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Turkish Press Review, 97-01-14
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
CONTENTS
[01] TURKEY, IRAQ MAY RENEW 'HOT PURSUIT' ACCORD IN 1997
[02] KARADAYI: MISSILES A PROVOCATION
[03] TURKEY NEGOTIATING TO BUY BELGIAN, DUTCH MISSILES
[04] THIRD ROUND OF NORTHERN IRAQI PEACE TALKS TO START TODAY
[05] TURKISH ARMY RANKED AMONG WORLD'S 10 LARGEST
[06] PKK PLANS CONFERENCE IN MOSCOW
[07] ISTANBUL'S YOUNG BUSINESSMEN TO ESTABLISH 'CYPRUS HOLDING'
[08] GAP EXPORT BOOM
[09] THE TIMES: GREEK CYPRIOTS RESPONSIBLE FOR CRISIS
[10] TRIAL OF PKK TERRORISTS IN GERMANY
TURKISH PRESS REVIEW
JANUARY 14, 1997
Summary of the economic and political news in the Turkish press this
morning.
[01] TURKEY, IRAQ MAY RENEW 'HOT PURSUIT' ACCORD IN 1997
A new hot pursuit agreement to sweep up the outlawed Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK) terrorists in northern Iraq might be renewed
between Iraq and Turkey, high level officials said. In addition,
Northern Watch - the new replacement for Operation Provide Comfort
(OPC) - could end this year if the Iraqi government opens all of its
mass destruction weapons facilities to U.N. observers. Turkish
military officials noted that the first 'hot pursuit' agreement was
signed in 1984 but remained unrenewed since the end of the 1980s.
Turkey is giving serious consideration to renewing the agreement this
year and sources say that Iraqi officials have given positive signals
on the issue./All papers/
[02] KARADAYI: MISSILES A PROVOCATION
Turkish armed forces chief Gen. Ismail Hakki Karadayi on Monday
started an official visit to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
(TRNC) to underline Turkey's resolve not to permit the sitting Russian
anti-craft missiles in the Greek south of island, while a senior U.S.
envoy conferring with Greek Cypriot leaders played down the crisis.
Gen. Karadayi said Greek Cypriot plans for the acquisition of
long-range Russian S-300 surface-to-air missiles were the "culmination
of provocation and over-militarisation"./Hurriyet/
[03] TURKEY NEGOTIATING TO BUY BELGIAN, DUTCH MISSILES
The Belgian Defense Ministry confirmed on Monday media reports that
French defense company Thomson-CSF was negotiating the sale to Turkey
of surplus Belgian and Dutch surface-to-air missile systems. "Talks
are underway. We can not talk yet about a sale," spokesman Col.
Ronny Van den Broule said. Thomson-CSF was seeking to acquire the
missiles from Belgium and the Netherlands before selling them on to
Turkey. The Dutch foreign and defense ministries declined to
comment./Cumhuriyet/
[04] THIRD ROUND OF NORTHERN IRAQI PEACE TALKS TO START TODAY
The third round of peace negotiations for northern Iraq is to be held
today in Ankara. Representatives from Jalal Talabani led the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Massoud Barzani led
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) are to sit down to talks co-chaired
by the U.S. assistant secretary of state, Robert Pelletreau, and the
undersecretary of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Onur Oymen. British
and Turkmen officials will also be presented at the meeting./Radikal/
[05] TURKISH ARMY RANKED AMONG WORLD'S 10 LARGEST
The 780,000-strong Turkish army is one of the ten largest armies in
the world, according to research carried out by the World Strategic
Information Institution. In recent years, Turkey has started to give
priority to army modernization programs and new weapons systems to
catch up with 21st century technology. During a briefing last year,
the General Staff said that $ 150 billion would be need to fund the
arms and operations of the Turkish Armed Forces in the next 25 years.
During that period, the ground forces will need $ 60 billion, the navy
$25 billion, and the air force will need $ 65 billion for arms and
equipment./All papers/
[06] PKK PLANS CONFERENCE IN MOSCOW
The outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is planning further
activity in Russia, following that country's plans to sell
anti-aircraft missiles to Greek Cyprus, the Anatolia news agency
reported on Monday. The PKK plans to hold a conference in Moscow on
January 16 to discuss certain issues, with the support of the
committee for geopolitical affairs of the Duma. At the meeting the
PKK is expected to express its support for Greek Cyprus. A number of
similar conferences have been organized by the PKK in the past,
including a meeting of Kurdistan parliamentarians in exile under the
protection of the Duma./All papers/
[07] ISTANBUL'S YOUNG BUSINESSMEN TO ESTABLISH 'CYPRUS HOLDING'
A group of young businessmen from Istanbul are establishing a 'Cyprus
Holding' company which will serve as a 'consultant' for Turkish
companies wishing to invest in northern Cyprus. The Istanbul Young
Businessmen's Group (IGIG) met last week in Istanbul with Turkish
Cypriot Prime Minister Derviž Eroglu and discussed the 'Cyprus
Holding" project. IGIG chairman Vedat Celikbas said the group will
meet next week and assess the developments regarding the establishment
of "Cyprus Holding". /All papers/
[08] GAP EXPORT BOOM
The industrialization success of the GAP industrialists are continuing
also in the field of exports. As a result of market expansion
research, the number of countries to which exports have been sent
during the first six months of the year, has increased to 80. The
amount of exports realized during the January-October period of 1996
has exceeded $300 million. In addition, the GAP Administration has
announced that centers for encouraging investments in southeastern
Anatolia and supporting investors would be set up. /Hurriyet/
[09] THE TIMES: GREEK CYPRIOTS RESPONSIBLE FOR CRISIS
The Times noted yesterday that the Greek Cypriot administration
carried beared the main responsibility for the escalation of the
tension regarding the a purchase of Russian missiles by the Greek
Cypriots. The Times noted that the Greek Cypriot attitude was
provocative and would severely damage efforts to find a solution to
the Cyprus question.
At the same time, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Omer Akbel gave a harsh
answer to US State Department Spokesman Nicolas Burns criticism of
Turkey's attitude in the missile crisis. Akbel pointed out that there
was no disagreement with respect to the Turkish attitude in the crisis
between the General Staff and the Foreign Ministry./Hurriyet/
[10] TRIAL OF PKK TERRORISTS IN GERMANY
The trial of three PKK terrorists responsible for various terrorist
acts in Germany will begin in Dusseldorf. The terrorists are charged
with setting to fire Turkish houses, kidnapping and membership in
terrorist organizations./Cumhuriyet/
END
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