Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
Turkish President Demirel said that tourism is not only a way to
earn money, but also a means of promoting Turkey abroad and
enabling exports to the world. Demirel further added, "Turkey
should attain her target of a capacity of 1.5 million beds, 25
million tourists and 115 billion dollars in tourist revenue
before the year 2010."
President Demirel attended the traditional Award Ceremony for
those Travel Agencies able to bring in more than 1 million
dollars in foreign exchange organized by the Union of Turkish
Travel Agencies. President Demirel pointed out that as private
and public sectors, we should invest 20 billion dollars more in
tourism. After his speech, President Demirel presented the awards
to the representatives of 170 travel agencies. /Hurriyet/
Turkey will find herself at an important crrossroads if the
suggestions of the European Commission are ratified at the
European Union (EU) Summit in Helsinki in December. One of the
Commission's most important proposals is to form a partnership
united with a national programme directed towards harmonization
with EU earnings. The partnership foresees the determination of
the shortcomings of the countries vis-a-vis the Copenhagen
criteria and the launching of joint studies to eradicate them in
order to prepare the candidate countries for full-membership.
Turkey had suspended political dialogue when candidacy status was
not granted to her at the Luxembourg Summit in 1997. If her
candidacy is approved, Turkey will not be able to say that the EU
does not have the right to criticise her. EU specialists stated
that Turkey will determine the speed of the membership process
herself. /Milliyet/
The State Minister responsible for human rights and relations
with the EU, Mehmet Ali Irtemcelik, expressed his wish to
cooperate with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) during the
meeting held at the Ankara Palas yesterday. Irtemcelik stated
that this meeting with Turkey's NGOs was the first of its kind
and must be viewed as a reflection of his government's positive
policy with regard to the human rights issue. The Human Rights
Association (IHD), the Human Rights Foundation (TIHV), the
Turkish Journalists' Association (TGC), the Bar Organization, the
bars of Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir, the Association for the
Solidarity of Oppressed People (MAZLUM-DER), the Press Council,
the Modern Judiciary Association, the constitutional and human
rights commissions and academicians attended the meeting. /All
Papers/
The European Union Commission's report which gave the green light
to Turkey's EU candidacy has received wide coverage in the Greek
press. Asserting that Turkey has obtained more than she expected,
the newspapers evaluated the report thus: 'Europe has laid out
the red carpet in front of Turkey'. They pointed out that the
candidacy negotiations will not start immediately. The Greek
press also emphasized that Greek Commissioner Anna Diamantopulu
voted against the report. /Sabah/
The U.S.A's State Department, declared their pleasure at the fact
that the EU Commission, in its Turkey report, suggested the
official acceptance of Turkey's candidacy to the EU Council at
the Helsinki Summit in December. A high-ranking official from the
U.S.A's State Department made a statement on behalf of the State
Department and said, "We are happy with the latest development
report that was published by the EU. We believe that Turkey's
future is in Europe. This report is very important in terms of
relations between Turkey and the EU." /Turkiye/
The American President, Bill Clinton, will come to Turkey in
order to attend the OSCE Summit, which will be held in Istanbul
on Nov. 15th. Paying a one-day official visit to Ankara as the
guest of President Suleyman Demirel, Clinton will also deliver a
speech at the Turkish Grand National Assembly. /Sabah/
Some of the Turkish universities' representatives went to Athens
yesterday, with regard to the invitation of the Greek Rectors'
Union's Chairman, Prof. Dr. Costantinos Dimopoulos, in order to
strengthen mutual relations. /Milliyet/
In France, Holland, Germany, England and Belgium, the six
highest-ranking officials of the terrorist PKK organization were
detained after a series of raids. The passports of the so-called
Kurdish Parliament-in-exile's well-known figures the DEP's
ex-deputies Zubeyir Aydar, Ali Yigit, as well as and Misgin Sen
were also seized. /Milliyet/
In order to solve the problems involving the "Blue Stream"
project, the Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and
Deputy Prime Minister, Cumhur Ersumer, met the Chairman of the
Executive Board of Gazprom, Rem Vyahirev, who manages natural gas
resources in Russia.
Ersumer and Vyahirev, who are at Topkapi Palace Hotel in the
village of Kundu near Antalya for the 7th Joint Meeting of the
Turco-Russian Business Council, exchanged their opinions about
the delay in the process of signing the protocol that was
prepared by Gazprom and sent to the Turkish side concerning the
"Blue Stream Project". Ersumer said, "We discussed the protocol
for "Blue Stream" and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the
Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources
and the State Ministry responsible for the Treasury are working
in cooperation on the arrangements for the protocol. We will hold
a meeting on 23rd October and will give the protocol its final
shape. /Turkiye/
The bill for the economic straits and the earthquake damage will
be paid off by state employees. Following discussions in the
Supreme Planning Council (SPC), the partners of the government
met together. Leaving the summit, Prime Minister Ecevit said, "We
obtained conformity on all subjects". Pointing out that the
Budget has been prepared considering the economic situation, he
said, "Workers will not be crushed by inflation". However, it was
leaked that public officials will be granted a wage rise of 15%
in the first half of the year and 10% in the second half. After
its approval by the Council of Ministers, the Budget will be
presented to the Turkish Grand National Assembly on Sunday. The
Budget includes these major points: savings will be make in the
public sector, investment priorities will be determined, salary
increases will be in proportion to social justice; privatization
will speed up. /Aksam/
After the "Blackseafor" meeting that was held by the countries
bordering the Black Sea in order to strengthen peace and
stability in the Black Sea region, a cooperation decleration has
been published. In a statement by the Office of the Chief of
General Staff, after Bulgaria, Georgia, Russia, the Ukraine and
Turkey attended the 4th Blackseafor meetings, it was decided that
`Blackseafor' should be implemented as soon as possible.
/Turkiye/
In the theology faculties in Turkey, religions other than Islam
will be able to be taught. The Institution of Higher Education
(YOK) and the Chairmanship of Religious Affairs said yes to the
suggestions of non-governmental organizations and minorities, who
desired the opening of a department to teach Christianity in the
theology faculties in Turkey.
YOK and the Chairmanship of Religious Affairs both sent a letter
to Undersecretariat of the Prime Ministry and stated that they
had approved the opening of a Department of Religion and Culture
within the Theology Faculty of Istanbul University. According to
the letter, the opening of this department within the Theology
Faculty of Istanbul University is envisaged for next year.
/Sabah/
The practice of arbitration will save our contractors from losing
1 billion dollars. As part of the "arbitration" clause in the
contractual agreements for work undertaken by Turkish contractors
in Pakistan, the contractors' dues in this country are covered by
international guarantee. As part of the international
arbitration, the dues of some Turkish firms such as the Bayindir
Construction Company, the Sezai Turkes Fevzi Akkaya (STFA)
Construction Company and the Tekser Company are protected by
international guarantee. /Hurriyet/
State Minister Prof. Dr. Sukru Sina Gurel stated that the
improvement of relations with the EU would result in very
important and useful consequences for Eurasia as well. Minister
Gurel delivered a speech during the first gathering of the 2nd
Eurasia Economic Summit and said, "Turkey's relations with the EU
also play an important role in the improvement of her foreign
economic relations. Half of our imports and exports are from and
to EU-member countries; 70% of direct investments in Turkey come
from the EU." /Cumhuriyet/
The earthquake has altered the agenda of the Foreign Economic
Relations Committee (DEIK). During the meetings of the
Consultation Council, that will be held in Holland and Israel in
November, aid for the Small and Medium-Scale Enterprise victims
of the earthquake will be discussed in a paper, "aid to the
earthquake-affected industialists". The Chairman of the Chamber
of Trade and Industry in Kocaeli, Yilmaz Kanbak, the Chairman of
the Chamber of Trade and Industry in Adapazari, Erol Isik, and
officials from the Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade and the
Treasury will attend the meeting to explain the situation of the
industry in the region. /Sabah/
The Chairman of the Turco-American Businessmen's Association
(TABA), Bulent Senver, delivered a speech during a reception
organized in order to introduce the U.S.A's new Ambassador to
Istanbul, Frank. C. Urbancic, to Turkish businessmen. Bulent
Senver said, "In the new way of the world, there will be new
priorities and Turkey will take her place in this new order."
/Cumhuriyet/
In memory of the founder of the Chilean Republic, Bernardo
O'Higgins (1778-1842), a monument was set up in Chile Plaza, in
Ankara, yesterday. The Mayor of the Ankara Metropolitan
Municipality, Melih Gokcek, and Jaime Pardo, the Chilean
Ambassador to Ankara, attended the inauguration ceremony of the
monument. The O'Higgins Monument has been built in return for the
Ataturk Monument in Santiago, Chile. /Aksam/
The Ministry of Culture decided to subsidize 77 theatre projects
and the repair of 8 theatres, a total of 347 billion 115 million
dollars. As it caused many debates, the distribution mechanism of
the money to the theatres has not been explained yet.
/Cumhuriyet/
The 14th International Packaging and Wrapping Industry Fair
IPACK'99, was organized by the CNR and the Plastic Products and
Machine Manufacturers' Associations (PUMID). Producers from all
sectors, packaging producers and those involved in such
technology attended the Fair that was set up on an area of 22,000
square metres. Potential customers and partners, representatives
of sectors from America, Europe, the Far East, North Africa and
the Middle East, attended the Fair, at which more than 600
Turkish and foreign institution and brands were present.
/Turkiye/
Our international ceramics artist Jale Yilmazasar's personal
exhibition was opened at the Ataturk Cultural Centre in Istanbul.
The exhibition, sponsored by the Yasar Education and Culture
Foundation and by the DYO, will be open for to viewing 15 days.
Yilmabasar's exhibition called "15 years with painting" was
attended by many famous names. Half of the income from the
exhibition will be donated to the earthquake victims. /Sabah/
Columnist Oktay Eksi comments on the recent report prepared by
the European Commission concerning Turkey. A summary of his
column is as follows:
"The report prepared by the European Commission concerning Turkey
was declared the day before yesterday. Thus, one of the most
serious obstacles to Turkey's being placed on the list of
candidate countries for EU membership has been surmounted. If the
European Commission had stated that the country was not eligible
to be written in the list of candidates, work on the issue would
have come to an end as the the Council of Europe, which is the
final decision-making body within the organization, takes the
word of the Commission seriously.
Now it is the turn of the Helsinki Summit, which will be attended
by the Heads of State and Governments of all countries in the EU,
to ratify the motion that Turkey be placed on the list of
candidate countries. Then Turkey will be expected to do her
homework.
All is well... But what happened during the last two years to
change the mind of the Commission that it is suggesting Turkey be
on the list of candidate countries? In fact, neither the
Europeans nor the Commission can give a reasonable answer to this
question as there has been no change from the time of the
Luxembourg Summit, where they had shut the door to the EU in
Turkey's face. The change has taken place within Europe.
The Europeans have seen that the determined policy Turkey
followed versus the Luxembourg decision is lasting and if they
continue in the same vein Turkey may forget Europe. That is why
they have partially opened the door.
If a positive decision is taken in Helsinki, Turkey has to
prepare herself for the EU. That is to say, she cannot delay
democratization, respect for human rights, the halting of
torture, judicial reform or freedom of expression any more.
In fact, this is what the Turkish public wants; there is no need
to become a candidate country to realize these aims."
Columnist Derya Sazak discusses the report of the EU Commission
on Turkey and State Minister Irtemcelik's speech on human rights.
A summary of his column is as follows:
"The announcement of the EU Commission's report suggesting that
Turkey be accepted as a candidate country in Helsinki, and the
"human rights summit" in Ankara which took place simultaneously
is a development increasing optimistic expectations.
Prodi's mention of Turkey as a 'candidate country' to be given a
'route map' is a positive development. However, this is only a
suggestion and the real result will be seen in Helsinki in
December. A Greek veto due to the bargaining on Cyprus is a
serious possibility.
That is why the EU spokesmen are calling on Turkey to give out
positive signals on Cyprus, including the possibility of going to
the Court of Justice in the Hague for consideration of the
situation. They are preparing Turkey for any last minute
surprises by Greece.
It is regrettable to see that at the end of a 40-year journey we
have arrived not at "EU membership" but only at the acceptance of
"candidacy". When the Union was called the "Common Market", the
opposition centered on the theme that they would be the partners
and we would be the market. Then Greece, Portugal and Spain
became full-members in the 1980s. Following them, the Eastern
bloc countries were accepted as candidates and, although their
democracy was not fully-fledged, Romania and Bulgaria took up
their position in advance of Turkey for "membership status."
Finally, it was Turkey's turn to be accepted as a "candidate".
They became members and Turkey a candidate. When viewed from this
perspective, the recent suggestion by the Commission is nothing
but the patching up of the "disappointment" experienced in
Luxembourg two years ago.
When the only way to enter Europe passes through democracy, we
have no other choice but to look towards the EU in the next
decade. Thus, the possibility of full-membership could be seen on
the horizon. Turkey has to put her economy and democracy in order
in the meantime.
State Minister Mehmet Ali Irtemcelik's human rights summit
enjoyed historical importance as this was the first time
non-governmental organizations were also included in the meeting.
As Irtemcelik was talking about the bright future awaiting Turkey
in the 21st century, he stated, " We are a huge confluence of
humanity with Turks, Kurds, Bosnians, Circassians, Albanians, Laz
and others, with Sunni, Shiite and non-Muslims who have been
welded together by our common history over the centuries." These
words and the expression of the intention of crowning the
Republic proclaimed by Atatürk with all the institutions of
democracy is exciting.
We hope that these promises are kept. Then we will not feel
disheartened if we are not accepted into the EU. We cannot accept
the fact that we have to be satisfied with candidacy status
instead of membership and to lag behind the Eastern Bloc in the
line up for democracy."
FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
DEMIREL: "TOURISM DOES NOT MEAN ONLY MONEY"
TURKEY'S EU TRIAL TO BEGIN
HUMAN RIGHTS SUMMIT
GREEK MEDIA: "EU LAID OUT RED CARPET'
U.S.A. IS PLEASED WITH EU'S DECISION
CLINTON TO SPEAK AT ASSEMBLY
UNIVERSITY RECTORS IN ATHENS
GREAT RAID IN EUROPE
BLUE STREAM PROJECT
PUBLIC OFFICIALS TO BE CRUSHED AGAIN
"BLACKSEAFOR"
NON-ISLAMIC THEOLOGY IN TURKEY
ARBITRATION PROTECTION FOR TURKISH CONTRACTORS IN PAKISTAN
2ND EURASIA ECONOMIC SUMMIT
SUPPORT FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-SCALE ENTERPRISE VICTIMS OF THE
EARTHQUAKE
U.S.A'S NEW AMBASSADOR TO ISTANBUL
CHILEAN MONUMENT
STATE SUPPORT FOR PRIVATE THEATRES
IPACK '99 OPENED
MAGNIFICENT EXHIBITION
FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
THE END OF THE TUNNEL IN SIGHT - BY OKTAY EKSI (HURRIYET)
CANDIDATE COUNTRY - BY DERYA SAZAK (MILLIYET)