Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
President Suleyman Demirel yesterday attended the ceremony to
divert the River Euphrates through to the Birecik Dam. At the end
of the ceremony Demirel gave a speech to the people of Birecik,
saying that Turkey was an element of stability in their region.
Demirel declared, "Turkey has every opportunity to develop and
nobody can prevent this; we will attain a level of prosperity and
wealth very soon."
After his meetings in Birecik were completed, Demirel moved on to
the Karkamis Dam by helicopter. During his speech in this region
he said that while welcoming a new century, Turkey's every effort
was directed towards the improvement of the country. /Turkiye/
Evaluating the results of the Cologne Summit, Prime Minister
Bulent Ecevit claimed that the European Union (EU) was not
sincere in its attitude towards Turkey. He added that the EU uses
the Greek veto against Turkey. Turkey's EU membership was a
serious goal but if it was not achieved, this would not be the
end of the world, stated Ecevit. He remarked that since Turkey
was a dynamic country both in its economy and society new
opportunities would be available to her. /Cumhuriyet/
Following a three-day break, the trial of Abdullah Ocalan will
continue tomorrow on Imrali Island. The trial was postponed to
June 8 following a decision issued by Chief Judge Turgut Okyay on
June 4. Tomorrow, the prosecutor's office will present its views
on the merits of the trial and later lawyers for the accused will
make their defence. Ocalan's lawyers said in a press conference
yesterday that they would require a one-month in Court to present
their defence. /Aksam/
Foreign media interest in the trial of Abdullah Ocalan, the chief
of the terrorist PKK organization, continues. In its issue
yesterday, the British `The Guardian' argued that "the solution
to all of those questions concerning democratization, human
rights, economic growth and relations with Europe will be
dependent upon the resolution of the Kurdish problem."
Meanwhile, in a commentary concerning the Greek supporters of
Ocalan, the Greek `Elefteros Tipos' said that the "sanity of
those Greek MPs who supported Ocalan is under suspicion. Ocalan
has revealed Greece as the leading country which supports his
movement. If intellectual and physical capabilities are the
precondition of an uprising, then a substantial mental stability
is the precondition for undertaking foreign policy initiatives
that would lead one's people in an adventure." /Milliyet/
The Turkish Foreign Ministry will gather the confessions
concerning Greece made by the head of the PKK terrorist
organization, Abdullah Ocalan, during his the trial on Imrali
Island, together in a file to prove Greece's notoriety to the
whole world. The Foreign Ministry will bring the file onto the
agenda of the UN, NATO, OSCE and at the Council of Europe. Turkey
will explain how Greece has violated those international
agreements which envisage cooperation against terrorism. Turkey,
which has previously proven that Greece has connections with the
PKK, will now show the Greek support for the PKK to the whole
world.
An official from the Foreign Ministry remarked that Ocalan's
confessions have proven that Greece supports the PKK terrorist
organization. The official said that the support given by Iran,
Iraq and Italy had also been recorded and at all meetings to be
held in the futer the file including Ocalan's confessions would
be perused by our counterparts. /Aksam/
The brother of the chief of the terrorist PKK, Mehmet Ocalan,
made a statement to the Greek `Elefterotipia' newspaper and
claimed that Apo has had to commit these murders because of his
beliefs. He asserted that Abdullah Ocalan has indeed got an
anti-violent character. Relating to a question concerning the
accusations of the relatives of the soldiers killed by the PKK,
Ocalan's brother asked; "But tell me; how can a nation struggle
for her independence in any other way?" In answer to another
question on whether he had a relationship with the PKK or not, he
said, "I cannot reply, because this is not a suitable situation
for that." /Sabah/
The PKK terrorist organization has confessed that members have
scattered following the capture of Abdullah Ocalan. In a pro-PKK
publication, it was stated that there is an atmosphere of anarchy
within the PKK. /Hurriyet/
Following an operation in and around Diyarbakir, Van and Bingol
20 terrorists had been killed by security forces. According to
the Office of the Emergency Rule Region, during clashes between
security forces and terrorists in the Mendi region of Diyarbakir
four terrorists were killed; additionally, in the Eyvantasi Mount
region of Van 14 and in the Asagikoy district of Bingol two
terrorists were killed. Also a member of the security forces had
been killed by the end of the clashes. /Turkiye/
It is reported that S-300 missiles purchased from Russia by the
Greek-Cypriot Administration to deploy on Cyprus but which were,
however, later transported to Crete due to pressure from Turkey
have been left in their boxes due to the ignorance of Russian
technicians. According to an article published in the To Vima
newspaper in Greece, Russian technicians who have previously
assumed operational responsibility for the S-300 missiles, in
coordination with other missiles in the country, have not come to
Greece and the missiles have been left in storage. It is also
claimed that Greece will protest Russia. /Aksam/
America is renewing its efforts to solve the Cyprus issue and new
officials will be appointed by Washington for this purpose. The
Cyprus issue will be on the agenda of the G-8 Summit to be held
between 18-20 June in Cologne. Before the Summit, the U.S. will
prepare a new "map" and a new "constitution" for the island.
Despite this, Ankara does not want the Cyprus problem to be taken
out of the hands of the Turkey- Greece-America triangle and put
on the agenda of a summit. The U.S. Ambassador to Ankara, Mark
Parris, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
Turkey's uneasiness regarding the Cyprus issue was outlined to
him. /Sabah/
Georgian and Abhazian officials will meet today in Istanbul to
discuss peace. Abhazian President Vladislav Ardzinba and Prime
Minister Sergey Bagatas arrived in Istanbul yesterday. The
meetings will be conducted under the auspices of the United
Nations (UN) Representative to Istanbul. Turkish minister of
Foreign Affairs, Ismail Cem, will deliver the opening speech to
the gatjering, which will take place between 7-9 June. It is
announced that representatives of the UN, and the European
Security and Cooperation Organization, besides officials from the
U.S., Germany, France and the Russian Federation, will attend the
talks. /Cumhuriyet/
The Student Selection Examination (OSS) which was supposed to be
held on May 2, however postponed due to a robbery of the question
booklets, was held yesterday in 145 provinces and districts and
in the capital of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
1,479,552 students entered the university entrance examination.
/Aksam/
A mini-election attended by 40,000 voters was held yesterday in
12 places including districts and counties. The Local
Administrations Elections in these places had been cancelled for
various reasons. The nominee of the Republican People's Party
(CHP) won the election to become the Mayor of Bilecik receiving
5,991 votes out of 14,000 votes. It is reported that victory in
the elections belonged to the CHP.
Out of eight counties, three were won by the Motherland Party,
two by the CHP, one by the True Path Party (DYP), one by the
Nationalist Action Party (MHP) and one was won by an independent
nominee. /Aksam/
The Central Decision and Executive Board (MKYK) of the Motherland
Party (ANAP) will convene under the chairmanship of General
Chairman Mesut Yilmaz. During the meeting, the election to
determine the members of the Board of the Chairmanship will be
held. /Hurriyet/
A mine laid by members of the PKK terrorist organization exploded
in the Semdinli district of Hakkari, killing six people including
five village guards and wounding five other village guards. Those
wounded were taken to Semdinli State Hospital. Officials stated
that a search to find the terrorists was underway. /Aksam/
The Senior Priest of Turkish citizens of Armenian origin,
Dermiron Ayvazyan, said that the Republic of Turkey would live
forever. A traditional religious ceremony organized at Surp
Krikor Lussavoric Armenian Church was attended by 180 citizens
from Istanbul, Kayseri, Sivas and Malatya. Ayvazyan also prayed
for those who had lost their lives during the struggle to protect
the territorial integrity of Turkey. He said, "In this beautiful
country, the church-bells and calls for prayer (ezan) will
continue forever". /Aksam/
Parliament, which has been unable to display a serious
performance in recent months, will start working today. A draft
law concerning extensive reforms in the banking system will be
taken up and a subcommission will be formed to this end within
the Planning and Budget Commission. Following that, Sumer Oral,
the Minister of Finance, will present the Budget Draft Law to the
Commission. On Wednesday, discussions on the whole of the budget
will be started by the Commission, which will convene at the
weekends as well and complete their deliberations in 10 days.
Then, the Commission's Report will be submitted to the Office of
the Speaker on June 20. /Milliyet/
The global crisis is having a negative effect on Turkey's trading
partners such as Germany, Turkey's biggest trading partner. Also,
Turkey is not benefitting as much as she could from the American
markets. However, new markets are emerging to enliven the Turkish
economy: for instance, exports to Spain increased during the
first three months of this year; Algeria, Egypt and Tunisia are
other countries which are ensuring market opportunities for
Turkey. For the first three months of 1999, Turkish exports to
Spain increased by 65.5 %, to Egypt by 53.2 %, to Algeria by 42.2
%, those to Switzerland by 39.1 % and to Tunisia 19.1 %. However,
Germany, the U.S., Britain, Italy and France are still the
countries to which Turkey sends the highest amount of exported
goods. /Sabah/
Following a one-year break, the Treasury will open a state bonds
bid based on the Consumer Price Index (TUFE) on June 8. With the
restart of the TUFE bid, the Treasury aims to renew those bonds
owned by foreign investments on their redemption dates. Within
the 14-month TUFE-based bid the Treasury aims to reach a total
borrowing of $100 million; the rate of real interest will be
declared today. /Milliyet/
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) wants member countries,
including Turkey, to adopt 'transparency' in budgetary and other
implementations. The IMF sent an outline of its standards on
transparency to its member countries; within these guidelines,
various views and proposals which will also constitute the basis
of the Public Financial Administration Project supported by the
World Bank were conveyed to Turkey. Within the standards
determined by the IMF, the establishment of a transparent
financial structure takes its place as an important and
indispensable element. Meanwhile, the Chief of the Turkish Desk,
Carlo Cotterelli, will arrive in Turkey on June 15. /Aksam/
The Minister of Labour and Social Security, Yasar Okuyan, said
that one of the main targets of the 57th coalition government is
to improve the rights of workers and staff by improving working
conditions to a standard in line with ILO standards. The Minister
went to Geneva in order to attend the "87th International Labour
Conference" organized by the International Labour Organization
(ILO). Okuyan noted that he would express the Turkish
government's ideas and targets at the meeting. /Sabah/
Reports which will be prepared by the commissions in charge of
finding solutions concerning arbitration and taxes will be handed
over to Deputy Prime Minster Devlet Bahceli. The result will be
presented to the Government after they have been examined by
Bahceli, as the Nationalist Action Party's (MHP) proposals. Emin
Carıkcı stated that the commission has almost completed its
studies on international arbitration and added that, in general,
international arbitration was favoured. Carıkcı said that since
Turkey was in a financial bottleneck, foreign investments were
badly needed and he said, "If there is no international
arbitration, foreign companies will not invest in Turkey. On this
subject the necessary amendments should be made in the
Constitution." Carıkcı also said that the issue of inflation
accounting which is of great concern to the businessmen, should
be solved in the medium-term. /Star/
The Press Attache of the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul, Benjamin
Krasna, said that they were happy to take part in the ventures in
Southeastern Anatolia. Krasna added that they were in complete
cooperation with Turkish officials concerning the projects within
the GAP region. They aimed to turn the region into an area from
where Turkey could meet her energy and food requirements, said
Krasna adding that Israel was proud of take part in the GAP
projects. /Aksam/
62 illegal imigrants wanting to enter Greece have been captured
in Edirne. During the checks carried out by gendermarie teams, 45
Iranians, three Iraquis and one Moroccon in the Meric district,
11 Afghanians in the Ipsala district and two Iranians in the Enez
district were captured. It is reported that the fugitives will be
deported. /Milliyet/
Protests against the 'Transport of Dangerous Materials through
the Black Sea and the Turkish Straits' were held yesterday on the
occasion of World Environment Day. Environment Minister Fevzi
Aytekin said that he was also against the transport of dangerous
materials through the Straits. /Aksam/
The Head of the Turkish Hotels' Union (TUROB), Ali Gureli, said
that they had reached agreements with various firms for Turkey's
promotion abroad. Gureli remarked that they would promote Turkey
through public relations companies in Germany, Britain and
Russia, and pointed out that their goal was to decrease the
adverse publicity abroad which Turkey has been experiencing. He
added: "We are waiting for everyone to contribute to the project.
We have received a great deal of support from various Chambers of
Trade and Industry". Gureli also stressed that tourism policies
were as important as national defence policies and lasting
principles should be established in the tourism sector. /Aksam/
Minister of Tourism Erkan Mumcu said that they aimed to boost
tourism within 12 months. Visiting the Tourist Guide Foundation,
Mumcu remarked that they should obtain the requirements of
tourists ver and meet them. With this in mind, surveys would be
conducted in the tourist regions in Turkey. /Cumhuriyet/
The EXPO 2000 World Exhibition, declared "the greatest commercial
exhibition of the century" will be held in Hannover; last week,
representatives from the participant countries were in Hannover
for the preparations. The Exhibition is of great significance to
Turkey. The original project including historical-cultural and
environmental motives was received with great interest./Hurriyet/
A computer software programme developed by Turkish engineers is
much in demand by leading companies world-wide. The IMS Software
firm, which received the jury special technology award in Turkey
this year, also drew the attention of the US market with its new
products. /Aksam/
One of the leading companies in Turkey producing machine-made
carpets, Atlas Carpets, produces two different type and models of
carpet especially for the U.S. The General Director of Atlas Hali
Corporation, Mehmet Aytuk, said that they produced high-quality
carpets at reasonable prices and that there was a great deal of
foreign demand for their products. He remarked, "Our carpets are
also in great demand by American consumers. We produce two
different types of carpets for the American market, "Atlas
Brilland" and "Atlas Dreamland". We export 85 % of the annual
production to the U.S." /Sabah/
Turkey has sent 250 tents to the Agdas region of Azerbaijan, an
earthquake disaster area. According to Red Crescent officials,
10,000 refugees were still sheltering in Berde and Agcabedi tent
camps in Azerbaijan, which were set up in 1993 by Turkey. It was
added that a group from the Red Crescent had gone to the disaster
area to help the people who were in need. /Cumhuriyet/
Turkey won against Finland with a score of 4-2 on Saturday thus
gaining a chance of a place in European Football Championship.
Turkey is the best among the groups' runners-up./Aksam/
Columnist Semih Idiz comments on the latest European Union Summit
held in Cologne and Turkey's disappointment at not being accepted
as a candidate for the EU. A summary of his column is as
follows:
"Inconsistencies in Turkish policy and the fact that Europe is
still playing with Turkey have come out into the open. The
Government, which reflected the view that Turkey did not need
Europe or they would not request anything from anyone, has done
just the opposite of what it said. It should be added that Europe
is continuing its 'good cop-bad cop' approach towards Turkey.
Prior to the Summit in Cologne, Foreign Ministry officials were
saying that Ankara did not expect much from this Summit. They
did not believe that a membership perspective would be given to
Turkey during this Summit. However, it has been discovered that
from March onwards the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had launched a
silent diplomatic attack concerning the EU. The first step was
taken by President Suleyman Demirel during the NATO Summit with a
letter he handed to the German Prime Minister and the
EU-term-chairman Gerhard Schroeder. In the letter attention was
drawn to the steps taken by Turkey in the light of the
pre-conditions requested by Europe and the new steps which will
be taken were also mentioned. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit also
supported the President and sent a letter to the German Prime
Minister just before the Cologne Summit.
The answers coming from Schroeder raised the official
expectations However, it is apparent that no mention of Turkey in
the closing communique of the Summit constituted a diplomatic
defeat for Ankara. Schroeder says that he requested that the
Turkish demands be met, but others did not. It is reported that
the countries opposing these requests are Italy, Sweden and
Greece. It is clear that Germany wants to improve relations with
Turkey and to protect its national interests.
We should know these games by now. Today Germany is playing the
'good-cop', and Italy and Sweden 'bad-cop'. When Helmut Kohl was
Prime Minister, Germany was the 'bad-cop' and Italy pretended to
be helpful. If there were no roles to play they were all hiding
behind Greece. It is evident that they are all trying to distract
Turkey's attention by these methods. Therefore, the 57th
Government should take a more consistent stand and review its
policy concerning the EU."
Yugoslav and NATO generals met at an air base in northern
Macedonia early on Sunday for a second day of talks on a Serb
pullout from Kosovo, the key condition for ending the alliance's
lengthy aid campaign. Western and Yugoslav army sources said key
sticking points were the timetable for the pullout and Belgrade's
concerns that ethnic Albanian fighters might try to ambush
departing convoys. NATO has said the discussions are not
negotiations, but are intended to spell out the alliance's terms
for the troop withdrawal.
Meanwhile, NATO held out little hope for a suspension yesterday
in the air campaign against Yugoslavia, complaining instead that
the Serb forces had increased fighting on the Albanian border and
indicating talks with the Yugoslav military to withdraw from
Kosovo could drag on. "We need to see the wihtdrawal actually
moving ahead. Obviously it is going to take a while" NATO
Spokesman Jamie Shea said in Brussels. He added there had to be
proof of 'systematic' withdrawal which had to be fully verified,
a procedure which was unlikely to be in place yesterday. /All
papers/
Western countries have already been preparing for the
reconstruction of the Yugoslavia following the bomb damage
sustained during the NATO operations. Neither Turkey nor Greece
want to be excluded from the process and, therefore, they have
reached an agreement to prepare "joint ventures" to aid the
reconstruction of Yugoslavia. /Sabah/
Yagmur Atsız, a columnist for `Milliyet', reflects on the
question of Milosevic on the brink of peace in Kosovo. Atsız
writes:
"A German politician who has a considerable influence on the
decision-making mechanisms of the German Foreign Ministry once
told me, `If German forces participate in an inevitable ground
operation, we will not be able to accommodate it politically!'.
Fortunately, things have not come to that pass. But what happened
in the end? Schizophrenia is now prevailing in Europe. They say,
`Now let Milosevic appear to be the "peace angel" of the war
after the genocide he caused. Just like in the case of Bosnia,
let us reach a compromise with him, pop the cork and drink the
champagne and have our photos taken with him. Yet overthrow him
right after the agreement. Let us try him before the War Crimes
Tribunal. Let's condemn him.' I knew what I was doing when I said
a month ago that the Europeans would eventually accept Milosevic
as their counterpart. Yet, what was the fault of Hitler, then?
Who will overthrow Milosevic after the agreement? Will it be the
Serbian people, who have acclaimed his genocide against the
Bosnians and Croatians for years? Let the German Government have
its pleasure, Milosevic knows very well that if NATO stops the
airstrikes once, it will be quite hard to restart them. The `old'
European public cannot stand this effort once more. And given
that the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo has been almost completed,
the only thing that Milosevic has to do is to drag on the retreat
of the Serbian forces from Kosovo.
The mask of the despot is his discourse! You can estimate the
degree of Milosevic's loyalty to his future promises by looking
at the extent to which he has kept to his former promises. Now,
it is Montenegro's, Sanjak's and Vojvodina's turn. Furthermore,
there awaits the `final' of Bosnia!"
FROM THE COLUMNS ... FROM THE COLUMNS ... FROM THE COLUMNS
SPECIAL KOSOVO
DEMIREL: "NOBODY CAN PREVENT THE DEVELOPMENT OF TURKEY"
ECEVIT: "EU IS INSINCERE TOWARDS TURKEY"
OCALAN'S TRIAL WILL CONTINUE TOMORROW
OCALAN TRIAL IN THE FOREIGN MEDIA
GREECE WILL BE MADE NOTORIOUOS
OCALAN`S BROTHER LIKE A PKK MEMBER
PKK IS COLLAPSING
20 PKK TERRORISTS KILLED
S-300 MISSILES LEFT IN THEIR CRATES
A NEW TERM FOR CYPRUS ISSUE
GEORGIA-ABHAZIA PEACE TALKS TO BE HELD IN TURKEY
STUDENT SELECTION EXAMINATION (OSS) HELD
MINI-ELECTIONS HELD YESTERDAY
ANAP MKYK CONVENES
MINE EXPLODES IN SEMDINLI: SIX DEATHs
`REPUBLIC OF TURKEY WILL LIVE FOREVER'
EFFORTS BEGIN FOR THE NEW BUDGET
NEW MARKETS FOR TURKISH ECONOMY
TREASURY WILL TRY THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX ONCE AGAIN
IMF WANTS TRANSPARENCY
WORKING STANDARDS TO HARMONIZE WITH ILO
CONFIDENCE IN THE FOREIGN INVESTOR
"GAP IS TURKEY'S GARDEN"
62 FUGITIVES CAPTURED
ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVITIES IN THE BOSPHORUS STRAITS
PROMOTION IN TOURISM
"THE TARGET FOR TOURISM IS 12 MONTHS"
TURKEY HAS GREAT HOPES FOR THE GREATEST EXHIBITION IN THE WORLD
TURKISH FIRM'S ACHIEVEMENT
TURKISH CARPETS TO THE U.S.
TURKISH RED CRESCENT AID FOR AZERBAIJAN
TURKEY AIMS FOR EUROPEAN FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
FROM THE COLUMNS ... FROM THE COLUMNS ... FROM THE COLUMNS
EUROPE IS PLAYING WITH TURKEY - BY SEMIH IDIZ (STAR)
SPECIAL KOSOVO
NATO ATTACKS CONTINUE
TURCO-GREEK COOPERATION IN YUGOSLAVIA
SCHIZOPHRENIA - BY YAGMUR ATSIZ (MILLIYET)