Selections From Todays Turkish Press

The Deputy Prime Minister and Nationalist Action Party (MHP) Chairman Devlet Bahceli appointed MHP Acting Group Chairman Oktay Vural as the Minister of Transportation after Enis Oksuz's resignation. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer signed the decree on Vural's appointment. /Cumhuriyet/

ISMAIL CEM'S TOUR TO CONVINCE

During his working visit in Egypt, Turkey's Minister of Foreign Affairs İsmail Cem said that the relations of Turkey with the Arab world has developed during recent years and approached the level it is worthy of. After his talks with the Secretary General Mr. Amr Musa, Ismail Cem made statements who first officially visited the Arabic League by the official title "Turkey's Minister of Foreign Minister." Mr. Ismail Cem said the necessity to stop the violence in the Middle East was emphasized during his talks. He replied to a question on Turkey-Israel relations "We feel at ease as Turkey because we are following a very clear policy. The friendships of Turkey cannot be discussed at the negotiation table. We do not use our friendships to gain any benefits. We do not abandon any of our friends for the other. So Turkey's relation with a country, including Israel, are not against any other country. The Turkey-Israel relations are being exaggerated by some circles both in İsrael and the Arap World. We know the situation in the region, which also interests Turkey closely. For this reason Turkey is doing its best to find a solution. Regardless of how much the situation has deteriorated, we have no right for being hopeless." /Türkiye/

IRAN STEPS BACK

Iran, who wants to begin selling natural gas to Turkey without completing its infrastructure, stepped back upon Ankara's reaction. Tehran, who announced that the consignment of natural gas began in the morning, accepted that its infrastructure did not meet international standards later, and demanded an additional month for the modernization of its measurement stations. Upon Iran's announcement, stating that if Turkey did not purchase natural gas, she would be obliged to pay an indemnity in the morning, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Zeki Cakan stated that Turkey could not purchase natural gas from Iran because the infrastructure for the natural gas sale was not completed. Cakan said, "That's why Turkey is not obliged to pay an indemnity to Iran." After the statements by both Turkish and Iranian officials, Cakan and his Iranian counterpart decided that the consignment of natural gas would begin in September. Meanwhile, Iraqi Minister of Oil, Amir Muhammed Rasid, announced Turkey and Iraq agreed to establish a natural gas pipeline in the Southeast of Turkey. /Cumhuriyet/

YAS TO MEET TOMORROW

The Supreme Military Council (YAS) meeting will begin tomorrow, during which new commanders would be appointed to the Air and Naval Forces. Naval Forces Commander Admirall Ilhami Erdil and Air Forces Commander General Ergin Celasin are expected to be retired. The YAS meeting will determine the rank of command for the next 10 years. /Cumhuriyet/

ALBANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER MILO TO ARRIVE IN ANKARA

As the tension in Macedonia rises, efforts intensify to find a formula for a solution to the crisis in the Balkans. Albanian Foreign Minister Paskal Milo, will visit Ankara on Tuesday as part of a tour to Eastern Europe countries. He is scheduled to visit Romania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece. He will arrive in Ankara after completion of talks in Sofia. He is expected to meet with Foreign Minister Ismail Cem. Albanian Ambassador Dashnor Dervisi said that the main aim of the visit was to focus on the situation in Macedonia. "He is visiting Turkey not only as the Albanian Foreign Minister, but also as the term-president of the Southeastern European Cooperation Process (GDAU)." Ambassador Dervisi said, adding that Milo has conveyed some new proposals regarding the solution of the crisis in Macedonia. /Turkish Daily News/

PRIME MINISTRY STARTS INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE INTERNAL PROCESSES

The Prime Ministry released a statement summarizing the steps that are needed to restructure administrative management. This involves changes in administration, regulations, and human resources. The plan is to reduce the size of public organizations to maintain transparency. Administrative restructuring aims to decrease management from a single center, strengthened coordination in the public field, decreasing red tape, and using resources in a more rational way. Efficiency in services and increased productivity are among the targeted goals. The report states that traffic, environment, culture, education, and health services are to be transferred to municipalities. /Turkish News/

KARAKOYUNLU PRAISES FISCHER

State Minister Yılmaz Karakoyunlu praised IMF's Deputy Chairman Stanley Fischer saying "Fischer is a prominent economist in the world". Minister Karakoyunlu said this in reply to a journalist during his visit to the Ministry of Environment and Tourism of TRNC. Karakoyunlu added " Mr. Fisher is an administrator who has enormous experience on managing monetary sources and crises management. Even our friends who have objected him until now have said so. Mr. Fischer left a very positive impression on them after talks on evaluating the economic issues. All these are very optimistic, sincere and realistic aspects of the talks. I also am very satisfied and happy for these opinions to be said and written. The talks have put the verity of matters in place. For this reason all the spoken words are the expression of very important lines of progress on account of Turkey's economy." /Türkiye/

CAUSES OF CASA CRASHES DISCOVERED

The causes of the two CASA plane crashes, which happened on May 16 and 18, have been resolved. The May 16 crash in Malatya, which resulted in the deaths of 34 military personnel, was understood to have been caused by a pilot error; while the May 18 crash in Ankara, which took place during a test flight, was caused by a hitch in the aileron system of the plane. Turkish Aero plane Industries (TAI) announced that the cause of the crash could have been a mechanical problem, most likely a hitch in the aileron system of the plane. /Turkish News/

IRAQ AGREES WITH TURKEY TO BUILD PIPELINE

Iraq's Oil Minister Amir Muhammed Rasheed has said that his country has agreed with Turkey to build a pipeline to supply the latter with gas. "We have agreed with Turkey to construct a gas pipeline to supply southwest Turkey with gas," Rasheed said at an interview on Iraqi satellite television late Sunday night. Rasheed said that according to the agreement, Iraq would supply Turkey with 11 billion cubic meters of gas a year, an amount which could be increased. /Turkish News/

SWISS SUPPORT FOR PREPARATIONS AGAINST EARTHQUAKE

According to the statement by the United Nations, the Swiss government increased its support to Turkey's development activities. The Swiss Ambassador Kurt O. Wyss to Turkey and UN Turkey Representative Alfreda Withschi Cestari, will sign a cooperation agreement for $870,000 within the framework of a preparation project for a possible earthquake that might take place in the Marmara region. /Cumhuriyet/

'TURKEY' ANNOUNCEMENT IN DIE WELT

An announcement was published in the German daily "Die Welt" including prominent Turkish and German figure's ideas about Turkey. In the announcement titled "Developments Sustained in the Turkey-EU Path", former Federal Assembly Chairwoman, and Chairwoman for the Migration Office, Rita Sussmuth's ideas were widely covered. /Cumhuriyet/

EFFICIENCY INCREASES IN TURKEY

According to the results of the research conducted by the National Productivity Center, comparing the 1995-1999 period in Turkey and 15 EU countries, the highest rate of increase in efficiency belongs to Finland with 4,62 %. Turkey's annual average increase in efficiency is 2,09 % in industry and 0.87 in the agricultural sector. /Cumhuriyet/

FINANCIAL TIMES: "FISCHER'S VISIT PROVIDES TURKEY WITH SELF-CONFIDENCE"

The Financial Times stated that IMF Deputy Chairman Stanley Fischer's visit provided Turkey with self-confidence. In the analysis published in the Financial Times yesterday, it was stated that Turkey's self-confidence increased in the economic program and reforms with Fischer's visit. The paper pointed out that Fischer said IMF Executive Council might meet to discuss the release of the $1.5 billion loan to be delivered to Turkey on Saturday. The Financial Times also stated that the Turkish government's decisions made last week to decrease the demand for the foreign exchange and encourage the usage of Turkish lira affected the markets and business circles positively. /Milliyet/

TOURISM REVENUES INCREASE BY 14 %

The claims stating tourism revenues will increase dramatically have been confirmed. Turkey's tourism revenues have reached to $2,88,000,000 by increasing 14.8 % in the first five moths of this year. /Milliyet/

THE EXPORTS FROM THE SOUTHEAST ARE DIRECTED TOWARDS THE EU

According to the data compiled by the Union of Exporters of the Southeast Region (GAIB) the direction of exports from the region have turned from the Middle East countries to the EU. The share of the export to the Middle East of the regional total exports were 83.2% in 1992. The same indicator reduced the level of 30.85% at the first half of this year. For the same period the share of the EU countries in total regional exports have raised from 9.08% to 31.12%. Gaziantep University sees this development as the indicator of the integration with the EU. /Türkiye/

CHIEF OF CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE VISITS GOVERNMENT

The Chief of the Turkey's Union of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (TOBB)and his aides will visit the government officials today, to deliver a report about the problems and troubles which the manufacturing industry in Turkey are facing. The TOBB delegation will first meet with the Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit, Deputy Prime Ministers Hüsamettin Özkan and Devlet Bahçeli. The delegation will later be received by the State Minister Kemal Derviş, Finance Minister Sümer Oral, Minister of Industry and Trade A. Kenan Tanrıkulu. /Türkiye/

IMKB STAYS STABLE AMONG EMERGING MARKETS

Istanbul Stock Exchanges (IMKB) stayed stable on account of the volume of transactions in the first five months of this year among the emerging markets. According to the rank by 'Federation of Internationale des Bourses de Valeurs' (FIBV) have ordered the countries for the period of January-May. The biggest one among the emerging markets was the Taiwan Stock Exchange with the transcation value of 270. 4 billion dollars. It was followed by the S. Korean Stock Exchange with 162.4 billion dollars. Then comes the Hong-Kong Stock Exchange with 110.3 billion dollars. Turkey's IMKB is ranked fourth with its 41 billion dollars of transaction volume for the same period./ Türkiye/

CURRENT ACCOUNTS GIVE $319 MILLION SURPLUS

Turkey's current account balance improved further in May as exports and tourism were boosted by the depreciation of the lira, providing a ray of hope for a country struggling to finance a mountain of debt. The current account surplus rose to $319 million in the January to May period -the first time it went into the black this year -compared to a $4.23 billion deficit last year, the Central Bank said on Monday. /Turkish News/

TURKISH DOCTOR: "WE HAVE FOUND A VACCINE AGAINST HIV VIRUS"

The Turkish doctor working at the Pasteur Institute in France, Huseyin Firat announced that they were successful in the producing a vaccine against the HIV virus. Firat said the vaccination would be successful especially on the HIV positive patients at the beginning level of the sickness. Delivering a speech at the European Immunology Conference in Stockholm, Firat said the vaccination would enter the markets in one year. He said, "If we get the necessary aid from the European Commission, we can complete our studies as soon as possible." /Milliyet/

NO VACATION FOR ANKARA IN EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN BY OZGEN ACAR (CUMHURIYET)

Columnist Ozgen Acar writes on the diplomatic traffic to take place in the Eastern Mediterranean during the month of August. A summary of his column is as follows: "During the month of August when millions will vacation in the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey will be the scene of lively diplomatic traffic. Yesterday Foreign Minister Ismail Cem flew to Cairo to meet with his Egyptian counterpart Ahmet Tahir. Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Seba Nasser is in Turkey today. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will visit Ankara for a day. TRNC President Rauf Denktas will go to New York sooner than expected to meet with the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. The Presidents of Turkey and Egypt use to meet once every year to exchange opinions. This was delayed for some time. Foreign Minister Cem met with new Egyptian Foreign Minister Mahir. They discussed the improvement of bilateral relations, and the transportation of Egyptian natural gas through a 800km. pipeline over land and under the sea. The pipeline, which will go under water, will reach Lebanon first and then the natural gas will be transported over land to Turkey. Cem must have found the opportunity to stress the fact that the evaluation of the pipeline with Israel will contribute to peace in the region. The steps to be taken to avert the possibility of a new war stemming from the clashes between Palestinians and Israelis must be reviewed during this visit. Cem is expected to convey an invitation by the President Sezer to the Egyptian President Mubarak. Thus, Ankara will have the opportunity of exchanging views, expressing opinions and making suggestions with Egypt. The rapprochement with Syria is still going on. Even though there are some problems, the economic initiatives were praised during the Ankara-Damascus Joint Economic Council meeting. Foreign Minister Cem is planning to visit Damascus. The Deputy Foreign Minister of Syria Seba Nasser is in Turkey to prepare for this visit. The most important issue will be to put in writing the concrete steps in structuring to determine the principles of the relations. Ankara will stress the point that the natural gas pipeline coming from the south will contribute to Syria, Israel and Lebanon and the waters of Manavgat flowing from Turkey to Israel and other countries in the region. It is expected that the Syrian diplomat will draw attention to the problems of Syria concerning cross border waters. Nasser will leave Turkey on August 3 paving the way for Cem's Damascus visit. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's desire to visit Turkey has been a cause for concern among the Arab countries. The meeting will center on defense issues and cooperation in tourism in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Foreign Minister Cem will allay the fears of the Egyptian administration in addition to soothing the Syrian diplomats concerns. Meanwhile the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus President, Rauf Denktas is expected to go to New York in August. It is expected that President Denktas will explain to the UN Secretary General that talks on Cyprus could resume not on the old format Alvaro de Soto was carrying on between the sides, but on a new platform. The New York visit of Denktas will display his good will on the issue."

WHAT A PROJECT!!!! BY OKTAY EKSI (HURRIYET)

Columnist Oktay Eksi comments on the project prepared by the so-called 'reformists'. A summary of his column is as follows: "A booklet determining the basic policies of the so-called reformists was prepared by the consultants of their leader. Every political movement must determine such basic common lines. However, the points defined do not present a 'Turkey Project' as claimed. Even if this had been a Turkey project, the question of what this project brings should be answered. Even more important, is the question that what is omitted in this document. A project cannot be described only by listing statements such as,' we are against a state of religion',' Erbakan distorted Islam',' the conditions are not ripe for Sharia' and 'we recognize Kurdish ethnicity'. Where are the economic policies, culture policies, education policies to start with...Erdogan and his friends should realize the difference between being a reformist and just saying something to fulfill the need for making a statement. "