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Turkish Press Review, 98-09-29
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
29.09.98
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] TURKEY HANDS NOTE TO ITALY
[02] ERSUMER VISITS BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
[03] TURKISH-EU STRATEGY
[04] TURKISH REPRESENTATIVE IN GERMAN ASSEMBLY
[05] SUMMIT ON STRUGGLE AGAINST TERRORISM
[06] CEM IN CANADA
[07] 13 PEOPLE TAKEN INTO CUSTODY
[08] US REPLIES TO TURKEY
[09] 100 BUSINESSMEN TO VISIT EGYPT
[10] TURKISH DELEGATION IN WASHINGTON
[11] FIRST FINANCE FAIR IN TURKEY
[12] TURKISH,SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS COUNCILS HOLD MEETING
[13] PERINCEK IN PRISON
[14] FIRST MESSAGE TO TURKEY
[15] ECEVIT: "IRAN PROVOKES PKK"
[16] TURKEY-GREECE TOGETHER IN NATO EXERCISES
[17] ANKARA REACTS AGAINST WASHINGTON
[18] PRIME MINISTER YILMAZ IN MEXICO
[19] ATATURK DOCUMENTARY BEGINS FILMING IN LONDON
[20] THE GUARDIAN: "TURKS SNUB WEST OVER N.IRAQ"
[21] NATO CRISIS MANAGEMENT MEETING UNDERWAY
[01] TURKEY HANDS NOTE TO ITALY
Turkey has handed a note to Italy, which has given permission for
a meeting of the so-called Kurdish Parliament in-exile in Rome
following initiatives of ERNK which describes itself as the
political wing of the PKK separatist terrorist organization, with
a group of Italian parliamentarians. Turkish Foreign Minister
Ismail Cem sent the letter to his Italian counterpart Lamberto
Dini and said that allowing the meeting of the so-called Kurdish
Parliament would only mean further encouraging terrorism. Cem
added: "It is not in line with friendship and alliance. This
meeting will deteriorate Turkish-Italian relations".
Turkish Parliament Speaker Hikmet Cetin also sent a letter to his
Italian counterpart Luciane Violante expressing views similar to
those of Cem. Cem and Cetin said in their letters that the
meeting of the Kurdish Parliament should not be permitted to be
held today in Rome. Inal Batu, Turkish Ambassador to Italy has
held talks with high-level Italian officials in order to convey
Turkey's deep concern over the meeting. Italian Ambassador to
Ankara Massimiliano was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry
last week and a protest note regarding the meeting was handed to
him. Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit has also
criticized the meeting of the so-called Kurdish Parliament
in-exile. /Sabah/
[02] ERSUMER VISITS BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Cumhur Ersumer and an
accompanying delegation went to Bosnia-Herzegovina yesterday for
a three-day visit on the invitation of Prime Minister of the
Bosnia-Herzegovinian Federation, Edhem Bicakcic.
According to a written statement made by the Energy and Natural
Resources Ministry, Ersumer will meet with many high-level
officials including co-premiers of Bosnia-Herzegovina Haris
Slajdzic and Edhem Bicakcic. During the visit, a memorandum
accord, which comprises mutual cooperation opportunities in line
with the joint interests of the two countries in the energy
sector and a protocol for an exchange deal for natural gas
between the Directorate-General of the Turkish Pipelines
Transportation Joint Stock Company (BOTAS) and the
Bosnia-Herzegovinian Gas Company will be signed, the Anatolia
news agency reported yesterday.
[03] TURKISH-EU STRATEGY
A report on the "Development Strategy for Turkish-European Union
(EU) Relations" prepared as a result of studies which lasted for
seven months under the coordination of State Minister Sukru Sina
Gurel has been sent to Brussels. According to a list in the
report, EU commitments for credits and grants towards Turkey
total ECU 2.8 billion. The report notes that financial
cooperation between Turkey and the EU should be reviewed. /Sabah/
[04] TURKISH REPRESENTATIVE IN GERMAN ASSEMBLY
Ekin Deligoz (27) joined the German Federal Assembly when the
Greens Party won 5.9 % of the votes in the Baverian province of
Germany during the German general elections on Sunday. Deligoz
said in a statement to Sabah daily newspaper that he wanted a
seat in the Youth Commission of the Federal Assembly. /Sabah/
[05] SUMMIT ON STRUGGLE AGAINST TERRORISM
A summit on the "Struggle Against Smuggling and Organized Crime"
led by the Directorate-General of Security started yesterday in
Istanbul. Fifty-two representatives from 11 countries including
Germany, Holland and Belgium and 40 representatives from Turkey
are attending the meeting. Head of the Department for the
Struggle Against Smuggling and Organized Crime Emin Arslan said
in an opening speech that international cooperation must be
achieved in the struggle against organized crime. Arslan added:
"We know that narcotics are one of the most important financial
resources of terrorist organizations. 40 % of the drugs seized in
Europe have been confiscated with the help of Turkey". Arslan
also noted that Turkey was a signatory to all UN agreements
regarding the struggle against drug smuggling. /Sabah/
[06] CEM IN CANADA
Foreign Minister Ismail Cem met with his Canadian counterpart
Lloyd Axworthy yesterday in Ottowa, the capital of Canada, where
he has gone for an official visit. During the meeting, steps for
the further development of bilateral relations between the two
countries were taken up. /Sabah/
[07] 13 PEOPLE TAKEN INTO CUSTODY
A total of 13 people, who laid bombs in the Yenibosa-Aksaray
subway, were taken into custody during operations in the Esenler,
Gaziosmanpasa and Okmeydani districts of Istanbul. /Cumhuriyet/
[08] US REPLIES TO TURKEY
The US State Department has stated that Turkey's concerns over
the "establishment of a temporary administration" foreseen in an
agreement signed in Washington between the two Kurdish groups
conflicting in northern Iraq are understood. According to a
statement made by the US Press Counsellor in Ankara, US Secretary
of State James Rubin evaluated the issue on Friday. Rubin claimed
that the agreement signed between the two Kurdish groups was in
line with the 1996 Ankara process which supports the territorial
integrity of Turkey and other countries in the region. Rubin
stressed again that the US administration views the PKK as a
terrorist organization. /Cumhuriyet/
[09] 100 BUSINESSMEN TO VISIT EGYPT
A 100-member Turkish businessmen's delegation will leave for
Egypt in October to promote Turkish export products there. The
Turkish businessmen's visit organized under the coordination of
the Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade (DTM), will take place
between October 16-19, the Anatolia news agency reports.
[10] TURKISH DELEGATION IN WASHINGTON
Joint annual meetings of the World Bank and the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), will start today in Washington. The meetings
will last until October 8. A delegation headed by Gunes Taner,
State Minister responsible for the economy, will represent
Turkey. Besides attending the meetings, they are expected to hold
meetings with senior administrators from international investment
institutions. /Hurriyet/
[11] FIRST FINANCE FAIR IN TURKEY
The first finance fair to be held in Turkey will be held between
November 19-22 in Tepebasi Tuyap Exhibition Centre in Istanbul.
During the fair, firms, active in the finance sector, will have
an opportunity of promoting themselves directly. In addition to a
"finance summit", a series of meetings on the stock exchange,
banking and finance will be held during the fair. /Hurriyet/
[12] TURKISH,SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS COUNCILS HOLD MEETING
At a meeting jointly held by Turkish and South African Business
Councils yesterday, ways to improve commercial relations between
Turkey and South Africa were dealt with. Necdet Colpan, head of
the Turkish-South African Business Council said that they aimed
to raise the trade volume between the two countries, which was
254 million dollars last year, to one billion dollars over the
following five years. He also said that Turkish firms, which want
to expand into African countries, and South African firms, which
want to expand into countries in Central Asia and the Black Sea,
could benefit from each other /Hurriyet/
[13] PERINCEK IN PRISON
Workers' Party spokesman Dogu Perincek was imprisoned in Ankara
yesterday to serve a 14 month sentence, which he received in 1991
for separatism. Perincek was taken into custody five days ago for
his party's alleged ties with the PKK terrorist organization, but
was not found guilty yesterday in a State Secourity Court.
/Hurriyet/
[14] FIRST MESSAGE TO TURKEY
Social Democrat Party (SDP) leader Gerhard Schroeder, who won the
victory at the end of last week's German general elections, said
that they would improve Turco-German relations. He added that
European Union (EU) membership should always be open to Turkey.
Schroeder stressed that the new goverment will review the dual
citizenship law.
The Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA), Hikmet
Cetin congratulated the Social Democrat Party for their victory.
Cetin noted that the Turkish and German parliaments have long
been working in cooperation and he believed that this cooperation
would continue and improve. Noting that Germany would soon take
over the term presidency of the EU, Cetin pointed out that Turkey
hoped that this new term would lead to ensuring closer relations
between the two countries. /Milliyet/
[15] ECEVIT: "IRAN PROVOKES PKK"
Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit has criticized Iran saying
that Iran provoked the PKK against Turkey and opened its borders
to PKK terrorists. He called upon to the Iran administration
saying that Iran would benefit nothing by protecting those
terrorists who would like to separate Turkey. Ecevit also
stressed that there were no problem in Turco-Iran relations from
the standpoint of Turkey. /Milliyet/
[16] TURKEY-GREECE TOGETHER IN NATO EXERCISES
It was announced yesterday that Turkey and Greece for the first
time will participate together in military exercises organized by
NATO in the Aegean Sea. According to the Office of the Chief of
General Staff both Turkey and Greece will attend the "Dynamic
Mix" military exercises which will last 21 days. /Mİlliyet/
[17] ANKARA REACTS AGAINST WASHINGTON
Turkey has reacted to Washington administration initiatives which
have brought Northern Iraqi rival rival leaders together
Washington however did not give Ankara sufficient information
regarding the peace move and did not show enough care for
Turkey's sensitivities regarding this issue. Deputy Prime
Minister Bulent Ecevit expressed Turkey's uneasiness in a written
statement last week saying that the suggestion of a federal
structure for Iraq as mentioned in the agreement reached between
the leaders of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Kurdistan
Patriotic Union, Mesut Barzani and Celal Talabani on 17 September
in Washington, has caused uneasiness in Ankara. /Milliyet/
[18] PRIME MINISTER YILMAZ IN MEXICO
The arrival of Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz in Mexico on Monday
marked not only the first Turkish prime ministerial visit to the
country but also the start of a comprehensive Turkish plan aimed
at improving relations with Latin American countries. Yilmaz and
the Turkish delegation accompanying him were welcomed during an
official ceremony by Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo. After the
ceremony several bilateral agreements, including one on boosting
economic cooperation, were signed at the end of the meetings
between the Turkish and Mexican delegations.
Following Yilmaz's visit to Mexico Foreign Minister Ismail Cem
will tour Brazil, Argentina and Chile in October. /Milliyet/
[19] ATATURK DOCUMENTARY BEGINS FILMING IN LONDON
A documentary entitled "Founder of Modern Turkey: Ataturk", will
begin filming in London next week. The 75 minute television
documentary will be shot with the cooperation of Fuat Kavur, the
senior director with Alpha Broadcasting. The documentary, which
will be prepared in English, presents the story of Ataturk's life
and the founding of the republic. During the documentary many
well-known English and US historians, Turcologists and
journalists will be interviewed. It will be completed in nine
months and will be shot in several countries. During a press
meeting to be held on 30 September at the Video London Studio,
details about the documentary will be given to the press. /Sabah/
[20] THE GUARDIAN: "TURKS SNUB WEST OVER N.IRAQ"
One of Britain most influential dailies, the Guardian, wrote on
Monday that Turkey's decision to send an ambassador to Iraq was a
reaction to an agreement signed in the United States earlier this
month between two Kurdish factions. "The decision is a direct
response to an agreement signed earlier this month in Washington
by the leaders of the two main Kurdish factions in northern
Iraq," the article by Chris Morris stated. Morris said Turkey
felt left out of the latest agreement and underlined Turkey's
worry that the agreement would increase demands for Kurdish
autonomy in Turkey. /Sabah/
[21] NATO CRISIS MANAGEMENT MEETING UNDERWAY
A meeting of the NATO Crisis Management Wargames (CMX-99) has
begun in Antalya. General Yasar Buyukanit of the General Staff
made the opening speech at the meeting during which systems to
fight against economic crisis, earthquakes, floods and military
crisis will be discussed. The meeting will be attended by 140
participants and will end on 3 October. /Milliyet/
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