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Turkish Press Review, 02-01-31

Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>

<LINK href="http://www.byegm.gov.tr_yayinlarimiz_chr_pics_css/tpr.css" rel=STYLESHEET type=text/css> <map name="FPMap1"> <_map> Press &amp; Information Turkish Press Turkish Press Review &gt;&gt; Foreign Press Guide Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning

31.01.2002


CONTENTS

  • [01] SEZER RECEIVES SWEDEN'S DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
  • [02] ECEVIT VISITS BULGARIA
  • [03] ECEVIT TO SEND LETTER TO SADDAM
  • [04] YILMAZ SPEAKS ON TURKEY'S EU HARMONIZATION
  • [05] TURKISH COMMANDER: "IF CYPRUS NEGOTIATIONS FAIL, CRISIS COULD ENSUE"
  • [06] SESSION ON TURKEY AT THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
  • [07] VERHEUGEN: "EU AID WILL CONTRIBUTE TO PEACE ON CYPRUS"
  • [08] TAYLOR: "TURKEY COULD WRITE A SUCCESS STORY FOR THE WORLD"
  • [09] BANKING BILL RE-APPROVED BY PARLIAMENT
  • [10] ERDOGAN MEETS WITH TURKISH JOURNALISTS IN WASHINGTON
  • [11] WORLD BANK LOAN MEETINGS TO END THIS WEEK
  • [12] ISRAELI AMBASSADOR SPEAKS ON MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS
  • [13] PANGALOS: "GREECE SUPPORTED OCALAN"
  • [14] TURKISH "WOLVES" ON SCREEN AT BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL
  • [15] TURKISH PIANIST RECEIVES GRAND PRIZE IN RUSSIA
  • [16] TURK NAMED TO TOP PEPSI POSITION
  • [17] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...
  • [18] THE AEGEAN PROBLEM HANDLED AT LAST BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)
  • [19] LET'S NOT SPOIL IT BY SEMIH IDIZ (STAR)
  • [20] ECEVIT IN BULGARIA BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE)

  • [01] SEZER RECEIVES SWEDEN'S DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

    President Ahmet Necdet Sezer received Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Lena Hjlem-Wallen yesterday in Ankara. Sezer told Hjelm-Wallen that the Turkish people appreciated Sweden's support for Turkey's bid for full EU membership. Remarking that Turkey was still doing its utmost to meet the EU criteria, Sezer stated that there was a strong political will behind efforts towards this goal. /Cumhuriyet/

    [02] ECEVIT VISITS BULGARIA

    Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit yesterday left for Bulgaria for a two-day official visit. As part of his first day's contacts, Ecevit met with his Bulgarian counterpart and the country's former king, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. During their meeting, bilateral relations, regional developments and agreements on cleaning up mines on the country's mutual borders were discussed. Speaking at a state dinner in his honor, Ecevit pointed to Turkey's years-long struggle against terrorism. Stressing that both countries wanted to further develop bilateral relations on all fronts, Ecevit added that Turkey and Bulgaria would fill an important gap in the EU when they became members. Previously, before his departure from Turkey, Ecevit told reporters that as soon as he returned from his trip he would begin initiatives to help end Israel's pressure on the Palestinian territories. Earlier this week, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat sent a message to Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Ecevit asking for their immediate help in resolving the situation. /All Papers/

    [03] ECEVIT TO SEND LETTER TO SADDAM

    A draft of a letter to be sent to Iraqi leader Saddam Husein by Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit has been prepared by Turkish Foreign Ministry officials. The draft reportedly points to the importance that Turkey attaches to its neighbor Iraq and then calls on Saddam to allow international weapons inspectors into the country and also to cooperate with the UN. If he does not do these things, the letter continues, there could be negative consequences, and mentions US President George W. Bush's determination in this regard. /Turkiye/

    [04] YILMAZ SPEAKS ON TURKEY'S EU HARMONIZATION

    Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz told his party's group meeting yesterday that the regulations Turkey must formulate on freedom of thought and expression should be in compliance with the rulings of the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights and warned that otherwise, they would have to be changed later. "We briefly discussed this issue during the leaders' summit and the coalition parties decided to work on preparing these regulations in their own groups," he said. "I believe that the coalition parties will reach a consensus in terms of our targets. We have to be in compliance with the EU point of view." Addressing the recent petition drive for Kurdish-language education, Yilmaz stated, "Turkey's official language is Turkish, and education cannot be given in any other language. We never made any promises to accept this, and the EU hasn't asked us to. The parties behind this campaign are trying to trap Turkey. A handful of separatists don't have the right to stand in the way of Turkey's road to development." /Sabah/

    [05] TURKISH COMMANDER: "IF CYPRUS NEGOTIATIONS FAIL, CRISIS COULD ENSUE"

    Turkish Land Forces Commander Gen. Hilmi Ozkok said yesterday that the current negotiation process between Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas and his counterpart Glafcos Clerides could lead to a new crisis in the Eastern Mediterranean should the two leaders be unable to reach a solution at the conclusion of the process. In such an eventually, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) would play a part, Ozkok added. Gen. Ozkok made the remarks while on visit to the island to carry out inspections of the Turkish Cypriot Peacekeeping Force and to attend military seminars. Ozkok also said that in the absence of a solution for the island, Turkey would remain opposed to European Union membership for Greek Cyprus. /Hürriyet/

    [06] SESSION ON TURKEY AT THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

    The 2002 World Economic Forum (WEF) begins today in New York City, a shift from its usual venue of Davos, Switzerland made to show solidarity in the wake of last September's terrorist attacks. Since the nations of the world have been caught in a global economic recession, this year's meeting will focus on restoring sustained economic growth. A session titled "Turkey's Vision" will be held on Feb. 3 as a part of the Forum. Foreign investors will be informed about the recent measures taken by the Turkish government to improve domestic economic conditions. In addition, Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem is expected to hold bilateral meetings with US Secretary of State Colin Powell as well as his Greek, Afghan and Israeli counterparts George Papandreou, Abdullah Abdullah and Shimon Peres. He is also expected to meet with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The issues to be spotlighted during his meetings with Powell and Abdullah are the reconstruction of Afghanistan and Turkey's role in that process. He will also convey Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's recent messages to Peres. /Cumhuriyet/

    [07] VERHEUGEN: "EU AID WILL CONTRIBUTE TO PEACE ON CYPRUS"

    In a speech at a European Parliament (EP) meeting yesterday, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Guenther Verheugen briefed the EP members on financial aid to be delivered to 10 EU candidate countries by the EU Commission. Verheugen stated that if a permanent solution was reached on Cyprus, the EU was ready to grant 206 million euros to the northern part of the island. Remarking that this proposal was a significant opportunity for the Turkish Cypriots, Verheugen reiterated his prediction that the island might become a full EU member if a political solution was found. Meanwhile, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas remarked that such EU aid must be delivered directly to the TRNC, not via the Greek Cypriot administration. /Cumhuriyet/

    [08] TAYLOR: "TURKEY COULD WRITE A SUCCESS STORY FOR THE WORLD"

    US Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs John Taylor said yesterday that if Turkey continues to maintain its present stability, it could eventually write a "success story" for the world. Speaking on the Turkish economy, Taylor also predicted that the International Monetary Fund would approve Turkey's Letter of Intent. Turkey is now facing the important tasks of implementing its economic program and achieving economic growth, after having passed numerous reform laws it pledged to international lenders. /Hürriyet/

    [09] BANKING BILL RE-APPROVED BY PARLIAMENT

    The Banking Bill was approved in Parliament yesterday by a vote of 211-71 without any amendments. Last week President Ahmet Necdet Sezer vetoed the sixth, seventh and first provisional article of the bill and sent it back to Parliament for reconsideration. Under the Constitution, the president cannot veto the bill again. However, he can appeal to the Constitutional Court to have the law annulled. /Turkiye/

    [10] ERDOGAN MEETS WITH TURKISH JOURNALISTS IN WASHINGTON

    Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday held a meeting in Washington with members of the Turkish media. Erdogan is currently visiting the US to attend this weekend's World Economic Forum. Erdogan told the journalists that his party was planning to open an office in the US capital. /Cumhuriyet/

    [11] WORLD BANK LOAN MEETINGS TO END THIS WEEK

    World Bank Turkey Director Ajay Chibber stated yesterday that the bank was very close to concluding its meetings concerning Turkey's Public Sector and Financial Sector Harmonization Loan. Chibber met with US Treasury Undersecretary John Taylor yesterday morning. Afterwards, Chibber said that the meetings were about to come to an end and that an announcement on the loan would come by this weekend. Talks concerning the $1.3 billion WB loan to Turkey have been continuing for nearly two months. /Aksam/

    [12] ISRAELI AMBASSADOR SPEAKS ON MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS

    Israel's Ambassador to Turkey David Sultan said yesterday that the cooperation between the two countries against terrorism would continue. Sultan, who took his post in Ankara six months ago, told the Aksam daily Turkish-Israeli bilateral relations were in very good shape. Saying that the two countries were as one on many issues, Sultan said that strengthened cooperation on defense was of critical importance. He added, "Our cooperation has become stronger in terms of the common front against terrorism. In addition, Israel wants to increase its transfers of military technology to Turkey, technology which also has civilian applications. Although the Middle East peace process is currently stalled, sooner or later it will be revived. But Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat must decisively move against terrorism and terrorists. During the Clinton administration, Arafat had a great opportunity for make peace but he passed on it and then failed to take a stance against terrorism." In related news Turkey has reportedly been continuing to forward suggestions to Israel and the Palestinian leadership in order to help end the terror and violence in the Middle East. Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Huseyin Dirioz said that Turkey was maintaining contacts with both sides. /Aksam/

    [13] PANGALOS: "GREECE SUPPORTED OCALAN"

    Former Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos said yesterday that several years ago the highest levels of Greece's government had supported terrorist PKK head Abdullah Ocalan's taking refuge in his country, adding however that he had not given such support. Appearing on Greek TV station MEGA, Pangalos claimed that Ocalan had been brought to the country without his knowledge, and that when he knew of Ocalan's presence he offered to deliver him to the European Parliament. "But Prime Minister Costas Simitis and the other Cabinet ministers rejected my proposal," he added. He claimed that his only role in the case had been approving Ocalan's stay at the Greek Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. Costas Baduvas, a former Greek transportation minister, also appeared on MEGA and said that Greece's policy of supporting the terrorist PKK had begun during the term of late prime minister Andreas Papandreou and had continued under Simitis. /Turkiye/

    [14] TURKISH "WOLVES" ON SCREEN AT BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL

    A Turkish movie "Hungry Wolves" directed by Yilmaz Guney will be screened at the 52nd Berlin Film Festival this year. The Festival is set to begin on Feb. 6. /Cumhuriyet/

    [15] TURKISH PIANIST RECEIVES GRAND PRIZE IN RUSSIA

    Turkish pianist Gokhan Aybulus was awarded the Grand Prize for his performance at the Fourth International Marina Yudina Piano Contest in St. Petersburg, Russia. Aybulus is an undergraduate student at Moscow's Tchaikovsky Conservatory. /Cumhuriyet/

    [16] TURK NAMED TO TOP PEPSI POSITION

    The Pepsi-Cola Company announced yesterday that it was naming Okay Egdirci to the post of deputy marketing chairman for Europe and Central and Southern Africa. In his new position, Egdirci will market Pepsi products to over 50 countries. /Milliyet/

    [17] FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...

    [18] THE AEGEAN PROBLEM HANDLED AT LAST BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)

    Columnist Sami Kohen comments on the placing of the Aegean problem on the table for discussions. A summary of his column is as follows:

    "The Turkish,Greek and international communities recently learned that Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem and Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou had been secretly discussing the Aegean dispute for some time when Prime Minister Ecevit touched on the issue during his visit to Washington. Responding to a question posed by a journalist, Prime Minister Ecevit said that the two foreign ministers were working on the issue, and added, 'We have to wait for them to develop their view of the issue.' This week there were signs that that the two ministers were ready to begin a dialogue on the Aegean. The statements by Mr. Papandreou and the foreign ministry spokesman in Athens show that great distance has been covered regarding the problem. In fact, next week Cem and Papandreou are expected to meet in New York and then in Istanbul on Feb. 12 and complete the preliminary steps towards starting the dialogue and also make an official statement. It is an important development for Greece and Turkey to place the main dispute between themselves on the table, benefiting the improving climate seen over the last two years. Until now there were two disputes standing in the way of a dialogue, over the Aegean problems and the way in which they could be solved. If Cem and Papandreou have come to the point of beginning a dialogue, they must have reached an accord on general terms. For many years Athens has insisted that there was only one cause for disagreement in the Aegean and that was the continental shelf. For the Greeks the issues of territorial waters and airspace were not open to discussion as they were concerned with Greek sovereignty rights. Greece believed that the issue should be taken to the International Court of Justice at the Hague as it was not a political but a legal issue. Ankara expressed the belief that there were many disputes besides the continental shelf in the Aegean and that they should all be solved through a dialogue as they were political. Recently, flexibility has been observed in the approaches of both sides. It seems that Cem and Papandreou are about to form the background for a dialogue. This by itself is an important development."

    [19] LET'S NOT SPOIL IT BY SEMIH IDIZ (STAR)

    Columnist Semih Idiz writes on the makeup of the delegation from Turkey to be sent to the upcoming European Convention. A summary of his column is as follows:

    "The European Convention which will meet soon will have a crucial importance for the 'old continent'. The European Union has come to a point where it cannot go back and is looking towards the future. The questions asked within this context are not merely academic. They are closely concerned with the life of the Europeans. Will the European Union be a confederal or a federal institution? How much authority should be vested in the European Parliament? Is there a need for a binding European Constitution? Should EU membership be granted in stages? Answers to these and many other vital questions will be sought there. In short, this will be a serious platform where the attendees are expected to make concrete contributions. That is to say, people 'eligible' must participate in the delegation to be sent there. They have to know the issue well, in addition to speaking a foreign language. Otherwise, this platform will witness the lack of harmony among us, just as it has been the case in the European Council Parliamentary Assembly. I would like to express my opinion as a taxpayer on the issue and state my preferences as to who should be sent to the Convention. I agree with retired Ambassador Ilter Turkmen that Independent Istanbul Deputy Mehmet Ali Irtemcelik should be one of the delegation members as he has all the requirements for this important duty and knows full well that the aim of the Convention is not to vent our anger at others, but get some results. The second name I would suggest is Sevket Bulent Yahnici from Nationalist Action Party (MHP), as he has different views on the EU and continually studies the EU and the acquis communautaire. This is a very serious issue and we should not spoil the process of determining who will attend the delegation as we have on similar issues before."

    [20] ECEVIT IN BULGARIA BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (TURKIYE)

    Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna comments on Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit's visit to Bulgaria. A summary of his columns is as follows:

    "Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit will return from Bulgaria today. Bulgaria was a part of the Ottoman Empire for over 500 years, from 1362 to 1908. It split from the empire only in 1908 and became an independent kingdom. Ferdinand, Bulgaria's first king, was the grandfather of its third and final king and its present prime minister, Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Turkey, then a constitutional monarchy, appointed a staff officer, Ali Fethi Bey (later Prime Minister Fethi Okyar), as ambassador to the young state. His close friend, staff officer Maj. Mustafa Kemal Bey, was the military attaché, and later of course founded our Republic. Then our neighbor was the most loyal and faithful satellite of Soviet Russia for 45 years. In 1970, I paid my first visit to this country with the prime minister of the period, Suleyman Demirel. There I saw the hardest and toughest strain of communism. In the capital Sofia, the windows of the apartments were covered with curtains, made of old newspapers. In the 90s, I paid an official visit to this country twice with then President Suleyman Demirel. This country, which had never before experienced liberalism and democracy, was trying to be like Western Europe. Today, Bulgarian citizens can enter all the EU member countries without heeding a visa, and the nation will join the EU club before Turkey. Orthodox and Slavic Bulgaria had no objections to the EU regulations and principles. Over the past decade, they too have seen corruption. This is one of the reasons why they made their former king a prime minister and put him at the head of the executive branch. Turkey's Achilles' heel is that we come from a tradition of empire that lasted for 2,000 years. However, we have had 200 or 300 years to come to realize that we cannot control the world. In such a long period of time, our mentality has unfortunately not adapted to the reality of our situation. Now we have to live in compliance with the world's rules. I know this view might rankle some readers. Some people will ask me if I'm implying that we should take Bulgaria as an example. There will be those who will remind me that the one who modernized Bulgaria was our Tuna state Governor Midhat Pasha. However, it is the unconditional principle of my profession to help people see the truth.

    ARCHIVE


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