Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
President Suleyman Demirel has called on US President Bill
Clinton to take urgent measures to stop the human tragedy in
Kosovo and has stressed that NATO should remain 'strong and
determined' in its action against Yugoslavia. "Urgent steps are
needed to stop the human tragedy which is taking place as a
result of Milosevic's cruel ethnic cleansing campaign", Demirel
said in a letter to the US President yesterday. "We should take
immediate action to alleviate the plight of these people who have
become the victims of crimes against humanity" Demirel said.
Demirel dubbed the Serbian violence in Kosovo 'one of the
cruelest massacres in European history'.
Eleven Turkish F-16 fighter jets are participating in the NATO
air strikes on Yugoslavia. A General Staff statement revealed
yesterday that the Turkish F-16s have flown a total of 405 hours
on NATO missions. Turkey has also repeatedly expressed her
readiness to take part in an eventual NATO ground force in the
region. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit has said that a military
unit trained for this eventuality is on standby in Ankara. /All
papers/
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit is expected to visit the Kirklareli
refugee compound today. Meanwhile, the transportation of Kosovar
refugees from Macedonia continues unabated. Some 3,000 of them
will be placed in prefabricated houses in the Kirklareli refugee
compound, but the overwhelming majority will be hosted in a huge
tent camp which will be set up nearby. "We have taken all
possible measures to provide comfort for the refugees. Large
amounts of money and other aid from all around Turkey is
literally flowing into Kirklareli", said the Governor of the
Province, Kemal Onal. Some 5,500 Kosovar refugees have already
been settled in Turkey, mostly with relatives who have been
migrating to Turkey ever since World War I.
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit announced that the number of
Kosovars arriving in Turkey has already reached fifty thousand
people. Meanwhile, the British BBC Television channel praised
Turkey's support of the Kosovars. /All Papers/
A 15-strong team from Kizilay (the Red Crescent) yesterday
embarked for Albania where it will oversee the establishment of a
5,000-person refugee camp. Twenty-one huge trucks and a military
cargo plane filled with humanitarian aid packages and materials
required for setting up the camp also left for Albania. Albanian
Ambassador to Turkey, Saimir Bala, expressed his gratitude for
Turkey's efforts, saying that "Albania will never forget what
Turkey has done". Kizilay General Director Fatih Evren said that
a similar team would head to Macedonia within the next few days
to set up another 5,000-person camp for the refugees there.
Meanwhile, President Suleyman Demirel appointed Ambassador Ahmet
Acet as his special envoy to Albania and Macedonia to coordinate
the distribution and use of the humanitarian aid which Turkey is
sending to the two countries. /All papers/
As the refugee crisis in Kosovo reaches epic proportions, Turkish
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are inaugurating an array
of fund-raising campaigns across the country for the refugees.
Many state institutions are also contributing to the growing
campaigns, and the amount of money raised has already reached
millions of dollars. Most of the money will be used to accomodate
the Kosovars in Kirklareli camp.
Announcing their donation of more than $1 million, the Union of
Turkish Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) called on the
business world to participate in the campaigns. The Central Bank,
Is Bankasi and Ankara Municipality were among the bodies that
donated significant amounts of money yesterday. /All papers/
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit donated one billion TL to the
campaign for the Kosovar refugees in Turkey, thus paving the way
for other political leaders to do likewise. Remarking that aiding
the Kosovars affected by this outrage is a humanitarian
obligation, Ecevit demanded support from his Cabinet members and
all other MPs as well. /Aksam/
The stance of Turkey, which has brought around two thousand
Kosovar refugees to Turkey by plane and stated that it will host
a total of 20 thousand, has been received gratefully by the
officialls of the United Nations' High Commission For Refugees
(UNHCR). UNHCR officials stated that they were grateful to Turkey
for welcoming the refugees. It was also revealed that during
this effort, Turkey had not asked the UNHCR for any help.
/Milliyet/
President Suleyman Demirel is preparing to go to Albania and
Macedonia on Sunday to convey Turkey's thoughts on the Kosovo
problem and NATO operation to the world. Officials stated that
the President would be going to the region on a working visit for
a day and that he was planning to meet the leaders of both
countries and to exchange views on a solution to the problem.
/Milliyet/
It is reported that the Turkish Armed Forces have begun a
military operation against PKK terrorist camps in Northern Iraq;
nearly 15,000 Turkish soldiers and 2,000 village guards are
participating in the operation. The Turkish Armed Forces
penetrated 15 kilometres along Northern Iraqi territories and a
two-hour long air attack was carried out against Sinat and
Pirbela camps. It is reported that some peshmerges from the
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) are also supporting the
operation. /Cumhuriyet/
The Georgian Chief of General Staff and First Deputy Defence
Minister, Brigadier General John Pirtshalaisvili, who is in
Ankara on an official visit, visited the Turkish Chief of General
Staff, Gen.Huseyin Kivrikoglu, yesterday, the Anatolia News
Agency reports. The Georgian Chief of General Staff also met
Turkish Defence Minister Hikmet Sami Turk yesterday.
Turkish Airlines' (THY) a Boeing 737-400 crashed yesterday 10
minutes after it took off from Adana Airport heading for Jeddah
in Saudia Arabia in order to bring Turkish pilgrims back home.
Two pilots and four members of the cabin crew died immediately
after the plane hit the ground. Officials announced that an
investigation has been launched into the incident. /Sabah/
Restrictions on election propaganda campaign period prior to the
General and Local Elections to be held on April 18, 1999, will
start tomorrow. According to information received from officials
of the Supreme Election Board, election propaganda should be made
in line with Law No.298, "The Basic Principles concerning
Elections and Voter Registers". /Cumhuriyet/
Abdullah Ocalan, the chief of the terrorist PKK organization who
has been held in Imrali Prison for the past two months, stated in
his supplementary affidavit that he wants nothing for himself and
requested that the Turkish Government enact a special amnesty law
for PKK members. Ocalan also said, "I am ready to bring the PKK
to a legal position. I am ready to be used to provide inner peace
in Turkey", reiterating his desire for the legalization and
politicization of the terrorist PKK. Meanwhile, it is reported
that the State Security Court (DGM) attorneys' indictment of
Ocalan will rely upon international conventions against terrorism
and the European Court of Human Rights' relevant rulings.
/Hurriyet/
The Eighth Criminal Department of the Court of Appeals has
annulled a decision concerning Italian journalist Dino Frisillo,
who was tried by the Diyarbakir State Security Court and
sentenced to one year's imprisonment. The Court of Appeals noted
that Frisillo should have been tried according to the 312th
Article of the Turkish Penal Code. Following the decision,
Frisillo will be tried 'in absentia' by Diyarbakir's Third State
Security Court on April 27. /Cumhuriyet/
It is reported that investigations into the bomb attack against
the Bingol Governor, Suleyman Kamci, have revealed that Baki
Tatli was the culprit. The Governor of the Emergency Rule Region,
Aydin Arslan, said that the bomb attack against the Governor was
actually carried out against the State. Baki Tatli joined the PKK
terrorist organization on October 25, 1997, officials noted.
Meanwhile, those who were wounded during the attack are currently
under treatment at the Euphrates (Firat) University Medical
Centre and Bingol State Hospital.
Meanwhile, yesterday Metin Yamalak was arrested following claims
of his involvement in the molotov-cocktail attack against the
Mavi Carsi shopping centre in Kadikoy Goztepe, which caused the
deaths of 13 people. /Cumhuriyet/
Concerned about the future of the Middle East peace process,
Turkey finds itself, along with other members of the
international community, in a position to urge the Palestinians
to postpone their intention to set up an independent state.
High-level Turkish officials made that opinion clear once again
to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, in Ankara for a brief
five-hour working visit. /All papers/
Yannakis Kasulides, the Foreign Minister of the Greek-Cypriot
Administration, argued that following the General Elections in
Turkey in April, Rauf Denktas, the President of the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), and Glafkos Klerides, the
Greek-Cypriot Administration Leader, may meet this summer,
Kasulides did not clarify whether the offer would be made by UN
or another country. According to the Greek-Cypriot radio,
Kasulides said that "the Greek-Cypriots are ready to such a
meeting" but he did not know to what extent they "can bear the
conditions put forward by the Turks." /Aksam/
A group of deputies from the US House of Representatives headed
by Floyd Spence, will pay an official visit to Turkey in order to
hold contacts on the economic and political issues, the Anatolia
News Agency reports. The delegation will depart from Turkey on
Friday night.
President Suleyman Demirel received yesterday visiting Chinese
Parliament Speaker Li Peng. Demirel praised the state of
Chinese-Turkish relations and expressed hope that they would
further accelerate. Demirel hosted a dinner in Li's honour
yesterday evening. /All papers/
General Atilla Ates, the Commander of the Land Forces who is
paying an official visit to People's Republic of China, met
yesterday Chi Haotian, the Chinese Defence Minister. Addressing
the meeting, Haotian said that further improvement of relations
between Turkey which has a significant position between Europe
and Asia, and People's Republic of China, one of the biggest
developing countries of the world, will be beneficial for both
countries. Gen.Ates reminded that Turkey attributes great
importance to China's role in the region and in the world, the
Anatolia News Agency reports.
The London-based Jane's Defence Weekly reported that the US
Congress has approved the sale of the first shipment of four Sea
Hawk helicopters equipped with short-range AGM-114 Hellfire
anti-vessel missiles to Turkey. Hellfire Ltd. will produce 84
laser-command missiles for Turkey in a $6.7 billion deal.
Meanwhile, the Turkish company Aselsan has started to produce the
laser mechanisms used for the missiles. /All papers/
The Istanbul Stock Exchange's (IMKB) National-100 index increased
by 193.45 points and closed the first session yesterday at
4,899.54 points, a new record. Shares transacted in the IMKB
gained value by 4.11 % on average. /All papers/
The Central Bank made a profit of 298.4 trillion TL in 1998. The
Head of the Central Bank, Gazi Ercel, who delivered a speech at
the 67th Ordinary Meeting of the Share-Holders' General Council
yesterday, said that the annual rate of inflation was around 40
%. He added: "If populist policies are not implemented in the
election period, the determination to struggle against inflation
will be confirmed in the markets and positive expectations for
the economy will continue". /Hurriyet/
The Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association
(TUSIAD), estimates that the Turkish economy will revive in the
second half of the year. In TUSIAD's Conjuncture Report it is
emphasized that due to the maintenance of the present stability
policy and a possible stand-by agreement with the IMF in the
post-election period, the recovery of the Turkish economy will be
able to turn into a medium-term trend. /Aksam/
A group of young people demonstrated in support of the PKK
terrorist organization in the Ortaklar township of Aydin by
kicking the doors of houses and breaking their windows. Security
forces announced that the 38-member group, who are all HADEP
members, were arrested. /Milliyet/
The Turkish Armed Forces has begun a wide range of operations
against the terrorist PKK organization. Operations have been
launched in and around the Cemisgezek, Hozat and Ovacik districts
of Tunceli; also aircrafts have bombed the Ali Bogazi and Les
River districts. Military sources announced that most of the
terrorists' camps and shelters were damaged; they did not reveal
the number of dead or wounded. /Turkiye/
During operations in the Inegol district of Bursa, nine members
of the PKK and TKP-ML TIKKO were apprehended. It is reported that
members of both organizations gathered in the building of the
People's Democracy Party (HADEP) in Inegol and held meetings. As
a result of an exhaustive search of the building, many documents
belonging to the illegal terrorist organizations have been found.
/Hurriyet/
A total of 19.7 kilos of pure heroin was seized in an operation
held in Gurpinar county of eastern Van yesterday, the Anatolia
News Agency reports.
A total of $140.5 million exports was realized from the
agricultural, animal and industrial products in the Southeastern
Anatolia Project (GAP) region in the first three months of 1999,
the Anatolia News Agency reports. Meanwhile, the GAP region will
host Turkey's biggest agriculture fair between April 8-11. A
number of Turkish and foreign firms are expected to take part in
the 12th International Agro-GAP '99.
The Turkish automobile sector's exports increased by 27 % in the
first three months of 1999, reaching $548.5 million. According to
information the Anatolia News Agency obtained from the Union of
Uludag Exporters (UIB), the boost in exports stemmed from Oyak
Renault's exports of their Megane Wagon, which is only produced
in Turkey. In addition, during the first three months of the
year, tractor exports increased by 217 %, reaching $8.4 million.
Turkish Airlines (THY) will sell one of its seven 310-200 Airbus
planes to Cyprus Turkish Airlines (KTHY) as a part of its 'Fleet
Rejuvenating Programme', the Anatolia News Agency reports.
The Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB)
decided to begin a campaign with a budget of four trillion TL in
order to promote Turkish tourism. Fuat Miras, the Chairman of
TOBB, said that tourism fairs were ineffective in promoting
Turkey. Miras added that he himself and Minister of Foreign
Affairs Ismail Cem would organize a joint press conference in the
next few days to explain the details of the campaign. He leaked a
few points of the campaign, however: billboards in those
countries which send the most tourists to Turkey would display
advertisements for Turkey's tourist resorts; most leading
neswpapers and TV channels world-wide would show advertisements
promoting the peace and comfort to be enjoyed in Turkey; editors
of world-leading magazines and TV channels would be invited to
visit tourist sites in Turkey. /Sabah/
The Democratic Turkey Party's (DTP) Balikesir MP, Ahmet Bilgic,
has resigned from his party. With his resignation, the DTP group
lost its simple majority in the Parliament. The DTP established
its party group with 20 MPs, but following the recent resignation
they have an insufficient number of MPs for the DTP to be a party
group in the Turkish Grand National Assembly. /Turkiye/
Ceramics and Bathroom Suites `99 has been opened in the TUYAP
Center in Istanbul. Delivering a speech during the opening
ceremony of the Fair, Bulent Eczacibasi, the Chairman of the
Executive Board of Eczacibasi Holdings, claimed that the ceramics
industry is among the most rapidly developing industries in
Turkey and it is among the top-three in Europe in terms of its
production capacity. /Aksam/
Turkish Professor Umran Inan from the Electric Engineering
Department of Stanford University in the US has discovered some
important facts about the movement of electricity in the
atmosphere. Following his discovery, storms can be followed more
easily and more accurate knowledge about the chemical structure
of the atmosphere can be attained. The American National Science
Foundation, the US Air Force and NASA have offered financial
support for Inan's studies. Graduating from the Middle East
Technical University in 1973 in Ankara, Inan went to Stanford
University in 1977 and has been studying there ever since. Inan
has received various awards for science and he has had books and
research papers on electrical engineering published. /Milliyet/
Journalist Gulcin Telci passed away at the age of 53, losing her
struggle against a merciless illness in Istanbul. Telci worked
for the `Dunya', `Milliyet' and `Hurriyet' dailies, and `Para'
and `Tempo' magazines. /Aksam/
Enis Berberoglu, a columnist in the `Hurriyet' daily, reflects on
the possible consequences of the 10% general elections threshold
for the forthcoming April Elections. Berberoglu writes:
"It is no longer difficult to estimate the possible percentage of
votes the parties will receive in the forthcoming elections.
Everybody can easily guess the rankings among the parties.
Nevertheless, given that a party has to collect 10% of the
nationwide votes in the general elections in order to enter
Parliament, the performance of the Republican People's Party
(CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in this elections
has recently gained critical importance for the future of Turkish
politics.
According to data provided by some research companies, the
political commitments of Turkish young people tend towards the
Virtue Party (FP), the MHP and the CHP, whereas the two major
parties of the centre right, i.e. the Motherland Party (ANAP) and
the True Path Party (DYP) have gradually been discarded by young
voters. 2.5 million new young voters will vote on April 18.
Hence, if the above tendencies prove to be true, neither the CHP
nor the MHP will face serious difficulties in exceeding the
necessary threshold to enter Parliament. However, politics is
always full of surprises. Therefore, let us consider the three
scenarios which may apply to the current situation:
1. Neither the CHP nor the MHP succeeds in exceeding the
threshold: In that case, along with the votes of other smaller
parties such as HADEP, the political choices of almost 30% of the
voters will have been excluded from Parliament. It follows that
150 of the total 550 MP seats will be shared among four major
parties : the FP, ANAP, the DYP and the Democratic Left Party
(DSP). This `gift' may lead to a relatively comfortable two-party
coalition in the following years.
2. The CHP succeeds, the MHP fails: Since the CHP's presence in
Parliament will lower the number of seats gained by the DSP, the
intended DSP-ANAP coalition may not be realized. At least, this
will certainly strengthen the DYP-FP front.
3. The MHP succeeds, the CHP fails: Regarding this possibility,
four right-wing parties but only a single centre-left party will
be represented in Parliament. Do you believe a moderate
government headed by a left-wing Prime Minister might come out of
such a Parliament? Or is it more reasonable to expect a new
Nationalist Front (MC) formed by the FP, DYP and MHP? The latter,
of course...
There is no need to reiterate how much antidemocratic it is to
maintain this 10% threshold. In addition, we think that the most
perilious scenario that Turkey may face due to this unjust hurdle
is the possibility that the MHP will enter Parliament and the CHP
will be excluded. For a new Nationalist Front after 20 years will
surely transform the February 28 crack in Turkish politics into
an unbridgeable gap.
The task of the media is to remind you of the possible
consequences of your vote which may not occur to you at the
moment. The rest is your own decision."
Columnist Orhan Birgit comments on Turkey's humanitarian policies
towards the Kosovar refugees. A summary of his column is as
follows:
"On the fourteenth day of the NATO operation, the the wind has
begun to blow against Milosevic. While the country of the
dictator, who started the genocide following a dream of 'Greater
Serbia', was being continually bombed by the allied planes, the
Russian Federation's Deputy Commander of the Navy Admiral Igor
Kastanov, stated that it would not be appropriate for his country
to send a warship to the region which is torn by conflict. Thus,
it becomes evident that there will be no help from Milosevic's
trusted friend... As a country in the region, the duties
befalling Turkey increase. The Ecevit Government which worked all
through the recent holiday, trying to alleviate the sufferings
of the Kosovar refugees, is taking concrete steps...Turkey has
decided to give shelter to 20,000 Kosovar refugees in Turkey
besides building tent-cities in Albania and Macedonia. This
humanitarian approach displayed by the Turkish government is
reflected positively by Western countries. French radio and
television made this decision the most important part of their
broadcasts. US sources praised this approach in their
commentaries... Turkey views the question primarily as a
humanitarian problem and,being a country in the region, does not
hesitate to act in helping to solve it.../ Cumhuriyet/
DEMIREL: "URGENT MEASURES NEEDED FOR REFUGEES"
ECEVIT TO VISIT REFUGEES
MORE AID FOR ALBANIA AND MACEDONIA
NATIONWIDE FUND-RAISING FOR KOSOVARS
ECEVIT DONATES ONE BILLION TL TO REFUGEES
GRATITUDE FOR TURKEY FROM THE UN
DEMIREL TO VISIT THE HOTSPOT
CROSS-BORDER OPERATION IN NORTHERN IRAQ
GEORGIAN CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF IN ANKARA
THY PLANE CRASH
RESTRICTIONS ON ELECTION PROPAGANDA TO START TOMORROW
OCALAN REQUESTS AMNESTY FOR PKK MEMBERS
FRISILLO'S SENTENCE ANNULLED
IDENTITY OF THE ATTACKER
ANKARA STRESSES THE PRIORITIES ON PEACE PROCESS
DENKTAS AND KLERIDES MAY MEET
A GROUP OF DEPUTIES FROM US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
CHINESE PARLIAMENT SPEAKER IN TURKEY
GEN. ATES IN CHINA
US CONGRESS APPROVES SALE OF SEA HAWKS WITH HELLFIRES
IMKB BREAKS RECORD AT 4,899.54 POINTS
CENTRAL BANK'S PROFIT TOTALS 298 TRILLION
TUSIAD: "ECONOMY WILL REVIVE IN THE SECOND HALF"
38 HADEP MEMBERS ARE UNDER ARREST
PKK OPERATIONS IN TUNCELI
NINE TERRORISTS APPREHENDED
HEROIN SEIZED
A TOTAL OF $140.5 MILLION EXPORTS FROM GAP REGION
AUTO EXPORTS INCREASE
TURKISH AIRLINES TO SELL ITS 310-200 AIRBUS PLANE
TOBB PROMOTES TURKISH TOURISM
DTP MP RESIGNS FROM HIS PARTY
TURKEY RANKS THIRD IN CERAMICS IN EUROPE
SUCCESS OF TURKISH PROFESSOR
JOURNALIST GULCIN TELCI PASSED AWAY
FROM THE COLUMNS ... FROM THE COLUMNS ... FROM THE COLUMNS
THE THRESHOLD RECKONINGS OF THE CHP AND MHP - BY ENIS BERBEROGLU
(HURRIYET)
HUMANITY IS ALIVE...- BY ORHAN BIRGIT (CUMHURIYET)