Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
Motherland Party (ANAP) Deputy Yildirim Akbulut was elected
yesterday in the fourth and final round of the voting as the new
Speaker of the Turkish Parliament. Akbulut received 332 votes in
yesterday's round, while Sadi Somuncuoglu of the Nationalist
Action Party (MHP) received 191 votes. Eleven ballots were void,
while seven deputies abstained. A total of 541 deputies attended
yesterday's voting. /All papers/
The former 'number two' of the PKK terrorist organization, Semdin
Sakik, and his brother Arif Sakik were sentenced to death by
Diyarbakir State Security Court (DGM) yesterday on charges of
murder and separatism. The death penalties came just several days
before the start of the trial of the PKK Chief, Abdullah Ocalan.
The Sakik brothers were captured by Turkish forces in April of
last year during an operation near the Northern Iraqi town of
Dohuk. The trial has been continuing for the last nine months.
/All papers/
In spite of the fact that the Nationalist Action Party's
expectation of a `gesture' from the Democratic Left Party (DSP)
in the Speaker of Parliament election following Rahsan Ecevit's
scathing criticism of the MHP has not been realized, Devlet
Bahceli, the Chairman of the MHP, has accepted the restart of the
previously broken-off talks between the Chairmen and the leading
figures of the two parties to discuss a coalition government. It
is reported that the MHP Parliamentary Group, convened after the
Speaker of Parliament election, was unable to reach a precise
decision concerning the fate of the coalition talks with the DSP.
Upon this development, Bulent Ecevit sent Husamettin Ozkan, the
Deputy Chairman of the DSP, to the MHP Headquarters. Meeting
Devlet Bahceli and three other leading figures of the MHP for 1.5
hours, Husamettin Ozkan left the MHP Headquarters with Bahceli's
message that `direct' contacts between the leaders of the two
parties might be restarted for the coalition talks. It is
reported that Husamettin Ozkan presented a draft coalition
protocol to Bahceli and that the MHP Bureau of Assembly will
convene today for a final decision.
Indeed, signs of the mitigation of relations between the two
parties came immediately after the Speaker of Parliament
election. Answering the journalists' questions concerning the
possible impact of this election on the current crisis between
the DSP and MHP, Devlet Bahceli said, "We will not let Ecevit
wait for a long time. We will give our answer to their request
for a meeting as soon as possible." Moreover, during the
Parliamentary Group meeting, Bahceli also said, "Turkey has
serious impasses. There is an urgent need for a stable
government. We can no longer continue to display such an
`egocentric' attitude." In turn, DSP leader Ecevit said, "Turkey
should not be made to wait. A government should be formed one way
or another. I also hope that they respond to our request as soon
as possible."
Meanwhile, it is reported that the MHP may offer the DSP a
`rotational Prime Ministry' formula according to which Bahceli
and Ecevit will each become Prime Minister in turn. It is
expected that Bahceli and Ecevit will meet today to discuss the
details of a proposed coalition government between the DSP, MHP
and the Motherland Party (ANAP). /Milliyet/Hurriyet/
President Suleyman Demirel remarked that eight out of the 10
governments formed in Turkey in the last 10 years had been
approved by himself and that he expects to approve his ninth
government. Inaugurating an international fair in Ankara, Demirel
said that despite 10 different governments in 10 years, Turkey
has succeeded in reaching a 5% average growth rate and made a
total of exports worth $27 billion in 1998. /Hurriyet/
Azerbaijani President Haydar Aliyev arrived in Ankara yesterday
upon the invitation of Turkish President Suleyman Demirel.
Demirel, the Azerbaijani Ambassador to Ankara, Mehmed Aliyev, and
other officials welcomed Aliyev at Ankara's Esenboga Airport. The
two Presidents later went to the Presidential Palace. During his
meetings in Ankara, Aliyev is expected to receive his
International Ataturk Peace Prize from Demirel on Saturday.
/Turkiye/
Mesut Yilmaz, the Chairman of the Motherland Party (ANAP), said
that he was pleased with the election of Yildirim Akbulut as the
Speaker of the Parliament; he added that he belived Akbulut would
carry out his mission in the best way. Meanwhile, claiming that
the election for the Speaker of Parliament would not effect the
efforts to form the new government, Yilmaz said, "The issue of
the coalition government will carry on in its own direction."
/Milliyet/
The Archbishop of the Greek Church, Patriarch Hristodulos, is
offerring financial assistance to every Greek family living in
Western Thrace with more than three children. Turks living in
Western Thrace have harshly reacted to this implementation and
say that it is part of the policy to assimilate Turks in this
region.
Meanwhile, another hostile policy is being pursued by Greece
nowadays. On the front of T-shirts sold in many Greek districts,
an eagle, the symbol of the Greeks, cuts the Turkish flag into
two and on the back of the T-shirts, an eagle and a Greek flag
emerge through a torn Turkish flag. Greece has previously shown
its hostility against Turkey in many ways such as on telephone
cards, calendars and by using various symbols. /Aksam/
The reformist wing of the Virtue Party (FP) has dealt a blow
against their former leader Necmettin Erbakan, whom they hold
responsible for the real threat of closure hanging over the
party. Backed by the majority of the renewed Parliamentary Group
of the FP, the reformists discarded the so-called `candidates of
Erbakan' on behalf of their own candidates during the elections
for the Deputy Speaker of Parliament and the Deputy Chairman of
the Parliamentary Group. Accordingly, the conservative
`Erbakanist' wing received the heaviest blow in the election for
the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament in which Yasin Hatipoglu and
Mehmet Ali Sahin, known for their close relations with Erbakan,
lost against Kocaeli Deputy Vecdi Gonul, the candidate of the
reformists. On the other hand, despite Oguzhan Asilturk's
counter-efforts right up until the last minute, Bulent Arinc, the
symbol of the opposition to Erbakan, was elected as the Deputy
Chairman of the FP Parliamentary Group. These election results
within the FP's Parliamentary Group yesterday have been
interpreted as `the most important exercise of the reformist wing
before the great congress in the autumn'. /Hurriyet/
Deniz Baykal, the former leader of the Republican People's Party
(CHP) who resigned following the failure of the party to enter
Parliament in the April 18 Election, declared that he will run
for the leadership of the party once again during their
Extraordinary Congress tomorrow. Baykal's declaration of his
candidacy for the leadership has resulted in heated debates
within the party whereas Sefa Sirmen, the Mayor of Kocaeli, and
Celal Dogan, the Mayor of Gaziantep, announced that they will
resign from the party if Baykal is elected once again. However,
it is reported that Baykal is determined in his decision and
said, "I am a candidate. I cannot leave the CHP in chaos."
Meanwhile, with Baykal's candidacy, the election of the CHP
leader has turned into a complete mess. Currently Alyan Oymen,
Tarhan Erdem, Ertugrul Gunay, Hursit Gunes and Deniz Baykal are
running for the leadership, whereas it is expected that either
Karayalcin or Fehmi Gunes, or both if they are unable to
compromise, will declare their candidacy today.
/Cumhuriyet/Hurriyet/
The political leader of the ethnic Turks in Bulgaria has praised
the Bulgarian government's treatment of minorities, the Anatolia
News Agency reports. "The Bulgarian model treatment concerning on
ethnic minorities should be an example for all countries,
particularly Yugoslavia", Ahmet Dogan, the leader of the Movement
for Rights and Freedom (HOH), said in the southern Bulgarian town
of Jebel.
The NATO Allied Land Forces Command of Southeastern Europe (LSE)
hosted a regional seminar between May 17-21 in Izmir, attended by
seven members of NATO's Partnership for Peace (PFP) Programme,
two members from the Mediterranean Dialogue Programme and three
from NATO member countries. NATO LSE Commander Gen.Edip Baser,
said that views had been exchanged on many issues such as PFP
exercises and activities, a PFP training centre in Ankara and
inter-system harmonization within NATO, the Anatolia News Agency
reports.
The Commander of the Naval Forces, General Salim Dervisoglu, has
gone to Germany, reported the Anatolian News Agency. According to
the Office of the Commander of the Naval Forces, Dervisoglu will
attend the European Naval Forces Commanders' Meeting in Berlin.
Dervisoglu will return to Turkey on 22 May.
A decision issued by the Justice Court, the highest judiciary
organ of the European Union (EU), is of great importance for Sema
Surul, who is currently living in Germany, and for other Turks
living in both Germany and other EU countries. Sema Surul and her
husband Kenan Surul, who were subject to racist discrimination in
Germany, gained their social rights stemming from the Turco-EU
Association Agreement signed in 1963 via the decision proclaimed
by the Justice Court. /Aksam/
A military vehicle hit a mine in the Kurtalan district of Siirt
wounding three soldiers. The wounded were later taken to Kurtalan
State Hospital. Officials stated that a search for the terrorists
in the region was still in progress. /Aksam/
The Motherland Party (ANAP) was founded on May 20, 1983, by the
late Prime Minister and President, Turgut Ozal. ANAP Leader Mesut
Yilmaz, who was speaking at the Party Headquarters in Ankara
yesterday, on the 16th anniversary of the party's foundation,
said: "Reconciliation is a characteristic of ANAP". In its 16
years of experience, ANAP has been in power for nine years and
eight months, has founded a government six times and given the
country one President, three Prime Ministers and three Parliament
Speakers. /All papers/
According to the Central Bank, its foreign exchange reserves have
been increasing since the second half of April. Last week,
foreign exchange reserves reached $ 22.317 billion with an
increase of $ 108 million. /Hurriyet/
Messages stating that the "Middle East peace process will
continue" issued immediately after the leader of the Workers'
Party, Ehud Barak, won the General Election in Israel, have
activated the Turkish business sector. A Turkish delegation
including representatives from the Istanbul Trade Chamber, the
Turco-Israeli Business Council, the Police General Directorate
and other officials will go to Israel today in order to improve
economic, tourism and cultural relations between the two
countries. Expecting that the US and Europe will implement their
projects in the Middle East via Turkey, the Turkish business
world aims to take the advantage of acting together with Israel.
At present, Turkey also enjoys a $ 800 million trade volume with
Israel. /Cumhuriyet/
A Turco-Turkmen natural gas agreement will be signed in the
Turkmenistan capital of Ashkabad today. Energy and Natural
Resources Minister Ziya Aktas will sign the agreement on behalf
of Turkey. As part of a project which envisages the transport of
Turkmen natural gas via a pipeline to be laid beneath the Caspian
Basin to Turkey and to Europe, an annual 16 billion cubic metres
of natural gas will be purchased over a 30-year period. The
pipeline will be nearly 2,000 km long. Almost 14 billion cubic
metres of natural gas will be transported to Western markets via
Turkey. The pipeline expected to go into operation in the year
2002 will cost $2-2.5 billion, the Anatolia News Agency reports.
The results of a Conference during which the problems of the
textile sector and their solutions were discussed have been
announced by the former State Minister and the Head of the
Executive Board of System Engineering Services, Tinaz Titiz.
Titiz remarked that it was agreed during the Conference that a
secretarial mechanism to follow the measures taken in the textile
sector will be established. Titiz said that the Turkish Textile
Employers' Union would assume the secretarial function. The Head
of the Turkish Textile Industry Employers' Union, Halit Narin,
stated that they were expecting the new government to take
decisions which would aid the recovery in the financial world and
contribute to the economy. /Aksam/
The Treasury gave the go-ahead to five energy projects which have
a $ 4 billion investment value and will be constructed along the
lines of a buid-operate-transfer model. The approved projects are
as follows: Two natural gas transfer power stations, one at Izmir
and the other at Aliaga, both to be constructed by Intergen-Enka
at a cost of $ one billion each. A natural gas transfer power
station to be built at Ankara by the National
Power-Bayindir-Mimag consortium at a cost of $ 480 million. A
natural gas transfer power plant at Adapazari, constructed by the
Intetergen-Enka consortium at a cost of $ 520 million. A coal
power plant to be built by the Siemens-Steag consortium at
Iskenderun. The investment cost of this plant is $ one million.
/Sabah/
State Minister Hasan Gemici attended the "Turkish Days" festival
in Algeria organized by a Turkish company, the Ladin Fair and
Organization Corporation. Gemici was also received by the
Algerian President, Abdulaziz Buteflika, and conveyed President
Suleyman Demirel's message inviting Buteflika to attend the 700th
anniversary of the establishment of the Ottoman Empire in Ankara.
After the meeting, Gemici said that economic, cultural and social
relations with Algeria were at a perfect level. During his
meetings in Algeria, Gemici noted that they had reached a mutual
agreement on lifting the visa requirement in order to further
improve economic relations. /Hurriyet/
Minister of Tourism Ahmet Tan said that the Southeastern Anatolia
Project (GAP) was a suitable project to bring the Eastern and
Southeastern regions into the fold of tourism. Within the scope
of the project, the Ministry of Tourism will commence a train
journey to the GAP region. Students and lecturers from the Middle
East Technical University (METU) and officials from the Ministry
will be on board. Concerning the journey, Tan said that they had
to move tourism activities from the Mediterranean and Aegean
coasts to the GAP region. Tan also referred to the fact that the
use of the railways had been neglected for many years as far as
transport was concerned and that they wanted to employ trains in
the tourism sector. /Cumhuriyet/
Since 1993 Turkey has been the favourite country for Russian
tourists. According to the Russian Briefing magazine, 41.7 % of
the Russian tourism agencies organize holidays to Turkey. The
second most popular with 38.4 % of them is Spain. /Sabah/
Culture and Show Centres A.S., affiliated to Transturk Holdings,
the owner of which is the Head of Galatasaray Club, Faruk Suren,
has signed a partnership agreement with the Loews Cineplex (LCE)
company to move into the movie sector. The agreement foresees
that 15 multi-screen cinemas will be opened in Turkey, the
Turkish-Speaking Republics and Romania within five years and the
LCE will have a 50 % share in Culture and Show Centres A.S.
/Aksam/
The Head of the Black Sea Hazelnut and Products Exporters' Union,
Ahmet Baskan, said that the annual hazelnut production of the US,
which consumes a great deal of nuts, was nearly 20,000 tons.
Baskan added that Turkey exports 5,000 tons of shelled hazelnuts
to the US and that their initial aim was to increase Turkey's
exports to 50,000 tons. /Aksam/
Europay International, the world's number-one payment systems
group, has named Kemal Uyan, a Turkish computer engineer, as
Operations and Technology Director of its Eurasia office.
Thirty-four Turkish banks are members of Europay International.
/All papers/
Hayrettin Erkmen, 86, a former Member of Parliament who served as
Turkey's Foreign Minister from 1979-1980, died in Istanbul on
Tuesday night, family members said. Funeral services will be held
today. /All papers/
The Sixth Turkish Products Fair is going to be organized in Sofia
between June 9-12 by the Fair Organization Center (FOREM).
Turkish products ranging from ready-made to industrial machinery
will be exhibited in the fair in which 52 Turkish companies will
participate, reports the Anatolian News Agency.
A group of 100 Turkish gold jewellery manufacturers are coming
together to form a foreign trade company to bolster the country's
gold jewellery exports, business executives have said. Anagold
Sectoral Dis Ticaret Sirketi, the foreign trade company, would
help double Turkey's gold jewellery exports from 80,000 tons a
year to 150,000 tons in the year 2000, Muammer Alkim, the Head of
the Jewellery Businessmen's Association, said in a written
statement. /All papers/
Turkish Airlines (THY) will start its direct flights between
Istanbul and Miami on June 1, 1999; Anatolian News Agency
reported on Thursday. Miami is the third route of THY in the US.
The flights will be realized for three days a week with Airbus
A-340 aircrafts. The officials from the THY is the third most
punctual airlines in the world according to the surveys of the
European Airlines Union, following Irish Air Lingus and
Scandinavian SAS Airlines.
Istemihan Talay, the Minister of Culture, will go to the Kyrgyz
capital Bishkek on May 25 to attend the 12th meeting of the
Turkish Culture and Arts Joint Management (TURKSAY) Permanent
Council, the Anatolia News Agency reports. Tekin Aybas, the
Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture, will accompany Talay.
Talay and Aybas will return home on May 27.
The Spanish plastics and rubber producers will participate in the
Expotecnica `99 Fair to be held between June 1-6 in Istanbul,
reports the Anatolian News Agency. According to a statement
issued by the Bogazici Iletisim Group which is undertaking the
promotion campaign of the Fair, the relevant Spanish companies
are known for their achievements in hi-tech production processes.
The American, Dom Famularo, who is accepted as one of the
greatest drummers in the world, will come to Istanbul, Turkey to
be a jury member at the "The Best Drummer" contest to be held in
Istanbul on 1 June, reported the Anatolia News Agency. The aim of
the contest, which Famularo will judge, is to make drums more
widely-known.
Columnist Taha Akyol recalls past events and comments on the
present. A summary of his column is as follows.
" Prior to the September 12 military intervention there was
anarchy in the country. There was blood spilt between the
Republican People's Party led by Ecevit and the Nationalist
Action Party(MHP) led by Turkes. The number of seats obtained by
the Republican People's Party (CHP) which came out as the largest
party from the 1977 Election was not enough to elect the Speaker
of Parliament. The 17 seats of the Nationalist Action Party would
decide the winner, either the RPP candidate or the candidate from
the right-wing parties. The MHP issued a statement to the effect
that in order to pacify grassroots opinion, the party
administrations should moderate their standpoints and declared
that its parliamentary group would be able to vote for a moderate
CHP member. Cahit Karakas was such a moderate deputy and he was
elected Speaker of the Parliament with the votes of the MHP
members.
The second initiative taken by the MHP, to modify the views of
the grassroots through a toning-down within the party
administrations, was the suggestion of a coalition with the CHP.
With the knowledge of Ecevit and Turkes, Gun Sazak from the MHP
and Vedat Dalokay from the CHP secretly met three times. Both men
were respected within their parties, and today both of them are
no longer alive. The MHP General Administrative Council approved
the CHP-MHP coalition. However, Ecevit spoke against it, probably
fearing the reaction of the radical element within his party.
Every day, both sides were reading about some friends killed by
the others and attending their funerals. The initiative taken by
the MHP to tone down differences of opinion in that atmosphere
was a constructive and reasonable step. A compromise between the
CHP and the MHP could have controlled the bloodshed if not
prevented it altogether. As the opportunity for a coalition
between the CHP and the MHP was lost, government crises followed.
Troublesome Ecevit governments and troublesome Nationalistic
Front (MC) governments followed. The economy went bankrupt,
terrorist actions increased, and in the end military forces
intervened!
Today, both the left and the right have been transformed greatly.
However, we are still faced with serious problems. Their solution
depends on compromises. The DSP has not made any gestures to the
MHP concerning the election of the Parliament. What will happen
next?
Yildirim Akbulut highly deserves the post of Speaker of the
Parliament. I congratulate him."
Tufan Turenc, a columnist in the daily 'Hurriyet' newspaper, says
the following in his article today:
"The issue that must be of concern is that the Nationalist Action
Party (MHP) has not shown any reaction to those outdated laws
which have imprisoned journalist Oral Calislar. Thinking that a
party will be armed and go on to the streets is absurd. It is
also extremely optimistic that that party will make a huge
contribution to democracy. The basic concern of Ecevit should be
this matter. For instance, he should have tried to learn what
that party is thinking about the sort of mentality which wants to
imprison Oral Calislar.
Everyone in Turkey knows that Turkey cannot change its image
without amending its outdated laws. We will either bring full
democracy to the country or be outside European civilization."
While discussions on a likely ground operation against Yugoslavia
are continuing because Belgrade is not backing down, it is
reported that Ankara is decidedly cool concerning the ground
operation issue. Ankara believes that air strikes should continue
until a positive result is achieved. It is considered that the
geographical location and the non-existence of an army in good
order in the region will create some drawbacks if a ground
operation is carried out by NATO.
Meanwhile, a Turkish officer has played a key role in the
bringing-down of three Serbian MIG-29 aircraft. The Turkish
officer is on duty on an Awacs early-warning aircraft. In a
further development, Italian Prime Minister Massimon D'Alema
wishes NATO to suspend air strikes against Yugoslavia.
/Milliyet-Aksam/
NATO jets pounded Belgrade and its suburbs early yesterday,
hitting a hospital and killing at least three people. The Swedish
Ambassador's residence was also slightly damaged in the attack.
In a brief statement, Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic's
office said: "The solution can only be found politically within
the UN and with the active and direct participation of
Yugoslavia, starting from the principles of the G-8". It added
that talks would continue on Monday and Tuesday in Belgrade.
The terms of the G-8 plan include the withdrawal of Milosevic's
'military, police and paramilitary forces' from Kosovo. NATO
seeks a total withdrawal of all the 40,000 strong Serb forces,
including regular troops. The G-8 plan also calls for the
deployment of 'international civil and security presences', while
NATO demands a well-armed international force with NATO at its
core, something Milosevic has vehemently rejected in the past.
/All papers/
According to recent NATO information, Turkey is the NATO ally
which has accepted the most Kosovars, reported the Anatolian News
Agency. According to the official list issued on 18 May, Turkey
has received 15,321 refugees and some other countries are as
follows: Germany has taken in 12,018, Italy has housed 11,285,
Hungary 4,081, Norway has sheltered 4,081, Canada has accepted
3,851, the Netherlands 2,014, etc... After visiting the refugee
camps in Macedonia, the NATO General Secretary said that Turks
has achieved the best organization in the refugee camps due to
their previous experience. NATO sources reported that Turkey had
proved how vitally important she is in the areas of military,
strategic and humanitarian aid during the Kosovo crisis. It
added, "Turkey will open up her air bases to NATO aircraft and
once more clearly show that she is essential for NATO."
23 Kosovar children who fled to Turkey from the Serbian massacre
were circumcised yesterday in Istanbul. The representative of
Kosovo in Turkey, Enver Tali, the Chairman of the Kosovo
Cooperation Committee and Cooperation Association, Fahri Turkkan,
Kosovar families and Turkish officials attended the circumcision
feast. Before the feast, Turkish singers staged a concert for the
Kosovar children. /Hurriyet/
Columnist Sedat Ergin comments on the statement of Turkish
PResident Suleyman Demirel concerning Kosovo. A summary of his
column is as follows:
"For some time, articles were seen in the Turkish press to the
effect that Turkish war planes were participating in the NATO air
strikes operation. These revealed a serious change in Turkey's
Kosovo policy. What is more interesting is that no official
denial was issued. During a conversation with President Demirel,
we asked him if Turkish planes were taking part in bombing
missions to which he answered that sometimes they did. With these
words of the President, the change in Turkey's policy has been
confirmed for the first time by the highest Turkish official.
Thus, following the decision to open up Bandirma Air Base to US
warplanes participating in the NATO strikes, Turkey has taken one
more step in entering the conflict. In the past, due to concerns
that it would harm its future relations with Serbia, Turkey had
taken on a limited role within the NATO air strikes. It did not
include offensive action and, until last week, Turkish F-16s were
flying on defensive missions and were not dropping bombs. As the
mission has changed, it is understood that some new concerns have
pushed back the cautious policies adopted before. What can be the
reasons or expectations which have changed our policy?
President Demirel has answered this question with the statement
that we cannot act like Greece. This statement shows that the
main consideration is to place Turkey above Greece, who is
standing close to Serbia, and is the main reason for this change.
The President went on to say that loyalty was one of the main
factors in deciding Turkish policy. He added that Turkey was a
first-class member of NATO, and to drop to the position of a
second or third-class member would go against Turkey's interests.
In NATO, Turkey is among the top five states and she should not
lose this position.
This means that the decision is being taken to consolidate
Turkey's position in the West and strengthen its pro-Western
policy. Turkey is going through serious bottlenecks in her
relations with the West. At a period when these problems could
not be eradicated, her active role in NATO is expected to
compensate for the coolness in relations with other states.
Demirel also states that the problem concerns Kosovo which was
under Ottoman administration for 524 years. Those oppressed in
Kosovo are Muslim Turks and Albanians. He states that in an
operation which aims to save our kinsmen, Turkey cannot follow a
policy of indifference."
END
FROM THE COLUMNS ... FROM THE COLUMNS ... FROM THE COLUMNS
* * * *
SPECIAL KOSOVO
AKBULUT BECOMES 22ND SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT
SAKIK BROTHERS SENTENCED TO DEATH
HOPES REVIVED FOR DSP-MHP-ANAP COALITION
DEMIREL: "I EXPECT TO APPROVE THE NINTH GOVERNMENT"
ALIYEV IN ANKARA
YILMAZ: "COALITION EFFORTS CARRY ON"
GREEK TRICK IN WESTERN THRACE
COUP IN THE VIRTUE PARTY
BAYKAL EARTHQUAKE IN CHP
TURKISH LEADER PRAISES BULGARIAN MINORITY POLICY
NATO PFP SEMINAR
GENERAL DERVISOGLU IN GERMANY
TURKISH VICTORY IN EUROPE
MILITARY VEHICLE HITS A MINE
ANAP MARKS 16TH ANNIVERSARY
FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES INCREASE
TURKISH BUSINESSMEN'S ISRAELI HOPE
TURCO-TURKMEN NATURAL GAS AGREEMENT
MEASURES IN TEXTILE SECTOR
$ 4 BILLION INVESTMENT IN ENERGY
STATE MINISTER GEMICI IN ALGERIA
TOURISM MINISTRY ORGANIZES A TRIP TO GAP
TURKEY IS FAVOURITE FOR RUSSIANS
TURCO-US COOPERATION
TURKISH HAZELNUTS EXPORTED TO US
UYAN APPOINTED FOR EUROPAY EURASIA OPERATIONS
HAYRETTIN ERKMEN DIES
SIXTH TURKISH PRODUCTS FAIR IN SOFIA
JEWELLERY PRODUCERS TO FORM EXPORT COMPANY
THY TO START ITS FLIGHTS TO MIAMI-ISTANBUL
MINISTER OF CULTURE TO VISIT BISHKEK
SPANISH PLASTICS PRODUCERS' INTEREST IN EXPOTECNICA
WORLD-FAMOUS AMERICAN DRUMMER VISITS ISTANBUL
FROM THE COLUMNS ... FROM THE COLUMNS ... FROM THE COLUMNS
COMPROMISE - BY TAHA AKYOL (MILLIYET)
THE ISSUE IS NOT IMPRISONMENT BUT NOT TO IMPRISON - BY TUFAN
TURENC (HURRIYET)
* * * *
SPECIAL KOSOVO
ANKARA: "GROUND OPERATION IS RISKY"
MILOSEVIC WANTS MORE TALKS
TURKEY ACCEPTS THE MOST REFUGEES AMONG THE NATO ALLIES
CIRCUMCISION FEAST FOR KOSOVAR CHILDREN
DEMIREL: "WE ARE BOMBING" - BY SEDAT ERGIN (HURRIYET)