TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (June 6, 1995)

From: hristu@arcadia.harvard.edu (Dimitrios Hristu)

Subject: TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (June 6, 1995)

CONTENTS

  • [01] TURKISH TROOPS FOR THE MULTINATIONAL RAPID REACTION FORCE

  • [02] IMF DELEGATION IN TURKEY

  • [03] TURKEY SIXTH IN NUCLEAR RESEARCH IN EUROPE

  • [04] STATE OF EMERGENCY TO BE PARTIALLY LIFTED

  • [05] IRAQ SOUNDS OUT TURKEY ON FUTURE OF PROVIDE COMFORT

  • [06] MEANINGFUL MESSAGE FROM THE US

  • [07] INONU OFF TO BRUSSELS TO LOBBY FOR CUSTOMS UNION

  • [08] ARMENIA SEEKS NORMAL RELATIONS WITH ANKARA

  • [09] GREECE CRITICIZES US POLICY ON TURKISH-GREEK RELATIONS

  • [10] KYRGYZ PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION VISITS TURKEY

  • [11] DEMIREL TO VISIT KAZAKHSTAN

  • [12] PRESIDENT OF SLOVENIA VISITS TURKEY

  • [13] MOGULTAY IN ROMANIA, THEN GENEVA

    •

    WITH THE COMPLIMENT OF

    DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION

    TURKISH PRESS REVIEW

    JUNE 6, 1995

    Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish

    press this morning.

    [01] TURKISH TROOPS FOR THE MULTINATIONAL RAPID REACTION FORCE

    Turkey announced that she would send troops to the Multinational Rapid Reaction Force (MRRF). The number of troops and details of their mission would be decided upon during a meeting in Brussels.

    Defence Minister Mehmet Golhan disclosed that Turkish troops would take part in the MRRF in the face of mounting Serbian attacks.

    Golhan added that Britain, France, Canada, Italy, Spain and Germany would also send troops to the MRRF.

    In reply to a question, Mehmet Golhan said: "Turkish Air Force on Ghedi Base, Italy will be reinforced. The MRRF will be under the command of the UNPROFOR."

    Aims of the MRRF are; to lift the seige of Sarajevo; to set up a neutral disarmed zone of 20 km around the city, to destroy heavy weaponry bunkers; to achieve security within the UN troops and presently beseiged by Bosnian Serbs.

    [02] IMF DELEGATION IN TURKEY

    The IMF (International Monetary Fund) which will examine the macro economical indicators of the Turkish economy arrived yesterday evening in Turkey. According to the Undersecretariat of the Treasury, the delegation will stay approximately ten days in Turkey. The IMF delegation headed by Thomas Reichman, deputy director of the Southern Europe Bureau which also includes Turkey is composed of five members. The delegation will hold talks with officials of the Undersecretariat of the Treasury, Ministry of Finance, the State Planning Organization, the Central Bank and the Privatization Administration and will also meet with Aykon Dogan, State Minister responsible for the economy if required. The IMF delegation will discuss macro economical indicators which are primarily monetary developments, fluctuation in prices and borrowing. Officials have stated that the delegation has come to Turkey within the scope of the Stand-by agreement standard negotiations. The delegation had last come to Turkey in February this year. /Cumhuriyet/

    [03] TURKEY SIXTH IN NUCLEAR RESEARCH IN EUROPE

    According to the Europe Nuclear Medicine Union, Turkey is sixth in Europe and tenth in the world in "Nuclear Medicine Research and Studies". The Press and Public Relations Department of Hacettepe University stated that Turkey is ahead of 43 countries including the Netherlands and Canada in the field of nuclear medicine. /Cumhuriyet/

    [04] STATE OF EMERGENCY TO BE PARTIALLY LIFTED

    Minister of Defence Mehmet Golhan has stated that the State of Emergency will be lifted in certain provinces. The Provide Comfort mandate and State of Emergency will be taken up by the National Security Council which will convene under the chairmanship of President Suleyman Demirel at Cankaya Presidential Palace on 9 June. It has been established that the lifting of the State of Emergency in the provinces of Tunceli and Bingol had come to the agenda during a previous meeting of the National Security Council. With this implementation, the number of State of Emergency provinces will come down to eight. In all probability the National Security Council will ask for the continuation of the State of Emergency in the provinces of Diyarbakir, Sirnak, Mardin, Batman, Van, Hakkari, Siirt and Bitlis. Although the State of Emergency will be lifted in Tunceli and Bingol, they will nevertheless be considered as "neighbouring provinces" in the category of Mus, Elazig and Adiyaman. According to some sources, the extension of the Provide Comfort mandate will probably be decided during the meeting of National Security Council. /Milliyet/

    [05] IRAQ SOUNDS OUT TURKEY ON FUTURE OF PROVIDE COMFORT

    An Iraqi parliamentary delegation arriving in Turkey yesterday discusses with Ankara the future of Operation Provide Comfort, an allied force stationed in Turkey to enforce the no-fly zone in northern Iraq. The visit of Safaa al-Omar, the chairman of the Iraqi Parliament's Foreign Affairs Commission, takes place before Turkish Parliament votes on an extension of the mandate of the force, popularly known as "Poised Hammer". The force, there to deter possible attack by Baghdad on northern Iraqi Kurds, consists of American, British, French and Turkish planes and its mandate is expected to expire at the end of June. Iraq traditionally opposes the existence of the force, saying the presence of extra-regional powers in the area makes it more difficult to solve the regional problems, particularly the Kurdish question. "Iraq is our neighbour and Turkey is more respectful than ever toward Iraqi territorial integrity" Parliament Speaker Husamettin Cindoruk told the delegation. Safaa al-Omar also held talks with Foreign Minister Erdal Inonu and his Turkish counterpart Mumtaz Soysal. He expressed his displeasure over the contacts Turkey has had with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). He said it was difficult to explain the present situation to the Iraqi people. He gave the message that the problem of the PKK should be solved via Baghdad and not others. He also said that Turco-Iraqi relations would be in difficulties if the Provide Comfort forces continued to stay in the country. Both Inonu and Soysal in their turn said that should the Iraqi Kurds and the Baghdad administration come to an agreement, there would be no need for Provide Comfort. /Milliyet/

    [06] MEANINGFUL MESSAGE FROM THE US

    Washington's Ambassador to the European Union, Stuart Eizenstat said: "Delaying the customs union only benefits the opponents of Turkey's depeer integration with the West". Evaluating his contacts in Turkey at a press conference yesterday, Eizenstat pointed out that both the EU and Turkey should do everything necessary to secure the customs union. Eizenstat said that the US supported both the Turkey-EU customs union and Turkey's full membership to the EU. Replying to a question on Cyprus' membership to the EU, Eizenstat said: "The US supports the two communities in Cyprus to be full members of the EU together". He indicated that the US looked upon the customs union as a historical step to connect Turkey economically and politically to Europe, adding that the European Parliament (EP) knew the geostrategic importance of Turkey and the PKK organization's terrorist attacks. Eizenstat said that he had found there was a very positive feeling toward Turkey in the EP. "I found the EP -and I would not say it if it was not the case- is looking for a way to approve the customs union, not seeking excuses to defeat it. And therefore, if in fact there is a continuation of the progress which has already been made in terms of democratization and the rule of law, that will enable the EP to do what it recognizes, I believe, geopolitically and economically it needs to do" he added. /Milliyet/

    [07] INONU OFF TO BRUSSELS TO LOBBY FOR CUSTOMS UNION

    Foreign Minister Erdal Inonu leaves today on an visit to Brussels to explain current developments in Turkey to the EP and the Union's executive commission. Inonu is expected to meet with Hans van den Broek, the commissioner for external affairs, and various members of the EP. /Milliyet/

    [08] ARMENIA SEEKS NORMAL RELATIONS WITH ANKARA

    Armenian Foreign Minister Vahan Papazyan said that Armenia was in favour of normalizing relations with Turkey. Talking to the reporters in Yerevan, Papazyan noted that Armenia had taken the necessary steps toward establishing friendship with Turkey. "Now its Turkey's turn to express its goodwill" he said. Papazyan who said that Yerevan attributed major importance to ensuring good relations with its neighbours, and noted that reconciliation had been begun with Georgia as well as Iran. Papazyan, who also spoke of relations with Azerbaijan, said: "The dispute over Karabakh hinders us from reconciliation". /Milliyet/

    [09] GREECE CRITICIZES US POLICY ON TURKISH-GREEK RELATIONS

    Greek Defence Minister Gerasimos Arsenis yesterday criticized the US for its policy toward Turco-Greek relations, saying the US attitude should be in line with principles of international law. In an interview to the Greek paper To Vima, Arsenis said they would continue to take countermeasures appropriate to the threats issued by Turkey. Talking about the dispute between Turkey and Greece over the location of a NATO headquarters in the Aegean region, Arsenis said it was meaningless for Turkey to react the latter's siting in Greece. Arsenis also said Greece would not contribute to the multinational rapid reaction force to increase the number of UN personnel in Bosnia. /Milliyet/

    [10] KYRGYZ PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION VISITS TURKEY

    A parliamentary delegation from Kyrgyzstan, aiming to boost inter-parliamentary relations, was expected to arrive in Turkey late on Monday, the Anatolia news agency reported. The delegation, led by Deputy Aliser Sabirov, will be briefed on the studies and activities of the Turkish Parliament by the senior bureaucrats from the parliamentary general secretariat.

    [11] DEMIREL TO VISIT KAZAKHSTAN

    President Suleyman Demirel is to pay a visit to Kazakhstan between June 12-14, a statement from the Turkish Foreign Ministry said. Demirel and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev are expected to take up bilateral issues and international developments.

    [12] PRESIDENT OF SLOVENIA VISITS TURKEY

    Milan Kucan, the President of Slovenia, starts a two-day visit to Turkey today in the highest-level visit to take place between the two countries. Kucan is expected to meet with his Turkish counterpart Suleyman Demirel, Prime Minister Tansu Ciller and Parliament Speaker Husamettin Cindoruk. /All papers/

    [13] MOGULTAY IN ROMANIA, THEN GENEVA

    Mehmet Mogultay, Justice Minister and Acting Minister for Labour and Social Security, is in Bucharest, Romania to attend the meeting of European Council's justice ministers which will continue until June 7, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday. Mogultay will also attend the 82nd general assembly of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva. Mogultay will act as Labour Minister for 15 days. Before departing, Mogultay said that there have been some big developments in human rights in Turkey. "I am proud of that" Mogultay added. Mogultay said that the last report of ILO's general director will be discussed in the meetings in Geneva. Refik Baydur, chairman of the Confederation of Employers, will leave Turkey on June 12 to attend ILO meetings, the agency reported.

    END

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