Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
As Kosovars continue to flee from their homeland where they are
faced with Serbian aggression, Turkey finds itself in an
increasingly difficult situation in relieving the refugees'
sufferring. Ankara had to abort its initial plans to set up two
refugee camps in Macedonia that would have hosted 20,000
refugees, because of Skopje's refusal to allow it to do so. Prime
Minister Bulent Ecevit announced yesterday that Turkey is ready
to set up those camps within its own boundaries. According to
officials at Edirne's Kapikule gate on the Bulgarian border, so
far more than 5,300 refugees have entered Turkey.
Ecevit made this announcement in Ankara while preparing to go to
an open-air election rally in Kastamonu, in Northern Turkey. On
his way to Kastamonu, Ecevit also said that two Turkish military
cargo planes had been turned back after Bulgaria did not grant
them permission to fly over its airspace. "We were ready to send
equipment to the refugee camps in Macedonia, but unfortunately
the Macedonian government did not give us permission", Ecevit
said. The Prime Minister said Turkey has so far provided aid for
the Kosovar refugees worth a total of $5.5 million since the
refugee crisis began. "We also sent $25 million in aid to the
Kosovars even before the crisis started", he added.
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit remarked that, in line with the
legal regulations in effect, a temporary Higher Coordination
Council will be established to determine policy regulations
concerning those Kosovar refugees in Turkey. Ecevit said,
"Whatever its cost may be, this is a humanitarian issue and we
will do what we have to."
The Turkish Red Crescent (Kizilay) announced earlier that it
hoped to send humanitarian aid equipment, including tents, food,
clothing and other basic necessities, to Albania and Macedonia
soon. The air corridor through Bulgaria is soon expected to be
reopened. So far, only part of this aid has made it to Macedonia,
Kizilay officials said in a written statement.
Meanwhile, the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus (TRNC), Rauf Denktas, suggested that the refugees be
placed in the deserted town of Varsoha. The Greek Cypriot
Administration strongly reacted to Denktas' announcement, saying
that there is a UN resolution concerning the status of Varosha
and Turkish Cypriots 'cannot disregard' that resolution. /All
papers/
A Russian warship was reportedly heading towards the
Mediterranean to shadow NATO ships in the Adriatic Sea
participating in the air strikes in Yugoslavia. The small
reconnaissance ship, `Harbour', passed the through Dardanelles
Strait early yesterday; it left the Bosphorus on Saturday. The
passage of warships via the Turkish Straits is not banned during
peacetime, as long as they notify the authorities eight days in
advance. Russia earlier announced that it would send seven ships
to the Mediterranean to monitor the activities of the NATO ships.
Along with the NATO forces, Turkish military aircraft are also
participating in the air strikes. The 11 F-16 fighter jets
stationed at Italy's Ghedy Air Base have so far flown 336 flight
hours since the operation began. A Turkish frigate is also
currently in the Adriatic Sea. /All papers/
Ankara is cool regarding a land operation by NATO in Kosovo.
Turkish officials noted that currently, the land operation is
mere speculation at an international level. Officials said that
any land operation would make the situation more difficult and
pointed out that it would create a negative reaction from the
political standpoint as well. Officials added that any land
operation could cause the division of Yugoslavia and this would
not be limited to the Balkans alone. /Milliyet/
US President Bill Clinton sent a letter to President Demirel,
expressing his thanks for Turkey's sensitivity on the Kosovo
issue. It is reported that Clinton also thanked President Demirel
for his personal interest in the issue. /Aksam/
President Suleyman Demirel talked with Egyptian President Husnu
Mubarak on the phone yesterday. It is reported that Demirel and
Mubarak discussed the recent developments in the Middle East
peace process and the Kosovo issue. A statement made by the
Presidential Office said: "During the conversation on the phone,
Demirel proposed that steps should be taken by Turkey and Egypt,
within the structure of the Organization for Islamic Conference
(OIC), to establish emergency humanitarian aid for the Kosovar
refugees. Mubarak agreed with this proposal". /Hurriyet/
Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Chairman Yasser Arafat is
coming to Turkey on Monday for a brief visit. Turkey will be the
first leg of Arafat's broader tour that will cover Russia and the
Asian continent. During his five-hour stopover Arafat will meet
President Suleyman Demirel in the morning and will hold brief
talks with Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit in the afternoon. /All
papers/
On the 50th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO), President Suleyman Demirel praised the Alliance saying
that it has served to ensure peace in the Euro-Atlantic region,
not to counter any specific bloc or country. "The importance of
the vital role undertaken by the Alliance has been proven in the
recent past in Bosnia, and is now being proven in Kosovo",
Demirel said in a written message marking the occasion of the
anniversary of NATO. /All papers/
President Suleyman Demirel expressed his condolences to
Kyrygzistan President Askar Akayev on the death of Prime Minister
Cumabek Ibrahimov. In his message Demirel praised Cumabek
Ibrahimov's contributions to improvements in both to the welfare
of his nation and in its relations with Turkey. /Cumhuriyet/
The Chairman of the National Peoples' Congress of the Republic of
China, Li Ping, and a delegation of M.P.s came to Ankara
yesterday upon the official invitation of the Speaker of the
Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA), Hikmet Cetin. Before
arriving in Ankara, the Chinese delegation met the
representatives of the Foreign Economic Relations Council (DEIK)
in Istanbul. /Cumhuriyet/
The Commander of the Land Forces, General Atilla Ates, left for
China yesterday to begin a series of official meetings today. He
will meet the Chinese Chief of General Staff and later visit the
6th Armoured Brigade in Beijing. It is expected that Ates will
meet the Deputy Head of the Chinese Central Military Commission
and Minister of Defence, Chi Haotian. /Turkiye/
Terrorist militant Metin Yamalak, who has been under
investigation for his involvement in the molotov cocktail attack
on Mavi Carsi in Kadikoy which resulted in the death of 13
people, has confessed his guilt, the Anatolia News Agency
reported over the weekend. Atilla Cinar, the Deputy Police Chief
of Istanbul's Anti-Terrorism Branch, stated that Yamalak, who was
arrested in Mersin and brought to Istanbul, has confessed to
taking part in the attack. Police officials are continuing their
investigation in order to find other suspects who were involved
in the bombing.
Turkey's Gross National Product (GNP) increased by 6.33 % in
1998, rising from $192.4 billion to $204.59 billion. According to
data provided by the State Institute of Statistics (DIE), $46.15
billion of the GNP comes from industry, $34.53 billion comes from
agriculture, $27.71 billion comes from transport and
communication and $18.45 billion comes from government services.
Meanwhile, Turkey's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose by 5.55 %
in 1998, from $188.75 billion in 1997 to $192.23 billion in 1998.
/All papers/
The Treasury will export 21-month bonds worth 250-400 trillion TL
today. The repayment of the bonds will be on January 6, 2001. The
NATO intervention in Kosovo has negatively affected markets,
officials noted.
Meanwhile, Vakifbank will implement its first bond exports today.
The General Director of Vakifbank, Altan Kocer, said that they
would provide syndication credits worth $400 million. Kocer noted
that following the export of the Vakifbank bonds, a total of $200
million in foreign borrowing would be achieved. /Milliyet/
Turkey and Qatar have decided to form a technical committee to
discuss the Gulf country's sale of two million tons of liquid
natural gas (LNG) to Turkey. An official from Qatar's Energy
Ministry said that during the visit by President Suleyman Demirel
to Qatar, the formation of a technical committee was decided on
by Demirel and Qatar Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani to
solve any problems over the natural gas deal.
Foreign investors bought $ 242 million and sold $ 251 million of
stocks in January 1999. In February, they made $ 258 million
clear profit. Foreign funds look for political and economic
stability in a country in order to invest in it. Recent
developments in Turkey, such as the capture of Abdullah Ocalan, a
clear decrease in inflation and the preparations to achieve
reforms in the banking and social security systems and giant
steps which have been taken in privatization, have attracted more
foreign investors to the Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB). It is
also important that foreign investors trust in the Turkish
banking system. /Turkiye/
A delegation headed by Foreign Trade Undersecretary Yavuz Ege
went to Russia yesterday to hold official talks on commercial and
economic issues. According to information provided by Foreign
Trade Undersecretariat (DTM) officials, the talks will be the
continuation of preliminary technical talks. The Turkish
delegation will come back to Turkey on April 8, the Anatolia News
Agency reports.
On April 4, 1953, the Dumlupinar submarine was returning from a
NATO exercise in international waters when it collided with the
Swedish steamer 'Nabolant' in the Bosphorus. The naval accident
claimed the lives of 81 sailors. In memory of these 81 naval
martyrs, April 4 has been commemorated as Naval Martyrs Day in
Turkey. This year, Turkey commemorated the martyrs in many
organized events nationwide, the Anatolia News Agency reports.
According to a survey by the Association of European Airlines
(AEA), Turkish Airlines (THY) ranked third among 22
world-renowned airlines in terms of its punctuality. /Aksam/
The two giants in the Turkish private sector, Koc Holdings and
the Sabanci Group, aim to become bigger in international markets
and utilize export opportunities as much as possible. It is
reported that the Koc Group plans to increase its exports to over
one billion dollars in 1999. Accordingly, the efforts towards
globalization will be the benchmark of its foreign investment
policy. Meanwhile, the Sabanci Group continues to invest in areas
such as finance, textiles, cement and cord production in 8
countries: the USA, Switzerland, Italy, Egypt, Spain, Germany,
Brazil and Argentina. /Aksam/
Prof. Dr. Rodney Wilson, one of the leading financial experts in
the world on the rational use of capital funds and on determining
capital savings strategies, will come to Turkey. Wilson will
arrive in Turkey upon the invitation of the International
Consultation and Financial Club and deliver a key-note speech on
how Turkish businessmen and firms could benefit from the funds
saved by Arab and Gulf countries, on 8 April in Istanbul.
/Turkiye/
Spanish high-technology companies will cooperate with Turkey in
the cleanup of Salt Lake and Iznik Lake as well as in other water
and sewage projects, the Anatolia News Agency reports. Meanwhile,
the Spanish Industry and Technology Fair 'Expotecnia 99' will be
organized in Istanbul between June 1-6.
The German companies realized 8.1 % of the trade volume worth
$7.7 million in the free zones in 1998, the Anatolia News Agency
reports. German companies standed at the top of the countries
which had shares in the trading volume of the Turkish free zones.
The confectionary sector in Turkey has proved itself to be
successful in spite of the global economic crisis last year. Okan
Oguz, the Chairman of the Turkish Exporters' Assembly (TIM),
declared that the total amount of products exported by the
Turkish confectionary sector increased by 7.6% in 1998 and
reached $8 billion. /Aksam/
Due to an incentive package prepared by the Turkish government
for the Eastern and Southeastern Anatolian regions, 25 plants
will be put into operation by the end of this year in Kars
providing new employment opportunities for 3,000 people. It is
reported that big firms from Japan, Italy and Taiwan are also
preparing to open new plants in Kars. /Milliyet/
It is claimed that the Tower of Babel, one of the seven scenic
wonders of the world, is near Trabzon not in Mesopotamia as
previously suggested. According to Michael Sanders, an English
archeologist who examines both the satellite photographs taken by
the American Space and Aviation Department and the Bible, the
Tower of Babel is near Trabzon in the Eastern Black Sea region.
/Hurriyet/
The United Turco-American Associations (BATD) decided to
celebrate May as the `Turkish month' in New York. The traditional
Turkish Day Walk organized by the Turco-American Associations'
Federation (TADF) will be held in Madison Avenue on May 15th. In
addition, according to BATD's celebration schedule, a number of
concerts, exhibitions, and a Turkish Films' Week will be on show
in New York. /Aksam/
During the Premier League derby in Istanbul yesterday, Besiktas
beat Fenerbahce 2-1, leaving Fenerbahce's praying for a miracle
to help them win the Championship. Thanks to this score, Besiktas
has maintained its position three points behind the current
leader, Galatasaray, while the difference between Fenerbahce and
the leader increased to 8 points. which means a serious
disadvantage for Fener on the road to the Championship.
Meanwhile, Uche, Fenerbahce's world renowned Nigerian player,
broke his leg during yesterday's match. It is reported that this
injury might well be the end of his football career. /Aksam/
The Turkish Judo National team won yesterday four gold, one
silver and three bronze medals in the (A) Category International
Tunisia Judo Tournament, the Anatolia News Agency reports.
Gungor Mengi wrote in his column today about the tragedy going on
in Kosovo. Mengi claimed that the genocide in Bosnia had been
watched while calculating whether "to allow the establishment of
an independent Muslim state in the centre of Europe or not?" And,
he added, due to this inferiority complex thousands of victims
had been buried together with Western civilization under the
soil.
Mengi continued, "It was noticed all too late that the
rationalist butcher would repeat the same tragedy in Kosovo.
Finally, the current consciousness was organized under the NATO
flag to take action but this is only a deterrent operation not a
rescue operation. Serbian cruelty has increased the massacares
and 'ethnic cleansing' and forced the Kosovar Albanians to leave
their settlements since after the NATO operation started in the
region. Today, almost 300,000 Kosovar Albanians, mostly of
children, women and elderly people, have piled up at the borders
of neighbouring countries.
NATO Commander General Clark confessed that "a paramilitarily
massacre cannot be prevented by air strikes alone". If the
"Belgrade Butcher" is not dismissed within the following few
days, there will be no Albanians in Kosovo, and the detreent
power of the century will be bankrupt. Turkey is the only Muslim
country to contribute and take part in the allied operation
because she is a NATO member and these people who are suffering
these terrible massacres are our blood brothers, our brothers
through religion. Because of this, rationalist savagery wants to
destroy them.
Within these circumstances, Ecevit ought to demand more for our
brothers. Turkey should shout "What are we waiting for?"; there
is enough humanitarian consciousness in the world to answer this
cry. The Turkish nation has more responsibility than the others.
"Humanitarian aid rivers" ought to be established to assit the
refugess. We should do more than pray; a pair of socks, even a
toy, would be very useful.
While doing our duty as a brother, we should give the best
example of a lesson in humanitarianism to the world."
Columnist Taha Akyol analyzes the recent incidents in Kosovo by
referring to Noel Malcolm's book, 'Bosnia, A Short History'. A
summary of his column is as follows:
"Malcolm is an expert academic and journalist on Balkan problems.
His book is one of the best references on the Bosnian tragedy and
the chapters on Serbian nationalism shed light on the Kosovo
tragedy... On the 600th anniversary of the war in Kosovo, in the
square where hundreds of thousands of Serbs were gathered,
President Milosevic said, "We are entering a new war after 600
hundred years. It is not an armed struggle but if necessary we
will use arms." Balkan wars were kindled at that
moment...According to Malcolm, Milosevic knows communist methods
very well, uniting them with nationalist rhetoric, and had used
three techniques in Bosnia. These can be listed as encouraging
radicalism in the Serbian people, turning the Serbs into militia,
and organizing provocative incidents. To radicalize the Serbs,
Milosevic has misinformed them. Implying that the Muslim
population and the Croats were planning to kill the Serbs, he
said that they had to eliminate them first. Then he armed all the
Serb peasants and provoked them to attack the Bosnians and
Croats. To top it all, following the incidents created by the
Serb militia he asked the Serbian army to go in and thus held the
upper hand...In Kosovo, the savage actions are all the work of
the 'militia'. The only difference lies in the fact that, when
the Serbian army was preparing to go into Kosovo, NATO has
interfered... NATO has to eradicate Serbian facism. Only then can
peace come to Kosovo, and the Balkans."
TURKEY STRANDED IN KOSOVAR REFUGEE CRISIS
RUSSIAN SHIP SAILS TO MEDITERRANEAN
ANKARA IS COOL ON LAND OPERATION
LETTER OF THANKS FROM CLINTON
DEMIREL TALKS WITH MUBARAK
ARAFAT TO VISIT ANKARA
DEMIREL PRAISES NATO ON 50TH ANNIVERSARY
DEMIREL CONVEYS HIS CONDOLENCES TO AKAYEV
LI PING IN ANKARA
GENERAL ATES IN CHINA
MAVI CARSI SUSPECT CONFESSES
TURKISH NATIONAL INCOME RISES 6.33 % IN 1998
TREASURY EXPORTS LONG-TERM BONDS
TECHNICAL COMMITTEE FORMED FOR TURKISH-QATAR NATURAL GAS DEAL
IMKB IS FAVOURED BY FOREIGN INVESTORS
TURKISH DELEGATION FLIES TO MOSCOW
NAVAL MARTYRS DAY CELEBRATED NATIONWIDE
TURKISH AIRLINES THIRD IN EUROPE
TURKISH GIANTS INTENSIFY INVESTMENTS ABROAD
INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL EXPERT IN ISTANBUL
SPAIN AIDS TURKEY IN EFFORTS TO IMPROVE THE ENVIRONMENT
GERMAN COMPANIES REALIZE 8.1 % OF TRADE VOLUME IN TURKISH FREE
ZONES
TURKISH CONFECTIONARY ACHIEVES SWEET SUCCESS
25 PLANTS IN KARS
TOWER OF BABEL IN EASTERN BLACK SEA REGION
MAY WILL BE THE `TURKISH MONTH' IN NEW YORK
BESIKTAS DEFEATS FENERBAHCE
TURKISH JUDO NATIONAL TEAM WINS MEDALS
FROM THE COLUMNS ... FROM THE COLUMNS ... FROM THE COLUMNS
"PRAYING IS NOT ENOUGH" - BY GUNGOR MENGI (SABAH)
"THE FACISM OF MILOSEVIC" - BY TAHA AKYOL (MILLIYET)