TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (May 4, 1995)
Subject: TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (May 4, 1995)
CONTENTS
[01] INONU FLIES TO BAKU OVER ARMENIA
[02] GERMAN DELEGATION LOOKING AT ECONOMIC SITUATION
[03] PETROL DEAL WITH IRAN
[04] PRIME MINISTER CILLER MEETS WITH BALFE
[05] PRIME MINISTER CILLER AND ERMAN SAHIN FLYING TO MOSCOW
[06] CINDORUK IN VIENNA
[07] KDP SAYS IT WILL NOT ALLOW ATTACKS AGAINST TURKEY
[08] NATO COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN ANKARA
[09] AKTUNA IN WESTERN THRACE
[10] HOLBROOKE: "TURKEY MUST BE SUPPORTED"
[11] TURKEY: MOST PROMISING MARKET FOR THE 2000S
WITH THE COMPLIMENT OF
DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION
TURKISH PRESS REVIEW
MAY 4, 1995
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish
press this morning
[01] INONU FLIES TO BAKU OVER ARMENIA
Foreign Minister Erdal Inonu flew to Baku, the capital of
Azerbaijan yesterday in a move to show support for Azeri
determination not to let Russian troops into the region.
Azerbaijan is the only former Soviet satellite country to
remain free of a Russian military pre- sence and the Azeri
government wants to keep it that way. Invited to Baku as
the guest of Azeri Foreign Minister Hasan Hasanov, Inonu
conveyed a message to him that encouraged the Azeri
government to stand firm in the face of Russian pressure
to deploy a military force in Azerbaijan.
In what could be described as a landmark event, Inonu flew
directly from Ankara to Baku using the H-50 air corridor
over Armenia, which has been closed to Turkish air traffic
since 1993. /All papers/
[02] GERMAN DELEGATION LOOKING AT ECONOMIC SITUATION
A German delegation presently in Turkey wants to look at
economic ties between the European Union (EU) and Turkey
-with a view to finding ways to develop them within the
framework of current EU-Turkey dialogue.
The delegation, from the German Social Democrat Party
economic working committee in the Baden-Wurthemburg
province, and led by Otto Hauser, wants to find ways of
ensuring Turkey's customs union with the EU. "We support
this development" said Hauser yesterday. /Sabah/
[03] PETROL DEAL WITH IRAN
Turkey is working on a new petrol deal with Iran, despite
US moves to bring economic sanctions against Iran. State
Minister Aykon Dogan said yesterday that it was Turkey's
intention to deepen still further traditional and cultural
ties with that country.
Yesterday in Ankara State Minister Dogan had more talks
with Iranian Minister for Petrol, Gulamriza Agazade, about
coordinating a new petrol deal. Agazade later said that
there were no problems at all between Iran and Turkey, and
that Iran could even help to alleviate some of Turkey's
natural gas supply problems. /Cumhuriyet/
[04] PRIME MINISTER CILLER MEETS WITH BALFE
Receiving Richard Balfe, member of the European Parliament
Socialist Group at the Turkish Grand National Assembly,
the Prime Minister held talks with him for nearly one
hour. The talks were closed to the press. Richard Balfe
is in Turkey to attend a conference on "Turkey and
Europe-A Challenge to the Near Future" to be held by the
Turkish Democracy Foundation at 18.30 today. /Cumhuriyet/
[05] PRIME MINISTER CILLER AND ERMAN SAHIN FLYING TO MOSCOW
Prime Minister Tansu Ciller will attend the international
ceremonies to be held in Moscow for the 50th anniversary
of the ending of the second World War, in place of
President Suleyman Demirel. Many other leading political
figures will attend the Moscow ceremonies including US
President Bill Clinton.
Ciller will fly to Russia from France on 8 May in order to
ease the tension between Turkey and Russia and to improve
opportunities for renewed dialogue. Minister of Public
Works Erman Sahin was to have participated alone in the
ceremonies following the decision of President Demirel not
to attend, but considering the need for high level
representation it was later decided that Prime Minister
Ciller should also participate. Previous developments in
Caucasia and the attitude of Russia regarding the European
Conventional Arms Reduction Agreement have also motivated
Ciller's participation. /Hurriyet/
[06] CINDORUK IN VIENNA
Parliament Speaker Husamettin Cindoruk, on his second day
in Austria, visited his Austrian counterpart Heinz
Fischer. Cindoruk told him that the "only representative
of the Turkish people is the Turkish Grand National
Assembly. We cannot share our rights of sovereignty with
anyone else. We will sever relations with any country
which permits the establishment of a supposed "parliament-
in-exile". Terrorism may introduce itself among us after
having gone through plastic surgery, transforming itself
into some kind of a parliament or association. There is,
however, no room for violence in a democracy". Fischer
replied that there was no question of Austrian recognition
of a supposed Kurdish Parliament. Cindoruk also
criticized the Council of Europe's decision concerning
Turkey, saying that it should not treat Turkey, which is a
unitary state, as a federal one. Speaking of the Turkish
cross-border operation in northern Iraq, he said that the
military units would be out of the area by the end of May,
although this could be delayed by a couple of days. He
added: "However, all civilized countries must think of
new precautions to take in order to fill the vacuum of
authority in the area. Otherwise, peace in the Middle
East may not last. Northern Iraq must also be included in
the search for solutions". Cindoruk claimed that the
punishment destined for Saddam had ended up hurting Iraqi
children. He concluded that "If we cannot create an Iraq
with guaranteed territorial integrity, a Cuba-like state
will appear before our eyes". Cindoruk, who also met with
Austrian President Thomas Klestil, is expected to return
to Turkey today. /All papers/
[07] KDP SAYS IT WILL NOT ALLOW ATTACKS AGAINST TURKEY
A northern Iraqi delegation, which arrived in Ankara
today, assured Turkey that it would not allow terrorists
to attack Turkey by using their territory. Necirvan
Barzani, who heads the delegation of the Kurdistan
Democratic Party (KDP), said KDP forces were in control of
the region. "We are responsible for the security of the
region and we respect international law" Barzani said.
Following the first round of talks in the Turkish Foreign
Ministry, both Turkish diplomats and the KDP delegation
merely said that "the talks were going well". However,
Barzani hinted at his displeasure over the slowness of
repair of several Kurdish villages at the Turco-Iraqi
border. The villages were destroyed by an Iraqi attack
four years ago. The KDP delegations maintain that if
Turkey could rebuild those villages, Iraqi Kurds could
resettle there and provide monitoring against infiltration
of PKK terrorists. Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ozdem
Sanberk, who held a meeting with the delegation before
they started official talks with Turkish diplomats, said
that the talks were "positive". President Suleyman
Demirel stated in report on "The recent developments in
foreign policy" distributed to journalists at a meeting at
the Cankaya Palace that a strong and functional
cooperation should be established with the local
administration in northern Iraq to secure the
Turkish-Iraqi border. /Cumhuriyet/
[08] NATO COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN ANKARA
George Joulwan, Commander-in-Chief of the NATO European
Allied Forces, said in Ankara that Turkey was an important
member of NATO because of its strategic location, and
thanked the Turkish nation for its huge contributions to
global and regional peace. Joulwan said that he had to
come to Ankara to exchange views on the situation in the
region and also about the Partnership for Peace.
/Cumhuriyet/
[09] AKTUNA IN WESTERN THRACE
The visit to Western Thrace of Turkish State Minister and
Government Spokesman Yildirim Aktuna provoked violent
reactions from the Greek press and government officials
yesterday. Aktuna, who earlier announced his wish to have
a "peaceful" trip to meet with ethnic Turks, was "greeted"
by an ultra-nationalist Greek bomb threat on Tuesday
evening during a Turkish Youth Association Dinner and open
insults by the Greek press the following morning.
Following visits to Iskece and Gumulcine, Aktuna went to
Salonika yesterday evening to visit the house of Ataturk.
Aktuna and his accompanying delegation were attacked by a
500-person group of fanatics including PKK terrorist
organization members when they arrived at the Turkish
Consulate General. /Milliyet/
[10] HOLBROOKE: "TURKEY MUST BE SUPPORTED"
In an exclusive interview with the Washington Times,
Richard Holbrooke, US Assistant Secretary of State for
European and Canadian Affairs, has criticized the proposed
cuts in the foreign aid budget. On Cyprus, he recalled
the administration's policy to lobby "for Cyprus to be
invited to EU membership". Since the island could only
join the EU as a federation of the separated Turkish and
Greek sides, membership would serve as a lever toward
reuniting the Mediterranean island nation, the Washington
Times noted. Commenting on Turkey's own application for
EU customs union, Holbrooke said the US did not support
moves "to drive the Turks east to the fundamentalists
which would be a catastrophe".
The US, unable to find the support it expected from its
allies for an international embargo against Iran, has
accelerated backing for Turkey, describing Turkey as the
US government "New European Front". Holbrooke stressed
that the US supported Turkey's military operation in
northern Iraq and said: "Turkey is replacing Germany as
the cutting-edge of Europe". Meanwhile, "support in the
struggle against terrorism" call from Prime Minister Tansu
Ciller to her Western allies received a positive answer
from Washington. The US administration stated that all
NATO allies should support Turkey in its just struggle.
Washington also noted that Turkey did not suggest any
changes to the Turkish-Iraqi border. US State Department
Spokesman Nicholas Burns said: "We very much agree with
the Turkish government that it is in the interests of the
two main Kurdish factions in northern Iraq to provide
security there so that the problem of PKK terrorism, which
emanates from inside Turkey, can be eliminated. And that
concern about PKK terrorism is something that we share
very deeply with the Turkish government".
/Sabah-Hurriyet/
[11] TURKEY: MOST PROMISING MARKET FOR THE 2000S
Bulent Senver, president of the Turkish-American
Businessmen's Association, said that the US considers
Turkey as a "promising" market for the 2000s. US
President Bill Clinton emphasized the importance of
increasing exports for long term economic development.
The US officials have also included Turkey among the ten
"most promising" markets of the future that would
constitute 40 % of total imports for the next two decades.
/All papers
END
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