MGK TO CONVENE TOMORROW
The National Security Board (MGK) chaired by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer will meet tomorrow morning at the Presidential Palace. During its first meeting of the year, domestic and foreign issues will be discussed. /All Papers/
DENKTAS, CLERIDES TO CONTINUE TALKS
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas and Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides will meet for the fifth time today as part of the new direct talks process to reach a settlement to the Cyprus issue. Their meeting will be held at the Lefkosha Conference Center at 5:00 p.m. Delegations from both sides will accompany the two leaders and UN Special Cyprus Envoy Alvaro de Soto will attend the meeting as an observer. Constitutional issues and the powers of proposed central government expected are to be discussed at the meeting. /Turkiye/
LEADERS' SUMMIT TO WRANGLE OVER ARTICLES 312 AND 159
Leaders of the coalition government are set to meet today in order to discuss controversial Penal Code Articles 312 and 159 and proposed amendments to them. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz will work to convince Deputy Prime Minister and Nationalist Action Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli to support the proposed changes and also to find a way out of the crisis created President Ahmet Necdet Sezer's veto on Friday, a veto that could block a $12 billion International Monetary Fund loan. Bahceli said that his party was opposed to either completely lifting the article or making radical amendments to it. Ecevit and Yilmaz will reportedly stress to Bahceli the importance for Turkey's European Union accession of these amendments. State Minister for the Economy Kemal Dervis and Deputy Prime Minister Husamettin Ozkan are also expected to attend the summit. /Aksam/
BUSY AGENDA FOR PARLIAMENT THIS WEEK
The Turkish Parliament is heading for a busy schedule this week. Four important bills will be taken up, including one which would mandate jail time for those who support prison death fast protests. It is scheduled to debate proposals concerning the Turkish mining sector, and boron and gold mines in particular, on Tuesday. On Wednesday Parliament is set to debate a bill on the organization of the Maritime Undersecretariat. Bills on education centers for prison personnel and the administraion of prisons are also on the agenda. Meanwhile, if agreement between the coalition partners can be reached on amendments to the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), Anti-terror Law, State Security Courts Law and Law on Trial Procedurements as part of the mini constitutional reform package, Parliament is also expected to take up this package. /Turkiye/
DERVIS, CEM AND AKP'S ERDOGAN TO ATTEND WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
State Minister for the Economy Kemal Dervis, Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Central Bank Governor Sureyya Serdengecti are set to attend the World Economic Forum beginning in New York between later this week. The World Economic Forum normally convenes annually at the Swiss winter resort of Davos, but will be held in New York this year on Jan. 31-Feb. 4 as a sign of solidarity in the wake of last September's terrorist attacks on that city. Heads of state and government, ministers, high-level bureaucrats, representatives of nongovernmental organizations and high-level representatives of a number of companies will attend the meeting. /Turkish Daily News/
ERDOGAN TO MEET TURKISH-AMERICAN GROUPS DURING US VISIT
Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who recently traveled to the US to attend the World Economic Forum beginning later this week, is also expected to meet with the representatives of Turkish-American Associations in New York during his visit. The Assembly of Turkish-American Associations announced yesterday that it had scheduled a meeting with Erdogan on Feb. 2. Erdogan is also expected to hold press conferences and to attend a number of panels and seminars in Washington and New York, where the forum is being held. The US press is closely following Erdogan's visit. /Turkiye/
CEM, AKARCALI AND GULEK TO REPRESENT TURKEY AT EUROPEAN CONVENTION
Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, Motherland Party (ANAP) deputy leader Bulent Akarcali and Democratic Left Party's (DSP) Adana Deputy Tayyibe Gulek will reportedly represent Ankara during an upcoming European Convention designated to shape the future of the continent. The government will be represented by Cem and the Turkish Parliament by Akarcali and Gulek. Preparatory meetings for the convention will be held in February and its first official meeting will be in March, during which Cem will leave the authority of representing the government to Turkey's Permanent EU Ambassador Nihat Akyol or to another diplomat. The convention's first term has been set at three months. During the meetings, the EU's enlargement process will be the main item on the agenda, and the issue of a common constitution will be discussed as well. /Hurriyet/
DERVIS: "WE SHOULD PERSEVERE UNTIL THE END"
State Minister for the Economy Kemal Dervis said yesterday that Turkey should stick to following its economic program in order to regain its strength. Banking and the private sector are the most important levers of the Turkish economy, he said, and they must work together in order to find a solution for the present crisis. He added that the current period was very important for Turkey's economic program to gain steam towads its success. "We should persevere until the end in order to solve our problems," he stated. /Aksam/
GREEK FIRMS TO INVEST IN TURKEY
Izmir Chamber of Commerce Chairman Ekrem Demirtas announced yesterday that 60 Greek firms were planning to make new investments in Turkey. Noting that Greece's National Bank had allocated $500 million for the investments, Demirtas said, "The Turkish-Greek Friendship Association and Greek National Bank encourage such initiatives in the interest of boosting Turkish-Greek relations. We expect annual trade volume between Greece and Turkey to reach $1 billion." /Sabah/
TURKISH, GREEK INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES TO COOPERATE
Greek Intelligence Agency (EYIP) head Pavlos Apostolidis stated yesterday that under a bilateral agreement to work to combat organized crime and terrorism, EYIP and the Turkish Intelligence Agency (MIT) would work to cooperate in future operations. Speaking to Greek daily To Vima, Apostolidis said, "Under this agreement, we will work in cooperation with the MIT. Naturally, this will not be easy. As is well-known, there have been a number of problems between Turkey and Greece, with our intelligence services even gathering information about each other. In this respect, the cooperating will be hard but not impossible. We are working on it." Recounting that he met several times each year with MIT Undersecretary Senkal Atasagun as part of security meetings with other NATO countries, Apostolidis added that EYIP had played a role in bringing terrorist leader Abdullah Ocalan to Greece. /Hurriyet/
EARTHQUAKE CENTER SENDS OUT DISASTER PREPAREDNESS CD-ROM
An earthquake expert announced yesterday that a new CD-ROM called "Five Minutes for Life" on disaster preparedness was being sent to governorships and education departments throughout the country. Professor Ahmet Isikara, director of Bogazici University's Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute, told a press conference at the observatory that the new multimedia presentation was designed to help Turkey's people to be more aware and ready for natural disasters. Isikara added that they had also prepared a comic strip to help children learn what places are dangerous during earthquakes so that they will know what to do to stay safe. /Cumhuriyet/
WRITER'S HISTORIC HOME TO BECOME A MUSEUM
It was announced yesterday that the house in which Turkish author Rifat Ilgaz was born in Kastamanu's district of Cide would be turned into a museum. Hayriye Ozturkoglu, the chairwoman of Kemalist Ideology Association's (ADD) Cide branch, said that the home had been designated a national historic resource. He added that the ADD was still awaiting official approval for a restoration project, but that the citizens of Cide supported such a venture. /Cumhuriyet/
HONOR MEDALS AWARDED TO KOREAN WAR VETERANS
Turkish war veterans who fought in the Korean War of 1950-1953 received honor medals yesterday in Ankara. South Korean Ambassador Yung Cu presented the medals to the veterans in a ceremony. The medals were sent to Ankara by the Federation of Korean War Veterans as tokens of South Korea's appreciation and respect. /Sabah/
WORLD CUP TOUR HITS ISTANBUL
As party of a promotional tour sponsored by the Coca-Cola Company for this year's World Cup final in Japan and South Korea, the World Cup trophy will be paraded through the streets of Istanbul today. /All Papers/
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION