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Turkish Press Review, 96-10-31Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>CONTENTS
TURKISH PRESS REVIEWTHURSDAY OCTOBER 31, 1996Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning[01] US: SYRIA IS A 'DIRECT SUPPORTER AND FUNDER' OF TERRORISMThe US State Department, in what seemed to some observers to be an indirect attempt to turn the heat up a notch on Syria for its reluctance to sign a peace deal with Israel, called Syria a 'direct supporter and funder' of terrorism. The Syria issue was brought about when a journalist asked spokesman Nicholas Burns how the Administration had reacted to the three suicide bombings in Turkey that the PKK took credit for. "According to Turkish officials, most terrorists come across the Turkish-Syrian border" he said. "We've seen the video" Burns answered. "We've seen reports about the terrorist attacks today. We obviously condemn them because we are against terrorism".But he said he needed more time to have a more detailed assessment of the situation. "We're not in a position at this point, several hours after these bombings occurred, to trace it back to those who are responsible. But obviously we'll give the Government of Turkey any support necessary to combat terrorism. You know that's been our position. We're a good ally of Turkey in this regard" he said. /All papers/ [02] LUXEMBOURG COURT REFUSES TO RELEASE MED-TV AIDEA Luxembourg court has refused a request by Canadian businessman Richard Adam, who is charged with laundering money for MED-TV, the television station affiliated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), to be released on bail while awaiting trial. The judge refused Adam's demand on the grounds that he would attempt to escape from the country.In February 1996, Adam allegedly tried to launder cash from an account in Southern Cyprus by transfering it to his own account in the Banque Continentale in Luxembourg. In previous court sessions, Adam confessed that he was going to transfer the money to organizations controlled by MED-TV in return for a commission. The Luxembourg police said that they suspected that the money was probably from narcotics smuggling. If Adam, in jail for the past seven months, is found guilty, he faces a prison term of one to five years. /All papers/ [03] TURKEY VOWS TO HELP PRO-DOSTUM FORCESAs the Regional Conference on Afghanistan in Tehran ended, Turkey, which originally offered to host the conference, promised to send humanitarian aid to General Rashid Dostum. Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller yesterday received former State Minister Ayvaz Gokdemir, now True Path Party Kayseri Deputy, who met with General Dostum, the Uzbek militia leader known for his close ties with Turkey."Dostum has certain requests from Turkey. These requests are about to be met" Ciller told journalists after the meeting. While the foreign minister remained silent on the nature of the requests, both Foreign Ministry officials and Gokdemir said that the requests concerned humanitarian aid. Ankara, meanwhile, declared that it had no concrete plan for peace in Afghanistan but was willing to contribute to any peace initiative among the parties. /Hurriyet/ [04] PEACE TALKS BETWEEN IRAQI KURDISH GROUPS IN ANKARAPeace talks between rival Iraqi Kurdish groups got off to a difficult start in Ankara yesterday with the senior US-envoy co-brokering the talks with Turkey and Britain leaving the meeting for "consultations with Washington". Robert Pelletreau, Assistant US Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, who left yesterday's meeting, told reporters that he needed to consult on a number of "difficult issues" although he down-played the interruption.The admission of difficulties came half an hour after Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Onur Oymen, one of the three co-chairmen, left the meeting saying that the talks were progressing in a very "harmonious and useful manner". "The afternoon session will be on technical details, which will continue tomorrow (Thursday) morning" he said. "The focus is on making the cease-fire last" he said. Oymen, Pelletreau and British diplomat Frank Baker acted as the co-chairmen at the meeting. Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Omer Akbel earlier on Wednesday said that peace between Kurdish groups and the establishment of stability were aims Turkey shared. Before the meeting, Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller drew attention to the key role of the Turkmens in the region. Ciller said that Turkey had always told leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Celal Talabani, and leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Mesud Barzani, to establish peace and then agree on a regional administration where the Turkmens would be established as equal parties. For his part, Pelletreau stressed that they were all in Ankara to help in consolidating the cease-fire and work together to restabilize northern Iraq. /Hurriyet/ [05] 3,661 FIRMS SET UP IN SEPTEMBERThe State Institute of Statistics (DIE) said that a total of 3,661 new firms were established during September this year. A DIE report said that 3,661 new businesses had registered total capital stock worth TL 10.573 trillion. The report said another 1,588 firms had registered capital increases of a total value of TL 51.891 trillion. DIE officials said that 126 of the newly established firms were in retailing and wholesailing, motor vehicles, personal goods and home appliances repair, 966 were in the production and construction sectors, 236 in real estate, 218 in transportation, and 44 in the agriculture and forestry sectors. /All papers/[06] BAYINDIR HOLDING RECEIVES $41 MILLION LOANTurkey's Bayindir Holding received a $41.75 million loan from Germany's Bayerische Vereinsbank A.G.-led banking consortium via Salomon Brothers. The Holding said in a written statement that the loan would be used to finance the construction of Antalya International Airport which began on July 31, 1996. Construction work on the airport is expected to be completed by 1998, raising its capacity to five million passengers per year. /All papers/[07] ZEYBEK: TURKS SHOULD INVEST IN MOLDOVATurkish companies should invest more in the former Soviet Republic of Moldova, said State Minister Namik Kemal Zeybek in Istanbul yesterday. "The Turkish government is encouraging Turkish companies to invest in Moldova" Zeybek told a meeting of the Turkish-Moldova Business Council. The aim of the meeting, which was attended by Turkish and Moldovian businessmen and officials, was to find ways to expand trade relations. The Moldovian side was led by Industry Minister Girgore Tribore and Privatization Minister Ceslav Ciobanu. State Minister Zeybek said that increasing economic ties between the two countries would help contribute to regional peace and cooperation. Zeybek added that Turkey's state export agency, Turk Eximbank, had set aside $35 million in credits to assist Turkish companies do business in Moldova. /All papers/[08] MALAYSIA SEEKS FOOD IMPORTSMalaysian Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Dato Haci Ebu Hasan Ebu Omer told the Anatolia news agency that his country wasTurkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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