ECEVIT: “THE DEATH PENALTY PROBLEM WILL BE SOLVED IN PARLIAMENT”
Speaking to reporters yesterday in the garden of his office, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said, “I am carrying out my governmental duties by working at home and my illness is not hampering the work of the government.” The government is on its mission, and it is in harmony, Ecevit added. Answering questions concerning disputes with Nationalist Action Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli, Ecevit stated, “I hope that there will be no problems between the government partners besides the death penalty.” He dismissed, however, prospects of a government crisis and remarked that he agreed with Bahceli’s concern that the practice of allying with the opposition against one government partner should not turn into a habit. The MHP’s views on the death penalty are clear and I hope we can come to agreement on this problem, Ecevit added. Ecevit also said that the Cyprus issue was not a matter to be dealt with by the European Union, but rather one for Turkey, the Turkish Cypriots and Greece. Lastly, Ecevit said that, the MHP aside, if the needed votes are obtained from opposition parties, then the EU and the death penalty problem will be solved in the Parliament. Ecevit also said that he would not attend the Seville summit later this month. /Hurriyet/
TURK: “DEATH PENALTY CAN BE ABOLISHED THROUGH PARLIAMENT”
Speaking to reporters yesterday in Ankara Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said that the death penalty could be abolished by a motion at Parliament’s Plenary Session without having to amend the Constitution. He also added that there was no need to prepare a new bill for abolishing the death penalty and that he hoped opposition parties such as the Felicity Party (SP) and Justice and Development Party (AKP) would agree to support the government on this issue. /Aksam/
US CYPRUS REPRESENTATIVE WESTON VISITS ANKARA
United States State Department Special Representative for Cyprus Thomas Weston is to visit Ankara today to discuss with Turkish officials recent developments concerning the ongoing peace talks between Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas and Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides. Weston is also scheduled to pay an official visit to Cyprus in the coming days to hold separate meetings with the two leaders. Speaking to journalists over the weekend, Weston stated that he believed the parties could reach an agreement on the basic issues by the end of this month and that his visits to Turkey and Cyprus could contribute to this peace process. However, he added, “The end of June should be regarded neither as a target or nor a final date. The peace talks must continue whatever the results are on that date.” /Cumhuriyet/
SATICI: “CONGRATULATIONS TO ECEVIT FOR PRESS CONFERENCE”
Turkish Association of Exporters Chairman Oguz Satici said yesterday that the weekend press conference held by Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit constituted clear evidence that Turkey indeed had a prime minister at the helm. Echoing Ecevit’s remarks that the government was continuing to work, Satici commented that the timing of the press conference was good. Satici added, “Mr. Ecevit should be congratulated for holding the press conference. All of us will go to our offices on Monday feeling more secure. Turkey needs a government coalition but the coalition parties don’t have to agree on each and every issue. If there are 65 million people in Turkey, there will be 65 million different opinions. The important thing is to convince the majority to act in agreement on basic issues for Turkey’s benefit.” /Sabah/
BAHCELI TO CHAIR CABINET MEETING
The Cabinet is scheduled to meet today at 11:00 a.m. at the Prime Ministry Building. Nationalist Action Party (MHP) leader and Deputy Prime Minister Devlet Bahceli will chair the meeting due to Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit’s illness. /Star/
ERDOGAN: “WE WOULD SUPPORT A DSP-ANAP GOVERNMENT FROM THE SIDELINES”
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Tayyip Erdogan addressed the possibility of early elections being held later this year. Should the Nationalist Action Party (MHP) withdraw from the coalition in such circumstances, then the AKP would support the formation of an Democratic Left Party (DSP)-Motherland Party (ANAP) coalition government from the sidelines. /Hurriyet/
KUTAN: “WE ARE NOT LIKE THE AKP”
Felicity Party (SP) leader Recai Kutan told reporters in Malatya yesterday that his party did not share the same views as the Justice and Development Party (AKP). He added that the SP was the only true representative of the nation’s views and did not stand with the AKP. /Aksam/
DERVIS: “POLITICIANS SHOULDN’T CAST SHADOW OVER THE MARKETS”
In a speech at the Economy Policies Summit organized by the Economists’ Platform in Istanbul over the weekend, State Minister for the Economy Kemal Dervis stated that economy policies should be properly implemented in order to increase the nation’s welfare. Remarking that politicians should respect the markets by taking into account the possible adverse effects of their moves on the economy, Dervis said, “Political power should not be used for private interests but should be instead employed to establish strong institutions which facilitate the smooth operations of the financial markets. Names aren’t important at all. We shouldn’t forget that the system itself and its institutions should be respected. That’s why societies which pin their hopes on only one name are bound to face great dangers concerning their futures.” Stating that a lack of coordination between institutions was holding Turkey back, Dervis also remarked that macro balances had recently been established along with certain positive developments such as a gradually decreasing inflation rate and a calm atmosphere dominating the markets. /Cumhuriyet/
TURKISH, US COMPANIES TO PURSUE JOINT PROJECTS FOR AFGHAN RECONSTRUCTION
The Turkish-US economic meetings that were held in Ankara this February bore their first fruit yesterday. Turkey’s Foreign Trade Undersecretariat and the US Department of Commerce brought together Turkish and US companies to discuss tourism investments in Eurasia and projects to reconstruct Afghanistan in a meeting called “Target: Eurasia” held in Istanbul. In addition to Turkish and US representatives, the meeting was attended by Afghan, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Georgian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Moldovan, Russian, Tajik, Turkmen, Ukrainian and Uzbek representatives. The main aim of the meeting was to encourage Turkish and US businessmen to undertake common projects. The most concrete result of the meeting was that Turkish and US companies showed their desire to carry out work to help rebuild Afghanistan together. The companies decided to work together by establishing partnerships in Afghanistan. Saying that the result of the Afghan traditional assembly, Loya Jirga, which begins this week in order to determine the new administration in Afghanistan, was the basic element that would determine the Turkish and US companies’ visit to the country, officials stated, “The timing of our planned exploratory visit to Afghanistan is very important. A new government will be established in Afghanistan on June 22. Although the temporary government has prepared draft laws, it left their approval up to the new government. For example, if a fundamentalist government comes to power following Loya Jirga, it would be beneficial for neither the Turkish nor US businessmen. We think that July is early; August would be better as the balances will be settled by that time.” /Milliyet/
TURKISH-GREEK ECONOMIC SUMMIT VOICES SUPPORT FOR TURKEY’S EU BID
The fourth Turkish-Greek Economic Summit held yesterday in Istanbul issued a declaration supporting Turkey’s European Union membership bid. After the summit the participants released a declaration voicing their views and proposals reached at the summit. In addition to showing Greece’s support for Turkey’s EU membership, the declaration also resolved that next year’s meeting would be held on the island of Crete in Greece. /Aksam/
TUROB AND SERVUS HOLD HOTEL TOURISM SEMINAR
The Turkish Hotels Association (TUROB) and the Servus Hotel Development and Administration Company held a joint seminar yesterday in Istanbul in order to take the first step towards comprehensive cooperation for better and more profitable in hotels in Turkey. The seminar was the first in a series that later this month will travel to Ankara, Izmir, Marmara, and Bodrum. The seminars are intended to host informative briefings for 400 high-level administrators in Turkey concerning hotel standards, the use of strategic technology and new developments in the tourism sector. /Sabah/
NEW YORK TIMES TRAVEL FEATURE TOUTS “TWO FACES OF ISTANBUL”
Prominent US daily the New York Times on Sunday featured an article written by Douglas Frantz on the two faces of Istanbul. “There are two Istanbuls,” said Frantz. “One is historic, an ancient city where Byzantine churches, Roman walls and Ottoman monuments constantly remind visitors that this was the capital of three great empires. Then there is modern Istanbul, a vibrant metropolis of 15 million where traffic is controlled chaos, five-star hotels offer sumptuous accommodations and ambitious restaurants compare with the best of New York or London.” The paper emphasized that Istanbul today was “a hybrid city, a beguiling conjunction of old and new, Asian and European, a place with options to fit the interests and budget of any traveler.” /Cumhuriyet/
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION