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Turkish Press Review, 97-05-12
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
CONTENTS
[01] CILLER GOES TO PARIS FOR WEU MEETING
[02] DEMIREL ATTENDS ECO SUMMIT
[03] IRAQ, TURKEY SIGN GAS PIPELINE DEAL
[04] TERRORISTS KILL AT IRAQI BORDER
[05] TURCO-MACEDONIAN MILITARY EXERCISES
[06] US-TURKEY-ISRAELI AXIS WORRIES ARABS
[07] GERMANY CLAIMS THAT PKK IS BACKING ATTACKS ON TURKS
[08] TURKEY: GERMAN COURT CLAIM ON CILLER "BASELESS"
[09] BERGAMA CITIZENS ASK GOVERNMENT TO CLOSE DOWN EUROGOLD MINE
TURKISH PRESS REVIEW
MAY 12, 1997
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this
morning.
[01] CILLER GOES TO PARIS FOR WEU MEETING
Turkish Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller traveled yesterday to Paris to
participate in a meeting of the Western European Union (WEU). Turkey
recently gained the right to participate in the WEU decision making
process At this meeting, Turkey will press for full WEU membership.
Ciller is expected to have a bilateral meeting with her Greek
counterpart Theodoros Pangalos who will also participate in the WEU
gathering. Ciller and Pangalos recently had talks also at the
Turkey-EU Association Council meeting in Luxembourg and the Black Sea
Economic Cooperation summit in Istanbul. /Cumhuriyet/
[02] DEMIREL ATTENDS ECO SUMMIT
President Demirel will fly to Turkmenistan today to attend the
Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit scheduled for May
13-14. Issues on the agenda of discussions include the transportation
of Turkmen natural gas to Europe, the telecommunications
infrastructure in Eurasia, and transportation projects. Top level
representatives of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan will
also take part in the summit.
Demirel returned to Turkey on Friday from a three-day visit to Poland
where he had contacts with his Polish counterpart Aleksander
Kwasnievski and other top level Polish officials. /Cumhuriyet/
[03] IRAQ, TURKEY SIGN GAS PIPELINE DEAL
Iraq and Turkey signed over the weekend a preliminary deal for the
construction of a pipeline to carry Iraqi natural gas to the
Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. The accord was signed by Turkish Energy
Minister Recai Kutan, who is visiting Iraq and Iraqi Oil Minister Amir
Muhammad Rasheed. The pipeline will be 1,300-km-long and will have
the capacity to carry 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year.
Iraq has been banned from exporting oil under UN sanctions imposed
after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. While some observers
evaluate the agreement as a breach of the UN embargo on Iraq, Turkish
Energy Ministry officials claim that the embargo will certainly be
lifted before the pipeline project is completed. /Hurriyet/
[04] TERRORISTS KILL AT IRAQI BORDER
Turkish troops massed at the Iraqi border penetrated yesterday night
into Iraqi territory in a move to eradicate the separatist PKK
organization threatening Turkish domestic security with its bloody
attacks on innocent citizens. Operations in southeastern Anatolian
provinces also continue. In clashes between PKK separatists and
Turkish security forces, 26 terrorists were killed in Van and Hakkari
over the weekend. /Cumhuriyet/
[05] TURCO-MACEDONIAN MILITARY EXERCISES
A special team of 70 Turkish troops went yesterday to Macedonia for
joint military exercises. This is the first initiative organized
within the framework of Turco-Macedonian military cooperation after an
85-year break. /Hurriyet/
[06] US-TURKEY-ISRAELI AXIS WORRIES ARABS
Lebanon and Iraq expressed displeasure over the planned tripartite
naval war games Turkey, Israel and the US are planning to stage in the
Mediterranean later this summer. Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik
al-Hariri said no military maneuvres would stop Lebanon from seeking
the return of its territory occupied by Israel, and Iraqi Foreign
Minister Mohammad Saeed al-Sahaf condemned the proposed exercises as a
provocative act against the Arab nation. /Anatolia news agency/
[07] GERMANY CLAIMS THAT PKK IS BACKING ATTACKS ON TURKS
Cornelia Schmalz-Jacobsen from the German Bureau for Foreigners said
that they had obtained evidence that the PKK terrorist organization
was behind the recent attacks against Turks in Germany, the Anatolia
news agency reported. Jacobsen pledged that the German police will
exert efforts to ensure the security of Turks living in Germany.
[08] TURKEY: GERMAN COURT CLAIM ON CILLER "BASELESS"
In a written statement on Friday the Turkish Foreign Ministry reacted
to the explanation for an earlier decision by a Frankfurt court which
made allegations of links between Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller and
drug traffickers. "Turkey requested documents and information about
the claims but until now no proof has been presented. Turkey is
evaluating whether or not to take legal action. All this aside, it is
hoped that this sort of development will not harm Turco-German
relations," the statement said. /All papers/
[09] BERGAMA CITIZENS ASK GOVERNMENT TO CLOSE DOWN EUROGOLD MINE
State Minister Teoman Riza Guneri held a five-and-a-half hour meeting
with 2,000 citizens from the Bergama region on Saturday, the Anatolia
news agency reported. Minister Guneri said the government was
investigating the reports and licensing documents of Eurogold, the
multinational company authorized to use the controversial cyanide
leaching process in its mining operations in Bergama. Bergama
provincial chairman, headmen of the region's villages and villagers
asked the government to close down the gold mine. Guneri, however,
said that not much could be done about the public's demand. He
promissed that he will press for re-investigation of a CED report
given to the company and will ask the Ministries of Health, Forestry
and Environment to check again Eurogold permissions. He vowed that he
would not let the mine continue if the lives of villagers were
threatened. Nevertheless, Guneri pointed out that time was needed to
reverse the decision permitting Eurogold operations in the region.
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