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TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (April 10, 1996)From: TRKNWS-L <[email protected]>Turkish Press Review DirectoryCONTENTS[01] TURKEY, GREECE TO START TALKS[02] SIMITIS SIGNALS CONDITIONS FOR DIALOGUE[03] TROOPS TIGHTEN NOOSE AROUND PKK IN BINGOL[04] ISLAMIC SUPPORT FOR RESTORATION OF BOSNIA[05] AUTOMOTIVE EXPORTS UP 69 % IN FIRST QUARTER[06] CONSORTIUM SPEEDS UP $1.3 BN POWER PROJECT ON EUPHRATES[07] TURKEY ALIVE AND WELL IN JAPANTURKISH PRESS REVIEWWEDNESDAY APRIL 10, 1996Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning[01] TURKEY, GREECE TO START TALKSTurkey responded positively yesterday to a Greek offer for a meeting between the foreign ministers of two countries during a Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) meeting in two weeks. Turkish Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay, who met with Greek Ambassador to Ankara Dimitrios Nezeritis, announced that he would meet with his Greek counterpart Theodoras Pangalos in Bucharest on April 27. "I have just conveyed to the ambassador that I would be happy to meet Minister Pangalos" Gonensay announced after seeing Nezeritis for 40 minutes. He said that his meeting with Ambassador Nezeritis had been "hope-inspiring" and he hoped that this atmosphere would prevail in his meeting with Pangalos. Gonensay said that the two ministers would meet with an open agenda during the BSEC meeting, when Romania hands over the young organization's presidency to Russia.Meanwhile, British Foreign Ministry Political Affairs Deputy Undersecretary Jeremy Greenstock met with Turkish Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary responsible for Cyprus and Greece affairs Inal Batu yesterday. Batu furnished detailed information to Greenstock regarding Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz's peace call to Greece. /Cumhuriyet/
[02] SIMITIS SIGNALS CONDITIONS FOR DIALOGUEDuring his first visit to Washington as Greek prime minister, Costas Simitis on Monday gave tentative signals of willingness to enter a dialogue with Turkey -but on Greece's terms. As a precondition, he repeatedly challenged Turkey to go to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague to solve the sovereignty dispute over the Kardak/Imia islet. Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz has recently called on Greece to open a dialogue "anytime, anywhere, through any method" on Aegean issues. The message was repeated by President Demirel to President Clinton during the Turkish president's recent visit to Washington. After that, US President Bill Clinton sent a message to Simitis to express Washington's support for dialogue between Turkey and Greece.Regarding the Cyprus issue, President Clinton stated that the US would make new initiatives for Cyprus at the end of this month, to this end, US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Kornblum would visit Ankara, Athens and Nicosia. While giving information on the Clinton-Simitis meeting, White House Spokesman McCurry said that Turkey's integration with the EU, and the Greek veto on EU aid to Turkey were discussed during the meeting. /Hurriyet/
[03] TROOPS TIGHTEN NOOSE AROUND PKK IN BINGOLSecurity forces were tightening the noose around a band of PKK militants encircled in southeastern Turkey, and have killed at least 99 militants over the past four days, Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and a senior military official disclosed yesterday. Yilmaz said security forces also lost 30 dead in the fighting with the terrorists from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the rugged Saggoze area near the southeastern city of Bingol. Yilmaz said the security forces were continuing operations against about an estimated 250 militants surrounded in the area. Yilmaz noted that the operation forestalled large-scale terrorist activities threatened by the PKK -after the unilateral cease-fire the PKK declared in December was snubbed by the government. Major Gen.Erol Ozkasnak, Turkish General Staff Secretary General, told reporters earlier Tuesday that the area blasted by the security forces had been used by the PKK as a major training camp over the past few months. The separatist rebels had been training to carry out terrorist attacks in the spring months, Ozkasnak said. He said the security forces -said to be of brigade strength with two battalions actively engaged in the fighting- were fully in control and the terrorists had no option but surrender. He gave assurances about the safety of civilains living in the villages in the operation zone, saying all necessary measures had been taken.Prime Minister Yilmaz yesterday said he would not to be swayed from limited reforms to the security apparatus in southeast Turkey despite recent fighting between PKK militants and troops that has killed almost 130 people there. "Legal arrangements to replace the state of emergency will be brought to parliament in the days ahead" Yilmaz told a meeting of the Motherland Party (ANAP). /All papers/
[04] ISLAMIC SUPPORT FOR RESTORATION OF BOSNIAForeign ministers from the Islamic countries are meeting in Sarajevo to discuss humanitarian aid for Bosnia. This Bosnia meeting is the preliminary for a meeting on the restoration of Bosnia to be held in Brussels by the European Union and the World Bank.State minister Imren Aykut is representing Turkey at the meeting in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Imren Aykut will hold talks with Bosnia-Herzegovina President Alia Izzetbegovic during her contacts. /Cumhuriyet/
[05] AUTOMOTIVE EXPORTS UP 69 % IN FIRST QUARTERExports by Turkish motor vehicle and parts producers rose 69 % in the first quarter of 1996 to $351.20 million from $207.42 million in the same 1995 period, the Association of Turkish Automotive Industries (OSD) said in a statement. It said automotive parts exports made up $194 million of the total amount, up from $168.01 million in January-March 1995. Exports of passenger cars leapt 253 % to a record $105.13 million in the first three months. Commercial vehicle exports soared to $51.73 million from $9.60 million. Turkey's automotive exports leapt to $1.2 billion last year from $750.3 million in 1994. Turkish automotive output rose 15 % to 72,452 units in the first quarter of 1996. /All papers/
[06] CONSORTIUM SPEEDS UP $1.3 BN POWER PROJECT ON EUPHRATESA consortium of Turkish and foreign companies has given pace to a landmark power project in southeast Anatolia, the Anatolia news agency said yesterday. The agency said the group recently transferred TL 16 trillion (approximately $220 million) worth of financing to speed up work for the $1.3 billion Birecik Dam on the Euphrates River.Following a recent Arab League protest that Turkey should stop all power utility construction on the Euphrates, consortium members have been threatened by rumours that they will no longer win contracts in Arab countries. The Turkish government on November 17, 1995 signed with 44 international lenders a major financing agreement, worth approximately $1.3 billion for the construction of the Birecik dam and power station, the fourth largest on the Euphrates. The Birecik dam is Turkey's biggest ever project undertaken on the "build-operate-transfer" basis. The construction work is being undertaken by the international consortium Birecik AS, which is made up of Turkish-German, French, Austrian and Belgian firms. /All papers/
[07] TURKEY ALIVE AND WELL IN JAPANOnly a stone's throw from Tokyo, the Japanese capital, there is a tiny replica of Turkey. Surrounded by woods, this small Turkish outpost has all the appearance of any Turkish community. Even more so, for it contains copies of the Covered Bazaar, Topkapi Palace, Sultanahmet Mosque and statues of Ataturk among many other things.The Turkish "village" has been built on seven hills-just like Istanbul- in the Kashiwazaki region just four hours away from Tokyo. The project has almost been finished, and the three main architects of the village, sponsor Ryutaro Omori, Toshiyuki Koiwa and Turkish coordinator Erdal Kucukyalcin have invited President Suleyman Demirel to the grand opening ceremony planned for July 24. The village will promote all things Turkish, from food and Turkish arts to Turkish history and culture. Leading Japanese and Turkish officials are all showing a keen interest in the village project which is all set to be a huge success. /Milliyet/ |
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