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TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (April 4, 1996)From: TRKNWS-L <[email protected]>Turkish Press Review DirectoryCONTENTS[01] WARM WELCOME FOR SHEVARDNARDZE[02] SADDAM WILL NOT ATTEND HABITAT CONFERENCE[03] UN SUPPORT FOR GAP PROJECTS[04] TURKEY TOUGHENING STANCE AGAINST KURDISH LEADERS[05] ATHENS SETS CONDITIONS FOR AEGEAN PEACE[06] TURKEY: "PRESERVING AZERBAIJAN'S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY IS VITAL"[07] INDUSTRY GREW 7 % IN JANUARY-FEBRUARY[08] DAMASCUS ASSURES ANKARA[09] STATUE OF ATATURK TO BE ERECTED IN JAPAN[10] EHRC ACCEPTS SECOND APPLICATION BY SADIK AHMET[11] GESTURE FROM GERMANY FOR PKKTURKISH PRESS REVIEWTHURSDAY APRIL 4, 1996Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning[01] WARM WELCOME FOR SHEVARDNARDZEGeorgian President Eduard Shevardnadze was greeted with a warm welcome by President Suleyman Demirel yesterday when he arrived in Turkey as the guest of Demirel. The Georgian president was given all the official trimmings but the welcome itself was genuine on both sides. After the official welcome, Shevardnadze was taken by helicopter to the presidential palace in Cankaya.Shevardnadze began his official contacts early after talks with Demirel. He later spoke with Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and committees from both sides began initial discussions. Later there was an official reception and dinner for Shevardnardze. During his talks with top level officials, Shevardnadze was complimentary about Turkey's support for Georgia and declared that Turkey was the key to peace and stability in the region. He added that in this connection he expected good results from his visit, and noted that Demirel was well qualified as a real statesman to bring peace to the troubled Balkans and Caucasia. Shevardnardze was also most friendly in his approach to Yilmaz during their talks and constantly referred to him as "my friend." Another vital matter already taken up by the visiting leader was the Baku-Supsa overland oil pipeline project that Turkey is keenly interested in. He suggested that Russia needed to be persuaded that the project was also in their interests and that both sides would benefit. He also said that the international consortium set up to exploit and distribute regional oil reserves needed to be pressured a little more if it was to lend more support to proposals coming from Turkey. Today Shevardnadze will continue with his talks and contacts, meeting with leading politicians including leader of the True Path Party (DYP), Tansu Ciller. /All papers/
[02] SADDAM WILL NOT ATTEND HABITAT CONFERENCEThe Foreign Ministry has denied that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was invited by Turkey to attend the up-coming Habitat II conference in Istanbul. Government officials said yesterday that Turkey as host country had indeed sent out special invitations to attend the conference to various leading government heads, but Saddam Hussein was not included among these. /Sabah/
[03] UN SUPPORT FOR GAP PROJECTSThe United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has announced that it will support 28 projects included in the Southeast Anatolia Project (GAP), which is Turkey's biggest ever water and hydroelectric power project.The deal with the UN for 4.2 million dollars (300 billion TL) over the next five years will include development and regional integration projects. Attention will be given to developing the agricultural sectors and setting up operations rather like the Israeli-style kibbutz. UN officials have again noted the vast regional importance of the giant GAP project, one of the largest of its kind in the world. /Milliyet/
[04] TURKEY TOUGHENING STANCE AGAINST KURDISH LEADERSAnkara has warned Kurdish leaders Celal Talabani and Mesut Barzani many times about their deepening contacts with PKK terrorist leader Abdullah Ocalan. Now the Foreign Ministry has given them another reminder that Turkey is serious about restoring stability in northern Iraq and blocking PKK influence there.Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay announced yesterday that the special Turkish diplomatic "red" passports given to the two Kurdish leaders during the time when Turgut Ozal was president, have been cancelled. Foreign Ministry officials gave no further details about the matter, but observers see the decision as evidence that Turkey could be easing back on support for the two Kurds. /Hurriyet/
[05] ATHENS SETS CONDITIONS FOR AEGEAN PEACEThe Greek government yesterday named five conditions for the elimination of Aegean disputes with Turkey, the Anatolia news agency said in a report from Athens. The announcement from government spokesman Dimitris Reppas on the eve of an official visit to Washington by Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis lacked any reference to the recent peace initiative by Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and was regarded as a negative response. While Reppas stressed Athens' desire for the elimination of strains from Turkish-Greek relations, the conditions he named seemed unacceptable for Turkey. These started with a demand for Turkey's acquiescence to the terms announced by the EU for the implementation of the customs union. Ankara should also contribute to current and future efforts for a just settlement of the Cyprus dispute, stop its "violations of Greek airspace", announce it has no territorial ambitions against Greece and withdraw its threats of war in the event of Greek extension of its territorial waters, Reppas said.
[06] TURKEY: "PRESERVING AZERBAIJAN'S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY IS VITAL"Turkey announced yesterday that it should not be expected that Azerbaijan, an independent and United Nations member country, would give up her territorial integrity and sovereignty to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.In his weekly press conference Foreign Ministry Spokesman Omer Akbel said that "maximum autonomy" had been suggested for Nagorno-Karabakh but Armenia had required full independency which was unacceptable. Akbel added: "There has been no positive development in bilateral plans and efforts within the framework of the Minsk Group proposals to solve the problem." /Cumhuriyet/
[07] INDUSTRY GREW 7 % IN JANUARY-FEBRUARYTurkey's industrial production rose 7 % in the first two months of the current year, official figures revealed on Monday. The State Institute of Statistics (DIE) said industrial production had fallen by 5.3 % in the corresponding period last year. It said the manufacturing sector grew by 6.6 % in January-February while in the mining sector growth stood at a lower 4.3 %. Energy output rose by 10.3 %. The agency said industrial growth stood at 1.8 % in February this year, recovering from a 2 % drop in the same mnoth last year. In February, the manufacturing sector grew by 0.7 % while the mining sector contracted by 2.6 %. Energy output rose by 9.5 %. /All papers/
[08] DAMASCUS ASSURES ANKARASyria has assured Ankara that the defence agreement between Athens and Damascus did not give Greece a right to use Syrian air bases, Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Omer Akbel said on Monday. Responding to the remarks of the Greek defence minister that Greece would use Syrian air bases in the case of conflict with Turkey or Turkish Cyprus, Akbel said that "Syrian high level officials have told us that the accord did not give Greece any such right". /Hurriyet/
[09] STATUE OF ATATURK TO BE ERECTED IN JAPANA Japanese association has commissioned a Turkish sculptor to create a statue of Atatruk for the "Turkish Culture Village" in Kashiwazaki, Japan. Sculptor Metin Yurdanur said that Japan's attitude is especially "meaningful" at a time when attacks on Ataturk are increasing, and illustrates how Ataturk's principles and merits are admired around the world. The Culture Ministry is supporting the project. The 6-metre tall bronze statue is expected to weigh five to seven tons and will be transported to Japan using special techniques. "The Turkish Culture Village" is being built by the Turco-Japanese Friendship Association to introduce Turkish culture and history. The park will eventually cover an area of 49,000 square metres. The grand opening of the village will be held on July 24 with a magnificent ceremony. There will be special facilities for activities such as fairs, museums, exhibitions and concerts, and a restaurant that will specialize in Turkish cuisine. /All papers/
[10] EHRC ACCEPTS SECOND APPLICATION BY SADIK AHMETThe Strasbourg based European Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has accepted as admissible a second case brought against Greece by Sadik Ahmet, who died last year in a car accident and who was one of the leaders of the Turkish minority in Western Thrace, the Anatolia news agency said yesterday. Ahmet had applied to the Commission after being tried for using the term "Turkish" to designate his minority in an article he wrote for the daily "Gercek" (Truth).Greece does not accept such a designation indicating that the minority in Western Thrace is not a Turkish but a "Moslem" minority. The European Court of Justice started hearings recently after another similar case was brought by the late Ahmet against Greece and which was deemed admissible by the Commission.
[11] GESTURE FROM GERMANY FOR PKKThe German Interior Ministry has declared that a decision to ban the 20 associations affiliated to the FEYKA (German Federation of Kurdistan Patriotic Labourers and Culture Associations) has been lifted. It is reported that this decision, which was taken on 28 March by the Ministry, was based on the "preliminary view" of the Federal Administrative Court in Berlin following objections by association lawyers.In a statement, a ministry spokesman said that although the Court had decided that these 20 associations were not affiliated to the FEYKA, nevertheless the states, wherein these associations were active, were authorised to close down these associations. The spokesman added that associations should be in fact banned. Meanwhile, in Istanbul in operations against the separatist PKK terrorist organization 16 militants, including two women, were arrested. /Milliyet-Hurriyet/
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