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Turkish Press Review, 97-02-07Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>CONTENTS
TURKISH PRESS REVIEWFEBRUARY 7, 1997Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning.[01] ERBAKAN: TURKEY WANTS NATO TO BE STRENGTHENED AND IMPROVEDPrime Minister Necmettin Erbakan told visiting NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana that Turkey, a reliable member of NATO, wants a strengthened and improved alliance. Both Solana and Erbakan indicated that 1997 would be an important year because serious decisions would be taken concerning world peace and European defense.Solana met with Turkish Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller late on Wednesday. Afterwards, Foreign Ministry spokesman Omer Akbel said the Turkish side had stressed the linkage between the expansion of NATO, of the European Union, and of its defense arm, the Western European Union (WEU). On Thursday, Solana met President Suleyman Demirel and later Parliament Speaker Mustafa Kalemli. Solana also visited Defense Minister Turhan Tayan and Chief of General Staff Ismail Hakki Karadayi. Before his meeting with Solana, Tayan said that Turkey's positive attitude towards the alliance had led to friendly and stable relations between this country and NATO. Speaking at an airport news conference before his departure on Thursday, Solana repeated his belief that Turkey would not link its approval for NATO expansion to its closer integration with the EU./Sabah/ [02] EXCHANGE OF GUNFIRE IN CYPRUS BUFFER ZONEClashes erupted between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot soldiers early on Thursday along the island's Akincilar buffer zone after Greek Cypriot soldiers attempted to pull down the Turkish flag.The assault is the third in two weeks by the Greek Cypriot side, prompting a protest to the U.N. Peace Force and a call for stricter measures against assaults on Turkish Cypriot territory. United Nations forces in Cyprus launched an inquiry into the shooting incident on Thursday morning, U.N. officials said. Spokesman Waldemar said the force had information that shots had been fired by both sides, adding there were no immediate reports of injuries. Yiannakis Cassoulides, a Greek government spokesman, denied suggestions that the army had been involved in any incident and said police had no information of civil injuries. Ankara condemned the assault, dismissing it as another link in the chain of events initiated by the Greek Cypriots over the past months. Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Tansu Ciller said that the incident demonstrated that the provocative acts by the Greek Cypriots were designed to increase tension on the island. She added that the borders of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus were under the security of Turkey. /Sabah/Milliyet_ [03] DEV-SOL LEADER SENTENCED TO FOUR YEARSThe leader of the out-lawed leftist organization Dev-Sol, Dursun Karatas, on trial in absentia in France, has been given a 4-year prison term by a French criminal court. Karatas was found guilty of crossing into France from Italy with illegal identification papers and committing terrorist activities in France./Cumhuriyet/[04] ETHNIC TURKS IN WESTERN THRACE GET ROUGH TREATMENTAn ethnic Turkish parliamentarian for the district of Western Thrace in Greece has been sentenced to 12 months imprisonment having been found guilty of promoting separatism and of spreading false news. Ahmet Faikoglu, from Iskeche in Western Thrace, was found guilty of promoting separatism by the High Court of Larissa for having reportedly said that "Western Thrace belongs to Turkey." Faikoglu denied the charges saying he had been slandered.Meanwhile two mosques in Western Thrace were vandalized on Tuesday, during the Muslim night of Kadir, announced the Western Thrace Turkish Solidarity Organization (WTTSO). The organization also said that on Thursday night protestors threw stones at houses owned by ethnic Turks./All papers/ [05] TURKEY ON THE WAY TO EU MEMBERSHIPThe message that Turkey would veto NATO expansion eastwards, clearly conveyed to NATO Secretary General Javier Solana during his two-day visit to Turkey, seems to have opened the way for including Turkey in the list of EU candidate member-countries. According to news appearing in Cumhuriyet daily newspaper, there are prospects for including Turkey in the list of EU candidate-member countries on the eve of the Amsterdam EU summit scheduled for June. Including Turkey in the list of EU candidate countries will probably relax the controversial situation because the EU summit will be held just prior to NATO meeting in July when expansion of the alliance is planned to be taken in hand. /Cumhuriyet/[06] CILLER: "WE WILL DO WHAT WE HAVE TO ABOUT BAGHERI"Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller said that a speech made by Iranian Ambassador Bagheri in Ankara was "intolerable". In a statement following an evaluation meeting at the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Ciller recalled that Turkey had reacted to the speech immediately, and the ambassador had been summoned to the Foreign Ministry and reprimanded. Pointing out that the reaction of the ambassador had further increased the tension, Ciller said: "The Consul-General of Iran in Istanbul also delivered a speech which now requires a new evaluation. The Turkish Foreign Ministry is investigating this matter. These officials should respect the laws of every country within the framework of international agreements". /Sabah/[07] THY RANKS FIRST IN EUROPEIn the Association of European Airlines (AEA), which has a total of 23 members, Turkish Airlines (THY) was ranked first last year with a 20.2 % increase in the rate of air traffic. According to a statement made by the AEA, the number of passengers increased by 7 % last year and reached 148 million. Officials have noted that the increase in passenger traffic on non-European routes was very high especially in November and December. While the rate of reservations rose from 70.1 % to 70.4 %, this rate in THY was 75 %. /Hurriyet/[08] BOSNIA-STYLE SOLUTION FOR CYPRUSThe Washington administration has again confirmed that finding a solution to the on-going Cyprus problem will be one of the main issues to be resolved this year. US government officials have also suggested that a solution along the lines of a Bosnia type agreement could be reached.Britain's noted Financial Times newspaper also noted yesterday that more effort will be made to bring the two leaders on the island together for a new round of talks prior to setting up a new agreement. /Cumhuriyet/ [09] IMKB TO OPEN TO ABROADThe Istanbul Stock-Exchange Bourse (IMKB), aiming to make Istanbul an international finance center, will start trading activities in the International Stock-Exchange Free Zone by the end of February. Murat Polat, chairman of the IMKB said that all the necessary preparations had been completed. He stated that Turkeuro bonds would come on the exchange market and added that in the market there would be provision for the transaction of not only domestic companies share certificates, but also foreign certificates and investment funds. Foreign funds will also be sold in Turkey. Polat noted that foreign investors and revenues earned from the market would be exempted from tax./Cumhuriyet/[10] IMF: NO CRISIS IN THE OFFINGAccording to IMF officials, no new crisis in the Turkish economy is expected to flare up this year. Pleased with the results of State Minister Fehim Adak's visit to Washington last month, IMF representatives have expressed their readiness to extend support to Turkey. According to IMF specialists, implementation of structural reforms, closing the deficit gap and lowering inflation are issues that should be given priority by the Turkish government.IMF officials said they were eager to see the results of the new economic policies being implemented in Turkey. An IMF delegation will visit Turkey in March. /Sabah/ [11] FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES TOTAL $16.7 BILLIONForeign exchange reserves in the Central Bank reached $16.7 billion at the end of January. According to Central Bank data, foreign exchange reserves, which were $16.491 billion at the end of last year, increased by $168 million and totalled $16.7 billion on 31 January.According to data obtained on 17 January, the share of the commercial banks in total gross reserves amounted to $9.136 billion, and gold reserves in the Central Bank totalled $1.4 billion. /Hurriyet/ [12] 90 MILLION DOLLARS PAID OFF FOREIGN DEBTDuring the first few days of this month an 89.92 million dollar slice was paid off the foreign debt. 81.13 million dollars was paid off by the Treasury, 8.67 million by the Central Bank and 0.12 million by other public sector institutions.During the month of January, 448.95 million dollars was paid off the foreign debt. /Cumhuriyet/ NOTES: Because of the holiday period extending into next week, the Turkish press Review will not be published on either Monday or Tuesday. END Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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