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Turkish Press Review, 97-02-14Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>CONTENTS
TURKISH PRESS REVIEWFEBRUARY 14, 1997Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning.[01] BIG FIRE IN TUZLA SHIPYARDIstanbul witnessed yesterday a new ship accident. A TPAO tanker burst into flames in the Tuzla shipyard at 17:25 yesterday during welding operations. Four nearby ships also caught fire.An explosion occured when firemen tried to extinguish the fire with water. Windows of houses in the area broke as a result of the explosion. One person was killed and 24 were injured in the accident. The fire was finally put down at 02:00. According to Environment Minister Ziyaettin Tokan, it will take a long time for the sea to be cleaned-up after the accident. /Cumhuriyet/ [02] RUSSIA HOSTS PKK CONFERENCEThe Committee on Geopolitical Issues of the Russian Duma has tightened its relations with the so-called Kurdish Parliament-in-exile. The separatists organized a "Conference on Cooperation between Russian and Kurdish People" which started on Thursday with assistance from the Committee. The conference was attended by a number of Duma deputies.The conference was first scheduled for January 16, but did not materialize then due to protests by Turkey. As the current conference was being prepared, the Turkish Embassy in Moscow contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry and warned them that activities of this kind, which are evidently in support of the PKK, should be stopped. /Sabah/ [03] PKK SETTLES ATRUSH CAMP REFUGEES IN BORDER VILLAGESA number of refugees leaving the Atrush camp in northen Iraq are being resettled by the PKK terrorist organization in villages along the Turco-Iraqi border, the Anatolia news agency reported. The refugees have been placed in border villages by the PKK as a kind of "buffer" in case of cross-border raids by Turkish troops. Anatolia also claimed that the PKK had positioned 300 armed men in the Atrush camp.[04] LABOR MINISTER ANNOUNCES DRAFT LAW ON UNIONSNecati Celik, Labor and Social Security Minister, has sent the prime ministry a draft law on trade unions for public sector workers. The draft, announced by Celik on Thursday in Ankara, envisages that workers will be organized in ten different service sectors and that collective bargaining and peaceful ways of solving disputes will be pursued.[05] CYPRUS PRESSURES INCREASINGConcern about the Cyprus issue developing is reaching new dimensions as leading US officials make statements on the situation. US Defence Secretary William Cohen said that relations with Turkey must be repaired and that there should be no further cancellations of military supplies to Turkey.President Clinton has also commented that peace on the island was vital to the region as a whole, and that the whole situation had to be drastically revised. But together with comments on the situation in general terms, there have been more warnings about the possible dangers inherent in the worsening situation on Cyprus. Meanwhile on the island, President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Rauf Denktas, said yesterday that new moves to open up the "ghost town" of Maras (Varosha) had been made, and that the town was being cleaned up prior to resettlement. Russian ambassador Vladimir Cijov, a key man involved in the purchase by the Greek Cypriots of Russian-made S-300 missile systems, said yesterday that neither Russia nor the Greek Cypriots had any intention of cancelling the agreement. He added that deployment of the missile units in the Greek Cypriot side of the island would happen within sixteen months. /All papers/ [06] TURKEY-GREECE RELATIONSUnited Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan announced that he did not believe that war between Turkey and Greece was imminent. He said that the UN had taken the steps needed to defuse the situation, and that now an easing in tensions could be expected. He added that he hoped neither Greek or Turkish would do anything to worsen the situation.Russia too, has worked a deal with the UN Security Council by getting the five permanent members to take up the Cyprus issue that is fueling tension between Turkey and Greece. /Hurriyet/ [07] PKK COUNTERFEITING OPERATIONS IN CYPRUSReports say that the terrorist PKK organization has set up counterfeiting operations in the southern part of Cyprus. Iraqi security sources claim that the PKK is printing counterfeit Iraqi money. The same reports claim that both the Greek Cypriot government and church officials are supporting the PKK. /Milliyet/[08] KARADAYI TO VISIT ISRAELIt is reported that Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen.Ismail Hakki Karadayi will pay an official visit to Israel at the end of this month. Gen.Karadayi will be received by Israeli President Ezer Weizman and meet with the Israeli Chief of General Staff and Defence Minister. It is reported that during the visit, an evaluation will be made regarding defence industry cooperation and especially on the F-4 agreement. Karadayi is expected to visit Turkish soldiers who will protect the Halil Ibrahim Mosque in Palestine. /Milliyet/[09] GREENS ARE AGAINST VISA IMPLEMENTATION ON TURKS IN GERMANYGerman Chairwoman of the Greens Group at the European Parliament (EP) Claudia Roth has declared that the visa implementation on Turkish people living in Germany and younger than 16 is a "political scandal" and a "violation of human rights". Roth held a press conference in Brussels yesterday and stated that they would launch initiatives against the German government for the removal of the implementation. She pointed out that the visa implementation did not comply with the Partnership Agreements between Turkey and the European Union (EU). Roth also called on the Turkish government to react against the German decision. Noting that they would submit a draft resolution regarding this issue to the EP, Roth said: "The EP should confirm that it is not only against human rights violations outside Erurope, but also inside Europe". /Milliyet/[10] SEMINARS ON EXPORTS TO EU"Seminars on Technical and Commercial Harmonization with the EU" (EXTAP) organized jointly by the Development Study Center for Exports (IGEME) and the Dutch Development Institute for Imports from Developing Countries (CBI) will be held in Mersin and Bursa. Two EXTAP seminars will be held in Mersin on 17-19 February with the cooperation of the Mediterranean Exporters' Union and in Bursa on 26-28 February with the cooperation of the Bursa Chamber of Trade and Commerce. During the seminars, technical information regarding exports to EU countries will be made available to participants. /Cumhuriyet/[11] TURKEY RANKS FIRSTTurkey has been elected first in tourism promotion at an international touristic film and video competition held during the "97 Tourism Fair" in Lisbon. According to the Tourism Ministry, at the competition attended by 31 countries and organized by an institution called Festoril, Turkey ranked first with its promotion campaigns and advertisements. /Cumhuriyet/[12] DM 250 MILLION FROM EUROPE TO HALKBANKThe state-run Halkbank completed its bond exports in the European market (Eurobond) to provide resources from foreign markets yesterday. Halkbank exported five-year term bonds worth DM 250 million. General-Director of Halkbank, Yenal Ansen, said: "We completed DM 250 millions worth of bond exports in one day. This is an indication of the prevailing confidence in Turkish banks and the Halkbank". /Hurriyet/[13] AID FOR NATIONAL PALACESJapan will extend aid worth 50 million Yen (TL 48.5 billion) for national palaces in Turkey to be used in maintaining audio-visual equipment. According to the Foreign Ministry, the Japanese government extends aid every year to a different institution in Turkey in order to contribute to cultural activities. An agreement regarding this aid was signed yesterday by Ambassador Ergun Pelit on behalf of Turkey and Japanese charge d'affairs Masamitsu Oki on behalf of Japan. /Hurriyet/[14] TURKISH 'EUROCOTON' TO BE SET UPTurkish cotton-textile producers are uniting. The Cotton-Textile Industralists' Union Association, which brought together a total of 32 cotton-textile producers from various provinces in Turkey, will be officially set up at the end of this month. /Cumhuriyet/[15] RETIREMENT IN FOREIGN EXCHANGESPresident Suleyman Demirel has signed a decision of the Council of Ministers which put into effect the law that enables Turkish people working in Germany to receive their retirement money in foreign exchange. This law grants the right to these people to get their pension from the social security institution in Turkey based on payment of premiums worth two and a half dollars each day. /Hurriyet/[16] TURKEY TO TENDER FOR NEW DIGITAL TELEPHONE SYSTEMTurkey is working on a plan to tender soon for its second digital telecommunications system to meet a growing demand for mobile telephones, Transport Minister Omer Barutcu said. Telecommunications officials said they expected that interest in the tender would be high.[17] MERCEDES TURK'S SALES TOP DM 1 BILLION IN 1996Mercedes-Benz Turk, a subsidiary of Germany's automotive manufacturer Mercedes-Benz, showed a turnover of over DM 1 Billion in 1996, up 82.3 percent from 1995, on sales of 8,600 vehicles, the company announced on Tuesday. Sixty percent of its earnings in 1996 came from the export of 1,012 buses to Russia, the EU and Middle East countries, company officials noted. /All papers/END Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |