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Turkish Press Review, 98-11-30Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>30.11.98Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] OCALAN CASE CREATES FURTHER CHILL WITH EUROPEThe international controversy which erupted with the capture of the leader of the PKK terrorist organization Abdullah Ocalan in Rome, threatens to cause lasting damage to relations between Turkey and Europe after Ankara reacted harshly to suggestions for the establishment of an international court to deal with Ocalan's fate and an international solution for the problems in Turkey's Southeast.On Saturday, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, State Minister Sukru Sina Gurel, Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Korkmaz Haktanir and other high-level officials held an urgent meeting to evaluate the developments and outline a counter-strategy. "By proposing an international tribunal for Ocalan, two members of the European Union (EU)-Italy and Germany- are trying to deviate the PKK issue from its real essence and are displaying a stance in favour of its politicization. Turkey can never accept that" Ecevit told reporters after the meeting. Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said that he had 'serious concerns' that the attitude of Germany and Italy might lead to a deterioration in relations between Turkey and Europe. In another effort to generate support for Ankara in the ongoing crisis, Foreign Minister Ismail Cem is expected to raise the issue on the agenda of the Western European Union (WEU) Parliamentary Members' Assembly gathering in Paris which starts today. In his address to the Assembly on Tuesday, Cem is expected to address the issue of Ocalan and the PKK, and respond to parliamentary members' questions. /All papers/ [02] TURCO-ITALIAN BUSINESSMEN'S JOINT DECLARATIONThe Turkish Young Businessmen's Association (TUGIAD) and the Italian Young Businessmen's Association (Confindustria) produced a joint declaration in Brussels. In the declaration they expressed their regrets about the recent crisis between Turkey and Italy caused by Abdullah Ocalan. Italian and Turkish businessmen stressed their belief in the reconstruction of powerful relations between the two countries. Chairman of TUGIAD, Hamdi Akin and a group of young Turkish businessmen, who were in Brussels to attend the European Young Businessmen's Associations Confederation (YES) meeting, informed their European counterparts about the bloody activities of the terrorist PKK organization and its leader Abdullah Ocalan. They also held special meetings with their Italian counterparts at the end of which they issued a joint statement. Italian businessmen told their Turkish counterparts that they would make their goverment known about their sensitivity regarding the issue. /Hurriyet/[03] OCALAN GIVES INSTRUCTIONS FROM ROMEThe Italian press reacted to the recent PKK attack in Yuksekova, Hakkari, which killed 17 Turkish soldiers. Italian newspapers said that Abdullah Ocalan gave instructions through the television. Italian Il Giornale newspaper drew attention to the fact that Ocalan had attended programmes on MED-TV and asked whether Ocalan was under arrest or not. The paper claimed that Ocalan directed terrorist activities from Rome. /Hurriyet/[04] ITALIAN PRESSIL Giornale- The PKK was in the headlines again. In the news article, "Ocalan continuing his threats", it was stated that Foreign Minister Dini was in Moscow and his aim was to return Ocalan to Russia. The newspaper, noting that Ocalan was staying with his lover, and appearing on television programmes asked "What kind of custody is this?".La Repubblica- Using the headline "Let's Try Ocalan", the newspaper stated that he should be tried by an international court. Noting that Turkey's extradition file had reached Rome, the newspaper stated that hundreds of murders and crimes had been perpetrated by the PKK. The newspaper published the photos of children murdered by the PKK and used the term 'the real face of the PKK'. Il Massegero- Il Massegero newspaper took Prime Minister Yilmaz statement to the headlines and said: "Yilmaz is Threatening The World: The Only Way Out is Extraditing Ocalan to Turkey." It added that the PKK had brought a helicopter down and asked how could they not be regarded as terrorists. Corriere Della Serra- The newspaper stated that political asylum would not be granted to Ocalan and that it is not known where he will go . [05] HARSH REACTION TO ITALYThe Turkish Parliamentary Group attending the meeting on 'Fighting Against Famine and Preserving Natural Resources", organized by the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), denounced the stand of Italy over the extradition of the leader of the PKK terrorist organization. Representing the Turkish Parliamentary Group at the meeting Ankara deputy Irfan Koksalan said: "The PKK has killed thousands of Turkish citizens during 14 years of terrorist actions. The leader of this terrorist group is now treated as a guest in Rome". Koksalan added that on September 22, an agreement against terrorism was signed between the two countries. Two weeks later Turkey had warned Italy that the leader of the PKK terrorists could come to Italy. He stated it was hard to understand how Italy could defend Ocalan while accusing Pinochet. Noting the importance of this incident for the Turkish nation, Koksalan expressed his hopes that it would not adversely affect relations between the two countries. /Sabah/[06] IS OCALAN TO BE RETURNED TO RUSSIA?The possibility of returning Ocalan to Russia is on the agenda. A statement made by the Italian Embassy in Moscow, said: "If Ocalan is not granted political asylum, he can be returned to Russia where he came from, according to our laws. This surprise statement was made a few hours after the Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini arrived in Moscow for an official visit. Italian Foreign Minister Dini is to meet Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, and the Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov today and he is expected to ask the Russians to take Ocalan back. /Sabah/[07] CHP IN MOTION AGAINST SPDThe agreement between German Prime Minister Gerhard Schroeder and Italian Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema on the trial of Ocalan before an international court and the reluctance of the German government to demand the extradition of Ocalan set the CHP (Republican People's Party) in motion against SPD. Regarding this, Altan Oymen, Istanbul deputy, was assigned to get in touch with the SPD. Noting that relations between SPD and CHP had recently become favourable, Deniz Baykal, the CHP leader, said: "We wonder whether this is an official attitude or not, and what can be done within the party perspective." /Milliyet/[08] MAKOVSKY: "OCALAN MUST BE TRIED"Alan Makovsky, the expert on Turkey at the Washington Institute, stated that nobody in Washington was suspicious about Ocalan's role in the organization of numerous terrorist activities, and that the PKK leader must be tried. Calling on Clinton administration to take "new steps for the extradition of the terrorist Ocalan to Turkey", Makovsky said: "The trial of Ocalan should be an important political goal for the US- a purpose which also needs to be considered with regard to Washington's own interests." Makovsky expressed the view that Ocalan should never be granted the right to political asylum by any country. The Turkey expert said: "This probability (political asylum) runs `critical risks' for the US campaign against international terrorism and Turkey's future relations with the West." Makovsky also claimed it was quite unlikely that Ocalan could gain a political identity similar to that of Arafat in the 1970s, and that fact seriously undermined the possibility of granting political asylum to Ocalan in Italy. /Cumhuriyet/[09] MINISTER MAKES GUARANTEES TO ITALYWhile the file involving Turkey's demand for Ocalan's extradition was submitted to the Italian legal authorities, Hasan Denizkurdu, the Minister of Justice, in a letter to his Italian counterpart, Oliviero Diliberto, assured him that "Ocalan will not be executed in the case that he is extradited". Referring to the Paris Charter of Nov.19-21 1990 by OSCE, Denizkurdu stated that those governments who had denounced terrorism by endorsing this charter should also cooperate against it. Emphasizing that terrorism should never be tolerated and terrorists' efforts to legitimize themselves should never be considered plausible, Denizkurdu noted that the same issue was drawn up in the Article No.17 of the European Human Rights Agreement as well.Denizkurdu also reminded his Italian counterpart that the death penalties given by Turkish local courts had not been approved and applied by the National Assembly since 1984 and if extradited, Ocalan would not be executed but sentenced to life imprisonment like M.Ali Agca. /Cumhuriyet/ [10] NSC MEETINGThe National Security Council will convene today. During the meeting headed by President Suleyman Demirel, the recent situation regarding the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, the struggle against terrorism and organized crime, and foreign political developments will be discussed. Justice Minister Hasan Denizkurdu and Transport Minister Ahmet Arif Denizolgun will also attend the meeting. Meanwhile, the High Military Council (YAS) will convene on December 4. The meeting will be headed by Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz. /Sabah/[11] DHKP-C MILITANTS CAPTUREDEight members of the illegal DHKP-C organization, who were about to carry out an assault against Fatih Mayor Sadettin Tantan, were captured during an operation led by members of the Department of Anti-Terrorism of the Istanbul Security Office in Kadikoy yesterday. Officials from the department noted that an investigation into the incident was continuing.Meanwhile, operations against the illegal DHKP-C organization were carried out in the Tavas district of Denizli yesterday and two terrorists were killed. Last week during operations in the same district; four militants and their weapons were seized. /Sabah/ [12] SIKORSKY HELICOPTER SHOT DOWN BY PKKMembers of the PKK terrorist organization on Friday shot down a Sikorsky helicopter killing 16 soldiers, according to a written statement released by the Turkish General Staff. The helicopter was shot down in Hakkari in the Southeast killing 16 of the 18 soldiers on board. One soldier is still missing and another was injured. "The helicopter crashed when the pilot was shot by gunfire from terrorists on the ground and he lost control of the aircraft" a written statement said. /Sabah/[13] OVERSEAS WORKERS REMIT $3.9 BILLION TO TURKEYRemittances from Turkish workers employed abroad, particularly those in Germany, totalled $3.88 billion during the first nine months of 1998. According to Central Bank data obtained by the Anatolia news agency, the revenue generated and sent to Turkey by Turkish workers employed overseas from January to September of this year increased by 26.8 %. In the same period of 1997, Turkish workers sent $3.06 billion to Turkey.According to research conducted by the Association of European Turkish Businessmen and Industrialists (ATIAD), the number of Turkish entrepreneurs, now 45,000, will exceed 100,000 by the year 2000. /All papers/ [14] $5 BILLION EXPECTED FROM PRIVATIZATIONS IN 1999The Privatization Administration Chairmanship (OYK) has an ambitious programme for 1999. According to information the Anatolia news agency obtained from the OYK, 24 state-owned companies are earmarked for privatization in 1999. In addition to these 24 companies, the OYK will try to wind up privatization of state-run companies for which bidding began in 1998. These companies are as follows: Petrol Ofisi AS (POAS), Petkim, Turkish Airlines (THY), Tupras Refinery, Erdemir, Tugsas and Isdemir. Revenues expected to be generated from the privatization deals in 1999 amount to approximately $5 billion, of which $4 billion is expected to be received in 1999. /All papers/[15] ECEVIT: "DYP AND ANAP SHOULD FORM COALITION"Democratic Left Party (DSP) Leader Bulent Ecevit has called on the Motherland Party (ANAP) and the True Path Party (DYP) to come to an agreement and form a coalition government, a government that his party would support. Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Ecevit said it was extremely important that a new government be formed quickly because the country had a number of important issues, such as the worldwide economic crisis and the attempt by certain European countries to turn the PKK into a respectable political organization, which must be addressed. Ecevit said that the government was toppled just before they were to 'collect the fruits of their labour' and that a new government must be formed quickly so as to stop anti-secular forces from spreading their 'views and propaganda'.Meanwhile, President Suleyman Demirel has been meeting political leaders in a search for a new government since the government fell. If party leaders are unable to agree on a new government in 45 days, the president is obliged to appoint a caretaker government to run the country until elections scheduled for next spring. /All papers/ [16] SUPREME ELECTION BOARD STARTS WORKINGThe Supreme Election Board (YSK) has determined that 18 parties will enter the general elections. Voter lists will be announced at the beginning of 1999. People who are not listed will be able to apply to their local administrators to be registered in the rolls. Apart from these listings, the YSK is also busy with preparing the needed equipment for the elections such as stamps, voting lists and envelopes. /All papers/[17] METEOROLOGICAL NETWORK ALL OVER TURKEYThe State Meteorology General Directorate planned to establish a meteorological network comprising of over Turkey by 2001 and to equip all air radar stations with automatic devices. Officials announced that they planned to purchase 20 Automatic Observation System and three Meteorological Radar in 1999. /Hurriyet/Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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