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Turkish Press Review, 97-01-06Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>CONTENTS
TURKISH PRESS REVIEWMONDAY JANUARY 6, 1997Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning.[01] D-8 STATES TO FOUND GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONMinisters from eight fast growing Islamic countries, who met in Istanbul on Saturday, have agreed to form a global organization whose members will include all developing countries, aiming for economic and trade cooperation. The nations represented at the one-day talks -Turkey, Nigeria, Egypt, Pakistan, Iran, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Malaysia- agreed to form the group called the Developing-8 (D-8), Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan told a news conference on Saturday.Erbakan, who chaired the meeting, said that the group would have a permanent secretariat in Istanbul, and "would eventually have 150 of the world's 185 nations as members". Turkey, he said, would finance the first year of operation of the permanent secretariat. Erbakan noted that the heads of state of the eight nations would form the D-8 at a summit meeting in Istanbul to be held within six months. Meanwhile, Erbakan stated that Ankara accepted Iran's proposal to mediate regarding Turco-Syrian relations. Erbakan said: "Turkey wants to live in peace with all countries. We will appreciate any country's efforts exerted to contribute to this". Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Ekber Velayeti said that he would convey Turkey's views to Syrian Deputy Head of State Abdulhalim Haddam and Foreign Minister Faruk El Shara. It is reported that Iran aims to bring Turkey and Syria together at a tripartite meeting on "Iraqi security" to be held in Tehran. Velayeti also proposed to establish a joint defence pact with Turkey. Erbakan said that Turkey was interested in further cooperation between Turkey and Iran in defence technology. /Milliyet-Hurriyet/ [02] HOPE APPEARS AT SUMMIT ON AFGHANISTANThe Afghanistan summit meeting which included the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Iran and Turkey was chaired on Sunday by Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan to seek a definitive peace to end the bloody clashes in Afghanistan. During the meeting, the three parties agreed on seven resolutions. The two-hour peace summit was attended by Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Ekber Velayeti, Pakistani Foreign Minister Sahabzade Yakub-Khan and Turkish Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller and State Minister Abdullah Gul. The summit resolutions announced afterwards by Erbakan at a joint press conference called for fighting groups in Afghanistan to agree to a definitive cease-fire and start the peace process, in the name of the upcoming holy month of Ramadan during which the Islamic faith enjoys a reinforcement of brotherhood, tolerance and peace."The war conditions of the past 18 years not only increased death and suffering among the Afghani people, but has also threatened regional peace. The problems have to solved by peaceful ways and a state based on democratic principles has to be founded" Erbakan said. Underlining the necessity of protecting the independence and territorial integrity of Afghanistan, the resolutions envisioned that the fighting groups would be called upon to seek a joint solution which would be acceptable to all sides, instead of trying for military solutions. One of the most important resolutions of the meeting was that third countries not give support to one or the other of the fighting groups and should stop supplying arms and military equipment to Afghanistan. Furthermore, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey have called upon the international community to contribute to the rebuilding process in Afghanistan and the return of Afghani refugees to their own homes. The three countries also agreed on meeting repeatedly in the future to evaluate developments and monitor the carrying out of the goals decided upon. /Milliyet-Cumhuriyet-Sabah/ [03] TURKISH DEPUTIES FLY TO ISRAELA group of Turkish parliamentaries, led by Parliament Speaker Mustafa Kalemli, have left for a tour of Israel. The six-member Turkish delegation will present to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli President Ezer Weizman messages from President Suleyman Demirel. Speaking at Esenboga Airport before the group's departure, Kalemli told reporters that Turkey strongly supports the Middle East peace process and that this topic would take up a large part of the group's agenda. "Turkey and Israel are the only democratic and secular states in the region" Kalmeli told reporters. /Cumhuriyet/[04] DENKTAS SAYS RUSSIAN MISSILES WILL NOT DETER HIS COMMUNITYTurkish Cypriot President Rauf Denktas said on Sunday that a decision by the Greek Cypriot community to purchase missiles from Russia will not deter his community. "They have resorted to trying every route for the past 33 years and have not succeeded in reaching their aims" Denktas said. Denktas also referred to a comment on the BBC on Sunday which suggested that Moscow was selling the missiles to Greek Cyprus to draw attention to the Cyprus problem. Pointing out that if this was the case, it was a "dangerous and mistaken tactic", Denktas said the Greek Cypriot side was now "hiding behind Russian missiles" in order to avoid coming to the negotiating table.Turkish Defence Minister Turhan Tayan on Saturday accused the Greek Cypriot administration of mounting an arms build-up on the divided island of Cyprus. Tayan said that the Greek Cypriot authorities were continuously arming themselves and not displaying the necessary maturity to secure peace in Cyprus. /Cumhuriyet/ [05] TURKEY TO SEARCH FOR SUDANESE OIL IN THE RED SEAThe State-owned oil company, TPAO, is to join an international consortium to search for oil in Sudanese waters in the Red Sea. State Minister Teoman Riza Guneri said Turkey had signed a preliminary agreement with Sudan to participate in the exploration and the production of the African nation's large oil reserves in the Red Sea. The details of the TPAO agreement will be hammered out in March in a Joint Economic Commission meeting between the two countries. It is reported that the other participant members of the consortium will be determined in the upcoming months. /Milliyet-Sabah/[06] NEW PROHIBITIONS ON SEPARATIST PROPAGANDAThe government has banned the distribution of several publications allegedly promoting the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the Anatolia news agency reported. The government decree bans the distribution of various books, journals, newspapers and audio cassettes giving support to the outlawed group. The ban covers books written by PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.Meanwhile, PKK leader Ocalan said that they had benefitted from the presence of the Operation Provide Comfort (OPC) in northern Iraq, but denided that they had received direct military aid from the OPC. During an interview on the illegal MED-TV channel yesterday night, Ocalan noted that they took advantage of the authority vacuum in northern Iraq while the OPC was in operation. /Milliyet/ [07] FOREIGN CAPITAL BOOMSThere was a boom in the amount of foreign capital in December. Permissions for foreign capital increased by 160 % in December and rose to $2.6 billion. Permissions in 1996 increased by 31 % when compared to the previous year and rose to $3.8 billion. /Cumhuriyet-Milliyet/[08] TRABZON HARBOUR PROFITSTrabzon Harbour, put on sale within the framework of the privatization programme, has made great profits this year in comparison to the last year. Harbour profits have increased from TL 17 billion in 1995 to TL 120 billion in 1996. Officials note that Trabzon harbour has become an important import and export harbour and that trade with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has especially contributed to intensifying the activities at the harbour. /Cumhuriyet/[09] TURKEY SENDS SOLDIERS TO BOSNIATurkey will send 1,500 soldiers to Bosnia-Herzegovina to participate in the Stabilization Force to replace the NATO Peace Implementation Force. Turkish soldiers will represent 15 percent of the total multinational force consisting of 10,000 soldiers. More than 30 countries, including 16 NATO members, are expected to participate in the force. /Milliyet/[10] TURKISH BOND MARKET HIGHLY PROFITABLEIn 1996, the Istanbul bonds market was ranked sixth with respect to profitability among world bond markets. According to a report published in the Wall Street Journal, the Istanbul bonds market has achieved a 135.6 percent growth, and its index was 94,304 points. /Sabah/[11] WINDS OF CHANGE BLOWING BETWEEN ATHENS AND ANKARAThere is every indication that Athens is taking a new line in connection with improving relations between Greece and Turkey. Since 1980, Greece has persisted in taking a hard line with Turkey, but now Athens has begun to show a more conciliatory attitude with top officials saying that Athens will stop trying to block Turkey's efforts to become a full member of the European Union (EU).Even hard line military leaders look as though they are changing their outlook. Hawkish individuals are becoming less prominent, and more "dove-like" people are being appointed to positions in the diplomatic services. /Milliyet/ [12] CLINTON SENDS TOUGH MESSAGE TO GREEK CYPRIOTSAccording to a report in the Greek To Vima newspaper, President Clinton has sent a strongly worded note to the Greek Cypriot community on Cyprus condemning the military measures they are taking against the Turkish side on the island.In his note, Clinton notes that rather sitting down and talking with the Turkish side, the Greek Cypriots are going all out to arm themselves to the teeth and buying things like the Russian S-300 missile system. Clinton stressed that this kind of action would do nothing to help solve the problems between the two sides. Despite the strong US warning against the purchase of so much Russian military hard-ware, there is little sign of any positive reaction from the Greek Cypriot administration. Reports from island say that Clinton's warnings, have ưn fact, fallen on deaf ears. /All papers/ [13] GREEK CYPRIOT TROOPS TO TRAIN IN RUSSIAThere are further reports that Greek Cypriot troops will be trained in Russia. This, together with the fact that the Greek Cypriot side is buying Russian missile systems, tanks and attack helicopters has created serious reaction in Ankara. The Ankara government strongly objects to the developments taking place in the Greek Cypriot community. /Milliyet/[14] CROSS BORDER OPERATIONS CONCLUDEDTurkish military forces have concluded their cross-border operations in northern Iraq against PKK terrorist strong-holds in the mountains there.The operations, which began on the night of December 31, have decimated PKK forces and wrecked camps and support channels. During the attacks an estimated 150 terrorists were killed and three Turkish members of the armed forces lost their lives. /All papers/ [15] TURKEY GETS READY TO HOST AIR OLYMPIC GAMESThe Turkish Air League (THK) is pulling out all the stops in preparation for the first Air Olympic Games, set to take place on September 13-21, 1997, in Turkey. The THK will host the games. Roughly 4,000 fliers from 75 countries are expected to participate in the event. /All papers/END Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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