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TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (December 25, 1995)
From: "Demetrios E. Paneras" <dep@bu.edu>
CONTENTS
[01] LATEST RESULTS OF GENERAL ELECTION
[02] TURKEY HEADING FOR THREE PARTY COALITION
[03] CUSTOMS UNION EFFECTIVE ON JANUARY 1
[04] WASHINGTON POST ADMITS PKK ARE TERRORISTS
[05] GW UNVERSITY STUDY SLAMS PKK
[06] BELGIUM GIVES GO-AHEAD FOR EUROPALIA TURKEY
[07] TURKISH CULTURE CENTRE TO BE OPENED IN KAZAKHSTAN
[08] WORLD BANK AMENDS LOAN
[09] ASSOCIATION OF TURKISH-FRENCH ENGINEERS CELEBRATES 40TH YEAR
TURKISH PRESS REVIEW
MONDAY DECEMBER 25, 1995
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press
this morning
[01] LATEST RESULTS OF GENERAL ELECTION
Latest preliminary results of voting for the Turkish Parliament
issued by Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT).
Results of party lists contest for the 550-seat parliament in
precentages after counting 99 % of votes. Parties must win
a minimum 10 % of votes nationally to qualify for seats.
PARTY
Welfare Party (RP)..............21.24 %
Motherland Party (ANAP).........19.65 %
True Path Party (DYP)...........19.20 %
Democratic Left Party (DSP).....14.60 %
Republican People's Party (CHP).10.74 %
National Movement Party (MHP)... 8.17 %
People's Democracy Party (HADEP) 3.92 %
Others.......................... 2.48 %
The MHP and the HADEP fail to clear the vote barrier. Both win
less than 10 % of the national vote. /All papers/
[02] TURKEY HEADING FOR THREE PARTY COALITION
Headed by the fundamentalist Welfare Party, Turkey's three major
parties are struggling in an election race that has left the
nation gasping. No party can come across with an outright win,
and in the closing stages of the count, it is clear that the
Welfare, Motherland and True Path parties are going to have to
share in a three party coalition.
Although Turkey wants to be a modern secular country, Welfare has
made massive headway. Reports all show that voting was strong
with everyone turn- ing out to vote, with only isolated cases of
tension at the ballots. Some of the parties that expected a
better result, and that failed to cross the ten percent
threshold, reportedly closed their offices early.
Sunday's election was followed by the international news
agencies, including CNN and the BBC. The official Russian agency
TASS also ran some updates and commentaries on how the election
was going. /Hurriyet-Milliyet-Cumhuriyet/
[03] CUSTOMS UNION EFFECTIVE ON JANUARY 1
With the customs union becoming effective on January 1, 1996,
Turkey will have to remove all customs and taxes imposed on goods
imported from the European Union (EU) member countries, and
bring its trade relations with third countries into harmony with
EU regulations. Fresh agricultural products will be included in
the scope of the customs union after 22 years, and protective
measures imposed on processed agricultural products will be
removed after three years. Protectionist policies followed in
respect to automotive industry and plastic goods production will
be gradually removed over five years. /Cumhuriyet/
[04] WASHINGTON POST ADMITS PKK ARE TERRORISTS
The Washington Post, the top Washington daily said in an
editorial on Saturday, that Turkey's human rights critics do have
a point, since the Turkish military, in its war against "Kurdish
separatists terrorists" can be "pretty raw". The Clinton
administration has approved the sale of 120 ATACMS to Turkey for
$130 million. The editorial reminded readers of Turkey's
continuing strategic importance as a bulwark against Muslim
fundamentalism, and as a base for flights against Saddam Hussein.
Thus "naturally an ally does not like being treated as a
conditional member of the club" the Post said. /All papers/
[05] GW UNVERSITY STUDY SLAMS PKK
A new study on the PKK released Friday by George Washington (GW)
University's Terrorism Studies Program suggests that by admitting
Turkey into the Customs Union (CU), the European countries have
in fact admitted that the PKK is a terror organization. "To gain
access to the EU, Turkey has had to overcome the perception that
PKK terrorism, which represents a small minority of extremist
individuals, must be treated as a human right issue of the entire
Kurdish population of southeast Turkey. Turkey's acceptance into
the EU suggests that the reality that PKK terrorism is a part of
the larger phenomenon of international terrorism is no longer
being challenged" the study said.
The GW study was conducted under the directorship of Prof.Yonah
Alexander. Michael P.Hankard and Saruhan S.Hatipoglu served as
Project Coodinators. The work constitutes a preliminary portion
of the research material to be integrated into a larger study on
Turkey and Terrorism, to be completed in late 1996, according to
Prof.Alexander. The 22-page study summarizes the PKK's history,
with details on the party's role in international drug
trafficking. The support the PKK received from Syria, Libya and
Greece in 1995 is also mentioned.
"During the past three years Turkey was among the 'top five'
countries attacked worldwide" GW study said. "Because the PKK
threatens the political stability, not only of Turkey, but also
of other countries in the Middle East and beyond, the
international community seems to play a greater role in dealing
with this challenge, joining Turkey in seeking solutions toward
the elimination of separatist terrorism in country" the study
concluded. /Cumhuriyet/
[06] BELGIUM GIVES GO-AHEAD FOR EUROPALIA TURKEY
The Belgian government announced over the weekend that no
obstacle remained in the path of Europalia Turkey, a major
cultural festival whose preparation was frozen earlier this year.
The Belgian official statement, which came after a cabinet
meeting, said the Turkish file has seen "important improvements
in the last few weeks". The statement said the Turkish programme
for the festival was "balanced and extensive". The funds, which
had been frozen, will be released immediately. The Europalia
Foundation, which was founded on the initiative of the king of
Belgium, chooses a country every three to five years, and
highlights its culture. The cultural festival is jointly financed
by the country in question and Belgian public and private
sponsors. /All papers/
[07] TURKISH CULTURE CENTRE TO BE OPENED IN KAZAKHSTAN
A Turkish culture centre will be opened in Almati, the capital of
Kazakhstan, in May next year. The agreement to open the centre
was signed between Vladimir Kutovoy, Kazakh deputy culture
minister, and Veli Ekin, a cultural advisor of the Turkish
Embassy in Almati. The centre will have a library, reading room,
cafeteria and administrative departments. The set-up cost will be
$130,000. /All papers/
[08] WORLD BANK AMENDS LOAN
The World Bank on Tuesday approved an amendment to the Turkish
Earthquake Rehabilition and Reconstrution Project of 1992, a
statement from the Bank has said. The Bank said funds worth $33
million will be available to help the Turkish government finance
emergency reconstruction of urban infrastructure in the town of
Senirkent, damaged by flooding and mud slides in July this year.
The Bank is also considering the formulation of a similar
reconstruction plan for the city of Dinar, another major
earthquake hit. Another amendment is likely to be submitted to
the Bank's board when the Turkish government finishes its
assessment of the damage. /All papers/
[09] ASSOCIATION OF TURKISH-FRENCH ENGINEERS CELEBRATES 40TH YEAR
The Friendship Association of Turkish-French Engineers celebrated
its 40th foundation anniversary and set up its new general
council. The Association, which consists of Turkish engineers and
scientists who speak French, and French engineers who work in
Turkey, organizes activities to raise the engineering level in
Turkey and promote Turkish and French technologies. Azatcan
Iskender was selected association chairman and Kamil Bilgin
general secretary at the election of the congress. /Milliyet/
END
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