ECEVIT SPEAKS AT ZONGULDAK CAMPAIGN RALLY
Prime Minister and Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader Bulent Ecevit yesterday spoke to a crowd of citizens at a campaign rally in the Black Sea province of Zonguldak. Pointing to the importance of the province, Ecevit said, “Zonguldak’s coal has added blood to Turkey.” Ecevit stated that during its tenure the current government had solved many significant problems. Stressing that of late various games were being played in politics, Ecevit claimed that certain circles were working to bring down the DSP and exclude him from politcs. Criticizing former Economy Minister Kemal Dervis, who joined the rival Republican People’s Party (CHP) after stepping down from his post this summer, the prime minister said that Dervis was clearly a politician rather than an economist. “He divided the DSP group,” Ecevit added. /Turkiye/

CILLER SEEKS SUPPORT FOR DYP-DTP-ATP ALLIANCE AT POLLS
True Path Party (DYP) leader Tansu Ciller said yesterday that her party would go to polls with a great alliance on the center-right, formed by the DYP, the Democratic Turkey Party (DTP) and the Enlightened Turkey Party (ATP). “Now we are expecting citizens to stand together at the ballot box to support us,” Ciller said. At a meeting with the attendance of two former DTP and ATP leaders who are currently candidates from the DYP, Mehmet Ali Bayar and Tugrul Turkes respectively, Ciller stated that people had been looking for such cooperation on the center-right for a long time. Regarding proposals to decrease the 10% election threshold, Ciller reiterated that the DYP wanted to preserve the current threshold. “If the threshold is lowered, this will lead to four or more partners in coalition governments, which would make properly ruling the country impossible,” Ciller added. /Turkiye/

YTP AND SP DECLARE SUPPORT FOR LOWERED ELECTION THRESHOLD
New Turkey Party (YTP) Deputy Secretary General Ercan Karakas yesterday said that many articles of the Elections and Political Parties Law were antidemocratic. “If Parliament convenes in order to change these laws, the YTP will support these efforts,” stated Karakas. “The YTP isn’t trying to change the threshold now, but it would support such attempts.” In related news, Felicity Party (SP) Deputy Chairman Lutfu Esengun said that the 10% election threshold should be lowered to 5%. Current opinion polls indicate that both parties would fail to make Parliament under the current threshold. /Milliyet/

CEM: “NO ONE CAN STOP THE YTP”
Speaking to a gathering of his party in Istanbul yesterday, New Turkey Party Chairman Ismail Cem said that whether or not polls scheduled for November were postponed, no one could prevent the YTP from achieving electoral success. Cem argued that certain political parties were spreading misleading reports through the media in order to hinder the YTP’s victory. “The YTP wants the elections to be held on their scheduled date, Nov. 3,” added Cem. “No one can stop us now.” /Aksam/

ARSEVEN IN FINLAND FOR IMMIGRATION MEETING
Labor and Social Security Minister Nejat Arseven arrived in Finland yesterday to attend the Seventh European Conference on Immigration Affairs scheduled to begin today. Before departing from Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, Arseven told reporters that during the two-day gathering he would underline Turkey’s perspectives on migration and hold meetings with several of his counterparts. /Cumhuriyet/

IRAN PUSHES TURKEY ON NATURAL GAS AGREEMENT
Iranian Oil Minister Bijen Namdar Zangene yesterday said that Turkey was in violation of a natural gas agreement with his country and threatened to seek financial penalties if things did not change. “If Turkey doesn’t do as we ask, we will demand compensation under the ‘take-or-pay’ clause of the agreement,” Zangene told an Iranian daily. He furthermore claimed that Turkey had halted its natural gas purchases due to its economic crisis, not low quality gas. Turkey stopped purchasing Iranian gas in June. /Cumhuriyet/

RAHMI KOC: “ELECTIONS COULD BRING A SURPRISE”
Koc Group CEO Rahmi Koc yesterday said that he expected a “surprise result” from the forthcoming early elections. Speaking to reporters in Izmir, Koc stated that he didn’t fully trust public opinion polls. “The situation is not clear yet, there are a great many undecided people,” he said. Stressing that all people in Turkey wanted to hold early elections on their scheduled date, Nov. 3, Koc said, “We will be disappointed if they are postponed.” Regarding Turkey’s expectation of getting a date during the Eurpean Union’s December summit to begin EU membership negotiations, Koc said, “I think that even though Turkey has implemented all of the EU commitments, they will probably put forward the Cyprus issue before us as another precondition.” /Turkiye/

FORMER UN SECRETARY-GENERAL: “TURKEY BELONGS IN EUROPE”
Culture ministers from more than 95 countries arrived in Istanbul yesterday for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Culture Ministers Third Round Table Meeting. Speaking to reporters, former UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar said that Turkey’s proper place was in Europe. “I can’t imagine a Europe without Turkey,” he added. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer is expected to attend the meeting’s opening ceremony today, along with Perez de Cuellar, Culture Minister Suat Caglayan and UNESCO head Koichiro Matsuura. /Milliyet/

GUREL ASKS BELGIUM ON ERDAL EXTRADITION
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sukru Sina Gurel yesterday met with Belgium Foreign Minister Louis Michel in New York, where both men are attending the United Nations General Assembly meeting there. During their talks, Gurel reiterated his call for Belgium to extradite Fehriye Erdal, a fugitive from justice wanted for the 1996 murder of Turkish businessman Ozdemir Sabanci. Gurel stressed that since this summer Turkey abolished the death penalty, long cited by Belgium as an obstacle to extradition, there was no longer any reason to delay turning Erdal over to Turkish authorities. Gurel also called once again for KADEK, the terrorist PKK’s new label for itself, to be added to the European Union’s list of terrorist groups. “Turkey insists that KADEK be on the EU’S list,” said Gurel. /Hurriyet/

IFC: “TURKEY OFFERS AN ATTRACTIVE INVESTMENT CLIMATE”
Sujata Lambe, Turkey director for the International Finance Cooperation, the World Bank’s private-sector investment arm, stated yesterday that the IFC sees Turkey as offering an attractive investment climate. Speaking at a seminar in Istanbul organized by the State Organization (DPT) in cooperation with the Islamic Progress Bank (IKB), Lamba also said that IFC was the leading source of credits to Turkey in the wake of the February 2001 economic crisis. /Star/

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