Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
Leaders of the Developing Eight (D-8) countries yesterday,
inaugurated a second Summit in Dhaka to promote trade and
economic cooperation among their countries, giving particular
emphasis to globalization. The inauguration of the D-8 Summit
took place as Turkish President Suleyman Demirel handed over the
term-presidency of the organization to the meeting's host,
Bangladesh.
Demirel also urged member countries to encourage privatization.
The free movement of businessmen should also be an important part
of that cooperation mechanism, he stated. Demirel said that
Turkey was developing a crop-duster plane for the use of member
countries. The first prototype of the aircraft will be ready in
September. /All papers/
President Suleyman Demirel yesterday brushed away charges of an
essential judicial mistake concerning the trial of the PKK leader
Abdullah Ocalan. Demirel spoke at a special press briefing for
Turkish journalists in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, where he
has been since Sunday. Demirel's response was directed at Western
concerns over Turkey's DGMs, where a military officer is present
at the hearings. "DGMs are constitutional. There hasn't been any
complaint about the DGMs for the last 17 years" Demirel said,
adding that a 17-year-old practice cannot be considered wrong.
Demirel stated that Turkey will be facing elections in more than
a month's time, therefore all issues concerning the status of the
DGMs can be taken into consideration after the elections. /All
papers/
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit yesterday announced the details of
an economic reforms package. Ecevit declared that approximately
TL 40.5 trillion in financial aid will be used towards the
employment of 8,200 people in the Southeast. Since the February
15 capture of the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, the Turkish
government has stressed the need for development of the
Southeast. The plan, expected to go into effect in the next few
days, calls for low-interest, long-term loans, cheap energy and
tax exemptions to encourage investment in 26 eastern and
southeastern cities.
Ecevit said that separatist PKK members have 'sabotaged every
service, every investment' in the region. Under the plan, the
government aims to spend TL 10 trillion this year and TL 20
trillion next year on economic development in the Southeast,
along with extra spending for education, health and vocational
training. /All papers/
Pandeli Majko, the Prime Minister of Albania, will arrive in
Turkey on March 2 to pay a two-day official visit, the Anatolia
news agency reports. Pandeli Majko, Luan Hajdaraga, the Albanian
Minister of Defence, Pascal Milo, the Albanian Foreign Minister,
and Ylli Bufi, the Albanian Minister of Public Economy and
Privatization, will hold contacts in Ankara.
The Speaker of the Greek Parliament, Apostolos Kaklamanis, said
that there had always been the risk of a "flashpoint" between
Turkey and Greece; however, he added, in the aftermath of the
recent Ocalan issue this risk has been increased. In the
statement issued in the Greek "Ta Nea" newspaper, Kaklamanis said
that tension between the two countries had been greatly
increased, adding, "Following the Ocalan issue our position at an
international level has been undermined. The Kurdish issue
belongs to the whole of Europe, not only to Turkey. Turco-Greece
relations should be saved from "Kurdization". The armed Kurdish
strategy aims to draw Greece, or any other neighbouring country,
into war with Turkey. We created the Kardak islets crisis, S-300
missiles crisis and finally the Ocalan crisis with Turkey. I
should note that Greece has been guilty of these faults since the
Turko-Greek war in 1897."
Meanwhile, Government Spokesman Dimitri Reppas, said in a press
meeting yesterday that they had been shocked in the face of
claims by the secretary to the chief of the terrorist
organization, Dilan Kilic. Reppas added that the US was uneasy
concerning the Greece extension of political asylum to two female
PKK terrorists. /Aksam/
Turkey has started initiatives in the United Nations (UN) to
leave Greece standing alone in the world. Turkey's Permanent
Representative Office at the UN has informed other countries'
representatives at the UN concerning the events which happened
followingthe capture of Ocalan. Turkey's diplomatic
representatives explained to their foreign counterparts the real
face of Ocalan and Greek support for terrorist activities.
/Aksam/
Sweden has been roused by the words of the chief of the terrorist
organization, in which it appears is some important information
about the murder of the former Prime Minister, Olof Palme. It is
learned that Swedish prosecutors will apply to Turkey in order to
investigatethe accuracy of Ocalan's claims. Public Prosecutor Jan
Danielsson said that they would inquire of Turkish officials
whether or not Ocalan stated during his hearing that the order to
kill Palme had been given by his ex-wife, Kesire Ocalan.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that the Disabled Veterans'
Associations and the Isparta Warriors' Association will launch a
compensation case against Ocalan. Members of the Associations
said that it had been proven that Ocalan held accounts in foreign
banks, and they believed that families which had been damaged as
a result of the terrorist activities caused by Ocalan, should
benefit from the money. /Aksam/
Turkey is going to launch initiatives in order to determine the
identities of those PKK militants and National Intelligence
Service (MIT) agents killed and buried by the PKK leader Abdullah
Ocalan. It is stated that the Turkish government officials will
get into contact with the Lebanese government as soon as possible
for a search of the PKK camp in Bekaa Valley for this very
reason. It is reported that the PKK's main camp at Bekaa, which
has served as the headquarters of the organization since 1984, is
currently uninhabited and under the control of the Lebanese
government. /Cumhuriyet/
In line with its efforts to become a hegemonic power within Greek
politics, the terrorist PKK organization now implements a new
strategy based on the tragedy of those Kurds who flew from Iraq
to Greece. In this respect, the Greek government tried to
obstruct in vain the `Greek Solidarity with the Outraged Kurdish
People' concert, organized yesterday by the PKK in the middle of
Athens to this end. "The PKK does not represent the Kurdish
people" said Dimitris Reppas, the Greek government Speaker,
charging those Greek ultra nationalists who still support the PKK
with "treason". What is more interesting than that is Reppas's
statement that "the PKK is trying to knock Simitis down". /Sabah/
Necati Utkan, the former Foreign Ministry Spokesman, who has
replaced the Turkish Ambassador to Rome, Inal Batu, presented his
letter of credentials to the Italian President yesterday. The new
Turkish Ambassador to Rome, who was received by the Italian
President, Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, held a 20-minute meeting. During
the meeting, Scalfaro said that Turkey was a friendly country and
added that Turkish President Suleyman Demirel was a prominent
statesman. /Hurriyet/
The former Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos, has said
that Athens had no choice but to hand over the PKK leader
Abdullah Ocalan. In a statement to the Greek private Mega TV
channel, the Editor-in-Chief of the Elefterotipia newspaper,
Serasim Fidanidis, claimed that Pangalos had made this statement
during a Congress of the European Socialist and Social Democrat
Parties in Milan, Italy. Fidanidis noted that Pangalos' statement
was also announced by the Swedish News Agency to the world.
Fidanidis stated that if Pangalos confirms this statement, Athens
would created have more complications for itself. /Hurriyet/
Turkey's Ambassador to Washington, Baki Ilkin, held a press
conference yesterday and said that Greece should abandon its
support for the PKK terrorist organization in order to normalize
relations between Turkey and Greece. Ilkin added: "Turkey and
Greece have been two NATO allies for 45 years. They have already
promised to safeguard each other's territorial integrity. Even
though Greece has signed international agreements to cooperate in
the struggle against terrorism, Greece continues to support PKK
terrorists". Ilkin noted that Ocalan would definitely have a fair
and clear trial. Ilkin also thanked the US for its support in the
struggle against terrorism. /Turkiye/
In three separate sessions, the European Court of Human Rights
once again questioned the independence and neutrality of Turkey's
State Security Courts, (DGMs), the Anatolia news agency reports.
The Court listened to both parties in the three sessions held
after Kamil Tekin Surek, Gunay Arslan and Munier Ceylan filed
complaints against Turkey. The complaints stated that DGM trials
violated freedom of speech and thought as well as the right to a
fair and independent trial, in violation of Article No. 6.9.10 of
the Human Rights Agreement, which Turkey has signed.
A delegation from the Anti-Torture Committee of the Council of
Europe came to Turkey early last weekend to inspect the PKK
leader Abdullah Ocalan's trial process, the Anatolia news agency
reports. An 11-member delegation arrived in Turkey on Saturday,
Anatolia said, quoting Foreign Ministry sources. The delegation
is likely to travel to Imrali Island today or tomorrow.
Turkey continues its initiatives in the EU to condemn and make
the other countries condemn Greece for the support it gives to
the terrorist organization, the Anatolia news agency reports.
Nihat Akyol, the Permanent Representative of Turkey to the EU,
will meet Von Kyaw, the Permanent Representative of Germany,
which is the term-president of the EU at the moment, and will
convey the messages of Turkey.
The Western Thracian Turkish Union has said that Greece should
completely give up supporting terrorism and extend the rights of
Western Thracian Turks recognized by the Lausanne Treaty. The
Head of the Union, Aydin Gencer, said in a written statement that
Greece had overlooked many international agreements including the
organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and
the Paris Charter. Gencer added: "While the human rights of
Western Thracian Turks are violated in the middle of Europe,
Greec has no right to give human rights lectures to Turkey or
Western Thracian Turks". /Turkiye/
Ozgur Politika, a pro-PKK publication, in its recent issue
described Abdullah Ocalan as the leader of the terrorist
organization. Following many complaints bt its readers, the
newspaper apologized to the readers and said that it had been a
technical error.
Meanwhile, the Turkish Ambassador to Bonn, Tugay Ulucevik, has
remarked that following Ocalan's capture, the German press
pursued a misguided policy towards Turkey. Ulucevik held a press
conference on the recent developments in the Ocalan issue and his
trial in Turkey. Many members of the German press attended the
conference. Ulucevik said that the recent violent activities of
the PKK terrorist organization had displayed the real face of the
PKK which Turkey had known for years. /Hurriyet/
Three individuals, one of them a woman, trew a hand grenade into
a coffeehouse Sunday night in Istanbul's Esenler neighbourhood.
It is likely that the bomb was trown by terrorists of a left-wing
organization supportive of the PKK terrorist organization.
Seventeen people were wounded, three of them seriously. At around
the same time as the incident in Esenler, there were two other
illegal demonstrations in Istanbul's Kagithane and Nurtepe
neighbourhoods. /All papers/
It is reported that operations against the PKK terrorist
organization in the Amanos Mountains near Iskenderun have begun
in search of a terrorist group consisting of 20-25 PKK members.
Officials noted that they continue to call upon terrorists to
surrender themselves to the security forces. /Turkiye/
The temporary candidates lists for the April 18 elections have
been announced. The Supreme Electoral Board (YSK) published the
temporary candidates lists for both parliamentary and mayoral
elections in the National Gazette today. The names of the
participating parties and information about the 10,713 deputy
candidates, 167 of them independents, were printed in the
National Gazette. The lists of the mayoral candidates were
announced by the city and regional election councils. /All
papers/
Mesut Yilmaz, former Prime Minister and currently the leader of
the Motherland Party, made a remarkable statement yesterday
concerning the capture of Ocalan and the possibilities after the
April elections. With regard to the `Southeastern Question',
Yilmaz said, "To bring this question to the point of resolution
is quite an important success on the part of Turkey. Alongside
economic measures, the government should launch initiatives in
the realms of education, health and housing. Now it is time to
abolish the State Security Courts (DGMs) and the state of
emergency in the region. Moreover, the village guard system
should be revised. Steps should urgently be taken to improve
democracy and human rights."
Regarding his former coalition with the Democratic Left Party
(DSP) and possibilities in the aftermath of the April 18
elections, Yilmaz said, "Ideological differences are less
important today. Ecevit is the best political partner I have ever
worked with. An ANAP-DSP majority coalition after the elections
will underscore future achievements for Turkey." /Milliyet/
Former Prime Minister and former leader of the now-defunct
Welfare Party (RP) Necmettin Erbakan and former Justice Minister
Sevket Kazan yesterday opposed the Supreme Electoral Board (YSK)
ruling last Saturday that neither of the two is permitted to
enter the April 18 elections as independent candidates. Erbakan
and Kazan have presented an eight-page petition to the YSK
stating that it had made procedural errors with regard to their
case. The ruling means that there is no way Erbakan or Kazan can
run in the April 18 elections, as the verdict of the YSK is final
and cannot be appealed. /All papers/
Lawyers for the People's Democracy Party (HADEP) yesterday handed
the Constitutional Court a petition in which they presented their
objections to the demand for closure of the Party filed with the
Court by Vural Savas, the Chief Prosecutor of the Court of
Appeals. Yusuf Alatas, Nuri Ozmen and Cabbar Leygara presented
the six-page petition to the general secretary of the
Constitutional Court. /All papers/
While the S-300 missiles purchased from Russia are being deployed
in Armenia, Turkey is being surrounded by long-range missiles on
all sides. General Anatoli Kornukov, the Commander of the Russian
Air Forces, said that the deployment of S-300 missiles in Armenia
was aimed at protecting this country from the threat of both
Turkey and NATO. /Turkiye/
The Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze said that Ahiska Turks
who migrated from Southern Georgia in 1944 would be able to
return to their home in stages. During a press conference,
Shevardnadze evaluated his visit to Turkey and said that during
his meetings with the Turkish President, Suleyman Demirel, they
had discussed issues such as energy resources in the Caspian
Basin, the Kars-Ahilkelek-Tbilisi railway and natural gas
projects. Shervardnadze noted that Turkey is of great importance
to Georgia due to both the guidelines of cooperation with NATO
and economic relations. /Turkiye/
The expected spread of the financial crisis to other emerging
market economies following Brazil's declaration of a currency
devaluation has not materialized, according to the State Planning
organization (DPT). According to the DPT's Financial Markets
Evaluation, the effects of the devaluation in Brazil were
forestalled as a result of preventive measures taken by foreign
investors. According to the DPT, the Treasury hit its borrowing
targets in January, maturities in domestic borrowing were
extended and compund interest rates declined. /All papers/
The five bids put out to tender by the Treasury during February
proved that the gradual decline in average interest rates has
continued during the last month as well. The weighted average
rate of interest for these tenders has become 124.9%, due after
338 days, which represents a 20% slackening off compared to the
last two months of 1998. /Cumhuriyet/
The Barings Emerging Markets Strategy Group prepared a report
which claims that it is just the time to invest in the Istanbul
Stock Exhange, describing Turkey as the cheapest of all
developing countries in the firm's portfolio. According to the
assessment published in the International Herald Tribune, there
are three main reasons to expect a remarkable influx of capital
into Turkish financial markets in the second half of the year. In
the first place, it is foreseen that the Turkish economy will
reach high growth rates in the near future. Second, the report
stated that Prime Minister Ecevit's chance of being re-elected
has increased due to the capture of the terrorist PKK leader
Ocalan, which means the perpetuation of the current policies in
the post-election period. The third point according to Barings,
is that most shares on the Stock Exchange have remained quite
cheap in recent months. /Sabah/
Training courses are to be held during which Turkish bureaucrats
from the Ministry of Finance will discuss "Risk Analysis and the
Problems of Tax Control" to 28 foreign tax experts from eight
countries. The courses have been organized by the Ministry of
Finance, and academics from the US, Japan and Denmark will also
give their presentations. Tax experts from Alabania, Belarussia,
Macedonia, Georgia, Kazakistan, Moldova, Mongolia and Uzbekistan
will attend the courses, which will end on 12 March. /Aksam/
Istanbul Stock Exchange has returned to its former boyancy in
line with the positive atmosphere in the market. It is reported
that the daily transaction volume on the Share Bonds Markets was
$ 299 million in February. The total transaction volume on the
National Market in February was $ 5.9 billion. Meanwhile, in line
with the increase in the value of share bonds, the market value
of firms on the National Market increased to $ 44.5 billion.
/Aksam/
The Turkish Economy Bank (TEB) and Citibank will cooperate in the
capital market. According to the agreement, Citibank will be the
only distributer of the TEB Fund Group other than the TEB. The
TEB's written statement said that cooperation between the TEB and
Citibank, one of the leading banks in the world, would be a
positive step in the Turkish banking sector. It was reported that
the agreement was signed between officials from the banks
yesterday in Istanbul. /Aksam/
The Economic Development Foundation (IKV) announced yesterday
that three thousand Small- and Medium- Scale Enterprises (SEEs)
from 80 countries will gather between 10-11 May in Vienna.
According to the IKV statament Turkish firms would hold mutual
meetings with foreign investors during the conference. The
programme of the meetings will be set out by the IKV, it was
added. /Aksam/
Mahfi Egilmez, former Undersecretary of the Turkish Treasury and
the Chairman of the Executive Board of Toprakbank, resigned from
his office as of yesterday, due to "personal reasons", he
declared. /Sabah/
Metin Bostancıoglu, the Minister of National Education, declared
that they will be in pursuit of the 16th National Education
Council resolutions which have required the restructuring of
secondary education with particular emphasis upon vocational and
technical training, the establishment of `full-time, full-year'
based education regions and the implementation of `modular'
education in multi-course high schools. Bostancioglu also noted
that the 8-year Compulsary Education Reform has already been
adopted by the people and now they demand that compulsory
education be 12 years long. /Cumhuriyet/
Talks are underway in order to sign a Free Trade Agreement with
Morocco with the aim of harmonizing to the Joint Trade Policy,
within the guidelines of the Customs Union which Turkey signed
with the EU, the Anatolia news agency reports. Officials said
that both sides agreed in principle to the draft agreement during
the first round of talks held in Rabat on February 15-16.
The noted industrialist and businessman, Sakip Sabanci has been
given wide coverage in the German press. An article in the
'Frankfurter Allegemeine Zeitung' newspaper yesterday said that
Sabanci also promoted Turkey abroad. The article pointed out his
achievements during the last 10 years and added that Sabanci had
made investments abroad with his various partnerships. /Turkiye/
The Turkish Export Products Permanent Exhibition (EXPO '99) is
now opening its doors to Russian companies. Following the request
of the Russian Federation's Industry and Business Development
Ministries, 35 Russian companies will be permitted to exhibit
their products at EXPO '99. The exhibition, Russia's first in
Turkey, will be opened by Russian Business Development Deputy
Minister Vladimir Ivanovic Kozirev in Istanbul on March 3. /All
papers/
"Migration from Diyarbakir, due to years of terrorism, has
already ceased by virtue of public investments made in recent
years. From now on, Diyarbakir will experience a reversal", said
Nafiz Kayali, the Governor of Diyarbakir. Noting that a total
amount of 70 trillion TL has been invested in Diyarbakir over the
past 12 months, Nafiz pointed out that 25 trillion TL of these
public funds has been invested in education facilities, placing
Diyarbakir province in second place in terms of education
investments, second only Istanbul./Cumhuriyet/
A report prepared by the Southeastern Anatolian Indutrialists'
and Businessmen's Association (GUNSIAD) emphasized the advantages
of both the regional and nation-wide usage of alternative energy
sources. It is stated in the report that new and alternative
energy sources, including geothermal energy, windpower and solar
energy, will be able to solve the industrial energy problems of
the region due to their low cost, renewable region and
employment-producing impact. /Cumhuriyet/
Ahmet Tan, the Minister of Tourism, declared that they will
initiate railway excursions in order to advertise the
Southeastern Anatolian Project (GAP) to the people and to
foreigners. Noting that the project will help the development of
the region, Tan said that the railway excursions will be carried
out in cooperation with the Ministry of Transport. /Sabah/
A total of 11 kilos of unadulterated heroin and 15 kilos of
hashish have been seized during three separate operations carried
out by the Security Directorate in Van, the Anatolia news agency
reports. Thirteen people were taken into custody related to the
incident.
The Turkish Petroleum Board (TPAO) produced one and a half
million barrels of oil in the first two months of 199 in Adiyaman
which owns the biggest oil reserves of Turkey, the Anatolia news
agency reports.
The olive oil exports of Turkey increased by 300 % in quantity
and by 246 % in monetary value, the Anatolia news agency reports.
The figures of the Foreign Trade Undersecretary indicate that the
olive oil exports of Turkey which were 8,170 tonnes in the period
of 1997 and 1998 increased to 32,666 in the period of 1998 and
1999.
Under an agreement worth $632.5 million signed between Turkey and
Israel in 1996 for the modernization of Turkish F-4 fighters
which belong to the Turkish Air Forces, the first of the two F-4
aircraft sent to Israel in 1997 has been made ready for test
flights. Turkish pilots will test the fighters, modernized by the
Israeli Aviation Industry (IAI), in Tel Aviv viewed by Turkish
engineers and military experts. /Hurriyet/
Turkey will construct 17 new yatch marinas to increase the yatch
tourism, the Anatolia news agency reports. The Marina Investment
and Managers Association officials told the Anatolia news agency
correspondent that Turkey will have a yatch capacity of 4,330 as
long as the yatch marinas are constructed.
The 16th International Ankara Music Festival will be held between
April 28 and May 21. The Festival, which has hosted a total of
362 artists during the last 15 years, will hold 24 different
events this year. In addition to Turkey, many artists and groups
from France, Sweden, Belarus, Italy, Japan, Spain, Azerbaijan,
Britain, Israel, the US and Belgium will participate in the
Festival. /Hurriyet/
In order to benefit more from the sun-light, clocks will be put
forward one hour on 28 March at 01:00 A.M. `Summer Time' will
last seven months and 15 trillion TL is expected to be earned as
a result of this. /Aksam/
DEMIREL HIGHLIGHTS GLOBALIZATION AT D-8 SUMMIT
DEMIREL RULES OUT A 'JUDICIAL MISTAKE'
ECEVIT ANNOUNCES ECONOMIC REFORMS PACKAGE
ALBANIAN PRIME MINISTER DUE IN TURKEY
FEAR FEELING IN GREECE
POSITIVE ATMOSPHERE IN UN
SWEDEN SEEKS INFORMATION ABOUT PALME CONSPIRACY
TURKEY WILL "EXPLORE" THE BEKAA VALLEY
"PKK TRIES TO TUMBLE SIMITIS"
UTKAN PRESENTS A LETTER OF CREDENTIALS
A STATEMENT WHICH CONCERNS ATHENS
ILKIN: "GREECE SHOULD ABANDON ITS SUPPORT FOR THE PKK"
EUROPEAN RIGHT'S COURT QUESTIONS INDEPENDENCE OF DGMs
EUROPEAN DELEGATION IN TURKEY
TURKEY CONTINUES ITS INITIATIVES OF CONDEMNING GREECE
`ATHENS SHOULD APOLOGIZE'
TERRORIST OCALAN
BOMB EXPLOSIONS IN THE NIGHT
OPERATIONS AGAINST TERRORISTS
THROUGH THE ELECTIONS
YILMAZ: "ANAP-DSP COALITION IS LIKELY AFTER THE ELECTIONS"
ERBAKAN AND KAZAN OPPOSE YSK DECISION
HADEP LAWYERS SAYS CLOSURE DEMAND UNCONSTITUTIONAL
TURKEY SURROUNDED BY MISSILES
AHISKA TURKS TO RETURN TO THEIR HOMES
DPT REPORT
INTEREST RATES ARE EASING OFF
BARINGS: "IT IS TIME TO INVEST IN TURKEY"
TAX CONTROL COURSES FOR FOREIGN FINANCERS
VALUE OF FIRMS ON STOCK EXCHANGE IS $ 44 BILLION
CITIBANK TO COOPERATE WITH TEB
3000 SSE TO MEET IN VIENNA
EGILMEZ RESIGNS
"THE PEOPLE WANT 12-YEAR EDUCATION"
FREE TRADE AGREEMENT TALKS BETWEEN TURKEY AND MOROCCO
SABANCI PROMISES TO MAKE INVESTMENTS
RUSSIAN PRODUCTS TO BE EXHIBITED AT EXPO '99
MIGRATION FROM DIYARBAKIR CEASES
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY REPORT FROM SOUTHEASTERN BUSINESSMEN
OUR NEW TOURISM REGION: GAP
HEROIN AND HASHISH SEIZED
TPAO PRODUCES 1.5 MILLION BARRELS OF OIL
OLIVE OIL EXPORTS INCREASE
TURKISH F-4S ARE READY
TURKEY TO CONSTRUCT 17 NEW YACHT MARINAS
INTERNATIONAL ANKARA MUSIC FESTIVAL
NEW TIME SCHEDULE ON 28 MARCH