SEZER TO CHENEY: “DON’T PLAY WITH FIRE IN THE MIDEAST”
Tacan Ildem, spokesman and foreign policy advisor to President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, yesterday briefed the press on the president’s meeting this week with US Vice President Dick Cheney. Ildem stated that Sezer had conveyed his concerns to Cheney that a US military intervention in Iraq would wreak havoc on the Middle East peace process and plunge the region into chaos since the situation was already delicate and unstable. Sezer stated that Turkey stood opposed to an operation against Iraq since it would deal a great blow to the recent efforts aimed at making peace in the region. Recalling the losses Turkey has suffered in the decade since 1991’s Gulf War, Sezer called on the US not to take any action, which would increase the ongoing violence in the region. Sezer also criticized the European countries’ double standards in the fight against terrorism, stressing that international cooperation against the terrorist threat could only be successful through reaching a common definition of terrorism. Sezer reiterated that Turkey shared the US’ concerns over the threat of the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and also believed that Iraq should act in accordance with the United Nations resolutions. For his part, Cheney remarked that the US would always take Turkey’s concerns and interests into consideration, some recent press reports to the contrary. /Cumhuriyet/
WORK CONTINUES ON TURKEY’S POSSIBLE COMMAND OF ISAF
Meetings with Turkish, US and British delegations regarding Turkey’s possible command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan (the ISAF) are continuing. The inter-delegations negotiations will resume at the beginning of next week. Although discussions on technical details were reportedly going well, they have not yet completed. Turkey’s conditions to assume the command are as follows: The scope of the peacekeeping force’s duty should be limited to the Afghan capital Kabul, financial support for the operation should be ensured, the term of the duty should be well-defined, logistical and intelligence support should be given, and other countries participating in the force should be required to keep their troops there as long as is needed. /Turkiye/
ECEVIT: “TO AVERT MILITARY ACTION, IRAQ SHOULD OPEN ITS DOORS TO UN INSPECTORS”
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said yesterday that he and US Vice President Dick Cheney had had fruitful talks during Cheney’s visit to Turkey on Tuesday. Speaking at his Democratic Left Party’s (DSP) group meeting, Ecevit said that he had told Cheney of Turkey’s concerns over the Cyprus issue and a possible operation in Iraq. Ecevit told him that the Greek side’s and the EU’s stance concerning Cyprus were neither constructive nor positive, and that this stance was preventing a fair settlement which would satisfy both sides. Ecevit remarked, “If the EU draws its support from the Greek side, they will accept the reality that there are two states and two nations on the island.” Regarding Cheney’s statement that the US was not planning an operation in Iraq in the near future, Ecevit said, “This period presents a good chance for Iraq to erase the US suspicions that it possesses chemical, biological, and even nuclear weapons. To do that, Iraq should open its doors to the UN inspectors as soon as possible.” /All Papers/
LINDH APOLOGIZES TO CEM FOR SPEECH
Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh telephoned Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem yesterday to apologize to him for a speech she made this week to a UN Human Rights Commission meeting in Geneva. Lindh apologized to Cem for her allegation in the speech that Turkey’s government constituted a “dictatorial regime.” Saying that her remarks were in error and had clearly gone too far, Lindh added that she was sorry. /Milliyet/
ECEVIT TO ATTEND NATO MEETING IN BUCHAREST NEXT WEEK
Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit is scheduled to travel to Bucharest, Romania next Monday to attend a NATO meeting. Ecevit will pay a one-day official visit to the capital to attend a panel discussion which will be attended by various heads of state and government. /Cumhuriyet/
YILMAZ: “THE BIGGEST HONOR FOR TURKEY WOULD BE TO KEEP ITS PROMISES”
Speaking to reporters in Brussels yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister and Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz said, “The biggest honor for Turkey would be to keep the promises that it made to the European Union. The EU invited Turkey to its Laeken summit last year to discuss the future of the Union, which shows that they are not distant.” Yilmaz added that he believed the military was not opposed to the EU but that it thinks the Copenhagen criteria could divide Turkey. Yilmaz also said that there was no country which was admitted to the Union before fulfilling the criteria. Yimaz accused the EU of being “selfish” concerning its stance on terrorist organizations in its refusal to include the PKK and DHKP-C on its recent list of such groups. /Hurriyet/
VERHEUGEN CRITICIZES TURKEY’S STANCE ON CYPRUS
European Union Commissioner for Enlargement Gunter Verheugen said yesterday that the EU wants to see Cyprus take on a “unique international identity.” Addressing an EU Commission Seminar on enlargement in Athens, Verheugen also said that Turkey’s attitude concerning Cyprus could stand in the way of its membership process. “The EU’s enlargement calendar will not be altered due to the Cyprus talks,” he added. /Hurriyet/
SPANISH AMBASSADOR: “HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS SHOULD BE IMPROVED”
In a speech to the Strategic Research Center yesterday, EU Term President Spain’s Ambassador in Ankara Manuel de la Camara stated that there was no alternative to the EU for Turkey. Expressing his belief that Turkey would not have any serious problems concerning the economic and judicial realms during its integration with the Union, Camara stated that Turkey’s priority should be improving its human rights and freedoms. /Cumhuriyet/
MACEDONIAN PRESIDENT TRAJKOVSKI TO VISIT TURKEY
Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski is to visit Turkey on March 26-27 as an official guest of President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. The two leaders will discuss bilateral relations as well as regional issues. /Cumhuriyet/
NEVRUZ OBSERVED
The traditional spring Nevruz festival was celebrated yesterday in Turkey with largely peaceful celebrations marred by some incidents of violence. In the Mediterranean town of Mersin, two people died during the observations. In Istanbul, there were also demonstrations but a much lesser degree of violence. In southeastern provinces such as Diyarbakir, the Nevruz celebrations went off peacefully without any violence as compared to previous years. /Milliyet/
BAHCELI CELEBRATES NEVRUZ IN KAZAKHSTAN
Deputy Prime Minister and Nationalist Action Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli marked Nevruz in Kazakhstan by attending a joyful celebration by local people there. Bahceli is currently visiting the country upon a prior invitation from Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. In an address to the celebrating crowd, Bahceli said that Nevruz, a festival marking the arrival of the spring, symbolized unity for the international Turkish community. Following the completion of official contacts, Bahceli headed for Almati, the former Kazakh capital, and finally to Turkestan, where he attended the Nevruz ceremonies. /Turkish News/
TALAY CRITICIZES SEPARATISTS’ EFFORTS TO SPOIL NEVRUZ
Addressing the Turkish Parliament yesterday to mark the spring Nevruz festival, Culture Minister Istemihan Talay said that those who try to turn March 21’s “day of fellowship” into an occasion for violence were acting “treacherously.” Saying that Turkey’s citizens preferred peace and brotherhood to provocation, Talay added, “Those who try to spoil this festival have nothing at all to contribute to society.” Taking the podium to speak after Talay, Motherland Party (ANAP) group deputy leader Yasar Dedelek said that it was wrong to try to exploit Nevruz and to turn it into a separatist event. Agah Oktay Guner from the True Path Party (DYP) told the parliamentarians that the land on which Turkey’s citizens live was indivisible and that it was important for everybody to accept the fact that Turkey’s flag was the flag of all its citizens. Meanwhile, Romania and Bulgaria held up convoys of terrorist organization PKK partisans at their borders, preventing the separatists from infiltrating Turkey and trying to ruin the ceremonies. Interior Minister Rustu Kazim Yucelen, who is currently holding contacts in Romania, thanked the Romanian government for acting against the terrorist PKK and for prohibiting a protest which the group wanted to hold in Bucharest. /Aksam/
ANAP ANNOUNCES ANTI-EARTHQUAKE PROJECT
The Motherland Party (ANAP) announced yesterday that it was initiating a project called “We Will Protect Istanbul” under the behest of ANAP leader and Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz. Under the project, ANAP members will discuss Istanbul’s problems, and in particular the threat of earthquakes, and propose and support possible solutions. ANAP will reportedly request that a ministry or undersecretariat be established for Istanbul and also suggest anti-earthquake measures, including an amnesty for unauthorized buildings. Yilmaz, spearheaded the project by meeting with Kandilli Observatory Director Ahmet Mete Isikara and is due to be briefed by Istanbul Governor Erol Cakir tomorrow. ANAP will also reportedly work to enact laws to make Istanbul’s buildings stronger and more earthquake resistant. /Sabah/
WOMEN PARLIAMENTARIANS MEET IN ISTANBUL
The Southeastern European Women Parliamentarians’ Conference sponsored by the Strasbourg-based International Democracy Institute begins today at Istanbul’s Pera Palas Hotel and will last for two days. The subject of the conference will be “the Prevention of Conflict and Woman’s Role in its Resolution.” It is expected that 50 women parliamentarians from 12 countries will attend the conference. Delegations from Greece, Romania, Croatia, Slovenia, Albania, and Bosnia-Herzegovina arrived yesterday and were welcomed by leaders of domestic women’s organizations. /Star/
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION