PRESIDENT SEZER TO ATTEND WORLD SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer is scheduled to attend the 10-day United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa due to begin on Monday. Environment Minister Fevzi Aytekin is expected to accompany President Sezer. The Johannesburg Summit 2002 will bring together tens of thousands of participants, including heads of state and government, national delegates and leaders from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to focus the world's attention on a number of vital issues, including improving people's lives and conserving our natural resources in a world with a fast growing population. At the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, the international community adopted Agenda 21, a global action plan for sustainable development. The Johannesburg Summit presents an opportunity for today's world leaders to adopt concrete steps and identify quantifiable targets for better implementing Agenda 21. /Cumhuriyet/

MGK CONVENES FOR GEN. KIVRIKOGLU’S VALEDICTORY MEETING
The National Security Council (MGK) headed by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer convened yesterday. Chief of General Staff Gen. Huseyin Kivrikoglu participated in an MGK meeting for the last time, and President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit both made speeches expressing gratitude to the general, who is set to retire at the end of this month. At the meeting, important issues such as problems at Turkey’s universities and recent Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (IKDP) threats were disscussed. Interior Minister Muzaffer Ecemis and Justice Minister Aysel Celikel, both newly appointed independent ministers, participated in an MGK meeting for the first time. /Milliyet/

GUREL TO SPEARHEAD EU BID PUSH IN BRUSSELS, STRASBOURG
Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Sukru Sina Gurel is scheduled to visit Brussels and Strasbourg at the beginning of next month. The Turkish government is working to boost its diplomatic efforts at the international level in order to tell European Union countries about the steps it has recently taken on its path towards full EU membership. Gurel’s visit to the EU countries is of great importance for the Turkish government since it will take place in the run-up to December’s Copenhagen summit where Turkey’s performance will be discussed. Turkey is requesting from the EU that it immediately determine a specific date for the beginning of Turkey’s accession negotiation process. /Cumhuriyet/

TURKER: “SPECULATION WON’T DERAIL THE ECONOMIC PROGRAM”
State Minister for the Economy Masum Turker charged yesterday that certain speculative interests were trying to foment uncertainty, but pledged that these efforts would not hurt Turkey’s economic program. “The decision to hold elections in November was taken to head off a damaging uncertainty, but today some circles are trying to sow uncertainty anew to reap speculative benefits,” said Turker. “The same circles had said in the past that setting a date for elections would end this political and economic uncertainty.” /Aksam/

DERVIS MEETS WITH CHP ADMINISTRATION
Former Economy Minister Kemal Dervis met yesterday with the Executive Board of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), the party he has pledged to join. CHP Deputy Chairman Esref Erdem told reporters that at the meeting, Dervis briefed board members on the state of Turkey’s economy. Dervis is expected to officially join the CHP today. /Turkiye/

YTP LEADER CEM PLEDGES TO TACKLE MAJOR PROBLEMS
Speaking at a press conference in Istanbul yesterday after returning from Germany, New Turkey Party (YTP) leader Ismail Cem said that Turkey’s major problems were unemployment, low productivity and income inequality. “We will try to overcome these problems through our nation’s creativity and brainpower,” he said. “That’s why we are working with young people.” Cem also said that besides youth, the YTP would also be a party of villagers, women and families. Milliyet/

SHP LEADER KARAYALCIN TO MEET WITH CEM
New Turkey Party (YTP) leader Ismail Cem and Social Democratic People’s Party (SHP) leader Murat Karayalcin are expected to meet this weekend in Istanbul to discuss the possibility of an alliance between the two parties before the Nov. 3 elections. Last week, Karayalcin met twice with Husamettin Ozkan, one the YTP’s founding members, to exchange views on the likelihood of such an alliance. It was reported that Karayalcin was in favour of an institutional and structural alliance with the YTP, as opposed to one based on common candidate lists.

ZEBARI: “BARZANI’S WORDS ARE NOT OFFICIAL IKDP POLICY”
Hoshyar Zebari, foreign policy chief of the Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (IKDP), tried yesterday to distance the party from IKDP leader Massoud Barzani’s threat earlier this week to “bury the Turkish Armed Forces [TSK]” if they entered northern Iraq. Zebari asserted that Barzani’s words did not represent the official stance of the IKDP. “The IKDP doesn’t want to be in an antagonistic relationship with Turkey,” he stated. “Turkey is an important country for northern Iraq, so we want to have good relations with it.” He added that Brayati, the newspaper which published the statement containing Barzani’s threats, was a semi-official IKDP publication which was also open to the views of non-members. /Aksam/

MORE RESIGNATIONS SHAKE DSP, ANAP
Resignations from both the Democratic Left Party (DSP) and the Motherland Party (ANAP) continued yesterday. Ankara Deputy Yücel Seckiner resigned from ANAP, bringing down the total number of ANAP deputies to 74. Additionally, six deputies tendered their resignations from the DSP -- Ali Arabci from Bursa, Uluc Gurkan from Ankara, Emin Karaa from Kutahya, Sadik Kirbas from Canakkale, Ertugrul Kumcuoglu from Aydin and Ahmet Arkan from Kocaeli –- leaving the onetime dominant party in Parliament holding 59 seats. /Turkiye/

SCHROEDER HOSTS TURKISH BUSINESSMEN IN BERLIN
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder hosted a delegation from the European Turkish Businessmen’s and Industrialists’ Association (ATIAD) at a banquet held in Berlin yesterday. Schroeder acknowledged the difficulties Turkish businessmen face in Germany and said that a number of measures had recently been taken to address these. He then asked the businessmen to be patient and give time for these measures to work. When reminded of German Interior Minister Otto Schily’s assertion that assimilation was the best method for non-Europeans to harmonize with Europe, Schroeder stated that Germany was a democratic country. “Everyone has the right to live with their own culture,” he added. /Sabah/

REPORT PREDICTS ROSY FUTURE FOR TURKISH TOURISM
Turkey will enjoy the highest rate of development in its tourism sector over the next decade among all the nations of the world, predicted a report released yesterday by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). The report painted a future picture of many more tourists visiting Turkey’s shores amid a 10.2% annual tourism growth rate. Commenting on the report, Tourism Minister Mustafa Tasar said that last year Turkey had bucked the global economic woes and the post-Sept. 11 slump to post record rates of tourism sector growth. This was accomplished, he added, in part through the success of the Tourism Ministry’s promotional campaigns. /Hurriyet/

GOLD MEDALIST AYHAN TO REPRESENT EUROPE AT WORLD COMPETITION
Turkish athlete Sureyya Ayhan, who earlier this month scored Turkey’s first-ever gold medal at the European Athletics Championship in Munich, Germany, is now set to represent all of Europe in a world competition. Ayhan will compete in her signature event, the women’s 1,500-meter sprint, at the Ninth World Athletics Cup in Madrid, Spain on Sept. 20-21. Ayhan had previously made history in 2000 by becoming the first Turkish athlete, male or female, to reach an Olympic track semifinal. /Aksam/

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