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Turkish Press Review 96-06-04Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>CONTENTS
TURKISH PRESS REVIEWTUESDAY JUNE 4, 1996Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning[01] PARLIAMENT VOTES TO OPEN CENSURE MOTION DEBATE AGAINST COALITIONParliament yesterday voted to open a debate on a censure motion presented by the Welfare Party (RP) against the coalition led by Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz. The voting was 317 to 124. The debate will be held on June 6 and the vote will be set for Saturday. /All papers/[02] YILMAZ OFF TO BRUSSELSPrime Minister Mesut Yilmaz has gone to Brussels to speak with European Union (EU) officials about the issues involving Turkey and Greece. This Tuesday morning, Yilmaz will meet with President of the European Parliament Klaus Hansch and in the afternoon with EU Commission President Jacques Santer.One of the main points that Yilmaz will take up with the Europeans is the Greek veto against EU aid to Turkey-which Turkey is entitled to under customs union agreements. Yilmaz will also stress the way in which Greece has decided against renewed dialogue with Turkey, despite an open invitation from Turkey to start talks again. Following further talks with other top level officials, Yilmaz will leave Brussels after attending the opening of the Brussels TUSIAD office. /All papers/ [03] WEU PROPOSES BIGGER ROLE FOR TURKEYDuring the latest round of NATO talks, proposals put forward suggest that Turkey should be given a "bigger role to play" in WEU operations. During the Berlin talks yesterday, it was suggested that "more weight" should be given to Ankara, and noting this, deputy Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nurettin Nurkan said this was an important step forward. /Milliyet/[04] UN SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE OPENS IN ISTANBULThe UN global conference on human settlements, Habitat II, opened yesterday with thousands of delegates gathering to chart a code for future living standards for the world's population. "I am pleased to inaugurate the UN conference on settlements, Habitat II" UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali told a packed house of government representatives, urban planners and aid workers. "This UN conference on human settlements is the last of a series of conferences which have shaped in the 1990s the agenda for human development" Ghali said. President Suleyman Demirel was named president of the two-week conference, and delegates elected officers for the meeting, in the purpose-built Lutfu Kirdar Convention Centre.Demirel followed with a call "to come to terms with the fact that we inhabit together Mother Earth. We all share equally the responsibilities associated with our planet. Failure in one part of this earth should be understood as collective failure". Turkey, he stressed, "is ready to shoulder her share of burden and responsibility". Secretary-General of the conference, Wally N'Dow pointed out that "most of the implementing activities" to result from the conference -the delegates are to adopt a global plan of action dubbed the "Habitat Agenda" -will take place "at the local level". /All papers/ [05] ITALIAN PROSECUTOR SPEAKS OUT FOR EUROPEANS AT HABITATSpeaking during the opening talks of the Habitat II conference in Istanbul, Italian prosecutor Antonio di Pietro seemed to be speaking for all the European Union when he touched on matters involving women's rights and other sensitive issues. Pietro stressed that women were entitled to full equality with men in all areas of life. /Hurriyet/[06] TURKEY SATISFIED WITH CFE ACCORD REACHED WITH RUSSIATurkey has welcomed Russia's decision to abide by the arms reductions in the Caucasus foreseen in the 1990 Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty (CFE), which was signed between NATO and the then still alive Warsaw pact, and whose stipulations were subsequently endorsed by the former Eastern bloc countries after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Official confirmation of the Russian position came on Saturday in Vienna after delegates from 30 nations, including Turkey, most of Europe, the US and Canada, had debated a deal between Washington and Moscow on the subject.In a written statement on Moscow's position, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that the problem of Russia's compliance with CFE stipulations relating to its flanks had been solved. "This outcome, which has come about as a result of our constructive and active participation in the negotiations, is a pleasing development both for our country and for the other CFE signatories" the statement said. The statement noted that the result obtained in Vienna this time at the CFE review conference "addressed all of Turkey's political and military priorities". "This agreement has also proved that matters relating to European security can be secured, not by unilateral initiatives, but only by the joint decision of all the parties involved" it added. /All papers/ [07] ISRAELI DEPUTY MILITARY CHIEF ARRIVES IN ANKARATurkish military headquarters said Israel's deputy chief of staff Matan Vilnai arrived in Ankara last night as an official guest of General Cevik Bir. Vilnai is expected to meet Turkish Chief of General Staff Ismail Hakki Karadayi and his deputy Cevik Bir, after his visit to Anitkabir, the Ataturk Mausoleum, today. Vilnai will depart from Turkey on 9 June. /All papers/[08] IMPROVING TURCO-ISRAELI FRIENDSHIPThe Washington Post has published an article by John Pomfret on the strengthening Turco-Israeli friendship, quoting the words of the Second Chief of the Turkish General Staff General Cevik Bir that "Turkey and Israel, the only two democratic countries in the region, should cooperate." The article noted that Turkey's neighbours, Iran, Syria and Iraq, were included in the US list of countries supporting terrorism, recalling that Iranian trucks carrying arms for Hizbullah terrorists in Libya had been discovered and stopped in Sanliurfa, and drew attention to news recently published in the Turkish press claiming that Iranian diplomats had a finger in the pie regarding the organization of terroristic acts in Turkey. The article was concluded with the words of a high-level Turkish military official: "Israel has highly developed arms built according to the latest technology. We are surrounded with troubles. It is vital for us to run the blockade of chaos and find friends in the region. In this sense, Israel as a friendly country is a perfect choice." /Cumhuriyet/[09] TEKEL SIGNS BIG DEAL WITH RJRThe Turkish Monopoly (TEKEL) has signed a protocol with the R.J.Reynolds international tobacco company (RJR) for the export of 68,500 metric tons of Aegean tobacco which will cost RJR $222.6 million. Secretary of State Eyup Asik said at the signing ceremony that this sale was a record for Turkish tobacco history and for TEKEL. RJR's Eastern and Middle European Vice-manager J.Russell Chapman called their purchase not only the largest export in Turkish and TEKEL history but also the largest purchase in RJR's history. He said RJR sees Turkey as a strategically vital source regarding the oriental tobacco that is used in their cigarettes. Chapman concluded by expressing their will to invest more in Turkey and to improve their cooperation with TEKEL. Asik said that the 68,500 tons of tobacco to be told to RJR consisted of stock from the 1990-92 harvest. Asik also explained the process of reaching an agreement with RJR and the fierce competition between this firm and Phillip Morris. Asik added that $100 million of the price would be paid in advance by RJR and the remaining part of the total $222,625,000 would be paid on the completion of delivery by the end of 1997. /Sabah/[10] GHALI HAS NO NEW IDEASUN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali will not offer any ideas for restarting the stalled UN-sponsored talks to solve the intercommunal problems on Cyprus when he meets the leaders of the communities within the next week. Boutros-Ghali is to see President Rauf Denktas of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) on Wednesday in Istanbul. And a week from today he will meet in Geneva with Greek Cypriot leader Glafkos Klerides. Ghali will be "listening to them and trying to find a common denominator" as a basis for starting a new round of negotiations, his spokesman, Ahmed Fawzi, told a press briefing at the Habitat II conference yesterday. Fawzi also noted that Ghali had received from the Turkish leaders with whom he met last week in Ankara -President Suleyman Demirel, Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and Parliament Speaker Mustafa Kalemli -"strong support" for his efforts to bring about a solution to the long-festering dispute on the eastern Mediterranean island. /All papers/[11] TURKISH TOURISM ON INTERNETThe FI Computer Company, producing electronic publications, enjoyed huge success with its first product "Hotels and Resorts 1995 Special Edition", published in CD-ROM format last October as part of an "Insight into Turkey" project. As a result of the great interest in the CD-ROM product, the company has turned the publication into a periodical and has prepared versions for both Internet and CD-ROM use. A part of the data bank was also experimentally opened up for use on the Internet in April 1996.The "Insight into Turkey" project aims to provide users all over the world with up-to-date and correct information on Turkish tourism and to contribute to the best utilization of Turkish national resources. The project aims to provide details and photos related to all tourism facilities in Turkey, information on tourism agencies and their activities, on Rent-a-Car companies and the opportunities they offer along with details on airlines operating in Turkey. "Insight into Turkey" will also offer detailed promotion information on various Turkish regions. It will help users to become familiar with establishments affiliated to the tourism sector and with their spheres of operation, as well as with foreign tourism agencies cooperating with Turkey. The project will enable Internet users to make reservations in Turkey via Internet. Internet address: http://www.finet.com.tr_ e-mail: temizsoy@finet.com.tr [12] 11TH WORLD FORESTRY CONGRESS TO BE HELD IN TURKEYNevzat Ercan, Forestry Minister, said that the 11th World Forestry Congress will be held in Turkey between October 13-22, 1997. Ercan said that the congress, which is to be held in Antalya, has "olympic qualities". He said that the congress will be a summit for forestry and that they are expecting over 3,000 participants. He added that this will probably be the biggest conference to have been held in Turkey after Habitat II. /All papers/[13] GERMAN ACADEMIC DEFENDS TURKEY'S EUROPEAN ROLEProfessor Hugo Steinbach, a renowned scholar of the Turkish literature and language in Germany, attended a conference organized by the Foreign Affairs Institute of the Pandion University in Athens. Professor Steinbach, who is a consultant to the Helmut Kohl government, said in a statement to the Kathimerini newspaper that Europe recognized Turkey as following a policy sympathetic to the Western world, and as a logical, rich, democratic and stable country.He claimed that Europe was not interested in the fact that Turkey was a great market or a country which promised investment opportunities, but that the EU had offered Turkey the customs union to promote and encourage the Turkish economy and democracy. He also referred to the aid funds which Greece has been vetoing and said: "If Greece insists on vetoing the aid funds, it is going to find itself in a very difficult situation before a Europe that believes Turkey is facing the danger of instability". /All papers/ [14] JEWISH-AMERICAN LEADERS SAY NETANYAHU IS GOOD FOR TURKEYAs Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu takes over the reins of Israel's next conservative coalition government as the first directly elected prime minister in Israel's history, most of the Jewish-American opinion-makers that the Turkish Daily News newspaper contacted in Washington agree that his impact on Turkish-Israeli relations will be a positive one.US State Department Spokesman Nicholas Burns told the TDN that he expected the Netanyahu government to support the "set of partnerships" developed between Israel and such countries as Turkey and Jordan. Objecting to the chracterization of such interlocking partnerships as an "emerging alliance", Burns said: "I don't believe the Turkish government suggested any military alliance in the Middle East". Netanyahu has written two books on terrorism in which he details his views on how to combat terrorism, and terrorism threats directed at Turkey. /Cumhuriyet/ [15] SOUTH KOREA DISCOVERS GAPThe South Korean Trade Centre (KOTRA) has been in touch with the Sanliurfa Directorate for Industry with a view to investing in the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP).The South Korean KOTRA organization is always looking for ways to develop foreign trade and has now hit upon the GAP project. KOTRA representative in Istanbul, Jae-Chan said that South Korean investors and businessmen will be encouraged to invest and set up business within the GAP framework of operations. /Sabah/ [16] GERMANY: NEW FOOD EXPORT MARKET FOR TURKEYReports say that Turkish food and durable goods producers have a considerable exports potential in Germany despite expectations that economic recession in Germany could negatively affect Turkish textile exports to that country.Director of the Turkish Research Center, Faruk Sen, yesterday said that the poor consume less due to economic recession in Germany. Pointing out that only the middle classes bought Turkish textile export products, Sen said that decreased demand in cheap textile products had negatively affected Turkish exports but noted that there were German consumers who were inclined towards buying Turkish food products and durable goods. Faruk Sen also said that the number of German tourists to Turkey was expected to increase this year. /Cumhuriyet/ [17] TURKEY THROUGH THE EYES OF AN AMERICANAmerican art photographer Robert Landau has taken pictures along the Mediterranean coast of Turkey from Bodrum to Antalya for a special Turkey edition of the "Avenues" magazine published by the Automobile Club of Southern California. Visiting many touristic places along the coast, Landau has photographed historic landmarks and scenes from the daily life of Turkish people. The photographer said he had been "fascinated by the grandeur of the historic Roman theatres". "Avenues", a magazine with a circulation of 500,000, will help make Americans familiar with the charm of Turkish nature. /Sabah/Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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