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Turkish Press Review, 99-07-12Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>12.07.99Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] FROM THE COLUMNS..FROM THE COLUMNS..FROM THE COLUMNS.. A NARROW-MINDED POLITICIAN WOUNDING FRIENDSHIP -BY TUFAN TURENC[02] (HURRIYET)[03] SPECIAL KOSOVO[04] DEMIREL: "TURKEY SHOULD BE BETTER DIRECTED"President Suleyman Demirel stated that while entering a new century, Turkey should overcome red tape and should function better for the Turkish State. Demirel attended a series of foundation-laying ceremonies in Edirne yesterday and remarked that they were making every effort to achieve the contemporary Turkey aimed at by the founder of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Meanwhile, during the the 638th Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling Competition in Edirne, Ahmet Tasci who beat Vedat Ergin became the wrestling champion of Turkey for the eighth time. /Aksam/[05] MIRZAOGLU: "STRAITS ARE NOT AN OIL PIPELINE"State Minister Ramazan Mirzaoglu said that Turkey was initially considering the security of both people and the environment with regard to the transport of Caspian oil through the Turkish Straits. Mirzaoglu pointed out that the Straits were not an oil pipeline but were used for commerce. /Aksam/[06] YAS MEETING FOR TSKThe Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) is preparing for the High Military Council (YAS) meeting to be held on August 2-5. At the end of the YAS meeting, the military staff who will carry the TSK into the next century will be determined. /Aksam/[07] TURKEY WARNS ITALY ON EMBARGOThe Head of the Turkish-Italian Business Council, Vahit Erdem, stated that the Italian stance towards the head of the PKK terrorist organization, Abdullah Ocalan, had turned into a complete political adventure and said: "If it would be beneficial, then Turkish businessmen would carry out their responsibilities". Erdem made a statement yesterday and remarked that the Italian stance concerning this issue does not comply with the position of a great state and added that Turkey would do what is necessary for its own security. /Aksam/[08] TURKISH BREAKTHOUGH ON CYPRUSTurkey will make a breakthrough concerning the Cyprus issue since the UN has called on the two sides on the Island to sit at the negotiation table without any conditions. Turkey will offer its full support to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) during the 25th anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation. The TRNC President Rauf Denktas will pay an official visit to Ankara on Thursday. During his visit, preliminary studies will be undertaken for the Association Council between Turkey and the TRNC to be held on July 19.[09] A SPECIAL AGENDA FOR THE ASSEMBLYThe General Council of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) will discuss the Cyprus issue this week. The TGNA will convene to consider a special agenda on Thursday on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation. Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem will brief the General Council on the occasion of the anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation. Later, the political party groups will each deliver a speech. During the meeting, all groups at the TGNA are expected to issue a joint declaration. /Aksam/[10] TURCO-GREEK ECONOMIC RELATIONS ENLIVENTurco-Greek economic relations, having been frozen for a long period of time, has been showing signs of life. As a result of the personal closeness between Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Ismail Cem and his Greek counterpart Yorgo Papandreu, there have been some positive political developments. This positive atmosphere has been reflected in economic relations between the two countries. In his statement to the Greek "Etnos" newspaper, Panayotis Kuciku, the Chairman of the Turco-Greek Business Council, said that Greek businessmen welcome the recent developments between the two countries. He added, "We believe that Turkish businessmen who will invest in Greece will have the chance to enter the European Union (EU) via Greece. In return Greek businessmen will reach to Caucasian Republics and Turkish-speaking Republics via Turkey. The two countries should improve their relations in every field." Kuciku remarked that more than a hundred Turkish businessmen would attend the Black Sea Economic Cooperation meeting on 13-14 October in Athens. Additionally, he stated a group of Greek businessmen would visit Istanbul at the end of July to hold bilateral meetings with their Turkish counterparts. /Cumhuriyet/[11] DENKTAS TO SPEAK AT THE TGNAThe Turkish Grand National Assembly's (TGNA) General Council will gather with a special session on 15 July concerning the 25th anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation. It is announced that Minister of Foreign Affairs Ismail Cem will brief the General Council concerning the Peace Operation. It is expected that President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Rauf Denktas will give a speech at the special session. /Turkiye/[12] U.S. PRESSURE ON ARMENIAN ISSUEThe U.S. Administration has started to pressurize Turkey into opening up her borders to Armenia. After the Cyprus and Iraq issues, now, America wants Turkey to lift the economic embargo against Armenia. During Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit's visit to the U.S. in September, the American Administration will put forward the issues to be discussed. According to diplomatic sources, the U.S. has emphasized the negative effects of imposing an economic embargo against Armenia not only for Armenian's sake but also for Turkey's and wished the Turkish administration would open the border gate between the two countries. Claiming that the closure of the Turco-Armenian border has slowed down democratic development in the region, America asked Turkey to soften her attitude against Armenia. Meanwhile, the U.S. administration assured Turkey that the Azeri-Armenian dispute would be brought to a positive level by the end of this year. /Cumhuriyet/[13] DRUGS RAIDAt the end of the two seperate raids yesterday in Istanbul two litres of liquid hashish, two-and-a-half kilograms of pressed hashish and three kilograms of heroin were seized. According to the Istanbul Police Narcotics Squad, four people were placed under arrest suspetced of being connected with drugs' smuggling. During another incident in Avcilar, Istanbul two poeple were seized who had tried to sell drugs. /Cumhuriyet/[14] GUREL BACK TO TURKEYThe State Minister responsible for Cyprus, Sukru Sina Gurel returned home yesterday after completing his round of talks in in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). In his statement at Ercan Airport before his departure, Gurel declared that the aim was to improve Turco-TRNC relations more rapidly. He added mutual visits contributed to strenthen relations between the two countries. /Cumhuriyet/[15] 'TERRORISM WILL END IN TURKEY'Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Nationalist Action Party (MHP), Devlet Bahceli, attended a regional festival in the Pinarbasi township of Kayseri yesterday. Speaking at the festival Bahceli said that Turkey would enter the 21st century as a more dynamic country in parallel with global changes. He noted that Turkey would end the terrorism problem very soon and after that she would more rapidly and easily improve. /Turkiye/[16] FAITH CONGRESSAnatolian Culture and Arts Foundation will organize an "International Anatolian Faith Congress". It is announced that the Congress will be organized under the auspices of President Suleyman Demirel. Chairman of the Foundation Yusuf Dag said that in order to ensure the participation of Christians, they would take into consideration the 2000th anniversary of Jesus' birth while organizing the Congress. Dag added that the opening ceremony will be held on 29 June 2000 in St. Peter's Church by Pope Jean Paul III. At the end of the Congress, Haci Bektas Mosque in Nevsheir, the Mevlana Museum in Konya, churches and mosques in Istanbul, the Syrian Church in Mardin, Sumela Monastery in Trabzon, Akdamar Church in Van and Ephesus in Izmir will be visited. /Turkiye/[17] BOMB BLOWS UP IN VANLast night a bomb attack was launched on a cafe in Van. According to security sources at least 16 people were seriously injured. It was announced that most of the wounded were soldiers and the attacker was a PKK terrorist.Meanwhile, a group of PKK terrorists attacked the Turkish Petroleum Cooperation (TPAO) facilities in Adiyaman. It was announced that terrorists set a working machine on fire. /Sabah/ [18] ECEVIT: "SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM IS A MUST FOR TURKEY"Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said that if they did not implement social security reform, the State would be at a serious impasse. Ecevit added that they had studied new economic measures. Ecevit said, "We know that the recent wage increase given to the workers is not enough. However, the State cannot give more than this. We have decided to ensure that our people benefit from the Social Security Institution (SSK) in better conditions. I believe that, at present, Turkey should use her opportunity with the 57th coalition government at the helm as the three member parties of the coalition are working in agreement with each other." /Sabah/[19] SPENCER: "EU HAS NOT BEEN HONEST TO TURKEY"The Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Union (EU), Tom Spencer, said that the EU has not been honest to Turkey and added that the EU has been wasting Ankara's time frivolously for 30 years. In a statement to the American Dow Jones news agency, Spencer stated that the EU was actually not willing to accept Turkey as a member, and he confessed that the EU has been concealing its stance because of its interests in its relations with Ankara.Tom Spencer pointed out that due to the deceitful stance of the EU, some pro-European circles in Turkey have been in difficulty and said: "It would have been more honest if the EU had expressed its real aim. The best choice in this situation is to establish very close relations with Turkey, not including full membership". /Aksam/ [20] PRIVATIZATION CONFERENCEThe Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD) will hold a Privatization Conference. During the Conference to be held in Istanbul today, the State Minister responsible for privatization, Yuksel Yalova, and the Head of the Privatization Administration Board, Ugur Bayar, will deliver speeches while TUSIAD Chairman Erkut Yucaoglu will deliver the opening speech. /Aksam/[21] AUTOMOTIVE EXPORTS UPThe Foreign Trade Undersecretariat (DTM) said, while evaluating exports during the January-June period of this year, that exports in the automotive sector would experience a huge boost and reach a higher level than those in the iron-steel and textile sectors. The DTM stated that 60 % of the exports in the automotive sector was channelled towards the stable Western European market and added that positive developments in this sector would continue. /Aksam/[22] HELICOPTER TENDER WORTH $4 BILLIONThe timetable for the 145 assault helicopters worth $4 billion which will carry the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) into the next century has been determined. The final decision on the bidding will be made in February 2000. The foreign firm to be selected to jointly produce 145 assault helicopters with Turkey will be officially announced by the Defence Industry's Executive Committee during a meeting to be held in February 2000. Later, the foreign firm will begin preparations for production at Turkish Aerospace Industry (TAI) facilities which also produces F-16s in Turkey. /Hurriyet/[23] PEACE CALLS MADE BY OCALAN CAUSE REACTIONS IN THE PKKPeace calls made by the head of the PKK terrorist organization, Abdullah Ocalan, have caused some reactions in the PKK. Cemil Bayik, a PKK terrorist, declared: "Ocalan made an historic mistake with his statements. This issue will be evaluated in detail by high-ranking PKK members". Bayik also called on PKK terrorists to be ready for a more arduous war. Meanwhile, the Coordinator of the Intelligence Service organizations of the German Government, Ernst Uhrlau, said that the PKK had entered a crisis period following the peace calls made by Ocalan. He added: "A political victory by the PKK is out of the question. The PKK has been continuing with its dual strategy for a long time. While it is pursuing a strategy far removed from violence in Western Europe, it is carrying out terrorist attacks in Turkey". /Hurriyet/[24] PKK AMMUNITION IN SEAA great deal of ammunition, including many hand grenades and bullets has been found in the depths off the Dikili district of Izmir. It is reported that the hand grenades and bullets had been dropped from the ammunition store brought by the PKK terrorist organization from Mitylene Island to Turkey. /Star/[25] AMANOS BLOW TO PKKAccording to information supplied by a terrorist who has surrendered to the security forces in Osmaniye, a crack-down has been begun in the Amanos Mountains. During the operations one Kalasnikov, a lot of bullets, 16 grenades, various explosives and logistic materials were obtained. Meanwhile, yesterday night, three terorists attacked the TPAO petroleum plant in Cemberlitas, Adiyaman. Threatening the workers with weapons, the terrorists declared the terrorist organization's propaganda and then set fire to the pit cleaning machine of the plant. To seize the escaped terrorists, a wide-spread crack-down has been started by the security forces in the region. /Star/[26] TURCO-ISRAELI COOPERATION FOR FAITH TOURISMThe Israeli Ambassador to Ankara, Uri Barner, said that they are studying to bring together the private and public sectors of the two countries in order to ensure that those tourists who travel to Israel for religious reasons in the year 2000, also visit religious sites in Turkey. He also declared that they are working to double the tourism volume of the two countries; yearly 200-300 thousand Israeli tourists come to Turkey and spend 400 million dollars. Up to now, 1 million Israeli tourists, 20 percent of Israel's population, have visited Turkey. /Milliyet/[27] GELIBOLU FIRE BILL: 2 TRILLION TLWork into replanting and restoring the forested area which was destroyed by a fire in Gelibolu National Park will be begun in October. The Forestry General Director, Hasan Basri Canli, stated that the fire damage amounts to about 2 trillion TL and 400 hectares of forest area was reduced to ashes. Damping-down is still being carried out in the region. The Energy and Natural Resources Minister, Cumhur Ersumer, who inspected the works remarked that he will do everything to revitalize the forest as soon as possible as Canakkale's deputy. Meanwhile, for causing the fire, the some workers from Davutbey Ranch, Yilmaz Yorulmaz, Ozcan Ozisik, Cafer Ersoz, Ismail Kirmizigul, Ozgur Yavuz and Rustem Ozturk, will be sent to court today. /Milliyet/[28] INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTSA tri-partite tourism cooperation agreement between Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania, and an agreement concerning an exchange of military personnel between the Turkish and US Air Forces were published in the Official Gazette yesterday and went into effect. According to the agreement which envisages cooperation in tourism, the aforementioned three countries will exert every effort to develop tourism between themselves. The agreement also foresees that the three countries will assume a united stand in the world tourism market; Turkey will offer technical and training assistance to Romania and Bulgaria. In the agreement between Turkey and the US, there are basic principles for the exchange of military staff. The agreement will be valid for five years, the Anatolia News Agency reports.[29] CAKMAKOGLU TO VISIT LONDONSabahattin Cakmakoglu, National Defence Minister, will pay a three-day official visit to London today as the guest of his British counterpart, George Robertson, the Anatolia News Agency reports. Cakmakoglu will start his contacts on July 13. He is expected to return to Turkey on July 14.[30] GULER TAKES OVER TERM-PRESIDENCY OF ABNAMehmet Guler, General Director of the Anatolia News Agency, took over the term-presidency of the Association of the Balkan News Agencies (ABNA) at the 8th meeting which was held in Zdrajsh in Albania between July 9-11, the Anatolia News Agency reports.[31] YUCELEN: "TURKEY WILL BE SHINING STAR OF WORLD TOURISM"Rustu Kazim Yucelen, the State Minister and Acting Tourism Minister, said yesterday that Turkey will receive the share in tourism which she deserved with her facilities of high quality, adding: "Turkey will be the shining star of the world tourism in the 21st century". Addressing the opening ceremony of the Topkapi Palace which is the second ring of the World Of Wonders chain, Yucelen stressed that the government aims at creating a productive tourism economy, the Anatolia News Agency reports.[32] GITSOF 99 OPENSGITSOF '99 organized by the Giresun Chamber of Trade and Industry will be opened today. The Fair, the first of which was inaugurated last year, will be set up on a covered area of 1,600 square metres and an open area of 5,000 square metres at Giresun Port. The Fair attended by 80 firms will last for a week. /Aksam/[33] TOURISTS SPEND A LOT IN TURKEYAccording to a survey carried out by the World Tourism and Travel Council (WTTC), Turkey is the country where tourists spent the highest amount during their stay. The WTTC survey stated concerning the projected future expenditure of tourists in countries in 2005, Turkey ranks first with a 235 % increase in tourist expenditure. Portugal ranks second with a 116 % increase while Finland comes third with a 109 % increase. /Hurriyet/[34] AHMET RASIM PASHA'S RESIDENCE UNDER RESTORATIONThe historic Ahmet Rasim Pasha Residence along the Bosphorus Straits in Kanlica will be restored and turned into a boutique-hotel. A Turkish businessman, Mehmet Sirikci, who purchased the Residence for $2 million, said that an additional investment worth $1.5 million would be made to undertake the restoration of the Residence. /Star/[35] TURKEY RECEIVES NINE GOLD MEDALSTurkey took nine gold, 10 silver and six bronze medals in the 10th Special Olympic Games held in North Carolina, the US, the Anatolia News Agency reports.[36] PRESS CARDS GRANTED TO 245 JOURNALISTSAt a recent meeting of the Press Card Commission, the decision was taken to give press cards to 245 people out of a total of 360 applicants; of the 138 applications for permanent press cards 88 were approved, the Anatolian News Agency reported. The Commission, was headed by A. Ihsan Gogus, a journalist, on 8 June. The Commission chose Gaziantep for the site of their upcoming October meeting.[37] FINANCIAL MARKET RECOVERSAfter the meetings between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Turkey, Turkey has come close to entering political and economic chaos. Last week was very difficult for financial markets following the statements issued at the end of the meetings. The Istanbul Stock Exchange index decreased till the mid-week; however, it started to increase on Thursday and Friday. There was also a fluctuation in bond rates at the beginning of the week, but, like the Stock Exchange, it stabilized towards the end of the week. /Turkiye/[38] "WE SHOULD NOT LOSE UZBEK MARKET"The recent crisis between Turkey and Uzbekistan is effecting economic relations between the two countries. Turkish businessmen investing in Uzbekistan worry about the negative atmosphere damaging economic relations. Ahmed Demir, the Chairman of the Demir Group which has been active in Uzbekaistn for eight years, said that Turkey should not lose the Uzbek market, which has great economic potential from Turkey's the point of view. He added, "Uzbekistan is the most important bridge with China. Such a bridge will be very helpful for Turkish businessmen in reaching China." /Turkiye/[39] TURCO-SYRIAN COOPERATION IN TRANSPORTATIONA Turco-Syrian cooperation protocol in transportation went into force on Sunday with its publication in the Official Gazette. The protocol envisages bilateral cooperation in the joint development of railways, shipping and airway transportation, reported the Anatolian News Agency.[40] AGREEMENTS WITH AFRICAN COUNTRIES IN EFFECTCooperation agreements between Turkey and three African countries went into effect on Sunday, reported the Anatolian News Agency. The agreements foresee military training cooperation with Mali and Gambia and economic partnership with Ghana.[41] FOREIGN FINANCE FLOWS TO TURKEYEximbank has announced five positive developments in Turkey's access to foreign financial source. It said a loan totalling $250 million from the World Bank will be given to finance export investments and a $ 200-million credit agreement will be signed with the Japanese Eximbank next week in Tokyo to finance Turkish investors' investments in third-world countries. Foreign financing of at least $ 40 million will be ensured through borrowing, the Treasury will issue a total of $ 150 million worth of bonds after Euro borrowing and finally a bridging-credit of $ 50 million will be prepared for Turkish construction firms in Russia. /Sabah/[42] TURCO-CANADIAN COOPERATION IN DAM INVESTMENTThe State Water Affairs Directorate (DSI) will construct Cizre Dam in Mardin, Derekoy Dam in Istanbul and Laleli Dam in Erzurum with the financial cooperation of Turkey and Canadia in line with the agreement signed between the two countries last year in Canada. /Sabah/[43] GIANT INVESTMENT IN MININGThe Turkish Coal Establishment (TKI) will invest $ 150 million in the construction of an underground mechized facility in Tuncbilek Lignite PLant. Establishment. It is announced that a bid will be opened within the next few days for the construction of the facility which would be the third one after Soma and Cayirhan to be constructed in line with the "build-operate-transfer" model in the mining sector. The facility will be constructed within four years and it will have the capacity to produce four tons of coal in a year. /Sabah/[44] FROM THE COLUMNS..FROM THE COLUMNS..FROM THE COLUMNS..[45] A NARROW-MINDED POLITICIAN WOUNDING FRIENDSHIP -BY TUFAN TURENC (HURRIYET)Columnist Tufan Turenc comments on the narrow-minded policies of Massimo D'Alema damaging Turco-Italian friendship. A summary of his column is as follows:"It is a misfortune for Italy to have a narrow-minded Prime Minister like Massimo D'Alema. It is hard to understand why D'Alema is forsaking the friendship of a country like Turkey to gain that of the terrorist PKK organization. It is highly probable that, apart from a few people the Italian people cannot understand his reasons either. Turkey and Italy are two powerful countries of Mediterranean and it is in their best interests to remain friends. However, D'Alema is behaving in a hostile manner and provoking the whole of Europe against Turkey. Why does this politician take the risk of damaging the interests of his own country by defending Ocalan, the PKK and, in short, terrorism? Are some powerful European countries using him as a tool? There is no logical explanation why a responsible statesman behaves in a hostile manner towards a country with whom his country enjoys trade relations worth millions of dollars. Defending a terrorist organization and its head which have attacked the very existence of a State and killed 30,000 of its citizens cannot be considered normal, but what is unfortunate is that due to the policies of a narrow-minded politician the people of two countries are becoming foes. There are some Italians who criticise the policies of D'Alema. One of the leading historians in Italy, former Ambassador Sergio Romano, in an interview he gave to "L'Espresso" magazine cautions his friends and states that it would be an injustice to view the Kurdish crisis as equivalent to the Kosovo crisis. "Milosevic's destruction of the ethnic balance of mozaic created by Tito in Yugoslavia is something else. The present state of Kosovo is an end result of mistaken European policies... In Turkey the situation is rather different...Kurds and Turks are living together and 25% of the Turkish Parliament is of Kurdish descent. The operations in the Southeast are directed against the separatist Kurds. Romano stressed that the PKK and Ocalan, engaged in separatist activities in Southeastern Anatolia were not totally blameless and added that those who were silent in the face of the Kosovo crisis were shouting for the Kurdish problem from the roof-tops, especially the New Communist Party... "If the Italians and the Europeans want to help the Kurds they have to improve their relations with Turkey. They have to open up the door Kohl had shut in the face of the Turks and let them know that their future lies in Europe. These kinds of approaches will be more constructive, instead of reactions and threats", Romano said. This hostile stance of Italy is adopted by almost all European countries even if it is not so clearly expressed. They are all defending the terrorist Ocalan. They are zooming in on some democratic weaknesses in Turkey, which we already know and accept. Thus, they are hiding the violations of democracy within their own systems. For example, it has been stated that in England, from last April to this April, 65 people died while in custody. Police officials found this situation grave and stated that to regain the trust of the people in the police, a stop must be put to deaths while in custody." [46] AT THE DOOR OF THEIMF -BY SUKRU ELEKDAG (MILLIYET)Former Ambassador Sukru Elekdag comments on the recent economic crisis and the government's policies. A summary of his column is as follows:"Two different intertwined economic crises are taking the breath of the Turkish economy away. The first one is the chronic crisis stemming from the structural problems created by following irresponsible and illogical economic policies for years. The second one is the concurrent crisis reflected in a deep stagnation due to the global economic conditions. The misfortune of the 57th government is that it has had to fight both of them at the same time... The measures taken to overcome one of them enlivens the other... If the government had a choice on the matter, it would enliven the economy as unemployment figures are rising steadily, the standard of living is decreasing and social restlessness and reactions are increasing day by day. There is a severe bottleneck being witnessed in the production sector. However, the government cannot help the economy because if it does so, inflation will rise sky-high and the structural reforms which should be implemented as part of a stability programme would not be able to materialize. Therefore, economic recovery is closely related with finding fresh money in large amounts from abroad. The key to this is in the hands of the IMF... Therefore, Ankara has no other choice but to tighten the belt. That is why it acted in accordance with the suggestions of the IMF in determining the rise in the wages of the civil servants and workers and in the preparation of the social security reform in the face of expected social reactions. The IMF has some conditions before giving financial aid to Turkey such as speeding up privatization, reforming agricultural subsidies, acting with a financial discipline and the accepting international arbitration. If the IMF finds the performance of Turkey on these issues to be satisfactory, it will sign an agreement with Turkey in the Autumn. An agreement with the IMF may probably bring the opportunity of obtaining loans for certain projects from the World Bank. Furthermore, Ankara will be able to obtain loans from international financial markets under convenient conditions..." [47] SPECIAL KOSOVO[48] TURKISH PEACEKEEPING FORCE IN KOSOVOThe deployment of the Turkish Peacekeeping Force as part of the Peacekeeping Force in Kosovo (K-FOR) has been mostly completed. The 993-strong Turkish unit has been stationed in Dragas and Mamusa near Prizren. However, the deployment of some personnel in Kumanova and Kostendil is still on-going. A military official stated that the entire deployment would be completed by 15 July. /Aksam/[49] TWO RUSSIAN VESSELS THROUGH THE TURKISH STRAITSTwo more Russian vessels carrying part of the Russian units operating within the guidelines of the Peacekeeping Force in Kosovo (K-FOR), passed through the Bosphorus Straits yesterday. Together with the five vessels which have previously passed through the Turkish Straits, a total of 500 military vehicles and 2,000 Russian soldiers will enter Thessalonica Harbour in Greece and then go on to Kosovo by road. /Hurriyet/[50] KOSOVAR REFUGEES RETURN TO THEIR COUNTRYKosovar refugees who have taken shelter in Turkey as a result of ethnic-cleansing campaign in Kosovo continued to return to Kosovo yesterday. A total of 10,644 out of 17,746 Kosovar refugees have left Turkey from the Edirne-Kapikule border gate for Kosovo since the peace agreement which was reached on June 10, the Anatolia News Agency reports.[51] TURCO-ALBANIAN BROTHERHOOD IS A MUSTThe Kosovars in Prizren originating from Turkey said that they were very glad that the Serbian massacre has ended; however, now they are worried about a probable rise in Albanian nationalism. Chairman of the Prizren Culture and Solidarity Association Isa Kayyum said that the Albanian administration should take the Turkish minority into consideration within the new structure in Kosovo. He added that they wanted Turkey to establish a university in Prizren to educate their young people in Turkish. /Turkiye/Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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