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TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (22 Nov. 95)From: TRKNWS-L@MIT.EDU (trh@netcom.com)Turkish News DirectoryCONTENTS[01] CUSTOMS UNION COUNT-DOWN[02] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT TO VISIT TURKEY[03] BAYKAL SENDS CONDOLENCE MESSAGE TO CAIRO[04] EURO-MP: CUSTOMS UNION PREPARATIONS MADE[05] VAN POLICE REPORT 3,097 TONS OF DRUGS SEIZED IN 1994 AND 1995[06] KDP FIGHTERS KILL 20 PKK MILITANTS[07] TURCO-INDIAN CULTURE AGREEMENT[08] TURKISH TOURISM IN CD[09] RUSSIANS AWAIT TURKISH INVESTMENTS[10] HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT ON PKKTURKISH PRESS REVIEWWEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 22, 1995Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish pressthis morning[01] CUSTOMS UNION COUNT-DOWNToday the European Parliament (EP) Foreign Relations Commission will examine a report prepared by Spanish representative Carlos Carnero about customs union with Turkey.After commission deliberations a vote will be taken, and if positive, the last of the obstacles to a customs union between Turkey and the European community countries will be removed. Later votes, especially the December 13 will thus become mere formalities. Spanish EU term president Javier Solana has already seen the report and asked for a positive vote for Turkey. Yet there is still some hesitancy: comments from some EP parliamentarians suggest that although they will vote in favour of customs union with Turkey, they will do so with reservations. In the meantime, Prime Minister Ciller continues her last minute round of talks and visits as she seeks support for the union. This time she is in London for talks with her British counterpart, John Major. Although customs union will demand full attention, Ciller will also take up the issue of Med-TV, the PKK terrorist organization supported TV channel broadcast from London. Turkey has long been calling for British government action to have Med-TV closed down, but so far nothing has been done. Helping to put on the pressure as the count-down grows shorter, Foreign Minister Deniz Baykal set off for Bonn yesterday evening to start yet another tour taking in Germany, Britain, France, Spain and Italy. In general, the feeling in Europe is positive -with most votes in favour of Turkey pretty well guaranteed. Most parliamentarians seem to have given heed to term president Solana's warning that a postponement would seem like a rejection leading to what could be "very negative consequences." In response, Prime Minister Ciller promised in talks with EP Liberal Group chairman De Vries that Turkey would end the emergency rule restrictions in the southeast of the country, and continue with revisions of the constitution. In the opinion of De Vries, Prime Minister Ciller is "forward looking and courageous." /All papers/
[02] ROMANIAN PRESIDENT TO VISIT TURKEYRomanian President Ion Iliescu will pay a one-day working visit to Turkey on Thursday, the Foreign Ministry disclosed yesterday, noting that Iliescu could meet with President Demirel. The two presidents, who visit each other's country once a year, will discuss bilateral issues, developments in the Balkans and economic relations. They will also participate in a meeting of Turco-Romanian businessmen. /All papers/
[03] BAYKAL SENDS CONDOLENCE MESSAGE TO CAIROTurkish Foreign Minister Deniz Baykal sent a message of condolence to his Egyptian counterpart, Amr Moussa, to express his sorrow over the "terrorist attack against the Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad". Baykal said that Turkey, a country that has suffered much from terrorism, firmly condemned the attack. "Such attacks should never be allowed to hamper attempts for peace or to pose a threat to public order and democracy" Baykal said in his letter. /All papers/
[04] EURO-MP: CUSTOMS UNION PREPARATIONS MADEPresident Suleyman Demirel told Gis de Vries, the leader of the Liberal Group in the European Parliament, that Turkey has taken all the steps needed for the realization of customs union. De Vries said that he himself was pleased to see that all preparations had been made for customs union and he would continue his support. /All papers/
[05] VAN POLICE REPORT 3,097 TONS OF DRUGS SEIZED IN 1994 AND 1995The narcotics unit of the Van police department reported that 3,097 tons of drugs were seized in their region in 1994 and 1995. During the ten-year period from 1983 to 1993, police confiscated 1,625 tons of drugs. From January 1 to November 15, 1995, the police in Van have seized 999.2 kgs of hashish, 381.8 kgs of heroin, 27.8 kgs of base morphine and 199 litres of acid anhydride. Police officials called for the support of the region's population in the continuing battle against drug smuggling. /All papers/
[06] KDP FIGHTERS KILL 20 PKK MILITANTSGuerrillas of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) killed 20 PKK militants who attacked them in the Morize section of Barzan in northern Iraq on Monday night. The guerillas recovered ten mines, 150 hand grenades and automatic weapons after the fighting. Meanwhile, 13 PKK militants were caught by the KDP in the Shiladiz village region. In another development four KDP fighters were wounded when their vehicle was attacked by the PKK on the Batufa-Zakho road. The KDP also announced that night travel on the Dahouk-Zakho road was banned because the KDP could not maintain security after dark. PKK militants have reportedly been blocking the road and carrying out identity checks. /Sabah/
[07] TURCO-INDIAN CULTURE AGREEMENTA Cultural Exchange Programme for a three-year period was signed in Ankara yesterday evening between Turkey and India. Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Omer Akbel and Indian Ambassador to Ankara Gajendra Singh signed the programme which foresees an effective cooperation in the spheres of education, science and culture. /Cumhuriyet/
[08] TURKISH TOURISM IN CDThe first informative CD-Rom for the Turkish tourism sector was distributed at the 26th congress of the International Travel Agencies Union organized with the support of the Tourism Ministry at the Hilton Convention Centre. The CD contains photographs, regional maps and video clips about hotels, holiday villages and other facilities. /Cumhuriyet/
[09] RUSSIANS AWAIT TURKISH INVESTMENTSThe Turco-Russian Business Council is currently meeting in St.Petersburg, Russia. While the Turkish side wants Russia to remove bureaucratic red tape, the Russian side wants Turkish businessmen to bring in more capital. During this 4th Joint meeting of the Turco-Russian Business Council, activated within the structure of the Foreign Economic Relations Council (DEIK), relations between the two countries, which despite their varying levels of closeness, are being improved slowly by businessmen pushing for new opportunities. Yavuz Kilic, head of the Turkish side, said that Russian bureaucratic red tape was detrimental to the acitivites of Turkish businessmen. Head of the Russian side, Vladimir Georgievic Karastin stated that Turkish businessmen mostly carried out construction services and that the cost of all of this work could not be met by the Russian budget, therefore Turkish firms should bring in more capital. /Sabah/
[10] HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT ON PKKA new report from the "Human Rights Watch" institution, tears off the mask of the separatist PKK organization. According to the report, PKK terrorists are resorting to criminal methods including extortion and drug smuggling, to finance their weapon purchases. The organization buys most of the weapons it needs from European manufacturers, the Middle East and the former Soviet republics, the report further notes.The "Human Rights Watch" report was published just after an official "Voice of America" (VOA) radio commentary that praised the latest democratic reforms in Turkey. The US State Department sees the PKK organization as "a cruel and murderous terrorist organization", and warns that it is a threat not only to Turkey, but also to US security. /Sabah/
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