Turkish Press Review, 00-12-06
HR-Net News Distribution Manager
06.12.00
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] GREEK PRESS: "BOTH SIDES PLEASED WITH ACCESSION PARTNERSHIP
DOCUMENT"
[02] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
THE MEANING OF NEW ACCESSION PARTNERSHIP DOCUMENT BY EROL
[03] MANISALI (CUMHURIYET)
[04] SEZER RECEIVES IMANALIEV
[05] NATIONAL PROGRAM TRANSFORMS MGK TO AN ADVISORY BOARD
[06] GREEK PRESS: "BOTH SIDES PLEASED WITH ACCESSION PARTNERSHIP
DOCUMENT"
[07] ACCESSION PARTNERSHIP DOCUMENT
[08] EU PARLIAMENT APOLOGIZES TO CEM
[09] CAKMAKOGLU: "THE EU CANNOT USE NATO SOURCES"
[10] GAZARYAN: "WE ARE READY FOR DIALOGUE"
[11] TURKISH WOMEN'S "PRIDE" DAY
[12] CILLER: "CYPRUS IS BEING LOST"
[13] TURKEY TO ANNOUNCE NEW IMF DEAL
[14] TURKEY TO RECEIVE $1 BILLION LOAN FROM WORLD BANK
[15] TRUMAN: "TURKEY DESERVES THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT"
[16] OZEL ELECTED AS DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OF CHROMIUM UNION
[17] TURKISH JEWELRY FACTORY IN THAILAND
[18] BEKO STARTS SELLING ON PACIFIC COAST
[19] TURKCELL RECEIVES $50 MILLION CREDIT
[20] $250 MILLION CREDIT FROM DEUTSCHE BANK
[21] EXPORTS IN AUTOMATIVE INDUSTRY
[22] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[23] THE MEANING OF NEW ACCESSION PARTNERSHIP DOCUMENT BY EROL
MANISALI (CUMHURIYET)
[24] ON THE ROAD TO EU BY TAHA AKYOL (MILLIYET)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[01] GREEK PRESS: "BOTH SIDES PLEASED WITH ACCESSION PARTNERSHIP
DOCUMENT"
[02] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
THE MEANING OF NEW ACCESSION PARTNERSHIP DOCUMENT BY EROL
[03] MANISALI (CUMHURIYET)
[04] SEZER RECEIVES IMANALIEV
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer received Kyrgyz Minister of Foreign
Affairs, Muratbek Imanaliev yesterday in Cankaya Palace. Turkish
Foreign Minister Ismail Cem was also present at the meeting. Mr.
Imanaliev also visited Minister of State, Abdulhaluk Mehmet Cay.
It was stated the two ministers discussed bilateral relations and
Mr. Cay's visit to Kyrgyzstan. After completing his contacts in
Ankara, Mr. Imanaliev travelled to Istanbul. /Cumhuriyet/
[05] NATIONAL PROGRAM TRANSFORMS MGK TO AN ADVISORY BOARD
The National Program describing the steps that Turkey would take
in accordance with the Accession Partnership Document (APD) is to
be finished and submitted to the government next week. The State
Planning Organization (DPT) prepared the economic portion of the
program that will meet the ADP's short-term and mid-range
priority requirements. The EU Turkey Secretariat-General will
give the final form of the national program. Some points in the
program are as follows: 1. Freedom of Expression: Amendments in
Article 312 of the Turkish Penal Code, Art. 7-8 of the Anti-terrorism
Law and amendments in Press Law and Political
Parties Law. 2. The Role of National Security Council (MGK):
Amending the Art.118 of the Constitution in such a way that MGK
functions only as an Advisory Board. 3. Death Penalty: Amendments in
Art.125 and 146 of the Turkish Penal Code to abolish the death
penalty. Signing the 6th protocol of the European Council Human
Rights Convention. 4. Freedom of Thought, Religion and Faith:
Removing the barriers against expression of these freedoms.
/Milliyet/
[06] GREEK PRESS: "BOTH SIDES PLEASED WITH ACCESSION PARTNERSHIP
DOCUMENT"
According to the Greek press, Turkey's Accession Partnership
Document pleased both Greek and Turkish sides. Stating that
officials from the two countries interpreted the document from
their own perspectives, the Greek press critisized Foreign
Minister George Papandreou's statement: "It was not a zero sum
game. There is neither a loser nor a winner." The press pointed
out despite Turkey's obligation to obey the Helsinki accords, the
obligation only covers political dialogue." Greek Prime Minister
Kostas Simitis said, "Turkey's next steps on Cyprus and Greece
are important for us. We will follow this issue closely until
2004. If Turkey does not meet the Helsinki requirements on human
rights, democratization and the Cyprus issue, the EU might stop
giving aid to Turkey." Meanwhile, certain opposing press organs
saw the document as a failure of the Simitis government.
/Cumhuriyet/
[07] ACCESSION PARTNERSHIP DOCUMENT
Placement of the Cyprus and Aegean issues in Turkey's Accession
Partnership Document under the title of "The Strengthened
Political Dialogue and Political Criteria" during the EU General
Affairs Council's meeting the day before yesterday, was welcomed
by the Turkish government. The coalition partners' leaders spoke
about the recent development concerning the APD at their parties'
parliamentary group meetings. State Minister and Deputy Prime
Minister Devlet Bahceli said the partial revision of the APD is
positive, but not enough. He added, "We need our European
counterparts' good will, sincerity and mutual cooperation." State
Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz also evaluated
Turkey-EU relations. Yilmaz said after a tense period, a positive
phase in Turkey-EU relations is on-going similar to the time
following the Helsinki Summit. Yilmaz said Turkey is determined
to implement all of the criteria declared at the Copenhagen and
Maastricht Summits. Regarding the Cyprus issue, Yilmaz called on
the Greek-Cypriot Administration to give up the fantasy of being
an EU member alone. /Turkiye/
[08] EU PARLIAMENT APOLOGIZES TO CEM
The Chairman of the European Parliament Nicole Fontaine
apologized to Foreign Minister Ismail Cem for the recent
protest-activity of the two DHKP-C militants during the EP
Foreign Affairs Commission session on Nov. 28th. Sending a letter
to Cem, Fontaine said, "I wish to convey my deepest regrets for
such an unfortunate event occuring during your address to
European parliamentarians." She also underlined that she gave
necessary orders to prevent any repetition of such disruptions.
Furthermore, the Secretary-General for the EP, Julian Priestley
sent a letter to Cem saying the incident was unacceptable.
Meanwhile, Italian Parliament Luiza Morgantini denied allegations
that she helped the militants enter the EP building. /Turkiye/
[09] CAKMAKOGLU: "THE EU CANNOT USE NATO SOURCES"
The Minister of National Defence, Sabahattin Cakmakoglu, in
Brussels to attend NATO meetings, clearly expressed Turkey's
objection to the use of NATO facilities, if Turkey is not
included in the European Security and Defence Identity (ESDI)
decision mechanisms. Cakmakoglu said Turkey was not given its
desired and expected roles in the ESDI Policy. For that reason,
it was not possible to accept the EU demands from NATO. The EU
excludes NATO member countries which are not EU members- Turkey,
Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Iceland and Norway- from the
ESDI decision mechanisms, however, asks for using NATO facilities
when it is needed. /Turkiye/
[10] GAZARYAN: "WE ARE READY FOR DIALOGUE"
The Turco-Armenian Business Council Co-Chairmen are trying to
improve relations between Turkey and Armenia. Arsen Gazaryan
said, "I came to Turkey to put the relations in order. We should
begin dialogue and I brought goodwill messages from the Armenian
President and the Foreign Minister. Turkey should not take the
Armenian Diaspora into consideration and, we should not let third
countries to interfere in our affairs. We are tired of these claims
and want to live in peace with Turkey." Responding to the press'
question ,"why did Armenia remain silent when the so-called
genocide drafts were brought forth", Mr. Gazaryan said, "Armenia
is hungry. Radicals in the Diaspora send money to the hungry
people in Armenia. 3.5 million Armenian live in Armenia in
contrast to 6.5 million people in Diaspora. Armenia is a very
poor country. People in the Diaspora does not like us to speak
favorably about Turkey, or they would stop sending money."
/Hurriyet/
[11] TURKISH WOMEN'S "PRIDE" DAY
The 66th anniversary of Turkish women's suffrage and right to
hold elected office was celebrated all over Turkey. Prime
Minister Bulent Ecevit said, "Although providing women with the
right to vote and to hold office is sine qua non for a democracy,
certain democratic countries are late in implementing suffrage
compared with Turkey." Women parliamentarians delivered speeches
in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) on the anniversary.
/Cumhuriyet/
[12] CILLER: "CYPRUS IS BEING LOST"
Yesterday, True Path Party (DYP) leader Tansu Ciller attended a
panel titled, "The Position of Women in Politics, Society and
Women's Political Rights", organized to mark the 66th anniversary
of suffrage for Turkish women. During her speech, Ciller pointed
out Turkey had not yet begun membership negotiations with the EU,
and no specific date had been set. She said, "They have chosen
for Cyprus. Cyprus is being lost. While you are losing it, it
does not matter if a demand for a solution is included in the
dialogue section of an article or not." Ciller also emphasized
Turkey should continue to its just way, without any concession.
/Turkiye/
[13] TURKEY TO ANNOUNCE NEW IMF DEAL
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said yesterday that talks with the
IMF over possible emergency funding were on track. Cash-strapped
financial markets are keenly awaiting the anouncement of a $2-6
billion supplemental reserve facility (SRF) deal with the IMF.
Treasury Undersecretary Selcuk Demiralp said an agreement was met
in principle with the IMF. The amount of the SRF Turkey will
receive will be announced today. The IMF delegation continued its
contacts yesterday. Mr. Demiralp met first with the Chief IMF
delegation, Carlo Cottarelli, then Chief of IMF Europe
Department, Micheal Deppler, yesterday. Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of State, Husamettin Ozkan, met with US Deputy Treasury
Secretary Edwin Truman. /Cumhuriyet-Turkish Daily News/
[14] TURKEY TO RECEIVE $1 BILLION LOAN FROM WORLD BANK
The World Bank Executive Board will discuss the $5 billion loan
that will be given to Turkey by month's end. It plans to approve
a $1 billion portion of the loan. World Bank Deputy President
Johannes Linn said approval of the loan is not an emergency
measure for Turkey, it is a pre-planned loan. /Milliyet/
[15] TRUMAN: "TURKEY DESERVES THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT"
US Deputy Treasury Secretary Prof. Edwin Ted Truman met with
Deputy Prime Minister Husamettin Ozkan, Finance Minister Sumer
Oral, State Minister Recep Onal and Treasury Undersecretary
Selcuk Demiralp seperately. Mr. Truman received information
regarding "the economic stabilization program, its aims and its
productive structure." Mr. Truman said Turkey deserves the
support for the implementation of its far-sighted program.
/Milliyet/
[16] OZEL ELECTED AS DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OF CHROMIUM UNION
Bilfer Madencilik Corp. President Sozer Ozel, a member of the
Ankara Chamber of Industry (ASO) Assembly, was elected yesterday
as deputy chairman of World Chromium Union. Ozel has been a
member of of the union for four years. Ozel's selection is said
to strengthen Turkey's international position as the biggest
chromium producer after South Africa and Kazakhstan. /Turkish
Daily News/
[17] TURKISH JEWELRY FACTORY IN THAILAND
Two brothers, Eren and Emre Berksoy, established a jewelry
factory in Bangkok. They process jewelry totaling $200-250
million. The factory's capital is $10 million. /Milliyet/
[18] BEKO STARTS SELLING ON PACIFIC COAST
Turkish consumer durables manufacturer Beko has started to sell
its products in large Russian cities on the Pacific coast, namely
Vladivostok, Habarovsk and Ussirisk. They are already established
in Moscow and St.Petersburg, according to a company statement.
/Turkish Daily News/
[19] TURKCELL RECEIVES $50 MILLION CREDIT
An agreement regarding Akbank's loan of $50 million credit to
Turkcell was signed yesterday. Turkcell's total credit received
for the last month was about $500 million. /Aksam/
[20] $250 MILLION CREDIT FROM DEUTSCHE BANK
Deutsche Bank will give $250 million credit to Turkish Bank.
Deutsche Bank had withdrawn from Turkish financial markets just
before the crisis. It sold the Turkish Treasury bonds at hand. It
will now reenter the market. /Hurriyet/
[21] EXPORTS IN AUTOMATIVE INDUSTRY
The Turkish automative sector realized $2.365-billion in export
during the last 11 months. With $521 million, Germany was first
among countries where Turkey exported the most. France, Italy,
the US and England followed Germany. /Turkiye/
[22] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS...
[23] THE MEANING OF NEW ACCESSION PARTNERSHIP DOCUMENT BY EROL
MANISALI (CUMHURIYET)
Columnist Erol Manisali writes on the meaning of the last
agreement on Accession Partnership Document (APD). A summary of
his column is as follows:
"We have to analyze the developments concerning the Accession
Partnership Document which was changed a little by the Foreign
Ministers of 15 countries in Brussels. Does this reflect Ankara's
or Athens' demands?
First, the Cyprus question was defined as an issue which must be
solved by Turkey in the short-term. The deadline set is the end
of 2001 or the beginning of 2002. This means that the Cyprus
problem is put forth as condition for Turkey. Second, the
solution given is the proposal the UN Secretary-General made in
Geneva. This calls for a unitary state on Cyprus- which in turn
means there will not be two separate states. It is a state based
on the sovereignty of the Greek-Cypriot majority, where the
Turkish-Cypriots do not have any sovereignty rights. Third, the
Aegean problem is included in the Accession Partnership Document
upon the request of Athens. The Aegean issue will be solved at
The International Court of Justice at The Hague in 2004. This is
the solution Athens has always sought but had never been accepted
by Ankara until now.
These are the conditions put forth to Turkey with the Helsinki
Declaration in return for Turkey's candidacy. Both Helsinki and
the APD are carrying Athens to its goal step by step. Greece
wants to solve the Cyprus issue in 2002 and the Aegean problem in
2004, in line with its requests. These developments are in
contradiction with statements made by Prime Minister Ecevit at
the Cyprus summit in Ankara, and the Democratic Left Party's
parliamentary group. At the Cyprus summit it was stated that
Turkey's clear stance was in favour of a two-state structure.
However, in the APD, Ankara is included in the last UN proposals.
It refers to the solution favoured by the UN. Ankara has not been
able to stand by the decisions of the Ankara summit. In his
speech at his parliamentary group, Ecevit had said the Government
would not accept any ties between the relations with the EU and
Cyprus. The APD indexes the relations to the solution of these
problems.
Athens feared an agreement would not be reached between Ankara
and Brussels on the APD. Athens can rest easy now as it wants a
solution to the Cyprus issue in 2002 and the Aegean in 2004 on
its terms by holding Turkey on the doorstep of the EU. What
Athens feared most was the eruption of a crisis between Ankara
and Brussels. In such a case all its plans would have failed.
Greece, which used EU in its relations with Turkey, would have
been left facing Turkey all by itself as in the old days.
Cyprus and the Aegean head the list of conditions. The list of
conditions is long. To begin with, there is the acceptance of all
ethnic groups as national minorities. The imposition of the
European Parliament's decision on the so-called Armenian genocide
will follow. Turkey has to accept all such conditions while
waiting to be admitted to the Union. In trying to fulfil these
conditions, Turkey may realize, in the end, that it has lost on
many serious points. In the course of time, Turkey will realize
that others waiting at the doorstep of the Union such as Ukraine,
Russian Federation, Belarus will have all been admitted before
itself.
However, we should not put all the blame on Athens or Brussels.
We must see the truth for ourselves."
[24] ON THE ROAD TO EU BY TAHA AKYOL (MILLIYET)
Columnist Taha Akyol comments on the recent decision by the
Brussels summit. A summary of his column is as follows:
"What would have happened if a negative result came from the
Brussels summit and an agreement with the IMF had not been
reached? Obviously, an economic disaster would follow. This event
is enough to show what globalization means. No one can live
without opening up to the world. Those who try have all
failed...the Soviet Union collapsed, Cuba, Iraq, Syria, and North
Korea are all poor and governed by despotic regimes.
Entering the EU and globalizing the economy is necessary for
Turkey to catch up with the world. Although a positive result
came from Brussels, former diplomat, Mehmet Ali Irtemcelik, says
it cannot be defined as a victory. "A path has been opened by
decresaing Greek gains and Turkish losses with a formula which is
not clear." Turkey has to prepare its National Program, showing
what it can do to enter the EU within a month.
Will Turkey prepare a 'national program' in line with the
European standards? Prime Minister Ecevit had eased our minds by
saying we could have accomplished all the required criteria in
2001. However, experienced diplomat Irtemcelik, who had also
served as State Minister, is being realistic. He says, "There are
serious differences of opinion on this issue in the political
superstructure of Turkey. Differences of opinion came out between
the General Staff and MIT (National Intelligence Service) in
addition to those among the Coalition parties. If these
differences of opinion block Turkey's decision making
mechanisms, a 'national program' cannot be prepared easily.
Irtemcelik added that Turkey should clearly understand what full
EU membership would bring and take away. If the decision making
mechanisms cannot take the initiative, a referendum should be
held.
This is a fair formula. However, would those in power be willing
to accept it? The EU bears a great responsibility to the issue.
Turkey should know that it can trust the EU's promises, such as
passing of the 'Regulations on Framework' which would form the
legal infrastructure of the necessary financial to Turkey. Then,
the aid to Turkey would not be bound by a Greek veto. In the end
we shall decide, what do we want, to be a poor Middle Eastern
state or democratic and industrialized Western state?"
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