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Turkish Press Review, 96-10-03Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>CONTENTS
TURKISH PRESS REVIEWTHURSDAY OCTOBER 3, 1996Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning[01] PARLIAMENT SPEAKER RECEIVES WEU CHAIRMANParliament Speaker Mustafa Kalemli yesterday told Sir Dudley Smith, chairman of the Western European Union (WEU) Assembly, that he was most uneasy about Turkey being only an associate of the Union instead of a full member. Smith said that they had proposed granting full membership to Turkey, but it had not come about. He also expressed his belief that Turkey, a loyal member of NATO, would in the end become a full member. Noting that there were groups making things difficult for Turkey, Smith said: "My idea is that a Europe without Turkey is weak and open to danger. Turkey should be a natural member of the WEU".Kalemli, agreeing with Smith, said it was double standards not to give Turkey, a NATO member, full membership of the WEU. Noting that full membership of of the WEU requires membership of both NATO and the EU, Kalemli said that some EU members had only observer status in the WEU, making the requirements controversial. Sir Dudley Smith later visited Chief of General Staff Gen.Ismail Hakki Karadayi. /All papers/ [02] OYMEN: "FRANCE HAS NO WORRIES ABOUT TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY"Onur Oymen, Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary, ruled out any concern France had toward present Turkish foreign policy. "My French colleagues expressed no concern with the direction of Turkish policy nor with the political situation in Turkey" Oymen said after his eight-hour-long talks with his French counterpart Bertrand Dufourque.Oymen, who held seven-hour-long talks with both French diplomatic and economic circles, told journalists that he had covered a wide issue of interests from Turkey's relations with the EU to overcoming the inequality in France's favour in the volume of foreign trade. Oymen said that he expressed to the French side the Turkish criticism of a recent European Parliament resolution which blocked EU financial assistance to Turkey. "The French do not think so differently from us either" he said. Oymen reportedly discussed with his French counterpart -whom he first knew when both were ambassadors in Germany- the Turkish desire for full membership in the EU. Both sides have to take the necessary steps for the progressive relationship between Turkey and the EU, Oymen said, adding that the Turkish bid for full membership in 1987, which was foreseen by the 1963 Ankara agreement, was still valid. He also said that France and Turkey shared similar views on the territorial integrity of northern Iraq and the future of Operation Provide Comfort, a multinational force which consists of members from France, Turkey, the US and Britain. The undersecretary said that there had been no points of tension between the two countries and there were similar views and concerns on the situation in Russia and Caucasia. French Foreign Minister Herve de Charette is expected to make a visit to Turkey in the near future. /All papers/ [03] AFGHANISTAN WARLORD DOSTUM ASKS TURKEY FOR MORAL SUPPORTGeneral Rashid Dostum of Afghanistan, warlord leader of a northern Afghan militia, has asked Turkey for moral support, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Omer Akbel said yesterday at his weekly press conference. Dostum, of Uzbek origin whose forces stand between Taleban-controlled areas and Central Asia, received an ultimatum from the Taleban to withdraw his units. On Tuesday, however, the Taleban seemed to be backing down from a confrontation with Dostum's well-entrenched forces with the acting Taleban foreign minister disowning the ultimatum."Dostum is one of the forces with whom we had direct diplomatic relations. The Turkish Consulate in Mazar-i Serif is under the protection of Dostum's forces" Akbel said. In the past Dostum has visited Turkey and met with President Suleyman Demirel. Akbel repeated Turkey's willingness to host a peace conference between rival Afghan groups. Meanwhile, Afghanistan Ambassador Seid Zahir Sah visited Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan and Foreign Ministry officials yesterday. Sah said that he was not requesting asylum and reiterated his hopes for peace in Afghanistan. /All papers/ [04] TURKEY AND GREECE WARNED ABOUT CYPRUS ISSUEAs the autumn elections draw closer in the US, the Clinton administration has begun to exert more pressure against Turkey and Greece in an effort to resolve the Cyprus question.Both Ankara and Athens have been warned about prolonging the tension between the two communities on the island. The US has reportedly called on Greece and Turkey to sign a "gentleman's" agreement to stop provocative fighter plane flights over the opposing two groups on the island. To add to the pressure, the US has stressed that if the sides do not comply with US proposals, it will get the European Union (EU) to block Cyprus moves to join the Union. The message to Ankara however, is that if the Turkish side refuses to get in line then the US will push for the Greek community's entrance into the EU without reference to Northern Cyprus. /Cumhuriyet/ [05] PKK ATTACKS POLICE STATIONPKK terrorists yesterday fired at random on a polce station in the area of Caldiran near Van. During the fighting, three terrorists were killed.Over in Diyarbakir, the local village head of Silvan was killed in another terrorist attack. /Sabah/ [06] TURKISH DRUG SMUGGLERS SENTENCED IN HOLLANDFour Turks have been sentenced to 3-10 years of hard labour for smuggling drugs into Holland. The Rotterdam Criminal Court heard that the four Turks had smuggled at least 100 kilos of heroin into Holland over a period of two and a half years using TIR trucks. /Sabah/[07] TURKEY GETS MEDA CREDITThe EU has approved three Turkish projects which will cost a total of ECU 18.3 million which will be realized in accordance with the Mediterranean Economic Development Aid (MEDA) programme. The first is an Agriculture Ministry project costing ECU 14 million, 71 % of which will be funded by the EU. The project aims to improve food control and envisages the foundation of 39 food laboratories. The second project will cost ECU 4.7 million and will be implemented by KOSGEB, a directorate of the Ministry of Industry and Trade which specializes in the promotion of small- and medium-scale enterprises. The project aims to support developments in the industrial sector and 64 % will be financed by the EU.The last project, the Jean Monnet Scholarship programme, aims to provide scholarships at the postgraduate level for students who want to study in the EU. /All papers/ [08] IRAQ SAYS SECURITY ZONE MEANS BLOOD WILL SPILLIraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Sahaf has said that if Turkey forms a security zone in northern Iraq blood will be shed. Al-Sahaf made the statement to his Turkish counterpart, Tansu Ciller, while they were in New York for the recent UN General Assembly meetings. Adding to the threat of bloodshed, he said that Turkey's struggle against terrorism could not be won by incursion into Iraq. "We cannot accept a security zone in Iraq. This is not only a strategic mistake but also amounts to murder" said the Iraqi Foreign Minister.Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Omer Akbel said at a press briefing yesterday that Turkey should not need permission from any country to protect its own borders. Akbel indicated that, owing to the power vacuum in northern Iraq, Turkey had border security problems. He said that the Baghdad government and Mesut Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), presently in control of northern Iraq, had accepted the validity of Turkey's security needs. "Everyone agrees that there is a security problem at the (Turkey-Iraq) border. Terrorist attacks against Turkey should be stopped, however, there are some differing opinions on how to ensure all of this" Akbel said. /Cumhuriyet/ [09] TURKEY TO RAISE $2 BILLION IN FOREIGN EXCHANGE BONDSDeputy Prime Minister Tansu Ciller said yesterday Turkey would raise $2 billion through issuing foreign currency-denominated bonds by the end of this year. "In the first auction $1.2 billion entered into Turkey from the accounts of Turkish banks abroad. There is another $2 billion more which will come by the beginning of next year" Ciller said. Ciller noted that the government aimed to extend short domestic borrowing maturities by issuing foreign exchange bonds. "Our average (domestic) borrowing maturity is 4.5 months. It is seven years in the EU. Our problem is not the level of debt stocks but its short maturity structure" Ciller added. /All papers/[10] STATE MINISTER SOYLEMEZ CONFIDENT ABOUT IMF SUPPORTState Minister Ufuk Soylemez has said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would support Turkey's stability programme. Soylemez, in Washington to attend the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, held a press conference for Turkish journalists yesterday.Speaking of this meeting with Muhammed Ali, chairman of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Soylemez said they agreed upon a new credit line for small- and medium-scale enterprises. He also added that an IDB mission would visit Turkey next months to discuss new cooperation possibilities. Soylemez said that he had also met with IMF Deputy Director Stanley Fisher. Acting chairman of the Privatization Administration, Ismail Hakki Karadayi, said the World Bank was impressed by the steps taken in privatization and would consider the new credit demands. /All papers/ [11] NUMBER OF TOURISTS INCREASESIn the January-August period of 1996, the number of tourists who visited Turkey increased by 10.7 % compared to the same period of last year. According to the State Institute of Statistics (DIE), 5,657,290 tourists visited Turkey in the said period this year, while 5,112,515 tourists came to Turkey in the corresponding period last year. 72.6 % of those who visited Turkey this year preferred to travel by air, 16.1 % by road, 10.3 % by sea and 1 % by train. /Cumhuriyet/END Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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