NEW CABINET SLATE TO BE ANNOUNCED TODAY
Abdullah Gul, prime minister designate and deputy leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), is set today to submit to President Ahmet Necdet Sezer a list of the new AKP government cabinet ministers. Following AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s submission of Gul’s name to Sezer on Saturday, Sezer approved him to take over the prime ministry, an appointment which now only awaits Parliament’s confirmation. Tomorrow, Parliament is to elect its new speaker. Vecdi Gonul and Bulent Arinc are reportedly the AKP’s candidates for the speakership. The opposition party Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) candidate may be Istanbul Deputy Sukru Elekdag. If the speaker election goes through tomorrow, the government’s program will be read out on Wednesday. On Saturday, debates on the program will be held. At the beginning of next week, a vote of confidence is to be held and if successful, the new government will then officially begin its term in office. /All Papers/

ERDOGAN TO MEET WITH GREEK PRIME MINISTER SIMITIS
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leader of incoming ruling party the Justice and Development party (AKP), is set today to fly to Athens to meet with Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis. Greece will be the second stop on Erdogan’s tour to drum up support for Turkey’s European Union membership bid, on the heels of his trip to Italy last week. During their talks, Erdogan and Simitis will reportedly discuss the recent United Nations Cyprus plan as well as Turkey’s EU bid. After meeting with Simitis, Erdogan will meet with Costas Caramanlis, leader of the main opposition New Democracy Party. Erdogan will then fly to Spain to visit Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar. /Milliyet/

ERDOGAN VISITS FORMER PRESIDENT DEMIREL
Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday visited former President Suleyman Demirel at his working office in Ankara. After the meeting, Erdogan told reporters that he had visited Demirel in order to get the benefit of the elder statesman’s long experience in politics. For his part, stressing that the Nov. 3 elections had brought stability to Turkey, Demirel said that swift establishment of a new government would benefit the nation, as a number of issues urgently needed to be addressed. /Turkiye/

US PRESS HAILS GUL’S APPOINTMENT TO PRIME MINISTRY
Prime Minister designate Abdullah Gul, deputy chairman of Nov. 3 election winner the Justice and Development Party (AKP), was praised in yesterday’s US press as an “able” choice to lead Turkey’s incoming AKP government. Gul was approved on Saturday by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer to be the new prime minister, a a move which the Parliaments is soon set to confirm. The New York Times noted Gul’s pledge to show the world that “Islam and democracy can work together.” The AKP’s election victory “was an historic moment” in Turkey, the Times commented, adding that Gul “expressed confidence that both Turkey’s democracy and its Western leanings could thrive under an Islamic leadership.” The Washington Post also covered Gul’s appointment, hailing his “warm, affable manner” and his suitability to bolster the AKP’s moderate credentials. /Milliyet/

BAYKAL: “I HAVE DOUBTS ABOUT THE EU’S GOODWILL”
In an interview with daily Cumhuriyet, Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chairman Deniz Baykal, the leader of the sole opposition party in the new Parliament, gave his views on a council meeting of the Party of European Socialists (PES) he attended last week in Warsaw, Poland, as well as the emergency action plan announced over the weekend by Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “I have doubts about the EU’s goodwill in its relations with Turkey,” said Baykal. “The atmosphere in Warsaw was not friendly. In the near future, Turkey might face certain unfair EU policies which it by no means deserves. What the EU wants from Turkey is for it to find a permanent solution to the Cyprus problem as soon as possible and to approve the European Security and Defense Policy [ESDP]. I believe that the new AKP-led government should be careful and cautious in its relations with the EU.” In addition, Baykal also stressed that though he was familiar with the AKP’s action plan, the actual implementation, rather than the plan itself, was the most important thing. /Cumhuriyet/

KESKIN: “THE CHP WAS NOT SUCCESSFUL IN THE ELECTIONS”
Adnan Keskin, a member of the Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) Party Assembly, charged yesterday that his party had not been successful in the Nov. 3 elections. Besides the incoming ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the CHP was the only other party to attract enough votes to get into the new Prliament, at about 20%. The CHP had been entirely absent from the previous Parliament. The CHP’s Party Assembly headed by Chairman Deniz Baykal met yesterday at its headquarters. Before the meeting, Keskin told reporters that the participants would discuss the results of the last elections. Criticizing the party administration for the “unsuccessful” results, Keskin asserted that a vote of confidence should be taken at a future extraordinary convention. Following the six-hour-plus meeting, Baykal said that both the election results and the CHP’s opposition policy had been discussed. Addressing Keskin’s criticisms, Baykal stated that only four assembly members out of 72 had claimed that the election results were unsuccessful. He added that there was no need for an extraordinary convention. /Turkiye/

PAPANTONIOU: “TURKISH-GREEK RELATIONS CAN’T BE GREATLY IMPROVED IN THE SHORT TERM”
Greek Defense Minister Yannis Papantoniou stated over the weekend that although reaching a permanent settlement on the Cyprus issue would positively affect Turkish-Greek relations, nobody should expect dramatic improvement in the short term. Papantoniou underlined that the implementation stage would be very important for a solution to the Cyprus problem after both sides reach agreement on a plan. /Cumhuriyet/

ANNAN SENDS LETTERS TO BOTH SIDES OF THE CYPRUS ISSUE, STEPS UP PRESSURE
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is stepping up diplomatic pressure to solve the Cyprus problem in the wake of his presentation last week of a solution proposal to both sides. Annan has sent letters to both Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas and Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides, underlining that this is the last opportunity for them to reach a settlement. Annan also called on the two leaders to hold a meeting within the month to discuss his solution proposal. Meanwhile, Denktas stated that the TRNC wouldn’t hesitate to discuss the proposal, though he characterized some points in it as “mistaken” and “unfair.” Clerides also remarked that he would agree to negotiate on the UN plan. In related news, Denktas was due to return to the TRNC this weekend following his recuperation from heart surgery, but further complications have caused a delay. It is currently unclear when he will be able to return. /Hurriyet/

TURKISH EXPORTERS TO PROMOTE TURKEY’S EU BID AMONG EUROPEAN BUSINESS LEADERS
The Turkish Exporters’ Union (TIM) will tomorrow kick off a letter-writing campaign to promote Turkey’s European Union membership bid among European businessmen, TIM Chairman Oguz Satici announced yesterday. Satici said that he hoped the businessmen would see fit to lobby their governments to support Turkey’s membership at next month’s EU Copenhagen summit. These businessmen believe that Turkey should be a member of the EU and they wonder why it isn’t already, he commented. “They also believe that Turkey became economically integrated into the EU with the 1996 Customs Union,” said Satici. /Milliyet/

TURKISH JOURNALIST RECEIVES AWARD
Turkish-born journalist Mustafa Can, currently a writer for Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter, has received the 2002 Grand Journalism Prize for his coverage of the Swedish Democratic Party, a group notorious for its ultra-nationalist and xenophobic policies. Over a seven-week period, Can spoke to members of the party in an effort to understand their policies and stances. His interview served to demonstrate that racism and xenophobia are both unfortunately alive and well in Sweden. /Cumhuriyet/

CORSICAN FESTIVAL PROMOTES TURKISH CULTURE
The French island of Corsica kicked off its Arte Mare Festival on Sunday, a weeklong event which this year is celebrating Turkish culture. Corsica’s capital Bastia is hosting scores of Turkish artists displaying their work and participating in exhibitions and workshops. In addition, the festival will also feature performances of Turkish music and screenings of Turkish films. /Cumhuriyet/

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