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Turkish Press Review, 98-03-13Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>13.03.98Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] PRIME MINISTER YILMAZ IN GEORGIADuring his contacts in Georgia, scheduled to begin today, Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz will dwell mainly on energy projects, including the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline project, dams to be constructed on the Coruh River and electricity imported to Turkey from Georgia. /Hurriyet/[02] EUROPEAN COUNTRIES IN DISPUTE OVER CYPRUSThe London European Conference has ended in a disagreement over Cyprus. England and France differed in their opinions about meetings with the Greek Cypriot Administration, one of the candidates for full membership in the European Union. France suggested that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) should also be represented in meetings for membership, whereas England was close to the Greek thesis that demands continuation of the membership process whether the TRNC participates in the meetings or not. British Prime Minister Tony Blair however sent encouraging messages to Turkey at the end of the conference, saying that "Turkey knows that the gates of the European Union are open to Turkey". French President Jacques Chirac told a press conference that " Turkey misunderstood the results of the Luxembourg summit. We are in favour of Turkey's presence in Europe." /Cumhuriyet/77th ANNIVERSARY OF NATIONAL ANTHEM Parliament Speaker Hikmet Cetin yesterday sent out a message commemorating the 77th anniversary of Turkish national anthem, and said: "The National anthem is the glorious epic of our nation and a source of confidence for us. It represents our independence and loyalty to our country." /Cumhuriyet/ [03] WORDS OF CAUTION FOR ARMENIAPresident Suleyman Demirel has cautioned Armenia about the upcoming elections there. Referring to the March 16 elections, Demirel said yesterday that they could influence developments in the region for good or bad and said he hoped that the new administration would approach regional problems rationally and logically. "Armenia can be sure of Turkey's support just so long as efforts are made to keep the situation in the Caucasus under control" noted Demirel. /Cumhuriyet/[04] SIMITIS TURNS DOWN SECOND PROPOSAL FROM ANKARAGreek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis has turned down a second proposal from Ankara to start direct talks to iron out differences between Greece and Turkey. "Turkey's proposals are irrelevant regarding the essence of the problems" Simitis told reporters in London yesterday, the Anatolia news agency reported. He criticized Ankara for remaining silent on Greek suggestions for a step-by-step approach, which proposed that both sides should discuss the problem of the continental shelf as an initial step, and then bring it before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.[05] CENTRAL BANK FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES REACH $19.8 BILLIONCentral Bank foreign exchange reserves have increased by $440 million and reached $19.862 billion. According to Central Bank data, foreign exchange reserves stood at $19.422 billion on 27 February. Turkey paid out $188 million in foreign debts via the Central Bank between 2-11 March. The total foreign debt paid out since the beginning of this year amounts to $2.450 billion. /Sabah-Milliyet/[06] TURKEY-TRNC MEETINGSDuring a meeting at the Foreign Ministry yesterday, views were exchanged yesterday on an "Association Council Agreement" signed on August 6, 1997, between Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) by Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem and TRNC Foreign and Defense Minister Taner Etkin. Commenting on the agreement, Cem said: "The duty of the Association Council is to bring closer the relations between the two countries". TRNC Minister Etkin said, for his part, that their doors were open to meetings and negotiations which would resolve the Cyprus problem through good neigbourly relations based on equal status between northern and southern Cyprus. /Milliyet/[07] MILLER MEETS GURELUS Special Coordinator for Cyprus, Thomas Miller, continued yesterday with his contacts in Ankara. Miller had talks with State Minister Sukru Sina Gurel, who is responsible for Europe and Cyprus, and Foreign Ministry officials. Speaking after his meeting with the US envoy, Gurel said that it had not been a meeting aimed at concrete results, but rather had been an exchange of views. "We will continue to share our views in the future" he said. Miller, for his part, said that Gurel's approach to the issue had been "very constructive" and he expressed a readiness to meet Gurel again.Commenting on the deadlock in Cyprus, Miller stressed that both sides should be realistic, but was pessimistic about any imminent final solution. He also said that he had not conveyed any special message from the US administration. /All papers/ [08] YILMAZ'S ATTACKER EXTRADITED TO TURKEYVeysel Ozerdem, who attacked Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz in the Hungarian capital of Budapest, has been brought back to Turkey. Brought to Turkey by Hungarian policemen, Ozerdem was handed over to officials of Istanbul's anti-terrorism branch of the Security Department. Ozerdem refused to reply to journalists' questions. /All papers/[09] YILMAZ-MERAL MEETINGPrime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said yesterday that it was impossible to give civil servants the right to strike and the right to collective bargaining before individual rights were re-evaluated and a constitutional amendment was formulated. He added that they would not withdraw a draft bill on the issue, which is currently being discussed in Parliament, and noted that neither his party no he himself had ever defended the right to strike of civil servants.Yilmaz received Chairman of the Confederation of Turkish Labour Unions (Turk-Is) Bayram Meral, and members of the board of directors of Turk-Is. Meral said that the aim of their visit was to have their demands met by the government. /All papers/ [10] TURKEY, FRANCE SIGN JOINT ANTITANK PRODUCTION DEALIn Ankara yesterday, Turkish Defense Ministry officials signed an initial deal with the French Aerospatiale company, to jointly produce short-range ERYX antitank missiles. Undersecretary of the Defense Ministry Lt.gen.Yuncer Kilinc and Pierre Dubois of Aerospatiale signed the agreement in the Defense Ministry in Ankara following a short ceremony. The missile deal is worth $441 million and proposes the joint production of the antitank missiles in facilities to be built in Turkey. /Sabah/[11] GAZI NEIGHBOURHOOD VIOLENCE PROTESTEDA crowd of 10,000 people, chanting anti-government slogans and carrying huge banners, marched through an Istanbul neighbourhood yesterday to protest the third anniversary of clashes between police and Alewite Muslims. /All papers/[12] MIDDLE EAST JOURNALISTS IN ANKARAJournalists from a number of Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Oman are in Ankara to learn more about Turkey's policies for the region. The journalists are following developments in relations between Turkey and the Middle Eastern countries, and have visited Istanbul and been taken on a tour of the GAP southeastern Turkey development region. The journalists have been briefed on the current situation by officials at the Foreign Ministry. /Cumhuriyet/[13] MINISTER OF CULTURE IN MOSTARMinister of Culture, Istemihan Talay, has visited the Mostar bridge damaged during the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Bosnian Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Fahrudin Rizvanbegovic, and Turkish Ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina Mehmet Gorkay accompanied Istemihan Talay during his visit. Talay said that the Turkish government had contributed one million dollars for the reconstruction of the historic bridge. /Sabah/[14] PKK ATTACK IN OSMANIYEPKK terrorists, trying to infiltrate into Turkey through northern Iraq and short of food, have attacked homes in the villages Urun, Zorkun and Kureci in the Osmaniye region. Osmaniye Mayor Umit Karahan said that a wide ranging operation had been started to capture the terrorists.The "Spring Operation" being carried out in the southeast regions by the Turkish Armed Forces is continuing to block the infiltration of PKK terrorists in Turkey. General of the 2nd Command, Rasim Batum, said that Turkish helicopters were flying over the region throughout the day to ensure tight control. /Sabah/ [15] TURKISH YACHT CONSTRUCTION SECTOR EMERGES AS RISING STARAccording to Show Boat International, a leading international yachting magazine, Turkish-made yachts are becoming more and more popular. Last year demand for yachts produced in Turkey increased by 147 percent. The magazine ranked Turkey seventh in a list of leading yacht producers. /Hurriyet/Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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