DEMIREL TO VISIT BULGARIA

President Suleyman Demirel will go to Bulgaria on a two-day visit as the official guest of his Bulgarian counterpart, Petar Stayanov. Minister of Foreign Affairs Ismail Cem, high-level officials and almost 30 businessmen will accompany Demirel during his visit. It was announced that an agreement concerning the restrictions on the usage of land mines will be signed by Foreign Affairs Ministers of the two countries, Ismail Cem and Nadejda Mihailova. The agreement will also comprise the removal of the existing land mines along the Turco-Bulgarian border. Meanwhile, Demirel will open Demirbank Bulgaria A.D., which belongs to Turkish businessman Halit Cingillioglu. Demirbank will be the second Turkish bank in Bulgaria, Ziraat Bank being the first. During the second day of his visit, Demirel will address the Turkish minority in Filibe. /Cumhuriyet/

NEVRUZ CELEBRATIONS

President Suleyman Demirel issued a message concerning Nevruz week and in the message noted that the Nevruz festival, which expresses the harmony of the people with nature, helped people come together and installed a peaceful and tolerant atmosphere, reports the Anatolian News Agency. Demirel said, "Nevruz has to be experienced with regard to this specific end and those who want to spoil this atmosphere should not be allowed to do so." In addition, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit remarked that Nevruz has been celebrated in Central Asia, Caucasia and the Middle East by many communities for thousands of years as the symbol of peace, tolerance and friendship. The Anatolian News Agency reported that Ecevit said, "We wish that the Nevruz festival will strengthen and keep alive the peace, love, unity and integrity present within Turkey. I celebrate the Nevruz festival in the belief that it will contribute to the consolidation of an athmosphere of love, solidarity, tolerance and peace as part of a pluralist society equipped with a rich cultural composition."

PARLIAMENT PLUNGES INTO CONFUSION OVER ELECTIONS

A move to cancel the April 18 Elections on Sunday plunged Parliament into confusion amid rowdy scenes. Parliament will convene today under the chairmanship of Acting Speaker Uluc Gurkan. It will first take a vote on the censure motion against the Ecevit minority government and then try to debate the motion concerning the cancellation of the Elections. /All papers/

"TURKEY IS THE BRIDGE OF STABILITY FOR THE WEST"

President Suleyman Demirel sent a letter to the "Special NATO" magazine to be issued upon the 50th anniversary of NATO. In his letter Demirel said that Turkey would continue to play a vital role in the solution of both regional and global crises in the future. Stressing that NATO was an important organization for global peace and stability, Demirel added that within the framework of their common values, it ought to be more effective in Europe, the Atlantic and Asia in the future. Demirel stated, "Turkey is a bridge in defending Western values in the Atlantic, Central Asia and the Altay Mountains. Following the re-organization of NATO, the 21st century will be more secure. During the Cold War era Turkey was the strategic partner of NATO and today it continues in its position which holds an increasing importance." /Turkiye/

TURKEY IS CAUTIOUS OVER KOSOVO

The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Information Department issued a written statement yesterday concerning Turkey's increasing anxiety about the posting of Serbian units in and around Kosovo after the failure of the peace negotiations in Paris. The statement said, "Turkish citizens who are planning to travel to Europe, or from Europe to Turkey, in addition to Turkish transport companies are advised not to use the troubled route." /Cumhuriyet/

GREEK CYPRIOT-PKK RELATIONS

Documents have proved that Greek-Cyprus has been giving both financial and military support to the PKK terrorist organization. The "Greek-Cypriot-Kurdish Cooperation Association", based in Southern Cyprus, has taken an active role in PKK attacks and met Abdullah Ocalan, the chief of the organization. The note book of Georgiades Theofilos, Chairman of the Greek-Cyprus-Kurdish Cooperation Association killed in 1994, clearly reveals the reality of the Greek-Cypriot support of the PKK. Also photographs of Ocalan and Theofilos were found in the note book. The notes made in the book prove that Theofilos had played an important role in the planning of PKK operations and had been in close contact with Ocalan.

S-300 MISSILES ON SALE

It is argued that the Greek-Cypriot Administration will not launch their S-300 missiles on Crete but store them until a suitable customer comes along. Greek-Cypriot Radio announced that the missiles will be stored in Kandiye in Northern Crete; Egypt, Syria and Iran are potential purchasers. /Aksam/

PANGALOS: "OCALAN WOULD HAVE RESULTED IN WAR"

Theodoros Pangalos, the former Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, said that Abdullah Ocalan, the chief of the terrorist PKK organization, had come to Greece in order to provoke war between Turkey and Greece. In an interview with the `To Vima' newspaper, Pangalos remarked that Ocalan had been warned many times, officially and through other channels, not to come to Greece following his departure from Italy. Noting that he had learned of Ocalan's real purpose after his arrival in Greece, and that he believes that he had done the best thing by removing him from the country, Pangalos said, "Otherwise Turkey would have declared war against Greece, as she had threatened to before." /Aksam/

`OCALAN' SLOGANS DURING PASOK CONGRESS

Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, who was elected President of his party, PASOK, once again as the only candidate standing, excluded some MPs from the Party administration who had close links with the terrorist PKK and had played a role in the conveyance of Abdullah Ocalan to Greece. However, `Freedom for Ocalan' slogans revealed that Simitis can hardly implement a radical mental change within PASOK. It is argued that the `Ocalan Question' has become the latest event to exacerbate the strains between conservative PASOK members and those liberals in favour of Simitis, who tends to pursue Eurosocialist policies against the `ultra-nationalist socialist' structure of PASOK. /Hurriyet/

GREEK-CYPRUS: "THE US IS FOR A FEDERATION ON CYPRUS"

Yannakis Kasulides, the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Greek-Cyprus Administration, claimed that the US was for a federal solution on Cyprus. Kasulides said yesterday that he was aware of the US attitude towards the Cyprus issue. Concerning claims by the Greek "Ependitis" weekly paper that the US had conducted studies of a new plan on the Cyprus issue, Kasulides said that during Millers' recent visits to Ankara, Lefkosa and Athens, the plan had been discussed. According to the newspaper, the US plan foresees two constitutions for the two federal wings and a federal state constitution. /Cumhuriyet/

SYRIAN DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER TO VISIT TURKEY

Salim Yassin, Syrian Deputy Prime Minister responsible for Economic Affairs, will come to Turkey on Monday, Anatolia News Agency reported. Foreign Trade Undersecretariat statement said Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Yassin will pay a visit to Ankara on 22-23 March as the official guest of Hikmet Ulugbay, Minister of State and Deputy Prime Minister. Interdelegation talks will take place during the visit which are headed by Ulugbay and the Syrian Minister. Measures to improve trade relations between the two countries, and issues to give function to institutional mechanisms formed within the framework of agreements signed in the previous years, will be taken up during the talks.

GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES FOR SOUTHEAST BEGIN

Within the economic recovery package earmarked for Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia, recently announced by Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, 8,200 new jobs will be created, said Turan Serdengecti, the General Director of the Treasury's Department of Project Incentives and Implementation. Serdengecti added that an "Incentive Advisory Unit" had been formed within the body of the General Directorate, eliminating intermediaries between the General Directorate and investors, thus preventing corruption. According to Serdengecti, 10 trillion TL will be transferred to the Fund to Encourage Investment from the 1999 budget. The new incentives programme will give priority to Southeastern and Eastern Anatolia and will prevent the misuse of loans. The initiative covers 26 provinces and has set a limit of 300 billion TL in investment and operational loans available to individual investors. /Aksam/

HALKBANK TO PROMOTE LOANS IN SOUTHEAST

A series of informative meetings will be held in April in order to promote Halkbank loans in Eastern and Southastern Anatolia, Halk Bank General Director Yenal Ansen said that loans had previously been presented to potential investors by Deputy Prime Minister Husamettin Ozkan. "Now it is time to promote these loans in Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia and contribute to the investment campaign in these regions. We have prepared our programme. We will promote our loans during information sessions due to start in April," he continued. /Sabah/

ANKARA STEPS UP EFFORTS FOR BAKU-CEYHAN

The government is accelerating its efforts to achieve concrete results on the Baku-Ceyhan project before the 18 April Elections. Minister of Energy Ziya Aktas said that the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) on Baku-Ceyhan will be signed on April 14, which, he said, is the most critical time to start the project. Aktas noted, "An oil agreement with Kazakhstan is being prepared to be signed in Ankara before the Elections. The agreement concerns the transportation of 20 billion cubic metres of natural gas and 40 million tons of oil from Kazakhistan via the Trans-Caspian energy corridor. Meanhile, Aktas drew attention to the fact that Turkey was satisfied with talks held the Azerbaijani International Operating Company (AIOC). He added joint meetings concerning the Baku-Ceyhan project had continued on March 18 between the Turkish side, comprising of representatives of the Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Undersecretariat of the Treasury, and the AIOC delegation. /All papers/

FLEXIBLE PRICING FOR TURKMAN GAS

Turkey is taking steps in order not to face a shock when it comes to pricing during the Turkman Natural Gas Project deliberations; this 16-billion-metrecube, and 2.5-billion-dollar entreprise is extremely important for Turkey's long-term energy projections. In this respect, Turkey demanded assurances from the Turkman Government that the price of the natural gas be determined through a `flexible formula', which will not be affected by fluctuations in oil prices in world markets. Remarking that there is a direct correlation between the prices of natural gas and petroleum , Ziya Aktas, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, said, "Oil prices have long been at rock-bottom. To price Turkman gas through already-known formulae would undermine the structural competitiveness of Turkey in this field." /Hurriyet/

OECD: "TURKEY'S COMMUNICATIONS SECTOR REVEALS HIGH GROWTH RATE"

Turkey, where hundreds of television channels and over 1,000 radio stations are currently broadcasting, achieved the highest rate of growth for the period 1995-1997 in the communications sector among OECD member countries. According to a report published by the OECD, the communications sector in 27-member countries obtained revenues totalling $ 145.3 billion in 1997. The report states that Turkey's communication sector registered rates that exceeded the OECD average in many areas. From 1995-97, proceeds from radio and television broadcasting in Turkey increased by 24 % per year, while the OECD average was 3.4 %. /Sabah/

TURKISH COMPANIES PREPARE FOR TURKISH EXPO'99 BAKU FAIR

Turkish businessmen are preparing to arrive in Azerbajian to aid new investment and expand business cooperation. Turkish industrialists and businessmen will gather together at the Turkish Expo'99 Baku Fair between May 5-9. The Forum Fair and Development Co. has organized the Turkish Expo Baku Fair for the last four years. So far, 60 companies have applied to be presented at the fair, including the Military Battery Industry, Anatolia Isuzu, Temsa Heavy Machinery, Temsa Automotive, Anatolia Motors and Demirdokum, the Anatolia news agency reported. The Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education will participate in the fair and will organize cultural and art activities.

ENERGY BRIDGE FOR TRNC

Following the Water Project for the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), research into the transfer of energy to the TRNC have been accelerated. Huseyin Arabul, Chairman of the Turkish National Committee of the World Energy Council, said that Turkey had decided to construct an energy bridge between Turkey and the TRNC. Arabul noted that they wanted Southern Cyprus benefit also from the project. He added that energy would be transferred from Turkey to the Island through cables which would be laid on the sea-bed. /Sabah/

ASIK VEYSEL, 'A POET OF THE REPUBLIC'

President Suleyman Demirel has named Asik Veysel a "Poet of the Republic" because "the Republic is opposed to differences in religious sects and racial discrimination. It supports developments. When you read Veysel's poems, you can see this," Demirel said. A commemorative ceremomy was held at the Presidential Palace on the 26th anniversary of Veysel's death. President Suleyman Demirel, Parliament Speaker Hikmet Cetin, Minister of Energy Ziya Aktas, Minister of Culture Istemihan Talay and Supreme Court Chief Prosecutor Vural Savas were among those attending the ceremony. Huseyin Ozer, the Chairman of the Asik Veysel Association, reffered to Veysel as a lover of Ataturk and spoke of his loyalty to the Republic. At the end of the ceremony President Demirel presented awards to those poets who had participated in a poetry competition held in honour of Asik Veysel. /All papers/

DRUG OPERATION IN BURSA

Bursa Narcotics Headquarters teams seized 39 kilos of heroin worth 3.5 trillion TL at market value by the end of operations carried out in the Karamustafapasa district of Bursa. Officials announced that three persons had been taken into custody concerning the issue. /Turkiye/

INITIATIVE FOR EDUCATION IN EUROPE

Turkish students have taken various steps to have their voice heard in Europe. They plan to represent Turkey as best as they can and to share information with their friends in foreign countries. In addition to cooperating with various universities in the areas of technology and employment, they have begun to speak out at international conferences. The European Student Forum (AEGEE) has requested the admission of Turkey into that most comprehensive of academic cooperation and student exchange programmes 'Socrates'. The European Parliament's Education, Culture, Youth and Media Committee has been blocking the admission of Turkey into the group by making a variety of excuses. Due to the efforts of the students, the block by the EU has been lifted. The students from AEGEE are now preparing for the final decision to be taken in spring. /Milliyet/

TURCO-GERMAN COOPERATION IN TEXTILES

The Turkish Bekanteks and the German Jozef Kanz Group have initiated a joint project to `improve textile manufacturing in Anatolia'. The German company's officials claimed that every means for training and technology should be implemented in order to ensure cooperation between Turkish and German firms. /Aksam/

TURKISH CANDIDATE IN FINLAND

A candidate of Turkish ethnic origin took part in the General Elections held yesterday in Finland. Mehmet Alakas ran as a candidate for the city of Jarvenpaa, 36 km. from the capital Helsinki, wished to be elected as the first Member of Parliament of Turkish origin, from the 'Kokonus' party. Alakas is the owner of a supermarket in Jarvenpaa. /Milliyet/

CHANGE OF FLAGS IN THE SEA

The boycott started by public organizations and institutions will come as a breath of fresh air to the Turkish Maritime Trade. The decision to ban cargo transport by Greek vessels mainly carrying crude oil, will increase the business volume of Turkish ships by 10%. However, as there are not enough number of tankers in the Turkish Maritime Fleet, tankers from other countries, such as Panama, Liberia and Malta, will be used. /Milliyet/

COSMETICA-TURKEY BECOMES AN INTERNATIONAL FAIR

Cosmetica '99, organized under the name of Estetik '98 last year, will be held between November 4-7, 1999 at the Izmir Fair Park. Irfan Erol, the General Director of IZFAS which organizes the Fair, remarked that 167 firms from 9 countries took part in the Fair last year and said, "We will achieve the status of an `international fair' through providing for a 35% foreign participation over the next three years." /Aksam/

FRUIT EXPORT TO RUSSIA

The exports of fruits and vegetables from the Trabzon Seaport to Russia continue, Anatolia News Agency reported. The exports of fruits and vegatablas to Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) which started six years aho showed a high-increase this year.

12TH INTERNATIONAL BOSPHORUS KARATE TOURNAMENT IN ISTANBUL

The 12th International Bosphorus Karate Tournament started on Saturday in Istanbul. Almost 250 karateists from Turkey, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Crotia, Sweden, Tisis, Yugoslavia, Romania and Kuwait are attendinf the two-day tournament at the Metin Okyas Sports Hall, Anatolia News Agency reported.

TARKAN MEETS WITH GIANTS

Some of Turkish pop star Tarkan's songs have been added to a compilation CD of the songs of many famous singers such as Celine Dion, Jennifer Paige, Robbie Williams and others. Tarkan who became a hit in Europe with his album 'Simarik' was able to secure himself a place among these world-famous singers. The CD is called "Hit Machine Volume 4". /Milliyet/

FROM THE COLUMNS ... FROM THE COLUMNS ... FROM THE COLUMNS

HONEYMOON WITHIN THE `BLOC' - BY YAVUZ DONAT (SABAH)

Yavuz Donat, a columnist in the `Sabah' daily, reflects on the recent political developments in Turkey and the disavowed pre-election cooperation between the Motherland Party (ANAP) and the Democratic Left Party (DSP). Donat writes: "There is a real `honeymoon' feel during the public meetings. Neither the DSP leader Bulent Ecevit criticizes ANAP leader Mesut Yilmaz, nor does Mr. Yilmaz condemn the DSP minority government for any reason. We have not seen such an attitude in politics before; it is as if the two parties are not separate but are one single robust bloc. We ask Yilmaz for his estimation of the distribution of votes in the Elections; he says, `First ANAP, second DSP, and then the Virtue Party (FP). What kind of coalition may occur after the elections? A two-fold one? A three-fold one? Will the `bloc' be able to form a coalition, or will there be an inadequate number of MPs for that? Yilmaz says, this will be due to the performance of the `fifth' and `sixth' parties, i.e. due to the performance of the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). `If these parties are able to fulfil the quota in order to enter Parliament, they will gain a total number of 100 or 120 MPs', says Yilmaz. If they fail, those 100 or 120 MPs will be shared between the largest four parties. That is why the bloc is closely examining the performance of the fifth and sixth parties. There is a censure motion voting in Parliament today. Will the `disgruntled MPs', supplemented by the FP, be able to overthrow the Ecevit government? According to Yilmaz, no; they will definitely not attain 250 votes, which is quite far away from the 275 votes needed to approve the censure motion. What have been the parties' assets and liabilities due to the `disgruntled movement' of the last three weeks? For Yilmaz, this process has resulted in a disadvantage on the part of the FP. In the first place, it has been revealed that the new party is the direct successor of the now-defunct Welfare Party (RP) and that the FP is still commanded by Necmettin Erbakan. Secondly, the FP has given the impression that it is trying to avoid the forthcoming elections. Before the election campaigns, notwithstanding its claims of being the leading party in Turkey, it has realized that this is not the case. Indeed, the FP was losing votes. Now this loss has been accelerated. Yet, who has taken advantage of this process? For Yilmaz, those parties who want the elections to be held. In other words, ANAP, DSP and DYP. We have observed both Ecevit and Yilmaz. Ecevit is quite relaxed, for the `Ecevit wind' blows the sails of the DSP ship. As for Mesut Yilmaz, he is also relaxed, mainly due to the `bloc', ie. due to his cooperation with Ecevit."

EUROPE-TERRORISM-TOURISM - BY GUNGOR URAS (MILLIYET)

In his column in 'Milliyet' Gungor Uras analyzes the reasons for the recent statements by European countries which proclaim Turkey to be unsafe due to terrorism. A summary of his column is as follows: "Tourism Minister Ahmet Tan asks--Did you notice? When Ocalan was captured the terrorism carried out by the PKK caused great turmoil in Europe. The European States did not know what to do. Then, somehow, the terror campaigns launched by the PKK in Europe abruptly stopped; Europe forgot all that had occurred as if nothing had happened. Soon after, a European States began to issue warnings to their citizens advising them not to go to Turkey,using as an excuse "terrorism". The governments of European countries began to compete with each other in warning their citizens not travel to Turkey under the assumption that bombs were likely to explode. This policy is aimed at undermining Turkish tourism and in turn Turkey, which the PKK has been unable to succeed in doing...As a result a question comes to mind: does the PKK have a secret agreement with the countries of Europe? Did the PKK leave the European countries alone on the condition that they would launch a campaign against Turkey?....Tourism Minister Ahmet Tan states that the warnings issued against Turkey by the European States may be a part of a policy by encouraging tourists to spend their vacation in another European Union country, such as Spain, Greece, France or Italy.... Tourism is important for us. Therefore, we ought to launch a campaign to counter these accusations."

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