TRKNWS-L Turkish Daily News (March 16, 1996)

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

Turkish News Directory

CONTENTS

TURKISH DAILY NEWS / 16 March 1996

[01] Absentees conspicuous at Bosnia Pledging Conference

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- Bosnian Presidential envoy Muhamed Sacirbey has called a conference held in Ankarn the process (of helping Bosnians build up a defense system)," Egyptian envoy Saed el-Masry said. "There has been a conference in Islamabad and Iran was there."

The participants include Albania, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brunei, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Jordan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Conference. Most of the European Union countries, including representatives of the EU, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Austria. Canada and Bulgaria are also participating as observers.

Greece is represented by a delegation headed by its ambassador in Ankara, Dimitrios Nezeritis.

"We cannot allow conflict, confrontation and suffering to become the destiny of the Balkans," Turkish Foreign Minister Emre G"nensay said in his opening remarks at the conference. "The purpose of the Train and Equip program for Bosnia is to help create a stable military balance in the region by providing the army of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the capability of deterring possible aggression and the means for self-defense, should deterrence fail," G"nensay said. He said that the security of the Balkans was of vital importance to Turkey, given that the Balkans were Turkey's physical link to Europe.

Strobe Talbott, the deputy secretary of state who co-chaired the early session of the meeting, also took the opportunity to hold bilateral meetings with Turkish leaders on Turco-U.S. issues.

Talbott met with Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, President S=FCleyman Demirel and Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay.

Yilmaz, during his meeting with Talbott, handed the U.S. official a letter for President Clinton. The contents of the letter were not revealed, but it is thought that Yilmaz thanked President Clinton, who earlier in the week congratulated him on assuming the job of prime minister.

The semiofficial Anatolia news agency reported that Talbott also talked to True Path Party leader Tansu Ciller on the telephone for half an hour.

[02] Kandemir responds harshly to US congresswoman's letter

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- Turkish Ambassador to Washington Nuzhet Kandemir said that if the U.S. Congress halted its double standard policies against Turkey, relations between Turkey and the United States could actually develop, the Anatolia news agency reported.

In his response to the letter sent to U.S. President Bill Clinton by House of Representatives member Cynthia McKinney, aiming to prevent the sale of Super Cobra helicopters to Turkey.

Ambassador Kandemir, in his letter to McKinney, responded harshly, accusing her of having been affected by the anti-Turkish lobbies in the United States. Kandemir pointed out that such lobbies were aiming to harm the relations between Turkey and the United States, noting that Turkey was a key country that protected northern Iraqi Kurds from the Iraqi administration.

Ambassador Kandemir indicated that Turkey was a country which struggled against terrorism, while some neighboring countries supported terrorism.

He compared Turkey's approach to the Kurds to that of other neighboring countries such as Iran, Syria and Iraq, saying there was no country that treated Kurds better than Turkey. He emphasized that all citizens of Turkey enjoyed equal rights according to Turkish law.

He said in his letter that Turkey was in a better position on human rights issues than the United States if the international human rights agreements signed by Turkey were considered.

He pointed out that Turkey had been shown by the United States as among the ten countries with the most powerful economical potential in the world, adding that he hoped that his letter enlightened McKinney.

US State Department

Meanwhile, in response to a question about the possible sale of Super Cobras to Turkey, the deputy spokesman of the U.S. State Department, Glyn Davies, said that the decision-making process on the sale was still under way. He said a number of factors were taken into account in determining the sales of materials and weapons to other countries. He added that among those aspects, of course, were human rights concerns. He pointed out the that the U.S. military and NATO thought that there was a legitimate need on the part of Turkey's military for increased mobility and antitank capabilities.

[03] Slip of the tongue is quickly corrected

Turkish Daily News

WASHINGTON- The U.S. State Department's acting spokesman, Glyn Davies, called PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan a "Kurdish official" Thursday, only to correct himself quickly when the error was called to his attention.

Filling in for spokesman Nicholas Burns at the daily press briefing (Burns was traveling with Secretary of State Warren Christopher), Davies was asked to comment on an interview Ocalan gave to a Greek newspaper in which he said the PKK plan "to attack all of the Turkish touristic facilities and attack civilians, (was the) next phase of the events." Ocalan also was reported to have "advised the Greek government, 'Don't find a ... solution to the Aegean crisis; fight with the Turks for Imia/Kardak.'"

Davies replied by expressing confidence that "Greece will do the right thing, as will Turkey, on Imia/Kardak." However, he went on, "it strikes me as a bit silly that a Kurdish official would be advising Greece on Imia/Kardak."

In regard to attacking civilians and tourist facilities, Davies noted that the United States has already condemned the PKK and anticipated that the State Department's annual report on world terrorism, expected to be released soon, may again contain "strong language about the PKK as a terrorist organization that's committed a number of crimes and attacks that have no basis, no excuse for what they're doing." Later in the briefing a reporter noted that Davies had used the phrase "Kurdish official" and asked, "Was it by mistake? ...

He is a terrorist leader." Davies quickly backtracked: "I didn't use the word 'official' deliberately to indicate that we're talking about a state here ... Call it 'terrorist' or 'person' if you wish." And he jokingly added, "I have to be aware of these mine fields everywhere." The acting spokesman also was asked about the U.S. reaction to the alleged connection of Iranian diplomats with a terrorist arrested recently for murdering Turkish journalist Cetin Emec several years ago.

Davies declined any direct comment, "beyond the condemnation that you've heard several times ... of Iran for its evident support of terrorism, which is on a bill of particulars that this nation has against Iran and includes things like pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and opposition to the peace process ... If it's shown, proven that Iran was involved in such an act, it would add further weight to the evidence that already exists of Iranian support for terrorism, and we, of course, would condemn it."

[04] Turkey satisfied with getting major say in shaping terrorism communique, determined to push for action

Turkish Daily News

JERUSALEM- Turkish officials were delighted in managing to play a major role in the shaping of the final communique at the anti-terrorism summit at the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh and obtaining a pledge from the international community for a more meaningful struggle against terrorists and countries sheltering and supporting terrorist groups.

However, Turkish officials said this is only a start and words now have to be translated into actions, not only in the Middle East but also elsewhere.

Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Onur Oymen told the TDN the results of the summit showed once again that Turkey is a regional power with considerable muscle.

Oymen said the summit now left no option for certain countries who have been sheltering terrorists and giving them active support. "They will either support terrorism and face the consequences or give up their attitude," he said. Oymen stressed that terrorist organizations cannot survive without the support of states.

He also said the summit results showed certain Western countries can no longer point to their own liberal laws and claim their hands are tied in the fight against extremism and terrorism. "They can no longer allow the terrorist organizations to openly make TV and radio broadcasts in their country that instigate violence or allow terrorist groups to collect funds," Oymen stressed.

The fact that the summit also pledged technical and material help to countries which are victims of terrorism is also a booster, Oymen pointed out.

In a final communique, the summit participants called for ensuring terrorists are brought to justice and countries do not allow them to use their soil as a springboard for attacks. The participants also called to cut off funds, arms and other equipment for terrorists.

Most of these were proposals contained in a list prepared by Turkey and submitted to Israel, Egypt, Jordan and the United States before the meeting. Israeli officials consulted with the Turkish officials accompanying Demirel and later gave their full backing to the proposals.

King Hussein's speech touched upon the Turkish proposals frequently without actually naming Turkey, while the Jordanian prime minister said he wholeheartedly supports Turkey's views.

Turkish officials said they regretted the fact that Syria did not come to the summit. Asked about the absence of Greece, they said, "Does the Greek government have any face to come to such a summit and pledge it will fight against terrorism. We presented documents to various countries about Greek support for terrorism," a Turkish official told the TDN. He asked not to be named.

Oymen said this list as well as the final communique of the summit were now sent to all Turkish embassies around the world.

The embassies were asked to convey a message to all other countries that Turkey is open to all forms of cooperation to fight terrorism and it will closely follow the application of the summit results.

List of proposals prepared by Turkey on combatting terrorism:

- Tough measures must be taken to deter states that support terrorism or harbour terrorists. One such measure might be imposing economic sanctions.

- A significant part of combatting terrorism, as well as terrorist front organizations, necessitates the banning of TV and radio stations and other media that promote or support terrorism and terrorist organizations, and that provide the means for terrorists to disseminate their false propaganda.

- A center that will collect and classify information on terrorist groups, their methods and financial sources should be established. All states must fully cooperate to extend information to the center. Turkey is keen on participating in the establishment and operation of such a center.

- All support should be extended to countries that combat terrorism, and all technical material used in combatting terrorism should be brought to the disposal of these countries.

One of the most effective methods to combat terrorism is the unconditional extradition of the perpetrators of terrorist acts to the relevant countries. States should comply with the stipulations of the already existing international agreements in this field. This will be a significant contribution to reaching the ultimate deal.

- No political or other considerations should be advanced to avoid extraditions of terrorists.

- Another responsibility for all states towards countries combatting terrorism is to find out the sources who provide weapons and arms to the terrorists. It is the right of the international community to expect explanations from those countries that are the sources of these arms.

Excerpts from the anti-terrorism communique

The anti-terrorism summit decided, among other things, the following:

- To work together to promote security and stability in the region by developing effective and practical means of cooperation and further assistance.

- To promote coordination of efforts to stop acts of terrorism on bilateral, regional and international levels; ensuring instigators of such acts are brought to justice; supporting efforts by all parties to prevent terrorist organizations from engaging in recruitment, supplying arms, or fund raising.

- To exert maximum efforts to identify and determine the sources of financing these groups and to cooperate in cutting them off, and by providing training, equipment and other forms of support to those taking steps against groups using violence and terrorism to undermine peace, security and stability.

- To form a working group, open to all summit participants, to prepare recommendations on how best to implement the decisions contained in this statement, through ongoing work and to report to the participants within 30 days.

[05] New training center to make Turkey a leader in aviation

By Caglar Unal

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- An International Aviation Training Center (IATC) will be established in the southern province of Antalya to train pilots, air traffic controllers and airport managers from a wide and rapidly expanding area.

A feasibility study commissioned by Eskisehir's Anadolu University, where the Turkish civil aviation school was based, showed the viability of the new location. The study was done by Northern NEF Inc., which was retained by the Anadolu University to study the feasibility of establishing the center.

"I believe that Turkey will become a world leader in aviation by using new technologies for aviation training," said Barry Lutin, the project manager.

In an interview at his office, Lutin told the TDN that Turkey was selected as the site for the aviation training center, because: it is centrally located from a geographic global perspective; it will be strategically located in the world's fastest-growing market; the Antalya region is a great area, and trainees can easily get to the center, which is expected to meet the aviation training needs of Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Lutin said recently, during a press conference in Ankara organized by the Turkish-American Businessmen's Association (TABA), that the training center, utilizing state-of-the-art simulators, computer-based training systems and the latest instructor techniques, would establish Turkey as a world leader in civil aviation.

Lutin, who has been in Turkey for the last 10 months, said that there was no direct connection between TABA and the training center, but the members of TABA were very interested in the project because it means so much to Turkey. He also said that many Turkish businessmen could provide products and services to the center and American businessmen could provide U.S. technology.

The project manager said that the feasibility study began in 1995, generating 1,500-page document. The estimated cost of developing the center is $200 million, including $80 million for additional facilities.

Lutin said that the center would likely contribute a great deal to Turkish tourism, because it will be based in one of the most important tourism centers, Antalya.

Atilla Tacoy, general of the Turkish Aeronautics Association (THK), had expressed displeasure that his association had been informed about the project so late, but gave his backing, and called on TABA to co-operate with his organization more fully.

The feasibility study was funded by the U.S. Development and Trade Agency, said Lutin.

He also said that Tacoy has offered to provide facilities and assistance in the development of the center.