TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (June 19, 1995)
Subject: TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (June 19, 1995)
CONTENTS
[01] ARAFAT EXPECTED IN TURKEY TODAY
[02] SAUDI FM ARRIVES IN ANKARA
[03] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT VISITS TURKISH REGIONS
[04] TURKISH BUSINESS MISSION IN TATARSTAN
[05] TURKEY AGAINST EU-GREEK CYPRIOT "STRUCTURAL DIALOGUE"
[06] TURKEY DENIES DUDAYEV ASKED FOR SANCTUARY
[07] CILLER IN PARIS
[08] NEJAT EREN LEAVES FOR TURKMENISTAN AND UZBEKISTAN
[09] ZIYA HALIS NEW LABOUR MINISTER
[10] PRESIDENT TOURS BORDER POLICE STATIONS
[11] MACEDONIA ASKS FOR TURKISH SUPPORT
[12] TURKISH ARMED FORCES NO THREAT TO NEIGHBOURS, DEMIREL SAYS
[13] DEMIREL TO ATTEND BLACK SEA SUMMIT
[14] TURKEY TELLS UN IT HAS NO INTENTION OF ALTERING BORDER
[15] GERMAN PAPER HIGHLIGHTS TURKISH TOURISM
[16] WB DELEGATION MEETS WITH TURKISH FIRMS
[17] EURO-MUSLIM SUMMIT
[18] DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN TURKS AND GREEKS
WITH THE COMPLIMENT OF
DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION
TURKISH PRESS REVIEW
JUNE 19, 1995
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish
press this morning.
[01] ARAFAT EXPECTED IN TURKEY TODAY
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat is expected to visit
Ankara today to discuss bilateral relations and the Middle
East peace process. He is expected to have talks with his
Turkish counterpart, Suleyman Demirel, and other
high-ranking Turkish officials during his visit. This will
be Arafat's seventh visit to Turkey.
[02] SAUDI FM ARRIVES IN ANKARA
Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal arrived
in Ankara yesterday for an official two-day visit.
Al-Faisal, greeted by Turkish counterpart Erdal Inonu at
Ankara's Esenboga Airport, will meet with Prime Minister
Tansu Ciller and President Suleyman Demirel along with
Inonu. "Turkey is a friend of ours and has an important
role in the region" al-Faisal told reporters at the airport.
Inonu said Turkey and Saudi Arabia had historical ties and
said he believed al-Faisal's visit would further bilateral
relations. He also said the two countries should boost
economic ties.
[03] BULGARIAN PRESIDENT VISITS TURKISH REGIONS
Bulgarian President Jelu Jelev visited the mainly Turkish-
populated region of Kircali prior to President Suleyman
Demirel's visit to Bulgaria early in July, the Anatolia news
agency reported on Saturday. Jelev, while speaking to
businessmen and local officials in the region, said many
people were immigrating to Turkey from the region, which is
currently in a depression. Jelev pointed out that ethnic
Turks should learn the Bulgarian language if they want to
find employment in Bulgaria.
[04] TURKISH BUSINESS MISSION IN TATARSTAN
A group of Turkish businessmen headed by Yalim Erez, head of
the Turkish Chambers of Commerce and Borses (TOBB), is
seeking business opportunities in Tatarstan. The delegation
which left Turkey on Thursday will participate in the Tatar
Festival in Kazan today, the Anatolia news agency reported
yesterday. The TOBB delegation will travel to Moscow from
Tatarstan and is expected to return Turkey on June 21.
[05] TURKEY AGAINST EU-GREEK CYPRIOT "STRUCTURAL DIALOGUE"
Turkey criticized on Sunday a European Union move to launch
a "structural dialogue" with the Greek Cypriot
administration, saying the decision would not contribute to
efforts for a settlement to the Cyprus question. At a
meeting on June 12, the EU-Greek Cypriot administration
association council took the decision for the opening of
what it called a "structural dialogue", seen as a move
towards Greek Cyprus' membership in the union.
Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)
have already declared that the Greek Cypriot administration
had no right to represent Turkish Cypriots at talks with
third parties. The two Turkish states have also warned that
Greek Cypriot membership in the EU would put an end to
efforts for unification of the east Mediterranean island,
leaving no options for the TRNC other than integration with
Turkey. /Cumhuriyet/
[06] TURKEY DENIES DUDAYEV ASKED FOR SANCTUARY
Chechen leader Dzhokhar Dudayev has not applied to Turkey
for asylum as suggested by Russian President Boris Yeltsin,
the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Sunday. "There has not
been a request connected with asylum from the Chechen
leader," Foreign Ministry spokesman Omer Akbel noted.
"Therefore, there is no question of a decision being taken
on this subject."
The Foreign Ministry denounced the hostage-taking operation
by Chechen forces in Budennovsk in southern Russia. "Turkey
condemns this violent act of taking hundreds of innocent
civilians hostage which has also led to the death of some of
these people," it was said in a statement. Turkey has
reiterated several times that the Chechnya crisis should be
solved within the area of the Russian Federation's
territorial integrity and by respecting human rights, the
statement added.
[07] CILLER IN PARIS
Prime Minister Tansu Ciller will address the assembly
meeting of the Western European Union (WEU) that is
scheduled to begin in Paris today. Ciller, who is to arrive
in Paris Monday evening, in addition to addressing the
Assembly will also attend an official dinner with her French
counterpart Alain Juppe and meet President Jacques Chirac.
Relations between France and Turkey have been described as
"excellent", with Ankara considering Paris as not only its
closest ally from within the 10-nation WEU, but also as the
prime mover for pushing through a customs union agreement
between Turkey and the European Union agreed to in March.
[08] NEJAT EREN LEAVES FOR TURKMENISTAN AND UZBEKISTAN
A Turkish business delegation headed by Foreign Trade
Undersecretary Nejat Eren will visit Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan on June 25 - July 2. The visit, organized by the
Middle East Exporters Union, aims at seeking new business
opportunities and improving commercial and economic
relations between the countries.
[09] ZIYA HALIS NEW LABOUR MINISTER
State minister Ziya Halis has been appointed Labour Minister
following the resignation of Aydin Guven Gurkan fifteen days
ago. /All papers/
[10] PRESIDENT TOURS BORDER POLICE STATIONS
President Demirel spent part of the weekend in Van where he
visited border police stations following recent PKK
terrorist attacks which led to the deaths of a large number
of security officials.
Travelling in a military helicopter, President Demirel
visited a number of places and reiterated Turkey's
determination to eliminate the PKK. He also spoke with a
number of high level military officers, and confirmed that
military operations against the PKK in the emergency rule
region were going ahead.
In a strongly worded speech, Demirel gave what is described
as a "hard" message to Iran. Following the deaths of
fifteen Turkish soldiers along the border with Iran, Demirel
made it clear that Turkey would not tolerate PKK incursions,
and that Iranian support for PKK terrorists was strongly
condemned in Turkey. Demirel implied that there was growing
feeling that Turkey should take action against the PKK camps
reported to be supported by the Iranian government.
Over the weekend, reports from the troubled southeast
regions of the country said that a further 34 PKK terrorists
had been killed in continuing clashes with the security
forces.
Turkish security officials claimed over the weekend that PKK
terrorist groups were using US made "Stinger" missiles in
their attacks against Turkish forces. according to some
reports the missiles being used by the PKK come from the
mucahideen in Afghanistan. Officials also note that the PKK
now has access to a much wider range of weapons. /All
papers/
[11] MACEDONIA ASKS FOR TURKISH SUPPORT
Macedonia has asked for Turkish support for its prospective
membership in international organizations, such as the
Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe, Council
of Europe, Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) and NATO's
partnership scheme. "We hope Turkey will not deprive us of
its support in our access to (those organizations)" Branko
Crvenkovsi, the first Macedonian prime minister to visit
Turkey, said on Friday. His Turkish counterpart Tansu
Ciller, for her part, stressed that Ankara would continue to
mobilize all its abilities to help Macedonia both in the
bilateral and international front. "The international
community should also show the same understanding to
Macedonia" Ciller said in her luncheon speech. "We are two
peace-loving nations in the Balkans and Macedonia's
stability is pivotal to Balkan stability" Ciller added.
/All papers/
[12] TURKISH ARMED FORCES NO THREAT TO NEIGHBOURS, DEMIREL SAYS
President Suleyman Demirel said on Friday that Turkey's
efforts to have strong armed forces were aimed at providing
deterrence and do not target any of its neighbours. But he
warned Greece against hostile acts towards Turkey. "Our
armed forces are for securing the existing balance of power
in our region, that helps provide stability" he told a news
conference aboard a navy frigate. He was observing Friday's
operations within the Turkish navy's planned Sea Wolf-I
exercises in the Aegean Sea. /All papers/
[13] DEMIREL TO ATTEND BLACK SEA SUMMIT
President Suleyman Demirel will travel to Romania for a
Black Sea summit on June 30, it was announced Friday.
Leaders of the 11 member states of the BSEC forum are
expected to attend the summit, during which a decision on
establishing a Black Sea Bank is expected.
[14] TURKEY TELLS UN IT HAS NO INTENTION OF ALTERING BORDER
Turkey officially told the UN Friday that it did not intend
to change its frontier with Iraq, the Anatolia news agency
reported from New York. Inal Batu, Turkish Ambassador to
the UN, noted that several newspaper reports stating that
Turkey was seeking a new border were wrong.
[15] GERMAN PAPER HIGHLIGHTS TURKISH TOURISM
The German daily Ostsee Zeitung called Turkey the safest
country for tourism, the Anatolia news agency reported on
Friday. The newspaper, in a special section on Turkey,
quoted Tourism Minister Irfan Gurpinar's assurances about
security in Turkey. The article, which said that Turkey has
a wealth of cultural and historic sites, also advertised
several holiday resorts in Antalya.
[16] WB DELEGATION MEETS WITH TURKISH FIRMS
A World Bank delegation headed by Ratchel Lomax, the bank
official responsible for six countries including Turkey, met
with private and banking sector representatives in Istanbul
on Friday, the Anatolia news agency reported. Lomax visited
Ankara yesterday and was briefed about progress on the
stabilization of macro-balances in the Turkish economy. The
World Bank official is expected to leave Turkey on June 23.
[17] EURO-MUSLIM SUMMIT
A "Euro-Muslim Summit" attended by 150 delegates including
Muslim authors and scientists, most of them living in
Europe, ended on Saturday. From Turkey, Hacettepe
University lecturer Prof.Bozkurt Guvenc participated in the
summit initiated by Swedish Foreign Minister Lena
Hjelm-Wallen in Stockholm on June 15. After giving a speech
in the summit, Prof.Guvenc met with the people of Rinkeby
where many Turks are living and held a conference about
religious independence and secularism. This meeting has
held unexpectedly under the direction of Yasar Pektas,
Swedish-Turkish Labourers Associations Federation Chairman.
After the meeting Prof.Guvenc enjoyed dinner given in his
honour by Turkish Ambassador to Sweden Solmaz Unaydin.
/Cumhuriyet/
[18] DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN TURKS AND GREEKS
A Parliamentarians Assembly meeting of the Western European
Union (WEU), which is the military branch of the European
Union (EU), begins today. A report prepared by British
parliamentarian Lord Finsberg about giving Turkish
parliamentarians the right to vote, and a report by Spanish
parliamentarian Alfons Cuco regarding the Eastern
Mediterranean region will likely be approved after
discussions. In the Cuco report about developments in
Turkey, Greece and Cyprus it was stated that unsolved
problems between Turkey and Greece were threatening security
and peace in the Eastern Mediterranean. In a draft proposal
to be approved in parallel with the Cuco report, it was
noted that the two countries should learn from the French
and the Germans; and instead of seeking revenge, should look
for ways to find a lasting solution. It was also noted that
negotiations between the Turkish and Greek sides constituted
the key point in improving relations between Turkey and
Greece, and that initiatives from the United Nations were
being supported. The Turkish army in Northern Cyprus was
stated as being a major obstacle to solving the Cyprus
problem. The Greek economic embargo against Macedonia was
criticised, and it was stated that this issue would damage
both the stability of Greece and the region. The draft
proposal stressed that Turkey had made her choice for
democracy and secularism years ago, but noted that in spite
of this, the Western European Union Assembly had cautioned
that Turkey still had some problems to resolve in connection
with these principles. In the draft proposal, in which
every kind of terrorism condemned whether it there was a
political objective or not, it was said: "The WEU Assembly
is drawing a definite line between unacceptable PKK
terrorism and free expression of the Kurds regarding their
cultural identity in Turkey and other countries.". It was
also stated that they were pleased to note the prompt
withdrawal of Turkish troops from northern Iraq, but the
statement of President Demirel saying that if necessary
there would be further military operations in northern Iraq,
was a cause for anxiety. /Cumhuriyet/
END
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