Selections From Todays Turkish Press

The National Security Council (MGK) headed by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer held its ordinary October meeting at the Presidential Palace yesterday. Following the five-hour meeting, a statement was issued saying, "Domestic and international developments , as well as the operation being carried out in Afghanistan, were discussed during the meeting. Additionally, the MGK decided to advise the government to extend the State of Emergency for four more months in Diyarbakir, Hakkari, Sirnak and Tunceli." As part of the amendment to Article 118 of the Constitution, which increased the number of civilian members at the MGK from 5 to 9, Deputy Prime Ministers Devlet Bahceli, Mesut Yilmaz, Husamettin Ozkan and Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk also attended the meeting. /Turkiye/

LEADERS HOLD SUMMIT

The leaders of the coalition government met yesterday following the MGK meeting. Chief of General Staff Gen. Huseyin Kivrikoglu, Deputy Prime Minister Husamettin Ozkan, Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal and National Intelligence Service Undersecretary Senkal Atasagun also participated in the meeting After the meeting, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit told reporters that the group had evaluted recent developments in the operations in Afghanistan and pointed to Turkey's ongoing support for the US. /Turkiye/

CILLER VISITS DEMIREL

True Path Party (DYP) leader Tansu Ciller paid a suprise visit to the former President Suleyman Demirel yesterday, meeting with him for more than an hour. Stressing that the two had discussed national problems and ways to solve them, Ciller urgently called on the government to hold elections. She said, "If public's support for a government falls below 10 %, the thing to be done is to resign, as BorisYeltsin did." /Turkiye/

GEN. KIVRIKOGLU: "NO CONCESSIONS CONCERNING ESDP"

Answering reporters' questions at a reception held by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer to mark October 29, Republic Day, at the Cankaya Presidential Palace two days ago, Chief of General Staff Gen. Huseyin Kivrikoglu made remarks on the subject of European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP). Stating that Turkey was one of the West's most reliable allies, Kivrikoglu said, "Turkey's best interests require it to take part in the new European security architecture. There is a newly emerged re-structuring process in the world just now. The US says that Europe should establish its own security architecture through using NATO facilities. The EU does not want to see us in this new structure. However, we cannot accept their using NATO facilities yet excluding us from this process at the same time. We would take only scenarios which include Turkey into consideration. Nobody should expect us to accept proposals which don't clearly put forth Turkey's position." /Cumhuriyet/

"IT IS HIGH TIME FOR SELF-CRITICISM"

Religious Affairs Directorate Head Mehmet Nuri Yilmaz issued a message to mark Berat Kandili (an Islamic holy day). Stating that Islamic countries should engage in self-criticism concerning the issue of terrorism, Yilmaz said, "Muslims must never support terrorists, those who perpetrate horrifying acts of terrorism. The Islamic world should not take stances supporting terrorism. The line between religious beliefs and terrorism should be very clearly demarcated." Yilmaz said that today Islam has the unfortunate reputation of supporting terrorism. He added that since this image has nothing to do with Islam's essence, what Islam really is, the Islamic world should do its utmost to correct this impression. /Sabah/

US PRESS: "GERMANY IS FIGHTING ISLAMIC ORGANIZATIONS"

Prominent US news magazine Newsweek and business daily The Wall Street Journal have both reported that Germany's government is aiming to end the activities of radical Islamic organizations through amending certain laws. German Interior Minister Otto Schilly has reportedly launched an initiative to end the activities of Kaplancilar, a group which has pursued illegal aims and supported terrorist activities targeting Turkey. Schilly has also begun to review the activities of Milli Gorus (National View). /Sabah/

GERMAN AMBASSADOR VISITS TOURISM MINISTER TASAR

Turkish Tourism Minister Mustafa Tasar received German Ambassador Rudolph Schmidt in his office in Ankara. Tasar stated that Turkey and Germany have an important relationship and share a number of issues in common, adding that all kinds of cooperation between both countries would be helpful. Schimdt said that this year has seen a 40 percent increase in German tourists visiting Turkey, setting a new record. Schmidt added that tourism was not simply economic in nature but that it also has a cultural dimension and continued: "German citizens know that Turkey is a Muslim country and they see this when they come to Turkey. They leave Turkey with very good memories after their visits." /Turkish Daily News/

TURK: "NEW ASSET SHARING SYSTEM IS FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS"

Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said on Tuesday that the revised version of the Civil Code aims to bring a brand new asset sharing system to future generations. Receiving representatives of women's associations, Turk briefed them about the Civil Code amendment. Turk remarked that the most important characteristics of the amended Civil Code would be full gender equality. /Turkish Daily News/

DERVIS: THE WORLD SUPPORTS TURKEY

State Minister for the Economy Kemal Dervis said that aid provided through foreign financing is important for Turkey in order to put its real economy in order. Dervis issued a statement saying that "Turkey is supported by industrialized countries and by international financial organizations, and this support is very important for Turkey's restucturing program and for it to grow its economy". He also stated that IMF Turkey desk chief Juha Kahkonen accopmlied by irs committee would visit Turkey in few days for its 10th review and in order to reaffirm the foreign finance provided to Turkey. /Hurriyet/

"TURKEY IS OUR FRIEND"

H. Nasser Ziya a represantative of Afghanistan's former government serving in Italy said that he sees Turkey as a friend because of the effort that it has shown to convene a Afghan summit in Ankara. He also mentioned that the Turkey's effort pleased Afghan King Zahir Sah./Hürriyet/

40TH YEAR OF TURKISH IMMIGRATION TO GERMANY

Germany celebrated on Tuesday an agreement signed 40 years ago with Turkey inviting workers to help rebuild its postwar economy, but admitted that more must be done to improve their integration. About 6,800 Turkish workers came in the first year of the deal, signed on October 30, 1961. The influx accelerated after that, until West Germany closed its doors in 1973 as unemployment spiralled during the global oil crisis that year. Today, Germany's Turkish community numbers almost 2.5 million-the biggest minority group in a population of some 82 million. "The Turkish population in Germany has not only contributed considerably to the success of the German economy in the past, but it also helps to secure our prosperity today as taxpayers, consumers, investors and entrepreneurs," Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said in a statement. /Turkish Daily News/

NEW THREAT TO CYPRUS FROM EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Jacques Poos, the European Parliament's Cyprus Rapporteur and a known partisan on behalf of Greece said yesterday that "Until a solution is found to the Cyprus problem, neither Turkey nor Turkish Cypriots can be members of the European Union"./Türkiye/

PROBLEMS OF US FIRMS IN TURKEY UNDER REVIEW

Retired Gen. Brent Scowcroft, a former advisor the first US President Bush, is heading a delegation of the Turkish-American Council that will be in Turkey on Nov. 5-10 to hold high-level talks. The delegation will be accompanied by the representatives of many US companies and will meet Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, Foreign Minister Ismail Cem and State Minister for the Economy Kemal Dervis. Gen. Scowcroft said that the attacks of Sept.11 had underlined the importance of Turkish-American relations. ATC Chairman McCurdy said Turkey's problems existed mainly in its energy sector. McCurdy said the ATC would present the government with a package of proposals to address these problems, but declined to go into detail. Both McCurdy and Scowcroft said that the elimination of these and other prblems would show that Turkey is a country that can be invested in. They underlined that there were no problems at all between US companies and the Turkish government when it came to defense matters./Turkish Daily News/

TURKEY ELECTED TO UNESCO COUNCIL

Turkey has been elected to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)'s Administration Council membership for the 2001-2005 term. The Council is the execution organ of UNESCO and plays an important role in making decisions in this international institution. /Turkiye/

IMF: WE WILL STRENGTHEN THE TURKISH ECONOMY

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Chairman Horst Kohler said that the terrorist attacks on the US had negatively affected the Turkish economy and added, "We are working to strengthen it." After the IMF Executive Board meeting on Turkey, Kohler remarked that a delegation would be sent to Turkey for the completion of the tenth review period and according to its advice, the topic of additional finance for the year 2002 would become clear and the delayed fourth credit tranche would likely be released. /Turkiye/

BAKU-CEYHAN PROJECT

US State Department Senior Advisor for Caspian Energy Diplomacy Steven Mann said in a speech delivered in Askabat that the construction of the Baku-Tfilisi-Ceyhan pipeline would begin next summer. Stating the first pipe laying was expected in 2003, Mann said that there were still ongoing detailed engineering studies concerning the project. /Cumhuriyet/

TURKISH BUSINESSMEN IN IRAQ

Trade between Turkey and Iraq, which largely came to a standstill after the embargo emposed on the latter a decade ago, has begun to revive. Some148 Turkish businessmen, headed by Foreign Trade Undersecretary Kursat Tuzmen, flew to Baghdad yesterday to participate in the 34th International Trade and Industrial Products Fair. The fair will be held on Nov. 1-14 and 112 Turkish firms are expected to attend. /Turkiye/

GENERAL ELECTIONS BY YILMAZ OZTUNA (MILLIYET)

Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna writes on the need for general elections. A summary of his column is as follows: "A consensus is being reached on holding general elections. Mr. Demirel's repeated call for elections have drawn attention. He is undoubtedly the world's most experienced living statesman. He has doubled the wealth of Turkey in the years 1965-1971... Although the official figures speak for themselves, those who want to forget them or let them be forgotten would like to influence today's generations by speaking ill of them. Early general elections are held to find a way out from a crisis. They are a valve for democracies to let off steam. Otherwise there willl be an explosion. If we wait for this legislature to run its full course, interventions in the political structure may be seen. The military, judiciary, media, business world and everyone tries to give advice to the government. Aren't we we in such a situation now? The alternative to the ruling party is the opposition. In situations where the oposition can't be an alternative to the government, there is no other choice but elections. Sometimes to set a date for early elections without losing any time and determination can avert developments for the worse. An election with a set date will decrease tension, and increase hopes. In fact, democracy means elections. Three opposition parties are calling for early elections. They should not avoid general elections. Even the ruling parties have a chance in a general election, provided they act with reason. We would like this chance to be given. Local elections should also be held on the same day."