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Wednesday, 14 August 2024
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TRKNWS-L Turkish Daily News (February 29, 1996)From: TRKNWS-L <trh@aimnet.com>Turkish Press Review DirectoryCONTENTS[01] CILLER, YILMAZ AGREE ON COALITION[02] CHIEF OF STAFF TO VISIT TURKISH MILITARY UNITS IN ITALY[03] IRAQI OIL MINISTER TO VISIT TURKEY FOR PIPELINE TALKS[04] ANKARA WANTS SYRIA'S DETAILED REPLY ON "APO"[05] EC TO GIVE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO EIGHT PROJECTS IN TURKEY[06] AKBEL: "NO PROBLEM ON CU"[07] PLANS TO SQUEEZE THE GREEKS[08] LONDON SIDES WITH ANKARA[09] NEW PROTOCOL FOR HAMMER FORCE[10] WORLD ENERGY COUNCIL MEETING IN TURKEY[11] ISRAELI WEAPONS FOR GREEK CYPRIOTS[12] ARSONISTS ATTACK TURKISH MOSQUE IN GERMANY[13] BOSNIAN ARMY TO BE TRAINED IN ANKARATURKISH PRESS REVIEWTHURSDAY FEBRUARY 29, 1996Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning[01] CILLER, YILMAZ AGREE ON COALITIONMotherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz and True Path Party (DYP) Chairwoman Tansu Ciller announced yesterday that they had reached agreement in principle on the formation of a coalition government between their parties, a coalition publicly referred to as "Motherpath". Following indirect contacts, both leaders held a tete-a-tete meeting at the Prime Ministry for two-and-a-half hours. Flanked by their top party executives, Yilmaz and Ciller held a joint press conference and announced that they would continue their efforts until the end of this week.She and Yilmaz had reached a consensus on the formation of Motherpath in its general outlines, Ciller said, and added that they had also decided that it would remain in power for a period of five years. Yilmaz also said he and Ciller had reached an agreement on all issues in principle. Ciller said a committee consisting of four officials from both parties would work on the government program today. She said that the program would contain ideas from the structural transformation programs of both parties which would also cover issues ranging from justice to education and corruption. She added that the performance of the projects set forth in the program could be tied to a schedule on a yearly basis. Ciller said that she hoped that the Motherpath coalition would be auspicious, and added that the DYP would try to build confidence through good intent and concessions. /Hurriyet/
[02] CHIEF OF STAFF TO VISIT TURKISH MILITARY UNITS IN ITALYGen.Ismail Hakki Karadayi, Chief of General Staff, at the invitation of his Italian counterpart, Adm.Guido Venturoni and Southern Europe Allied Forces Commander Adm.L.Smith, on Wednesday flew to Italy. Gen.Karadayi will visit Turkish military units in Italy, such as the F-16 squadron based at Ghedi Air Base as support for the NATO air capability of the Bosnian Peace Implementation Force (IFOR). Karadayi's visit will last until 3 March. /Cumhuriyet/
[03] IRAQI OIL MINISTER TO VISIT TURKEY FOR PIPELINE TALKSIraqi Oil Minister Amir Muhammad Rasheed will come to Turkey on March 4 for two-days of talks on a shut-down oil pipeline from Iraq to Turkey's southern coast, Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Omer Akbel said during yesterday's weekly press conference. Akbel said that the visit would take up whether the Yumurtalik-Kirkuk pipeline was ready to be reopened after the UN allowed Iraq to sell part of its oil. The Iraqi delegation will also include a team of technicians to debate how the pipeline from Iraq's Kirkuk oil fields to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan can be repaired. /Sabah/
[04] ANKARA WANTS SYRIA'S DETAILED REPLY ON "APO"Syria has replied to Ankara's request for the extradition of leader of the PKK terrorist organization, Abdullah "Apo" Ocalan, by repeating its "well-known views", the Foreign Ministry said. Damascus traditionally claims that Ocalan is not in Syria. Earlier this month, Ankara gave a demarche to Syria but only received an "interim reply" Ministry Spokesman Omer Akbel said. "We want a detailed reply" he added. /Hurriyet/
[05] EC TO GIVE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO EIGHT PROJECTS IN TURKEYThe European Commission is to give financial assistance to eight projects in Turkey in areas including urban planning, the environment and social and economic development. A press release from the representation of the Commission of the European Community in Turkey said yesterday that these selected projects costs would be met only by the budget of the European Commission. The press release pointed out that funds will be made available under the framework of the EU's 1993 Renovated Mediterranean Policy. Throughout the Mediterranean region, the number of projects which will be supported is 59.The program aims at increasing cooperation between European and Mediterranean local authorities and developing their capacity to pursue the main objectives of the EU's Mediterranean policy: economic development, social stability, management of the environment and improving the quality of life. According to the press release, the 59 projects selected for funding will receive in total around ECU 1.58 million (around $2 million). Meanwhile, the EU will give financial aid worth ECU 2 million (nearly TL 100 billion) for a "professional training project" in the Turkish tourism sector. The project, which will be carried out by the Tourism Training General Directorate of the Tourism Ministry and supported by the government with ECU 445,000, will be brought to life in the coming days and will last four years. /Sabah/
[06] AKBEL: "NO PROBLEM ON CU"Regarding the news suggesting that the European Union was waiting for the formation of a new Turkish government to fulfill its obligations within the framework of the Customs Union, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Amb.Omer Akbel noted that a government "always existed in Turkey". Akbel, in his weekly press conference yesterday, said that a Turkey-EU Association Council meeting would be held on 25 March and there was no change concerning this issue. On the Greek attempts to block financial aid to Turkey according to CU agreements, Akbel recalled that the CU agreement foresaw various mechanisms to further association relations. Akbel stated that Turkey would like to attend the EU summit meeting in Florence, and said: "Our interest in this issue was conveyed during Prime Minister Tansu Ciller's Rome visit". /Sabah/
[07] PLANS TO SQUEEZE THE GREEKSAccording Foreign Ministry officials, Turkish Ambassador to Athens Umit Pamir will return to his office next week. Officials add that he will spearhead a new program of political and diplomatic pressure against Greece. Ambassador Pamir was received by President Demirel yesterday for details on the new strategy.Turkey's National Security Council has already discussed Turkey's options where Greece is concerned, and details of the new program against Greece include four main targets: Turkey will press for satisfaction in connection with the rights of the Turkish minority living in Thrace, and will demonstrate how Athens has ignored past agreements made to deal with this sensitive issue. The problems of Turkish families living on Aegean islands belonging to Greece will also be brought to international platforms. Thirdly, Ankara will also bring up the matter of how Greece is quietly arming islands in the Aegean in contravention of international agreements. Along with this, air corridors and coastal limits will be taken up. Pressure against Greece will be increased by developing existing agreements with Albania and Macedonia. There have already been suggestions that Turkey wants joint military exercises with those two countries, that both back onto Greece. On the other hand, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Omer Akbel again stressed yesterday that Turkey wants to open up new dialogue with Greece as a prelude to solving problems amicably. He noted that there was "no rule against dialogue" and everything to be gained by pressing for talks. /All papers/
[08] LONDON SIDES WITH ANKARABritain's Foreign Minister Malcolm Rifkind has also spoken out against the attitude of Greece in connection with pursuing a policy of diplomatic and political aggression against Turkey.Talking to journalists in Strasbourg, Rifkind said that Turkey's relations with the European Union (EU), should be accepted within their own framework, and that problems between Turkey and Greece had to be examined in a different light. He stressed that the two were not connected, and that the EU would follow that policy when reaching decisions involving the two countries. /Hurriyet/
[09] NEW PROTOCOL FOR HAMMER FORCEThe multinational "Hammer" strike force stationed at Incirlik base near Adana is being reshaped. The force is one of the most important elements of the cooperation between Turkey and the US, yet is one of the most sensitive matters on the Turkish domestic agenda.According to its "Provide Comfort" operational brief, the force is there to secure stability in the regions between Turkey and northern Iraq, and to ease Ankara's fears that the force could abuse its terms of operation, new rules will now be examined by Washington. Talks between committees from both sides have led to a reassessment of the situation, and now Washington is looking more positively at proposals for revised operational rules. One of the first matters that a new government must take up will be the question of the role of the Provide Comfort strike force, this especially in view of the sensitivity of the issue in certain quarters. /Milliyet/
[10] WORLD ENERGY COUNCIL MEETING IN TURKEYThe 1996 Financial Assembly of the World Energy Council will convene in September in Kusadasi near Izmir, with the participation of 102 countries. Giants of the energy sector from all over the world will come to Turkey. The rich four-day programme will bring together Turkish and foreign companies and will facilitate exchange of energy technology information. /Sabah/
[11] ISRAELI WEAPONS FOR GREEK CYPRIOTSIsrael defence industry officials have established contacts with the Greek Cypriot Parliamentary Defence Commission for the sale of Israel-made planes, tanks and electronic intelligence systems. If the Defence Committee reacts positively to the proposal, Israel will become the third country after France and Russia selling weapons to the Greek Cypriots. /Milliyet/
[12] ARSONISTS ATTACK TURKISH MOSQUE IN GERMANYUnidentified vandals set fire to a Turkish mosque near the southern German city of Heidelberg late on Tuesday night, causing 5,000 marks' ($3,000) worth of damage, police said on Wednesday. The vandals threw a petrol bomb into the porch of the mosque, located in an industrial area in the town of Wiesloch. No one was hurt in the attack. /All papers/
[13] BOSNIAN ARMY TO BE TRAINED IN ANKARAOn March 14-15, a conference on aid to Bosnian Armed Forces will be held in Ankara. Within the aims of the campaign, the United States expects approximately 700 million dollars of aid to be extended by conference participants. It is stated that the Clinton administration will contribute 100 million dollars to the campaign to gather aid for Bosnia.After the departure of NATO forces from the region, material aid donated in order to provide the Bosnia-Croat Federation with the means of self-protection against a possible Serbian attack, will be gathered in Ankara, which will at the same time, be the center of a training program for the Bosnian Armed Forces. The US administration has distributed the terms in the equip-and-train program drawn up by the Dayton peace accord committed among the allied countries. Turkey has undertaken a leading role within this program. High-level commanders of the Bosnian-Croat military corps have been in Washington for two days to participate in talks and seminars on the question of "How Should Armed Forces Function within a Democratic Order?" The US administation is paying a special attention to the Aid onference to be held in Ankara. It is reported too, that a military delegation headed by General Cevik Bir will hold high-level talks in Washington in March. /Hurriyet/
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