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TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (October 18, 1995)
Subject: TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (October 18, 1995)
CONTENTS
[01] CILLER GETS JOB OF REVIVING COALITION
[02] BAYKAL IN BRUSSELS
[03] POLITICAL LEADERS MEET WITH DEMIREL
[04] DEMIREL SEEKING A NEW DATE WITH CLINTON
[05] OYMEN'S VISIT TO WASHINGTON "POSITIVE"
[06] GOVERNOR ERKAN SAYS 3,091 PKK MILITANTS KILLED IN 1995
[07] KDP OFFICIALS: OVER 1,000 PKK MILITANTS TAKEN OUT OF ACTION
[08] UN URGES UNCONDITIONAL RELEASE OF TWO TURKISH JOURNALISTS
[09] WAR AGAINST SEX TOURISM
[10] RUSSIANS PREFER TURKEY FOR HOLIDAYS
WITH THE COMPLIMENT OF
DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION
TURKISH PRESS REVIEW
OCTOBER 18, 1995
[01] CILLER GETS JOB OF REVIVING COALITION
President Suleyman Demirel received True Path Party (DYP) leader
Tansu Ciller at Cankaya Palace yesterday evening and asked her
to form a DYP-CHP coalition. Demirel, after assigning Ciller,
issued a statement calling on the parties to agree on an early
elections date without any further delay. Recalling that if a
government cannot be formed by 6 November, the Assembly would be
dissolved, Demirel added: "Under these conditions in the
Assembly, the only way to win a confidence vote seems to be
through a DYP-CHP coalition".
Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal, who left
for Brussels yesterday in a bid to persuade European Parliament
socialists to lift their objections to Turkey's entry into the
customs union, deferred the start of coalition talks following
Ciller's assignment to the task. Contacted by phone in
Brussels, Baykal said his aides could negotiate the terms of a
new coalition with their DYP counterparts. Baykal added: "We
have no time to lose. We are hopeful. We will try to hold the
general election on 24 December. Turkey must have a fresh
parliament as from 1996". /Milliyet-Hurriyet-Sabah/
[02] BAYKAL IN BRUSSELS
Following his arrival in Brussels yesterday, CHP party chairman
Deniz Baykal went on to have talks with European Parliament
reporter Carlos Carnero Gonzales about constitutional and other
reforms in Turkey.
Although specifics were not discussed, Baykal later told
journalists that "evaluations had been made." Carnero Gonzales
added that the European Parliament was "determined" that the
planned EU customs union with Turkey would go ahead in December.
He stressed however, that although no serious obstacles
remained, Turkey was still obliged to complete certain revisions
in vital areas of the constitution and legal system prior to
full customs union.
Today Baykal will face an important test as he meets with
leftist inclined groups in the European Parliament (EP). He
will also meet with Hans van den Broek, who is responsible for
the EP Turkey desk, and the socialist group in the EP to whom he
will explain the current crisis in Turkey. /Cumhuriyet-Sabah/
[03] POLITICAL LEADERS MEET WITH DEMIREL
Now that Prime Minister Ciller has yet again been appointed to
resolve the governmental crisis by forming another new
government, it might appear that the crisis is over.
Nevertheless, President Demirel is going to meet with other
party chiefs and continue his talks with them.
One of the main issues under debate remains the knotty question
of election reforms and changes in the constitution. Demirel
has already spoken with the leaders of most of the major parties
and obtained their views on the current situation. /Milliyet/
[04] DEMIREL SEEKING A NEW DATE WITH CLINTON
Forced to delay his visit to Washington because of the
government crisis, President Demirel is now trying to fix a new
time to speak with President Clinton. According his programme,
Demirel should have been in the US already-meeting with Clinton
and other leading US figures.
Demirel has been forced to cancel the Washington part of his
visit, and has thus missed out on talks with Clinton. He hopes
nevertheless, to be in New York at the end of the week where he
will give a speech at the UN General Council. Clinton's
Presidential Office has advised that a new date will likely be
possible "some months later" -but there are hopes that a meeting
can be squeezed in after Demirel has been to New York.
/Cumhuriyet/
[05] OYMEN'S VISIT TO WASHINGTON "POSITIVE"
The visit of Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Onur Oymen has been
described as "positive" with Oymen having effective talks with
Washington officials.
In general Washington appears to be pleased with the efforts of
Oymen to strike a positive note of optimism in his talks and
contacts. Oymen went to Washington as the guest of top US State
Department official, Peter Tarnoff. /Cumhuriyet/
[06] GOVERNOR ERKAN SAYS 3,091 PKK MILITANTS KILLED IN 1995
Unal Erkan, governor of the emergency rule region, said
yesterday that 3,091 militants of the PKK terrorist organization
had been killed in the first ten months of 1995. Erkan said
during a press conference in Hakkari that military operations
were continuing against PKK militants, and that terrorist
attacks in the region had decreased 45 % from a year ago. The
governor added that a total of 237 militants had been captured
and 292 militants had surrendered during the same period. Erkan
said a total of 186 civilians had been killed by the PKK in the
first ten months of 1995, and 295 people wounded. He also
reported that when the cross-border operations were included,
the number of PKK militants killed in the first ten months of
the year rose to 3,620. The governor added that 366 members of
the outlawed Hizbullah organization had been captured during the
same period. Erkan also said that 3,500 dormitories had been
built for 35,000 people who had been forced to flee their homes
because of the PKK's terror campaign.
Meanwhile, a total of seven PKK militants were killed and two
captured during current military operations in the Southeast,
while two militants surrendered. Emergency rule region
officials from Diyarbakir said six of the militants were killed
in Hakkari's Gecitli district and the seventh in Sirnak's
Balveren district. The two militants who were captured -one
man, one woman- were apprehended in Sirnak and Mardin's Midyat
district, while those who surrendered did so in Hakkari's
Cukurca district. /Hurriyet/
[07] KDP OFFICIALS: OVER 1,000 PKK MILITANTS TAKEN OUT OF ACTION
The Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) officials said that
over a thousand militants of the PKK terrorist organization have
been taken out of action (killed or captured) since September 3.
They noted that before their operations in northern Iraq, the
PKK militants numbered 2,500 but since that time the PKK had
suffered great losses in the Mizuri, Gara and Metina mountains
and added that the KDP aims to clean the Huvarkurk region of PKK
militants before winter comes. The KDP officials added that PKK
militants could return to the region when the winter was over
and that security measures must be taken against the PKK in the
region.
[08] UN URGES UNCONDITIONAL RELEASE OF TWO TURKISH JOURNALISTS
The UN will not accept any conditions on the release of two
Turkish journalists, UN Spokesman Yuri Chizik said yesterday.
"The Serbs assure us that the two journalists are in good
health. The Serb side insists on the exchange of the two
Turkish journalists. It is our strong belief that linkage of
the two cases is artificial and we are not going to accept it.
We demand unconditional release of the two journalists" Chizik
said. It is reported that UN and Serbian officials are expected
to meet to discuss the situation of the two Turkish journalists.
Meanwhile, US White House National Security Council
Representative and Adviser to the President, Brigadier General
Donald Kerrick stated that the US would support the call for the
urgent release of the two Turkish journalists. /Cumhuriyet/
[09] WAR AGAINST SEX TOURISM
During the 29th World Tourism Conference that will be held in
Istanbul on November 3-7 this year, one of the main issues will
be the huge increase in sex tourism in countries around the
world.
It is expected that the at least 99 countries that will attend
the conference will sign a declaration against this kind of
tourism development. /Cumhuriyet/
[10] RUSSIANS PREFER TURKEY FOR HOLIDAYS
According to statistics gathered by the Russian Federation, most
Russians prefer Turkey to other countries as a holiday
destination. Officials said that travel agencies were surprised
by the level of Turkey's popularity. 587,978 Russian tourists
visited Turkey during the 1995 season.
Between 1992 and 1994, the largest number of tourists who
visited Istanbul were from the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS). They numbered 1,385,237. Istanbul has been
visited by 1,658,617 foreign tourists during the first nine
months of this year. 1,431,697 arrived in the city during the
same period last year.
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