TRKNWS-L Turkish Daily News (April 13, 1996)

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

Turkish News Directory

CONTENTS

TURKISH DAILY NEWS / 13 April 1996

[01] RP stands alone as support grows for Turkey's relations with Israel

Support: DSP leader Bulent Ecevit is the latest to throw his weight behind the need for Turkey to develop military and economic relations with Israel

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- Contrary to strong opposition to the growing Turkish-Israeli relationship from the pro-Islamic Welfare Party (RP), these developing ties are getting support from a broad spectrum of the Turkish body politic.

The latest significant political figure to come out in support of these ties is Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader Bulent Ecevit who on Thursday said Turkey and Israel had "shared concerns and aims." Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz's Motherland Party (ANAP), and his senior coalition partner, the True Path Party (DYP), have through various statements and policies clearly reflected their eagerness to develop enhanced relations with Israel.

Alparslan Turkes, the leader of the ultra-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), also threw his weight behind these ties in March.

In remarks to the Turkish Daily News and other dailies, Turkes had characterized Turkey and Israel as peace-loving countries and had said it was necessary for them to become allies for the sake of Middle East peace and in order to counter Syria, Greece and Greek Cyprus, which he characterized as "terrorist" nations.

This characterization was a reference to the direct or indirect support these three countries are reportedly giving to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) or its front organizations.

Speaking live on TBMM TV (Parliament's in-house channel) on Thursday, Ecevit said that contrary to media reports he did not think that Turkey and Israel had finalized a wide-ranging military accord.

"But we do have shared concerns and aims with Israel. Our wish is for the Israeli-Palestinian problem to be settled by peaceful means and for the peace process to give positive results," Ecevit said.

He added that such an outcome would create a new "environment for democracy" in the Middle East because, he argued, a Palestinian state to be established would definitely be a democratic and secular state.

Ecevit said this in turn will "end Turkey's loneliness in the region" as a predominantly Islamic and yet secular and democratic country.

"For this process to work properly we have to not only develop our ties with the Palestinians but also with Israel," Ecevit said.

Ecevit went on to declare that Israel had the technological capability to enhance and to modernize some of the weapons it received from the United States.

"If Turkey is given the opportunity to avail itself of these technological resources, then Turkey of course is in a position to welcome this," he said.

Ecevit pointed out in this context that Turkey and Israel do not have any significant problems in their relationship today.

Indicating that Israel today has no major problems with many Arab states, Ecevit said he did not look on the Palestinian problem as a specifically Arab problem.

"I never agreed with this characterization. Some anachronistic and contemporary regimes in the Middle East would not want to see democracy developing in an Arab country. This is why it is some Arab states that have prevented the establishment of a Palestinian state more than Israel," Ecevit said.

"During my recent visit to Gaza, when I called on Mr. Arafat, he said that terrorism, which is also a great problem for them, is not coming from Iran alone but also from some Arab countries," he added.

Ecevit also pointed out that there was a large community of Israelis who had migrated from Turkey and who still considered both countries as their fatherland.

"They are very attached to Turkey. The form a very warm link between the two countries. In addition to this, maybe the largest number of tourists to Turkey in recent years comes from Israel," Ecevit said.

"Israel also has great experience in agro-technology and administration. They are creating wonders on their lands which are in part made up of deserts. If they want to present their store of knowledge in these areas to us there is no reason for us not to accept this," he added.

[02] Parties prepare for June 2 test

TDN Parliament Bureau

ANKARA- Turkey's political parties will be tested for the first time since the Dec. 24 election in local by-elections to be held on June 2.

Since the alliance between the ruling coalition partners, the True Path Party (DYP) and the Motherland Party (ANAP), has gone up in smoke, these parties will be able to assess their individual strength in these elections.

As was the case in the Dec. 24 election, the pro-Islamic Welfare Party (RP) is expected to get the highest number of votes in the by-elections, to be held in four provinces, seven towns and 30 districts. The reported strength of the RP, particularly in Sivas and the town of Meram in Konya, indicates that it will emerge as the first party in these by-elections. A fierce battle is anticipated between ANAP and the DYP to determine which of them will emerge as the second party behind the RP. The Democratic Left Party (DSP) and the Republican People's Party (CHP) are expected to follow the DYP and ANAP.

ANAP Deputy Chairman Yasar Okuyan told the Turkish Daily News that he and his colleagues did not have any plans to set up an election alliance with the DYP. Okuyan said it would be essential for each party to see what its strength was in the coming election. The meeting between Okuyan and DYP Deputy Chairman Hasan Ekinci has reportedly not yielded any results in terms of setting up an election coalition in certain areas.

The idea of establishing an election alliance during the upcoming elections was first brought on to the agenda by ANAP leader Mesut Yilmaz. However Yilmaz's proposal was greeted with suspicion by the DYP. Later the DYP, concerned that it might not perform well in the election, warmed to the idea; but this time it was not favored by ANAP.

The June elections will provide the ruling coalition partners with a chance to settle their scores from the Dec. 24 election.

ANAP will reportedly try to increase the difference in votes between itself and the DYP. In the Dec. 24 election, ANAP won 100,000 more votes than the DYP, but the DYP took more parliamentary seats.

ANAP official Okuyan said it would be his party which would win more mayoral seats in the June elections, and that it would compete with the RP for the leading position. He predicted that the DYP would rank as the third or the fourth party.

The center-left parties, the DSP and the CHP, will also see these elections as a competition between themselves. However, the CHP reportedly does not expect a favorable outcome.

DSP leader Bulent Ecevit will run an intensive campaign between now and the elections. Pointing out that he would rarely be in Ankara over the next one-and-a-half months, Ecevit said he would take at least 30 DSP deputies with him on his campaign tour.

The fiercest competition is expected in Sivas, Rize, Zonguldak, Bingol, and in Istanbul's Bakirkoy district. The RP is reportedly highly likely to win in Sivas, and also expected to take the lead in Bingol and Rize. ANAP will intensify its campaign in Rize, which is Yilmaz's election district, and in Bakirkoy. The DSP will reportedly win in Zonguldak.

[03] Where will Turco-Iranian tensions lead?

Turkish Daily News

ISTANBUL- Turco-Iranian relations have deteriorated alarmingly due to the much publicized accusations of Iranian involvement in a series of murders of prominent Turkish writers and intellectuals. There have been mutual expulsions of diplomats, claims of spying and espionage and equally strident denials.

What will be the future of Turco-Iranian relations? Is war possible? In fact, the clash over questionable diplomatic activity is not the only problem between the two countries.

Others include the question marks hanging over the Kurdish problem, and the issue of water distribution, which is a bone of contention between Turkey, Syria and Iran.

According to Professor Mahir Kaynak, a former member of the National Secret Service (MIT), there will not be a war between Turkey and Iran, but Iran will use the Kurds as a weapon against Turkey. "I have heard this from many journalists who have been there and observed this fact. This claim has to be investigated seriously," he said.

According to Kaynak, Iran uses the Kurdish people against Turkey by concentrating them near the Turkey-Iran border. "I don't believe that Turkey will fight with Iran, because Iran has positioned the Kurds as a block against Turkey," he declared.

Kaynak gave his own version of the events leading up to the current increased tension between Iran and Turkey, beginning with the arrest of the alleged murderer of Hurriyet editor Cetin Emec.

"A murderer was found in the Cetin Eme=87 case at last, and he revealed an Iranian connection to the crime. The aim was to strain Turco-Iranian relations, and it succeeded. Turkey expelled Iranian diplomats without any serious reason, Iran expelled our diplomats. Maybe it is true that the expelled diplomats of both countries were members of the secret services," he said.

Professor Kaynak claims that Turkey has reached a major turning point in the Kurdish issue and suggests that the previous government, led by Tansu Ciller, actually supported the PKK by its policies and actions.

"All the violence against activists and actions opposing the PKK, such as the arrest of Abdulmelik F=8Drat and the closure of the Democracy Party, meant that the policy of the Ciller government was undoubtedly driving everyone to the PKK.

"But if Turkey reaches agreement with the Kurds, everyone has to be afraid of Turkey. Because Iran does not believe that Turkey can be in agreement with the Kurds, so Iran uses the Kurds freely," he said.

There are suggestions that Israel and her Muslim partners, Turkey and Egypt, want to form a secular front against fundamentalist organizations in the Middle East, another slant on the issue. The recent security agreement between Turkey and Israel has angered the former's Arabic neighbors. There has been almost universal condemnation of Turkey by the Arabic world on this issue.

Kaynak rejected the Arabic criticism and said that Turkey should mainly concern itself with its immediate neighbors, Iraq and Syria, as secularist as Turkey and of greater importance than the more distant Arabic states. "Egypt and the others are in the American sphere of influence, let's leave them to America," he said.

The great question between Turkey and Iran is the issue of mysterious political murders. Many circles in Turkey claim that the terror organizations behind these murders were formed by Iran. It is believed that Iran wants to support Islamic fundamentalism in Turkey and is assisting those working for an Islamic system in this country. Given this, the murders of secular journalists such as Cetin Eme=87, U=A7ur Mumcu and Turan Dursun, with these crimes possibly linked to Iran's secret service, have affected Turco-Iranian relations badly.

Another claim made by Islamic circles is that a Turco-Iranian war is planned, and that all these murders are part of efforts to provoke such a conflict. It is suggested that Israel is in fact masterminding these incidents in order to bring unrest to the region. Because these assassinations are the basic cause of tension between Iran and Turkey, and because these events are harmful to Turkey's Islamist movement, the fundamentalist finger is pointed at the Jewish state. There are those who believe that only Israel is benefiting from the current situation.

[04] Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma to visit Turkey

By Nazlan Ertan

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- Facing similar security concerns vis-a-vis neighboring Russia, Turkey and Ukraine will come together after the Russian elections for consultations at the highest level.

Ukraine's President Leonid Kuchma is expected to visit Turkey in early July to take up bilateral relations and potential improvement between Ankara and Kiev. But the timing of the visit will enable the two veteran presidents to discuss the situation in Russia. The term of President Boris Yeltsin formally ends on June 12, while the first round of elections will take place on June 16. The second round is scheduled for July 7. Both Turkey and Ukraine fear that the Communist Party may regain dominance, under the leadership of Gennady Zyuganov, who is one of the strong candidates.

Kuchma's visit will also take place against the backdrop of Kiev's increasing fear that the Soviet Union is being "reincarnated." Following the agreement signed between Russia and Belarus earlier this month, Kuchma said in his annual address to Parliament: "Attempts aimed at recreating the former Soviet Union have no historical prospects and can only prevent normal development of the integration process." Rustam Rustamov, the third secretary in the Ukraine Embassy in Ankara, repeated the same view in a press conference on Friday.

Firmly against any agreement that would put back the Commonwealth of Independent States under the same flag and make the same nation, Rustamov said his country would continue as "a neutral country that would remain out of blocs." "In the last five years since the establishment of the CIS, more than 1,000 documents have been signed. What is important now is to make them work," he said.

"We are not against economic integration, on the condition that the process is based on mutual benefit and equal rights.

But political integration, the reestablishment of the Soviet Union is impossible. Neither are we involved in joint security systems." The sharing of the Black Sea fleet is still unresolved, despite ongoing negotiations for the last three years. The fact that the fleet has a considerable land component, based in Crimea, brings the issue into the scope of Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) accord, which Turkey accuses Russia of violating.

During the visit of Kuchma to Turkey, two other important issues are expected to come on the agenda. One is Ukraine's relations with NATO and the other is the Crimean Tatars, who Ankara calls a "bridge between the two countries." "Ukraine does not want to become a buffer between NATO and the CIS members who have signed the Tashkent declaration for defense cooperation," Rustamov said. "The fact that we do not belong to any bloc is important for European security." Ukraine, like Turkey, supports the NATO scheme of "Partnership for Peace" -- which gives the former East bloc countries a link to NATO -- but says that NATO's expansion should not be too fast.

As for the Crimean Tatars, Rustamov said that Turkey had pledged, during the visit of Suleyman Demirel, to build 1,000 houses for the Crimean Tatars who had returned to Crimea after their expulsion from the area under the Soviet Union.

"The project will be speeded up after finding financial resources," he said. "But we expect international help, particularly help from Turkey, because there are 136,000 homeless."

[05] No immediate prospects of Turkey gaining full membership in WEU

ANKARA- Despite Turkish desire for full membership in the Western European Union (WEU), it seems unlikely that the bid will be realized in the short run.

Jose Cutileiro, the secretary-general of WEU, underlined in his contacts in Ankara that Turkey was "an important and active associate member of the European defense group" but its full membership was a "matter of future discussions with the member states." He said that under the present agreements, only European Union states can be full members to the WEU.

"We have three associate members who are members of NATO: Turkey, Norway and Iceland. Turkey does a good job. It participates actively and is in the planning cell," he said, adding Turkey, not a full member, would not have the right to veto any decision of the union.

Asked in a press conference if he saw any prospects of change in the status of Turkey, he said this was a matter of discussion with the members of the WEU.

Turkish Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay, who received the secretary-general late Thursday, said in his dinner speech that Turkey would lobby vis-a-vis key WEU states -- meaning Britain, France and Germany -- for full membership.

"We are living through a period when the WEU is living through a period of change. Turkey can take the initiative on certain areas. We will discover what role Turkey will play together," Gonensay said.

Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz also expressed to the secretary-general the Turkish desire to become full member. The same issue was raised by President Suleyman Demirel, who responded to Cutileiro's remarks that Turkey was very active in the WEU by saying: "Then why should it not be a full member?"