as they showed
that peace and tolerance were still distant targets after five
years of the Dayton peace agreement. "Ankara calls on the Serbian
Republic to find those responsible and punish them as soon as
possible," the statement said. It also said the latest incidents
had once more showed the necessity of NATO Stabilization Force
(SFOR) to stay in Bosnia for a while. /Turkish Daily News/
State Minister for the Economy, Kemal Dervis, said during his
meeting with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, they had discussed the
issue of golden share in Telekom. Dervis said, "Sezer, as being a
constitutional law expert, said this definition is not in
contradiction with the Constitution." /Hurriyet/
Syrian Vice-president, Abdul Halim Haddam, evaluated the
Abdullah Ocalan issue that has negatively influenced the Turkish-Syrian
relations. Haddam said, "Ocalan and the PKK were trying to
organize the Syrian Kurds. We realized that their efforts would
negatively affect not only Turkey, but also Iran, Iraq and Syria.
We said we did not want any harm to Turkish interests,
but some circles benefiting from the Kurdish problem in Turkey
did not want to cooperate. At last we decided to prevent the
entry of Ocalan to Syria." /Sabah/
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) Chairman Luzuis Wildhaber
and an accompanying delegation visited Constitutional Court
Chairman Mustafa Bumin yesterday. Riza Turmen, a Turkish judge
from the ECHR, and other ECHR authorities attended the meeting.
Wildhaber stated closure of a political party was a matter that
should be considered within the framework of freedom of
organization and freedom of expression. Before the meeting, Bumin
said the ECHR delegation came to Turkey to evaluate the views of
the Turkish judicial authorities upon the cases related to Turkey
which are being tried at the ECHR. Upon a question asking the
view of the ECHR on the case of the closure of the Virtue Party
(FP) which is currently being tried at the Court, Wildhaber said,
"Closure of a political party is a matter within the scope of
freedom of expression. Freedom of expression is a must condition
for pluralist democracies. All we have to consider to avoid
taking a decision against the pluralist democracy." /Cumhuriyet/
The Chief Public Prosecutor, Sabih Kanadoglu, delivered a verbal
statement to the Constitutional Court regarding the closure of
the Virtue Party(FP). Kanadoglu said FP is the continuation of
the Welfare Party(RF) and therefore, has to be closed. Following
the delivery of the prosecutor's claims to the party, FP will
give its verbal defense on May 15. /Milliyet/
European Socialists and Social Democrat Parties Union Congress
ended yesterday. In the Berlin Declaration issued after the
meeting, parties voiced their wish to pursue reforms in the
European institutions and their request towards the acceleration
of the EU enlargement. Delivering a speech at the congress, EU
Commissioner Gunther Verheugen criticized the mounting opposition
towards the EU enlargement and added EU candidates countries
should be viewed as countries the entrance of which would be
beneficial for the EU. Meanwhile, member of the Republican
People's Party (CHP) Executive Board Yakup Kepenek delivered a
speech at the Party of European Socialists round table meeting
titled "Modern Social Economy, Modern Social Democracy". Kepenek
said, "Social democracy should improve within an environment of
economic development, fair income distribution, social security
and healthy environment." /Cumhuriyet/
Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD) said
Telekom and Banking laws will help to test government's sincerity
and exhibit its understanding of the structural reforms. A
written statement issued by the TUSIAD said the bills have vital
importance for the success of the economic program and should be
enacted soon. /Turkiye/
138th meeting of the Southeastern Working Group consisting of
Southeuropean countries established 29 years ago to fight against
drug traffiking began in Istanbul. Delivering a speech at the
opening of the meeting, Istanbul Security Chief Kazim Abanoz said
the working of the group would be very influential in destroying
the drug smuggling organizations in Europe. Abanoz emphasized
Turkey attached great importance to the cooperation with the
member countries in this struggle. /Cumhuriyet/
Since Greece is continuing to arm the Aegean Islands violating
the Lausanne Treaty, a new crisis emerged between the two
countries. Speaker of the Greek government, Dimitris Reppas,
argued Turkey's theses about the disarmament of the Aegean
Islands were wrong and added nobody had the right to restrict
Greece on the issue. Reppas said Turkey has not replied to the
request of Greek Naval Forces Commander Admiral Georgios
Theodorulakis to cross the Rhodes Island with a military
helicopter during his voyage to Turkey yet. The Greek Admiral is
supposed to attend a ceremony of the Mediterranean Mine Sweeping
units in Turkey. However, Reppas said if Turkey rejects the
request of the Greek Admiral , Greece will not be represented
during the ceremony. /Cumhuriyet/
The Council of State, established on May 10, 1868 as the first
court to resolve conflicts between the government and its
citizens will mark its 133rd anniversary. Council of State
Chairman Justice Nuri Altan, member, judges and prosecutors will
visit Anitkabir on Tuesday. Altan and Turkish Bar Association
Chairman Eralp Ozgen will make a speech at the ceremony in the
Council of State chamber. Later that day judges and prosecutors
who have retired from the Council of State will be honored with
plaques. /Turkish News/
Senior US officials, briefing the NATO allies Tuesday about
President George W. Bush's plan for a missile defense system,
said they must jointly face nations able and willing to threaten
global security with long-range missiles. Undersecretary of State
for Political Affairs Marc Grosman said he and Stephen Hadley,
deputy assistant to Bush for national security affairs, stressed
Washington's desire to consult the allies about the merits of the
anti-missile defense system that Bush wants to deploy. Grosman is
expected to arrive in Ankara on Friday as part of a shuttle tour
which is planned to include the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy,
Turkey and Russia to "explain the views the United States" about
anti-missile defenses and to get feedback. /Turkish Daily News/
The supremacy and achievements of Islam have been recorded in a
televised documentary in the US. Rob Gardner, who produced and
directed the documentary, said they had aimed to show the
achievements made by Islam over the past 1,000 years. Parts of
the documentary were filmed in Turkey, also in Egypt and other
Muslim countries. /Turkish Daily News/
A panel discussion on the facts about the Armenian allegations
will be held at the Office of the President of the Gazi
University in Ankara at 2:00 p.m. on May 15. The panel discussion
will be headed by a lecturer from the Gazi University, Prof.
Refet Yinanc. The Head of the Turkish History Institution,
Prof.Yusuf Halacoglu, a lecturer from the Gazi University
Prof.Osman Metin Ozturk and Coordinator of the Republican History
at the Bilkent University Assc. Prof. Esat Aslan will deliver
speeches at the panel.
Necip Soyak became the world famous automobile firm
Volvo's Chairman in Japan. Previously, Soyak was Volvo's Deputy
Chairman of the International Trade Section Responsible for North
America, Canada, Mexico and Porto Rico. /Turkiye/
Last week, favorite shares were tourism and banking in the
Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB) which began to rise following the
supply of foreign aid and the declaration of the economic program.
The increase in the National 100 index was 29.7% and tourism
shares rose by 45.8% while banking shares 39.8% during
last two weeks. /Turkiye/
Turkish Export Products Fair was held in Akra, Ghana. During the
four-day fair, 110 Turkish firms displayed their products, from
food sector to automotive by-products, from furniture to
machines, from home appliances to durable products. Following the
fairs organized by Turkel Fair Company, in Kenya and Ghana, next
fair will be held in Hartum, capital of Sudan, in October 2001.
/Turkiye/
An American rock band, "Prophets Anonymous" will promote Turkey
in their concerts in the US. The band was hosted by a Turkish
tourism firm and a non-governmental organization in Turkey within
an activity to promote Izmir to American tourists. /Cumhuriyet/
Turkish automotive by-industry carried its successes to the
international arena. Three of the Turkish automotive firms were
presented with the International by-Industry Award by the General
Motors. 13,500 firms from 20 countries participated in the
contest. /Cumhuriyet/
The Second International Theater Days will be held in Trabzon on
May 16-25. According to a Culture Ministry statement, the theater
days are intended to keep international relations between the
Black Sea countries warm. Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Romania,
the Ukraine, Bulgaria, Georgia and Turkey will participate in the
Theater Days. /Turkish News/
State Minister for the Economy, Kemal Dervis, said, "If we pull
down the inflation, exchange rates cannot fluctuate extensively."
During his speech at the consultative meeting of the Turkish
Employers' Confederation(TISK), Dervis said, in the coming months
the inflation rate may be between 5% and 7%, but then, a monthly target
inflation will be set. /Milliyet/
Automotive exports increased by fourfold compared to the imports
in the first four months of this year. Automotive exports also
increased by 45% compared to last year. Imports, on the other
hand, decreased by 66%. /Hurriyet/
The Head of the Templeton Markets Fund Inc, Mark Mobius said
Turkey's chance for investments has increased. Mobius said,
"Turkey developed her ability for company management. We are here
to help a group of firms." /Hurriyet/
Compared to last year the number of tourists visiting the Mugla
province in the Aegean region increased by 24% in the first four months
of the year. The hotels in the region have 80-90% full capacity.
Meanwhile, Air Holland organized a Cappadocia tour. /Milliyet/
Columnist Sami Kohen writes on the recent developments in the
Balkans. A summary of his column is as follows:
"The situation in the Balkans has heated up. As tension has
escalated in Macedonia with new clashes, the attack launched
against a mosque in Bosnia-Herzegovina has surfaced the ethnic
animosities which were thought to be dead. These incidents show
that in the countries which seceeded from former Yugoslavia and
witnessed the actions of separatist movements people cannot
tolerate each other and they do not want to live together. The
former 'mosaic' in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Kosovo and
Montenegro has been destroyed. All efforts spent to make the
people of different races, religions, languages an cultures to
live together as they had done in the past are fruitless.
The new attack launched by a few thousand Serbian fanatics
against the Ferhadiye Mosque has shown the presence of 'a sick
mentality left from the days of the Dark Ages', in the words of
EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Chris Patten. The mosque was
built in 16th century by the Ottomans and destroyed during the
bloody incidents in 1992, in Banja Luca and was going to be
restored. The agreement reached with the efforts of the
international community gave the right to govern the region to
the Serbs. Different ethnic and religious groups would be able to
live freely in their own regions and in time they would heal the
wounds of the civil war, preserve their own masterpieces as in
the case of Ferhadiye mosque, and in time try to live together.
However, the attack against the Ferhadiye mosque shattered these
hopes. Serbian nationalism and conservatism have shown that
living together for the communities is a dream at lest for this
generation.
At the beginning of the year in Macedonia it was hoped that an
agreement could be reached betwen the Government and the
political powers of Albanian origin. However, the attack launched
by the Albanian militants and the harsh reaction by the
Macedonian army have heated up the crisis. If an agreement is not
reached as soon as possible, the ethnic and religious clashes
here will lead to dangerous dimensions such as witnessed in
Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Instability, tension and uncertainty in the Balkans can entrap
all the countries of the region, including Turkey in these
clashes and disagreements. These incidents can spread all over
and damage the relations between the states of the region.
Therefore, Turkish diplomacy has to follow a careful, balanced
policy and should play an active role when necessary. Therefore,
the visit Foreign Minister Ismail Cem will pay to Kosovo carries
great significance as it comes at a time when the situation in
the Balkans is extremely tense. Certainly Cem will have important
messages and suggestions to convey to the authorities."
