CEM EVALUATES TURKEY'S RELATIONS WITH THE US
Appearing on NTV yesterday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem offered his evaluations of relations between Turkey and the United States. Cem remarked that there were a number of problems concerning bilateral economic relations between the countries. "Turkish-US commercial relations are not balanced," said Cem. "Although to date Turkey has purchased a significant amount of US-made armaments and other military equipment, it has as yet been unable to get what it deserves in return." Continuing on the Iraq issue, Cem remarked that Turkey had maintained regular contact with Baghdad and had tried to persuade the administration there to act in line with the UN resolutions. "If Iraq's dealings with the UN improve, Turkey then might support the idea that sanctions imposed on Iraq should be lifted," said Cem. /Cumhuriyet/
HEAVY SCHEDULE FOR PARLIAMENT
Following last year's passage of reform laws, a heavy schedule is awaiting Parliament in the begining of the new year. Before Prime Minister Ecevit's visit to the US scheduled for Jan. 14, Parliament's General Assembly will work on passing certain laws, including the Bidding Bill and the Industrial Zone Bill. Tommorow the Tobacco Bill which was the object of criticism from opposition parties, will be re-debated. Meanwhile, Parliament is expected to put into force by Jan. 11 a bill which would lift a number of discount privileges for some civil servants. /Turkiye/
CLERIDES: "THIS YEAR IS IMPORTANT FOR CYPRUS"
Greek Cypriot leader Glafkos Clerides said yesterday that the year 2002 was important for the future of Cyprus, adding that important steps would be taken in terms of EU membership and direct talks concerning the divided island. Clerides told reporters that he would soon tell them about a number of so-called "missing persons," or people lost track of in 1974 and previously, a subject which he said had brought up with Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas at their recent dinner. /Turkiye/
US AND BRITAIN CALL ON EU TO REVISE TERRORIST LIST
The United States and Great Britain are reportedly calling on the European Union to review and revise its new listing of terrorist organizations, according to prominent US financial daily the Wall Street Journal. The paper reported this week that the two nations were both urging the EU to include the terrorist PKK on the list, thus correcting its omission from the recently released version. The paper added that EU had not included on the list other terrorist organizations active in Turkey, the Middle East and Asia, but that revisions might be difficult due to lack of consensus on some issues. /Milliyet/
YAHNICI CRITICIZES EU'S TERRORIST LIST
Sevket Bulent Yahnici, the deputy chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) deputy chairman, yesterday criticized the European Union for its recent decision not to include the PKK and DHKP-C in its new list of terrorist organizations. Remarking that the EU was pursuing "unrealistic policies" concerning terrorist organizations, Yahnici said, "How could we ever forget that the EU doesn't consider the PKK and DHKP-C to be terrorist organizations? Will the EU expect us to suffer memory loss when conducting our relations with Europe?" Yahnici added that the EU had made an unjust decision which would provide new opportunities for these terrorist organizations to continue their activities in European countries. Recalling that PKK and DHKP-C had killed a great many innocent people, Yahnici said, "That's why the EU policy isn't realistic. In light of this, the EU must explain to Turkey why it has made such a decision." /Cumhuriyet/
JAPANESE FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT TURKEY
Japanese Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka is scheduled to arrive in Turkey tomorrow for an official visit as guest of his counterpart Ismail Cem. During her stay in the country, economic, cultural and political issues will reportedly be discussed. Tanaka is due to leave Turkey on Jan. 6. /Hürriyet/
REUTERS: "800 TURKISH SOLDIERS ENTERED NORTHERN IRAQ TO FIGHT PKK"
According to the Reuters news agency, some 800 Turkish soldiers entered northern Iraq this Monday, New Year's eve, through the Habur border gate to conduct operations against the PKK terrorist organization. "There are still PKK bases in this region which pose a threat to Turkey," an unnamed army official reportedly told the agency. /Sabah/
ANAP PROPOSES EU COMMISSION
The Motherland Party's (ANAP) parliamentary group is preparing a proposal to establish a EU Commission within the Turkish Parliament with a view towards implementing Turkey's harmonization laws as soon as possible. If the proposal is accepted, a change in Parliament's internal regulations will be made for the establishment of the new commission. The suggested commission's name is the EU Relations Commission, and it would be a joint commission. The commission is to be made up of members chosen from other specialized parliamentary commissions. The harmonization laws listed among the short-term targets of the National Programme would be discussed in this commission only, and then sent on to the Plenary Session. ANAP officials suggested that this new setup would speed up and streamline the harmonization process by eliminating discussions in multiple commissions. /Turkiye/
BAHCELI TO TRAVEL TO EUROPE
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader and Deputy Prime Minister Devlet Bahceli will begin a five-day tour in Europe tomorrow. Before returning to Turkey on Jan. 7, Bahceli is scheduled to visit Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium on working visits. /Turkiye/
FAMILY COURTS TO BE ESTABLISHED
The new Turkish Civil Code (TMK) officially went into effect yesterday. The new TMK requires the establishment of new class of courts known as Family Courts. These courts will be responsible for handling issues regarding family law such as divorce, family property and child custody. Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said yesterday that a bill to set up the Family Courts would be presented to Parliament together with a number of other bills. "Following on the heels on our new civil code, the establishment of the Family Courts will be a significant step forward for Turkey," said Turk. "These courts will be in charge of issues regarding family law. I hope that the bill will be enacted in the first half of the year." /Hurriyet/
IMF TO VISIT TURKEY IN MARCH
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation headed by Turkey desk chief Juha Kahkonen will arrive in Turkey in March for a review under new agreements between Turkey and the fund. The next review is scheduled for May and the third one for July. Meanwhile, Turkey's new Letter of Intent will be sent to the IMF next week, and it is expected to be discussed during the IMF Executive Board meeting in the third week of January. /Turkiye/
ONE MILLION TURKISH WORKERS ABROAD
A just-released book published by the Labor and Social Security Ministry reports that out of some 3.5 million Turks living abroad, nearly 1.2 million are gainfully employed. "Currently, over 800,000 Turks abroad have foreign citizenship including 400,000 in Germany," said the book. /Turkiye/
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION