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TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (October 30, 1995)
From: hristu@arcadia.harvard.edu (Dimitrios Hristu)
Subject: TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (October 30, 1995)
CONTENTS
[01] REPUBLIC DAY CELEBRATED IN TURKEY
[02] NEW GOVERNMENT ON THE WAY
[03] SUPREME ELECTORAL BOARD GIVES "GO" SIGNAL FOR ELECTIONS
[04] ASSOCIATION COUNCIL HOLDS KEY MEETING
[05] TATAR PARLIAMENT SPEAKER TO VISIT TURKEY TODAY
[06] TURKEY'S INTERNATIONAL RESERVES HIT $28 BILLION
[07] THIRTY-EIGHT PKK MILITANTS KILLED IN S.EAST
[08] TURKS IN GERMANY FOUND A POLITICAL PARTY
MONDAY OCTOBER 30, 1995
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press
this morning
[01] REPUBLIC DAY CELEBRATED IN TURKEY
Ceremonies were held throughout Turkey, foreign representations and in the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) yesterday to mark the 72nd
anniversary of the founding of the Republic. Opening ceremonies were held in
Ankara at Ataturk's Mausoleum, Anitkabir, where President Suleyman Demirel
laid a wreath at Ataturk's memorial and signed the "Special Guest Book".
Parliament Speaker Ismet Sezgin, Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, Chief of General
Staff Gen.Ismail Hakki Karadayi, President of the Constitutional Court Yekta
Gungor Ozden, Chairman of the Motherland Party (ANAP) Mesut Yilmaz,
Chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP) Deniz Baykal, Chairman of
the Welfare Party (RP) Necmettin Erbakan, Chairman of the Democratic Left
Party (DSP) Bulent Ecevit, Chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP)
Alparslan Turkes, high-ranking military officials, members of the Council of
Ministers, Ankara's Governor and Mayor, and members of the high courts
participated in the ceremony.
The second ceremony was held at the Parliament, where President Demirel
received the leaders of the political parties, high- ranking military officials,
members of the high courts, and foreign diplomats in Ankara. Another ceremony
was held at the Hippodrome in Ankara.
In his televised Republic Day address, Demirel said one of the greatest
achievements of the Republic was the establishment of democracy, which he
said, was to be further developed. Ciller said in her own message that Turkey
was concluding a customs pact with the EU and said that among her objectives
was making Turkey a competitive country integrated with Europe and a
respected member of the world community. Gen.Karadayi noted in his message
that the armed forces were ready and able to defeat all attempts to disrupt the
unity of the nation.
Russian President Boris Yeltsin sent a congratulatory message to President
Demirel. Yeltsin said that relations between the two countries should continue to
grow in every field, as he is sure they will. Speaking at a reception given by
Turkish Ambassador to Baku Omur Orhun, Azeri President Haydar Aliyev said
they were celebrating Turkey's Republic Day as their own National Day and
Azeri people were proud of the Turkish nation's victories in history.
/Cumhuriyet/
[02] NEW GOVERNMENT ON THE WAY
The new DYP-CHP coalition government will announce its cabinet and
ministers either this evening or tomorrow morning. Turkey's 52nd government
will try for a vote of confidence on Sunday, November 5.
Leader of the CHP party, Deniz Baykal, still has not made up his mind about
being both deputy prime minister and foreign minister. Baykal is under pressure
to take up the duties of foreign minister because of the EU-Turkey customs
union issue.
The new government is expected to get rid of some of the old faces and bring in
some fresh blood. Party groups spent Sunday polishing up the new government's
programme-which will centre around getting Turkey into the vital customs
union. It is noteworthy however, that this will be the first time that a protocol
will go through without being signed by either coalition leader. The coalition
protocol will be signed only by those who put it together. The programme will
nevertheless be presented to the press by both party leaders. /All papers/
[03] SUPREME ELECTORAL BOARD GIVES "GO" SIGNAL FOR
ELECTIONS
The Supreme Electoral Board (YSK) announced yesterday the timetable for the
upcoming December 24 general elections and triggered the bans to be observed
throughout this period. According to the timetable, civil servants, political party
leaders and members of the Turkish Armed Forces are required to resign from
their posts by November 1 if they wish to run in the December 24 elections.
District electoral boards will post the lists of eligible voters on October 31, so
that they can be updated. The voters' list will be removed on November 9 to
examine possible objections against the names listed, and they will be finalized
on November 11 and declared valid. In addition, political parties have until 31
October to notify the YSK of the method they will use to determine their
candidates and the names of the election districts in which they will run. The
YSK has also determined which political parties are eligible to take part in the
elections. Thirteen parties will participate in the elections. Yesterday, the YSK
determined the distribution of 450 parliamentary seats among 79 provinces, and
the election districts in Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir. An extra 100 seats, in
addition to the existing 450 in the Parliament, will be distributed among the
parties which clear the 10 % nationwide hurdle, proportional to their share of the
total vote. /Sabah/
[04] ASSOCIATION COUNCIL HOLDS KEY MEETING
The Turkey-EU Association Council will hold a crucial meeting today in
Luxembourg to review the progress in the implementation of the conditions for
the trade pact. The results of the meeting, the first since the Association Council
rulings on March 6, are expected to go beyond the confirmation, which Turkey
seeks, that the required technical harmonization for the customs integration is
completed. The envisaged EU package will reportedly include meetings once a
year between the president and prime minister of Turkey and the presidents of
the EU (ministerial) Council and the EU Commission within the framework of
political consultations. Beside the envisaged twice-yearly meetings between the
foreign ministers, ministerial level meetings will also be held regularly on
judicial matters and domestic policy issues. Foreign Minister of the DYP
minority government Coskun Kirca will represent Turkey at the 37th term
Association Council meeting today and then will go to Brussels. He will meet
with Spanish Reporter Carlos Carnero who will present the report regarding
Turkey to the European Parliament. /Cumhuriyet/
[05] TATAR PARLIAMENT SPEAKER TO VISIT TURKEY TODAY
Vesiley Lihacov, Parliament Speaker of Tatarstan, and his delegation will visit
Turkey as the guest of the Turkish Parliament. Officials said that the delegation
headed by Lihacov will first visit Parliament Speaker Ismet Sezgin at his office
in Ankara. A cooperation protocol will be signed by Deputy Parliament Speaker
Mustafa Kalemli and Lihacov. The delegation will leave Turkey on Tuesday.
/All papers/
[06] TURKEY'S INTERNATIONAL RESERVES HIT $28 BILLION
Turkey's international reserves, including foreign exchange and gold reserves of
the Central Bank and hard cash deposits of local banks, reached a record $28
billion in October, according to a recent disclosure by the governor of the
Turkish Central Bank. "No country under International Monetary Fund (IMF)
supervision has made such a turnaround in such a short time as Turkey" Central
Bank Governor Yaman Toruner said on Friday. He explained how the Central
Bank's tight monetary policies were improving the Turkish economy by
lowering inflation expectations and increasing savings. /All papers/
[07] THIRTY-EIGHT PKK MILITANTS KILLED IN S.EAST
Thrity-eight militants of the PKK terrorist organization were killed during
military operations, and four soldiers were killed in action in the Southeast.
Officials from the Diyarbakir-based emergency rule region said that 26
militants were killed in Bingol's Genc district, five in the rural area of
Diyarbakir's Hazro district, five in Hakkari's Cukurca district, and two in the
rural areas of Olcekli and Altinbasak villages in Hakkari's Yuksekova district.
Four soldiers were killed in action during the clashes. /Milliyet/
[08] TURKS IN GERMANY FOUND A POLITICAL PARTY
The German Democratic Party, founded by German citizens of Turkish origin,
has held its first meeting. Sedat Sezgin, one of the founding members was
elected party chairman. The party was established in reaction to the increasing
xenophobia in Germany, and aims to assist foreigners, and especially people of
Turkish origin, with their problems encountered in Germany. /Milliyet/
END
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