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TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (January 29, 1996)From: TRKNWS-L <trh@aimnet.com>Turkish News DirectoryCONTENTS[01] ANAP TURNS DOWN DYP OFFER[02] "FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT"[03] TURKEY WELCOMES RUSSIAN MEMBERSHIP TO COUNCIL OF EUROPE[04] US CONGRESS APPROVES $320 MILLION IN MILITARY LOANS TO TURKEY[05] PRESSURE BUILDING IN THE AEGEAN[06] EURO-MP COHN-BENDIT IN TURKEY[07] ROCK ISLANDS CAUSE NEW AEGEAN TENSION[08] HOLBROOKE TO FLOAT 'NO PLAN' BUT IDEAS FOR A SETTLEMENT[09] GERMAN SUPPORT FOR TURKEY[10] TURKISH TOURISM HITS NEW HIGH IN 1995TURKISH PRESS REVIEWMONDAY JANUARY 29, 1996Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning[01] ANAP TURNS DOWN DYP OFFERMotherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz formally rejected on Saturday Prime Minister Tansu Ciller's proposal for a government partnership under a rotating premiership. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Yilmaz said that Ciller should return her mandate to form the government to President Suleyman Demirel without any delay. But Ciller stated that she would also try other alternatives, saying the constitutional 45-day limit for the formation of a government had not even started.Ciller noted that she would take Yilmaz's reply to her True Path Party (DYP) competent bodies for evaluation but did not clarify if she could come up with a new proposal for ANAP. The meeting in which Yilmaz gave his party's final reply lasted only 10 minutes, dashing any remaining hopes for a last minute breakthrough that would pave the way for the partnership. Ciller told a news conference after the brief meeting that by rejecting the offer, Yilmaz had also wasted a "historic opportunity" for the eventual union of the two parties following an election alliance. Ciller said that she would immediately start contacts with other parties after the DYP executives study ANAP's rejection. She indicated her interest in "hearing from Ecevit himself" his reported proposals for a "rotating minority government" with ANAP-DSP (Democratic Left Party) partnership taking turns with the DYP-CHP (Republican People's Party) alliance in running the country until the next elections. /Milliyet-Cumhuriyet/ [02] "FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT"According to Prime Minister Ciller, Turkey's future looks "bright" because Turkey is "one the world's richest and most beautiful countries."Speaking at the foundation laying ceremony of a new terminal at Antalya airport over the weekend, Ciller said that Antalya reflected the bright future of Turkey, uniquely situated as it was in one of the nicest regions of the country. /Cumhuriyet/ [03] TURKEY WELCOMES RUSSIAN MEMBERSHIP TO COUNCIL OF EUROPETurkey welcomed the membership of the Russian Federation to the Council of Europe on Friday. Ismet Birsel, Turkey's representative to the Council of Europe, called Russia "an important European country" and described its access as "a natural enlargement". Underlining the importance of dialogue and mutual understanding in Europe, Birsel said that Turkey had supported the access to Russia "from the very beginning". "The Council of Europe should live with the new facts of Europe" he said, adding that Russia should not stay out of institutions and platforms which aim at development of democracy. However, he added that "accepting Russia without noting the existing standards" should be considered a "goodwill gesture". /All papers/[04] US CONGRESS APPROVES $320 MILLION IN MILITARY LOANS TO TURKEYTurkey will receive $320 million in foreign military funds -a term used for loans to finance US foreign military sales- in 1996, if President Bill Clinton ratifies the bill. The US Congress has approved a bill that has been kept waiting and sent it to the White House for approval after some touch-ups. The aid to Turkey, as outlined in the bill, is $320 million in military loans and $33.5 million in economic support funds. The same bill gives Greece $224 million in foreign military funds without any economic assistance funds, thus maintaining the long-standing seven to ten ratio of US aid to Greece and Turkey, respectively.The Clinton administration originally asked for $450 million for Turkey, but the amount was decreased as part of a decline in all foreign aid due to budget restrictions. Similarly, the administration's call for $100 million in economic support funds was reduced to $33.5 million. /All papers/ [05] PRESSURE BUILDING IN THE AEGEANUS President Clinton warned over the weekend that the situation in the Aegean Sea region had grown into serious proportions. The Aegean problem between Turkey and Greece has once again grown hot, and the US administration has let its concerns be known.In a move to try and cool the situation, the US said that it will support new measures to increase security. Only a few weeks ago, President Clinton agreed that while other NATO countries were moving into a period of comparative quiet, Turkey was coming under increasing pressures both internally and from the outside. The US wants to sell missiles to Turkey to keep the military balance in the region, but Greece opposes the move and is trying to get Washington to block the sales. So far, the US remains unconvinced that missile sales to Turkey will in any way add to the problems in the region. /Milliyet/ [06] EURO-MP COHN-BENDIT IN TURKEYA member of the European Parliament deputy told a conference in Istanbul that "it is impossible to achieve democracy in a society where the norms are based on religious rules". Daniel Cohn-Bendit's January 27 conference on "The problem of integration in multi-cultural societies: The Moslems in French and German societies", was organized by the Istanbul Municipality which is controlled by the pro-Islamic Welfare Party. Bendit explained that theocratic societies are totalitarian in nature. "Religion and state affairs should be separated. That is the basic principle of democracy".He stressed the need for society to respect every human being. "It took hundreds of years for the Christian world to establish secularism. This was a difficult and bloody period. It would also be difficult for the Muslim world to solve these problems. I am here to start this dialogue" he said. Bendit, one of the leaders of 1968 student uprising, said that societies facing the problem of immigration should integrate the immigrants into their system. /All papers/ [07] ROCK ISLANDS CAUSE NEW AEGEAN TENSIONThe Turco-Greek tensions caused by two "rock-islands" in the Aegean Sea increased over the weekend when Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos accused Ankara of "trying to force Greece to the negotiation table". "Turkey's aim is to force us to the negotiation table regarding the status of the rocks and the uninhabited islands" he said in a program on the private television channel Antenna.Ankara has started a legal and technical study regarding the status of the rocks and uninhabited islands in the Aegean Sea. Some Turkish officials indicate that the two Aegean neighbours should bilaterally discuss the situation on the basis of two agreements, one made in 1932 between Turkey and Italy, who then owned the 12 islands, and a 1947 agreement between Italy and Greece, giving the islands to Greece. While Pangalos met with Turkish Ambassador to Athens, Umit Pamir, Turkish Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Ambassador Inal Batu summoned Greek Ambassador to Ankara, Dimitri Nezeritis, to the Foreign Ministry yesterday evening to discuss the issue. /Cumhuriyet/ [08] HOLBROOKE TO FLOAT 'NO PLAN' BUT IDEAS FOR A SETTLEMENTUS Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke is expected not to table a new plan but to offer "ideas" for a settlement to the 32-year-old Cyprus problem during his forthcoming long-delayed tour of the region. Holbrooke will start his tour of Turkey, southern and northern Cyprus and Greece on February 10 with a one-day visit to Ankara. He is scheduled to complete his tour of the region on February 16. The visit was originally scheduled for January 22. However the government crisis in Ankara following the general election of December 24, 1995, and the continued hospitalization of former Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, forced Holbrooke to postpone both his visit and his retirement from public service. /All papers/[09] GERMAN SUPPORT FOR TURKEYIn a special section on Turkey in the "Deutschland Magazin", German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said that "our Turkish compatriots contribute to our wealth." He also said that Germany attached great importance to strong and productive dialogue with Turkey.Kinkel commented on Turkey's role in Europe as a member of NATO and other security and economy related organizations. He noted that even among friends disagreement and misunderstandings could arise. Nevertheless, constructive and friendly dialogue should always prevail. Referring to the recent spate of attacks against Turks and property owned by Turks, Kinkel said that German courts and other organs were doing their best to stop the attacks. "We are most concerned about these incidents, and both the German government and people strongly condemn them" said Kinkel. In his interview with the magazine, Kinkel added that the violence not only disrupted life in Germany, but added to problems between Turkey and Germany. Stressing the good ties Germany enjoyed with Turkey, Kinkel also elaborated on aid facilities extended by Germany to Turkey. Apart from military considerations, Germany saw Turkey as a major trade partner and wanted ties to develop along those lines. /Cumhuriyet/ [10] TURKISH TOURISM HITS NEW HIGH IN 1995In a record year for Turkish tourism, 7.7 million tourists visited Turkey in 1995. The Tourism Ministry said that the number of tourist arrivals in the country has been increasing steadily since the end of the year, marking a 15.8 % increase in visitors compared to the previous year. Officials said that this represented a great boost for the Turkish tourism industry. The greatest number of arrivals since the start of the season have been from Germany, bringing more and more people due to changing attitudes to traditional sun, sea and sand holidays, the Tourism Ministry is publicizing winter tourism, hunting, underwater sports and tracking. Officials noted that their new project, entitled "Four Seasons, Twelve Months in Turkey", aimed to make the most of the potential for alternative tourism throughout the country and to promote its attractions around the world. /All papers/ |
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