ANKARA - These are some of the major headlines and their brief stories in Turkey's press on May 14, 2003. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
HURRIYET (LIBERAL)
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FULL MEMBERSHIP DATE FROM BERLUSCONI AT MIDNIGHT
Silvio Berlusconi, Italian Prime Minister came together with four representatives of Association of Turkish Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSIAD) after seeing off Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan at Ciragan Palace and gave very important messages. Berlusconi said in his meeting with TUSIAD representatives that if Turkey fulfilled Copenhagen criteria, Turkey-EU negotiations would start at the end of 2004. ''Turkey is better than some new EU members in respect of economy. If positive steps are taken in democratization process, Turkey can become a full member of EU in 2007 together with Romania and Bulgaria,'' Berlusconi said. Such a date is voiced in EU for the first time. Berlusconi continued ''EU's Cyprus policy and Annan plan is wrong. It was not right to admit Cyprus to EU in a divided form. I was against it, but Southern Cyprus nevertheless became a member of EU. Despite that, I will bring Erdogan and Simitis together to sort out this problem.'' Berlusconi gave another important message saying that ''even if there is no solution in Cyprus, this should not impede Turkey's EU membership.''
BERLUSCONI: ''I WILL MEDIATE BETWEEN YOU AND BUSH''
Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi also said during his contacts in Turkey that he would mediate between Turkey and the U.S. in order to improve their bilateral relations. Berlusconi promised that he would work ''full time'' for membership of Turkey after Italy got the Term Presidency of EU in July. Berlusconi told Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that ''I will go to the U.S. soon. I will explain the importance of Turkey to U.S. President Bush.''
MILLIYET (LIBERAL)
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BUY WITH CREDIT CARD AND PAY LESS
Finance Ministry which started studies to undertake a broad tax reform, plans to take lesser tax from shopping payments by credit cards in order to take under control unregistered economy. The Ministry works on new measures to fight with unregistered economy by undertaking regulations in many fields including customs system and agricultural system. The rate of Value Added Tax (VAT) will be decreased in payments which are made by credit cards. In Turkey, 90 percent of people make shopping in cash except people in big cities.
GUL ASKS BULGARIA TO BAN KADEK
Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul asked Bulgaria to also take KADEK in the list of terrorist organizations after PKK. Gul told his Bulgarian counterpart Solomon Pasi ''please don't permit activities of the separatist terrorist organization in your country.'' Pasi said that the Bulgarian government took PKK in its list of terrorist organizations with the decision it took on April 17. Gul noted that ''PKK changed its name as KADEK. We also wish inclusion of KADEK in the list of terrorist organizations.'' Pasi noted that members of the organization were not permitted to enter Bulgaria from Romania.
SABAH (LIBERAL)
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''I DIDN'T SAY TURKEY SHOULD APOLOGIZE''
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz said that his statement to the CNN-Turk television channel last week had been translated wrongfully. Speaking on the same television channel, Wolfowitz said that he did not say Turkey should make an apology about rejection of motion by the parliament, which caused harm to bilateral relations. He said, ''I did not say that Turkey should apologize. I talked about a Turkey which stated that it had made a mistake by going in front. What I meant to say that Turkey should see that a mistake was made about perception of the situation in Iraq and it should debate the mistake.'' When asked what was required for having close bilateral relations between Turkey and the United States again, Wolfowitz said, ''first of all, Turkey should accept that it made a mistake.''
''IT IS CLOUDY BUT IT WILL GET BETTER''
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul described the Turkey-United States relations which became strained due to refusal of second motion by the parliament as ''cloudy''. During his visit to Sofia, Bulgaria, Gul answered questions of reporters. Gul was recalled of U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz's remarks about Turkey. Gul described the latest point as saying, ''it's as if we were angry with each other. There is a picture as if we were out of the process of rebuilding of Iraq. It is not true. As the moment, the weather is cloudy. The real picture will appear after those clouds go away.'' About the allegations that said the United States did not want to include Turkish soldiers in the stability force, Gul said, ''and we don't have a great interest in sending soldiers.'' Gul said that some Justice and Development Party (AK Party) deputies might go to Iraq to help Iraqi people.
CUMHURIYET (LEFT)
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TURKEY SCRUTINIZED
Institute of International Strategic Studies (IISS), based in Britain covered Turkey in 15 pages in its annual report. IISS claimed in its report that if AK Party takes a radical step in the coming years, the army can overthrow the AK Party government. IISS said in its report that AK Party rule was coming from an Islamic movement and it was in a dilemma. This dilemma was an important factor in internal and foreign policy of Turkey, it was stressed in the report.
PREPARATION FOR REPENTANCE LAW
Studies are underway for a comprehensive repentance law regarding the presence of PKK-KADEK terrorists in Northern Iraq which came to agenda after the U.S. operation against Iraq. The government tries not to cause reaction of families of martyrs and veterans while making its preparations.
RADIKAL (LEFT)
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'ARIA-AYCELL' SEEMS AMBITIOUS
Officials of state owned Aycell GSM company and Aria GSM company owned by Is-TIM (a Turkish-Italian partnership) are very pleased with the merger of Aycell and Aria. Aycell's Director General said that the principles of merger were determined, the legal process would start soon and that the new company would start to serve the country within three months. ''We target to have 5 million subscribers at the end of the year,'' he said. Executive Board President of Telecom Italia (TIM) Benedetti is ambitious about the merger and he said that ''we have the possibility of being the second strongest GSM company in Turkey.''
EU TRAIN GETS FASTER
The government speeded up its EU studies which were not on top of the agenda due to the Iraqi war and internal problems for a certain period of time. Secretariat General for EU Affairs is about to finish the national programme for adoption of acquis.
TURKIYE (RIGHT)
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REDUCTION IN GASOLINE PRICES
Prices of unleaded gasoline and high-octane gasoline and LPG were reduced. The Energy and Natural Resources Ministry announced that prices of unleaded gasoline and high-octane gasoline were reduced by 2.15 percent and price of LPG was reduced by 2.25 percent. Following the reduction, price of 1 liter of unleaded gasoline decreased to 1 million 817 thousand Turkish liras (TL); price of 1 liter of high-octane gasoline decreased to 1 million 823 thousand TL, and price of 1 liter of LPG decreased to 1 million 792 thousand TL in Istanbul.
GOOD NEWS FROM EU
Eneko Landaburu, the director General at the European Union Commission's Enlargement Department, said that they believed Turkey would fulfil reforms by December of 2004, adding, ''and we open accession talks at the beginning of 2005.''
IRAQI OIL TO FLOW VIA TURKEY
U.S. Ambassador in Ankara Robert Pearson visited Energy and Natural Resources Minister Hilmi Guler. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Guler said they had discussed the Kirkuk-Yumurtalik and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipelines and Shah Sea project. ''There was not any problem about these pipelines and project,'' Guler said. ''Pearson asked for our government's to U.N. decision on the issue. He said that they would carry out work on operation of the pipeline as soon as possible,'' he said. ''Besides, Pearson said that Haifa pipeline is not an alternative to the Kirkuk-Yumurtalik pipeline. We held a very beneficial meeting. Our bilateral relations continue in a very productive way,'' Guler stressed.
ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)
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''NEGOTIATIONS WILL START IN 2004''
Speaking to the newspaper, Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt who visited Turkish neighborhood before the general elections in Belgium on May 18, said, ''we are in favor of Turkey's European Union (EU) membership. By fulfilling the Copenhagen criteria, Turkey will start accession talks in 2004 and it will be given a date in 2005.''
''CUBA AND TURKEY ARE THE COUNTRIES WHICH DID NOT MAKE PRIVATIZATION''
Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan said, ''we will continue privatization until the state becomes no more industrialist, merchant and banker.'' Privatization was 'beneficial to Turkey', Unakitan said and added, ''the government's will is in favor of privatization.'' Noting that Turkey was late in privatization, Unakitan said, ''so far, Cuba and Turkey are the countries which have not made privatization.'' Stressing that leading foreign companies showed great interest in the state enterprises to be privatized, Unakitan said, ''we will sell alcoholic drinks and tobacco and cigarette of Tekel separately. So we seek separate clients to drinks and tobacco. Giant cigarette producers like Philip Morris and Japan Tobacco International came to us. They got information in detail. We will make block sale. Meanwhile, we received bids for Tupras from Shell, BP and Lukoil. We target to conduct a tender for Tupras early in June.''
(MS-ÖS-AÖ) 14.05.2003