ANKARA: "NATO PROTECTING ITS PRESTIGE"

Turkey which supports NATO in its offensive in Kosovo hopes that the the operation will achieve its purpose of deterring further atrocities. President Suleyman Demirel stated that Kosovo interested not only Turkey but the whole world. He added, " There are 19 NATO States. Today the only military power in the world is NATO and it is a collective power. NATO is, in fact, a defensive organization and the reason for its intervention in Kosovo is to defend the people who have been subjected to massacres. Before starting the strikes all means of diplomacy were exhausted. It would have damaged the prestige and character of NATO as a deterrent force to remain inactive in view of the massacres committed. In Kosovo innocent women, children and people have been murdered. It is a continuation of the incidents in Bosnia. We are in NATO and we support NATO's decision." Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit expressed his wish that the NATO offensive would achieve a positive result as soon as possible and the operation would cause the least harm possible to civilians. He added that Turkish planes were performing defensive duties. A day after the start of NATO air-strikes against the Serbs to end the crisis in the Yugoslavian province of Kosovo, Turkey remained determined to support the offensive but hoped that the conflict would end with as few civilian casualties as possible. Faced with the escalating crisis in Kosovo due to the ongoing NATO air-strikes against belligerent Serb targets, Turkey, a NATO member which is actively taking part in the operations, says that it is monitoring the developments very closely. Ankara also underlines that it will try to protect the rights of the ethnic Turkish minority living in the province dominated by ethnic Albanians. /Cumhuriyet/Milliyet/

DEMIREL: "KOSOVO IS AN EXTENSION OF BOSNIA"

President Suleyman Demirel said, "What is happening in Kosovo is a massacre of women and children. It is an extension of the Bosnia case." Reiterating that Turkey is a NATO member country, President Demirel stated, "We are giving our support to this decision by NATO." In answer to a question concerning the possibility of a harsh reaction from Russia, Demirel said, "The civilized states of Europe witnessed how innocent civilians, mostly women and children, were murdered in Bosnia. Nobody can stand for the perpetuation of this situation. There is no logic in that. In Kosovo also, innocent women and children are being massacred. It is an explicit extension of the Bosnian case." Meanwhile, US President Bill Clinton issued his thanks to President Demirel for his support for NATO's offensive against Yugoslavia. In a written message sent to Demirel yesterday, Clinton explained the reasons for the air-strikes and emphasized that the situation bore the hallmarks of rapidly spreading to other countries in the region. Clinton also stressed in his message that he strongly believes Turkey's support for the operation will continue. /Hurriyet/

CEM TALKS TO ALBRIGHT AND PAPANDREU

Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Cem, said that he had talked to both his American and Greek counterparts, Madeleine Albright and Yorgo Papandreu, to discuss the offensive. Cem noted that Turkey hoped that clashes would end very soon and peace would settle in the region. On the other hand, Cem received the Yugoslavian Charge d'Affairs to Ankara, Slavko Kruljevic, and the Russian Ambassador to Ankara, Aleksander Lebedev at the Ministry. Cem explained Turkey's position and ideas concerning the military strikes to the Yugoslavian and Russian officials. /Milliyet/

KOSOVAR REFUGEE TIDE TO TURKEY IS GROWING

The influx of Kosovars fleeing the fighting in Yugoslavia to Turkey is increasing with Turkish authorities doing their best to facilitate their entrance and accommodation in the country. More than 2,000 Kosovar Albanians, Turks and Bosnians have arrived in Turkey via Bulgaria over the last four days, and the number is rapidly growing. The Governor of the border province, Mehmet Canseven, said that refugee compounds able to host 3,000 people were ready for the refugees. He added that guest-houses and schools would also be available to shelter the Kosovars. He stressed that all measures were being to ensure the safety of the refugess. Medical personnel and equipment were ready to assist them at the border gate, he added. /Turkiye/

CLINTON: "TURKEY IS VERY IMPORTANT"

The US President Bill Clinton gave an address to the nation on television explaining the geographic importance of Kosovo. He also stressed that the incidents could spread to Turkey and Greece. Clinton noted that the US could not bear to lose Turkey which is known as a bridge with the Islamic world by Western countries. /Sabah/

KOSOVO OPERATION ON NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL AGENDA

The National Security Council (MGK) will hold its regular monthly meeting in which it will discuss the NATO operation against Yugoslavia. It was stated that the military wing of the MGK may also place the recent developments concerning security during the Elections and reactionary activities on to the table. The meeting will start at the Presidential Palace in Cankaya at 3 p.m. and will be chaired by President Suleyman Demirel. The main issues to be discussed during the meeting are NATO's military operation against Yugoslavia, its implications for both political and military balances throughout the world, but mainly for Turkey and the Balkans. The measures taken against terrorism seen in the Turkish cities following the capture of Ocalan, and Greek support for terrorism will also be reviewed./Cumhuriyet/

ECEVIT: "NO KURDISH QUESTION BUT PKK PROBLEM"

In an interview with the German weekly `Die Zeit', Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit stated that the `Kurdish question' does not exist in Turkey but there is `PKK terrorism', reported the Anatolian News Agency. The Prime Minister claimed that Turkish citizens of Kurdish origin currently talk in their own language, publish books and journals and even make radio broadcasts in Kurdish, and that there is already a vast number of MPs of Kurdish origin. Ecevit also said, "The terrorist activities of the PKK, which aims to divide Turkey, is supported by foreign powers to a great extent."

SIMITIS, "THERE WILL BE NO CRISIS BETWEEN TURKEY AND GREECE"

Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, who is attending the European Union (EU) Summit in Berlin Germany, said yesterday that the Kosovo crisis would not cause a crisis between Turkey and Greece. Simitis added that they would not give any military support to the NATO operation against Yugoslavia. He noted that it was Turkey's choice to give air support to the operation but, he stressed, the Kosovo crisis would be no reason to create tension between Turkey and Greece. /Aksam/

CAKIR, "TERRORIST ACTIVITIES ARE NOT ALLOWED IN ISTANBUL"

Istanbul Province Governor Erol Cakir, evaluating events in Istanbul in recent days, has stated that security forces have been working successfully and terrorism is nearing its end. At a press conference yesterday in Istanbul, Cakir discussed the topic of security for the approaching Muslim Religious Holiday and the Elections. He said the perpetrators of the recent terrorist incidents were being captured one by one. Cakir continued, "We have created a special security unit which will control entrances and exits in public places." /Aksam/

PARLIAMENT DECIDES TO GO INTO RECESS

Maverick moves that began on March 13 when 'disgruntled' deputies convened Parliament in an extraordinary session with the aim to cancel the April 18 Parliamentary Elections. Parliament went into recess on Thursday following a motion from a group backed by the Motherland Party (ANAP), True Path Party (DYP) and Democratic Left Party (DSP). The recess decision was passed despite opposition from the Virtue Party (RP) because most of the FP MPs who were supporting the proposal to cancel the Elections were not present at the voting. /All papers/

LEADING TURKISH ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALIST KAPLAN ARRESTED

Leading Turkish Islamic fundamentalist Cemalettin Kaplan's son Metin Kaplan has been apprehended following an arrest warrant issued by the Office of the Federal Prosecutor in Karlsruhe, Germany: he is charged with forming a terrorist organization and ordering the murder of his rival. Following Kaplan's arrest in Cologne, police are now searching his house as well as premises belonging to the so-called "Khalif State". Prosecutors say Muhammed Metin Kaplan formed a terrorist cell within Cologne-based group Hilafet Devleti (Islamic State), to wipe out critics and defectors and to incite members to carry out attacks in Turkey. /All papers/

LIFE IMPRISONMENT FOR MEMBERS OF HIZBULLAH

At the "Hizbullah organization" trial in Diyarbakir State Security Court, three members of the organization were sentenced to death, and another to 12.5 years of imprisonment. The Court decided to commute the death sentences of three members to life imprisonment and to reduce the sentence of the other./Cumhuriyet/

VOTING AT POINTS OF ENTRY KICKS OFF

Turkish residents living abroad have started to cast their votes at ballot boxes located at specified points of entry. The border gates both on highways and at airports, where Turkish residents can vote are: Sarp border gate in the Black Sea town of Hopa; the Cilvegözü border gate in the southern regional district of Reyhanli; the Kapikule border gate in the Thracian regional town of Edirne; Habur border gate in the Southeast; Antalya Airport; Adnan Menderes Airport in Izmir; Ankara's Esenboga Airport; Ataturk Airport in Istanbul and Adana's Sakirpasa Airport. According to the officials, there are presently 3,445,402 Turkish residents living in 33 different foreign countries, and 2,360,000 of them are eligible to vote. /Milliyet/

PKK MILITANT KILLED

Sehmuz Karakoyun, who was accused of preparing bombs for terrorist action and of being the PKK militant responsible for a region was killed, when he engaged in an armed confrontation with the police. /Cumhuriyet/

ULUGBAY: "INFLATION TO FALL TO UNDER 48 %"

Interest rates will continue to fall in the coming months because political instability has come to an end, said Deputy Prime Minister and State Minister for Economic Affairs Hikmet Ulugbay. Giving a speech at the Ankara Industrial Chamber (ASO), Ulugbay said that the rate of inflation would drop below 48 percent in the upcoming period. Banking, social security, capital market and educational reforms should be enacted, not because others want it but because Turkey needs these reforms, he said. Ulugbay stressed the importance of political and economic stability which are significant in the domestic market as well as in obtaining foreign loans. ASO Chairman Zafer Caglayan also addressed the meeting saying that Turkey could not restrict itself and its future to national politics alone in a world of increasing globalization. /Sabah/

TURKEY PAYS OFF $ 595 MILLION FOREIGN DEBT IN MARCH

Turkey has paid off $ 595 million worth of her foreign debt in the first 24 days of March. According to data from the Central Bank, $ 12.77 million of this amount was paid to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Treasury accounted for $ 439 million of the payments while another $ 19.18 million was paid by the Central Bank. The remainder was paid by other state institutions. /Milliyet/

FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES UP TO $21.6 BILLION

It is reported that the foreign exchange reserves of the Central Bank have reached $21.6 billion. Accordingly, from March 12 onwards, the foreign exchange reserves of the Central Bank increased by $694 million, whereas Turkey's total international reserves mounted to $32.3 billion, reports the Anatolian News Agency.

WORLD BANK: "TURKISH PRIVATE SECTOR DISPLAYS AN INCREDIBLE DEVELOPMENT"

Marcello Selowsky, a top-level World Bank economist responsible for Europe and Central Asia, pointed out that in spite of the weakness of the public sector and high rates of inflation in Turkey, the Turkish private sector has displayed an incredible development. Speaking at a conference organized by the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD) in Washington, Selowsky also said, "The private sector's dynamism in Turkey is legendary." Meanwhile, a number of representatives from the US State Department, the US Ministry of Energy and a number of American institutions attended the conference, during which a report entitled "Turkey's Opportunities: Demographic Transformation and its Consequences" was promoted. In this respect, Erkut Yucaoglu, the Chairman of TUSIAD, remarked that they are closely following the problems of Turkey and they are in perpetual contact with various Turkish political parties." /Hurriyet/

DINCMEN: "PUMP PRIMING REGULATIONS WILL CHANGE"

Yener Dincmen, the Turkish Treasury Undersecretary, declared that the required changes in pump priming regulations will be urgently decided on and enacted. During a three-day Treasury-TOBB (Turkish Union of Chambers and Stock Exchanges) joint conference on pump priming policies, government officials, private sector representatives and representatives from various civil society organizations have come together in order to discuss the multi-dimensional aspects of the issue. Accordingly, all three parties have agreed that the fundamental questions concerning pump priming policies are: a lack of unity and coordination in practice; frequent changes in investment encouragement regulations; a lack of knowledge regarding legal regulations on the part of state personnel especially in underdeveloped regions; a biased policy of allocating bank loans; and the lack of an efficient mechanism of resource allocation. /Hurriyet/

AZNAR: "I AM THE FRIEND OF TURKS"

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar remarked that Turkey and Spain are maintaining a strategic and political partnership, and said, "Insofar as I am the Prime Minister, Turkey should recall that she has a friend here." Receiving a number of Turkish businessmen who were visiting Madrid for the promotion of the Expotecnica'99 Fair, Aznar pointed out that there is a growing mutual trade being carried out between the two countries, but they should invest more in each other. Aznar added, "Turkey and Spain must maintain their existing cooperation. Both governments are supporting and will support the joint efforts of Turkish and Spanish businessmen." /Hurriyet/

PERFORMANCE OF TURKISH GIANT FIRMS IN 1998

Turkey's greatest industry groups' clear profits and the taxes they paid in 1998 have been announced. The Sabanci Group paid 115.3 trillion TL intaxes and earnt 282 trillion TL in clear profit in 1998 and was ranked first in the country. The second, Dogus Group, paid 74 trillion TL intaxes and earnt 131.5 trillion TL. Koc Group is in the third place, paying 22.4 trillion TL intaxes and made a clear profit of 107.3 trillion TL in 1998. It has also ben announced that 274 firms on the Istanbul Stock Exchange achieved to a total of 1.3 quadrillion TL clear profit. /Milliyet/

TURKISH COMPANIES AT CHICAGO FOOD FAIR

Thirteen Turkish companies have participated in a food fair in Chicago this week, introducing many Turkish products to American consumers. Food experts state that Turkish food products are not known in the US market, but may secure a large share of this market with good marketing strategies. Turkey's well-known dairy products company Pinar Sut has already started its attempts to build a factory near New York. The factory will produce cheese, yoghurt and ayran, a kind of yoghurt drink. /Aksam/

TURKISH VESTEL IN THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

The "Wall Street Journal" economic newspaper highly devoted attention to Turkish compnay Vestel Bilisim, which had attended the CeBit Technology Fair in Hannover, Germany. The article by James M. Dorsey advertised Vestel's hardware which had been exhibited ar CeBit. It added that Vestel had been an inventor of information technology and mentioned the new plant that Vestel had established in Silicon Valley. /Aksam/

TURKISH ARTICULATED TRUCKS IN HUNGARY

4O Turkish articulated trucks have been detained at the Hungarian-Yugoslavian border while on their way back to Turkey due to the NATO operations against Yugoslavia. The Deputy Head of Foreign Affairs of the International Transporters' Union, Huseyin Kiyak, said that Turkish trucks would return to Turkey through Romania. He added that they had tried to obtain permission from Romania to pass through yhe country, but, he said, they were expected to return home very soon. /Aksam/

EGILMEZ IN GARANTI BANK ADMINISTRATION

Mahfi Egilmez, the former Undersecretary of the Turkish Treasury, who recently left his post as Chairman of the Executive Board of Toprakbank, was appointed to the Executive Board Membership of Garanti Bank. Meanwhile, the Executive Board of Garanti Bank decided to establish a new company, named Garanti Card Services Corp. /Hurriyet/

TURKISH CHAIRMAN FOR AIESEC

Muratcan Ustunkaya from Turkey has been elected Chairman of the Administrative Board of AIESEC's International Centre for 1999-2000 . AIESEC is the largest educational and student organization in the world. It was reported that Ustunkaya was elected unanimously by the representatives of 87 countries in AIESEC. /Cumhuriyet/

NEMRUT STATUES UNDER PROTECTION

Istemihan Talay, the Minister of Culture, has launched initiatives to implement a new project which will prevent the natural erosion of the world-renowned Nemrut statues. Talay noted that full-scale imitations of the works will be manufactured by the Nemrut Foundation and Turkish Democracy Foundation, heralding that the statues are to be rescued for eternity from now on. /Hurriyet/

MOZART WILL BE PERFORMED IN THE YEAR 2000 IN TURKEY

Following steps taken by 'Istanbul Culture and Arts Foundation', Mozart's opera,"Abduction from the Seraglio" will be filmed as an operatic film. The film will be a joint venture by the Istanbul Culture and Arts Foundation, Antelope Films and BBC. The producer of the film will be the General Director of Antelope Films, Mick Csacky and it will be filmed to go on display in the year 2000 at cinemas,on television and its CDs and videos will be sold at the same time. /Cumhuriyet/

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

YOU HAVE TO SOLVE IT YOURSELF - BY YALCIN DOGAN (MILLIYET)

In his column in "Milliyet" daily, Yalcın Dogan discusses the recent offensive against Yugoslavia. A summary of his column is as follows: "The most striking aspect of the offensive is this: a sovereign state, which was unable to solve its problems by itself is being bombed by others. It can be said that there is no other example as dangerous as this. But it should not be forgotten that while becoming the target of bombs, there is no other state which commits such violence against its own population on its own territory, without heeding any international warning. Kosovo is an autonomous region in Yugoslavia; 90% of the population is Albanian and Moslem. However, it is within the boundaries of Yugoslavia. The war between the Serbs and Albanians is both an ethnic and religious confrontation. The Western States are trying all means not to permit such a confrontation at the heart of Europe. However, Milosevic, also known as the 'butcher', seems to take pleasure in oppressing his own people. Eventually, the bombs which have been expected for a long time began to rain on Yugoslavia. With the strikes NATO is encouraging the Albanians in an uprising. If the Albanians start an uprising and the war spreads to the Balkans, NATO would have contributed to it!...In fact, the dilemma of the strikes lies in this fact. It is against humanity to remain a by-stander to the oppression any more. However, this humanitarian concern brings the danger of spreading the war to the Balkans. Turkey should silently monitor the developments. There is an historical prejudice against the Turks in the Balkans; therefore, it would be more appropriate for Ankara to stay in the background The reason for the strikes should be well remembered: states which cannot solve their internal affairs, and turn these into international problems, find themselves in a difficult situation. Therefore, everyone should solve their internal affairs by themselves!.."

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