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TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (January 18, 1996)From: TRKNWS-L <[email protected]>Turkish News DirectoryCONTENTS[01] TURKEY CONDEMNS 'TERRORIST' FERRY HIJACKING[02] US CONDEMNS BOAT HIJACK[03] US CREDIT FOR EXPORTERS[04] DEMIREL MEETS HEAD OF EUROPE'S TOP EMPLOYER GROUP[05] ITALY SEEKING DIALOGUE WITH TURKEY[06] AMERICAN CLARIFICATION OF POLICY TOWARD TURKEY RELIEVES ANKARA[07] ANKARA AGAINST CONTROVERSIAL PEACE[08] TURCO-SWEDISH CONSULTATIONS TODAY[09] TURKEY'S SUCCESSFUL TOURISM POSTERSTURKISH PRESS REVIEWTHURSDAY JANUARY 18, 1996Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning[01] TURKEY CONDEMNS 'TERRORIST' FERRY HIJACKINGTurkey yesterday condemned the hijacking of a ferry from a Turkish port by a group of gunmen protesting at Russia's role in Chechnya. "We do not approve of any kind of aggressive terrorist action" Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesman Nurettin Nurkan told a news briefing. A group of gunmen seized the ship with its 200 mostly Russian passengers at the eastern Turkish port of Trabzon on Tuesday to protest at Moscow's military operation to free hostages held by Chechen rebels in the southern Russian town of Pervomaiskoye. The hijackers have threatened to take the boat to Istanbul and blow it up in the busy Bosphorus waterway. Nurkan said Turkey was keeping the Russian Embassy informed about the hijacking.Turkish Foreign Minister Deniz Baykal said that although preparations could have been made for all contingencies, "the important thing is bringing the incident to a conclusion without leading to a clash or bloodshed". Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesman Nurettin Nurkan said that the hijackers would be tried in Turkey. He said it was uknown yet the whether the vessel would be allowed into the Bosphorus, one of the world's busiest waterways. /Sabah/
[02] US CONDEMNS BOAT HIJACKSpokesman for the US State Department, Nicholas Burns yesterday said that the Chechen fighting over hostages was wrong, and "went beyond the bounds of civilized behaviour." He condemned the use of hostages under any circumstances.UN Secretary General Boutros Ghali commented yesterday that if no invitation came from either Russia or Turkey, there was no way the UN could intervene in either the boat hijack or the fighting to save the hostages in Chechnya. In the meantime the fighting in the Chechnya border village has worsened to an all-out assault, and the boatload of Black Sea hostages continue their slow voyage to Istanbul, where their captors say they could be released if certain conditions are met, including a press conference to publicly state their case. Back in Chechnya, leader of the fighters Aslan Mesedov, said that no one should be surprised if groups of Chechen fighters carried more attacks similar to the boat hijack condemned by the US government. Mesedov said that it was likely that some groups could break away from central command and take the struggle into their own hands. /All papers/
[03] US CREDIT FOR EXPORTERSSpeaking at the Union of Chambers (TOBB) yesterday, Prime Minister Ciller said that a three billion dollar credit fund from the US would mostly go to exporters and small businesses. Noting that the newly effective customs union was putting pressure on small and medium sized businesses in Turkey, Ciller said that support and develop- ment funds would be given a boost by the credit from the US through a new stability programme.The Prime Minister also gave her views on political stability and the ways to achieve it: in the short term a coalition government with the opposition ANAP party, in the medium term another election, and in the long term a governmental system based on the French model. Ciller stressed that Turkey inevitably had to change its governmental system, if future political stability was to be achieved. /Milliyet-Cumhuriyet/
[04] DEMIREL MEETS HEAD OF EUROPE'S TOP EMPLOYER GROUPPresident Suleyman Demirel received the head of Europe's top employers' association yesterday and said Turkey deserved full membership in the EU. Speaking to a delegation including Francois Perigot, Chairman of the EU for Industrialists and Employers' Confederations (UNICE), Demirel said: "Europe should not miss the opportunity of Turkey's full membership". The delegation also included Halis Komili, the head of Turkey's most elite business club, TUSIAD, and Refik Baydur, Chairman of the Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions (TISK). Demirel thanked UNICE for their supporting Turkey for the Customs Union (CU) with EU and said the CU was essential to strengthen the alliance between Turkey and the EU. He pointed out that Turkey served as a bridge between Central Asia, the Middle East, Caucasus and the Balkans and added that it fulfilled the requirements of a market economy and was an emerging market with its developing industry. He said that the CU would make the Turkish economy more competitive and that although Turkey could face problems in the beginning, the CU with the EU would be for the benefit of both Turkey and the EU.Francois Perigot, speaking after Demirel, said that UNICE had 33 employer organizations from 25 different countries in Europe and was the only organization authorized to represent employers at the EU, where it was a powerful and influential organization. "Although Turkey is not a full member of the EU, TUSIAD is one of UNICE's prominent members" he said. Perigot concluded by saying that the improvements in Turkey were satisfactory and added that UNICE supported a free trade zone including Turkey and other Mediterranean countries. /All papers/
[05] ITALY SEEKING DIALOGUE WITH TURKEYThe new term president of the European Council, Italian Foreign Minister, Suzanna Agnelli has given details on the topics that will be given priority during her country's term presidency. Accordingly, Agnelli stated that the EU should give special importance to the development of its dialogue with Turkey, especially on the issues of Customs Union and the Cyprus question. She also pointed out Ankara's role in the development of Europe-Mediterranean initiatives. She added that she was sure that the Cyprus problem would be solved in a short time. /Cumhuriyet-Milliyet/
[06] AMERICAN CLARIFICATION OF POLICY TOWARD TURKEY RELIEVES ANKARAFaced with Ankara's urge to "clarify" its position regarding the Kurdish question and terrorism, the US State Department made a statement to explain that there had been no change in its position regarding Turkey's right to fight terrorism. "One thing I want to make clear about the 60 Minutes program, which I did not see, is that US support for Turkey is very strong" said Nicholas Burns, Spokesman for the State Department. "Any comments that you saw are of course always clipped by the producers. They choose what is put (on the air). (Such selectivity) should not indicate to Ankara and the Turkish public that the US is diminishing its support for Turkey. We are not. We have a very strong, healthy and good relationship with Turkey. That will continue, including the sale of advanced missiles" he said."Our initial reaction is that the statement of Burns reflects a more positive and constructive attitude in bilateral relations between the countries" Turkish Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesman Nurettin Nurkan said. "Burns' statement shows a major difference from the quoted remarks. It says that the PKK is a vicious terrorist organization and underlines Washington's support for Turkey's fight against terrorism" Nurkan added. Burns said: "The PKK targets the Kurdish population of both northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey (as well as) innocent Turkish civilians. Turkey has a responsibility to fight this kind of terrorism". Regarding the ATACMS issue, Burns said: "As you know we have just concluded the recent sale of ATACMS missiles to Turkey. The reason we did that is because we think Turkey faces potential long-range threats from Iran and Iraq and the sale of this missile is fully justified to help Turkey meet its national defence requirements". "The US will continue to have a very close, supportive alliance relationship with Turkey for the foreseeable future. Turket remains a valuable NATO friend and ally. There are no apologies to be made for American military assistance to Turkey, a valued NATO ally" he added. In a related development, Turkish Ambassador to Washington, Nuzhet Kandemir met on Tuesday with John Kornblum, deputy assistant secretary of state, to express his protest at the "60 Minutes" program on CBS. "I explained to Mr.Kornblum how unjust and unfair the program was" Kandemir said, talking to a group of Turkish journalists after his meeting with Kornblum. Kornblum reportedly said: "I personally have feelings of great friendship towards Turkey. We never participated in that CBS program in order to condemn Turkey. On the contrary, we tried to compensate for the presumed bias of the program". Kandemir also sent a letter to John Hamlin, producer of "60 Minutes", saying the program went "too far in trying to legitimize the PKK -an international terror organization.. the program even portrays the PKK's leader as a 'prophet of peace', whereas he slaughters the very people he claims to represent". After mentioning the help Turkey extended to Iraqi Kurds escaping Saddam's wrath, Kandemir pointed out the equal rights Kurds enjoyed in Turkey. "For this reason, Turkish citizens of Kurdish origin participate in political, economic and cultural life and accordingly have gained access to the highest levels of the government, judiciary, Parliament, military and business sectors. Regrettably, the contents of the show are far from representing such fairness and objectivity" Kandemir concluded. /Cumhuriyet-Sabah/
[07] ANKARA AGAINST CONTROVERSIAL PEACETurkey, as a country supporting the Middle East peace process and expecting to contribute to the establishment of favorable regional balances, is deeply disturbed by the controversies evident in the process. This is connected to attitudes shown towards Syria, a country abstaining from giving any guarantees with respect to fighting terrorism. Even though the US has included Syria in its list of countries supporting terrorism, it refrains from treating Syria in the "merciless" way other countries on the US list are treated. The US has not gone further than "warning" Syria, and this in fact undermines the effectiveness of measures aimed towards establishing lasting peace in the region. Turkish Foreign Ministry circles share the view that statements to the effect that "Syria will remain on the list of terrorism supporting countries" will have no meaning unless backed by concrete sanctions. /Milliyet/
[08] TURCO-SWEDISH CONSULTATIONS TODAYDelegations from Turkey and Sweden will hold consultation meetings today, where they will take up bilateral issues, European matters and initial an agreement on prevention of double taxation. /All papers/
[09] TURKEY'S SUCCESSFUL TOURISM POSTERSTwo tourism posters prepared by the Promotion General Directorate of the Tourism Ministry were awarded trophies in an international competition held in Portugal's capital, Lisbon, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday. In the art and monuments categories of the International Tourism Posters Competition, the Turkish posters were deemed worthy of first place. The awards ceremony will be held on January 19.
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