SEZER RECEIVES VISITING KAZAKH PRESIDENT
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday met with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who is currently paying a visit to Ankara. Following their meeting, Sezer said that he and Nazarbayev had vowed to boost bilateral relations. Nazarbayev, for his part, said that Kazakhstan wanted to be included in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline consortium. Stressing his desire for a joint university to be established, he congratulated the Turkish Republic on its 80th anniversary. After the meeting of the Turkish and Kazakh delegations, officials signed bilateral trade agreements. In the evening, Sezer hosted a state banquet in honor of his Kazakh counterpart. /All Papers/

SIXTH EU HARMONIZATION PACKAGE SENT TO PRIME MINISTRY
The Sixth European Union Harmonization Package was sent yesterday to the Prime Ministry for review. The draft drawn up by Turkey’s EU Secretariat General with final preparation by the Justice Ministry includes 19 proposed amendments to 10 articles of existing law. Under the draft, Article 8 of the Anti-Terror Law would be annulled, while private TV channel broadcasts in mother tongue languages would be permitted. In addition, international non-governmental institutions (NGOs) would be able to send delegations to observe Turkey’s elections. /Turkiye/

WORK ON NEW RETIREMENT SYSTEM CONTINUES
Following the Constitutional Court’s rejection last month of a measure setting 61 as the mandatory civil service retirement age, the government began work on a new retirement policy to address the court’s objections. Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin said yesterday that legal experts had drawn up four alternate pieces of legislation that would be taken up by the Cabinet next week. He stated that all the alternatives were based on a graduated retirement system. Sahin further remarked that some 1,500 civil servants who already retired under the annulled law would be able to return to work through applying to administrative courts. Retirement procedures begun for some 1,400 civil servants have been halted, he added. /Turkiye/

JUSTICE MINISTER CICEK: “EVERYONE MUST MAKE UP THEIR MINDS AT ONCE ON OUR PROSPECTIVE EU MEMBERSHIP”
As the time grows short for the nation to fully comply with the EU criteria before its December 2004 summit, every person and institution in Turkey must make up their minds on the country’s EU membership bid at once, said Justice Minister Cemil Cicek yesterday. “We have less than 18 months to pass the necessary reforms, but many legal issues still remain ahead of us awaiting urgent action,” stated Cicek. “Therefore, everyone has to make a thorough assessment, and then clarify their positions on the EU, whether pro or con. For its part, the government is surely in favor of Turkey’s EU accession.” Cicek’s remarks came in wake of the military’s reported opposition to provisions in the sixth European Union harmonization package which would allow mother tongue private TV channel broadcasts as well as international observation of Turkey’s elections. /Cumhuriyet/

CHP LEADER BAYKAL: “TURKEY CANNOT BEAR ANOTHER DISAPPOINTMENT IN ITS EU MEMBERSHIP BID”
Opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal yesterday flew to Berlin accompanied by CHP Deputies Kemal Dervis and Damla Gurel as official guests of German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder for the spring meetings of the Party of European Socialists (PES). Speaking to journalists upon his arrival, Baykal said that he was set to hold contacts with European leaders concerning Turkey’s EU accession. The EU has disappointed Turkey several times in the past, stated Baykal, but warned, “Turkey cannot bear another disappointment.” /Hurriyet/

SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS HEAD OZKAYA: “WITHOUT LEGAL REFORM, TURKEY CAN’T HAVE AN INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY”
Supreme Court of Appeals Chief Eraslan Ozkaya said yesterday that Turkey couldn’t have an independent, impartial judiciary until certain of its laws are changed, citing in particular the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors Law and the Judges and Prosecutors Law. “There will be a little confidence in the Turkish justice system until articles of these laws are annulled,” Ozkaya told an Ankara symposium on the “The Right to a Fair Trial.” Pointing out that Article 6 of the European Union Convention of Human Rights stipulates that justice requires for cases to be handled in a timely fashion, Ozkaya lamented that many cases in the Turkish system remain unresolved. Saying that the current situation must end, Ozkaya added that most cases filed against Turkey at the European Court of Human Rights end up in rulings against it. /Aksam/

GREEK CYPRIOTS ENTER TURKEY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN DECADES
Some 266 Greek Cypriot doctors and nurses yesterday entered Turkey through the northwestern Ipsala border gate with Greece. Following Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s announcement last week that Greek Cypriots could once again legally visit Turkey, it was the first visit by Greek Cypriot citizens in 40 years. The doctors and nurses seemed very excited to enter Turkey, where they can stay for up to a month. The nurses said they had been in Athens to take part in seminars and had planned to visit Turkey, so Ankara’s decision was welcome. Greece has yet to reciprocate Ankara’s decision by allowing Turkish Cypriots to pass through its borders, though Erdogan has called on it to do so. /Milliyet/

ECONOMY MINISTER BABACAN: “I ANTICIPATE NO PROBLEMS WITH THE IMF”
State Minister for Economy Ali Babacan yesterday flew to Athens, Greece to attend the southeastern European meeting of the World Economic Forum. Before his departure, Babacan told reporters that he didn’t expect any problems with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and its ongoing fifth review of Turkey’s economic program. Regarding legal measures which Turkey pledged to implement in its latest letter of intent (LOI), Babacan said, “We are trying to pass them soon, but we cannot interfere in Parliament’s working schedule.” /Turkiye/

IRAQI TURKMEN FRONT: “NO ONE CAN PASS JUDGMENT ON BEHALF OF IRAQ’S TURKMEN POPULATION”
It is no one’s task but Iraq’s Turkmen themselves to decide on our own future, said a statement issued by the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) yesterday. The statement came as a reaction to Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (IPUK) leader Jalal Talabani’s recent remarks that Iraq’s Turkmen population, too, could take a part in the new interim government of the country. “There are over 3 million Turkmen in Iraq, and their role in the reconstruction process is not to be decided by any party leader,” said the statement. “The scope of Turkmen participation in the postwar era will be decided through democratic means and the free will of the Iraqi people.” /Cumhuriyet/

SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION