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Turkish Press Review, 97-03-21
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
CONTENTS
[01] NEVRUZ, SYMBOL OF REBIRTH AND UNITY
[02] DUTCH PARLIAMENTARIANS: TURKEY AN IMPORTANT EU PARTNER
[03] UAE SIGNS $ 75 M DEAL FOR TURKISH ARMY CARRIERS
[04] TURKEY PREPARES FOR EU MEETING
[05] EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION VISITS TURKEY
[06] RED CRESCENT SENDS AID TO PAKISTAN
[07] UNDP AND TURKEY INCREASE SHARE IN DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
[08] $ 3 BILLION CREDIT FOR TURKEY PIPELINE
[09] ANKARA TO SELL 211 ARMORED VEHICLES TO KUALA LUMPUR
[10] PEACE IN NORTHERN IRAQ
[11] PAKISTANIS ADMIRE ATATURK
[12] LOCAL BY-ELECTIONS CANCELLED
[13] INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS OF TURKISH STUDENTS
[14] WARNING TO ATHENS
[15] PRIVATIZATION PROCESS
[16] BERISHA-DEMIREL PHONE CONVERSATION
[17] EUROPEAN SOCIALISTS INTENSIFY DIALOGUE WITH TURKEY
TURKISH PRESS REVIEW
FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 1997
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this
morning.
[01] NEVRUZ, SYMBOL OF REBIRTH AND UNITY
Nevruz is the oldest ritual of the Turks,and refers to the symbols of
nature, god, and human relations. Throughout history, Nevruz has been
an inseparable part of Turkish society and consolidates unity,
spiritual ties and friendship within the Turkish community. The
Nevruz tradition is deeply rooted in Turkish culture and its state
structure. The history of the Nevruz holiday dates back as far as
Turkish history itself.
The oldest known Turkish tribe had a calendar with 12 animals and the
first day of the new year, March 21, was during Nevruz, signifying the
advent of Spring. Every year on March 21, cultural activities,
conferences and traditional celebrations such as folk dancing and
festivals are held in Turkey to welcome Nevruz, a symbol of social
unity, joy and love. Nevruz has long been a part of Turkish culture
and has been gradually enriched over the centuries.
Nevruz is to be celebrated nationwide today throughout the country.
Issuing a message on Thursday President Suleyman Demirel said that the
most apparent characteristic of Nevruz was it its unifying aspect and
added that Nevruz had served peace for a thousand
years./Milliyet,Hurriyet,Sabah/
[02] DUTCH PARLIAMENTARIANS: TURKEY AN IMPORTANT EU PARTNER
Apparently supporting Turkey's continuing bid to gain full membership
in the European Union (EU), Dutch parliamentarian Gijs de Vries
affirmed on Thursday, "Turkey is a very important partner of the EU."
Chairman of the European Parliamentarian's Liberal Group de Vries and
another member of the group, Alexander Beels, arrived in Ankara on
Wednesday to evaluate the customs union situation and said they were
pleased with the positive outcome of the recent EU ministers' meeting
in Apeldoorn. The Dutch parliamentarians also pointed out Turkey's
importance as a stable factor in the Middle East, along with Israel.
De Vries and Beels will continue their talks in Istanbul following an
official welcome by Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan and Foreign
Minister Tansu Ciller./Hurriyet/
[03] UAE SIGNS $ 75 M DEAL FOR TURKISH ARMY CARRIERS
The United Arab Emirates said on Thursday it had signed several deals,
including a $ 75 million contract with Turkey's FMC-Nurol for 136
armoured combat vehicles. FMC-Nurol is a joint Turkish-U.S. venture.
The deals, announced at the end of the Gulf war Arab state's IDEX'97
arms show, also included seven helicopters from Eurocopter, a joint
venture of France's Aerospatiale and Germany's Daimler-Benz Aerospace
(DASA)./Sabah/
[04] TURKEY PREPARES FOR EU MEETING
The Turkish-European Union Partnership Committee will hold a session
on Thursday in Brussels to prepare for that organization's Council
meeting scheduled for April 29./All papers/
[05] EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION VISITS TURKEY
A European Parliament delegation, led by Socialist Group Chairman
Pauline Green, is paying a visit to Turkey to increase the dialogue
between Western European states and Ankara. "We aim to observe
developments in Turkish-European Parliament relations," Green told
reporters in Istanbul on Thursday. The delegation met with
representatives of many nongovernmental organizations, including human
rights groups in Istanbul. Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan and other
ministers will receive the delegation on Friday.
The delegation leaves Turkey on Saturday after holding meetings with
representatives of civic initiatives and political circles through
three days in Istanbul and Ankara./Milliyet/
[06] RED CRESCENT SENDS AID TO PAKISTAN
The Red Crescent on Thursday sent a shipment of food, medicine,
medical equipment and blankets to Pakistan which was recently hit by
devastating earthquake which resulted in the deaths of 120 people.
/All papers/
[07] UNDP AND TURKEY INCREASE SHARE IN DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
The United Nations development program (UNDP) and the Turkish
government have decided to beef up their financial support for the
project aimed at strengthening integrated development and reducing
socieconomic inequality in the Southeast Anatolia Project (GAP)
region, the Anatolia news agency reported. The UNDP will add $ 1.1
million in backing and Turkey plans to contribute $ 1.9 million to the
project which is tagged at $ 5 million. The remaining $ 2 million
will be financed by other participating countries or organizations.
/All papers/
[08] $ 3 BILLION CREDIT FOR TURKEY PIPELINE
The Russian gas monopoly Gazprom said on Wednesday that credit worth $
3 billion would be sought for a planned underwater gas pipeline
linking Russia and Turkey via the Black Sea. "this project will cost
$ 3 billion which will be met through credits. We are looking mainly
to European banks," Gazprom board member Vladimir Rezunenko said./All
papers/
[09] ANKARA TO SELL 211 ARMORED VEHICLES TO KUALA LUMPUR
Turkey has agreed to sell over 200 armored combat vehicles (ACV) to
Malaysia in a lucrative deal. The final agreement is expected to be
signed in the coming months. "Turkey and Malaysia have agreed in
principle to sign a deal for 211 armored vehicles at around $ 250
million," said a high level defense source./All papers/
[10] PEACE IN NORTHERN IRAQ
The Ankara process, initiated under the leadership of the US and
Turkey to provide peace and stability in northern Iraq, interrupted
when an official of the Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (IKDP) was
assassinated last week, re-started yesterday. The 14th meeting of the
Ceasefire Control and Observation Committee was held in Ankara
yesterday. IKDP Ankara Representative Safeen Dizai said that they
would attend the meetings until they reach a satisfactory result
regarding the assassination. However, they would not participate in
the high-level meetings included in the Ankara process. /Hurriyet/
[11] PAKISTANIS ADMIRE ATATURK
The 50th anniversary of the foundation of Pakistan was celebrated with
a reception attended by Turkish President Suleyman Demirel yesterday.
Pakistani Ambassador to Ankara, Humayun Han Bangash, welcomed Demirel.
Posters of the founder of Pakistan, Muhammed Ali Cinnah, and founder
of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, were hung everywhere.
Diplomatic circles said: "The Pakistani people have once more
demonstrated how much they admire Ataturk". /Hurriyet/
[12] LOCAL BY-ELECTIONS CANCELLED
Local by-elections supposed to be held in June were cancelled with a
law approved by the General Council of the Turkish Parliament
yesterday. The draft law, which was prepared by a special commission
consisting of representatives of political groups in the Turkish
Parliament, and envisages the postponement of local by-elections until
the local elections, was ratified by the General Council yesterday.
According to the draft law, local and local by-elections will be held
together with the deputy elections. /Milliyet/
[13] INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS OF TURKISH STUDENTS
Turkish students achieved great success at a maths contest organized
by the European Council of International Schools (ECIS). The contest
was hosted by the Turkish Education Foundation College TED. The TED
team came first in the contests. At the same time many TED students
ranked high in the final list and won the "Best of the best" award.
/Sabah/
[14] WARNING TO ATHENS
Greek attempts to block Turkish participation in military maneouvers
initiated by the Western European Union (WEU) have incurred fierce
criticism from the other WEU member countries. Following a fruitless
WEU meeting yesterday, NATO and WEU representatives warned Athens to
lift the veto imposed against Turkey, stressing that such attitudes
could harm NATO-EU cooperation. /Milliyet, Cumhuriyet/
[15] PRIVATIZATION PROCESS
The High Privatization Council convened yesterday. Following the
meeting, Deputy Foreign Minister Tansu Cıller made a statement noting
that decisions for the sale of six state economic enterprices had been
approved. The sale of these establishments, namely Etibank,
Anadolubank, Denizbank, Deniz Transportation, Petlas and the Ergani
Cement factory, will raise revenue of up to $600 million. /Hurriyet/
[16] BERISHA-DEMIREL PHONE CONVERSATION
Albanian President Sali Barisha yesterday called President Demirel and
gave him details about recent developments in Albania, torn apart by
civil war. According to a statement by the Presidency Press Center,
the Albanian leader told Demirel that a number of measures were being
taken to establish control over the situation. /Hurriyet/
[17] EUROPEAN SOCIALISTS INTENSIFY DIALOGUE WITH TURKEY
The Socialist Group, the largest political group in the European
Parliament has voiced support for Turkey's drive for integration with
Europe. Socialist Group leader Pauline Green, visiting Turkey, has
initiated a number of contacts with Turkish officials. Green has
urged the government to begin measures for improving further Turkey's
human rights record. /Hurriyet/
END
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