TRKNWS-L Turkish Daily News (March 19, 1996)

From: TRKNWS-L <trh@aimnet.com>

Turkish News Directory

CONTENTS

TURKISH DAILY NEWS / 19 March 1996

[01] PKK messages Turkey, toughens against Bonn

Turkish Daily News with wire services

ANKARA- As Germany tried to recover from the shock caused by rampaging supporters of Turkey's Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) over the weekend, the separatist group threatened renewed fighting if Ankara did not respond to a letter calling for a political solution.

Remzi Kartal, a former deputy from the now-banned Democracy Party (DEP) told a news conference in Nicosia on Monday that he also expected more international initiatives to promote dialogue and a peaceful solution to the 12-year rebel war, Reuters reported.

"A military conflict and solution through dialogue is not a contradiction," said Kartal, who along with five other Kurdish MPs went into self-imposed exile in Europe in 1994 when their pro-Kurdish party was shut by Turkey's constitutional court.

Ankara has accused the "parliament-in-exile" of being a front group for the which since 1984 has been battling for self-rule in southeast Turkey. More than 18,500 people have died in the fighting.

"The more the warfare develops the more there will be more developments and efforts for a solution," said Kartal, vice chairman of the executive committee of the 68-member Kurdish assembly based in Brussels.

PKK announced a unilateral ceasefire last December but have threatened to renew hostilities if attacked. Turkey has ignored the ceasefire.

The new coalition government in Turkey has a "short period of time" to determine its policy on the Kurdish problem, said Adar Serket, a member of the National Liberation Front for Kurdistan, the PKK's political wing.

"We have sent a letter to the new (Turkish) government... asking for clarification of policy, whether he (Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz) is for the military solution, the continuation of the operations or if he will be open to any dialogue," said Serket, based in Athens.

Meanwhile, the German threat to deport the demonstrators has angered the separatist group, PKK sources indicated.

German officials issued the threat after PKK sympathizers beat up police and blocked highways when the German authorities banned a Newroz new year demonstration in Dortmund.

German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel slammed the PKK in heaviest terms after police arrested some 600 demonstrators and temporarily held nearly 2,000 after violent scuffles.

Turkey, meanwhile, said that it had asked German police on many occasions to take a stronger stance against the PKK.

"What has happened in Dortmund essentially involves German authorities," Foreign Ministry spokesman Omer Akbel said. "(But) we do have cooperation on many levels with the German officials on the question of terrorism and we have urged them to be more active in their encounters with the PKK." Senior foreign ministry officials earlier said Germany will now have to show how it will abide by the recent decisions taken at the Sharm-el-Sheikh anti-terrorism summit held in Egypt.

German police said on Monday they were investigating anonymous threats to kill children in a west German town if 600 Kurds in police custody were not released by midnight.

A woman phoned several local radio stations demanding the release of the Kurds, arrested after trying to stage an illegal protest in Dortmund on Saturday organized by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' party (PKK), a police spokesman said.

Police said the woman told the radio stations that children in the western town of Eschweiler would die before the end of the day if police did not meet her demands. She also asked for five million marks ($3.4 million).

PKK sources, meanwhile told the TDN that the demonstrations in Germany had been intended to intimidate Turkey.

The same sources further claim that meetings have been held between the German government officials and the PKK organization in recent months and that the PKK members have been promised that they would not be intervened provided that they remain within legal framework.

"PKK has been showing care to remain within legal framework but obstacles erected by German difficulties against Newroz celebrations caused the tempers to boil; from now on PKK will display harsh stance against the German government as well," the sources said.

PKK has earlier threatened to increase attacks against political-military targets in urban centers at the end of the cease fire.

Claiming that the German government officials have not fulfilled the various pledges they have made during their meetings with the PKK members, PKK sources have claimed that the German government has been cooperating with the Turkish government.

PKK sources have claimed that by commencing violent actions in Germany, PKK has given a message to the Turkish government. "The government has showed that it has not taken the cease-fire serious. However PKK has evaluated the cease-fire process well and obtained strength. Its actions will be more violent.

A big blow will be dealt against Turkey particularly in the tourism field. It is inevitable for Germany not to be affected from this. It will be difficult for German tourists to go to Turkey," sources commented.

PKK's use of diplomatic channels on one side and giving signals that it will escalate violence on the other reportedly display the contradictions expected to surface when the cease-fire ends.

PKK and its supporters who continue their activities in various European countries will not be able to rid themselves the label of terrorist following the surfacing of violent actions. Therefore PKK will reportedly start an anti-propaganda against Turkey.

PKK sources have claimed that the PKK is preparing to spread propaganda by focusing that "PKK has exerted efforts for peace however the Turkish government has not taken PKK such efforts seriously. It will be the Turkish government who will be responsible for the violent acts which would come into existence from now on. PKK is carrying out acts of violence since it is compelled to do so."

[02] Demirel makes quick visit to Egypt today

By Nazlan Ertan

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- Turkey remained quiet on Monday regarding the Arab League's stance against Turkey on the water question as President Suleyman Demirel prepared for a swift visit to Egypt, which hosts the headquarters of the league.

Demirel's agenda of talks with President Hosni Mubarak is topped by the issues of water and terrorism, the two major problems in the peace-searching Middle East.

Given this agenda, it is inevitable that Turkey will complain to Egypt, a regional power, about neighboring Syria which supports Kurdish separatist terrorism and lobbies against Turkey on the water question within the Arab world.

"We will naturally say, explicitly or subtly, that Syria cannot be considered a reliable partner in the peace process unless it abandons its support of terrorism," a senior diplomat told the Turkish Daily News. "We have told this to Israel, Palestine and, now, we will reiterate it to Egypt." Ankara, which blames "Syria's lobbying" for the Arab League's anti-Turkish statements on the water question, will also raise the issue with Egypt.

"The president is expected to express Turkish sensitivity on the matter and say that the Arab League declarations, which aim to show Turkey as the side opposing dialogue, are wrong," the diplomat said.

Demirel, who gave an interview to the Middle East News Agency two days before the visit, said that Turkey was ready for dialogue with its neighbors, Iraq and Syria, on the water question.

He was referring to Turkey's tripartite talks on a three-stage plan, which envisages technical studies to find out each country's land inventory and water resources. In the final stage of the plan, Turkey proposes, if necessary, a water transfer from the Tigris (which flows through Turkey and Iraq) to the Euphrates (which flows through Turkey, Syria, Iraq, respectively). Iraq and Syria have so far rejected the plan.

Both have stepped up a campaign against Turkey on international platforms, saying that since the construction of Ataturk Dam, the backbone of Turkey's Southeast Anatolia Project (GAP), the water coming downstream in the Euphrates was polluted.

Turkey rejected the claims as "baseless and unscientific" and has, in turn, briefed Arab and Western diplomats on the question. Ankara explained, for example, that the Birecik Dam, which Syria objects to, is a regulation dam that would ensure a steady flow to Syria, which gets 500 cubic meters of water per second from the Euphrates.

GAP and the Aswan Dam

Demirel's water talks with Mubarak take place in the appropriate setting of Aswan, a city in the southeastern part of the country which is known for two large dams regulating the flow of the Nile River.

Demirel will visit the Aswan High Dam, the larger, more recent of the two and the tenth-largest in the world, after his talks with Mubarak.

The Turkish president's visit to Aswan Dam will be the manifestation of the importance Turkey attaches to the water question and the optimal use of water in the water-thirsty region.

The Aswan High Dam has transformed the historic but sleepy agricultural town of Aswan into an industrialized center and given it an important role in Egypt's economy. GAP aims to do the same in the impoverished southeast region of Turkey.

The Aswan Dam had also been a source of political controversy and its construction had been delayed until the Soviet Union financed it by loans.

Like the Ataturk Dam, the Aswan High Dam's construction also inundated several villages and threatened to destroy some archaeological treasures.

Today, the Dam has the capacity to irrigate 2 million acres of land in Egypt and 5 million acres in downstream Sudan.

Foreign Ministry restrained

Before the visit of Demirel to Egypt, the seat of the Arab League, the Turkish Foreign Ministry remained determinedly quiet on the recent statements of the Arab League on the water conflict between Turkey, Syria and Iraq.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Omer Akbel said that no statement was made as of Monday.

"It is my understanding that the ambassadors of the Arab League will draft the final statement this week. I would rather wait until I see the statement before I comment on it," Akbel told a press conference.

But the parts of the decisions that were leaked to the press were far from being pleasant for Turkey. The Arab League has asked Turkey to freeze GAP and resume it after it the water dimension of the project have been discussed fully with the two downstream countries, Iraq and Syria.

"GAP is our pride. No one can ask us to stop it," Mehmet Golhan, vice-chairman of True Path Party and a former defense minister, said in response. Golhan said that threats would only make the situation more complicated.

Given the polarization between Turkey and the Arab world, Hosni Mubarak, a leader respected in the region who also has good personal ties with Demirel, may play a calming role for both sides.

Demirel also wants to cooperate with Egypt, the host of the recent anti-terrorism summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, on creating active measures to fight terrorism in the region.

"Turkey wants to play an active role in the working group which will be formed in line with Sharm el-Sheikh decisions.

Within this framework, any concrete steps taken by the two countries will be discussed," a Foreign Ministry statement said.

The Demirel-Mubarak meeting marks the last link in the chain of Demirel's talks with various leaders of the region before he visits U.S. President Bill Clinton next week.

[03] Four out of top five profit makers are banks, survey shows

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- Four Turkish banks followed a state-run petrochemicals giant in terms of profits in 1995, according to an income survey compiled by the Anatolia news agency.

The survey put Petkim on top of the list, with profits of TL 22.7 trillion, up 469.3 percent from the previous year's TL 3.9 trillion.

Cukurova group's Yapi Kredi Bankasi came after Petkim, with TL 16.2 trillion profits last year, compared with TL 2.8 trillion a year ago.

Akbank and Is Bankasi ranked third and fourth with TL 14.7 trillion and TL 12 trillion in profits respectively.

Garanti Bankasi, owned by Dogus group, more than doubled its profits to TL 9 trillion.

Anatolia said there were 41 companies which posted profits higher than TL 1 trillion. Of those, 25 were industrial firms and 16 were banks. The profits of the 41 jumped 212.7 percent to TL 170.5 trillion last year. The majority of top profit makers, 33 of them, are listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB).

Non-bourse companies on the list are Seka, Vakifbank, IGSAS, Kocbank, Etibank, Iktisat Bankasi, Toprakbank, Sekerbank and Egebank.

Three loss makers in 1994, mass-circulation daily Hurriyet Gazetesi, state-run paper producer Seka and state mining concern Etibank, moved into the black last year. Seka, which posted a TL 5.5 trillion profit in 1995, ranked seventh. Etibank moved from a TL 5 trillion loss in 1994 to a TL 3.7 trillion profit last year. Hurriyet reported a TL 1.3 trillion profit against the previous year's TL 649 billion loss.

[04] 81st anniversary of Canakkale Victory marked with ceremonies throughout Turkey

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- The 81st anniversary of victory at Canakkale was marked with ceremonies throughout Turkey to commemorate those who gave their lives for their country.

Prominent politicians issued statements to celebrate the historic day in Turkish history.

President Suleyman Demirel said in his message that the defeat of the invading allied force was a miracle created by the determination of the Turkish people who put their country before themselves. Demirel said the victory was a monument to the indivisible integrity of Turkey throughout history.

On March 18, 1915 a combined allied fleet attempted to force its way through the Dardanelles with the aim of then taking Istanbul, thus knocking the Ottomans out of the war and opening a supply corridor for Russia. But their attempts were stopped on the shores of Canakkale by the Turkish forces led by the Kemal Ataturk, the founder of today's modern Turkey.

The March 18 celebrations now encompass not only the turning back of the allied fleet but also the victory of Turkish forces in the Gallipoli campaign.

Addressing the crowd in Canakkale's Cumhuriyet Square, Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said that he was extending Turkey's friendly hand to all neighboring countries, following the example of Ataturk's behavior after the war. He warned neighboring countries, however, saying that the countries which accepted Turkey's friendship would benefit.

Deputy Prime Minister Nahit Mentese said in his message that Turkey was announcing once more to the world that it was impossible to enslave Turkey.

True Path Party leader Tansu Ciller said in her message that the Canakkale victory was one of Turkey's values that must be protected. Ciller pointed out that if it were necessary, the Turkish nation would fight for its lands even while knowing that its sons could die.

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Alparslan Turkes said in his message that he was commemorating those who gave their lives trying to protect their lands during the war. He called the martyrs the architects of a legend.

A ceremony to celebrate the anniversary of the victory was held in Naval Forces Headquarters in the capital, attended by the Naval Forces Commander Guven Erkaya and other high-ranking officers.

In the meantime, one claim drew attention. According to Dr. Mustafa Keskin, who works in the history and literature faculty at Kayseri's Erciyes University, the number of Turks who gave their lives during the Canakkale battles was not 253,000 but 375,000. Keskin claimed that some archives covering the Canakkale battles had not yet been opened.

[05] The information revolution reaches Turkey

TDN guest writer

ISTANBUL- The Istanbul School of International Studies (ISIS) in Maslak is the venue for a ground breaking seminar in the field of Library Technology and Electronic Document Delivery.

The seminar, which will take place on 20 March at the ISIS site in Maslak starting at 9.30am, is open to all interested parties.

The meeting, organized jointly by ISIS and the British Council, will be addressed by guest speakers Dr Leona Carpenter from the British Library, Sezen Tan from the Online Computer Library Centre and Assistant Professor Bulent Karasozen from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara. With the general theme of "Electronic Document Delivery" the aim of the meeting is to increase the availability of Online Document Supply (ODS) in Turkey.

For the uninitiated ODS allows students direct access to texts kept in the world's great libraries. Accessing via the Internet students can order documents, extracts from books and other texts without leaving the comfort of their own university library.

The rise of Online access systems heralds a sea change in the way we view libraries and the way libraries view their clientele. Traditionally libraries have been based on large centralized collections, available on limited access to a select group of `readers'. The dawn of the Information Superhighway has given these `collections' the opportunity to offer greater service to a far wider market. The modern, access based library has the reader as the centre, sitting in front of a computer screen, selecting, retrieving and paying for information via the Internet from as many such institutions as necessary. The format of the information too is changing; away from whole books and whole documents. Users can specify chapters and sections.

ISIS librarian and joint organizer of the seminar, Serdar Katipoglu, points out that online access systems are ideal for countries like Turkey which do not have a strong library tradition. With the number of published scientific articles doubling every 16 years and increased financial pressure, online access systems offer a convenient way to provide access to `high' level material which would otherwise be unavailable.

Turkey, he explains, has a tradition as an importer of information but a very poor record as a provider. He feels that a national database would help students in other countries to access information about Turkey and would constitute an important national resource.

ISIS, with sites in Maslak and Baltilimani, is a private college offering degree courses validated by Portsmouth University and the London School of Economics. Anticipated changes in the law, delayed by the recent election, will allow it to operate as a private university within the Turkish education system.

High tech library facilities on campus include unrestricted student Internet access. An ISIS home page available on the net at http://www.bilgi.edu.tr/ contains information on both campus facilities and staff. The site is soon to be expanded to give ore extensive coverage of the English teaching programme and plans are afoot to introduce student online discussion groups and Internet based project work for improving student's English. Both techniques have been tried in other countries but are still very much in their infancy.

Sharm-el-Sheikh summit opens new horizons in fight against terrorism

Terrorist organizations are utilized as another arm of foreign policy against enemy neighbor countries.

[06] With this summit a serious step has been taken to halt this threat

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- The slogan "Peace will be victorious," reflects the soul of "World Terror Summit," which was held in Egypt last week. This statement of U.S. President Bill Clinton in his opening speech was reflected as a common demand of the 29 Muslim, Christian and Jewish presidents or prime ministers.

The meeting was important because it showed that the time has come to turn the fight against terrorism from a national fight into an international battle.

Another point of view on the reasons for the summit is that the initiative was just an American show of strength that was held to frighten radical administrations which give actual or tacit support to terrorists in the Middle East and therefore hurt the interests of the United States, Israel and West.

Why did all these countries come together? The participants have very different aims, ideologies, and until recently were at each others throats. What made them decide, with only a few days notice, to drop everything for an Anti-Terrorism conference?

1- Whatever the reason, terrorism is a distinct threat to most of the participants.

2- The globalization we see in the fields of law, science, technology, life style and values has resulted in a civilization mentality. Terrorism is a direct threat to this new civilization.

3- Today's terrorist organizations use the latest technology, making the detection and destruction much too difficult for states acting on their own.

4- The globalization of terrorism has made it increasingly difficult to defeat terrorist organizations. These groups are often based in neighboring countries, which give them a safe base in which to train, organize, store arms and then attack the country or system they are fighting against.

5- There is a definite lack of definition when it comes to exactly what is terrorism or who is a terrorist. One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. A civil war to one is an insurgency to another. This confusion has allowed terrorists to act much more freely. The need for an internationally accepted definition of terrorism has finally arose.

A summary of the wishes of the participants at the summit in Egypt last week:

- That terrorism should not be evaluated by its aims, targets or the cases it puts forward. In most cases the anger that terrorists have is real, and to them justifiable but this is not an excuse to go out and commit crimes against humanity. It only makes the problem more intractable. For this reason, terrorism should be defined in respect to methods, not reasons. Making politics with weapons and reaching strategical targets by frightening and killing innocent people cannot be accepted or supported in any way.

- There are countries in which terrorist organizations take shelter. The regimes of such countries are mostly anti-democratic. They rule thanks to pressure and violence, and they do not give accounting to the public. For this reason, the public does not know what the administration is doing.

The foreign policies of these countries, living under "emergency rule" conditions, are adapted "against enemies" and almost the whole world is their enemy. When the outer world is perceived like this, every method is permissible in struggling against enemies. Terrorist organizations are utilized as another arm of foreign policy against enemy neighbor countries.

With this summit a serious step has been taken to halt this threat. an arm of their foreign policy will be condemned by the international community and sanctions and economic blockades will be applied.

Russian Federation President Boris Yeltsin defined terrorism as "murderousness" and proposed that the international cooperation for the fight against terrorism be organized under the structure of United Nations. He claimed as the main reason for his proposal that terrorism recognizes no borders.

The Israeli Prime Minister said that there was a name and address for terrorism -- Iran.

- It was stated that the fight against terrorism could not be won by weapons alone. The fight requires multidimensional methods, and the necessity of reaching an agreement on them was emphasized. "Terrorists should see that they give nothing more than pain and desperation," said President Clinton. But, he forgot to say that there are poisonous flowers on the pain and desperation fields of terrorists. They grew up with blood and they need to be fed with blood.

- One of the Turkish proposals was the establishment of a "Strategical Research and Data Collection Center." This center will be formed with contributions from member countries. It is foreseen that each country will present information and data about mafia and terrorist organizations in their respective countries to the center. The available information will emphasize how terrorists work, which routes use countries, where they obtain support and where they take shelter. The aim is to monitor terrorism on a global basis, not just a national one.

Monitored terrorists can be captured thanks to international cooperation when they attempt to travel between countries. The resources of weapons and other materials they use will be determined and the states or organizations that provide the materials will be called to account.

- Once the location of terrorists is determined, extradition will be demanded.

- Terrorism is a means of political threat and black mail. Its effect is like a bee that stings a huge creature and makes it mad. The angry and suffering creature can destroy many things while running after the bee. For democratic countries having to introduce "martial law" conditions and the curtailment of human rights in order to chase terrorists is just what the terrorists want. If the public is treated badly, the terrorists reactions seem more reasonable. It becomes a matter of resistance or self-defence of victims against a cruel and violent administration. This message is for all countries which see and continue the struggle against terrorism only in the dimension of public order.

If there is a final word for this summit and for this article, it is that terrorism has become a fact that has gone beyond national borders. It threatens the common values of humanity.

Nations, especially respectful to human values, should act jointly against this threat. They should not only mention their intentions but also be organized. It is not possible to achieve 100 percent success against terrorism. It can only be extinguished little by little, like a fire. Terrorist organizations should be prevented to effect social groups and gain support. The lure of their message "we will voice your problems and find solutions," must be blunted. So, terrorist organizations will be out of representative political organs and will be described only by their methods: With their murders...

[07] Kurdish 'parliament' meeting casts shadow between Turkey and Denmark

ANKARA- The meeting of the so-called Kurdish parliament-in-exile in Copenhagen last week cast its shadow in bilateral ties between Turkey and Denmark.

"We are going to call the ambassador of Denmark to the Foreign Ministry in the coming days and reiterate our displeasure," Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Omer Akbel said.

Turkey has expressed its displeasure over the meeting in Copenhagen on March 11, two days before the meeting convened.

However, Denmark replied that the convention of such a meeting did not require the permission of the government. Moreover, Copenhagen reiterated that it considered the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) a terrorist organization.

Turkey maintains that the Kurdish parliament-in-exile is, at its best, the arm of the PKK or, at worst, the two organizations are the very same.

The parliament, which meets every three months, soured Turkey's relations with the Netherlands by holding its first meeting there. Ankara reiterated by withholding its ambassador, but the ties have been patched up since then.

Turkey's ties with Denmark, on the other hand, have been sensitive ever since Copenhagen allowed the opening of an office of ERNK, the political wing of the PKK.

"It is obvious that Turkey is going to distinguish between the countries (who do not take a stance against terrorism) and those who do," Omer Akbel, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said, but refrained from citing specific measures that could be taken against Denmark, which is already black-listed as a military equipment supplier.

"Our reaction has been strong and will be pursued," he said.

Turkey has condemned the beginning of the Kurdish parliament-in-exile's meeting with strong language, saying that Copenhagen must do more than declare the PKK a terrorist organization.