LEADERS TO MEET WITH ECEVIT AT HOSPITAL
The leaders of the coalition government parties headed by Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit are scheduled to convene today at Baskent University Hospital at 4:00 p.m. During the meeting, Ecevit’s health condition and related developments are expected to be taken up. In addition to Ecevit, present at the meeting will be Deputy Prime Ministers Devlet Bahceli, Mesut Yilmaz and Husamettin Ozkan, and Foreign Minister Ismail Cem will brief the group on foreign developments. /All Papers/

SEZER APPROVES RTUK LAW
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday signed into law the Supreme Board of Radio and Television (RTUK) law which he had previously vetoed. According to a written statement issued from the Cankaya Presidential Palace, the president approved the law as it was his duty under the Constitution. /Star/

SEZER LUNCHES WITH NEW AMBASSADORS
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday hosted a luncheon for ambassadors appointed to new posts by the Foreign Ministry. Ministry Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal, Deputy Undersecretary Aydemir Arman and new Ambassador to Russia Kurtulus Taskent also attended the lunch. /Star/

BAHCELI ADDRESSES SPECULATIONS ON FUTURE OF GOVERNMENT
Since it was announced late last week that Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit’s convalescence period would last longer than originally expected, political discussions have focused on the shape of possible future governments should Ecevit elect to resign. In a speech at the Nationalist Action Party’s (MHP) Chairmanship Council meeting yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister and MHP Chairman Devlet Bahceli offered his views on these future scenarios while refraining from speculations on the issue, which he characterized as violations of political ethics. “Ecevit will remain prime minister as long as he wishes,” said Bahceli. “The MHP will propose assuming leadership of the government only in case of Ecevit’s resignation.” /Cumhuriyet/

YILMAZ: “INACTIVITY IS OUR BIGGEST PROBLEM”
In a speech at a panel held yesterday to mark the 19th anniversary of the Motherland Party (ANAP), Deputy Prime Minister and ANAP Chairman Mesut Yilmaz evaluated recent developments surrounding Turkish-EU relations. Remarking that Turkey’s bid for full EU membership was the most important driving force for the nation’s advancement, Yilmaz said, “Inactivity is Turkey’s biggest problem. The more inactive a society is, the lower its productivity and investments rates become. Such a society is doomed to decline among the ranks of modern countries as its institutions become outdated, ineffective and insufficient.” /Cumhuriyet/

DERVIS SEES NO REASON TO FEAR EARLY ELECTIONS
State Minister Kemal Dervis told the Reuters News Agency yesterday characterized as “overly pessimistic” predictions that early elections would make Turkey’s economy lose all its gains and damage it badly. Addressing possible dates for elections, Dervis commented, “The general expectation of public opinion is that an early election would be held a bit earlier than 2004, so it would be much better to formulate an exact date which everyone can believe.” Dervis underlined his view that Turkey’s economy would be able to weather elections. “There could be an election in two years’ time or it could be earlier, but the newly established system is a system where elections will not have too much impact on the economic fundamentals.” He cautioned however that the endless speculations about elections could do harm. “Constant uncertainty is not a good thing,” Dervis said. “It is not helpful for the public to be constantly debating whether there will be an election in three months, or in one or two years.” /Hurriyet/

MUMCU RELIEVED OF ANAP POST
Erkan Mumcu, who harshly critized Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz last Monday, yesterday was relieved of his party post of deputy chairman responsible for political affairs by Yýlmaz. Mumcu’s new post of deputy chairman responsible for government and Parliament affairs is a demotion. Speaking of the news, Yýlmaz told reporters that everybody can express his ideas in the party, but that he would not allow anyone to harm the party. On Monday, a meeting was held in Ankara to evaluate the government’s three years in power as well as ANAP policies, where Mumcu said, “If you cannot serve as a leader, there are others who can do it properly.” Mumcu downplayed the significance of his change of post adding that he could be a candidate for the party’s leadership in the future. /Turkiye/

PACACI RESIGNS FROM DYP
True Path Party (DYP) Ankara Deputy Mustafa Cihan Pacaci resigned from his party yesterday in favor of becoming an independent deputy. Including Pacaci, the number of independents in the Parliament has now increased to 15, while the number of DYP deputies has fallen to 85. /Turkiye/

RALSTON VISITS KIVRIKOGLU
NATO Supreme Allied Commander of Forces in Europe Gen. Joseph W. Ralston visited Chief of General Staff Gen. Huseyin Kivrikoglu at his invitation, and was welcomed at the General Staff Headquarters by Gen. Kivrikoglu with a ceremony. Then the two commanders held a meeting and discussed Turkish-NATO relations as well as other recent developments. /Turkiye/

BLAIR SIGNALS “TOUGH APPROACH” ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION FROM TURKEY
In an effort to tighten immigration controls in the wake of the far right's political success in Europe, British Prime Minister Tony Blair warned Turkey yesterday that Britain would cut off aid to the country if the Turkish government fails to monitor illegal immigrants passing through its borders. Blair prepared a three-article plan to combat illegal immigration which includes cutting off aid to countries which act as gateways to Europe unless they establish a strict monitoring system on their borders. According to a piece published in British daily the Guardian on Monday, Blair’s three-article calls for: “1) Urgent action to strengthen EU borders. Blair calls for an EU-wide version of an Anglo-Italian initiative in which their own immigration officials were posted to the Balkans. This led to a 90% drop in ‘unaccounted arrivals’ in Sarajevo - one of the main gateways to the EU for immigrants from across Asia and the Middle East. 2) A tougher approach against the ‘third countries,’ such as Turkey and the former Yugoslavia, which serve as gateways to the EU. 3) Improving help to countries at the ‘sharp end,’ such as Greece, to cut the numbers entering the EU through their borders. This could involve providing financial help to deploy more immigration officers.” /All Papers/

KUTAN: “CHANGE OF PRIME MINISTER IS NOT LIKELY”
The Felicity Party (SP) Chairmanship Board chaired by SP leader Recai Kutan convened yesterday. Kutan predicted that should the health of Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit worsen, the coalition partners would agree between themselves on a new formula rather than going to elections. Stressing that he had gone to the hospital to visit Ecevit, but had only been able to meet with his wife, Rahsan since Ecevit was not taking visitors, Kutan told reporters that the doctors were expecting Ecevit to return to his office in 10 days. Asserting that the government could not serve the country anymore, the SP leader reiterated his call for elections to be held at once. Answering a reporter’s question, Kutan said that he didn’t expect any change in the post of prime minister. “If the government is to continue serving as it is, we prefer to see Ecevit as prime minister,” Kutan added. /Turkiye/

TOSKAY: “THE IMF DOESN’T WANT EARLY ELECTIONS”
Speaking yesterday after his meeting with International Monetary Fund Turkey Desk Chief Juha Kahkonnen and Turkey representative Od Per Brekk, State Minister Tunca Toskay said, “Turkey’s elected officials and politicians believe that early elections would not be beneficial for Turkey, and the IMF shares this view.” Toskay also said that Kahkonnen would himself express his thoughts on the issue with a press conference later this week. /Hurriyet/

CAPACITY UTILIZATION RATIO AT 74%
The State Institute of Statistics (DIE) announced on Monday that the capacity utilization ratio in Turkish manufacturing sector rose to 74% this April, up from 68.5% in the same period last year. According to results announced in the “Monthly Survey of Manufacturing Sector Trends” which polled 871 manufacturers, businesses are not working in full capacity due to inadequacy of domestic demand (cited by 50% of respondents) and lower external demands (12.7% of respondents). Other reasons cited were inadequate raw materials and financial difficulties. /Hurriyet/

PROTOCOL SIGNED TO PROTECT OSMANLI HISTORICAL ARCHIVES
Garanti Bank and Bogazici University yesterday signed a protocol of cooperation designed to ensure the protection and availability for scholars of the Osmanli Bank Archives, which cover the latter years of the Ottoman Empire all the way to the Turkish Republic. The protocol lays out how the archives are to be catalogued, treated and preserved by the Osmanli Bank Archive and Research Center. In a written statement, Garanti Bank Director General Ergun Ozen said that the Osmanli Bank Archives were a rich source of historical, economic and social data and so preserving them for future generations was of the utmost importance. /Aksam/

“ARARAT” SHOWN IN CANNES
A film entitled “Ararat” got its world premiere at the 55th Annual Cannes Film Festival yesterday. The film, directed by Atom Egoyan, a Canadian citizen born of Armenian parents, has a “film-within-a-film” structure, being a fictionalized account of the making of a movie. The movie within “Ararat” depicts alleged events of the so-called Armenian genocide. At a press conference, Egoyan, along with actors and producers from the film, claimed that the film was “true to life.” Egoyan said that this film was meant “a challenge” for him and that it would not harm Turkish-Armenian relations. Before the film debuted, Egoyan had also said, “It’s not a historic movie” and emphasized how it is “stridently Canadian.” However, Agos daily Managing Director Hrant Dink, a Turkish journalist of Armenian origin, predicted that the film would not help the two countries’ relations. /All papers/

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