Anadolu Agency: News in English, 98-03-25

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From: The Anadolu Agency Home Page at <http://www.anadoluajansi.gov.tr/>

25 MARCH 1998

CONTENTS

[01] TURKEY-PRESS REVIEW (1)

[02] TURKEY-PRESS REVIEW (2)

[03] FOREIGN MINISTER CEM IS IN BONN - CEM MEETS WITH MARC GROSSMAN

[04] EXPORTS OF HAZELNUTS - FOREIGN EXCHANGE INCOME FROM EXPORTS OF HAZELNUTS INCREASES TO OVER 722 MILLION US DOLLARS

[05] KOSOVO QUESTION - TURKEY WELCOMES IMPLEMENTATION OF EDUCATION AGREEMENT

[06] SAKIK'S SURRENDER TO KDP - FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN UTKAN: ''SIGNS THAT PKK CAME TO THE END OF THE ROAD ARE POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS''

[07] TRNC PRESIDENT DENKTAS: ''I WILL TELL THE SAME THINGS TO ANNAN THAT I TOLD CORDOVEZ''

[08] FOREIGN MINISTRY: ''THERE WILL BE NO IMPROVEMENT IN CYPRUS WITHOUT TWO EQUAL STATES''

[09] MILITARY TRAINING PLANE CRASHES - ONE FIRST LIEUTENANT AND ONE LIEUTENANT DIE

[10] TURKISH-EU RELATIONS

[11] BALKAN COUNTRIES' MEETING ENDS

[12] MANISA CASE - FIVE ARRESTED DEFENDANTS RELEASED

[13] CONTACT GROUP MEETING

[01] TURKEY-PRESS REVIEW (1)

(Derived from the Newsspot of the Turkish General Directorate of Press and Information.)

PANGALOS CALLS FOR 'NO-FLY ZONE' OVER CYPRUS
Theodoros Pangalos, the Greek Foreign Minister, who is on an official visit to Washington, D.C., has proposed a scheme that, if implemented, has the potential of bringing the Turkish forces on Cyprus up against a NATO peacekeeping force. During his discussions with his counterpart, the Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Pangalos suggested the implementation of a 'no-fly zone' over Cyprus, supported by the U.N. Security Council and enforced by the NATO forces.

Pangalos extended a conditional olive branch to both Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots during an interview on the American CNN television by lending his nominal support to the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot EU membership. Pangalos claimed that Greece wants to see not only the Turkish Cypriots, but also Turkey in the EU. He told the CNN that if Ankara removes the 'obstacles' it is placing in the way of Cyprus joining the EU, then Greece will lift its veto of EU funds for Turkey. /Milliyet/

CEM ACCUSES ATHENS OF CHAUVINISM
Ismail Cem, the Turkish Foreign Minister accused his Greek counterpart Theodoros Pangalos, who said that they accepted giving 'autonomy' to the Turkish Cypriots, of being chauvinistic. Evaluating Pangalos' interview on the American CNN television, Cem said, ''Greece buys S-300 missiles and opens a military base on the island, describes Turkish side as a minority, and then wants to 'grant' them autonomy. Greece then expects the Turkish side to accept this autonomy. If the international public opinion has any ethical principles at all, then it should stop this injustice against the Turkish side.''

After a meeting in Ankara with Diego Cordovez, the UN Special Envoy to Cyprus, Cem said, ''Pangalos should know that there is no similarity between Cyprus and the Kosovo issue. Greece cannot grant autonomy to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in the way that Serbia has to Kosovo. However, his statement on the CNN television shows once more that the obstacle to solving the Cyprus issue is Greece, not Turkey." /Cumhuriyet/Milliyet/

LOGAN, "TURKEY HAS PRIORITY FOR ECONOMIC RELATIONS"

David Logan, the British Ambassador to Turkey, said that Turkey was among the 14 countries to which England gives priority for economic relations. Logan noted that these 14 countries had promising futures and that Turkey was one of these countries. He stressed Turkey's importance to England by saying that the trade volume between Turkey and England was 2.5 billion US dollars. He added that in recent years more Turkish businessmen had been investing in England. /Milliyet/

GREEK CYPRIOT SECURITY PROPOSAL
Yannakis Kasulides, the Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister, has proposed that there should be a "no-fly zone" around the island. Kasulides suggests that the Greek Cypriot commuity would feel more secure if there was a no-flying zone rather like the one in Northern Iraq.

Speaking on the Greek RIK television programme, Kasulides said that if such a zone could be made effective, then there would be no need to deploy the Russian-made S-300 missiles on the Greek Cypriot side of Cyprus. The deployment of missiles on the island is a very highly sensitive issue between the two communities on the island. /Milliyet/

GREEK CYPRIOTS IGNORE US WARNING
Greece has brushed off a warning from the US President Clinton about measures that will be taken if the Greek Cypriot community on Cyprus persists in following a policy of arming their side of the island. Clinton has warned that the Greek Cypriot community should cancel a deal with the Russians for the S-300 missiles.

Turkey has already made it clear that if the missiles are actually deployed, then serious measures will be taken to restore the balance of military force on the island. The Greek Cypriot administration has described Clinton's warning as nothing more than an idle threat. /Hurriyet/

TURKISH ARMY CARRYING OUT OPERATIONS IN SOUTHEAST ANATOLIA
In a "spring attack" against the PKK terrorist organization, the Turkish Army has heightened its efforts to sweep clean southeastern Anatolia of terrorist forces. Many caves, where PKK members are supposed to be hiding, are being blasted by special Turkish Army teams especially in the counties of Lice and Kulp in Diyarbakır Province and Genc County in Bingol Province, where search and destroy operations are being carried out. Special security measures have been taken to secure the city centers from possible terrorist intrusions.

Because of the conflict at the top levels of the terrorist organization, a lot of terrorists might well surrender, military officials said yesterday, noting the number of those who have already surrendered.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Army has also launched military operations in the Black Sea region, aimed at preventing the PKK from continuing terrorist activities there. /Milliyet/

(To be continued)

[02] TURKEY-PRESS REVIEW (2)

(Derived from the Newsspot of the Turkish General Directorate of Press and Information.)

EMERGENCY RULE EXTENDED
The Parliament approved yesterday a Prime Ministry decision to continue emergency measures for four months more in southeastern Anatolian cities including Diyarbakır, Hakkari, Siirt, Sırnak, Tunceli and Van. Out of the 299 parliamentarians present for voting, 207 approved the decision whereas 91 voted against. This is the 31st extention of this special application for the southeast, which has been continuing for 14 years. /Sabah/

THE VIRTUE PARTY INCREASES PARLIAMENTARY SEATS
After an independent parliamentarian joined the Virtue Party (VP), the number of VP parliamentary seats has increased to 142, whereas the number of independents has decreased to 17. New transfers to the Virtue Party are expected. /Milliyet/

POLICE STRIKE A HEAVY BLOW AGAINST THE ILLEGAL TIKKO ORGANIZATION
Police arrested 20 members of the illegal TKP/ML-TIKKO organization on Tuesday. Hasan Ozdemir, the Istanbul Police Chief said that a heavy blow had been struck against the illegal terrorist organization, and that its activities in Istanbul would be completely eradicated with this latest operation. /Milliyet/

TURKISH TOURISM IN MOSCOW
The Turkish public and private tourism sectors are preparing to promote themselves at the "MITT Moscow Tourism Fair" in order to increase Turkey's influence in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Turkey plans to introduce historical, touristic and cultural values and increase the demand for Turkish tourism abroad during the fair that will be held between March 26-28. Turkey will exhibit her tourism sector facilities at the fair through 25 private sector companies together with the Ministry of Tourism. /Milliyet/

ECEVIT-CORDOVEZ MEETING
Bulent Ecevit, the Deputy Prime Minister received on Thursday Diego Cordovez, the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy to Cyprus, who is holding talks about the Cyprus issue in Ankara. Sukru Sina Gurel, the Minister of State responsible for Cyprus, also joined in the meeting. Addressing journalists before the meeting, Cordovez said that he will convey the results of his meetings in Ankara to Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of the UN.

He said that Rauf Denktas, the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and Kofi Annan will meet in Geneva on March 28. /All papers/

[03] FOREIGN MINISTER CEM IS IN BONN - CEM MEETS WITH MARC GROSSMAN

Addressing the journalists after the meeting which lasted for an hour, Cem said that they discussed the Kosovo issues and energy during the meeting.

Cem noted that the issues determined in the negotiations between Mesut Yilmaz, the Prime Minister, and Madeleine Albright, the US Secretary of State, have not been working well.

Cem said Turkey is already holding talks with the neighbouring countries about the Kosovo problem. He also added that there will not be bilateral negotiations between himself and his German counterpart Klaus Kinkel.

Cem will meet with the foreign ministers of the regional countries before attending the meeting of the former Yugoslavia Contact Group.

[04] EXPORTS OF HAZELNUTS - FOREIGN EXCHANGE INCOME FROM EXPORTS OF HAZELNUTS INCREASES TO OVER 722 MILLION US DOLLARS

The officials from the General Secretariat of the Black Sea Exporters' Union told the A.A correspondent that Turkey exported 158.7 thousand tonnes of hazelnuts between September 1, 1997 and March 20, 1998. Officials said that nearly 146 thousand tonnes of the total hazelnuts were exported to the European countries.

Officials said that the amount of the hazelnuts exported in first seven months of this season increased by 22.01 thousand tonnes and the amuont of the foreign exchange income rose by 226 million US dollars compared to the same period in the previous season.

In the same period of the previous season, the amount of the hazelnuts exported was 136.6 thousand tonnes and the foreign exchange income was 496.2 million US dollars.

The foreign exchange income is expected to increase to over one billion US dollars in the 1997-1998 export season that will end on August 31, 1998.

Officials said that one quintal of the standard hazelnuts was 440 US dollars last week while it was 462 US dollars in the previous season.

[05] KOSOVO QUESTION - TURKEY WELCOMES IMPLEMENTATION OF EDUCATION AGREEMENT

Addressing a weekly news conference, Utkan mentioned about recent development in Kosovo and noted that recent dialogue between Albanians in Kosovo and Serbian Administration and implementation of education agreement increased Ankara's pleasure.

Recalling that Turkey carried out a persistent attitude about the implementation of education agreement, Utkan said ''it will be possible to add more chance to the ongoing cautious optimism with the validity of this agreement.''

Utkan said Foreign Minister Cem carried out his contacts in Bonn within the framework of Contact Group members' meeting.

[06] SAKIK'S SURRENDER TO KDP - FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN UTKAN: ''SIGNS THAT PKK CAME TO THE END OF THE ROAD ARE POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS''

Addressing weekly news conference, Utkan responded to question regarding the surrender of Semdin Sakik to Iraqi Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP). Sakik was once second man of the separatist terrorist organization.

Utkan said they have no more information but that Sakik surrendered to KDP and stressed that he was not in a position to confirm several allegations regarding surrender of Sakik.

[07] TRNC PRESIDENT DENKTAS: ''I WILL TELL THE SAME THINGS TO ANNAN THAT I TOLD CORDOVEZ''

Denktas who participated in a TV program by telephone stressed that they were in a corner point, and added that he would go to Geneva to tell Annan what he also told to Cordovez.

Noting that European Union (EU) was not in the agenda of TRNC, Denktas said ''we should have an equal status in the EU under equal conditions. They reject our existent status and aimed at reducing it. They gave harm to us with their decision that Cyprus Republic is equal to Greek Cypriot Republic.''

Denktas said if negotiations start with the Greek Cypriot side and the EU by the end of this month, they will have no hope again to unite under the name of ''Cyprus.''

Denktas stressed that they were serious in being recognized and that they were in full unity and integrity to this end.

Denktas and Annan will come together on March 28 in Geneva.

[08] FOREIGN MINISTRY: ''THERE WILL BE NO IMPROVEMENT IN CYPRUS WITHOUT TWO EQUAL STATES''

Addressing a weekly news conference, Utkan responded to questions regarding contacts of the UN Secretary General's Cyprus Special Envoy Diego Cordovez. Utkan said a formula should be found to bring the two sides under two equal status ''only after this they may start negotiations under equal status.''

Evaluating the words of Cordovez that the situation would be very bad if intercommunal talks do not start, Utkan said ''we should not perceive this as a threat. It is now clear that it is impossible to carry out intercommunal talks with understanding. Everybody began to see this fact. Yet, of course negotiations are required.

Responding to a question about the evaluation of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) that UN Peace Forces assigned in Cyprus was siding ''Greek Cypriot side'', Utkan said the sides convene two times a year to maintain the existence of Peace Forces. Utkan said there is a frozen situation at the moment. TRNC President Denktas and TRNC Administration may have several concerns.''

Evaluating the words of Greek Cypriot side defense minister Yannakis Kasulides that Cyprus should turn into a place of no flight zone and the words of Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos regarding disarmament in stages under NATO control, Utkan said ''first they do unacceptable things and create uneasiness. And then they call on everybody to think for preventing the affects of this monster they created.''

Defining the news reports in Greek Cypriot newspapers about himself as ''arrogant threats'', Utkan identified this as a tactic confusing seriousness with arrogancy.

Utkan recalled that opening of BAF air base and deployment of S-300 missiles to the Island were being investigated and noted that ''armament efforts of Greek Cypriot side in the Island will be countered with same kind of measures.''

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Utkan said Turkish-TRNC Partnership Council will have its first meeting in Ankara on March 31, adding that five ministers from TRNC and several deputies will participate in the meeting where the base of ''special political relations'' will be specified.

[09] MILITARY TRAINING PLANE CRASHES - ONE FIRST LIEUTENANT AND ONE LIEUTENANT DIE

The Secretariat General of the General Staff said that a SF-260 D type training plane crashed at 2:30 p.m. after taking off and that the reason for the plane's crash was unknown.

It said the First Lieutenant Yildirim Erdogan and Lieutenant Yavuz Eracar died in the crash.

The detailed investigation related to the accident are underway.

[10] TURKISH-EU RELATIONS

Addressing a news conference in the Parliament after the conclusion of the Commission studies, Oral said the Commission prepared a report to this end and submitted it to the Parliamentary Chairmanship.

Noting that they talked to various sections during the studies Oral said ''Turkey's mail goal in its relations with the EU has been towards full membership from the very beginning.''

''EU failed to fulfill its obligations stemming from partnership agreements. Especially the obligations in financial and institutional cooperation fields are serious deficiences in this field.''

Oral said the Commission supported the attitude of the government after Luxembourg summit.

Oral identified resolutions of Luxembourg summit as ''unfortunate'' adding that Turkey lost confidence in the EU after these decisions. ''The EU should leave its double standart policy to normalize relations,'' he stressed.

[11] BALKAN COUNTRIES' MEETING ENDS

Speaking after the meeting Cem said they convened as regional countries and agreed on general frameworks.

Cem said ''we have expressed our sensitivity on several issues and proposals for changes,'' adding that Turkey's views and proposals were adopted by the attending countries.

Foreign Minister Cem held a brief meeting with Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Yorgo Papandreu after the meeting. Cem said ''we are extending efforts to follow a joint way. This meeting is a positive development.''

[12] MANISA CASE - FIVE ARRESTED DEFENDANTS RELEASED

The arrested defendants Faruk Deniz, Askin Yegin, Ali Goktas, Emrah Sait Erda and Levent Kilic were released after the judgement.

Sixteen people, including high school students, were taken under custody in 1995 on charges of carrying out activities on behalf of extreme leftist illegal organization DHKP-C in Manisa province. Twelve were arrested after being sent to İzmir State Security Court.

One of the accused, who was under 15, was taken to children's court. And the remaining ten were sentenced to various imprisonment terms. Last week, the Higher Court of Appeals annuled the DGM's decision with the justification of ''insufficient investigation.''

The first trial of the case re-started on Wednesday with 13 defendants, including five who were arrested. But the court decided to release also these five arrested defendants.

The Manisa Penal Court acquitted on March 11 the ten policemen accused of torturing these defendants during their custody. The court had ruled unanimously that there was no evidence to support the claims of torture or maltreatment.

[13] CONTACT GROUP MEETING

''Former Yugoslavian Contact Group'' Foreign Ministers, composed of the US, Russia, Britain, France, Germany and Italy issued an 13-Article statement at the end of the meeting and gave four weeks time to Belgrade Administration to initiate a dialogue with Kosovonian Albanians immediately and without pre-condition to solve Kosovo question through peaceful means.

The statement said they saw various developments after the last meeting of the Contact Group which took place on March 9 and also called on further improvement from Yugoslavia to this end.

The statement called on the sides to convene soon to determine the framework of the dialogue process of the sides and stressed that nothing that will postpone this process be accepted.

Bonn statement called on Yugoslavian Head of State Slobadan Milosevic to fulfill the demands of the Contact Group which had been told during London meeting adding that the group will convene four week later to evaluate if Yugoslavia extended necessary efforts to find a peaceful solution to the crisis.

The statement said if Contact Group, decides that Yugoslavia has taken positive steps, it will review previous sanctions imposed on this country, including the weapons embargo. It also said that if no improvement could be recorded within this four weeks, new sanctions will be implemented on Yugoslavia.

The statement said the problem should be solved within the framework of respect to Yugoslavia's territorial integrity, the UN Regulation, Helsinki Human Rights Charter and within the within the standarts of OSCE.

Contact group said terrorism will never be accepted yet added that Serbian police's pressure and violance in Kosovo under the name of struggle against terrorism would not be legalized.

Contact Group said they were in consensus of opinion that sanctions that will be imposed on Yugoslavia will be taken considering the political and economic stability of Southeastern Europe and other neighboring countries.

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