Anadolu Agency: News in English, 98-03-10

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From: The Anadolu Agency Home Page at <http://www.anadoluajansi.gov.tr/>

10 MARCH 1998

CONTENTS

[01] TURKEY-ITALY - TURKEY COMMENT IN LA STAMPA NEWSPAPER: - ''THE FAILURE TO INCLUDE TURKEY IN THE EU'S EXPANSION AT THE LUXEMBOURG SUMMIT MAY TURN INTO A HISTORICAL MISTAKE''

[02] TURKEY-GULF CRISIS - ''THE SECOND GULF CRISIS AND TURKEY'' PANEL DISCUSSION

[03] TURKISH PRESS REVIEW (1)

[04] TURKISH PRESS REVIEW (2)

[05] TURKISH PRESS REVIEW (3)

[06] TURKEY-ATTACK - BOMB ATTACK ON MILITARY POST

[07] TURKEY IN BRIEF - MARCH 10, 1998

[08] TURKEY-INTERNAL - A TOTAL OF 78 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CAPTURED AT THE BORDER

[09] TURKEY-PROTEST - CIVIL SERVANTS PROTEST THE DRAFT LAW ON LABOUR UNIONS IN ANKARA

[10] TURKEY-CAUCASUS - GEORGIA AND TURKEY'S JOINT USE OF THE BATUMI AIRPORT WELCOMED IN THE REGION

[01] TURKEY-ITALY - TURKEY COMMENT IN LA STAMPA NEWSPAPER: - ''THE FAILURE TO INCLUDE TURKEY IN THE EU'S EXPANSION AT THE LUXEMBOURG SUMMIT MAY TURN INTO A HISTORICAL MISTAKE''

The text which was published with the signature of Aldo Rizzo criticized that Turkey was not participating with the other candidate countries at the EU Conference that will take place in London on March 12.

The text said that Turkey was the only secular Moslem country supporting the West and stressed the danger that Turkey may be swallowed by the Islamic waves in the Caspian basin and in the Middle East where there are important oil interests and the dangers of this to Europe.

The newspaper criticized that Germany and Greece opposed Turkey's entrance into the EU due to national reasons and noted that these countries were ignoring the joint interests of Europe.

Mentioning the Kosovo crisis, the text said, the ''advise'' of the Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem who went to Belgrade was listened to carefully by the Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic.

It also mentioned the existence and effectiveness of Turkey in the Balkans which is a high risk region and stressed that Turkey's mediation for the Kosovo crisis may provide an improvement.

[02] TURKEY-GULF CRISIS - ''THE SECOND GULF CRISIS AND TURKEY'' PANEL DISCUSSION

Addressing a panel discussion titled ''The Second Gulf Crisis and Turkey'', Yavuz said that a military operation was always a tool for political targets.

Stressing that 60 percent of the world energy is provided by oil, Yavuz said that of the 820 trillion barrels of oil in the world, 530 trillion barrels of oil belong to the Middle East.

Vahit Halefoglu, the former Foreign Minister also said that the US had assumed the role of Britain which she had played in the Middle East in the past.

Evaluating the attitude of Turkey during the ''First Gulf Crisis'', Halefoglu said, ''we have offended Saddam with trivial statements during the first crisis.''

Halefoglu said that Turkey's relations with the surrounding countries were not good enough, ''we should establish dialogue with these countries and change our relations.''

[03] TURKISH PRESS REVIEW (1)

(Derived from the Newsspot of the Turkish General Directorate of Press and Information.)

CABINET DISCUSSES KOSOVO SITUATION
The Turkish government, which has been monitoring the current tension in the Balkans closely, discussed the ongoing incidents at Kosovo in its Monday meeting. Defense Minister Ismet Sezgin told reporters before the Cabinet meeting that the rights of the Kosovo people should be protected. He said that the Kosovo issue will be discussed extensively during the ministerial-level NATO meeting that will take place in Brussels on Thursday.

Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz told reporters yesterday that Turkey was doing everything possible and that the international community should make efforts for bringing peace to Kosovo. He said that the best solution to the Kosovo crisis would be to restore the autonomous status of Kosovo which was agreed upon in 1991.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Necati Utkan told reporters that ending the bloodshed in Kosovo ''is a priority for Turkey''. Commenting on the tension in Kosovo, Utkan said that no one, including Turkey, will let the things that happened in Bosnia be repeated again. Foreign Minister Ismail Cem told reporters that the conflict can be eased in three stages. After initial steps, an agreement on education between the Kosovo Albanians and the Yugoslav administration should be implemented. The third and final stage should be the reinstitution of rights given to the Albanians, but removed by Yugoslavia in 1989, Cem added. /All papers/

TURKEY-EU RELATIONS
The German daily newspaper ''Die Welt'' has urged the EU to play with an ''open hand'' in its relations with Turkey. Tensions in the Turkey-Germany relations have increased following a recent statement by Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz that Germany was blocking Turkey's integration with Europe. /Cumhuriyet/

DIPLOMATIC TRAFFIC ON CYPRUS
Tom Miller, Assistant to US President Bill Clinton's Special Cyprus Envoy Richard Holbrooke will pay a visit to Ankara tomorrow. Yesterday Miller had talks with representatives of the Greek Cypriot administration, and today he will meet with the Turkish Cypriot officials. Miller's contacts are of special importance as they come on the eve of the EU membership discussions with Cyprus scheduled to begin on March 31.

Last week Hans Van Den Broek, the EU Commissioner Responsible for Foreign Relations, and Sir David Hannay, the EU Cyprus Envoy had talks in a move to mediate for a compromise on the problem-plagued island. Rauf Denktas, the Turkish Cypriot President declined the EU representatives requests for a meeting, and said that the Turkish Cypriots' participation in discussions for accepting Cyprus into the EU was out of the question.

The UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's Special Cyprus Envoy Diego Cordovez will also hold contacts on the island late in March, and the US Envoy Holbrooke will visit the region in April. /Cumhuriyet/

BATTLE OVER WORDS
The arguments over and the reactions to the words that Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz used in an interview with Britain's noted Financial Times newspaper continue. In a weekend interview with the paper, Yilmaz used a German word that was popularly used during the Hitler regime to describe German attitudes today.

Yesterday the Foreign Ministry claimed that there had been a misunderstanding, and that in fact, Yilmaz had been referring to another aspect and that he had actually been using the word in another way. Explaining the matter, Foreign Ministry spokesman Necati Utkan noted that the German word ''lebensraum'' had more than one meaning. /Sabah/

MASSIVE SUPPORT FOR THE SOUTHEAST
The government has announced that government workers and officials in the depressed regions of the south and southeast of Turkey will have the opportunity to invest more in the region. The same government statement also notes that business sectors too will be given more of a chance to develop interests in these undeveloped areas. According to the releases made yesterday, small and medium sized businesses will be given more support and help and the state-run banks will be empowered to provide more services.

Commenting on the new initiatives, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said that the new measures would be applied in the most productive way possible, and that the government aimed at ''balanced development'' in the region. /Sabah/

AWARD FOR TURKISH SCIENTIST
The Turkish scientist Tuncer Kuzay has been presented with a special award for his outstanding accomplishments in the Chicago-based American Argon Laboratories where he has been directly responsible for over 160 research projects. /Sabah/

(To be continued)

[04] TURKISH PRESS REVIEW (2)

(Derived from the Newsspot of the Turkish General Directorate of Press and Information.)

BLAIR SHOULD VISIT ANKARA
According to the Financial Times, Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair should make a visit to Ankara, this especially so in view of the current situation involving Turkey and the European Union (EU). The Financial Times noted on March 5 that relations between Turkey and the EU have dropped to a new low, and that the time had come for Blair to visit Ankara to restore a rapidly worsening situation.

The Financial Times noted that as term president of the EU, Britain was obliged to take up the matter of Turkey's current situation including relations with Greece, and full membership in the EU, and to do this as urgently as possible. /Milliyet/

TURKEY IN WORLD TEXTILES
There are 19 Turkish companies on a list of the ''World's Largest Textile Companies'' compiled by the German 'TextilWirtschaft' magazine. According to an article in the Textile Employers' Magazine published by the Textile Industry Employers' Union, the American Sara Lee Corp. ranked first with an income of $11.082 billion. The income of the companies on the list is over DM 100 million for 1996. /Sabah-Hurriyet/

CAGAN CANCELS VISIT TO GERMANY
When Norbert Blum, the German Minister of Labour stated that he would not attend a meeting to be held with Nami Cagan, the Turkish Minister of Labour and Social Security during an official visit to Germany, and would instead only attend a luncheon, Cagan cancelled his whole visit. Cagan will convey his reponse to Germany in a written statement today. /Sabah-Hurriyet/

40 PKK TERRORISTS KILLED
During operations carried out in the rural area of the Yedisu district in Bingol, 40 terrorists of the separatist PKK terrorist organization have been killed and their weapons seized. During the operations, two Turkish soldiers also died. It is reported that operations are continuing. /Sabah- Milliyet/

MONGOLIA'S PRESIDENT TO VISIT TURKEY
Mongolia's President, Naksagin Bagabandi, will pay an official visit to Turkey on March 16-17 at the invitation of the Turkish President Suleyman Demirel. According to a statement issued by the Board of Foreign Economic Relations (DEIK), Bagabandi, accompanied by a large delegation of Mongolian businessmen, will meet with Turkish businessmen in Istanbul on the last day of his visit.

SOUTH KOREAN BUSINESSMEN TO VISIT TURKEY
South Korean businessmen will visit Turkey to improve trade relations between Turkey and South Korea. Within the framework of the visit which will be organized by the Korean Trade Agency (KOTRA), fifteen Korean businessmen will first visit Istanbul and then Ankara. /Milliyet/

(To be continued)

[05] TURKISH PRESS REVIEW (3)

(Derived from the Newsspot of the Turkish General Directorate of Press and Information.)

TURKEY-MACEDONIA JOINT ECONOMIC COMMISSION MEETING
The Turkey-Macedonia Joint Economic Commission 2nd Term Meeting has started in Skopje. State Minister Rustu Kazim Yucelen, who headed the Turkish delegation in Macedonia, will be received by Economy Minister Boris Bikalovski and Prime Minister Brabko Crvankovski and will also meet with Housing and Environment Minister Tome Trombev. At the end of the four-day meeting a Joint Economic Commission 2nd Term Meeting Protocol will be signed. /Milliyet/

GEORGIAN FULL SUPPORT FOR TURKEY
Prior to Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz's visit to Georgia, Georgian Head of State Eduard Shevardnadze said in a special statement to the daily newspaper Milliyet that Georgian-Turkish relations were at a ''perfect level'' and added that Turkey had a very important role in the region. He further pointed out that the Georgia Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline would be the most suitable and safest way to transport Azerbaijani oil to the world markets. /Milliyet/

DENKTAS: ''GREEK CYPRIOTS WILL WAIT FOR 30 YEARS''
Rauf Denktas, the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), declared yesterday that they had received information that the European Union would open and then close meetings with the Greek Cypriot Administration regarding its full membership in the EU. When he was receiving members of the Association of Diplomatic Correspondents yesterday, Denktas said, ''we have received information that the European Union's response to the Greek Cypriots will be 'first solve the problem of Cyprus so that we can start'. The European Union does not want a divided Cyprus. I think they will have to wait for another 30 years.'' He also mentioned the TRNC parliament's extraordinary meeting yesterday, noting the members' determination to resist participating in the EU where Greece is a full member, and Turkey is not. Denktas stressed that Greece was aiming at political, not economic goals. /Hurriyet/

NEW GAP AIRPORT
A new investment worth trillions of TL will be launched in southeastern Anatolia, which is seen as one of the tourism centers of the future because of its historic and natural riches. An international airport, the foundation of which is to be laid on April 28 in a location 21 kilometres from Sanli Urfa, will be built in 30 months by a consortium of three Turkish construction companies. /Hurriyet/

ZIRAAT BANK TO OPEN BRANCH IN BULGARIA
Turkey's largest state bank, the Ziraat Bank, plans to open a branch in Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Prime Minister Ivan Kostov said. ''The Bulgarian National (central) Bank will issue a branch operation license after the Ziraat Bank submits the required set of documents'' Kostov told reporters after a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Mesut Yilmaz over the weekend. Setting up a joint free trade zone was also discussed.

NUMBER OF TOURISTS UP
During January 1998, 348,164 tourists visited Turkey, an increase of 15 percent. According to the State Institute of Statistics (DIE), 302,452 tourists visited Turkey in the same period last year. /Milliyet/

[06] TURKEY-ATTACK - BOMB ATTACK ON MILITARY POST

The bomb which was implanted by unidentified assailants in the garden of an empty house which is near the Kucukyali Military Post in the Kucukyali district of Maltepe exploded at 7:45 a.m.

The assailants who fled after the incident also left suspicious packages around the military post. The packages were later exploded by the bomb experts, but nothing was in them.

[07] TURKEY IN BRIEF - MARCH 10, 1998

Zeki Yagci, the Deputy Chairman of the GTO Executive Board, said in the meeting that the trade volume between Turkey and Egypt should be increased to two billion US dollars.

ANKARA - Hasan Korkmazcan, the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, received on Monday Hristo Bserov, the Chairman of the Turkish-Bulgarian Interparliamentary Friendship Group and members of the Group.

Korkmazcan said in the meeting that Turkish-Bulgarian relations play an important role in securing peace in the world.

''Turkey and Bulgaria want peace and wish a speedy development in the two countries by an accord between the peoples of our two countries,'' Korkmazcan said.

ANKARA - The Turkish Fertilizer Industry Inc. and the Tunisian Compagnie Des Phoshates De Gafsa company will sign on Tuesday a protocol including cooperation in the purchasing and marketing of fertilizer and fertilizer raw materials, technological information exchange and education.

The protocol foresees ''personnel training'', ''technology transfer'', ''creation of joint investment opportunities'' and ''cooperation in the marketing of the two countries and the Turkish Republics' goods in the world markets''.

ANKARA - President Suleyman Demirel received on Monday Saed Bis Mustafa, Tunisian Foreign Minister, who is in Turkey for an official visit.

The Presidential Press Center said in a written statement that Saed Bin Mustafa briefed President Demirel on the preparations for his official visit to Tunisia in April.

The statement said that President Demirel and Saed Bin Mustafa exchanged views on bilateral, regional and international issues.

BERLIN - Fermani Uygun, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Tourism, said on Monday in a press briefing he held at Turkey's stand at the 32nd International Berlin Tourism Fair that the First International Eastern Mediterranean Tourism and Travel Fair (EMITT'99) would take place in Istanbul next year.

Undersecretary Uygun said that the Turkish Ekin Fair Organization and the British International Travel Exhibition (ITE) would organize the fair which will take place in Istanbul between February 19 and 23, 1999.

ANKARA - Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz received on Tuesday the Tunisian Foreign Minister Saed Bin Mustafa.

Saed Bin Mustafa said that Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and he evaluated the bilateral relations, regional and international issues.

Pointing out that they also took up the preparations for President Suleyman Demirel's official visit to Tunisia, Mustafa said that he conveyed the Tunisian Prime Minister's message to Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz in the meeting.

Later Saed Bin Mustafa met with Bulent Ecevit, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz received Vadim Kuznetsov, the Russian Ambassador to Turkey before his meeting with Saed Bin Mustafa.

[08] TURKEY-INTERNAL - A TOTAL OF 78 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CAPTURED AT THE BORDER

Officials told the A.A correspondent that 76 Iraqis were captured at Pazarkule border gate in Bosna Village. Two Egyptians who wanted to go to Greece were also captured in Subasi Village in Meric County.

The legal proceedings of the immigrants have been started.

A total of 17 Iraqis who wanted to go to Greece, were captured in Uzunkopru County at Edirne Province yesterday.

[09] TURKEY-PROTEST - CIVIL SERVANTS PROTEST THE DRAFT LAW ON LABOUR UNIONS IN ANKARA

The civil servants who gathered in small groups in front of ministries, schools, hospitals and other offices where they work, held a demonstration calling the Parliament to repeal the Draft Law on the Labour Union.

Civil servants chanted slogans and carried banners saying that ''No to Fake Union Law'', ''Collective Bargaining is Our Right, Strikes are Our Weapon, '' and later they dispersed.

Meanwhile, Ibrahim Gurdal, the Minister of Tourism saw a group of civil servants and told them, ''I support you and I will defend your views at the Parliament.''

Civil servants who are members of the Confederation of Public Employees' Unions' (KESK) will hold a demonstration at K�z�lay Square in Ankara on Wednesday.

[10] TURKEY-CAUCASUS - GEORGIA AND TURKEY'S JOINT USE OF THE BATUMI AIRPORT WELCOMED IN THE REGION

''The activities are continuing for the joint use of the Batumi Airport. Prime Minister Mesut Y�lmaz will visit Georgia on March 13-14 and will discuss the issue,'' Omer Buyukkent, the Governor of Artvin told the A.A correspondent.

Erdal Ata, the Governor of Rize stated, ''Such an application will be very useful for the region. It is more suitable to use the Trabzon Airport for Rize, but the Batumi Airport is suitable for the people living near the border.''

Mazhar Afacan, the Chairman of the Trabzon Chamber of Commerce and Industry stated, ''The joint use will improve the economic relations. To ease the transportation will help to decrease the problems of the transport of commercial goods.''

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