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Turkish Press Review, 96-09-03Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>CONTENTS
TURKISH PRESS REVIEWTUESDAY SEPTEMBER 3, 1996Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning[01] IRAQI PULLBACK IN DISPUTE AS US TOURS MIDEAST ALLIESThe Iraqi troops, backed by tanks and artillery on Saturday lunged across the cease fire lines to capture Erbil for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)'s main rival for power. Iraq on Sunday said it would withdraw its troops "because it had not yet decided to reassert its authority in the north"."There is some evidence of an Iraqi redeployment" White House spokesman Mike McCurry said. "But we see no indication that they are preparing withdrawal back to their original forward positions". President Bill Clinton, he said, has "a defined course of action" to take against Saddam. He declined to elaborate. Turkish Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller earlier yesterday joined the UN officials in Erbil in reporting the Iraqi withdrawal. "I know that as of today (President) Saddam (Hussein)'s forces have withdrawn and that this order has been given. We are pleased about this" she told reporters. /Sabah/ [02] CILLER VISITS AMMANThe visit of Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller to Jordan, starting today, has gained great importance in the light of recent developments in Northern Iraq. During her two-day visit, Ciller will be received by King Hussein. King Hussein and Ciller will discuss a joint course of action with respect to the new crisis in Northern Iraq. Ciller will reassure the Jordanian leader that Turkish Middle East policy has not changed. /Hurriyet/[03] ANKARA PRESSING FOR PETROL GUARANTEESAnkara is working to make sure that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's military initiatives do not block Turkey's petrol pipe interests in northern Iraq.UN agreements with Iraq for the opening of the Kirkuk-Yumurtalik oil overland pipeline means that Turkey stands to benefit from Iraqi oil sales, even though they will be limited to UN regulations. The worsening situation in the region however, has put Turkey's moves to have the pipeline in operation again at risk. The Foreign Ministry is now deeply involved in talks to secure pipeline operations despite the fighting around Erbil in northern Iraq. /All papers/ [04] HAMMER FORCES WILL NOT BE INVOLVEDAccording to some diplomatic sources, the multi-national "Hammer" strike force deployed at a base near Adana will not be used in strikes against Iraqi forces. Representatives said yesterday that strikes against Saddam's forces were outside the mandate of the Provide Comfort strike force. /Hurriyet/[05] TURKMEN MASSACRE IN NORTHERN IRAQReports from the town of Erbil in northern Iraq claim that Iraqi forces have been targetting the Turkemeni population in the region around Erbil. Some reports describe the Iraqi action as a "massacre" with many Turkmen people being shot as they fled from the fighting.Iraqi troops have burnt and looted property belonging to Turkmen people. The extent of damage and the number of people killed has not yet been determined. /Hurriyet/ [06] NEED FOR STRONG FOREIGN POLICYRepresentatives of the private sector involved in the construction of the overland pipeline between Iraq and Turkey, have stressed that Turkey stands to lose out the most from the developments in northern Iraq.There have been calls for a more effective foreign policy to make sure that Turkey keeps its hold on economic interests in the region. Turkey has already lost a huge amount of income because of the UN embargo against Iraq, and sector representatives fear that these losses could increase unless Ankara takes steps to safeguard Turkey's influence in the area. /All papers/ [07] TURKEY TO ISSUE DM 150-200 MILLION WORTH OF BONDSTurkey is to issue DM 150-200 million worth of Treasury Bonds on German markets to provide additional financial resources, Deputy Prime Minister Tansu Ciller told a press conference yesterday. After meeting with state ministers and economic bureaucrats, she said that the Treasury's total borrowing on foreign financial markets amounted to $13-14 billion at the beginning of 1996. She also said the Treasury's foreign borrowing ability had improved recently.Ciller noted that the Treasury launched DM 500 million bonds, with a maturity period of five years on German markets, on August 13 under the management of Commerzbank. She added that despite the prevailing seasonal recession period in global markets, the additional demand for Turkish bonds demonstrated the fact that the government's economic policies were on the right path. Ciller said the government aimed for all the sectors in the Turkish economy to keep up with current world prices. /Milliyet/ [08] SCENE IN TURKISH-GREEK RELATIONS WILL CHANGE, SAYS SIMITISGreek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis voiced his hope that Turkish-Greek relations will improve after the US presidential election. Simitis was quoted in a Greek newspaper saying that the US administration, after the election, will demand that some problems in the region should be solved. Simitis said he will prevent a "hot winter" in relations with Turkey if he wins Greece's own parliamentary elections to be held on September 22. /Cumhuriyet/[09] ARMENIA SEEKS A CHANGE IN RELATIONS WITH TURKEYArmenia has asked Turkey to separate Erivan-Ankara relations from the question of Nagorno-Karabakh which is under Armenian occupation. Armenian President Levon Ter Petrosian's chief adviser Jirair Liberdian, who was in Ankara last week, pointed out that Turkey and Greece had trade, diplomatic, and touristic ties despite the disputes between the two countries over the Cyprus issue. Armenia, he said, would like to establish the same sort of relations with Turkey.Following the Provide Comfort agreement for a multi-national force deployed in the south, Turkey is preparing to host a Second Peace Force. A consensus of opinion has been reached between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia for the establishment of a peace force in Erzurum, Turkey, within the framework of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to solve the Nagorno-Karabakh problem between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Initiatives have been launched also for economic relations between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia. To this end, Nakhichevan is being made a free zone. Armenia has also approved a project carried out by Turkish State Minister Ayfer Yilmaz. According to this project, these three countries will be able to sell their products in Nakhichevan. It is reported that Liberdian supported Turkey's views over this issue. /Hurriyet/ [10] TWENTY-SEVEN TERRORISTS KILLEDDuring operations in the Southeast, 27 PKK terrorists and six members of the security forces have been killed. Three other terrorists have been arrested in Van and Sirnak, and four surrendered to the security forces. /Cumhuriyet/END Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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