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Turkish Press Review, 97-11-20Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>CONTENTS
TURKISH PRESS REVIEWDIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION,OFFICE OF PRIME MINISTER20.11.97Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning[01] PARLIAMENT HOLDS IMMUNITY DEBATEThe Turkish Parliament voted 300 to 198 yesterday on the draft aimed to amend Article 83 of the Constitution which will strip parliamentarians of the legislative immunity they currently enjoy. According to Parliament's bylaws, 330 votes are required to consider a constitutional amendment draft. A total of 517 deputies attended the vote. Six deputies abstained from voting, eight votes were declared invalid, five votes were blank, while 26 deputies did not attend the parliamentary session.Under the constitution, two secret ballots must be held, with a 48-hour interval between them, for a constitutional amendment to be passed. The deciding vote will be probably held next week. 367 votes are required in order to pass the amendment without going to a referendum. /Hurriyet/ [02] UN ENVOY STARTS TO MAKE CONTACTS IN CYPRUSThe UN special adviser for Cyprus, Diego Cordovez, began making contacts yesterday in a new fact-finding mission for the resolution of conflicts in Cyprus. Cordovez met for two hours with Greek Cypriot leader Glafkos Klerides in the capital, Nicosia, before travelling to the north of the island for talks with Turkish Cypriot President Rauf Denktas. He is due to leave on Friday. "I don't think we can expect any news from this trip for the simple reason that what the secretary-general proposed to the two leaders in January of this year was to initiate a process of negotiations, probably after the elections" he told reporters upon his arrival. /Cumhuriyet-Sabah/[03] 11 PKK TERRORISTS KILLEDDuring current operations in the southeast Anatolia region 11 PKK terrorists have been killed and seven members of the Hizbullah terrorist organization had been arrested. According to the regional state of emergency governorship there have been heavy clashes between PKK terrorists and Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Union (IKDP) peshmerges in Northern Iraq, and the PKK organization has had heavy losses. /Cumhuriyet/Sabah_[04] FOREIGN MINISTRY STATEMENTForeign Ministry Spokesman, Ambassador Necati Utkan said in his weekly press conference yesterday that during operations conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces against the PKK in northern Iraq, some members of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) had been killed. Utkan added that PUK members had withdrawn to the cease-fire opening the way for 2,000 Turkish petrol tankers to return to Turkey. /Cumhuriyet/[05] TANER IN NEW YORKCompleting his intense contacts in Washington yesterday, State Minister Gunes Taner and his accompanying Turkish delegation flew on to New York. Taner will there meet representatives of finance circles and give speeches on Turkish economy. Taner and the Turkish delegation will come back home at the weekend.Meanwhile IMF representatives have announced that their meetings with the Turkish delegation had been very fruitful and aded that the next round of meetings will be in December. IMF and American sources stressed that Taner and the members of the Turkish economy delegation had left a very impressive mark in Washington. They added that Taner and his bureaucracts knew their subjects very well and had been successful in promoting the Turkish economy and its future development. /Cumhuriyet/Sabah/Hurriyet/ [06] TUSIAD: "WESTERN WORLD SUPPORTS YILMAZ"A Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD) delegation continues its contacts in Washington. In a press conference, yesterday, regarding the visit, TUSIAD Chairman, Muharrem Kayhan said that the Clinton administration, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank had "positive views" about the Mesut Yilmaz coalition government's stability package. /Sabah/ Cumhuriyet_[07] KERIMOV IN ESKISEHIRVisiting the Arcelik durable goods production plant belonging to the Koc group in Eskisehir, Uzbekistan President Islam Kerimov, who is in Turkey as the official guest of his Turkish counterpart, said that they wanted to construct similar Arcelik facilities in Uzbekistan. Chairman of the Executive Board of the Koc group, Inan Kirac, furnished information about the facility to Turkish President Suleyman Demirel and his guest Islam Kerimov. /Hurriyet/[08] NEW STRAITS REGULATIONForeign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary, Ambassador Inal Batu, who held contacts in Moscow just prior to Russian Prime Minister Victor Chernomyrdin's visit to Turkey, said that Turkey would change the Straits Regulations in a way tthat would satisfy also Russia. Pointing out that the new regulations put into force in 1998 would ease the tension between Russia and Turkey, Batu said: "The new regulations will not only protect Turkey's national advantages but also satisfy our neighbours." /Hurriyet/[09] US FIRMS SEEK GO-AHEAD FOR TURKISH HELICOPTER BIDFive US "giants" of the helicopter industry handed a "warning letter" to US President Bill Clinton with regards to Turkey's bid seeking international firms for a joint-production venture. The five companies have urged the president not to delay permission for the companies to submit their bids. The companies also asserted their desire to take part in the bid in letters sent to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Secretary of Defense William Cohen."The Turkish modernization programme is at a crossroads. Turkey has asked Russian, American and European firms to submit their bids for this project worth between $4-5 billion. The deadline is on December 31, 1997. If the US administration does not give us permission we will be left out of a project which will extend until the year 2015. Turkey will decide soon, considering that they have already had a long waiting period" the letter said. /Hurriyet/ [10] ANKARA COMES DOWN ON EU VAGUENESS TOWARD TURKEYAnkara yesterday criticized the European Union's vagueness concerning Turkey's major foreign policy goal, its long-lasting membership bid to join the EU, noting that the 15-nations had not yet made up their minds on important issues still on the agenda between Turkey and the EU. "We are still in the process of waiting for reasonable answers to our reasonable demands conveyed to the EU" Foreign Ministry Spokesman Necati Utkan said at his weekly press conference. The final decision making about the enlargement process of the EU will take place at the Luxembourg summit in December. Turkey waits to be at least given a pre-accession strategy.[11] IRAQ CRISIS HITS TURKEY'S ECONOMYChairman of the Democratic Left Party (DSP) and Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit warned that if the Iraq crisis was not solved, Turkey's economy would be severely damaged. Ecevit, speaking to his party's parliamentary group said: "If the new Iraq crisis is not solved in a short time, the Turkish economy, especially in the Southeast, will be severely harmed and Turkey will again suffer due to punishment given to Iraq. Therefore, we are sensitive on this issue".Ecevit pointed out that the Iraq crisis had caused serious difficulties for Southeast Anatolia's tradesmen and truck drivers. "The 'food for petroleum' trade with Iraq has been halted and Southeast Anatolia's economy has been damaged" Ecevit commented, adding that the Cabinet was doing everything they could to end the crisis as soon as possible. /Hurriyet/ [12] MUSIAD HOSTS THIRD INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS FORUM IN ISTANBULThe Third International Business Forum (IBF) which is being hosted by the Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (MUSIAD) opened yesterday in Istanbul. The IBF meeting was attended by more than two hundred Turkish and foreign politician, academicians and government representatives.[13] PANEL DISCUSSES RECONSTRUCTION OF HISTORICAL HERITAGE IN BOSNIAA panel organized at the Middle East Technical University (METU) discussed yesterday the "urbacide" in Bosnia as Bosnian Ambassador to Ankara, Hajruddin Somun, also made a call to Turkey, UNESCO and European countries and institutions, to contribute to the revival and reconstruction of the cultural heritage in Bosnia.[14] "GOODBYE SMOKING" DAYAll papers give coverage to the "quit smoking" day on November 20. Milliyet daily newspaper told readers that it is an opportunity to get rid of smoking. Every year, three million people throughout the world die of illnesses caused by smoking. This figure will reach 10 million by the year 2020.END Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |