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TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (April 11, 1996)From: TRKNWS-L <trh@aimnet.com>Turkish Press Review DirectoryCONTENTS[01] PRESIDENT DEMIREL BRIEFS PARTY LEADERS ON US TRIP[02] BOSNIAN MEETING[03] TEHRAN ESCALATES CRISIS[04] TURKEY CLARIFIES CONTENT OF ACCORD WITH ISRAEL[05] CZECH FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT TURKEY[06] WARMER RELATIONS WITH CANADA[07] US WARNS GREECE ABOUT HARBOURING PKK[08] 'NO LOVE FOR THE TURKS'[09] DIALOGUE WITH ATHENS DIFFICULT[10] FRANCE TOPS TURKISH FOREIGN INVESTMENT PERMITS[11] WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM TO HOST MEETING IN ANKARA[12] HOST COUNTRY AGREEMENT FOR HABITAT II INITIALED[13] TURKISH AND GREEK LABOUR SIGN COOPERATION DEAL[14] SUPPORT FOR ROMANIAN HIGHWAY[15] YIRCALI TO SPEAK AT UN[16] SECRET MEETING IN GREECE[17] CONTACTS FOR VERIFICATION OF ITAR-TASS NEWSTURKISH PRESS REVIEWTHURSDAY APRIL 11, 1996Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning[01] PRESIDENT DEMIREL BRIEFS PARTY LEADERS ON US TRIPPresident Suleyman Demirel received True Path Party (DYP) Chairwoman Tansu Ciller, Necmettin Erbakan of the Welfare Party (RP) and Bulent Ecevit of the Democratic Left Party (DSP) yesterday to give information about his recent visit to the US. In her statement following the meeting, Ciller said there was a need to discuss balances in the region and the issue of Operation Provide Comfort again. Pointing out that Turkey had stood up for its rights on every issue and had also surmounted many problems by obtaining the suppport of the US. Ciller said the US had been the country which first understood Turkey's struggle against terrorism.After his meeting with Demirel, Erbakan said that the president had provided details about his recent foreign tours, especially his visit to the US. Erbakan said that he shared the president's view that the $2 billion difference in trade volume with the US should be closed. He noted that he had exchanged views with the president about the issues concerning Bosnia-Herzegovina and Armenian attacks against Azerbaijan. DSP leader Ecevit said he had briefed the president about the draft project which could replace Operation Provide Comfort. He said that the Office of the General Staff and the Armed Forces had already made plans about how security could be ensured in the event of removal of the emergency rule. He noted that he and his colleagues could not put up with another extension of Operation Provide Comfort mandate. /All papers/ [02] BOSNIAN MEETINGAn OIC Bosnia-Herzegovina Contact Group Meeting at ministerial level was held yesterday in Sarajevo. Turkey was represented by State Minister and co-Chairwoman of the Turco-Bosnian Joint Economic Commission Imren Aykut. In a speech, Bosnian President Alia Izzetbegovic noted that the meeting was of importance for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Bosnia, and added that Islamic countries were being given an opportunity to demonstrate the ties of solidarity and friendship binding them to each other. Izzetbegovic said that Bosnia needed a strong and well-trained army and asked the countries represented at the meeting for their support. /Cumhuriyet/[03] TEHRAN ESCALATES CRISISThe tension between Ankara and Tehran further escalated yesterday as Turkey announced its decision to call back its four diplomats accused of espionage by Iran. In a severely-worded statement, Ankara expressed deep resentment for Iran's "public accusations" which proved to be a cold shower during a senior diplomat's crucial visit to Tehran for "political consultations". "We reject the Iranian charges that our diplomats are involved in spying. But for their own security, we have asked them to come back to Turkey as soon as possible" Foreign Ministry Spokesman Omer Akbel said yesterday. Akbel denied that the diplomats had been detained or arrested. Neither could he confirm reports by the Iranian news agency IRNA that some Turkish citizens had been arrested. But four hours after Akbel's statement, his Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Muhammedi, said that Iran had asked Turkey to withdraw its four diplomats.Last month Ankara asked Iran to withdraw four diplomats who were accused of being involved in various terrorist activities in Turkish territory. The accusation was based on the testimony of Turkish Islamist hitman Irfan Cagirici, who admitted to receiving military and political training in Iran. Cagirici has confessed to shooting dead newspaper editor Cetin Emec in Istanbul in 1990 and to ordering the killing of a Turkish secularist writer the same year. Iran's ambassador in Ankara has denied any link between Tehran and the gunman. The Turkish Foreign Ministry, for its part, has kept a very low profile on media accusations, saying they were studying the file prepared by the Security Department and would discuss it with Iranian officials during the visit of Turkish Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Ali Tuygan. "We had wanted to solve the problems through good neighbourly ties and political courtesy in a way that such allegations would not surface again" Akbel said. "Despite our attitude, Iran has chosen to accuse publicly and openly four Turkish diplomats in Iran. The Iranian attitude showed that Iran did not want to solve the problems through cooperation and understanding. This leaves Turkey in a position to determine its approach to the matter unilaterally" he added. While this was interpreted as suggesting that Ankara would reciprocate the Iranian move, Akbel did not say what Turkey would do. He ruled out recalling Ambassador Mithat Balkan. Turkey's course of action, in view of the escalation, will be determined after the return of Ali Tuygan. /Cumhuriyet-Milliyet-Hurriyet/ [04] TURKEY CLARIFIES CONTENT OF ACCORD WITH ISRAELFaced with criticism from Muslim countries for signing a military agreement with Israel, Turkey explained yesterday that under the accord Israeli planes could only use Turkish airspace for training purposes and had to be unarmed. "Each country's planes, which will use the airspace of the other country for training pruposes, will be unarmed and carry no equipment that could be used for electronic monitoring" Foreign Ministry Spokesman Omer Akbel said at his weekly press conference. He firmly denied that the agreement was aimed at any particular country, referring to some media reports that the Israeli planes would use the flights to gather intelligence on Turkey's neighbours, namely Iran, Iraq and Syria. "Some of the articles in the press said that Turkey had allowed the use of its airspace, and would further allow Israeli military planes to use some facilities on Turkish air bases" Akbel said. "There is no question of either of the sides providing air base facilities for the other" he said, although he allowed that during training flights the jets may have to use air bases for refueling or in case of emergency.In order to calm the worries of the Muslim countries, Akbel said: "Turkey's flourishing relations with Israel are part of what we have pursued from the beginning as a constructive and balanced policy in the Middle East". Akbel also noted that Turkey was not the only country that was developing its relations with Israel. /Cumhuriyet-Milliyet/ [05] CZECH FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT TURKEYCzech Foreign Minister Joseph Zieleniec will make an official visit to Turkey on April 15, the Foreign Ministry announced in a brief statement yesterday. The visit will be the first for a foreign minister from the republic since Czechoslovakia's "amicable divorce" which divided it into two states. During the visit, the two sides will debate prospects for bilateral cooperation and sign a Civil Transportation Agreement initialed in 1992. /All papers/[06] WARMER RELATIONS WITH CANADAA group of Canadian companies are interested in building Turkey's first nuclear power station, Turkish Energy Minister Husnu Dogan said yesterday. He told reporters after a meeting with Canada's International Trade Minister Arthur C.Eggleton, who is on an official visit in Ankara, that it appeared that Canadian firms were eager to take part in Turkey's power projects. Among the projects discussed, he said, were a proposed pipeline to carry Central Asian gas into Israel via Turkey, and gold exploration in Bergama in the Aegean. The minister also said Turkey would move quickly on build-operate-transfer model projects in order to avoid power shortages in the future. Also on Wednesday, Turkey and Canada signed a memorandum of understanding, an initial step to form a joint economic council. Eggleton and Turkish State Minister Yaman Toruner signed the accord. /Sabah/[07] US WARNS GREECE ABOUT HARBOURING PKKTop level US officials have informed Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis that the US is "deeply concerned" about the way Greece is known to shelter PKK terrorists. The US administration has pointed out to Simitis that Greece has protected PKK members, allowed the PKK to open representative offices in Athens, allowed the PKK to be active in Greece and from Greece to direct activities in other countries.The PKK and its activities especially in connection with Greece have figured a lot in the talks that Simitis has been having with US officials during his current visit to the US. The US administration has made it clear to Greece that it does not approve of its support of the PKK which is internationally recognized as a terrorist organization. Spokesman for the US State Department, Nicholas Burns, said that a number of regional issues had been taken up with Simitis-with a lot of weight being attached to international terror and the PKK. /All papers/ [08] 'NO LOVE FOR THE TURKS'In a Washington Times interview, Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos said that "we do not want to love the Turks, we only want normal ties with them."Pangalos said that the overwhelming attitude of the Greeks for the Turks was one of disgust, and that few among the Greeks wanted more than just nominal relations. He added that one of the reasons for the poor relations between the two countries was that the West had spoilt Turkey. Commenting on the recent debate over Greek ties with Syria, Pangalos said that Greece was cooperating with Syria on most international issues. He also claimed that Turkey was ignoring international human rights conventions, saying that Turkey was trying to "wipe out the Kurds." /Cumhuriyet/ [09] DIALOGUE WITH ATHENS DIFFICULTFresh dialogue between Ankara and Athens has been forced forward because of the visit of Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis to Washington. However, dialogue will not be easy however much the US wants to force the issue. Although the US has shown support for Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz's proposal for unconditional talks, thus squeezing the Greeks into a corner,Greece is not about to give in easily, and already strained relations will not suddenly ease because of US pressure. But there have been signs that the Greeks could ease up on their determined stance against Turkey-at least on the part of Simitis. Foreign Minister Pangalos however appears to continue with te old Greek thinking: He describes new talks as "nonsense and meaningless." In this he contrasts markedly with Mesut Yilmaz, whose serious but more sincere approach has been noted. /Milliyet/ [10] FRANCE TOPS TURKISH FOREIGN INVESTMENT PERMITSFrance tops a list of Turkish foreign investment permits between 1980 and March 1995, official statistics revealed yesterday. The Turkish Treasury's foreign investment department said in a report that foreign investment permits granted to French companies in the specified period amounted to $2.617 billion. The US ranked second with total investment permits worth $2.109 billion. German firms, ranking third, obtained investment permits of $1.913 billion. The top three were followed by Holland with $1.850 billion and Switzerland with $1.631 billion, the report said. Of total permits, $11.169 billion, or 65.6 %, were for the manufacturing industry. The services sector, with $5.314 billion worth of investment permits, accounted for 31.2 % of total permits. Agricultural sector permits totalled $314 million and the mining industry $211 million. /All papers/[11] WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM TO HOST MEETING IN ANKARAUnder the auspices of the World Economic Forum, senior executives and top decision-makers from the international and Turkish business communities will meet informally with key members of the new Turkish government in Ankara on April 18-19, according to a press release from the Geneva-based World Economic Forum. Issues for discussion will include the new government's policies on: economic relations with Europe and the customs union, timetable for the privatization program, political stability in the coalition government, monetary and fiscal policy and expanding the industrial and export base. /All papers/[12] HOST COUNTRY AGREEMENT FOR HABITAT II INITIALEDThe Host Country Agreement between the UN and Turkey to hold the Habitat II Human Settlements conference in Istanbul between June 3-14 was initialed in New York yesterday. The agreement was initialed by Ambassador Huseyin Celem, Turkey's permanent representative at the UN on behalf of Turkey, and by Wally N'Dow, general secretary of the conference, on behalf of the UN. The initialing of the agreement took place after both sides had reached agreement on a formula similar to that of the Rio Conference. The agreement will be signed after the completion of procedures required by Turkish law. UN officials said that all Turkey's conditions regarding the conference had been completely fulfilled. The UN Information Centre issued a press release yesterday saying that over 100 political leaders, policy-makers, development experts, academics, business executives, fund managers, community representatives and journalists would debate policy options to address critical urban problems at a Round Table discussion in Marmaris between April 19-21. Meanwhile, 12 projects deemed worthy of awards for urbanization were selected. The awards will be given during the conference. About 600 projects were presented to the jury gathered in the Canadian city of Toronto and will be shown as examples to other cities during the conference. /Cumhuriyet/[13] TURKISH AND GREEK LABOUR SIGN COOPERATION DEALBayram Meral, chairman of the Confederation of Turkish Labour Unions (Turk-Is) said yesterday that Turk-Is and the Greek Confederation of General Labour Unions (GSEE) will sign a cooperation agreement to boost relations between the two confederations. He pointed out that both confederations are members of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and have good bilateral relations. He said that Turkish and Greek society would benefit from the agreement. "The two confederations will organize a 'Friendship Feast' on a Greek island in autumn" the Anatolia news agency quoted Meral as saying. Christos Protopapas, GSEE chairman, and his delegation came to Turkey at the invitation of Turk-Is and also paid visits to such officials as Ambassador Onur Oymen, Foreign Ministry Undersecretary.//[14] SUPPORT FOR ROMANIAN HIGHWAYCredit extended by Eximbank to Bayindir Holding for the construction of the Bucharest-Giurgiu highway has been increased from $50 million to $68 million, following the approval of President Demirel. The highway, planned to be completed within three years, will play an important role in Turkish road cargo transportation. The highway project is expected to be discussed once more during Demirel's visit to Romania scheduled for April 18. /Sabah/[15] YIRCALI TO SPEAK AT UNHead of Balikesir Chambers of Industry and member of the board of directors of the International Chambers of Commerce (ICC), Rona Yircali, has been invited as a speaker to a meeting of the United Nations that will be held in New York on April 11-13. The main theme of the meeting in which Yircali will participate representing the ICC, will be "Cooperation Between the Public and Private Sectors in Market Economies." /Hurriyet/[16] SECRET MEETING IN GREECEGreek Defence Minister Gerasimos Arsenis who takes a tough line regarding Turco-Greek relations, has held urgent secret meeting with Greek Cyprus Administration Defence Minister Kostas Iliadis in Greece. According to the Athens news agency, decisions were taken regarding the course and progress of Greek-Cypriot Greeks co-defence policy and further steps in the Arsenis-Iliadis talks. /Cumhuriyet/[17] CONTACTS FOR VERIFICATION OF ITAR-TASS NEWSTurkey has approached the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in connection with news against Turkey related to the Chechen issue ecently reported by the Russian official news agency, Itar-Tass. Turkey has demanded a verification of the news and stated its concerns about "news not related to the facts". /Cumhuriyet/ |
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