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TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (January 22, 1996)From: TRKNWS-L <trh@aimnet.com>Turkish News DirectoryTURKISH PRESS REVIEWMONDAY JANUARY 22, 1996CONTENTS[01] CILLER GETS SET TO BREAK ICE WITH YILMAZ FOR COALITION[02] UN SECRETARY-GENERAL WILL ATTEND HABITAT-II[03] HIJACK FERRY LEAVES TURKEY FOR RUSSIA[04] VOA DEFENDS US MILITARY AID TO TURKEY[05] ISRAEL: "TURKISH WATER INTERESTS MUST BE SAFEGUARDED"[06] RUSSIA STILL DEALING FOR CASPIAN PETROL[07] RUSSIA SEEKS ANTI-TERROR COOPERATION WITH TURKEY[08] SECOND TURKISH SATELLITE READY[09] CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF RETURNSTURKISH PRESS REVIEWMONDAY JANUARY 22, 1996Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning[01] CILLER GETS SET TO BREAK ICE WITH YILMAZ FOR COALITIONCaretaker Prime Minister and True Path Party (DYP) leader Tansu Ciller yesterday took the first steps to preparing the ground for Tuesday's key meeting with Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz for talks on a centre-right coalition. Ciller told reporters that she would make a formal offer for government partnership to ANAP when they meet on Tuesday and said: "The framework of the coalition can be discussed simultaneously with its program". Ciller noted that they were not going into the (upcoming) meeting with any preconditions and added: "It is our right to expect the same attitude from the other side". Despite the difficulties, Ciller said the DYP and ANAP were actually sister parties and she was optimistic that they would be able to beat a path to an eventual compromise. Ciller, vested with full powers for coalition talks by the DYP General Administration Board, the party's top decision-making body which met on Saturday, said she would also meet with other leaders but would make the coalition proposal only to ANAP. She denied that her reported insistence on remaining as prime minister was a stumbling block, saying she had no such lust to hold on power. "Otherwise, we could easily set up a coalition with the RP" Ciller said, implying that Erbakan would have agreed to a subordinate position. Ciller indicated that the most important thing for a partnership was the harmony of views of the participating sides, hence the emphasis she places on the discussion of the coalition program as the most important issue.President Suleyman Demirel assigned Ciller to form a new coalition last week after Welfare Party (RP) leader Necmettin Erbakan admitted failure in his efforts to draw partners from the mainstream right and left to his Islamists. /All papers/
[02] UN SECRETARY-GENERAL WILL ATTEND HABITAT-IIUN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali will attend the opening of the Habitat-II conference, which will be held in Istanbul on 3-14 June 1996. This will be the first visit to Turkey by a UN secretary-General in the last 20 years. Ghali postponed a scheduled visit to Turkey last year following Turkish protests about the UN's handling of the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The last visits by a UN chief were those of Kurt Waldheim, who visited this country in 1975 and 1978. /All papers/
[03] HIJACK FERRY LEAVES TURKEY FOR RUSSIAA Black Sea ferry with around 100 freed hostages left Turkey yesterday for the Russian port of Sochi. The 3,838-ton Avrasya, which docked at the Turkish Black Sea port of Eregli after a four-day hijack ordeal ended on Friday, headed for its original destination, Sochi, at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday. A written statement from the central executive board of the Caucasian Association said that the fact that the action ended without bloodshed was pleasing. The association thanked the president, the prime minister, the Istanbul governor and all security forces for the result. On the other hand, a group of people marched in Ankara to protest Russia's stance against Chechnya chanting slogans. /Hurriyet/
[04] VOA DEFENDS US MILITARY AID TO TURKEYIn an editorial broadcast on Saturday, January 20, the Voice of America (VOA) defended US military aid to Turkey which came under attack during the CBS television network's most recent episode of "60 Minutes". "Turkey helps all NATO members defend their interests in southeastern Europe. Because of Turkey's great strategic importance, US military aid to Turkey makes sense both for the US and for Turkey" the VOA editorial said. Mentioning PKK terrorism, the VOA praised the December 24 elections which were "conducted in a peaceful manner despite the fact that the people of Turkey had to deal with terrorism". VOA said that "members of this terrorist group (PKK) receive safe haven and some aid from Syria, Iraq and Iran"."The US fully supports the Turkish government in its fight against the PKK" VOA said, dispelling the doubts raised by the "60 Minutes" program. "PKK terrorists have murdered Turkish military personnel, government officials, school teachers and many ordinary citizens. PKK terrorists have bombed hotels, restaurants, marketplaces and public beaches. They have kidnapped tourists in Turkey and attacked Turkish diplomatic and commercial facilities in several other European countries. The Turkish goverenment has a responsibility to fight that kind of terrorism" VOA added. /Sabah/
[05] ISRAEL: "TURKISH WATER INTERESTS MUST BE SAFEGUARDED"Israel's Ambassador to Washington, Dr.Itamar Rabinovich, said during a Washington Institute lunch that Turkey was an important country in the region. The Israeli ambassador also added that Turkey's interests in the water issue must be integrated with the outcome of US-brokered peace negotiations between Israel and Syria. "If we speak about the new politics (of the Middle East), Turkey looms large in the region, it's a very important state" Rabinovic said. "It has a European dimension. It has a Middle Eastern dimension. We have a good dialogue. We would like to keep that partnership". /All papers/
[06] RUSSIA STILL DEALING FOR CASPIAN PETROLRussia is still very much in play for big shares in the Caspian Sea petrol reserves that Turkey and a number of other countries are also making a play for. Russia wants to have oil and natural gas supplies transported to world markets through Russian port facilities, and although Russia has signed agreements that at first glance suggest a willingness to cooperate with other countries, Russia has in fact signed in clauses that allow the Russians to "defend their Caspian Sea rights."Although Turkey has pushed ahead with a Turkish pipeline project, credit remains a problem as both the World Bank and the consortium of foreign companies also angling for a share, remain undecided about just which they will support. /Hurriyet/
[07] RUSSIA SEEKS ANTI-TERROR COOPERATION WITH TURKEYIn the wake of the Avrasya ferry-boat hijack, which again high-lighted the Chechen issue, Russian Federation Head of State Boris Yeltsin sent a note of thanks to President Suleyman Demirel for Turkey's cooperation in solving the hijack drama. Federation Prime Minister Victor Chernomyrdin also sent a similar note to Prime Minister Ciller.Yeltsin also suggested in his note that Turkey and Russia could cooperate more in the struggle against international terrorism. Noting that terrorism threatened everyone, Yeltsin said that Turkey and Russia should work together in their shared uncompromising stand against terror. /Hurriyet/
[08] SECOND TURKISH SATELLITE READYTurkey's second satellite, TURKSAT-1C, is ready for launching in June of this year. The satellite has passed all initial test procedures at the French Aerospatiale centre at Cannes, and will be launched with an Ariane-4 rocket from French Guinea.The satellite will have an active life of about twelve years, and during that time will bring in a yearly income of something like thirty million dollars. /Hurriyet/
[09] CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF RETURNSIsmail Hakki Karadayi, Chief of the General Staff, returned to Ankara after completing his official visits to India and Indonesia, the Anatolia news agency reported on Sunday. Karadayi said that his visits contibuted to the development of friendly relations between the Armed Forces of the two countries. Karadayi said he visited the defence industry complexes and military units in both countries, and added that Turkey had common viewpoints with Indonesia and India in various fields. /All papers/ |
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