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Turkish Press Review, 98-06-04
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
04.06.98
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] YILMAZ: ELECTION GOVERNMENT IN NEW YEAR, POLLS IN APRIL
[02] DEMIREL CRITICIZES FRENCH DECISION
[03] BOMB EXPLODES IN ISTANBUL: ONE DEAD
[04] PRIME MINISTRY EVALUATES CURRENT TURKEY-EU RELATIONS
[05] "TURKEY IS NOT PLANNING TO PRODUCE NUCLEAR WEAPONS"
[06] EXPORTS INCREASE
[07] TUSIAD IN EUROPEAN SUMMIT
[08] EUROMONEY CONFERENCE IN TURKEY
[09] HOLBROOKE'S VISIT POSTPONED
[10] FENER GREEK ORTHODOX PATRIARCH RETURNS TO TURKEY
[11] SEA WOLF'98 NAVAL MANEUVERS COMMENCE
[12] NINE KILLED AND TWO INJURED IN TUNCELI
[13] COOPERATION BETWEEN TURKEY AND RUSSIA
[14] IMF DELEGATION COMING TO TURKEY
[15] FIRST HEALTH CENTRE CONVENTION BEGINS
[16] HIGH MILITARY COUNCIL CONVENES
[17] TURKISH, GREEK ADMIRALS MEET IN ISTANBUL
[01] YILMAZ: ELECTION GOVERNMENT IN NEW YEAR, POLLS IN APRIL
Mortherland Party (ANAP) Leader and Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and
Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Deniz Baykal have both agreed
on the resignation of the current minority coalition government and on
the holding of joint general and municipal elections in April 1999.
Both leaders announced their agreement on Wednesday at a press
conference following their meeting which lasted for more than one hour.
Yilmaz said he would step down as prime minister at the beginning of
next year. His earlier agreement to hold joint elections on March 29
was vehemently opposed by the leaders of his coalition government's
other partners, the Democratic Left Party (DSP) and the Democratic
Turkey Party (DTP).
Yilmaz, who provided the main details of the agreement package,
said that the ruling coalition partners and the CHP would propose that
Parliament hold elections next April, "most likely on the 18th". Yilmaz
also indicated that a different caretaker government system would lead
the country to the elections, a system which he said would be discussed
with President Suleyman Demirel in the coming days. /All papers/
[02] DEMIREL CRITICIZES FRENCH DECISION
President Suleyman Demirel received a delegation from the
Turkish-American Associations' Assembly yesterday and harshly criticized
France, which has approved the so-called Armenian genocide draft law.
Demirel said that lobby activities in the US and Europe were trying to
darken Turkey's image. He noted that he hoped the draft law, which has
been approved by the French National Assembly, would not be ratified by
the Senate.
Meanwhile, Azeri President Haydar Aliyev also criticized France for
its decision and noted that the French National Assembly, which approved
the draft law, was unjust and did not comply with today's conditions.
Aliyev, who met with French Minister for Industry Christian Pierret, who
is in Baku to attend a "Caspian-oil-gas-98 International Fair", said
that Azerbaijan was concerned over the decision of the French National
Assembly. Aliyev declared that throughout the history, Armenians had
frequently made genocidal attacks against Turks and Azeris, and added
that though these had all been forgotten, the incident in 1915 was still
on the agenda. It is reported that French firms will not be included in
the Izmir International Fair in protest against the approval of the
so-called Armenian genocide draft law by the French National Assembly.
/Sabah/
[03] BOMB EXPLODES IN ISTANBUL: ONE DEAD
One person died and six were injured when a bomb exploded in a
suburban train, which was travelling on the Sirkeci-Halkali line in
Istanbul yesterday. Head of the Department for the Struggle Against
Terrorism, Atilla Cinar, said later that an investigation into the
incident was continuing. /Sabah/
[04] PRIME MINISTRY EVALUATES CURRENT TURKEY-EU RELATIONS
Prior to a European Union (EU) meeting to be held in Cardiff,
Wales, on June 12, Turkish officials evaluated the current situation in
Turkey-EU relations at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz
yesterday. /Cumhuriyet/
[05] "TURKEY IS NOT PLANNING TO PRODUCE NUCLEAR WEAPONS"
The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement yesterday and
declared that Turkey did not aim to produce any nuclear, chemical or
biological weapons, and that the latest suggestions by some newspapers
that Turkey plans to cooperate with Pakistan in producing nuclear
weapons were certainly untrue. /Cumhuriyet/
[06] EXPORTS INCREASE
Turkey's exports in May increased by 3 % when compared to the same
month in 1997 and reached $2.308 billion. Exports in the iron-steel
sector, which were supposed to be most affected by the crisis in Asia,
increased by 10 %. In January-May 1998, exports increased by 5 % when
compared to the same period last year and amounted to $11.036 billion.
/Sabah/
[07] TUSIAD IN EUROPEAN SUMMIT
The Turkish Businessmen's and Industrialists' Association (TUSIAD)
will attend a meeting of the European Industrialists' and Employers'
Connfederations' Union to be held in London on June 5. TUSIAD Chairman
Muharrem Kayhan is representing Turkey at the meeting. Kayhan will
point out at the meeting that Turkey's full EU membership will make an
important contribution to Europe's global competitive power. /sabah/
[08] EUROMONEY CONFERENCE IN TURKEY
A conference on "Turkey: Investment in the Future" was held in
Istanbul yesterday. Delivering a speech at the conference attended by
many foreign investors, Chairman of the Privatization Administration
(OIB) Ugur Bayar said that during the first five months of this year
privatization worth $2 billion has been achieved. Talking about targets
for 1998, he added: "Privatization worth $12 billion will be achieved
by the end of 1998". 500 people from 20 countries participated in the
conference. /Sabah/
[09] HOLBROOKE'S VISIT POSTPONED
US Special Cyprus Envoy Richard Holbrooke's visit to Cyprus planned
for the beginning of June has been postponed. It is reported that this
decision is based on the results of a visit of Thomas Miller,
Holbrooke's deputy, who held contacts at the end of May in Cyprus.
/Sabah/
[10] FENER GREEK ORTHODOX PATRIARCH RETURNS TO TURKEY
Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomeos, who has been holding
contacts in the US and Canada, completed his visit and returned to
Turkey yesterday. Replying to questions from journalists at Istanbul's
Ataturk Airport, Bartholomeos said that he had attended a ceremony to
give him an honorary doctorate by the American Yale University. /Sabah/
[11] SEA WOLF'98 NAVAL MANEUVERS COMMENCE
Sea Wolf '98, a routine Naval Forces exercise, began when warships
saled from their bases yesterday. The maneuvers will take place between
June 3 and 26 in the international waters of the Aegean and
Mediterranean seas, as well as in the Marmara Sea. Navy Commander
Adm.Ilhami Erdil is in command of the maneuvers. /All papers/
[12] NINE KILLED AND TWO INJURED IN TUNCELI
Terrorists killed nine people and injured two in the village of
Salman near the Pertek district in Tunceli province in the Southeast
yesterday. The terrorists stopped a minibus and machine-gunned the
passengers, reported the Anatolia news agency. Security forces have
begun big operation to capture the terrorists.
[13] COOPERATION BETWEEN TURKEY AND RUSSIA
Bulent Akarcali and Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkovo put their
signatures on the protocol between the Turkish Democracy Foundation and
the Russian Association for International Cooperation for a
Turco-Russian Research Centre in a ceremony held at the State Guest
House in Ankara yesterday. The protocol points to bilateral relations
in many areas. /All papers/
[14] IMF DELEGATION COMING TO TURKEY
The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) first deputy chairman,
Stanley Fischer, and its European Department's director, Michael
Deppler, are going to visit Turkey as guests of the state minister
responsible for the economy, Gunes Taner, on June 5-6, according to a
press release from the Prime Ministry Treasury Undersecretariat. A
report on Turkey prepared by IMF experts will be discussed by the IMF's
Executive Directors' Council in July. /All papers/
[15] FIRST HEALTH CENTRE CONVENTION BEGINS
The first Health Centre and Preventative Medicine Doctors
Convention began in Turkey yesterday, the Anatolia news agency report.
Health Minister H.Ibrahim Ozsoy said at the opening of the convention
that technology and hospitals have become more important than health
centres, which are rarely used other than for vaccinations, and which
have not updated their equipment and style of practice since their
initial foundation.
He said: "We had to determine a way to update the health centres
both in terms of function and structure". He pointed out that they had
taken all the changes in society such as population dynamics, migration
and industrialization into consideration.
[16] HIGH MILITARY COUNCIL CONVENES
In a move to deal with situations involving officers alleged to
have been involved in Islamic fundamentalism, the Turkish High Military
Council will convene on June 16. The meeting, which will be headed by
Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, aims to halt the growth of Islamic
fundamentalism within the Turkish Army. Many officers, therefore, are
expected to be removed from the Army. /Milliyet/
[17] TURKISH, GREEK ADMIRALS MEET IN ISTANBUL
Turkish Chief of Naval Forces, Admiral Salim Dervisoglu and his
Greek counterpart Georgios Ioannidis met yesterday in Istanbul where a
NATO "Maritime Commanders Meeting" is being held. After a one and a
half hour meeting with his counterpart, Dervisoglu said that recent
Turkish military exercises, the "Sea Wolf Maneuvers" had not created
further tension between Greece and Turkey and stressed the friendliness
of their meeting. /Hurriyet/
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