SEZER PURSUES TRIPLE COOPERATION IN CAUCASUS
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Azerbaijani President Haydar Aliyev and their Georgian counterpart Eduard Shevardnadze are to meet in the Black Sea city of Trabzon today. The summit aims to improve bilateral relations and cooperation between the three countries. Joint projects on energy, economy and transportation will be discussed at the summit. Other major issues to be discussed by the three national leaders are security problems as well as oil and natural gas pipeline projects. /Cumhuriyet/

TURK: “SEZER ACTED AS IF HE STILL HEADED THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT”
Speaking on President Ahmet Necdet Sezer’s veto this weekend of the government’s controversial amnesty bill, Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said yesterday that President Sezer had acted as if he were still chief justice of the Constitutional Court. Turk said that Sezer should have approved the bill and then applied to the Constitutional Court to have it annulled, adding that his move had opened up a legal vacuum. Criticizing Sezer for what he called “violating the Constitution,” Turk noted that the six-month time period given to Parliament to pass the amnesty law had ended. Meanwhile, Constitutional Court acting Chief Justice Hasim Kilic yesterday agreed that a vacuum had resulted from Sezer’s veto. “After correcting the parts the President pointed out, Parliament should swiftly pass the bill,” said Kilic. /All Papers/

SWEDEN: “THE PKK SHOULD BE INCLUDED ON THE EU LIST OF TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS”
The Swedish government recently came out in favor of including the terrorist group PKK on the EU’s terrorist organizations list to be released on May 2. Swedish Cabinet Undersecretary Hans Dahlgren stated that the Swedish government would demand that Brussels add the PKK to the revised list. Furthermore, Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, who is currently visiting Washington, stated in an interview with the TT News Agency that Sweden supported the idea that the EU list should include all groups which commit acts of terrorism. “Sweden made clear its stance against the PKK a long time ago,” said Lindh. “Since we believe that the PKK is a terrorist organization, any list of such organizations should not fail to include it.” /Cumhuriyet/

CILLER: “AMNESTY BYPASSED THE NATION’S WILL”
True Path Party (DYP) leader Tansu Ciller said yesterday that the nation’s will had been bypassed regarding the new amnesty law. After voting at her party’s delegation elections in Sariyer, Istanbul, Ciller told reporters that the DYP had been against the amnesty law from the very beginning. Stressing that in a democratic country no one could defend the release of a man accused of murdering a writer, Ciller remarked that this chaos alone constituted sufficient demonstration of the need for a new government. /Aksam/

COMMISSION RATIFIES UN CONVENTION
Under a bill ratified yesterday by Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Commission, Turkey is to join 136 other countries in ratifying a UN Convention on Transnational Organized Crime. The convention in question entails cooperation across borders to combat human trafficking, drug smuggling, and the illegal arms trade. The bill is expected to be discussed by the full Parliament later this week. /Cumhuriyet/

KUTAN: “TURKEY’S CURRENT SYSTEM IS A BUREAUCRATIC OLIGARCHY”
Felicity Party leader (SP) Recai Kutan yesterday attended a meeting of the Turkish Volunteers’ Foundation at Istanbul’s Cemal Resit Rey Concert Hall. In a speech to the group, he said that nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) such as theirs formed a vital part of Turkey’s democracy. Turkey’s problems concern us all, not just politicians, he remarked. Kutan added that Turkey’s current governmental system was not in fact a democracy, but rather a “bureaucratic oligarchy.” /Turkiye/

TURKEY, ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN TO FURTHER DIALOGUE AT MAY NATO MEETING
The foreign ministers of Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan are scheduled to meet at a NATO meeting in Reykjavik, Iceland on May 14-15. Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem will meet his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts Vilayet Guliev and Vartan Oskanyan in order to further dialogue and discuss common problems. Turkey is placing a high premium on this gathering since Ankara considers it a significant opportunity for normalizing bilateral relations with Yerevan. At a conference entitled “Seeking Stability in the Caucasus” held last February, Cem had previously proposed such a meeting between the three countries to discuss the problem the disputed enclave of Karabagh. /Cumhuriyet/

ANKARA WATER PROJECT COULD RECEIVE JAPANESE FUNDING
Japanese credit institution JBIC is in final stage negotiations to provide funding for a planned drinking water project for Ankara, reports said yesterday. The State Water Works (DSI) is handling the talks with JBIC, which often gives credits to fund infrastructure projects. If the negotiations are successful, JBIC would provide $300 million to DSI as a first stage. The second installment of credits would be provided according to the progress of the project. /Star/

MINISTRIES MOVE AGAINST HARMFUL HORMONES
The Agriculture and Health Ministries have issued joint directives this week in an effort to prevent danger to public health from food laced with hormones. Such artificial hormones are chemicals used widely in animal husbandry to promote growth in animal husbandry to promote growth as well as milk and egg production, but some scientists have sounded warnings about the effect trace amounts might have on human health. Accordingly, the new directives set maximum levels for a number of veterinary hormones, while strictly banning the others as posing too much of a risk. The latter group of chemicals is as follows: Aristolochia spp. Chloramphenicol, Choloform, Chlorpromazin, Colchicin, Dapson, Dimetridazol, Metronidazol, Nitrofurane-Furazolidone, and Ronidazol. /Cumhuriyet/

ISTANBUL HOSTS CONSTRUCTION FAIR THIS WEEK
Construction firms will be hawking their wares and showing off the latest technological advances at the 25th annual International Construction Fair in Istanbul starting this Wednesday. The three-day fair, dubbed “Construction 2002-Istanbul Fair,” expects to attract participation from nearly 500 domestic and foreign construction companies./Milliyet/

ISTANBUL FILM FESTIVAL ENDS
The 21st Istanbul Film Festival ended yesterday. The festival honored Italian filmmaker Nanni Moretti on Saturday, presenting him with a special award. The festival committee also presented an honorary award to British director Stephen Frears. The Golden Tulip, the festival's top prize for a new film, went to "Magonia" by Dutch director Ineke Smits. /Cumhuriyet/

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