Turkish Daily News, 96-07-05

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From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>

TURKISH DAILY NEWS
5 July 1996

CONTENTS

[01] US pleased with Tarnoff's visit to Turkey

[02] Turkey welcomes Yeltsin win

[03] Turkish inflation slows in June but annual rate still at low 80s

[04] Turkish Army unit in Bulgaria for joint manoeuvre

[05] Arab League: Turkish-Israeli military agreement contradicts peace process

[01] US pleased with Tarnoff's visit to Turkey

By Ugur Akinci
Turkish Daily News

WASHINGTON- During the first official contact the Clinton administration had with the new Turkish coalition government headed by Necmettin Erbakan, the chairman of the pro-Islamist Welfare Party (RP), the ties of friendship and alliance between Turkey and the United States were confirmed, according to a State Department senior official. Earlier fears in Washington that Erbakan might change the direction of Turkey's foreign policy focus from West to East seem to have been put to rest for the time being.

When pressed on Erbakan's previous anti-American public statements, State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns referred to Erbakan's "long experience in the Turkish political system," and said actions were what counted, not words. Burns said Tarnoff felt that he and Erbakan were "off to a good start" with the caveat that "we don't need to agree on every issue, we never will, with Turkey or any other country."

Good and full meetings

Burns characterized the contacts Tarnoff had with President Suleyman Demirel, Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller, and Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Onur Oymen as "a very good set of meetings, very full set of meetings."

"Undersecretary Tarnoff is pleased with the meeting he had with the new prime minister," Burns said.

Only Muslim democracy

Burns said on Wednesday that Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Peter Tarnoff and Deputy Undersecretary for Defense Jan Lodal, during their meetings with Turkish senior officials in Ankara, "underscored Turkey's very important place in the West connected to the United States, to Europe, through the customs agreement that we all worked so hard on." Burns went on to describe the two countries' relationship as NATO allies as "the bedrock of Turkish and American security."

Praising Turkey's importance in the region, Burns said that Turkey was "the only democratic and secular Muslim state in the region." Turkey is an overwhelmingly Muslim society but the Turkish state, of course, is a secular state and not "Muslim" as such.

Burns said Erbakan told Tarnoff that "the Turkish government does desire a very close relationship with the United States, close security ties, political ties, and we're looking forward to building on them."

Stability

Having at long last achieved "a stable government in Turkey as well as a stable government in Greece," Burns said time might be ripe to move in on the Aegean and Cyprus issues. If the Erbakan government fails to win the upcoming vote of confidence in the Turkish Parliament, then the presumed stability in Ankara will of course evaporate.

Facilitation

Tarnoff is said to have "emphasized our continued willingness ... to act as a facilitator to resolve problems between Greece and Turkey," Burns said. U.S. envoy to the U.N. Ambassador Albright and Richard Beattie, President Clinton's personal Cyprus envoy, will visit the island in late July for the "big push" promised by former Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke.

Provide Comfort

In respect to the other "burning issue" of the day, i.e. the extension of Operation Provide Comfort, Burns quoted Tarnoff as saying, "we expect Operation Provide Comfort to be extended. "The Turkish government also supported that, he added, while admitting that "there are some important details that have to be worked out, some important questions that have to be answered that have been raised by the Turkish government and by parliamentarians in Turkey."

Removal of the military coordination center in Zakho, Iraq to Silopi, Turkey and the closing down of the Atrush refugee camp in northern Iraq, which is nominally run by the United Nations, are among the Turkish demands. "We respect that and we'll work through them. But I think in the final analysis we would fully expect those to be extended," Burns said.

Actions not words

When Burns was reminded of Erbakan's "anti-American, anti-Israeli, anti- Semitic, pro-Iranian" public statements in the past, Burns ran to Erbakan's rescue. "I think it is important to judge governments by their actions," he said. "We find that all over the world, that sometimes things are said in political campaigns that are not translated into government policy once governments take office."

Erbakan's long experience

"In this case, I think Prime Minister Erbakan is well aware, through his long experience in the Turkish political system, of the important relationship that the United States has with Turkey, and the fact that we have been a defender of Turkish sovereignty when times were tough during the Cold War, and that continues, and that we have a mutually supportive relationship that benefits the Turkish people as well as the American people," Burns continued.

To continue

Burns said the contacts with the new government would continue. "The United States will absolutely have regular contacts with the prime minister and his office and his associates. The Turkish people have put him in that position, and we are a democracy. We respect that. Ambassador Grossman will be very active in working with the new government, the prime minister and the deputy prime minister."

US Muslims congratulate

Two American Muslim organizations sent letters to Erbakan, congratulating him on his election as prime minister. When Erbakan was in Washington in 1994, he visited both of these organizations.

The United Association for Studies &amp; Research, Inc., of Annandale, Virginia, an Arab-American think-tank, which is considered by some to be sympathetic to the ideology of Hamas, told Erbakan that his administration would set "a positive example" for an "Islamist government." Executive Director Dr. Ahmet Yousef, in his letter, said he was convinced that Erbakan could lead Turkey to "the glorious days of the Ottoman empire."

"We are convinced that under your leadership, Inshallah, the Turkish government will be able to achieve political, social and economic stability, that will lead Turkey to the glorious days of the Ottoman Empire," Yousef said.

The American Muslim Council (AMC) of Washington D.C., a mainstream Muslim- American grassroots organization, told Erbakan: "The AMC is certain that the democratic system in Turkey is strong enough to incorporate different party platforms and ideologies under your administration."

AMC Executive Director Abdurrahman Alamoudi said he was confident that the Erbakan-led government "will successfully provide all the conditions of a free market economy, and address international and domestic concerns, including continued socioeconomic development in the Turkish municipalities."

[02] Turkey welcomes Yeltsin win

ANKARA- Ankara has welcomed Boris Yeltsin's victory in the Russian presidential election, and hopes ties between the two countries will strengthen after the elections. "The election results show the belief of the Russian people in democracy, and in such an atmosphere Turkey hopes for the strengthening of ties," a senior diplomat from the Turkish Foreign Ministry said. Ankara did not comment publicly on the Russian presidential elections, but President Demirel will send a message of congratulations to Yeltsin.

[03] Turkish inflation slows in June but annual rate still at low 80s

ANKARA- Turkish inflation slowed down in June due to cheap farm prices and the private sector's relative reluctance to raise prices but the annual consumer rate remained unchanged from the previous month, official figures revealed on Thursday.

The State Institute of Statistics (DIE) said that consumer prices in June went up by 2.5 percent, down from 4.5 percent in May and 2.6 percent in June 1995. The monthly retail rate has seen an unsteady decline this year; 8.3 percent in January, 4.5 percent in February, 5.6 percent in March, 6.7 percent in April and 4.5 percent in May.

The DIE said wholesale price inflation in June was 2.7 percent, the lowest since 2.3 percent last August. It dropped from 9.8 percent in January to 5.8 percent in February, climbed back to 7 percent in March and 8.1 percent in April but fell to 4.1 percent in May. It was 1.3 percent in June 1995.

The statistics agency said that annual cumulative retail inflation remained unchanged at 82.9 percent from May to June. This is the highest annualized rate since 84.1 percent last October.

It also said the annualized wholesale price inflation was 76.2 percent in June, up from 73.7 percent in May and 69.9 percent in April. This is the highest annual rate since the 76.5 percent inflation rate in September 1995.

Turkish retail and wholesale inflation rates during the first half of the year, as computed by the DIE, are 43.7 percent and 36.7 percent respectively. Annualized average rates in June were 81 percent and 70.5 percent.

The price statistics disclosed that the public sector's (wholesale) inflation rate was 3.1 percent, compared with a lower 2.7 percent inflation rate in the private sector.

Electricity, gas and water prices in June rose by an average 6.3 percent, the fastest among all sectors. Mining industry prices went up by 6.2 percent and manufacturing industry prices 3.7 percent. Farm prices, on the other hand, dropped by an average of 0.3 percent.

The figures defied the expectations voiced by Turkish bankers the previous day. They said they expected June consumer and wholesale price inflation to be 4-4.5 percent, higher than in June 1995 because of the introduction of a new index system.

"As the new index (put into effect in January) lessens seasonal variations, price increases this summer will be higher than those recorded in the previous years," Reuters quoted the head of an economic research department at a private bank as saying.

Reuters also said bankers expected annual inflation to settle at above 90 percent because of the new index and continuing uncertainties.

Analysts say if the upcoming salary increases are financed by printing money, that will push up inflation in the short term. They also say if the government relies on domestic borrowing, it will raise inflation in the long term.

A 30 percent semiannual pay rise for civil servants is seen as the limit by Finance Ministry officials. Turkey's first Islamist Prime Minister, Necmettin Erbakan, unveiled his government's program in Parliament on Wednesday, promising to fight inflation and fiscal deficits and attain steady growth, the same targets underlined by the previous conservative coalition.

"There will be serious efforts to combat inflation and sustainable growth will be attained," Erbakan told deputies, stressing the importance of privatization, budget-cutting and Turkey's links to the West.

[04] Turkish Army unit in Bulgaria for joint manoeuvre

ANKARA- A Turkish Army unit has gone to Bulgaria to participate in the joint military exercise "Cooperative Determination-2\96" in which NATO members and the member countries of the "Association for Peace" will participate.

The Turkish Army unit departed for Bulgaria from Etimesgut Air Base in Ankara after a send-off ceremony on Wednesday.

The deputy commander of the Ankara Garrison, Maj. Gen. Oktar Ataman, speaking during the ceremony, said NATO, which has endeavored to keep world peace for years even before the end of the Cold War, and the "Association for Peace" agreement, which was signed in 1994, aims to develop the relations between the countries which intend to become a member of NATO and the member countries of NATO.

According to Ataman, the manoeuvre aims at mutual recognition and to develop relations between the participant countries so, he said, "the Turkish soldiers should be aware of these goals and behave accordingly."

The commander of the unit, Lt. Col. Omer Celikkesen said the Turkish Army would have the opportunity to introduce Turkish culture to other countries and would also have a chance to become acquainted with some different cultures during the manoeuvre.

The Army unit is composed of 11 officers, two non-commissioned officers and 35 soldiers.

[05] Arab League: Turkish-Israeli military agreement contradicts peace process

ANKARA- The Arab League on Wednesday asked the RP-DYP coalition government to review the military training agreement Turkey has signed with Israel, and expressed its expectations of improved Turkish-Arabic relations, the Anatolia new agency reported.

Muvaffak el-Allaf, deputy general secretary of the Arab League, in the statement he made to the press, demanded that the negative effects of the Turkish-Israeli military agreement on Turkish-Arabic relations should be taken into consideration. El-Allaf claimed that the agreement contradicted the peace process.

El-Allaf said the Turkish government should negotiate with Syria and Iraq on the issue of water, and indicated that he was content with Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan's statements about improving Turkey's relations with the Arabic and Islamic world.

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