TRKNWS-L Turkish Daily News (February 27, 1996)

From: TRKNWS-L <trh@aimnet.com>

Turkish News Directory

CONTENTS

TURKISH DAILY NEWS / 27 February 1996

[01] Motherpath gets reprieve

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- After repeated false starts, the "Motherpath" center-right alliance looked finally on track Monday with Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz announcing a principle agreement for government partnership with the True Path Party (DYP) of caretaker Prime Minister Tansu Ciller.

Ciller, who had a brief telephone conversation with Yilmaz and a meeting with her party executives, confirmed the deal which, when formalized, will bar the government to Necmettin Erbakan's Islamists who left behind secular mainstream parties in the inconclusive Dec. 24 election.

Yilmaz withdrew from a deal with the Islamist Welfare Party at the last moment on Saturday, returning to negotiations with the DYP which had stumbled before over Ciller's insistence on leading the partnership.

Addressing a press conference after visiting President Suleyman Demirel, the ANAP leader said he would meet with Ciller to hammer out the details on Wednesday and voiced optimism that he would be able to announce the cabinet by the weekend.

He said the partnership would be based on a rotating premiership and he would take the first turn.

He said he could convincingly tell President Demirel -- who under the Constitution has to approve the cabinet -- that the projected partnership would survive the mandatory confidence vote in the Parliament after a pledge from the Democratic Left Party (DSP) that it would "at least" remain neutral in the confidence vote. Yilmaz further disclosed that even if eight Islamist deputies elected on his party's ticket broke off from ANAP, they would support the center-right coalition in the vote.

The partnership between the two parties would last four years, Yilmaz said, without elaborating on what would happen in the fifth and final year when new elections would be due. He said there would be at least two reshuffles in the government, thus indirectly confirming the reports that he would lead for the first year, allow Ciller take the helm for the next two, and get back the top cabinet post in the fourth year.

He said the distribution of the cabinet seats would be discussed on Wednesday.

Earlier Monday Ciller told reporters that "We are sitting down for talks with ANAP in a conciliatory spirit. On Wednesday we (with Yilmaz) will try to draw up the framework of the coalition." She said the DYP did not favor early elections, contradicting her former advocacy of an immediate poll after the failure of initial talks with ANAP.

Ciller said she had had a telephone conversation with Yilmaz but that they had not discussed any specific government model.

Now ANAP and the DYP seemed to be sitting down for talks with more eagerness than in the past, Ciller said, but cautioned against expectations of immediate results.

Yilmaz has been trying to form a new government for 26 days, a task in which Erbakan and Ciller failed.

Initially he tried to work out a coalition with the DYP. The attempt failed when Ciller accepted the proposal for rotational premiership but adamantly refused to let Yilmaz get the job first.

Yilmaz then started talks with Islamist Erbakan aimed at an RP-ANAP coalition. But these talks too broke down last Saturday.

Since then fresh talks have been held between the top aides of the ANAP and DYP leaders, the results of which were reviewed Monday by the decision making bodies of both parties.

Addressing a news conference before leaving for Rome for talks with the EU term president, Prime Minister Ciller said that she would start talks with Yilmaz a day after she came back.

"The Welfare Party-Motherland coalition talks have done Turkey harm both domestically and abroad," she said.

Addressing his own party's executives, Yilmaz said an agreement had been reached with Ciller for him to lead the government first.

He said they were focusing on a rotating premiership model under which he would serve as prime minister for one year and then Ciller for two. During the fourth year of the term Yilmaz would again be prime minister. Yilmaz said there was another alternative. According to that model, Yilmaz would serve as prime minister during the first two years of the term and then Ciller would take over for two years.

The government seats would be shared equitably by the two parties, he said. This issue would be clarified at his planned Wednesday meeting with Ciller.

According to the model now under discussion, Ciller would not get a government portfolio during Yilmaz's time as prime minister and vice versa.

When meeting with his leading aides, Yilmaz reportedly comforted their fears that Ciller was just trying to scuttle a RP-ANAP coalition.

Politicians who favored an RP-ANAP coalition reminded Yilmaz that ANAP had opposed a renewal of the mandate of Operation Provide Comfort (Poised Hammer) force for northern Iraq as well a continuation of the emergency rule in Southeastern Turkey, and asked him how he could possibly reach an agreement with the DYP on this issue if a "Motherpath" government was to be formed.

Others reportedly objected to a deal with Ciller after the accusations he levelled at Ciller over her controversial private wealth.

Indirect DSP support

Yilmaz said that Bulent Ecevit's Democratic Left Party (DSP) would indirectly support the proposed "Motherpath" coalition, indicating that the "Motherpath" would be a minority government.

After meeting with Yilmaz Monday afternoon, DSP leader Bulent Ecevit said he was personally well disposed to supporting the Motherpath coalition between ANAP and the DYP. But he said his party's legislators and executives would have to take a formal decision on that if Ciller and Yilmaz finalize the partnership when they meet on Wednesday and request his party's support.

He said he had the impression that Yilmaz and Ciller had already reached an agreement in principle.

RP reaction: 'Everybody would want an early election'

Necmettin Erbakan said his party would be prepared to form an election government with the DYP or any other party. In case a government were formed without the participation of the RP, everybody would want an early general election, he maintained.

"The RP has increased the number of its deputies by 400 percent, Erbakan said. "If it remains in the opposition, it will expand its 'opposition force' by 1,000 percent." He urged ANAP deputies to press for an RP-ANAP coalition.

Meanwhile, RP Deputy Chairman Oguzhan Asilturk urged President Demirel not to adopt "forceful methods" to overcome the government crisis, warning him not to appoint an independent as prime minister to form a minority government. "No one would accept that in the name of democracy, and that model would prove a fiasco. No one should try to force deputies to accept formulas which no one wants," he said.

[02] Turkey mourns death of Koc

ISTANBUL- Turkish state government and business leaders on Monday expressed grief over the death of Vehbi Koc, the elderly founder of the country's top industrial and financial empire.

Koc died of heart failure Sunday evening in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya where he was vacationing.

The magnate who built an empire employing 40,000 workers was 95 when he died.

In messages of condolences they sent to the Koc family, President Suleyman Demirel and Prime Minister Tansu Ciller stressed the services he had rendered to the country's development and industrialization.

A funeral will be held for the deceased industrialist today at the main headquarters of the holding company before his burial at Istanbul's Zincirlikuyu cemetery.

His son Rahmi Koc who assumed the leadership of the conglomerate in 1984 cut short a foreign trip to be present at the ceremony.

Vehbi Koc: an emperor of Turkish private industry

"I have encountered various difficulties and have been subjected to various pressures in my career.

What has kept me and my organization going is that in all my life I have leaned on nothing but my trust in God."

"In my childhood we had no drinking water or electricity in the houses, nor coal stoves to heat them with. If you didn't have running water, you had to carry it in a jug from the neighborhood fountain.

This way you obtained water for bathing and drinking."

by Metin Demirsar

Turkish Daily News

ISTANBUL- When Kemal Ataturk chose Ankara as a capital of the new Turkish Republic in 1923, Vehbi Koc, an ambitious young man, foresaw a building boom in the city. So he added construction to his growing business interests and his break came when he won a contract to build a hospital in Ankara. It helped establish his reputation for business acumen and laid the foundations for a business empire that set the standard for the Turkish private sector.

When he died in Antalya on Sunday at the age of 95 Koc was one of the nation's richest men and was often described as the "emperor" of Turkish private industry. The New York Times once portrayed him as a "Turkish version of a Henry Ford and John D. Rockefeller rolled into one".

Koc Holding A.S., the conglomerate he founded, is one of the world's 500 largest enterprises, manufacturing goods that range from motor vehicles and home appliances to processes food and office supplies. In 1995, the group posted a $621 million profit on total sales of $9.2 billion. The group has interests in 95 companies and employs more than 32,000 people.

Turks enjoy saying their economy has three sectors: the private; the public; and Koc Holding A.S. Yet Koc was an unpretentious man who spoke no foreign languages and didn't get beyond grade eight at school.

His youth coincided with the last years of the disintegrating Ottoman Empire. Ankara, where he was born, was then a dusty market town with a population of just 20,000, four hours by horse to the nearest rail junction.

"In my childhood we had no drinking water or electricity in the houses, nor coal stoves to heat them with," Koc reminisced in an interview in 1987. "If you didn't have running water, you had to carry it in a jug from the neighborhood fountain. This way you obtained water for bathing and drinking." Arabaslik: Minorities involved in commerce.

Ankara's people were mainly Muslim Turks, with Jews and Christian minorities. Although they were theoretically rulers of the country, the Turks were less prosperous than the Jews and Christians, who were involved in commerce, Koc recalled.

"The Christians worked hard and made a good living, ate well, dressed well and had pleasant homes," he noted. "The Turks were mostly Hodjas (mullahs), grocers, night watchmen or storekeepers." The Turks also had to serve in the army and often were involved in battle in faraway places.

Many Turks looked upon business as a shameful pursuit.

Nevertheless, at the age of 16 Koc persuaded his father , a Muslim literary scholar of modest means, to lend him $8 with which he opened a grocery store.

Business boomed

When Ankara became the national capital Koc's business boomed, and has closely paralleled the growth of modern Turkey.

By the 1930s, he was exclusive import and distribution agent for several leading American and European manufacturers, and after World War II he turned to manufacturing, establishing joint ventures with such multinationals as Ford and General Electric of the United States, West Germany's Siemens and Italy's Fiat. In 1967, he produced the first Turkish- made car the Anadol, a version of the Ford Cortina, and many Koc products, such as refrigerators, washing machines and radiators, have eased home life for millions of Turks.

In recognition of his accomplishments as an entrepreneur, the Paris- based International Chamber of Commerce in 1987 awarded him its annual business award, considered by many to be the Nobel Prize of the business world.

Although he retired from active business in 1984, turning the running of the enterprise over to his son Rahmi, Koc held the title of honorary chairman and advised his son and three daughters, who also hold executive positions in the group.

Affectionately known as "Papa," Koc was still putting in 8-hour work days until his death from a heart attack during a vacation. And an unwavering supporter of unfettered international trade, he criticized the United States for imposing quotas and tariffs on Turkish and Third World industrial exports, saying the curbs were restricting free trade.

"My trust in God"

Koc was known for his frugality -- he often chided secretaries for dialing wrong numbers -- as well as for his philanthropy. He established an educational foundation which has enabled more than 40,000 Turkish students to complete university education at home and abroad, has built dormitories for students, donated a public library to the city of Istanbul and founded a private high school, Koc Lisesi, as well as Turkey's first endowed private university, Koc University.

A devout Muslim, Koc prayed at least once a day and never missed Friday prayers. "I have encountered various difficulties and have been subjected to various pressures (in my career)," Koc wrote in his autobiography, My Life Story.

"What has kept me and my organization going is that in all my life I have leaned on nothing but my trust in God. A proverb I have taken very much to heart is: Do not lean on the wall, it will fall down; do not lean on men, they will die." Koc urged the young "not to fall into the trap of wanting to get to the top too quickly. Whatever field you are in, the ladder must be mounted rung by rung."

He believed in a "harmonious balance" of the four elements to protect one's health: Work, amusement, rest and sports. An avid equestrian, he was forced to give up the sport after a fall in 1967.

"Health comes before everything", he once remarked. "If you are healthy, you can accomplish everything. If not, nothing can be accomplished.

Koc, who died of a heart condition during his vacation in Antalya will be buried tomorrow in Istanbul after a ceremony that will be held at Koc Holding Headquarters. The ceremony will start at 9:00 and, after the funeral at Fatih Mosque, he will be buried at Zincirlikuyu cemetery near his wife Sadberk Koc.

Koc: Founder of Turkish automotive industry

The venerable Vehbi Koc will be remembered as the founder of the Turkish automobile industry, now one of the economy's fastest growing sectors.

Koc Holding controls two of Turkey's principle automotive producers: Tofas Turk Otomobil Fabrikalari A.S., the country's biggest car manufacturer and joint venture with Fiat Spa and Otosan Otomobile Sanaya. Tofas turns out various Fiat models, including the Tipo, Uno and Tempra, while Otosan produces various Ford models, including the Ford Escort and commercial trucks.

Koc Holding also has several other automotive companies that build farm tractors and commercial vehicles, including trucks and busses. Several of its firms also turn out vehicle components.

In 1994, Tofas was the country's second most profitable company with earnings of $202 million and the ninth largest industrial enterprise with sales of $504.6 billion, according to the Istanbul Chamber of Industry. Otosan was ranked 39th with sales of $121.4 million.

Three other companies have followed Vehbi Koc's lead and produce cars in Turkey: Oyak-Renault Otomobile Fabrikalari A.S. which makes Renault models; General Motors Turkey which manufactures the popular Opel Vectra; and Toyotasa which has the Toyota Corolla as its flagship.

Turkey was the fastest growing automobile market in the world until the 1994 recession forced production cutbacks, layoffs and huge stockpiles of cars and parts. Among the hardest hit companies in Turkey during the 1994 crisis were the Koc vehicle manufacturing enterprises, which helplessly watched as their sales plunged by two-thirds before the industry made a partial recovery in 1995.

Automobile ownership in Turkey leaped 54 per cent between 1987 and 1991, the largest percentage increase in the number of cars among 124 countries, according to the Geneva- based International Road Federation. In 1995 Turkey produced 233,412 passenger cars, up ten per cent from 1994.

The recent economic crisis hasn't quashed plans by Hyundai, which is building a $300 million plant in Izmit to produce automobiles in Turkey.

Arcelik: the flagship of Koc Group

The flagship of the business empire that Vehbi Koc built is Arclik A.S., Turkey's leading business manufacturer of durable household consumer goods. Vehbi Koc founded Arcelik in 1955 to manufacture domestic appliances in a country hungry for consumer goods.

Arcelik turns out refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers, vacuum cleaners and air conditioners at five plants in western Turkey. In 1994, Arcelik had $45 million in exports out of a total sales figure of $644 million.

The Koc group has a 64 per cent share of the Turkish market for automatic washing machines, 73 per cent share for dishwashers, 40 per cent in vacuum cleaners, 66 per cent share of the oven market and 37 per cent in colour television sales.

To meet the increased competition to its consumer goods from products from the European Union following the customs union between Turkey and the EU, the Koc group has established a household finance company, Koc Finans, to provide consumer loans on purchase of Koc products. This was in line with the late Vehbi Koc's desire to do everything possible to make Koc Holding products available to the Turkish public.

[03] Yilmaz reopens door to center-right alliance

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz telephoned True Path Party (DYP) Chairwoman Tansu Ciller on Monday in an attempt to melt the ice between the two parties.

Following the phone call which constitutes a turning point for the chances of a DYP-ANAP government, two leaders have decided to meet on Wednesday to resume coalition talks.

Having seen that formation of a coalition government between his ANAP and the pro-Islamic Welfare Party (RP) was not possible, Yilmaz has taken the initiative for an ANAP-DYP coalition government, publicly referred to as the Motherpath.

The fact that Yilmaz made a phone call to Ciller following an assessment of the situation by his party marks an important development for the foundation of the government.

Yilmaz reportedly faced harsh and negative reactions from his party during the evaluation by ANAP decision-making bodies.

Yilmaz's description of the DYP administration as a "summerhouse gang," constituted the focus of the deputies' criticisms. A significant proportion of the deputies both at the liberal and the conservative wings of the party are reportedly against the resumption of talks with the DYP. Despite this reaction, Yilmaz has reportedly convinced the party administration not to leave the country without a government and has obtained authority to resume talks with Ciller.

Yilmaz has reportedly decided to propose a rotational premiership model to the DYP and will propose two alternatives to Ciller.

Besides his government proposal that he should have the premiership for the first year, and DYP have the premiership for the second and third year and again ANAP for the fourth year, Yilmaz has also reportedly prepared an alternative allowing ANAP to have the premiership for the first two years and the DYP for the last two years.

Meanwhile, Ciller has obtained full power from her administration to resume talks with ANAP. DYP parliamentary group Deputy Chairman Nevzat Ercan recalled that both parties have consensus on a government based on rotational premiership and that the only dispute between his party and ANAP was the issue as to who would be the prime minister first. He made the following assessment to the TDN: "Because the first thing discussed was how the 'roof' of the government would be, results could not be obtained from the previous initiative.

This time however, the things being discussed are the issues that the government will take up, and the program under which these will be handled. It appears it will be an easy agreement. As for the matter of the premiership, this will be left to the end. The two party leaders will meet then and settle this problem.

No one can consider the past events as not having happened. So if no one comes with any preconditions on this subject then the matter can be resolved easily."

Officials from both parties also say that among the formulas that are being excluded this time are the options whereby a third person becomes prime minister, or the formula in which ANAP forms a minority government with the Democratic Left Party (DSP), and is supported by the DYP, or where the DYP forms a minority government with the Republican People's Party (CHP) and is supported by ANAP.

Agreement has also been reached on neither of the party leaders' taking a Cabinet post while the other one is serving as prime minister.

As for the distribution of Cabinet posts between the two governments, this will be done according to the number of seats that the two parties have in Parliament.

Under this formula the DYP, which has 135 deputies, will get 17 of the Cabinet posts. ANAP, on the other hand, working on the assumption that the Grand Unity Party (BBP) party deputies who ran with it in the elections will leave the party, leaving it with only 125 deputies, is expected to get 15 of the Cabinet seats.

After the ending of the "war of nerves" between the two parties, and the phone call which did away with the chill between the sides, it is expected that the government can be formed by the beginning of next week at the latest.

Because Prime Minister Ciller will be in Italy today the meeting between the two party leaders will take place on Wednesday.

If the matter of the Prime Ministry and the question of how long each leader will serve as prime minister can be resolved, then party executives will prepare the coalition protocol and list the principles of the government.

The two leaders will then review the drafts at the beginning of the week and the new Cabinet will be announced in the first days of March.

If the government can be formed in early March, then the new budget for the year 1996 will replace the provisional budget law whose term expires at the end of March.

Among the other first tasks to be tackled by the new government will be the extension of emergency rule for the Southeast, and the extension of the mandate for the Operation Provide Comfort, the Turkey based allied military operation for protecting the northern Iraqi Kurds.

The meeting between the two leaders on Wednesday will also come up with a decision on whether the outside support of the DSP will be sought for the coalition or not.

[04] Turkish GNP 12.7 times bigger in 1993 than 1970, report says

ANKARA- Turkey's gross national product (GNP) grew an average of 12.7 times bigger between 1970 and 1993, according to a World Bank report.

The report revealed that the Turkish GNP jumped from $11.4 billion, at current prices, in 1970 to $156.4 billion in 1993.

It said the rise in Turkish GNP in the same period ranked third in a group of nations subject to the study.

Turkish GNP in 1993 ranked 22nd.

South Korea, whose GNP rose 35.8 times from $9 billion in 1970 to $330.8 billion in 1993, topped the list in terms of national income increment.

Japan ranked second with 19.7 times increase in its national income. Japan's GNP, in the 1970-1993 period, went up from $203.7 billion to $4,214 billion. It also ranked second in GNP size, following the United States.

The U.S. GNP, according to the World Bank report, was $6,259 billion in 1993, up only 5.2 times from $1,011 billion in 1970.

Germany ranked third with $1.910 billion and France $1,251 billion.

Italy and Britain were in the fifth and sixth places with respective GNP sizes of $991.4 billion and $819 billion.

[05] Turkey's bid to be among the top 10 emerging markets

By Harun Kazaz

The Clinton administration in the United States deserves a huge 'thank you' for publicly announcing that Turkey was one of the top 10 emerging markets in the world and then promoting the idea. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, in a press conference last year, said that the criteria for the selection was not solely based on current economic performance and environment. That is good -- the only world super power believes in Turkey and its future. But does Turkey itself really believe this and is it working toward realigning itself for the global market in order to be one of the 10 emerging markets in the world? I say "Turkey," meaning the government and the private sector as a whole, the entire country as sort of one corporation, competing with other similar entities in the world.

Here are some new items which reached Washington recently that make me somewhat concerned about Turkey's bid to be one of the top 10 emerging markets in the world and its chances of actually securing this status.

Item: While there is no shortage of political concerns to make investors worry, they are accentuating the positive because cash is surging into the world economy. International stock markets are taking off again. Based on the percent increase in dollars invested in its stock markets since Dec. 31, Poland is number one, Brazil second, Mexico third and Israel number 9; sorry, the Istanbul stock exchange is not on the list. U.S. investors are now moving an estimated $1 billion a week into international equity funds; sorry, Turkey is not on the radar screen yet.

Item: Major Wall Street investment firms are bullish on the international markets and are opening offices all around the world in the emerging markets.

Item: The amount of investment money that went outside of Germany in 1995 exceeded the amount of investment money that went into Germany by $10 billion.

Item: Israeli high-tech start-up companies find a warm reception on Wall Street. It is reported that Israelis may unload a record $700 million to $800 million in new start-up shares and secondary offerings this year, up from $450 million in 1995.

Item: Desperate to staunch the exodus of leading-edge companies, Europeans are setting up new markets where they can raise cash at home.

Item: A growing number of U.S. companies are farming out software development to Indian consulting firms. Computer programing is becoming a commodity. In 1987, India exported just $24 million in software. This year the National Association of Software and Service Cos., an Indian software trade organization, estimates that exports will surpass $700 million, up 16 percent from last year.

Item: America's number one car exporter is now Japan.

Japanese auto manufacturers Honda and Toyota each exported more American-made Honda and Toyota brand cars from the United States than the largest U.S. auto manufacturer, General Motors.

These are new signals of a global market and foreign investment patterns. When we look at foreign investment dollars flowing into emerging market countries in a comparative fashion, Turkey does not shine out against the others, and I am not sure if it will be any better in 1996. Maybe the partial privatization of telecommunications in Turkey will result in a different chart, if it happens in 1996, but all in all, we can easily state that the country missed its golden opportunity to benefit from the privatization trend back in the early 80s an throughout the early 90s.

Turkey got into the privatization spirit when it was not the "in" thing to do for those countries that had government-controlled economies. At that time, Turkey was in a position to negotiate for the best deal. It was a seller's market. But now the tide has shifted. From Austria to Zambia, most countries are trying to privatize including some services in the United States. International investment dollars have plenty enough deals to choose from in today's global market. As far as privatization goes, it is now the buyer's market, not the seller's.

However, Turkey's private businessmen can be a blessing in disguise for the economy, if they are nurtured and not subjected to competition by their own government in the domestic and international money market. In addition, the Turkish government has to move quickly and start a number of business incubator programs that allow high tech, research, invention, and results-oriented new companies to offer to the investment markets to start large international businesses right in Turkey. All Turkey has to do is to study and adapt what Israel and India are already doing, more importantly, the Turkish government needs to immediately commit itself by its actions to creating a nurturing environment for the start-ups.

The high tech and computer programing fields can be an excellent starting point. Turkey has the necessary human and entrepreneurial resources. All it needs right now is the political will.

[06] Iraq to discuss oil pipeline repair with Turkey

BAGHDAD- Iraq is to send technicians to Turkey to explore ways of repairing its twin pipeline through Turkish territory, Baghdad diplomats said on Monday.

They said the team was expected to leave soon pending a review by Iraqi leaders of the outcome of the first round of Iraq's talks with United Nations in New York on limited sales of Iraqi oil.

"The team will discuss the operation of the pipeline in the context of current oil talks with the United Nations," one diplomat said.

Official news media reported on Sunday that Iraq's chief negotiator at the oil talks, Abdul-Amir al-Anbari, had returned to Baghdad to brief Iraqi leaders.

They did not say when Anbari would present his report, nor did they give a date or venue for the pipeline talks to start.

Last week Iraq said there was nothing wrong with its trans-Turkey pipeline, through which it was pumping 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) on the eve of its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

The invasion prompted the U.N. to ban Iraq's oil exports as part of comprehensive trade sanctions.

Iraq and Turkey failed to reach agreement to have the idle and rusting pipeline flushed and refilled. Baghdad objected to U.N. terms on how to deal with the 27 million barrels of crude trapped in the pipeline.

The U.N. insisted that any deal should be within the framework of U.N. Security Council resolution 986 on partial oil sales, which Iraq still officially rejects.

Iraq's pipeline network was a key target for allied bombing during the 1991 Gulf War. The twin 1,049 km (650 mile) Kirkuk-Yumurtalik line has a maximum capacity of two million bpd.

Talal Ashur, director of Iraq's Northern Oil Company, said last week Iraqi engineers had repaired the Gulf War damage to the pipeline, through which Iraq would have to pump most of its partial exports if it reached agreement with the U.N. The diplomat said he was still optimistic about the two sides reaching an agreement that would allow Iraq, under resolution 986, to export limited amounts of oil worth $2 billion over six months.

Another diplomat said he did not believe that the killing of Iraqi defector Hussein Kamel Hassan, his two brothers and their father in Baghdad on Friday would have any impact on the oil talks.

There was no mention of the defectors in state-run newspapers on Monday. Press attention was focused again on the oil talks and government efforts to combat inflation.