TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (July 14, 1995)

From: hristu@arcadia.harvard.edu (Dimitrios Hristu)

CONTENTS

  • [01] SEARCHING FOR PEACE IN THE BALKANS

  • [02] TURKEY STRONGLY CONDEMNS SERB INVASION OF SREBRENICA

  • [03] TURKEY AND BULGARIA COOPERATE OVER TRANSPORTATION ISSUES

  • [04] CONGRESS OF EURASIAN WOMEN TO BE HELD IN ANKARA

  • [05] 28 PKK MILITANTS AND SEVEN SOLDIERS KILLED IN SOUTHEAST

  • [06] FOREIGN RESERVES AT NEW PEAK

  • [07] MIDEAST MINISTERS MEET TO DISCUSS POWER GRID LINKUP

  • [08] GREEK CYPRIOT ARMY ESTABLISHES NEW MILITARY POSITIONS

  • [09] TURKEY-GREECE LETTER WAR

  • [10] GERMANY TO SUPPORT SOUTHEAST INVESTMENT

  • [11] HIGH LEVEL BORDER SECURITY

  • [12] TURKEY ON AGENDA OF STRASBOURG SUMMIT

  • [13] CONFESSION ABOUT GREEK-PKK COOPERATION

  • [14] TURKEY JAPAN`S DOORWAY TO THE EU

  • [15] TURKISH CARICATURIST WINS SECOND PRIZE IN INTERNATIONAL CONTEST

    •

    WITH THE COMPLIMENT OF

    DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION

    TURKISH PRESS REVIEW

    JULY 14, 1995

    Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish

    press this morning.

    [01] SEARCHING FOR PEACE IN THE BALKANS

    President Suleyman Demirel yesterday called on the international community to respond firmly to the developments unfolding in Bosnia and to salvage the reputation of the UN. "Bosnia is sinking the world system, this is not Turkey's problem, it is the problem of the whole international community" Demirel said at a press conference in Tirana with Albanian President Sali Berisha. Demirel also said that if the UN decided to pull its peacekeepers out of Bosnia, the Turkish contingent in central Bosnia would have to act together with the international community in this respect. This was the first suggestion from Turkey that Turkish troops would also be pulled out of Bosnia if the UN mission in that country was to end. "Regardless of whether it is Muslim blood or Christian blood that is being shed, this must be stopped. If you have Muslim volunteers on the one side and Christian volunteers on the other, this will bring the world to a very bad point. Turkey is against the settling of problems through bloodshed. Turkey is a valuable member of the international community and anything that concerns the international community concerns Turkey" Demirel said. Characterizing the inability of the international community to prevent the bloodshed in Bosnia as a sign of "weakness", Demirel said: "What Turkey will do for events in Bosnia is to call on the international community to act. Other than this, what Turkey will do depends on what the international community wants it to do".

    Turkish leaders are following a policy that they hope will lead to peace and stability in the Balkan regions. President Demirel noted during his speeches there that he had no political motives behind his visit. Demirel assured his audiences that Turkey was more concerned about regional peace and stability, than trying to score political points.

    Speaking at the Albanian parliament yesterday, Demirel said that Turkey saw the Albanian people as friends, and supported them in moves towards greater development. Demirel added that based on sound political ties, the Albanian government and people trusted in Turkey.

    Today Demirel will journey on to Macedonia and give a speech in the parliament there. /Sabah-Hurriyet-Cumhuriyet/

    [02] TURKEY STRONGLY CONDEMNS SERB INVASION OF SREBRENICA

    Turkey strongly condemned the Bosnian Serbs' invasion of the UN "safe haven" of Srebrenica in Bosnia and called for a more courageous and determined stance from the international community, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday. "This attack is an obvious violation of the UN resolutions" Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Nurettin Nurkan said. Nurkan disclosed that Turkey has launched a series of top-level diplomatic initiatives to try to prevent Serb attacks. "But, the international community's reaction to aggression was too late and inadequate. The UN lost its prestige with this incident. Srebrenica's status as a safe haven should immediately be restored in keeping with the UN Security Council's latest resolution" he urged. Nurkan also called on the UN to act more effectively and decisively and asked for reshaping and strengthening of UNPROFOR's mandate. He pointed out that the peace plan prepared by the Western contact group and now being considered by the Bosnian government should be immediately implemented. Meanwhile, Inal Batu, Turkey's Permanent Representative to the UN, said in a statement in New York yesterday that the UN Security Council's prestige had decreased to zero. "They could only produce a resolution of comdemnation 48 hours after the incident. The occupation of Srebrenica is the result of the UN's policy of mollifying the Serbs" he said. Batu characterized the latest incident as a slap in the Security Council's face. In a related development, the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) contact group, which held a meeting at Turkey's initiative, released a communique yesterday strongly condemning the Serb attacks targeting Srebrenica and calling for lifting the arms embargo on Bosnia.

    The dreadful failure of the UN to do anything about the current developments in Bosnia has been strongly reacted to by Ankara.

    Turkish government representatives said yesterday that the UN and its peace forces in the region were fast losing all credibility. Officials noted that for over a year, the UN had failed to produce any concrete results in any area of the crisis.

    Turkish Defence Minister Mehmet Golhan also confirmed that Turkey was ready to lend support in any way that would help to end the atrocious conditions in Bosnia. /Cumhuriyet-Hurriyet/

    [03] TURKEY AND BULGARIA COOPERATE OVER TRANSPORTATION ISSUES

    Ali Sevki Erek, the Transportation Minister, has participated in a meeting of the Turco-Bulgarian transportation committee in Sofia, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday. Erek headed the Turkish delegation and Stamen Stamenov, Bulgarian Transportation Minister, headed his country's delegation in the meeting. Erek said that economic and trade relations between Bulgaria and Turkey are developing and the two countries are cooperating about transportation issues.

    [04] CONGRESS OF EURASIAN WOMEN TO BE HELD IN ANKARA

    A Congress of Eurasian Women, organized by the General Directorate of Women's Status and Problems, will be held on July 17 in Ankara, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday. The Congress will last three days and representatives from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus), Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Romania, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Ukraine will participate. The opening speech will be made by Prime Minister Tansu Ciller.

    [05] 28 PKK MILITANTS AND SEVEN SOLDIERS KILLED IN SOUTHEAST

    Twenty-eight militants of the PKK terrorist organization and seven soldiers were killed in military operations in the southeastern region, while two more militants surrendered. Emergency rule region officials said 11 militants were killed in Sirnak's Gabar district, nine in Hakkari's Yuksekova and Semdinli districts, three in Van's Gurpinar district, two in Mus' Cevizdere district and one in Diyarbakir's Lice district. The seven soldiers were killed and 12 soldiers were wounded in action during the clashes, and two more militants surrendered -one in Mus and one in Sirnak's Gabar district. Two terrorists were killed during the military operations. Meanwhile, 17 PKK militants were captured and arrested in Bingol, Batman, Mus, Siirt, Tunceli and Van. Four PKK militants were captured in Icel. Two members of an outlawed leftist group were caught in Icel in another military operation. /Milliyet-Sabah/

    [06] FOREIGN RESERVES AT NEW PEAK

    Turkey's foreign currency reserves on July 13 broke yet another record and reached an all-time high of $13.506 billion, up $157 million from a week ago, a statement from the Central Bank (CB) said yesterday. It said that on June 23 Turkey's gross international reserves, including gold, stood at $23.52 billion. Of this, $1.38 billion were gold reserves, $13.42 million were CB foreign currency reserves and $8.72 billion were foreign currency accounts held by commercial banks. The Central Bank's foreign currency reserves exceeded the $13 billion mark for the fist time on June 16 and June 30 the CB's foreign currency reserves were $13.34 billion. /Cumhuriyet/

    [07] MIDEAST MINISTERS MEET TO DISCUSS POWER GRID LINKUP

    "Turkey, which is already a geographic bridge between Asia and Europe, hopes to become one for the transportation of energy as well" said Energy Minister Veysel Atasoy at a ministerail meeting on linking the power grids of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Turkey, which started yesterday in Belek, Antalya. Energy planning in Turkey is developing at a very fast rate, said Atasoy, adding that attempts are being made to use local resources as much as possible. "Environmental protection is always at the top of our list" he said. The project for linking the power grids of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Turkey started with an agreement signed in 1989. The draft for the interconnection agreement will be agreed to in 1996. It is expected that the project will bring in a profit of 118 percent. Egyptian Energy Minister Muhammed Abaza said in turn that "Energy resources are the common property of all nations. By 1998, most countries will be a part of the interconnection system. The Islamic Development Bank and the European Investment Bank are helping us to realize our project as quickly as we can". /Cumhuriyet/

    [08] GREEK CYPRIOT ARMY ESTABLISHES NEW MILITARY POSITIONS

    The Greek Cypriot National Guard has begun to build new military positions along the "green line", which separates the two communities on the island. "Our initiatives with UN peacekeeping officials had no result" Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) officials disclosed. The Greek Cypriot administration is reportedly increasing its arms purchases according to the joint defence agreement which was signed with Greece last year. Last week, the Greek Cypriots began to protest against the TRNC, claiming that Turkish Cypriots were building a military position along the green line. Turkish Cypriot officials disclosed that the area -known as Yigitler Burnu- which is claimed to be a military position, will be a play-ground for children. /Hurriyet/

    [09] TURKEY-GREECE LETTER WAR

    In the halls of the United Nations, there is a letter war raging over the Turkey-Greece Aegean Sea dispute. Both sides are writing letters complaining about the actions of the other, and accusing each other of provocative claims and actions designed to stir up further contention.

    Turkey has of course been obliged to respond to Greek moves to extend its coastal territorial limits. Noting that the Aegean Sea was a closed sea, Turkey has declared that the Greek interpretation of the international marine laws was erroneous. Since then, Greece has written further letters and Turkey has replied to them in terms that leave no doubt as to just what Turkish policy on the matter is. /Cumhuriyet/

    [10] GERMANY TO SUPPORT SOUTHEAST INVESTMENT

    Following the recent signing of a new technical cooperation protocol between Turkey and Germany, agreement has been reached on more German investment in the southeastern regions of Turkey.

    Reports show that this year German investors will support credit of up to 135 million marks for the region, repayable over thirty years at a yearly interest rate of two percent. Initial investments will target social and environmental projects. By the years end it is likely that total investment will be higher than the current figures. /Sabah/

    [11] HIGH LEVEL BORDER SECURITY

    Military representatives said yesterday that new measures being taken along the borders between Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria will boost security and make the border like a "fortress."

    Tough new measures will prevent the infiltration of PKK terrorists from Syria, Iraq and Iran. Military officials added that the new controls would be fully effective by winter. Units in the region have also been beefed up in readiness for further action against the PKK terrorist organization. /All papers/

    [12] TURKEY ON AGENDA OF STRASBOURG SUMMIT

    It has been pointed out that the customs union between Turkey and the European Union was on the agenda of the meeting between French and German foreign ministers in Strasbourg. A high ranking French foreign ministry official has disclosed that French Foreign Minister Herve de Charette and his German counterpart, Klaus Kinkel, discussed the customs union issue and decided to exchange views on the issue until the vote on customs union in the European Parliament in autumn. French President Jacques Chirac and the new term chairman of the European Union, Spanish Foreign Minister Javier Solana have already supported Turkey's customs union during their speeches at the beginning of the week. Greek Cypriots have continued with their strong reaction against French President Chirac's words by saying that Greek Cypriot membership in the European Union could not be realized prior to resolving the Cyprus issue. Representative of the Greek side, Yannakis Kasulides, noted that Greek Cypriots leader Glafkos Kleridis, had sent a protest letter to French President Chirac. On the other hand, The Wall Street Journal, one of the leading US newspapers, praised the speech of French President Jacques Chirac in European Union Meetings. The newspaper said that it was the first time that the intention strengthening ties with Turkey had been clearly disclosed by Chirac saying that if Turkey's wish to unite with Europe was discouraged then Europe would later be the one to feel sorry about it. The paper said: "The European Parliament should understand the importance of Chirac's words. The European Commission, which prepared a recent report saying that human rights violations could be an obstacle to Turkey's customs union with the EU, is nevertheless working to create a friendship with Russia despite the isolation of Chechnya, and overlooks human rights violations in the People's Republic of China in order to boost its relations with China." In the Wall Street Journal article it was further stressed that like Chirac, other European leaders should support Turkey. /Hurriyet-Sabah/

    [13] CONFESSION ABOUT GREEK-PKK COOPERATION

    New evidence about the close cooperation between Athens and the PKK terrorist organization has come to light through statements claiming that 174 PKK terrorists wounded during combat with the Turkish Armed Forces have been treated in Greece. Bahtiyar Can, representative in Greece of a PKK-affiliated organization called the "Kurdistan Red Crescent" stated yesterday that 174 terrorists had been treated in Greek hospitals and that last year 37 operatiopns had been carried out. Commenting on the results of the activities of the PKK terrorist organization during last year after opening a bureau in Athens, Can said: "We are pleased with the support of Greece but we are asking for more support". ERNK, the political wing of the PKK stated yesterday in Athens that they would make a call for hunger strikes throughout Europe and Turkey on 20 July in order to protest the latest military operation of the Turkish Armed Forces against PKK camps in northern Iraq. /Milliyet/

    [14] TURKEY JAPAN`S DOORWAY TO THE EU

    It has been stated that a problem regarding the export of Japanese cars free of customs to EU countries , has been solved during the contacts of Serge Abou, the EU Commission Chief of the Turkey desk, within the framework of Turkey's customs union with the EU. According to officials from the Foreign Ministry, the EU has accepted the export of Japanese cars produced in Turkey to EU countries. Officials stated that the EU had been opposed until now to the export of cars produced in third countries and Turkey, which were not members of the union. But they added that this problem had been overcome during previous discussions. Turkey will provide regular statistical information to the EU regarding car production in order to prevent the duty free export of Japanese cars not made in Turkey. In this connection, cars produced by the SABANCI-TOYOTA partnership at their Adapazari plant, could be exported to EU countries free of customs duty. It is reported that Turkish made Toyota cars produced by the SABANCI group and TOFAS produced Tempra models could grab an important share in the European car market. /Milliyet/

    [15] TURKISH CARICATURIST WINS SECOND PRIZE IN INTERNATIONAL CONTEST

    Eray Ozbek, a Turkish caricaturist, took second place in the 27th World Caricature Competition which was held in the Macedonian city of Skobje, the Anatolia news agency reported. Collecting a prize of DM 1,000, Ozbek said his main desire with regard to caricatures is to establish a professional body recognized by Turkish society.

    END

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