Anadolu Agency: News in English, 98-03-27

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

27 MARCH 1998

CONTENTS

[01] TURKEY-US - STATEMENT OF THE US SECRETARY OF STATE'S OFFICE: - ''THE S- 300 MISSILES INCREASE THE DANGER ON CYPRUS''

[02] TRNC FOREIGN MINISTER ETKIN: - ''THE DISARMAMENT OF THE ISLAND CAN BE DISCUSSED AFTER A SOLUTION''

[03] PARRIS, THE US' AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY: ''THE MOST APPROPRIATE PROJECT FOR THE CASPIAN AND CENTRAL ASIAN OIL AND GAS IS THE BAKU-CEYHAN PIPELINE''

[04] FLURY, VICE PRESIDENT OF AMOCO: - ''THE MOST APPROPRIATE ROUTE IS THE BAKU-CEYHAN LINE FOR ENVIROMENTAL FACTORS AND FOR THE CONDITION OF THE STRAITS''

[05] TURKEY-TERRORISM - SEVEN TERRORISTS DIE IN BATMAN PROVINCE

[06] TURKEY-EURASIA - PROF. DR. TEKEOGLU: ''TURKEY SHOULD MAKE MORE INVESTMENTS IN GEORGIA''

[07] TURKEY-PRESS REVIEW (1)

[08] TURKEY-PRESS REVIEW (2)

[09] TURKEY-TRNC-UN - DENKTAS GOES TO GENEVA TO HOLD TALKS WITH ANNAN

[10] DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER ECEVIT: ''THERE IS NOBODY TO MAKE A MILITARY COUP IN TURKEY, EVEN IMAGINING THIS IS UNREASONABLE''

[11] PANEL ON ''CHANGING TURKEY'' - THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORTATION MENZIR: ''THE STATE HAS TO SUPPORT INFORMATION AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY''

[12] PARLIAMENTARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY - FOUR OTHER ARTICLES OF THE DRAFT LAW FOR PUBLIC SERVANTS' UNIONS ADOPTED

[13] ''ADOPT A BABY SEAL'' CAMPAIGN FROM THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE WILDLIFE (DHKD)

[14] VISIT OF TURKISH BUSINESSMEN TO CENTRAL EUROPE CONCLUDED

[01] TURKEY-US - STATEMENT OF THE US SECRETARY OF STATE'S OFFICE: - ''THE S- 300 MISSILES INCREASE THE DANGER ON CYPRUS''

Responding to the questions about the Washington, D.C., meetings of Theodoros Pangalos, the Greek Foreign Minister, Rubin, the Spokesman for the US Secretary of State's Office said that the US's attitude on the S-300 missiles has not changed.

Washington, D.C. warned the Greek Cypriot side and Athens about the missiles.

Rubin stressed that the missiles prevent the attempts for finding a peaceful solution to the Cyprus problem. Rubin pointed out that the US wanted the Greek Cypriot side to cancel the agreement concerning the missiles with Russia. Rubin also said that Turkey should apply diplomacy for solving the issue and avoid making military threats.

Pangalos had suggested that Cyprus should become a ''no-fly zone'' under the control of the NATO or the US. Rubin said that they would welcome a permanent moratorium concerning the Turkish and Greek war planes not flying on Cyprus. He added, ''but we do not agree to an idea which will cause two member states of the NATO to be opposite each other.''

Responding to the questions about the separatist terrorist PKK organization, Rubin said, ''the US has officially declared the PKK as a terrorist organization.'' He added that they cooperate with Greece in the struggle against terrorism. But stressing that the PKK has a political office in Athens, Rubin said that this issue has been brought to the agenda on various occasions during the meetings between the governments.

[02] TRNC FOREIGN MINISTER ETKIN: - ''THE DISARMAMENT OF THE ISLAND CAN BE DISCUSSED AFTER A SOLUTION''

Addressing a conference on ''Searching for a Solution to the Cyprus Problem'' organized by the Middle East Technical Unversity Turkish Cypriots and Turkish Group, Etkin said that the Cyprus problem has a dynamic structure, and added, ''the problem has risen from the conflict of the two national sides' rights for determining their own future.''

Pointing out that the Greek Cypriot side's full membership application to the European Union in 1990 and the acceptance of this application at the Luxembourg Summit have changed the parameters of the problem, Etkin, stressed that the TRNC's existence as a state should be recognized by the other countries. Etkin said that the TRNC has all the conditions such as land and nation for the existence of a state.

Etkin said that the Turkish-Greek Cypriot stability on the island should be protected and the TRNC will not enter the EU without Turkey. He said that they will not join the delegation which will start negotiations with the EU.

Etkin also streesed that the disarmament of the island can be possible after a just solution.

[03] PARRIS, THE US' AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY: ''THE MOST APPROPRIATE PROJECT FOR THE CASPIAN AND CENTRAL ASIAN OIL AND GAS IS THE BAKU-CEYHAN PIPELINE''

Addressing a cocktail party organized by the Turkish-American Businessmen's Association (TABA), Parris said that there are significant oil and gas reserves in the Caspian and the Central Asian regions and these should be carried to other countries in a safe manner. Parris stressed that the US supports the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline project.

Responding to the question of a businessman who reminded that the US applies a quota to Turkey's textile products, Parris said, ''there are also problems with the agricultural products which are imported from Turkey. We believe that these problems will be solved through bilateral negotiations.'' Parris also stressed that Turkey which invites foreign investors to the country, should solve the problems of energy investments.

Addressing the cocktail party, Burhan Ozfatura, the Mayor of Izmir Province said, ''We do not want a special implementation from the US, but request engaging in trade on an equal basis with the other countries.''

[04] FLURY, VICE PRESIDENT OF AMOCO: - ''THE MOST APPROPRIATE ROUTE IS THE BAKU-CEYHAN LINE FOR ENVIROMENTAL FACTORS AND FOR THE CONDITION OF THE STRAITS''

Addressing a press conference after the meetings with Mesut Yılmaz, the Prime Minister, and Cumhur Ersumer, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Flury said that the most economic way for the Azerbaijan Oil Production consortium (in case that the oil will be transported by tankers via the Straits) is the Baku-Supsa line.

Pointing out that Baku-Ceyhan pipeline is one billion US Dollars more expensive than the other alternatives, and they wanted the cost of the project to be decreased, Flury said that Turkey and the US prefer the Baku- Ceyhan project, and added, ''the decision will be made by the countries.''

Flury said that the cost is very important for them, but the most appropriate route is the Baku-Ceyhan line for enviromental factors and for the condition of the Straits. He said that the exportation line should be ready by 2000-2003.

Noting that the AMOCO provides services in an extensive area and wants to participate in the energy projects in Turkey, Flury said that the US Government's decision concerning unlimited credit in case the American companies participate in the investments in Turkey, will contribute to the selection of the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline.

[05] TURKEY-TERRORISM - SEVEN TERRORISTS DIE IN BATMAN PROVINCE

The operations are still continuing in the region.

[06] TURKEY-EURASIA - PROF. DR. TEKEOGLU: ''TURKEY SHOULD MAKE MORE INVESTMENTS IN GEORGIA''

Addressing the conference on ''the benefits which can arise from the relations between Turkey and Eurasia,'' Tekeoglu said, ''Turkey should make more investments in Georgia in this framework. Armenia should take part in the countries with priority. Turkey has not got shares in the gold, oil and gas exploitations in the region.

These are the sectors which can provide benefits for Turkey. The exploitation of pipelines is not a beneficial business.''

Pointing out that the countries which are interested in the region, play ''big games'' on the Caspian oils and gas beds, Tekeoglu said that Turkey can decipher these games and provide an humanitarian contribution to the region.

Tekeoglu also said that it will contribute to the development of the relations if Turkey has professional staff work at the trade undersecretariats in the region.

[07] TURKEY-PRESS REVIEW (1)

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

COHEN TO VISIT TURKEY IN APRIL
William Cohen, the US Secretary of Defense, will visit Turkey between 17-18 April. It is reported that during his visit, Cohen will convey a message from the US President Bill Clinton to the Turkish President Suleyman Demirel. It is expected that during Cohen's two-day contacts, defense cooperation, recent developments in Kosovo and the Balkans, Bosnia, Turkish- Greek relations will be discussed. /Hurriyet/

CEM TO GO TO TRNC
Ismail Cem, the Foreign Minister will go to Lefkosa on 30 March to attend the preliminary meetings of the Turkish-Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Association Council. The first meeting of the Turkish-TRNC Association Council to be attended by Turkish Cypriot Ministers and Deputies will be held in Ankara on 31 March. Meanwhile, the Turkish President Suleyman Demirel will pay an official visit to the TRNC in May. /Hurriyet/

CLOCKS AHEAD ONE HOUR
The clocks will be set ahead one hour at 1:00 a.m. early Sunday for daylight savings time. With this implementation, it is expected that 500 million kilowatt/hr of energy will be saved this year. /Hurriyet/

PRIVATIZATION OF IS BANK
Ugur Bayar, the Chairman of the Privatization Administration, held a press conference yesterday evening and noted that 12.3 percent of the public shares of the Is Bank would be privatized. Bayar said that preliminary registration for the sale would begin on 15 April. /Milliyet/

PKK FLAG IN ITALIAN PARLIAMENT
A group of Italian parliamentarians from the Greens and Communist Party hoisted the PKK flag in the Parliament to protest the detention of an Italian who had participated in the Nevruz (Spring Feast of the Vernal Equinox) celebrations in Diyarbakir last week. Alfredo Biondi, the Speaker of the Parliament, described the incident as a ''funny propaganda demonstration''. /Cumhuriyet/

(To be continued)

[08] TURKEY-PRESS REVIEW (2)

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

FOREIGN MINISTRY STATEMENT ON OCALAN
The Foreign Ministry officials stated that they sent a note to the Syrian administration to hand over the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan to Turkey in 1996. The note said, ''Turkey asks Syria to halt the PKK activities within its territories and judge those who participated these activities. Syria should hand over the Ocalan supporters to Turkey.'' The Turkish officials stressed that Syria should attach more importance to the issue.

In their response, the Syrian officials denied that the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan was in Syria and added they announced the PKK as an illegal organization.

Regarding Syria-Turkey relations, President Suleyman Demirel said that Syria shouldn't support the PKK in any way; thus, Turkey and Syria could resolve other problems between them through negotiations. /Milliyet/

SILK ROAD REVIVED
The bidding process for the construction of the Kars-Tbilisi Railway, which is planned to follow what is known as the Silk Road, will be completed on April 28, 1998. It was revealed that many foreign and Turkish companies were interested in this project and were preparing bids. The project is being carried out by the State Railways (TCDD) for the Ministry of Transportation. /Milliyet/

TOBB's SUCCESS CELEBRATED AT PRESIDENTIAL PALACE

Yesterday, a ceremony was held at the Presidential Palace due to the achievement of the ISO 9002 certificate by the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB).

During the ceremony, a multivision exhibition, illustrating the Turkish provinces in detail, was presented and a concert was performed by a chorus from the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT). /Milliyet/

GSM LICENSE TRANSFERS FINALIZED
Today the Ministry of Communications and Turkish communication giants Turcell and Telsim will sign a GSM license transfer agreement for the privatization of cellular phone services. A total of 1 billion US dollars will be raised from the agreement. Necdet Menzir, the Minister of Communications said that this was the largest privatization step undertaken by the government so far. /Sabah/

US SUPPORT FOR BAKU-CEYHAN PIPELINE
Mark Parris, the US Ambassador to Turkey said that the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline was the most suitable alternative for the transportation of Azerbaijani oil to the world markets. Parris stressed that the project was to the benefit of both Turkey and the other countries in the region. /Sabah/

(AY-EY-A&Ouml;)

-DECISION TO MAKE AN ARREST OF ASLITURK WHILE SHE IS ABSENT
ISTANBUL, March 27 (A.A) - The Republic Chief Prosecutor's Office of the Sisli District in Istanbul decided to make an arrest of Gulay Asliturk, the former Sisli Mayor, while she is absent on charges that she caused disorder in tenders.

The Sisli Penal Court of First Instance decided to make an arrest of Asliturk while she is absent on grounds of the charges in question.

A 47-page report prepared by a commission which investigated the corruption allegations at the Sisli Municipality after Asliturk resigned from her post and her party, was read at the Municipality Assembly.

The report was composed of five main topics, namely the companies engaged in business with the municipality, SIPA A.S, administrative and personnel, construction issues and Ayazaga.

The final part of the report said resources of municipality were wasted and the municipality suffered losses during this period.

[09] TURKEY-TRNC-UN - DENKTAS GOES TO GENEVA TO HOLD TALKS WITH ANNAN

Rauf Denktas has gone to Geneva to hold talks with Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of the United Nations. In his statement at the Ataturk Airport, Denktas said that he aims to explain to Annan the opinions of the Turkish Cypriot side about the report which Annan will present to the UN Security Council.

Pointing out that he will request the UN Security Council with the intervention of Annan to correct the misassessments about the Cyprus problem, Denktas said, ''there is no legitimate government on Cyprus and there couldn't be. If the superiority of the law, the sanctity of the international agreements and the protection of the rights of the sides with these agreements are important, then the UN Security Council should not say 'I will do what I know', setting these principles aside. The European Union did not care about the UN Security Council's principle concerning the decision for the full membership in the EU to be taken by two nations with two separate referenda. The five permanent member states of the Security Council have created a situation which is in opposition to this principle. The Greek Cypriot side is trying to sentence us by using this situation. This will cause damage to the Turkish-Greek stability. We will not permit this.''

Stressing that their equal and independent existence on the island depends on the Turkish-Greek stability, Denktas also added, ''We will never accept the Greek Cypriots as our government and we will not support the full membership application of the Greek Cypriot side in the EU. We want to continue the negotiations under equal conditions. These negotiations should be held between the two republics. The main condition should be the protection of the Turkish-Greek stability.''

[10] DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER ECEVIT: ''THERE IS NOBODY TO MAKE A MILITARY COUP IN TURKEY, EVEN IMAGINING THIS IS UNREASONABLE''

Addressing a meeting of the Chambers of Industry in the Aegean region, Ecevit said that agriculture has regressed, production has halted and the country has fallen under burden of foreign and domestic debts due to inflation.

Ecevit said, ''we should stop the regression in agriculture, otherwise there may be social explosions in Turkey.''

Ecevit said that despite all these negative aspects, the economic dynamism in Turkey astonishes the economists in the world, adding that they were hopeful for the future of Turkey.

Ecevit said that the government is concerned with fundamentalism pointing out that they have prepared a report at the Prime Ministry about the struggle against fundamentalism. He said they have prepared activities to cut the economic sources of fundamentalism.

Ecevit said that the government could allocate fewer resources to investments due to the debt payments, but the private sector was remedying this. He said that private sector had implemented several energy projects with the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model and that this was very pleasing.

[11] PANEL ON ''CHANGING TURKEY'' - THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORTATION MENZIR: ''THE STATE HAS TO SUPPORT INFORMATION AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY''

Addressing the panel on ''Changing Turkey'' organized by the Bagcılar Businessmen's Association (BISAD), Menzir said that the 2000s will be the years of information and technology. Pointing out that the classical state will become the electronic state, Menzir said, ''the electronic century will change the structure of bureaucracy along with the state. Transparency and globalization will be realized.''

Ercan Karakas, the Istanbul Deputy of the Republican Peoples' Party (CHP), said that Turkey has been influenced by the change in the world and he stressed that the direction of the change is also important. Pointing out that the change should bring more freedom and better life standards, Karakas said that Turkey can't benefit properly from the change and can't produce the appropriate policies for this change.

Koksal Toptan, the Deputy of the True Path Party (DYP), said that Turkey will be one of the most powerful countries if she manages to use the information technology in the next decade.

[12] PARLIAMENTARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY - FOUR OTHER ARTICLES OF THE DRAFT LAW FOR PUBLIC SERVANTS' UNIONS ADOPTED

Under the articles of the draft law adopted, the public unions and confederations, within the framework of the legal provisions, will be authorized to participate in negotiations on behalf of its members and to conclude negotiations. The unions and confederations will activate towards the aim of their foundation.

Under the article adopted, administration and functioning of the unions and confederations shouldn't be in contradiction with the principles of the Republic mentioned in the Constitution and to democratic principles. The unions and confederations will not be able to get financial aid from the public organizations and political parties and also will not be able to extend financial aid to them.

The unions and confederations will not be within the formation of political parties, can't use their names, symbols and signs and can't be engaged in trade.

Under the adopted article a High Administrative Committee will be formed to include the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding specified after the negotiations to arrange working conditions, rights and duties of the public servants.

The High Administrative Committee will be composed of six representatives that will be specified by the confederations and unions.

[13] ''ADOPT A BABY SEAL'' CAMPAIGN FROM THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE WILDLIFE (DHKD)

People can contribute to the campaign by buying a toy seal which costs one thousand US Dollars, from the headquarters of the DHKD in Istanbul.

The officials from the DHKD, said that they wanted the businessmen who are ''the friends of nature'' to participate in the campaign.

The income will be used for the protection of the wounded and orphan baby seals in the Mediterranean Sea.

There are only 300 seals in the Mediterranean Sea and 50 of them live within the borders of Turkey.

The officials told the A.A correspondent that Turkey and Greece should cooperate to protect the seals.

[14] VISIT OF TURKISH BUSINESSMEN TO CENTRAL EUROPE CONCLUDED

Addressing a news conference after the conclusion of his contacts in Hungary, Ege said that they wanted to make joint investments with Hungarian companies in Hungary and Turkey as well as in third countries and that they requested the Hungarian companies to participate in energy investments in Turkey.

Peter Bolas, the Hungarian Undersecretary of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism expressed belief that the Free Trade Agreement which will go into force on April 1 will increase trade relations between the two countries.

Bolas said that the Hungarian companies are currently carrying out the Kangal 3 Thermal Plant project and that they want to take over the Kangal 4 and several other projects.

Bolas also proposed to engage in the joint production of Ikarus buses in Turkey.

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