TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (July 20, 1995)

From: hristu@arcadia.harvard.edu (Dimitrios Hristu)

Subject: TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (July 20, 1995)

CONTENTS

  • [01] TURKEY SEEKING HELP FOR BOSNIA

  • [02] PARLIAMENT DEBATES BOSNIA ISSUE

  • [03] EUROPALIA HOPES LOOKING BRIGHTER

  • [04] TUSIAD WITH EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARIANS

  • [05] FOREIGN PRESS ADMIRES TURKEY

  • [06] GONENSAY VISITING US

  • [07] DEATH TOLL REACHES 70

  • [08] KARADAYI IN MACEDONIA

  • [09] PKK MILITANTS KILL WOMAN, INJURE TWO VILLAGE GUARDS

  • [10] PASTY'S VISIT SATISFIES ANKARA

  • [11] HACALOGLU CALLS ON HIS EUROPEAN COLLEAGUES TO MEET ON BOSNIA PROBLEM

  • [12] TRNC AND TURKEY MARK INTERVENTION ANNIVERSARY

  • [13] TURKISH SEVENTH MOST SPOKEN LANGUAGE IN THE WORLD

  • [14] GERMAN GOVERNMENT STATEMENT

  • [15] JOHN BROWN STUDY: "CEYHAN IS A FEASIBLE TERMINAL FOR KAZAKH OIL"

  • [16] NEW HORIZONS IN THE TURKISH AIR ZONE

  • [17] REACTION TO GREEK PRESS REPORTS

  • [18] GREEK LOBBY ACTIVE AGAINST TURKEY

  • [19] SIGNALS FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH

    •

    WITH THE COMPLIMENT OF

    DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION

    TURKISH PRESS REVIEW

    JULY 20, 1995

    Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish

    press this morning.

    [01] TURKEY SEEKING HELP FOR BOSNIA

    Turkey is exerting every effort to try and find a way out of the worsening Bosnia crisis. Ankara is bringing pressure to bear in a number of European and international organizations including NATO, the United Nations, the European Union (EU) and the Islamic Conference Organization.

    The Ankara government is trying to sway the thinking of the leading European countries, including Britain, hoping at least to halt the advance of the Serbs into the so-called "safe havens". In a move to demonstrate Turkish concern over the situation, President Demirel will fly to Bosnia tomorrow. /Sabah/

    [02] PARLIAMENT DEBATES BOSNIA ISSUE

    Debate over the Bosnia issue continues to dominate Turkish parliamentary activity. All the leading political parties are caught up in reviewing Turkish policy and assessing Turkey's role in the region. During debates, Foreign Minister Erdal Inonu said that he saw no alternative other than meeting force with force.

    Other leading speakers mostly agreed that forces presently deployed in the region had to be beefed up quickly if the situation was to be saved, and that steps had to taken to have the arms embargo lifted. Speaking for the True Path Party (DYP), Sait Kemal Mimaroglu said that the conflict in Bosnia was "a religious war."

    Representing the Democratic Left Party (DSP), Bulent Ecevit stressed that rather than withdrawing Turkish units stationed in and around Zenica, these should be reinforced to the extent needed.

    In general, the Turkish parliament supports the idea that UNPROFOR should be strengthened with a tougher mandate to protect the failing safe areas. As the safe areas fall to the Serbs, UN credibility as represented in UNPROFOR, is taking some serious knocks. Foreign Ministry spokesman Omer Akbel said yesterday that in order to improve the situation of the UN, the "mission and mandate of the UN had to be changed." /All papers/

    [03] EUROPALIA HOPES LOOKING BRIGHTER

    Following two days of talks in Brussels, hopes that the 1996 Europalia Festival will be held in Turkey have brightened. Festival director for Turkey, Bulent Eczacibasi, said yesterday that Belgian officials in Brussels had given a positive response to his proposals.

    Although a firm answer will not be given until the end of this month, Eczacibasi said that he was optimistic about the outcome of his visit to Brussels. /Milliyet/

    [04] TUSIAD WITH EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARIANS

    A TUSIAD delegation, including Halis Komili chairman of the Association of Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen (TUSIAD), Guler Sabanci deputy chairman, Aldo Kaslowski Foreign Affairs Commission chairman and Bahadir Kaleagasi TUSIAD representative to Brussels, has met with European parliamentarians in Brussels. "We believe the customs union will play an important role in helping Turkey overcome its difficulties. The customs union will realize the EU's wishes on the issues of democratization and human rights" said Komili. However, Europe is expecting concrete steps from Turkey in order to pass the customs union agreement, he added. TUSIAD will relay to Turkish Parliament members the conclusions they drew from their talks in Brussels. As the customs union is mainly an economic issue, it is meaningless for the EU to emphasize human rights and democratization so much at this point, TUSIAD told European officials. "Once Turkey joins the customs union, it will be able to solve these problems much more easily, anyway" TUSIAD assured them. The private sector was optimistic, Komili said and added that they were doing everything in their power to ensure Turkey's membership. /Cumhuriyet/

    [05] FOREIGN PRESS ADMIRES TURKEY

    The weekly women's magazine Alt For Damerne, published in Denmark, will organize a summer holiday in Mugla's Bodrum district, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday. Officials from the Tourism Ministry said that the weekly magazine had expressed admiration for Turkey and its holiday resorts in one of its articles. Meanwhile, the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahponoth recommended Turkey as a holiday destination. Officials added that this was a big boost for Turkish tourism, the agency reported.

    [06] GONENSAY VISITING US

    Chief Adviser to the Prime Ministry, Emre Gonensay, will go to Washington on 25 July in order to give a speech on Caspian oil at the International Strategic Research Institution. It is expected that Gonensay will talk about Turkey's role in the development of energy resources in the region, the importance of oil pipelines in relation to the new republics' economic and political independence, and the security of energy resources. The US and Turkish governments agree that oil pipelines should pass through both Turkey and Russia and that both countries should cooperate. /Hurriyet/

    [07] DEATH TOLL REACHES 70

    As a result of floods in Senirkent, Isparta, the death toll has reached 70. Deputy Prime Minister Hikmet Cetin held a press conference in the Prime Ministry and said that credit would be extended from the World Bank and the European Settlement Fund for the reconstruction of the town. He added that Social Solidarity and Cooperation Fund aid was continuing to be given to the homeless. /Sabah/

    [08] KARADAYI IN MACEDONIA

    Chief of the General Staff, Ismail Hakki Karadayi, has gone to Macedonia. Military sources report that Karadayi has gone on an official visit as the guest of his Macedonian counterpart Dragolup Bocinov. /Hurriyet/

    [09] PKK MILITANTS KILL WOMAN, INJURE TWO VILLAGE GUARDS

    One woman was killed and two village guards were injured by PKK militants in the Bitlis-Mutki district, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday. Military officials said that militants opened fire on a minibus, killing the woman and injuring the guards. Officials added that military operations are still continuing to eliminate PKK militants in the region.

    [10] PASTY'S VISIT SATISFIES ANKARA

    Turkey has expressed pleasure over the visit of a key Euro-MP, who said during his visit that he hoped the frozen ties between Turkey and the European Parliament would soon warm-up. Jean-Claude Pasty, who is the chairman of the 56-seat Democratic Alliance for Europe, wrapped up a three-day visit to Turkey during which he had meetings with representatives of all sides ranging from the prime minister to human rights activists. "We thought the visit of Pasty, an influential figure both in the EP and in France through his closeness to President Jacques Chirac, was a constructive one" Foreign Ministry spokesman Omer Akbel said in his weekly press conference yesterday.

    [11] HACALOGLU CALLS ON HIS EUROPEAN COLLEAGUES TO MEET ON BOSNIA PROBLEM

    Algan Hacaloglu, state minister responsible for human rights called on European Human Rights ministers yesterday to hold a meeting to discuss human rights violations in Bosnia, the Anatolia news agency reported. Hacaloglu said duing a visit to the Turkish Medical Practitioners Association (TTB) that he was going to visit Bosnia-Herzegovina in the near future. He said that people should be more sensitive to the violations going on in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

    [12] TRNC AND TURKEY MARK INTERVENTION ANNIVERSARY

    Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) are marking the 21st anniversary of Ankara's military intervention with a display of force and political resolve intended to deter a military adventure by the Greek Cypriot government engaged in an unprecedented arms buildup. To show Turkey's full backing to the Turkish Cypriot state in the event of a military threat, Turkey sent a government minister to attend the upbeat ceremonies and sent a flotilla of warships to the port of Kyrenia yesterday. Squadrons of modern F-16 jets will make fly-bys during the military parades for the first time.

    In a verbal contribution to the material display of resolve, President Suleyman Demirel assured TRNC President Rauf Denktas that "Turkey is determined to protect the rights and interests of the Turkish Cypriot people deriving from international agreements and will keep to its undertakings in this respect". Prime Minister Tansu Ciller also sent a message to Denktas, promising to visit the island "at the earliest convenient moment". In his message to Denktas, Demirel stressed that "Turkey, in line with its historical and contractual commitments, is a guarantee for the continuation of peace and stability provided by Turkey's July 20 Peace Operation". In his televised message for the anniversary, Denktas stressed the Turkish Cypriots' dependence on Turkey for their security, saying "that support keeps us standing against those who destroyed the partnership (of Turkish and Greek Cypriots in the government) in 1963 and who wanted to turn Cyprus into a Greek island. He said the Greek Cypriot government was playing its last trump card, namely its bid for EU membership, to dominate the Turks, and warned the EU that such an integration was not supported by the Turkish Cypriots and would harm the long drawn-out peace process. He called on the EU to disregard the Greek Cypriot membership application, which, he said, was null and void since it was not undersigned by the Turkish Cypriots as equal partners.

    Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP) Hikmet Cetin received association administrators, who came to Turkey due to the 21st anniversary of the Peace Operation, and said that if there had been no intervention in Cyprus in 1974, there would be the same kind of Bosnian brutalities in Cyprus today.

    Foreign Minister Erdal Inonu, in his message, said: "Turkey's basic aim for a solution to the Cyprus problem, is to protect the Cypriot Turks' legal rights and interests, the continuation of peace and stability and the acceptance of equal statutes".

    Meanwhile, former US President Jimmy Carter said that Cypriot Turks and Greeks should come together for the solution of disagreements. New British Permanent Delegate to the UN, Ambassador John Weston arrived in Nicosia to meet with Cypriot Turk and Greek officials. TRNC President Rauf Denktas received Weston and voiced the TRNC's views on the Cyprus problem. Weston said that the British government supported a just solution to the Cyprus problem in the shortest possible time. /Cumhuriyet-Milliyet/

    [13] TURKISH SEVENTH MOST SPOKEN LANGUAGE IN THE WORLD

    The importance of the Turkish language -which 300 million people speak- is not properly recognized, said Dr.Mehmet Hengirmen of the Turkish Education Centre (TOMER) yesterday in Gaziantep. "Among the 4,500 languages spoken in the world, Turkish is in seventh place" the Anatolia news agency quoted Hengirmen as saying. TOMER wants to present Turkish to the world, to teach it properly in Turkey and to establish Turkish cultural centres in other countries.

    [14] GERMAN GOVERNMENT STATEMENT

    The German government said yesterday that a total of 139 Turkish institutions including mosques, banks, travel agencies and private foundations, had been attacked in 1995 in Germany, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday. Officials said that 19 of the 139 institutions had been attacked by PKK militants and 14 by members of the outlawed DHKC (Revolutionary People's Salvation Front). German police officials also said that a German had admitted responsibility for 17 arson attacks against Turkish institutions. Right-wing violence against foreigners living in Germany has risen after unification and several Turkish immigrants have died in arson attacks.

    [15] JOHN BROWN STUDY: "CEYHAN IS A FEASIBLE TERMINAL FOR KAZAKH OIL"

    A feasibility study prepared by the Houston-based company John Brown Engineers and Constructions (Trafalgar House) found that the proposed Baku-Ceyhan pipeline would be suitable to carry Kazakh oil from the Tengiz fields to the Mediterranean, according to Platt's Oilgram News daily.

    The international consortium set up to extract and market Azeri petrol reserves has indicated that it inclining more to accepting the Baku-Ceyhan route for new overland pipeline transport systems as proposed by Turkey.

    Head of the consortium, Terence Adams, has noted however, that Turkey, Russia and Iran are deeply involved in massive competition to secure the best deals they can for themselves. He noted too, the political interest being stirred up by the Azeri petrol project. /Cumhuriyet/

    [16] NEW HORIZONS IN THE TURKISH AIR ZONE

    The Turkish Air Force is set for a major capability boost on Monday, acquiring the first two tanker aircraft from the US that will extend the range of its warplanes, according to a statement from the Turkish General Staff. The first two tanker aircraft will be delivered to the Turkish Air Force in a ceremony held on July 24 at the 4th Main Jets Base (Akinci-Ankara) and attended by President Suleyman Demirel. The two tanker aircraft have been hired for three years at a cost of $13.5 million. The two tanker aircraft are to satisfy immediate operational needs for three years until the delivery of seven tanker aircraft can be made. The next seven aircraft will cost $292 million. The aircraft contract contains every kind of logistical support, technical teaching and on-the-job training over the next three years. The KC-135R tanker aircraft have higher standards than other aircraft in the same class. They can remain operational nearly 50 years. /Hurriyet/

    [17] REACTION TO GREEK PRESS REPORTS

    The Turkish Foreign Ministry has reacted strongly to reports in the extreme nationalist Greek press -especially in the weekly "Stohos" (Target) newspaper. Stohos has again published pictures and the names and addresses of Turkish diplomats and others working in Athens.

    The newspaper has also tried to stir up problems for journalists representing Turkish newspapers and has called on the Athens government to withdraw permission "for people like these" to stay in Greece. /Milliyet/

    [18] GREEK LOBBY ACTIVE AGAINST TURKEY

    Upon a request from the Greek lobby in the American Congress, a special meeting about Turkey was held. At the meeting, representatives of the Greek lobby renewed their claims related to the Cyprus question and to violations of human rights in Turkey and demanded cuts in foreign aid and credit extended to Turkey. However, in a speech stressing the strategic importance of Turkey in the region, US Deputy State Secretary Richard Holbrooke gave a suitable reply to the false claims of the Greek lobby. Holbrooke pointed out that soon Turkey will become a member of the European customs union and stressed that Turkey was an indispensible part of Europe. /Cumhuriyet/

    [19] SIGNALS FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH

    According to the Leading Indicators Index prepared by TUSIAD, the Turkish economy has entered a period of growth. The current positive trend of constant speedy development started in January 1995, and on into the next five months. It was pointed out that this speedy development could influence the foreign trade balance. It was further stressed that in contrast to the decrease in expenditures related to special consumption and investment during the first three months of the year, in April and May 1995, the growth in the economy has resulted in an increase in both production and exports. /Sabah/

    END

    HTML by the HR-Net Group / Hellenic Resources Institute
    news2html v2.09c run on Sunday, 23 July 1995 - 18:06:52