Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
The closest aid of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Vice
President Tariq Aziz, is arriving in Ankara on 15 February,
reported the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Aziz will hold
talks with Turkish officials, including Prime Minister Bulent
Ecevit. It was also reported that the purpose of the visit is to
improve bilateral relations between both countries. /Milliyet/
Croatian President Franjo Tudjman arrived yesterday in Ankara on
a three-day official visit. After an official welcoming ceremony,
Tudjman held a meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Suleyman
Demirel, at the Presidential Palace. During the meeting the two
leaders signed agreements concerning environmental protection,
customs, and cooperation in both the judiciary and science. It
was reported that they also discussed bilateral relations and
regional issues. After the meeting Suleyman Demirel presented
Franjo Tudjman with the State Sign of the Republic of Turkey.
/Sabah/
After the autonomous Parliament of the Basque region allowed the
Kurdish Parliament-in-exile to hold a meeting in their Parliament
building, a wave of uneasiness was felt in Spain. The Spanish
government drew attention to the fact that they would make every
effort effort to prevent the decision from being acted on;
however, the Basque Parliament insists holding to their the
decision. The Spanish Minister of Interior Affairs, Jaime Mayor
Oreja, said yesterday that the Madrid administration would do its
best to prevent the meeting for the sake of democracy and the
credibility of the Basque region. Meanwhile, the Spanish Minister
of Foreign Affairs evaluated the decision as a "horrific mistake"
concerning economic and political relations with Turkey.
ON the other hand, the Spanish Ambassador to Ankara, Jesus
Atienza, was summoned yesterday to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
Atienza stressed that Madrid government had told the Basque
Parliament that the decision was against Spain's foreign policy.
He added that he would make every effort to ensure that
Turco-Spanish relations would come to no harm as a result of the
recent decision by the Basque Parliament. /Milliyet/
The European Parliament (EP) has the proposal to discuss a bill
to grant the right of political asylum to the PKK leader,
Abdullah Ocalan, in any European country. The bill, prepared by
the Greek representative, Alexandros Alavanos, and supported by
the Communists, demanded that Parliament discuss the issue among
other urgent questions on the agenda. It was reported that the
same group had also attempted to hold a meeting of the so-called
Kurdish Parliament-in-Exile in the European Parliament, which had
not been adopted by the majority of the members. /Hurriyet/
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Sermet Atacanli criticized Greek
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Theodoros Pangalos's statement that
they would not arrest Abdullah Ocalan if he arrived Greece.
Atacanli said yesterday during a press conference that the
statement went against international documents becuase Interpol
had issued an order urging the arrest of Ocalan and also Turkey
had put pressure on Greece. He added that Turkey hoped that the
European Union (EU) would not be pushed into making a meaningless
decision about Ocalan due to the pressure of Greek Parliamentary
members. /Sabah/
Turkey reiterated on Wednesday that it will not accept the
deploymment of Russian-made S-300 missiles on the Greek island of
Crete and stressed that such a move would create complications
regarding NATO security. Referring to a recent Greek-Greek
Cypriot agreement to deploy the missiles on Crete, a Foreign
Ministry statement said that, "no threat to Turkey and the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will ever remain without a
response. Turkey will continue to take all necessary precautions.
The statement said that the S-300's deployment on Crete will
constitute a new destabilization factor in the Eastern
Mediterranean and Aegean regions. /Turkiye/
The German Minister of Interior Affairs, Otto Schilly, said that
they would take until the Autumn to prepare a new Citizenship
Bill instead of debating the Citizenship Reform concerning dual
citizenship. Schilly added that the content of the Bill would be
prepared so as to be easily accepted by the Federal Council. He
noted that the bill would foresee that dual citizenship would be
granted until the age of 23.
It is reported that colaition partner Greens suffered a major
blow after losing the by-election in Hessen. Therefore, party
decided to take a step backward concerning the proposed dual
citizenship law. /Milliyet/
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit's decree concerning the fair
organization of the elections is being implemented stage by
stage. Very recently, among the directors posted to the Research,
Planning, and Coordination Department of the General Directorate
of the Security, screening committees of 20 members have been
formed in order to monitor any possible fundamentalist or
reactionary activities within the police itself. These units will
report on the links between religious sects and police officials.
In addition, the National Security Council (MGK) will hold a
seminor on struggle against reactivism, to be attended by
directors from the Ministry of the Interior. Meanwhile, it is
reported that 2.5 million new voters will participate in the
April 18 elections. /Hurriyet/
The Treasury Undersecretary, Yener Dincmen, said that after their
meetings International Monetary Fund (IMF) representatives issued
very positive statements concerning the Turkish economy. He added
that with the confidence that the IMF had in the Turkish economy
in the middle-long-term, foreign borrowing channels would be
opened to Turkey. Dincmen noted that the significance of the
IMF's assertion that it would extend financial aid to Turkey
would create an extremely positive atmosphere in financial
circles.
Meanwhile, the IMF delegation's decision to "cooperate closely
with the Turkish authorities to develop an agenda for the
post-election period which could be supported by the Fund's
resources" has had widespread repercussions in Turkey's business
Acircles. /Sabah/
The adoption of the IMF's conditions in the Economic and Social
Council (ESK) met with a strong opposition from trade unions and
professional associations. Bayram Yildirim, the Chairman of the
Petro-Is Union, pointed out that the appearance of public
personnel representatives and other civil society organizations
in the Council is also required in order to consider and resolve
the problems faced by the wage earners; he said, "Therefore
nobody could expect this Council to enact decisions on behalf of
wage earners." Meanwhile, noting that the IMF makes policy
decisions through all too brief visits and the government has
failed to provide the production sector with concrete resources,
Sinan Aygun, the Chairman of the Ankara Chamber of Trade and
Commerce, said "Redundancies will be predominant." /Cumhuriyet/
In the closing session of the "International Stock Exchanges
Conference" organized by Euromoney in London, experts discussed
where capital investments might penetrate in the near future.
Martin Hillier, one of the organizers of the conference, said,
"Financial support following the April elections is on the agenda
of the meeting between the IMF and Turkey. This situation will
unequivocally make Turkey one of the most attractive markets in
which to invest." Hillier also noted that Turkish financial and
capital markets are more organized and better structured than
those of many other countries. /Hurriyet/
Leader of the True Path Party (DYP), Tansu Ciller, determined her
party's target in the Elections as 37 percent of the vote by the
end of 18 April. Ciller said that they would do their best to
reach their target to be in to power at the end of the elections.
She maintained that they would struggle with the system in Turkey
instead of with individuals and they wanted to re-enliven the
Democratic Party (DP). /Turkiye/
Izmir's Democratic Turkey Party (DTP) M.P. Turan Arinc resigned
from his party yesterday. Due to his resignation the number of
DTP deputies has decreased to 11 and the number of independent
deputies has risen to 20. /Milliyet/
The Turkish Koc Corporation will establish a new partnership in
compliance with their strategy of cooperating with international
companies. Koc Corporations Beldesa Shock-Absorber Company,
established a firm with the Mannesmann Sachs AG Company form the
German Mannesman Group. Koc Corporation and the Mannessmann Group
both have 50 percent shares in Sachs Beldesan Industry and Trade
Corporation. /Milliyet/
The Minister of Industry and Trade, Metin Sahin, announced that
they would bring in new regulations concerning the import of
cars. Sahin made a point of saying that, due to the low number of
service stations and restrictions on the scope of legal criteria
concerning imports, this would cause serious limitations on the
amount of imported cars. He added that they were not against
importing cars but that they aimed to lay down new rules to help
the domestic car industry. /Sabah/
The Director of the Spanish Foreign Trade Institution, Eduardo
Euba Aldape, said that the Spanish government announced that
Turkey would be her strategic partner in 1999. He added that they
believed that both Turkey and Spain have great potential in the
fields of trade, investment and the transfer of technology. 300
Spanish firms involved in agriculture, production, electronics,
energy, telecommunications, transportation and the services
industry will attend the Expotechnia '99 Fair to be held in June
in Istanbul, said Aldape. /Turkiye/
The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Ziya Aktas, said at
the Energy Summit in Istanbul that private and foreign investors
would have to join forces with the government in carrying out new
investments in the energy sector because, he added, Turkey's
electricity demand would increase more than fivefold by 2020.
Aktas noted that Turkey should spend $ 5 million on energy
investments every year over the next 20 years in order not to be
foced with energy shortages. /Turkiye/
Faruk Yoneyman was elected as the new Chairman of the Foreign
Investment Association (YASED). Tevik Altinok, the Chairman of
Koc Corporation's Financial Services Group, was also elected
Vice-President. After the elections Yoneyman said that they
targetted $ 5 billion foreign investment in 1999 in Turkey.
/Turkiye/
Turkish businessman Sakip Sabanci will be presented the "Award
for the Businessman of the Year" on 20 February in New York. The
award will be presented by the American School Friends
Association in Turkey. AFter the ceremony, Sabanci will go to Los
Angles to attend the opening of the Osmanli Calligraphy Art
Exhibition in the County Museum on 25 February. /Milliyet/
It was reported that the Istanbul Police Department had seized 87
kg of heroin, 10 kg of marihuana, 3.5 kg of hashish and 32
thousand tabs during four different operations yesterday. The
total market value of the drugs is TL 3 trillion ($10 million).
Concerning the drugs, the police arrested 25 persons, of which 10
are of foreign nationality. /Hurriyet/
Talha Camas, the Chairman of the Turkish Travel Agencies Union,
declared that due to Ocalan's departure from Italy, they have
decided to end the tourism boycott of that country, which was in
place for more than three months. Camas noted that the release of
tension in Turco-Italian relations also has had repercussions in
the tourism sector, while a mutual activation of tourist
activities has already been initiated in recent days. /Hurriyet/
"Yol" (The Road), a world-renowned Turkish film directed by Serif
Goren and based on the scenario written by Yilmaz Guney his term
of imprisonment, is on display in Turkey after 17 years of exile.
The gala showing of the film took place in Beyoglu Theatre last
night, attended by many famous Turkish actors and artists. The
film presents the lives of some prisoners who were allowed a
week's probation. "Yol" was awarded the "Golden Palm" in the
Cannes Film Festival as well as the Fibresci Prize. /Cumhuriyet/
In his column in "Milliyet" Hasan Cemal looks into Turco-Iraqi
relations. The summary of his column is as follows:
"Iraqı Deputy Prime Minister Tarıq Aziz is the second most
important man in Iraq after Saddam Hussein and he is expected in
Ankara on February 15...This visit is not an ordinary diplomatic
event. Aziz is the right-hand man of a regime the US has vowed to
topple. Furthermore it comes at a time when US aircraft, using
Incirlik base, are striking Iraq continually.... Does this show
a change in Turkey's policy towards Iraq?...The impressions given
by Ankara can be summarized thus:
- There is no change in Turkey's policy towards Iraq. - Iraq is a
neighbour of Turkey and therefore holding to the policy of
dialogue , as it has done until today, would be proper. In the
words of a Foreign Ministry circle, it would not become such a
great state as Turkey to refuse a neighbour wanting to pay a
visit. It should not be interpreted as a move against the US. -
At the moment, Iraq is isolated among the Arab countries.
Therefore, it may want to open out to the world through Turkey.
Whatever it has to say will listened to, and if there are any,
its messages will be relayed to appropriate adresses. - Then
again Iraq might not act rationally...
The priority seen by Washington is to topple the Saddam's
regime. Ankara is more interested in the territorial integrity,
and political union of Iraq. In other words Ankara is more
interested in the state of affairs to follow after Saddam.
Therefore, it wants the US to act more sensitively on this point
and expects the US to share its views to a greater extent on the
subject. The priorities may be different in relations between
allies and friends but this not the end of the world."
Prof. Dr. Salih Neftci, a columnist in the `Hurriyet' daily,
reflects on the recent developmentS in world stock exchanges and
their possible impact on the Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB).
Neftci writes:
"The world stock exchanges have experienced a serious and
somewhat unexpected upward trend in past few months. However,
this trend has recently begun to change. European and American
bonds are show a deficit. Why? How can the IMKB respond to this
development?
American Internet firms have given very high returns to their
investors over the last four months. Similarly, the South Korean
stock exchange has become able to make a good recovery due to
reasonable structural reforms of the financial system. Is there a
departure from these trends now?
We think that the rise in the Asian stock exchanges relies upon
robust foundations. This is not to say that the Asian economies
have entirely resolved all of their problems. Yet they have
succeeded in stabilizing their systems. Their currencies have
attained a great deal of competitiveness against other
currencies. Our general conception is that, in the medium-term,
the Asian countries will be able to enter into a trend of rapid
growth. However, we cannot declare the same thing for Wall
Street, especially for hi-tech and internet bonds, favoured
predominantly by unexperienced investors. It may be expected that
the overvaluation of such bonds may result in a serious revision
of their prices soon.
Under the current circumstances, there are no definite reasons to
expect that the IMKB will be affected by the problems faced by
Wall Street. At least, there may be some limited effect, confined
to the interconnection between Wall Street and other major
European stock exchanges. What should be considered by the IMKB
in the first place is the rejuvenation of rapid economic growth
in Asia. This will render Asian bonds quite attractive in the
near future. For my own part, international capital investment
will penetrate the Asian markets faster than is expected now.
Consequently, the IMKB might be affected positively or negatively
by this situation, depending on whether necessary structural
reforms are implemented or not."
IRAQI VICE PRESIDENT AZIZ TO VISIT ANKARA
CROATIAN PRESIDENT VISITS TURKEY
PKK HITS SPAIN
EP REJECTS OCALAN'S DEMAND FOR REFUGE
HARSH CRITICISM OF GREECE
ANKARA WARNS AGAINST S-300 MISSILES
SET-BACK IN DUAL CITIZENSHIP
TEAMS AGAINST FUNDAMENTALISM IN POLICE
IMF'S POSITIVE STATEMENT
WORKERS' OPPOSITION TO THE IMF
"IMF SUPPORT WILL INCREASE TURKEY'S ATTRACTION"
CILLER AIMS TO REACH 37 PERCENT IN ELECTIONS
ARINC RESIGNS FROM DTP
TURKISH KOC AND GERMAN MANNESMANN TO ESTABLISH PARTNERSHIP
LIMITATION ON IMPORTED CARS
"TURKEY IS OUR STRATEGIC PARTNER"
AKTAS FORESEES NEW INVESTMENTS IN ENERGY SECTOR
NEW CHAIRMAN FOR YASED
SABANCI, "BUSINESSMAN OF THE YEAR"
87 KG OF HEROIN SEIZED
TOURISM BOYCOTT OF ITALY ENDED
YILMAZ GUNEY'S "YOL" IN TURKEY AFTER 17 YEARS
FROM THE COLUMNS ... FROM THE COLUMNS ... FROM THE COLUMNS
AN INTERESTING VISIT BY BAGDAD TO ANKARA - BY HASAN CEMAL
(MILLIYET)
WORLD STOCK EXCAHNGES AND THE IMKB - BY SALIH NEFTCI (HURRIYET)