Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
Dimitri Reppas, the Greek Government Spokesman, criticized the
terrorist PKK which had described Turkey as its "battlefield",
and claimed, "Terrorism cannot resolve any problems." Reppas
declared that the Greek Government "severely condemns the recent
terrorist events in Turkey, which have cost the lives of innocent
people." Greece also announced that it would not issue warnings
to dissuade Greek tourists from visiting Turkey. /Sabah/
The Socialist Group of the European Parliament (EP) denounced the
recent PKK bombings in Turkey, considering them "unacceptable".
Hannes Swoboda, the Foreign Relations Spokesman for the Socialist
Group, said, "We severely denounce the recent PKK attacks which
have caused the deaths of many innocent people. The PKK should
understand that such actions damage any possible solutions to the
Question." /Hurriyet/
Due to the recent revisions in export and import figures, there
has been revealed a $420 million increase in imports and a
subsequent $980 million increase in exports. Accordingly, whereas
the annual amount of exports in 1999 has been revised from $23.7
billion to $24.7 billion, the total amount of imports for the
same period has been revised from $41.6 billion to $42 billion.
Foreign trade officials noted that there may have been some
documents concerning December 1999 which had not yet been
evaluated, and therefore the announced foreign trade figures may
also be altered. /Hurriyet/
Following intensified efforts by the UN and EU to resolve the
Cyprus Question, it has been reported that the G-8 is preparing
to organize a summit between Rauf Denktas, the President of the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), and Glafkos Klerides,
the leader of the Greek-Cypriot Administration. It is announced
that as part of these measures, Alexander Avlov, the
Undersecretary of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will
pay a visit to the Island in order to meet both leaders, which
would mean the active participation of Russia in this issue.
Meanwhile, Ambassador David Madden, the British
Higher-Commissioner to Lefkosa, claimed that an increase in the
number of powers interested in the Cyprus Question would
facilitate a possible solution. /Hurriyet/
It has been revealed that the terrorist PKK organization obtained
most of its weapons during the Gulf War. It is reported that
Abdullah Ocalan, the Chief of the PKK, said in his affidavit, "We
collected and purchased those weapons left by those people exiled
from South to North." Ocalan also stated that the financial
resources of the PKK are mainly based on grants and advertising
in Europe. /Hurriyet/
The Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesman Sermet Atacanli said that
in order to achieve an improvement in Turco-Greek relations,
Greece should stop supporting terrorism. Replying to a question
concerning Greek efforts to establish a dialogue between Turkey
and Greece, Atacanli remarked that no official demand has arrived
regarding this issue, the Anatolia News Agency reports.
Dutch travel agencies stated that they were determined to send
tourists to Turkey. In a statement made by the ANVR, a high-level
institution consisting of tourism and travel agencies, it was
remarked that the PKK had made similar threats previously,
however there was no need to assume a negative stance insofar as
tourists' trips to Turkey were concerned. /Milliyet/
Public economic enterprises and private companies have decided
not to load cargo ontoGreek vessels. It is reported that steps
are being taken to minimize the Greek share of the oil transport
market. The Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges
(TOBB) stated that it has frozen its commercial relations with
Greek businessmen. The boycott is expected to cost an annual $1
billion loss only in the maritime sector of the Greek economy
alone. /Milliyet/
It is reported that surveillnce equipment, which will be used in
places at high risk from terrorist activity, is imported from
Britain. Turkey also imports such equipment from the US, Italy,
France, Japan, Holland, Malta and Germany. /Milliyet/
During conflicts between Turkish security forces and the PKK
terrorist organization in the Bahcelievler district, one of a
group of three PKK terrorists, which included a woman, was killed
yesterday while the other two terrorists managed to escape. One
poiceman was wounded during the conflict. The three terrorists
were attempting to place a bomb in a shop in Yenibosna,
Bahcelievler. The Head of the Istanbul Security Office, Hasan
Ozdemir, said that security has been stepped-up in Istanbul.
/Milliyet/
Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus, who will arrive in Ankara
today on an official visit, said that terrorism was a crime
against civilization. Adamkus remarked that Turkey was among the
first countries to recognize Lithuania following the
disintegration of the Soviet Union. Adamkus added, "The Turkish
Ambassador was the first foreign representative who arrived in
the capital, Vilnius. Therefore, my visit to Turkey will be a
wonderful opportunity to express the gratitude of myself and my
people to the Turkish nation". /Milliyet/
The Head of the Religious Affairs Department, Mehmet Nuri Yilmaz,
said that Nevruz, which will be celebrated on March 21, is an old
Turkish tradition. Yilmaz issued a written statement and remarked
that everybody should be aware of the separatist threat and
should not let the PKK catch them unawares. /Hurriyet/
The Virtue Party (FP) yesterday convened the Parliamentary
Advisory Council in a meeting to push forward the Repentance Law
drafts, the amendments to Article 312 of the Turkish Penal Code
and the Political Parties Law. Moreover, the FP also proposed
that the Council place on the parliamentary agenda discussions
concerning the censure motion, as well as increasing the working
hours of Parliament. These proposals were accepted by the Council
with a vote of 254 to 220. In line with parliamentary
regulations, a vote on the censure motion is now expected on
Sunday and a confidence vote on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP),
Deniz Baykal, has declared that his party will not support the
censure motion. "The CHP will not support the censure motion
against the Government. That's not because we believe that the
present government is the only option. We think that a government
crisis only one month before the elections will not be of any use
to anybody. It is not time for debates on the government," Baykal
said. He also stated that the CHP is against the postponement of
the Elections. /All papers/
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit stated that it will not be easy to
cancel the elections as a result of the actions initiated by the
disgruntled MPs and added, "The Elections will be held, because
there is no other way". Ecevit held a parliamentary group meeting
yesterday and stated that the measures which were aimed at
cancelling the elections just one month prior to the scheduled
date were irresponsible. "It is our democratic duty to employ all
the available provisions of the Constitution, valid laws and
parliamentary bye-laws to hinder these activities," Ecevit
maintained. /All papers/
Ankara has taken another step in urging European countries to ban
those media that support the PKK terrorist organization, mainly
MED TV. Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Frauk Logoglu
summoned German Ambassador Hans Joachim Vergau and the British
Embassy's Charge d'Affairs, Hugh Mortimer, to the Ministry on
Wednesday morning. Sermet Atacanli, a Ministry spokesman, told
reporters at the weekly press briefing that the diplomats were
summoned in order to urge their governments to take more steps to
ban organizations such as MED TV, the daily Ozgur Politika and
the DEM news agency.
The governments of Britian and Belgium have begun to discuss the
status of MED TV as Ankara has increased its steps to persuade
them to ban this channel from broadcasting. MED TV braodcasts
from its studios in Brussels, but its signals are transmitted
through a satellite belonging to a British telecommunications
company based in London. The Turkish Ambassador to Brussels,
Guner Oztek, went to the Belgian Foreign Ministry yesterday and
'seriously' warned the authorities there concerning MED-TV
broadcasts. Oztek told officials in Brussels that the Turkish
government was 'running out of patience' with the continuation of
MED TV's provocative broadcasts, which disseminate terrorist
propaganda. /All papers/
On the 84th anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli, the Chief of
the General Staff Gen.Huseyin Kivrikoglu said that the victory
attained by Turkish Forces during World War I is proof of what
the Turkish nation and its Armed Forces can achieve if its
independence is at risk. In a special message issued yesterday,
Gen.Kivrikoglu said that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) was still
the strongest guarantor of the country's security and its
democratic and secular principles. He also spoke about the
military's considerable success against terrorism. /All papers/
Koc Holding Executive Board Chairman Rahmi Koc has said that he
had gained the impression that Greek shipping magnates outside of
Greece itself may have been financing Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK
leader. Koc was answering questions posed by journalists in
Samarkand, where he had travelled to open the Sam Koc Auto
automotive factory. Koc also emphasized that he thought that one
part of the Greek government did not know that another part of
the government was covertly involved in the dealings with Ocalan.
Koc's plan for Southeastern Anatolia was to become involved in
animal husbandry, even though the cost would be some 15 times
more expensive than in the West. Other investments were being
planned for the Central Asian Turkish-Speaking Republics and
included an Arcelik factory in Uzbekistan, a Ramstore department
store in Kazakhstan and another Ramstore department in Moscow.
/All papers/
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has said that Turkey's
implementation of a quota on textile and ready-to-wear imports as
part of the requirements for its Customs Union with the European
Union (EU) is a violation of free trade principles, the Anatolia
News Agency reports. Turkish officials have said that Turkey will
opt to initiate an appeal, a process that is expected to take 18
months to reach a conclusion.
The World Bank's Turkey Director Ajay Chhibber said that if the
General Elections are held on time and the new government starts
taking much-neede structural reforms, international institutions
will more readily support Turkey. Chhibber told the Anatolia News
Agency of his ideas on the Turkish economy and relations between
Turkey and the World Bank. He said that holding elections as
scheduled will allow the timely implementation of structural
reforms and will reduce political instability.
Discussions related to the leader of the new-defunct Welfare
Party (RP), Necmettin Erbakan, and other politicians who have
been banned from politics have crept onto the agenda as a result
of attempts to amend Article 312 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK)
and Article 95 of the Political Parties Law (SPY). Erbakan was
banned from becoming a leader, member, administrator or auditor
of any political party for a period of five years after the
Constitutional Court ruled that the RP had been closed as a
result of his statements. /All papers/
The late folk poet, Asik Veysel Satiroglu, is being commemorated
with ceremonies held in the Sarkisla district of Sivas during
March 17-21, the Anatolia News Agency reports. The commemoration
of the renowned poet coincides with Poets' Week.
Turkish leather industrialists are looking for new markets. They
are aiming at the European Union (EU) market as well as at
markets in China, the US, Canada and Japan. To this end, a
promotional campaign has already started in these
countries.Turkish leather industrialists established the Leather
Industrialists' Foreign Trade Joint Venture in order to increase
the volume of their exports. The Chairman of the Turkish Leather
Industrialists' Association, Turgut Kosar, said that the recent
economic crisis in Russia had had negative results on the leather
industry in Turkey and that they ought to direct themselves
towards new markets in order to overcome the crisis. /Aksam/
NATO General Secretary, Javier Solana will come to Ankara today
to hold meetings on the Cyprus issue. It is expected that Solana
will meet the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Cem, the
Minister of National Defence, Hikmet Sami Turk and the Speaker of
the Parliament, Hikmet Cetin today. Solana will also be received
by President Suleyman Demirel. /Aksam/Turkiye/
The chief of the terrorist organization, Abdullah Ocalan said in
his 36-page testimony that Europe is the only one responsible for
the bloodshed. Ocalan claimed that Europe had used him for its
purposes. "Now, Europe does not want me. While using me against
Turkey, Europe aims to prevent Turkey's development. I severely
condemn Europe, which always talks about human rights but applies
double standards on human rights issues," Ocalan said.
Concerning PKK-Greece relations Ocalan said that they had had
relations with Greece since 1988. He added, "In 1994, PKK camps
were opened in Greece. Greece wants to use us against Turkey."
About MED-TV, Ocalan said that they had obtained the licence from
the independent British ITC firm in 1993 and organized a
satellite from France. /Aksam/
The Minister of Culture, Istemihan Talay, and the Chairman of the
Religious Affairs Department, Mehmet Nuri Yilmaz, will go to the
US on 1 April to bring back some historical works of art which
had been smuggled from Turkey. Talay will receive 1661 coins
which were smuggled 15 years ago from Elmali township in the
Antalya district. Meanwhile, Nuri Yilmaz will receive a wooden
bannister smuggled from Divrigi Ulu Mosque. It is reported that
the Head of the Anatolian Civilizations Museum, Ilhan Temizsoy,
and an expert on coins, Tevfik Goktas, will go to New York before
the Minister of Culture arrives in order to examine the coins.
/Turkiye/
The Chairman of the European Affairs SEction of the Hong Kong
Trade Development Council, Owen Chi, said that the recent
economic crisis in Asia was an opportunity for Turkish investors.
Chi noted that Turkey would benefit from Hong Kong as an open
door to trade in China. The Foreign Economic Relations Council
(DEIK) organized a seminar, entitled "Hong Kong: Business
Opportunities in 2000" in Istanbul. Chi said in his speech at the
seminar that the Turco-Hong Kong trade volume had been $ 615
million last year. He asked more Turkish firms to attend the
Trade Fairs to be held in Hong Kong in order to increase Turkey's
exports to this country. /Turkiye/
The President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC),
Rauf Denktas, gave a speech concerning Cyprus yesterday to staff
officers at the Headquarters of the Officers' Training Academy in
Ankara. In his speech Denktas stressed that the Cyprus issue was
not an international one but was a Turco-Greek issue. He noted,
"Turkey has never taken a backward step concerning Cyprus and
always upholds the existence of the Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus on the Island and that it will always be there." Denktas
asked the West not to force him to negotiate the problems with
Greek-Cyprus, which had supported the PKK terrorist organization.
Denktas said that unless the Greek-Cypriot administration cut its
support to the PKK, there would be nothing to discuss with them.
/Turkiye/
Turkish leather industrialists look for new markets. They aimed
themselves the European Union (EU) market as well as China, the
US, Canada and Japan markets. And that a promotion campaign has
already started in these countries.Turkish leather industrialists
established the Leather Industrialists' Foreign Trade Joinventure
in order to increase their exports volume. Chairman of the
Turkish Leather Industrialists' Association, Turgut Kosar said
that the recent economic crisis in Russia had had negative
results in leather industry in Turkey and that they ought to
direct themselves towards new markets to overcome the crisis.
/Aksam/
NATO General Secretary, Javier Solana will come to Ankara today
to held contacts on Cyprus issue. It is expected that Solana will
meet today Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Cem, Minister of
National Defence, Hikmet Sami Turk and Speaker of the Parliament,
Hikmet Cetin. Solana will also be received by President Suleyman
Demirel. /Aksam/Turkiye/
The chief of the terrorist organization, Abdullah Ocalan said in
his 36-page testimony that Europe is the only responsible of the
blood-shed. Ocalan claimed that Europe had used him for its
purposes. "Now, Europe does not want me. While using me against
Turkey, Europe aims to prevent Turkey's development. I severly
condemn Europe, which always talks about human rights but applies
double standards in human rights issue," Ocalan said.
Concerning PKK-Greece relations Ocalan said that they had had
relations with Greece since 1988. He added, "In 1994, PKK camps
were opened in Greece. Greece wants to use us against Turkey."
About MED-TV, Ocalan said that they got the licence form the
independent British ITC firm in 1993 and ensured a satellite from
France. /Aksam/
Minister of Culture, Istemihan Talay, and Chairman of the
Religious Affairs, Mehmet Nuri Yilmaz will go to the US on 1
April to bring back historical works of arts smuggled from
Turkey. Talay will receive 1661 coins which were smuggled 15
years ago from Elmali township of Antalya. Meanwhile, Nuri Yilmaz
will receive wooden banister smuggled from Divrigi Ulu Mosque. It
is reported that Head of the Anatolian Civilizations Museum,
Ilhan Temizsoy and the experts on coisn, Tevfik Goktas, will go
to New York before the Minister of Culture to examine the coins.
/Turkiye/
Chairman of the European Affairs of the Hong Kong Trade
Development Council, Owen Chi, said that the recent economic
crisis in Asia was an opportunity for Turkish investors. Chi
noted that Turkey would benefit from Hong Kong as a trade door
opened to China. Foreign Economic Relations Council (DEIK)
organized a seminar, titled "Hong Kong: Business Opportunities in
2000" in Istanbul. Chi said in his speech at the seminar that the
Turco-Hong Kong trade volume was $ 615 million last year. He
asked more Turkish firms to attend the trade fairs to be held in
Hong Kong in order to increase Turkey's exports to his country.
/Turkiye/
President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Rauf
Denktas gave a speech on Cyprus issue, yesterday, to staff
officers at the Office of the War Academy Commandership in
Ankara. In his speech Denktas stressed that Cypruss issue was not
an international but Turco-Greek issue. He noted, "Turkey has
never got backward step in Cypruss issue and always defends there
is the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on island and it will
always be there." Denktas asked the West not to force him to
negotiate the problems with Greek-Cyprus, which had supported the
PKK terrorist organization. Denktas said that unless
Greek-Cypriot administration cut its support to PKK, there would
be nothing to discuss with them. /Turkiye/
During the Presidential Committee Summit of the International
Chess Federation (FIDE) held in Ankara, a number of decisions
concerning the future of chess were made. Accordingly, the Chess
Olympics 2000 will be organized in Istanbul during October
27-November 13, 2000. Meanwhile, it is reported that Georgias
Makropoulos, the Greek representative, also supported this
decision. /Cumhuriyet/
Columnist Sami Kohen looks into the crisis in the EU in his
column in Milliyet. A summary of his column is as follows:
"..The collective resignation of the EU Commission, the executive
organ of the EU, is a development which primarily concerns the 15
members of the EU... Many of the members are accused of
corruption and not fulfilling their responsibilities. In the
face of the report prepared by "Wise Men", there was only one
course of action and that was the resignation of the EU
Commission chaired by Jacques Santer. Even so, the prestige of
the Commission has been damaged...At the moment, Europe is
occupied with this affair... Certainly, the state of affairs in
Europe will affect those countries outside the EU. As yet,
candidate nations such as the Greek Cypriot Administration,
Poland and Hungary are concerned about whether this crisis would
have a negative effect their onmembership process...As Turkey is
not officially a candidate, it does not have such problems...The
only aspect of the crisis which may be of any interest to Turkey
is whether the "Turkey Strategy" programme prepared by the
Commission and the financial aid projects which are part of this
will be affected. The representative to Turkey from the EU
Commission, Karen Fogg, states that the Comission would carry on
its duties until new commissioners are appointed. Therefore the
'strategy' implementation and financial aid programmes would go
on as planned...So long as the Commission carries out its duties
in the interim, it will not have any time to be concerned with
Turkey. At the moment, the relations with the EU do not hold
first place among Turkey's priorities."
Columnist Hasan Cemal wrote a sequel to his column published
yesterday. In his column he quotes a letter sent to him from
Holland and expresses his own views on the matter. A summary of
his column on the subject is as follows:
"...Yesterday, I wrote that the press organs of the PKK terror
organization, MED-TV and "Ozgur Politika" newspaper, were
continuing their activities in Europe calling for violence in
Turkey while the European countries stood by watching these
activities, the explosion of bombs, and the loss of life
occurring in Turkey. I also pointed out that those who were
carrying on such activities which violate democratic values and
the freedom of the press should not be allowed to continue do so,
adding that so long as the European States continued to turn a
blind eye to those who adopted violence and terror as their
policy, they would not be convincing when defending the rule of
law and democracy... A letter from Holland pointed out that both
hypocrisy and double standards have reached ultimate heights;
those who did not support the PKK were oppressed. The writers of
the influential newspaper NRC Handelsblad and academics such as
Zurcher and Van Bruinessen were waging a campaign to highlight
Turkey as the 'evil empire'. They were trying to spark a conflict
between the Turks and Kurds in Holland. Only Kurds and
fundamentalists were seen as the true representatives of
Turkey...Remaining silent in the face of the atrocities committed
by the Serbs, it as though like the European intelligentsia has
found itself a new cause ... Europe is being unfair to Turkey
because it violates some values which make Europe what it is
today. This stand of Europe and Turkey's shortcomings in so far
as democracy and human rights are concerned should not be
confused; they are two different issues. As Turkey needs to rid
itself of these shortcomings, Europe has its own homework to do
in a different respect. If we do not criticize Europe in these
respects, we will be responsible for Turkey's distancing itself
from Europe.
Columnist Hasan Cemal wrote a sequel to his column published
yesterday. In his column he quotes a letter sent to him from
Holland and expresses his own views on the matter. A summary of
his column on the subject is as follows:
"...Yesterday, I wrote that the press organs of the PKK terror
organization, MED-TV and "Ozgur Politika" newspaper, were
continuing their activities in Europe calling for violence in
Turkey while the European countries stood by watching these
activities, the explosion of bombs, and the loss of life
occurring in Turkey. I also pointed out that those who were
carrying on such activities which violate democratic values and
the freedom of the press should not be allowed to continue do so,
adding that so long as the European States continued to turn a
blind eye to those who adopted violence and terror as their
policy, they would not be convincing when defending the rule of
law and democracy... A letter from Holland pointed out that both
hypocrisy and double standards have reached ultimate heights;
those who did not support the PKK were oppressed. The writers of
the influential newspaper NRC Handelsblad and academics such as
Zurcher and Van Bruinessen were waging a campaign to highlight
Turkey as the 'evil empire'. They were trying to spark a conflict
between the Turks and Kurds in Holland. Only Kurds and
fundamentalists were seen as the true representatives of
Turkey...Remaining silent in the face of the atrocities committed
by the Serbs, it as though like the European intelligentsia has
found itself a new cause ... Europe is being unfair to Turkey
because it violates some values which make Europe what it is
today. This stand of Europe and Turkey's shortcomings in so far
as democracy and human rights are concerned should not be
confused; they are two different issues. As Turkey needs to rid
itself of these shortcomings, Europe has its own homework to do
in a different respect. If we do not criticize Europe in these
respects, we will be responsible for Turkey's distancing itself
from Europe.
FROM THE COLUMNS....FROM THE COLUMNS....FROM THE COLUMNS
GREECE DENOUNCES TERRORISM
EUROPEAN SOCIALISTS CONDEMN PKK TERRORISM
EXPORTS INCREASE BY $980 MILLION
G-8 INTERVENES IN CYPRUS
PKK BENEFITED FROM THE GULF WAR
TURCO-GREEK RELATIONS
HOLLAND: "WE WILL SEND TOURISTS TO TURKEY"
OFFICIAL BOYCOTT ON GREECE
BRITISH SERVEILLANCE EQUIPMENT TO PROTECT TURKEY
THREE TERRORISTS KILLED
ADAMKUS: "TERRORISM IS A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY"
DIRECTOR OF RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS: "NEVRUZ IS AN OLD TURKISH
TRADITION"
HIGH TENSION
ECEVIT: "ELECTIONS ON TIME, NO OTHER WAY"
TURKEY STEPS UP EFFORTS TO PERSUADE EUROPEANS OVER MED TV
KIVRIKOGLU PRAISES TURKISH FORCES
KOC: GREEK SHIPPING MAGNATES MAY HAVE FINANCED OCALAN
WTO CENSURES TURKEY'S CUSTOMS UNION TEXTILE QUOTA
CHHIBBER WANTS STRUCTURAL REFORM FOR POST-ELECTION LENDING
DISCUSSIONS CONTINUE ON ARTICLE 312
ASIK VEYSEL COMMEMORATED
TURKISH LEATHER INDUSTRY SEEKS NEW MARKETS
SOLANA TO ANKARA TODAY
OCALAN: "EUROPE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR BLOODSHED"
TALAY AND YILMAZ TO THE US
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN HONG KONG
DENKTAS: "CYPRUS IS A TURCO-GREEK ISSUE"
TURKISH LEATHER INDUSTRY SEEKS NEW MARKETS
SOLANA TO ANKARA TODAY
OCALAN: "EUROPE IS RESPONSIBLE OF BLOOD-SHED"
TALAY AND YILMAZ TO THE US
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY IN HING KONG
DENKTAS: "CYPRUS IS A TURCO-GREEK ISSUE"
TURCO-GREEK FRIENDSHIP IN CHESS
FROM THE COLUMNS....FROM THE COLUMNS....FROM THE COLUMNS
THE EFFECTS OF THE EU CRISIS - BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
THOSE WHO DO NOT SUPPORT THE PKK ARE OPPRESSED - BY HASAN
CEMAL (MILLIYET)
THOSE WHO DO NOT SUPPORT THE PKK ARE OPPRESSED BY HASAN
CEMAL(MILLIYET)