Selections From Todays Turkish Press

The Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) approved the proposal regarding amendments to 37 articles of the Constitution. The amendments will come into force following their approval by the President and after they are issued on the Official Gazette. During the debates, most of the articles were approved unanimously, excluding the articles 27, 28 and 32 of the amendment package. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer will examine the law in 15 days. /All Papers/

OYMEN'S STATEMENT ON INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AGAINST TERRORISM

Turkey's NATO Permanent Representative Ambassador Onur Oymen said that a NATO decision taken unanimously was not limited to one country or organization, but covered all members countries. Oymen said the fight against terrorism would be definitely international. Stating that the evidences which the US disclosed on the perpetrators of the September 11th tragedy were convincing enough, "International cooperation has been chosen as a way to combat terrorism no matter its sources, reasons or targets. It would not be right to discriminate this or that country in such a cooperation." He said, "NATO's recent decision on invoking Article V has been made because the September 11th attack was proved to be organized abroad. The decision does not directly aim at a specific country or organization. The Article V is not limited to a country. What is important for NATO is the fact that attack was planned and organized abroad the US." Oymen reminded that Turkey would be the first country which will oppose to an attitude discriminating countries when implementing the Article V, since she had been fighting against terrorism for years. /Cumhuriyet/

DERVIS' CONTACTS IN WASHINGTON

Minister of State responsible for Economy Kemal Dervis met with World Bank Chairman James Wolfensohn yesterday in Washington. Dervis also met with the members of the Turkish-American Business Council at breakfast. He is expected to hold a press conference in Turkey's Embassy in Washington today. /Cumhuriyet/

YILMAZ: "MILITARY SHOULD CHANGE THEIR POSITION ON POLITICS"

Stressing the need for taking steps to comply with the political part of the Copenhagen Criteria, Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said that the mind of the military should change, since the threat of separatism and fundamentalism has been eliminated. "In order not to miss the EU train, we should take the steps necessary for the political criteria," Yilmaz stated. The military cannot hold their position in the political life of Turkey," Yilmaz said, repeating a well-known position of him concerning the role of the military in the country. /Turkish Daily News/

TURK: "TURKEY'S VIEWS ON TERRORISM HAVE BEEN JUSTIFIED"

Traveling to Moscow to attend 24th European Ministers of Justice Conference, Minister of Justice Hikmet Sami Turk said prior to his departure that the recent terrorist attack on the US justified Turkey's views defending the necessity for an international cooperation against terrorism for years. Stating that there would be a session to discuss "Combatting Terrorism" within the Conference, Turk said, "In the speech I will deliver in this session of the conference, I will relay Turkey's experiences on terrorism. Recent developments showed Turkey is justified in her views. I believe that in the declaration to be issued at the end of the conference this fact will be clearly expressed." In Moscow, Turk held a bilateral meeting with his Russian counterpart Yuri Chayka. Stating that they discussed the ways to cooperate against terrorism, Turk said, "There is already a memorandum signed between Turkey and Russia on combatting terrorism." /Cumhuriyet/

PEARSON: "WE HAVE RECEIVED ENOUGH SUPPORT FROM ANKARA"

US Ambassador to Ankara Robert Pearson said they had received sufficient support from Ankara concerning evidence proving Saudi dissident Osama Bin Laden's link to Sept. 11 attacks. Pearson spoke to the press members during the reception marking the 11th anniversary of the union of East and West Germany. He said, "The US and Turkey cooperate in may spheres, including intelligence and economy. With NATO having activated the 5th Article, its members will be in full cooperation from now on." /Turkish Daily News/

PARLIAMENT BLOCKS ERBAKAN AND ERDOGAN

The three major proposed amendments to the Constitution failed to pass yesterday in Parliament, which is holding the final round of voting on a 37-article amendment package, as deputies voted against plans to restrict legislative immunities, narrow the scope of a political ban on engaging in politics, and acknowledge the supremacy of international treaties over domestic laws in the event of a clash. In the course of the voting, Parliament also rejected a Felicity Party (SP) proposal to change the Art. 69 of the Constitution in an effort to reduce the five-year political ban to four years. If the proposal had been accepted, banned leader of the defunct Welfare party (RP) Necmettin Erbakan would be able to return to politics in 2002. Now that the proposal was turned down, Erbakan will have to wait for 1.5 more years. Turning down the proposal to amend Article 76, Parliament decided that a constitutional clause to ban those who have a history of involment in ideological crimes from running in politics would remain. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a past offender for "inciting hatred and enmity among people." /Turkish News/

EYUP ASIK JOINS DYP

Independent Deputy from Trabzon, Eyup Asik, who resigned from the Motherland Party (ANAP) last week, joined the True Path Party (DYP) yesterday. The number of DYP deputies in Parliament increased to 81 while the number of independent deputies decreased to 20. /Turkiye/

MACEDONIAN CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF VISITS GEN.KIVRIKOGLU

Macedonian Chief of General Staff, Gen. Metodi Stamboliski, visited his Turkish colleague Gen. Huseyin Kivrikoglu yesterday. Gen. Kivrikoglu welcomed him in a military ceremony at General Staff Headquarters. The two commanders then held a meeting closed to press. /Turkish News/

WOLFENSOHN: "WE WILL RE-EVALUATE TURKEY'S CONDITIONS"

World Bank Chairman James Wolfensohn said that the conditions of Turkey and Argentina might be re-evaluated under the new circumstances emerging after the September 11th terrorist attack on the US. Wolfenshon said, "Turkey and Argentina have well-planned economic programs. However, certain changes took place in our expectations regarding the financial markets after September 11th. We have to evaluate these changes." /Milliyet/

WELDON: "LET'S ERASE TURKEY'S MILITARY DEBT"

Stating that the US must improve its relations with Turkey, the US House of Representatives Republican Party deputy Curt Weldon called on the US officials to erase Turkey's military debt amounting $5 billion, as a symbol of good will. In the aftermath of his visit to Ankara, Weldon emphasized that Turkey always supported the US. Stating that they visited Ankara to express that Turkey played a critical role in US fight against terrorism, Weldon said that Turkey's military debt to the US should be erased and that a intelligence work group should be established between the Turkish Parliament and American Congress. /Milliyet/

INFLATION FIGURES FOR SEPTEMBER DECLARED

The State Institute of Statistics (DIE) declared the inflation figures for September. Accordingly, the annual rate of wholesale inflation in September was 74.4 percent and consumer price inflation was (CPI) 61.8 percent. The consumer price index rose 5.9 month-on-month in September, while the wholesale inflation index climbed 5.4 percent. /All Papers/

MIRZAOGLU OFFERS BUSINESS TO SUDAN

State Minister Ramazam Mirzaoglu opened the "Turkish Export Goods Fair" in Khartum, the capital city of Sudan. In the opening of the fair which is being held for the first time, Mirzaoglu noted the target as an increase in the mutual trade volume and the establishment of common investments. Mirzaoglu stated the most important role is of the businessmen , and the Turkish government is ready to support entrepreneurs. /Turkish Daily News/

VARYAG WILL FIRST PASS THROUGH ANKARA

The date of the passage through the Straits of the old aircraft carrier Varyag, which was bought by China from the Ukraine, was first pronounced yesterday. In the second meeting on Varyag in the Prime Ministry the State Minister Sukru Sina Gurel, called for the passage of Varyag through the Straits between 5 and 15 October when the weather conditions are expected to be appropriate. The Undersecretariat of Maritime Affairs on the other hand stated that it will not take the responsibility claiming the inadequacy of technical conditions. As an agreement on the passage of Varyag was not reached at the meeting, the issue was left for the Council of Ministers to decide. /Hurriyet/

A-TEL IS THE 8TH AMONG THE 500 GIANTS

The giants of the Turkish communication sector are announced. 500 communication firms were evaluated according to their endorsements. Among the giants, A-Tel, which is established with the partnership of Turkcell and Medya Holding, became the 8th best communication firm. Where Turk Telekom became the first, Turkcell was the second, Erricsson the third, Telsim the fourth KVK placed the fifth. /Sabah/

RUSSIA, THE ENVY OF EVERYONE BY YALCIN DOGAN (CUMHURIYET)

Columnist Yalcin Dogan writes on Turkey's relations with Russia. A summary of his column is as follows: "Russian experts who have gone to the Silicon Valley are returning. Russians who have learnt the recent developments in computer technologies are implementing these in their own country. In return, Europe is recognizing free circulation to Russian scientists. Only in France 1,500 Russsian scientists are working. Furthermore, in academic centers throughout all Europe, Russians are in the forefront. Not many people are aware of the fact, but Russia is launching a great offensive in technology, industry and economy. Last weeek Russian Industry and Technology Minister Dondukov came to Istanbul for the Black Sea Economic Cooperation meeting. He held meetings with officials in industrial and technological circles. Under the threat of a war in the world and heavy economic problems, the Minister drew a picture of Russia portraying a country in full swing. Particularly the strides taken in technology is the envy of everyone. At the moment Russia is conducting 200 researches on various fields. Recently 4,000 articles, the results of different researches were published. The production in Russia is growing. Minister Dondukov is explaining this striking turn of events with political stability. He said, "With the advent of Putin, political turmoil which was going on for years came to an end. Stability is established. Brain drain to other countries has come to a halt and highly qualified Russians are returning to their homeland one by one. Confidence in people has been restored". Dondukov also added that in the recent years Russian economy was paralyzed. Billions of dollars had flown to foreign countries. Now that the confidence in the Government had been restored the money which had escaped from the country was returning. This is an experiment to envy. There are meetings also in political arena. Ankara is also planning to give impetus to increasing relations with Moscow. Russians are preparing to share their experiences in industry and techonology with all mankind. In politics, some leading politicians are being invited to Turkey. TGNA Foreign Relations Commission Chairman Kamran Inan has invited his counterpart in Duma for the middle of this month. In the following ten days of this visit, former Russian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Primakov will be in Ankara. Next year it is planned to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to Turkey. Ankara who did not have eyes for anyone except the US and the IMF will awaken with these new meetings and realize there are other worlds beside them."