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TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (April 22, 1996)From: TRKNWS-L <trh@aimnet.com>Turkish Press Review DirectoryCONTENTS[01] YILMAZ WARNS SYRIA[02] HABITAT TOUR BY PRESIDENT DEMIREL[03] HABITAT AGREEMENT TO BE SIGNED[04] 'MEETING IS IN AUTUMN'[05] NATO TO BE A MEDIATOR[06] UN COMMISSION ADOPTS TURKISH DRAFTS ON RACISM AND XENOPHOBIA[07] TURKEY TO SEND AID TO LEBANON[08] JOHN KORNBLUM TO ARRIVE TODAY[09] SEVEN PKK MILITANTS KILLED[10] EUROPEAN CREDIT FOR TURKEY[11] PRIVATIZATION OFFERS FROM MACEDONIA[12] FULL EU SUPPORT FOR CUSTOMS UNION[13] GERMAN SUPPORT FOR MED-TV[14] NEW DEAL WITH NORTH IRAQI KURDS[15] AUSTRIAN MINISTER FACING PKK ENQUIRY[16] SHEVARDNADZE FUND GAINS LEGAL STATUS[17] STATE TO SUPPORT SMALL AND MEDIUM-SCALE COMPANIES[18] TURKEY: A POPULAR TOURISM DESTINATION[19] GERMAN AMBASSADOR: "SPEND YOUR HOLIDAY IN TURKEY"[20] TURK-BOSNA BANK ESTABLISHED IN BOSNIATURKISH PRESS REVIEWMONDAY APRIL 22, 1996Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning[01] YILMAZ WARNS SYRIATurkey issued a warning to Syria at the highest level over the weekend and effectively told Damascus that it would "pay dearly" for supporting separatism in Turkey. The significance of the warning by Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz was that it was issued from Antakya, the capital of Hatay province over which Syria still sovereigns rights, and which is included as Syrian territory in all Syrian maps. Yilmaz, who was addressing a crowd on Saturday during the inauguration of the "Municipal Palace" in Antakya, referred obliquely to "a neighbour which is harboring those who want to divide Turkey". Yilmaz's remarks were echoed almost identically by Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay on Saturday during a parliamentary debate in Parliament about his ministry's budget."Now this neighbour will either stop actions of enmity towards us, or it will sooner or later be punished for the enmity it is displaying towards us" Yilmaz said. Going on to say that the central authorities in Turkey were trying to bring services to all corners of the country, Yilmaz accused Syria again, without naming it, of trying to disrupt this effort. /All papers/ [02] HABITAT TOUR BY PRESIDENT DEMIRELNoting that preparations were underway for the "UN Human Settlement Conference-Habitat II" to be held in Istanbul between June 3-14, 1996, President Suleyman Demirel said: "The conference will be a great success for Turkey". He walked around the Lutfi Kirdar Congress Palace being prepared as the Congress Centre, the ITU Barracks Building and the part of the Military Museum in Harbiye which has been turned into a Press Centre, and was briefed by officials. Pointing out that Habitat II would be the last 20th century UN summit and that all countries were invited to this conference, Demirel said: "The UN is holding this meeting. Turkey will be the host". Noting that 20,000-25,000 people will attend the conference, Demirel said: "Istanbul is a city of the world. There is history and culture in Istanbul. Those who come to Istanbul will know Turkey better". Stating that the construction of the Congress Palace in Maslak would be completed within the next two years, Demirel added that Istanbul will be a world finance, trade and tourism centre. /Sabah/[03] HABITAT AGREEMENT TO BE SIGNEDHabitat II Secretary-General Wally N'Dow stated that the "host country agreement" which was previously initialled in New York with Turkey would be signed in Ankara next week. Noting that there was no problem regarding the agreement, Wally N'Dow said: "People or groups registered for the conference in Istanbul will freely talk about the issues related to Habitat II. All large summits of the UN are held according to UN standards". /Sabah/[04] 'MEETING IS IN AUTUMN'While the US proposes that Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis should meet with Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz in Autumn, Turkish Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay has called upon Athens: "Let's take the first step and talk". Gonensay, who is due to meet his Greek counterpart Theodoros Pangalos in Bucharest on April 27 during a Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC) meeting, said: "I believe in the need for the Greeks to take our proposals into account and to understand that we are honest in our desire to leave behind us all our problems and that these proposals are not part of a tactical maneuver". The Turkish foreign minister's remarks were carried on Sunday by the influential Greek daily Eleftheros Typos following an exclusive interview conducted in Ankara last week. Gonensay noted that Turkey had no doubts about the ownership of the islands in the Aegean as listed in the Treaty of Lausanne and in a Turkish-Italian agreement concluded in 1932. He said the problem stemmed from rocks and islets in the Aegean that were not named in these international documents. Indicating that problems of the Aegean included arming of the Greek islands and the question of the boundaries of territorial waters, Gonensay said all of these issues were related to one another. He pointed out that none of the issues could therefore be considered in isolation and said that all of the problems should be discussed together. Gonensay said these discussions could take place at any level and added that Turkey was prepared to resort to third party arbitration in the case of problems that could not be solved bilaterally. /Milliyet/[05] NATO TO BE A MEDIATORNATO Secretary-General Javier Solana said that he was ready to mediate for the solution of disputes between Turkey and Greece. In a statement to the Ethnos newspaper published in Greece, Solana noted that NATO did not assume any stance regarding bilateral intransigences between member countries and that they would not overlook this principle for the various disputes between Turkey and Greece, as NATO-member countries. /Milliyet/[06] UN COMMISSION ADOPTS TURKISH DRAFTS ON RACISM AND XENOPHOBIATwo draft resolutions which list racism and terrorism as violations of human rights as submitted by Turkey to the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva have been adopted unanimously. The resolution on racism condemns the xenophobia that has emerged in various societies in recent years and calls on governments to take effective measures against this phenomenon. The resolution also calls for an extension by three years of the mandate of the UN's special rapporteur appointed to follow racism and xenophobia. It also categorically condemns publications and broadcasts that foment these attitudes.The second resolution, adopted unanimously by the Human Rights Commission, states that all forms of terrorism represent a violation of human rights and calls on members of the UN to cooperate in combatting this growing trend. Referring to the recent anti-terrorism summit held at Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt, the resolution said that terrorism cannot be used as a means of promoting human rights. It calls on all member states to send data on terrorism to all multinational organizations, including the UN, and said this data should be compiled by a special rappoteur and working groups into reports. /All papers/ [07] TURKEY TO SEND AID TO LEBANONTurkey will be sending a plane load of aid to Lebanon for civilians who have been affected by the Israeli operation against the terrorist Hizbollah group in southern Lebanon, the Anatolia news agency reported over the weekend. The aid consists of food, clothing and medicine and will be sent on a C-130 military transport plane, which is expected to land in the Lebanese capital in Beirut on Tuesday.//[08] JOHN KORNBLUM TO ARRIVE TODAYAsssistant US Secretary of State John Kornblum arrives in Ankara today for two days of high-level political consultations with his Turkish counterparts. While in Ankara, Kornblum will be received by Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay and will hold consultations with Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Onur Oymen. Apart from bilateral issues, Turkey's relations with Greece with a special focus on disputes over the Aegean and the Cyprus problem are expected to be high on the agenda of the talks. Kornblum will be travelling to Athens from Ankara and then to Cyprus where he will meet officials from both the Turkish and Greek Cypriot communities. /All papers/[09] SEVEN PKK MILITANTS KILLEDDuring operations in the Bozcavus rural area of Elazig-Aricak, seven PKK militants have been killed and 31 members of the PKK terrorist organization have been arrested in the region. The number of terrorists killed during the three-day operations in the region has reached 25. /Sabah/[10] EUROPEAN CREDIT FOR TURKEYThe European Council Social Development Fund has set aside in new credit for Turkey 52.6 ECU (about 65.6 million dollars). The money will be used for new housing projects, water and sewerage developments, hospitals and similar projects.Credit terms as published previously in the Official Gazette, are yearly interest rates of 7.86 % with no return payments for the first five years with payments over ten years. /Cumhuriyet/ [11] PRIVATIZATION OFFERS FROM MACEDONIAThe Macedonian government has offered Turkish businessmen the first opportunities in new privatization projects in Macedonia. Macedonia is opening its doors to foreign investment through privatization, and is offering Turkish business and trade sectors especially favourable terms. According to the president of the Istanbul Chambers of Trade, Mehmet Yildirim, credit facilities will be made available through the Eximbank. Yildirim said over the weekend that approaches had been made to Macedonia on the basis of the Eximbank credit facilities. /Cumhuriyet/[12] FULL EU SUPPORT FOR CUSTOMS UNIONThe European Union (EU) member countries have agreed that Turkey's customs union trial period can be counted as over. The EU-Turkey Mixed Consultation Committee has recommended that in view of the current situation, both sides should work to develop political and economic ties within the framework of the customs union. The committee said that it fully supported closer and stronger ties with Turkey. /Cumhuriyet/[13] GERMAN SUPPORT FOR MED-TVReports from Germany indicate that some German TV companies are lending support to the satellite MED-TV channel which is noted for its support for the terrorist PKK organization. According to the reports, the German Focus magazine group, some newspapers, Extra-TV and the Belgian ROJ film company have all produced material for MED-TV.German Teuto Tele, RTL and other TV companies have all produced film and material which tends to be pro-Kurdish in content. /Hurriyet/ [14] NEW DEAL WITH NORTH IRAQI KURDSWith the help of the US, a new new deal has been struck with the northern Iraqi Kurdish groups fighting against the PKK terrorist organization. US negotiators have succeeded in bringing Kurdish leaders Barzani and Talabani together, and it is hoped that today the deal will be sealed.The US has been working hard to bring about a peace between opposing Kurdish factions in order to stabilize the region. Kurdish groups, the PKK and even regional Turkmens have been long been caught up in clashes that have weakened regional security and even threatened the internal security of Turkey. /Hurriyet/ [15] AUSTRIAN MINISTER FACING PKK ENQUIRYThe Austrian State Prosecutor has reportedly asked Austrian Interior Minister Casper Einem about why he stopped action against PKK terrorist cells.The weekly Profil magazine gives details of the case in its latest issue, reporting that Minister Einem issued orders that enquiries into the political wing (ERNK) of the PKK should be stopped. A ministry spokesman, Andrea Hlavac has confirmed the developments and noted that legal action will clarify the situation. /Milliyet/ [16] SHEVARDNADZE FUND GAINS LEGAL STATUS"The Eduard Shevardnadze Turco-Georgian Friendship and Cooperation Fund" has been given legal status. The fund will organise conventions, festivals, concerts, trade and tourism fairs and competitions in culture, the arts, health and sports. It will open culture centers in Turkey and Georgia, organise language courses both in Turkey and Georgia and prepare projects to resolve daily economic problems between the two countries. /Hurriyet/[17] STATE TO SUPPORT SMALL AND MEDIUM-SCALE COMPANIESWithin the framework of government supportive policy towards Small and Medium-Scale Companies (KOBI) after the Customs Union, the government will meet the travelling and daily expenditures of the company representatives who attend the Euiopartenariat KOBI Cooperation Programme of the European Union (EU) organised by the Economic Development Foundation (IKV) since 1992.The Cooperation Programme foresees companies meeting in two different countries twice a year to develop cooperation in trading, technology and financial areas. Dr.Sebmen Oguz, Head of IKV Research and Projects, said that almost 600 Turkish firms had shared in the programme since 1992, and 267 companies had already signed agreements in joint investments and financial cooperation with European companies. The first meeting in 1996 will be held in June in Switzerland and the second is planned for November in Italy. /Cumhuriyet/ [18] TURKEY: A POPULAR TOURISM DESTINATIONTurkey, after Italy, ranks second among all European countries in terms of tourist bookings for the coming summer season, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday. Quoting Tourism Ministry officials, the agency said that bookings by Belgian visitors had increased 80-120 % for this summer compared to last year. The Belgian newspaper L'Echo, in a recent article, reported that Turkey had achieved a 99 % increase in bookings, and had thus emerged as the second most popular destination in Europe. The same article said that Turkey was followed by Greek Cyprus, Spain, Greece and Portugal.//[19] GERMAN AMBASSADOR: "SPEND YOUR HOLIDAY IN TURKEY"German Ambassador to Ankara Hans-Joachim Vergau has invited Germans to spend their holiday in Turkey and noted: "I also will spend my holiday in Turkey. I am planning to visit as many touristic places as possible. In Turkey I really do feel safe." In a speech at a symposium held by the Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation in Izmir, Vergau said that last year, 1.6 million German tourists visited Turkey, and added that this year the figure was expected to exceed two million. /Milliyet/[20] TURK-BOSNA BANK ESTABLISHED IN BOSNIAThe Bosnian Central Bank and the Turkey-based Kar Holding are establishing a new bank in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Turk-Bosna Bank, the first foreign bank in Bosnia, will kick-off with capital amounting to $5 million. In a statement, Faruk Berksan, member of the Kar Holding Board of Directors, noted that their aim was not to make profits, but to help the system in Bosnia work. /Sabah/ |
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