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TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (March 21, 1996)From: TRKNWS-L <[email protected]>Turkish Press Review DirectoryCONTENTS[01] TURKEY ON THE MOVE IN MIDDLE EAST[02] KALEMLI IN ARGENTINA[03] MESSAGE FROM YILMAZ TO GREECE[04] TURKEY URGES BONN TO EXTRADITE KURD ACTIVISTS[05] NEVRUZ: TOLERANCE AND PEACE FESTIVAL[06] CILLER: NO ONE HAS ENOUGH POWER TO STOP GAP PROJECT[07] 'PKK EARNS TL 300 TRILLION FROM DRUGS EVERY YEAR'[08] TURCO-FRENCH PARTNERSHIP FORMED TO MARKET SATELLITE[09] "PKK SHOULD NOT SCARE GERMANS AWAY FROM TURKEY"[10] KARDAK AGAIN ON GREEK TV[11] GERMANY GETTING TOUGH WITH PKK[12] PKK REPLIES WITH THREATS[13] HAMMER STRIKE FORCE KEY TO COOPERATION[14] ECEVIT SAYS THE PROBLEM IS DIVISION OF IRAQ[15] RECORD PROFITS FOR THY IN 1995[16] TURKEY PROTESTS KURDISH PARLIAMENT-IN-EXILE MEETING[17] TURKEY OPENS FOR FOREIGN BONDS[18] ALANYA TO HOST MEDITERRANEAN ENVIRONMENTAL CONVENTIONTURKISH PRESS REVIEWTHURSDAY MARCH 21, 1996Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning[01] TURKEY ON THE MOVE IN MIDDLE EASTPresident Suleyman Demirel is pulling out all the stops in efforts to promote Turkish initiatives for peace in the Middle East and for increasing international cooperation in the fight against terrorism.Following in the wake of the recent international assembly on terrorism in Cairo, cooperation between Turkey and Egypt is showing every indication of increasing in a number of vital areas. Both Demirel and Egyptian President Husnu Mubarak have declared that they are in agreement and ready to cooperate together in the struggle against terror. Cooperation in economic and trade sectors is also expected to increase. Commenting on these developments, Demirel said yesterday that the fight would be carried forward more effectively, especially as Turkey was attaching much more importance to regional peace. /Cumhuriyet/
[02] KALEMLI IN ARGENTINATurkish Parliament Speaker Mustafa Kalemli, who is Buenos Aires as the guest of Argentine Senate Chairman Carlos Ruckauf, starts his official contacts today. Kalemli was welcomed with an official welcoming ceremony at the Senate yesterday afternoon. /Cumhuriyet/
[03] MESSAGE FROM YILMAZ TO GREECEPrime Minister Mesut Yilmaz has sent a message of thanks to his Greek counterpart Costas Simitis, who had congratulated Yilmaz on his new post. Noting that they should seek peaceful relations which would serve the interests of the two countries, Yilmaz said: "We must look for opportunities to bring in a new era of peace". /Hurriyet/
[04] TURKEY URGES BONN TO EXTRADITE KURD ACTIVISTSTurkey yesterday urged Germany to extradite Kurdish separatists after hundreds of people were injured in Dortmund during violent weekend protests. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Omer Akbel said an agreement between Turkey and Germany was signed a year ago requiring the extradition of those involved in crimes. "We expect Germany to revive this agreement after these (latest) incidents" Akbel told a news briefing. "We appreciate the reaction of the German authorities against the PKK militants" Akbel told reporters. "But more concrete measures should be taken in this respect" he said. Akbel said the German foreign ministry undersecretary would come to Ankara on Thursday for political consultations. He did not specify what issues would be discussed.German police said a Turkish club in the north German town of Bremen was attacked with firebombs on Wednesday morning. Police blame the PKK for dozens of firebomb attacks against Turkish properties in Germany over the past year. /All papers/
[05] NEVRUZ: TOLERANCE AND PEACE FESTIVALNevruz is being celebrated in Turkey and Azerbaijan, as well as other Turkish-Speaking Republics, with many festivities. President Suleyman Demirel received a delegation, including ministers of culture, ambassadors, sportsmen and artists from the Turkish-Speaking Republics, headed by Umut Arik, chairman of the Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA), for Nevruz celebrations in the Presidential Palace. Demirel said that it was a very important step for world peace to stand as a protector of cultural values and celebrate Nevruz together with Turkish-Speaking Republics. The president further noted that in Nevruz there was a unity which should serve as an example to the whole world.Azeri President Haydar Aliyev also issued a message on the occasion. He said that Nevruz had been celebrated as the festival of the awakening of nature, spring and peace, throughout the centuries. Azeris began to celebrate Nevruz on Wednesday by holding concerts, folk dances, theater plays and lighting bonfires at night. This two-day official holiday there has been lengthened to four days. /Hurriyet-Milliyet/
[06] CILLER: NO ONE HAS ENOUGH POWER TO STOP GAP PROJECTTrue Path Party (DYP) Chairwoman Tansu Ciller yesterday voiced her concern that the water issue is being put on the agenda of Middle East countries. She said that no one had enough power to stop the Southeast Anatolia Project (GAP). Ciller said those who wanted water resources to be shared should also consent to the joint usage of all natural resources, particularly oil.Reacting to recent PKK terrorist activities in Germany, Ciller said: "This was a lesson for the world". Recalling that she had previously said: "The one who supports terrorism becomes its slave", Ciller noted that the struggle for human rights and democracy was different from the struggle against terrorism. Ciller added: "We are very sad that some European countries including Belgium still have a positive approach towards these terrorist organizations". /Milliyet-Cumhuriyet/
[07] 'PKK EARNS TL 300 TRILLION FROM DRUGS EVERY YEAR'It has been reported that the PKK, which controls drug trafficking in Turkey and Europe, earns TL 300 trillion in one year from the 60 tons of heroin which it produces in secluded areas. A report from the Interior Ministry's Directorate General of Security, Smuggling Intelligence Movement Department, said that the brother of PKK leader, Abdullah Ocalan, Osman Ocalan, was laundering the drug money. /Milliyet/
[08] TURCO-FRENCH PARTNERSHIP FORMED TO MARKET SATELLITEA Turco-French company has been set up to market satellite broadcasting channels. In partnership with French firms, Turk Telekomunikasyon A.S. will raise finance for the construction of new satellites by leasing out channels on the soon-to-be-launched Turksat 1-C satellite. Turksat 1-C will be the second Turkish satellite to be put into orbit, in June this year, according to Turk Telekom officials. The officials said that revenues raised by Turksat 1-C would be channeled into a series of planned satellites. /All papers/
[09] "PKK SHOULD NOT SCARE GERMANS AWAY FROM TURKEY"Rolf Tophoven, a German expert on terrorism, asked German citizens not to allow themselves to be frightened away from holidaying in Turkey. Discussing the terrorism problem on the private TV channel 3SAT, Tophoven warned that if holidaymakers avoided Turkey it would mean that the threats of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) had achieved their aim. Despite PKK threats to target the tourist industry in Turkey, Tophoven asked Germans to consider Turkey as a holiday destination. He said that terrorism affects most of the globe and added that the Turkish government had given full assurances for the security and safety of people who visit in the tourism season. He also informed viewers about the PKK, saying that it was a separatist terrorist organization trying to convert its terrorist aims into Kurdish nationalism. /All papers/
[10] KARDAK AGAIN ON GREEK TVThree reporters from Sky TV, which is broadcast in Greece, on Wednesday reportedly raised the Greek flag on the Ikizce (Kardak) rocks, offering further provocation to Turkey. The three reporters were warned away by Turkish military boats patrolling the area, and escaped by taking another boat which was waiting in the area. Sky TV said that Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis called the owner of the station, Yanis Alafuzos, and requested that the program not be broadcast. Alafuzos said that he had not known of the plans of the three reporters before they went to the rocks. Meanwhile, it was reported that the three Greeks, who claimed that they went to the islets to hold an interview, left Kilimnos island on a boat named Anna-Maria. Previously, Dimitris Diakomihalis, mayor of Kilimnos, went to Ikizce on the same boat and caused a crisis between Turkey and Greece by raising the Greek flag on the disputed islet. /Milliyet/
[11] GERMANY GETTING TOUGH WITH PKKGerman authorities are getting tougher with the PKK following recent PKK violence against the police. Both regional and city security forces have moved against known PKK supporters and there are reports that hundreds have been arrested throughout Germany.PKK activists have already used the Nevruz Spring festival to turn demonstrations into violent protest, and now police have banned further celebrations, and taken severe security precautions against further outbursts. Police have been warned by Interior Minister Manfred Kanther to be ready for anything. Kanther issued a six point declaration this week about PKK terrorism and steps to deal with it. /Sabah/
[12] PKK REPLIES WITH THREATSLeader of the PKK terrorist organization Abdullah "Apo" Ocalan has replied with threats to tougher German measures to block PKK activities in Germany. The PKK has also declared that it will create more violent incidents in France, officials report.Ocalan has threatened that in the face of increasing pressures from European governments Kurdish workers and others will take to the streets in protest. Despite tight police control in Germany, yesterday Kurdish supporters of the PKK fire-bombed a Turkish owned coffee-shop and a police station. Saying that the Kurdish population in Europe had reached the point of explosion, Ocalan said in an interview in Bild newspaper that no one in Germany should be surprised if more violence breaks out. Ocalan's words to the Kurdish faithful are that they must fight for their rights to the end. He also added that they would extend the struggle into France. Today is the key day for Nevruz celebrations, and it is expected that the PKK will want to exploit the occasion everywhere to the fullest extent possible. Belgium has already said that it will not tolerate Nevruz violence, and has banned demonstrations. In line with European security measures, Turkey too has taken precautions and security will be high throughout the country. /All papers/
[13] HAMMER STRIKE FORCE KEY TO COOPERATIONTurkish-US cooperation is seen as the key to solving the sensitive "Provide Comfort" multinational strike force issue that has created problems domestically and between Ankara and Washington. US government officials have noted that if Turkey and the US can cooperate fully in resolving this issue, then this good intention will be reflected in other areas of Turkey-US cooperation.Talks are even now being held in Washington between top US and Turkish officials who want to hammer out a new mandate for the force deployed at Incirlik base near Adana. Ankara wants a larger share in the operations of the strike force responsible for maintaining stability in the disputed region of northern Iraq. /Milliyet/
[14] ECEVIT SAYS THE PROBLEM IS DIVISION OF IRAQDemocratic Left Party (DSP) leader Bulent Ecevit announced yesterday that his party's conditions for a 'yes' vote on the renewal of the mandate for Operation Provide Comfort, the multinational relief force for northern Iraq based in Turkey. He said that the draft resolution the government will present to Parliament should specify that the force's mandate would be renewed "for the last time" and should include a pledge that by the time the mandate expires new arrangements will have been made toward ending the division of Iraq and eliminating threats to Turkey's security.Ecevit said that in the wake of the Gulf War the path the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) used for infiltration into Turkey had shifted to the Iraqi border, making mass infiltration easier because of the rocky, mountainous terrain. The PKK could not infiltrate Turkey so easily when the area was under the control of the Saddam Hussein regime. Ecevit stressed that while Turkey's border with Syria was easy to protect, the same could not be said for the border with Iraq. /All papers/
[15] RECORD PROFITS FOR THY IN 1995When it comes to profits, Turkish Airlines (THY) occupies the top place among world airlines companies. It is reported by THY that by increasing net sales profits from 27 trillion to 51 trillion TL, the state-run airline made 366 billion TL profit last year. This is seen as a great success since many other giant companies suffered a loss last year. /Milliyet/
[16] TURKEY PROTESTS KURDISH PARLIAMENT-IN-EXILE MEETINGAt a press conference yesterday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ambassador Omer Akbel said that Turkey would protest to Denmark for allowing the so-called Kurdish Parliament-in-exile to convene in Copenhagen on March 12-13. Tomorrow, Danish Ambassador to Ankara, Niels Helskov, will be called to the Foreign Ministry and informed of Turkish displeasure over the matter.Despite prior Turkish demands that Denmark should undertake measures to prevent or stop the meeting of the Kurdish Parliament-in-exile, Denmark was slow to react, claiming that the meeting was held without official permission and that anyway freedom of expression and assembly was allowed by the Danish Constitution. Turkey has included Denmark in its list of countries not appropriate for military cooperation. /Cumhuriyet/
[17] TURKEY OPENS FOR FOREIGN BONDSAccording to a new regulation published in today's Official Gazette, the Turkish capital market has been opened up to foreign capital market goods. Foreign capital market goods will have to be registered with the Capital Market Board. The new regulation is in conformity with OECD norms. /Hurriyet/
[18] ALANYA TO HOST MEDITERRANEAN ENVIRONMENTAL CONVENTIONThe Mediterranean Environmental Convention will be held in the tourism resort of Alanya between March 22-25. Representatives from a number of environmental organizations active in several Mediterranean countries will take part. The meeting reportedly aims to determine ways to protect the Mediterranean from environmental threats. /All papers/
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