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Turkish Press Review, 97-07-29Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>CONTENTS
TURKISH PRESS REVIEWJULY 29, 1997Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning[01] TURKEY TO CONTINUE SCRUTINY OF TURKISH MINORITY IN BULGARIAThe Bulgarian President arrived yesterday in Ankara for a three-day visit upon the official invitation of his counterpart, Suleyman Demirel. During the visit, Bulgarian President Stoyanov is expected to sign a number of bilateral agreements, related to commercial and military cooperation, tourism, environmental and nuclear safety.At the welcoming ceremony for his Bulgarian counterpart, President Demirel said that during this visit they would have the chance to solve common problems in a neighbourly and friendly atmosphere. They also planned to review the potential for cooperative efforts in various fields, he said. Stoyanov, for his part, recalled that Turkey had backed Bulgaria in its bid for membership in NATO and thanked his neighbour for its support. /Hurriyet-Sabah/ [02] PARTIES AGREE ON CENSUS BILLExcept for the Welfare Party, all the parliamentary political parties reached a consensus on Monday on the draft bill for holding a census. The draft also stipulatesa renewal of the voter registration lists. Under the agreement, the renewal of the voters' list will be completed within seven months at the latest, making it unlikely that early elections are held before 1998. /Milliyet/[03] NSC MINUTES TO BE PARTIALLY REVEALEDDeputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ismet Sezgin said yesterday that a part of the minutes of the National Security Council (NSC) meeting would be made public. The move was designed to remove misunderstandings in the public related to recent controversies concerning the police and the Naval forces. /All papers/[04] MEETING POSITIVE, BUT NO RESULTA meeting between the leaders of the two communities on Cyprus yesterday was described afterwards as "positive" but observers noted that no real results were reached. The two leaders, Rauf Denktas of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), and Glafkos Clerides from the Greek Cypriot community spoke with each other for seventy minutes. /Sabah/[05] TURKEY AND TRNC TO HOLD TALKS SOONForeign Ministry Spokesman Omer Akbel announced on Monday that Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will hold talks in the near future, however the date has not yet been set. Akbel said that during the meeting, recent developments related to the Cyprus question will be taken in hand.On the other hand, the Greek Cypriot Foreign Ministry has set up a body to monitor moves jointly initiated by Turkey and Northern Cyprus, the Anatolia news agency reported. [06] 29 TERRORISTS KILLED IN THE SOUTHEASTIn operations in Turkey's southeastern provinces, 29 PKK terrorists were killed during the last week. Five terrorists were captured, and five others, including one Iranian, surrendered.During the weekend, PKK terrorists launched an attack against a military vehicle in the Almus district of Tokat in the Black Sea region, and two officers were wounded in the attack. PKK terrorists also kidnapped nine citizens in Hakkari, Yuksekova. /Milliyet-Hurriyet/ [07] TURKEY CALLS FOR END TO SYRIAN SUPPORT FOR TERRORISMForeign Ministry Spokesman Omer Akbel reiterated on Monday Turkey's position that Syria must end support for terrorism before tensions between the two countries can be eased. Today's papers also report that Syria has set up technical equipment to facilitate MED-TV broadcasts to Turkish provinces close to the Syrian border. /Milliyet/[08] TURKEY-ISRAEL FREE TRADE AGREEMENT DELEGATION IN IZMIRA delegation from Israel has arrived in Turkey to examine trade and investment possibilities. A related agreement was signed between Turkey and Israel in March 1996. /All papers/[09] SALOMON BROTHERS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT TURKISH ECONOMYAccording to the Salomon Brothers rating company, the new government set up in Turkey will have a positive impact on improving the economic situation in the country. The company predicted that inflation this year will go no higher that 85 percent, and will decrease to 80 percent "or lower" in 1998. Positive developments with respect to foreign exchange rates are also expected by the company. /All papers/[10] ARMENIANS CALLING FOR DIALOGUEThe Armenian administration is showing signs of wanting to restore ties with Turkey. Officials have indicated that the government in Erivan, the capital, would like to increase dialogue with Turkey in a move to improve the current situation. Ties with Armenia have long been strained over a number of pressing issues, but now Armenia looks set to put matters straight with Turkey after years of avoiding controversial matters. /All papers/[11] ANTI-DRUGS DRIVESpecial anti-drugs teams operating in and around Sakarya, Sivas and Yozgat have found and seized large amounts of heroin hidden in loads of corn and nuts. In the Diyarbakir and Sanliurfa regions, police have confiscated 67 kilos of heroin and arrested two suspects. /Cumhuriyet/[12] BRIEFING ON REACTIONARY ACTIVITIESThe Chief of Staff will be holding a briefing on reactionary activities both inside and outside Turkey. The briefing, planned for ten o'clock this Tuesday morning, will review and evaluate reactionary threats against Turkey, cover modernization progress in the armed forces and regional developments as they affect Turkey. /Sabah/[13] MONEY PROGRAMME INITIATIVESPresident of the Central Bank, Gazi Ercel, and Treasury chief Mahfi Egilmez will meet tomorrow to sign a new "money programme" protocol as a start to new efforts to rescue the economy. The protocol will cover medium and long term low interest rate policy, credit facilities, restrictions on CB financial resources and Treasury debt repayments to the Central bank. /Sabah/[14] GIANT PROJECT IN EDUCATIONDuring an "Education Summit" yesterday headed by Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and attended by Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, State Ministers Ozkan, Taner and Asik, Finance Minister Temizel and National Education Minister Ulugbay, a reform package aimed at the year 2000 was discussed. According to the package, TL 100 trillion will be provided for education annually. All schools will be equipped with computers. /Milliyet/[15] WORLD BANK CREDIT FOR TURKEYOfficials of the World Bank yesterday said that they had approved extending $1.5 billion in credits to Turkey initially and that this amount would reach $5 billion in three years' time. However in order to fully utilize the credit, there will be a condition which calls for concrete steps in structural reforms yet to be undertaken by Turkey. /Milliyet/[16] ALLIANCE AGAINST TURKEYIt is claimed that Syria, Greece and the Greek Cypriot communities are in alliance against Turkey in order to close Turkey's trade door with the Middle East. According to the International Relations Agency (INAF), the plan was prepared by Syrian President Hafiz Esad. The plan aims to prevent the exportation of Turkish goods to the Middle East, but to transport European textile goods to Greek Cyprus via Greece to be marketted in Syria. /Cumhuriyet/[17] GREEK INTELLIGENCE TO MONITOR TRNC AND ANKARAGreek Cyprus has formed a body to monitor closely the latest diplomatic developments between Turkey and Turkish Cyprus. The new body created by the Greek Cypriot Foreign Ministry will follow every move made jointly by Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and will prepare reports on their actions for the Greek Foreign Ministry and Greek Intelligence.According to the International Relations Agency (INAF), a Turkish Cypriot agent, Armenian Manuk Somakyan who speaks fluent Turkish, has been brought in to head the new intelligence agency. /Sabah/ [18] MINISTRY TO RESTORE NEMRUT DAG'S STONE SCULPTURESThe giant sculptured stone heads at Nemrut Dag (Mount Nemrut) in southeast Turkey will be restored to their original places and new regulations will be put into effect to preserve the site, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday. The 2,000 year-old sculptures were erected on the orders of Antiochus, the ruler of the Commagene kingdom, as a monument to himself at the top of a 2,000 meter (6,000 ft.) high peak near Adiyaman.END Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |