TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (July 26, 1995)

From: [email protected] (Dimitrios Hristu)

Subject: TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (July 26, 1995)

CONTENTS

  • [01] INTERNATIONAL PRAISE KEEPS COMING FOR CONSTITUTIONALREFORM

  • [02] HACALOGLU INVITES WESTERN HUMAN RIGHTS MPS TO BOSNIACONFERENCE

  • [03] SEVENTH FIVE YEAR DEVELOPMENT PLAN

  • [04] BLACK SEA PROMOTION TOUR BEGINS

  • [05] PAPANDREOU: "BIGGEST DANGER FOR GREECE IS TURKEY"

  • [06] HASANOV: "OIL PIPELINE WILL PASS THROUGH TURKEY"

  • [07] ISMAIL CEM: "BOSNIA WILL RESEMBLE PALESTINE"

  • [08] UZBEK INTERIOR MINISTER IN TURKEY

  • [09] AEDIFICARE ISTANBUL SUMMIT ENDS WITH PRESS CONFERENCE

  • [10] UPGRADED IMAGE FOR TURKEY

  • [11] ANKARA PACKET FOR NORTHERN IRAQ

  • [12] DOUBTS ABOUT DEATH OF SADIK AHMET

  • [13] TURKEY-US-AZERBAIJAN

  • [14] TURKEY-TATARSTAN

  • [15] TURKEY-BOSNIA

    •

    TURKISH PRESS REVIEW

    WEDNESDAY JULY 26, 1995

    Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press

    this morning

    [01] INTERNATIONAL PRAISE KEEPS COMING FOR CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM

    The passage through parliament of constitutional amendments continues to draw international applause for Prime Minister Tansu Ciller and the Parliament. President Suleyman Demirel ratified the amendments yesterday. Voicing appreciation for the amendments which he said were a success for democracy and Parliament, Demirel said he believed Parliament would carry out "the necessary changes remaining to be done in the Constitution and other laws in the next legislative year". Beside a congratulatory letter US President Bill Clinton sent to Ciller, the State Department also congratulated the Ciller government on the passing of the constitutional package on Sunday. "We are very much satisfied that Turkey has come a long way" spokesman Nicholas Burns said and called the vote "a very important development". The passage of the constitutional reform package also drew added praise from Europe. The Council of Europe yesterday welcomed consitutional reforms approved by the Turkish Parliament, calling them encouraging. "We hope that the process will continue when parliament returns" the council secretary general, Daniel Tarschys, told reporters. The EU earlier complimented the Turkish parliament for the passage of amendments, saying it would bode well for the customs union agreement Turkey seeks to finalize with the 15-nation trading bloc. /Hurriyet/

    [02] HACALOGLU INVITES WESTERN HUMAN RIGHTS MPS TO BOSNIA CONFERENCE

    Algan Hacaloglu, state minister responsible for human rights, has invited some of his western counterparts and other officials to a conference on "Human Rights Violation in Bosnia" scheduled to be held in Istanbul on August 2 and 3. The opening speech of the conference will be made by Prime Minister Tansu Ciller and Deputy Prime Minister Hikmet Cetin. In his invitation, Hacaloglu said that the carnage in Bosnia has been going on for nearly four years, violating the fundamental rights of hundreds of thousands of Bosnians. "This is neither conceivable nor acceptable simply because what is being destroyed in Bosnia is, first and foremost, the very essence of the all values and principles of western civilization, the pillars of the structures we are building in Europe, for peace, stability, security and cooperation" he added. It has been stated that Hacaloglu will go to Bosnia-Herzegovina in the coming days with a group of press members to investigate the human rights violations in Bosnia.

    In a related development, the Turkish Jewish Community condemned the Bosnian massacre yesterday, in a written statement entitled "Call to World Nations". "During World War II, we observed from a distance the genocide which resulted in the deaths of six million Jews, with horror and helplessness. At that time, we were revolted by the world's indifference to this savagery. As the members of a community which has learned the meaning of genocide, we are revolted by the massacre in Bosnia in the name of the honour of humanity" it said. Meanwhile, it has been announced that the Turkish Red Crescent will send seven truck loads of humanitarian aid to Bosnia. The convoy is expected to leave Ankara today. /Cumhuriyet/

    [03] SEVENTH FIVE YEAR DEVELOPMENT PLAN

    Seventh five year development plan for 1996-2000, which has been adopted by Parliament issued on today's Official Gazette. The plan has 20 different main structural projects under four headlines, "The situation before the Seventh Five Year Development Plan", "Main purposes and principles", "Main structural change projects" and "Macroeconomic policies and projections". /All papers/

    [04] BLACK SEA PROMOTION TOUR BEGINS

    A "Green Tour", organized by the Tourism Ministry, will start today. The tour aims to introduce the natural beauties of the Black Sea region to the world through the international media and will kick off with a press conference given by Irfan Gurpinar to an international group of about 50 reporters and tour operators from the US, Japan, Russia, Germany, Holland, Austria, Canada, Italy, Belgium, Britain, Switzerland, France, Spain, Israel, Australia, Finland, Denmark, Singapore and Kuwait. The tour will continue by visiting and observing historical and touristic sites in Trabzon, Rize, Ordu, Samsun, Artvin and Giresun and will end on 2 August. /Sabah/

    [05] PAPANDREOU: "BIGGEST DANGER FOR GREECE IS TURKEY"

    "The biggest danger for Greece is Turkey" said Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou yesterday. Turkey's newfound friendship with Macedonia is worrying, said Papandreou, stressing that Greece would not lift the embargo on Macedonia until it changed its constitution and flag. /Cumhuriyet/

    [06] HASANOV: "OIL PIPELINE WILL PASS THROUGH TURKEY"

    Azeri Foreign Minister Hasan Hasanov said that the oil issue had been solved to a great extent and the proposed oil pipeline would pass through Turkey. In his statement made in Baku, Hasanov said that three routes were being contemplated through Iran, Georgia and Armenia. While some members of the consortium were against Iran and Azerbaijan and were against having the pipeline passed through Armenia, they had no objections to the pipeline passing through Georgia. He added that in the event Armenia withdraws troops from occupied Azerbaijan then Armenia could be looked upon as an alternative. He said that the country was pursuing its dream of a "Greater Armenia", but would not be successful. No one in the world would permit having borders changed, he added. /Hurriyet/

    [07] ISMAIL CEM: "BOSNIA WILL RESEMBLE PALESTINE"

    Minister of Culture, Ismail Cem has voiced the fear that the seeds of hatred sown in Bosnia will give rise to acts of violents for generations to come. Ismail Cem has left for Rome to attend the "Mediterranean-European Relations" seminar organized by the US-based ASPEN institute. Cem said that the genocide being perpetrated in Bosnia will negatively effect relations between Europe and the Islamic countries. /Sabah/

    [08] UZBEK INTERIOR MINISTER IN TURKEY

    Zahircan Almatov, Uzbek minister for the interior, arrived in Istanbul yesterday morning on an official visit. Deputy Governor of Istanbul Ruhi Peker and Uzbek Ambassador to Ankara Gaffur Abdurahmanov were among those greeting him.

    [09] AEDIFICARE ISTANBUL SUMMIT ENDS WITH PRESS CONFERENCE

    The Aedificare Istanbul summit ended with a press conference held yesterday presided over by Ali Talip Ozdemir, mayor of Bakirkoy. The conference was attended by Gulay Atig, mayor of Sisli, Vincent-Pascal Pelloquin, Aedificare Project Chief, Mrs.Harmand, representative of French Prime Minister Alain Juppe and mayor of Bordeaux, Mr.Sabik, deputy mayor of Casablanca and Mr.Moreira, representative of Oporto Municipality. Ozdemir and Atig emphasized the importance of Aedicifare projects in the development of local communities and the improvement of local authorities' planning, and development relationships internationally. The participants said that Aedicifare encouraged cooperation between business associations and local government administrations. The objectives of Aedicifare were to develop stronger links between network cities, indentify common problems and capitalize on know-how and experience in urban development. /All papers/

    [10] UPGRADED IMAGE FOR TURKEY

    US rating agency Standard and Poor's has announced that it has left Turkey's rating unchanged from last year's crisis level but upgraded its economic outlook from "negative" to "positive". Deputy Treasury Undersecretary Bulent Ozgun said that Standard and Poor's positive outlook for Turkey's long-term foreign debt rating was far more important than leaving its rating unchanged. "The announcement implies that Turkey will have no problems in debt repayments in the next decade" he commented. Ozgun added that following the announcement of Standard and Poor's, stocks worth DM 500 million will be opened for sale on the German market. The stocks have a three-year-term of repayment and an interest rate of 8 percent. The Deputy Treasury Undersecretary noted that the positive evaluation of the agency will represent a base for upgrading Turkey's rating. Developments with respect to privatization and customs union would further improve Turkey's rating, Ozgun said. /Sabah/

    [11] ANKARA PACKET FOR NORTHERN IRAQ

    Ankara is still seeking a solution to the continuing strife in northern Iraq between the Kurdish factions there. Ankara together with the US, which is trying to mediate a new peace agreement for the region, Paris and The Hague, is more than a little concerned about worsening conditions in northern Iraq.

    In the Ankara package, the government has laid stress on more border cooperation, with the emphasis on technical hardware to improve border security. Road repair work will be carried out, and the package provides provision for material aid to the people in the region.

    The primary Kurdish leaders, Mesud Barzani and Celal Talabani still do not see eye to eye with each other or with Turkey's suggestions for more security in the region. The Kurdish groups have in fact come up with their own proposals for the region, but Turkey wants to see its own package given the first consideration. Among other things, this means that weapons will not be distributed to either side, even though moves against the terrorist PKK organization is a prime aspect of the package. /Cumhuriyet/

    [12] DOUBTS ABOUT DEATH OF SADIK AHMET

    The wife of Sadik Ahmet, leader of the Turkish community in Western Thrace, claimed yesterday that the car crash which killed her husband could have been planned.

    Isik Ahmet said yesterday that the crash could have been "intentional" and pointed to details that suggest some things about the crash were doubtful to say the least. Isik Ahmet noted that a tractor involved in the crash appeared to intentionally cut in front of the car Sadik Ahmet was travelling in. The tractor belonged to a Greek villager. Other statements also seem suggest that there was something doubtful about the collision. /Cumhuriyet/

    [13] TURKEY-US-AZERBAIJAN

    The US said yesterday that it found Turkish proposal on evaluation of Azeri petroleum interesting. Turkish government was forming a "Project company" to contsruct and manage the infrastructure of the Azeri oil pipeline. Emre Gonensay, Chief Adviser to the Prime Ministry, who is currently in Washington to attend a Big Emerging Market (BEM) meetings with US officials on the Azeri early-oil pipeline met US Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown yesterday. /All papers/

    [14] TURKEY-TATARSTAN

    Tatarstan Interior Minister Iskender Galimzyohovie said yesterday that they were willing to increase economic relations with Turkey. Galimzyohovie who visited Antalya Governor told journalists that his country felt concern over the situation in Chechnya. The guest minister said they called for peace in Bosnia. /All papers/

    [15] TURKEY-BOSNIA

    Turkey said yesterday that studies are underway to sign a military framework cooperation agreement with Bosnia- Herzegovina. Sources told the Anatolia news agency that Bosnian officials are expected to visit Turkey between August 7 and 11 to sign the agreement. Bosnian armed forces chief Rasim Delic would probably travel to Turkey to sign the initial accord. If General Staff approves of the framework agreement, the Bosnian delegation will take a draft agreement to Sarajevo. Officials said that the agreement would not break the UN arms embargo on former-Yugoslavia.

    END

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