TURKISH PARLIAMENTARIANS IN MIDEAST LAY FLOWERS FOR TOYTUNC
A delegation of Turkish parliamentarians is continuing its contacts in the Middle East in the interests of promoting peace in the region. Yesterday, they visited the spot where Turkish Maj. Cengiz Toytunc was shot to death in an attack on the West Bank on March 28 and laid flowers there in his honor. Maj. Toytunc had been serving in an unarmed Mideast observer mission, and his assailants have yet to be identified. The parliamentary delegation is expected to proceed to Tel Aviv today and from there to return Turkey. /Turkiye/
US GEN. FRANKS: "WE TRUST TURKEY'S ARMY TO LEAD THE ISAF WELL"
The senior military official in charge of United States operations in Afghanistan expressed full confidence yesterday in Turkey's ability to command the peacekeeping force there. Gen. Tommy Franks, head of US Central Command in Afghanistan, made the remarks when asked if he had any doubts about Turkey's ability to head the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF), the Washington Times reported. "We have full confidence in the Turkish Army Forces [TSK]," he said. "I have been familiar with Turkish forces for many years. They are both well trained and extremely capable. I have no doubt whatsoever that they will prove their worth yet again in ably commanding the ISAF." Pointing out that a Turkish military delegation was already in the region, Gen. Franks said that discussions on transferring the command to Turkey were underway. /Aksam/
ECEVIT: "THE TARGET IS NOT BOSTANCIOGLU, BUT THE SECULAR REPUBLIC"
Addressing his party's parliamentary group meeting yesterday, Prime Minister and Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader Bulent Ecevit said that the main target of an inquiry motion against Education Minister Metin Bostancioglu was not the minister himself but rather the secular Turkish Republic. "The education reform program began in the second half of 1997 and has continued under the current government," Ecevit stated. "Certain circles opposed to the reform policies are now trying to take revenge on the government and Bostancioglu. But they will not be able to make our modernized educational system or the secular republic waver from the path of reform." Last Tuesday deputies from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) filed a censure motion against Education Minister Bostancioglu on charges of increasing tension between the public and the state by impeding children's right to education, and of causing the Turkish educational system to deviate from EU and international standards. The main impetus for the censure motion was the ministry's policy of not allowing students to wear headscarves into Imam-hatip schools. Under the current dress code, those who wear headscarves are not allowed into state offices or schools. Meanwhile, AKP Group Deputy Chairman Huseyin Celik yesterday called for Bostancioglu's resignation, saying, "The Parliament has shown that it has no faith in the education minister. He cannot continue to serve under such conditions, and so he should resign." /Turkiye/
ANKARA TO HOST ARMENIAN RESEARCH CONVENTION
The Armenian Research Institute is set to hold its Armenian Research Turkey Convention at the National Library in Ankara on April 20-21. The institute, which was established by the Eurasian Research Center, will bring together at the convention over 100 Turkish scholars and writers who study Armenia. The convention will feature presentations on Armenia and the Armenians in their historical, legal, religious, cultural and psychological aspects, as well as explore the nation's place in the world arena and in international terrorism. At the end of the two-day gathering, the participants will release a declaration of consensus. The Armenian Research Institute publishes a quarterly journal in Turkish and English called Armenian Studies. /Anatolia News Agency/
US DELEGATION TO VISIT TURKEY
A United States delegation chaired by Marc Grossman, assistant secretary of state for European affairs and former ambassador in Ankara, is scheduled to pay an official visit to Turkey on April 16. Among the issues to be addressed during the delegation's meetings with Turkish officials are international terrorism, the future of NATO and improving cooperation among NATO member countries. /Cumhuriyet/
YILMAZ: "THE EU'S FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO TURKEY IS INSUFFICIENT"
Turkey's Secretary-General for European Union Affairs Volkan Vural yesterday briefed journalists on a recent working lunch attended by Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and the EU countries' ambassadors to Ankara. Vural said that Yilmaz had told the ambassadors of Turkey's recent efforts to fulfill the Copenhagen criteria and stressed Turkey's resolve to join the EU. Vural also stated that Yilmaz had criticized the EU's policy on Cyprus, reiterating that Greek Cypriots should not be admitted to the Union without a permanent solution on the island having first been reached. "Yilmaz conveyed Turkey's dissatisfaction with the insufficiency of EU financial assistance to Turkey," said Vural. "He also reiterated that the terrorist groups PKK and DHKP-C must be added to a revised EU list of terrorist organizations." /Cumhuriyet/
RELIGIOUS LEADERS CALL FOR PEACE IN MIDEAST
Leaders from the three monotheistic religions in Turkey met yesterday in Istanbul in a gathering hosted by Turkish Religious Affairs Directorate head Mehmet Nuri Yilmaz. The leaders released a joint statement after the meeting expressing the urgent need for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The leaders also condemned the use of violence both in the Mideast and worldwide. /Hurriyet/
NORWEGIAN FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS ANKARA
Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Peterson traveled to Ankara yesterday and met with his Turkish colleague Ismail Cem. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Peterson said that he and Cem had consulted each other on the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, both in the expectation that Turkey would soon assume the peacekeeping force's command. Cem also told reporters that Norway and Turkey enjoyed cooperation as fellow members of NATO. /Sabah/
IRAQ, SYRIA CALL FOR NEW MEETINGS ON TIGRIS AND EUPHRATES
Syria and Iraq have recently conveyed a call to Turkey to hold new meetings to discuss common problems regarding the Tigris and Euphrates (Firat and Dicle) rivers. Iraqi Irrigation Minister Resul Abdul Huseyin Svadi and Syrian Water Minister Muhammed Radvan Maeteni, who recently signed an agreement proposing more cooperation between their two countries on issues concerning irrigation, called on Turkey to resume the trilateral talks which began in 1992 but were cut off due to failure to make progress on certain issues. Turkish officials are currently evaluating their neighbor's proposal. /Cumhuriyet/
TOURISM MINISTRY EARNS INTERNATIONAL QUALITY CERTIFICATE
The Tourism Ministry scored a coup yesterday by becoming Turkey's first government ministry to qualify for the ISO 9001:2000 international quality certification. Ramazan Mirzaoglu, the state minister responsible for the Turkish Standards Institute (TSE), presented the ISO certificate to Tourism Minister Mustafa Tasar. The proud Tasar pointed out to a recent increase in the tourists visiting Turkey and predicted that this trend would continue. "This increase lends our economy a great hope," said Tasar. "Turkey's economy needs a healthy tourism sector, so these developments are promising. I'm heartened that our efforts to get Turkish tourism the attention they deserve have borne fruit." /Aksam/
CONFERENCE HOPES TO BOOST TURKEY'S SLICE OF TOURISM PIE
The second annual Turkish Tourism Conference begins today in Ankara presided over by Tourism Minister Mustafa Tasar. Speaking in the leadup to the three-day event, Tasar confidently predicted that the nation was entering a prosperous new era for domestic tourism. "This year for the first time the conference is being opened by the president himself," said Tasar. "We have invited along all the active and knowledgeable players in the sector. Our aim this time around is to settle on a consistent national tourism policy that will be free from the whims of political change. Towards this end, we want to formulate short-, medium- and long-term operational plans. From now on our tourism policy must stand above petty politics. The total world tourism trade is worth some $500 billion. Right now Turkey's take from this is only $8 billion, but with a good strategy we can boost our share to 10%." Tasar said that he had put together a Tourism Coordination Committee to put together such a strategy, chiefly by making sure that the various state organs work together and cooperate. He stated that another new body, the Tourism Application Committee, had been charged with making sure that state tourism policy is well implemented. Tasar added that a modern art center was planned for Istanbul, one that would rival Paris' Georges Pompidou Centre and Amsterdam's Van Gogh museum. /Hurriyet/
RATING AGENCY BOOSTS TURKEY'S OUTLOOK
Paul Taylor, the head of international rating agency Fitch, said yesterday that Turkey's outlook had improved with the government's ongoing implementation of its economic program. /Sabah/
ISTANBUL, DIYARBAKIR HOST FILM AND THEATER FESTIVALS
The International Istanbul Film Festival sponsored by the Istanbul Culture and Art Foundation begins tomorrow and will run through April 23. The festival's program includes both long and short films as well as documentaries. Festival organizers say they hope to present an outstanding selection of unforgettable films. Next Monday, April 15, will also see the beginning of the "Orhan Asena Theater and Film Festival" held in the memory of renowned playwright Asena in Diyarbakir. The festival will spotlight plays from throughout Turkey as well as a selection of distinguished domestic films. The Diyarbakir Governor's Office and the State Theater are co-sponsoring the event, which runs through April 30. /Sabah, Cumhuriyet/
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION