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Turkish Press Review, 97-01-17Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>CONTENTS
TURKISH PRESS REVIEWFRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 1997Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning. [01] RUSSIAN PRESS WARNS OF LOSING ANKARA'S GUARANTEE ON NATOThe Moscow Times on Thursday said that Russia might lose Ankara's guarantee on NATO due to the missile sales to Greek Cyprus.The article said that Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller, during her Moscow visit last month, had noted that NATO expansion should not lead to new divisions in Europe, and that Turkey would not allow NATO to pose a threat against Turkey. The article, pointing out that Turkey also purchases arms from Russia, stressed that the situation after missile sales to Greek Cyprus signaled that Russia might lose both Turkey as a customer and her guarantee against a NATO threat./Milliyet/ [02] TURKEY TO PRESENT WOMEN'S RIGHT REPORT TO UNTurkey will present a report on women's rights to the U.N. on Friday, the Anatolia news agancy reported.State minister and chairman of the Turkish committee, Isilay Saygin, will give a speech about improvements in this area in Turkey while presenting the report to the U.N. Committee on Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). CEDAW was established under the 17th article of the U.N. agreement regarding discrimination against women. [03] FOREIGNERS WITH RESIDENCE PERMITS NO LONGER NEED VISAwith residence permits will not have to get an entry visa for Turkey when returning from temporary visits abroad, so long as they are back in the country before their residence permit expires, the Anatolia news agency reported. Parliament's Interior Affairs Commission approved a draft bill on Tuesday, proposing an amendment to the law on foreigners' residence and travel in Turkey. According to the draft bill, foreigners will be able to enter Turkey by showing their residence permits at the border gate.[04] NORTH CYPRUS TO REFORM ECONOMY UNDER TURKEY DEALNorthern Cyprus, boosted by a $200 million credit deal with its sponsor Turkey, is preparing to make sweeping structural changes to improve its economy and survive in international isolation for many years to come."With a protocol we signed with Turkey on January 3 the cash problems regarding public finance are to some extent diminished," said Serdar Denktas, deputy prime minister of the Turkish Cypriot government. He added: "The cash is not directly for paying debts, it is to develop the economy. Legislative changes, privatization, are all part of a big plan we are discussing. If we do it right, I expect improvement in 1997 public funding." /Cumhuriyet/ [05] TALABANI REAFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO A UNITED AND DEMOCRATIC IRAQJalal Talabani, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), on Thursday declared his dedication to the concept of an independent, democratic and united Iraq. The PUK leader arrived in Ankara on Thursday for a four-day visit of meetings.Travelling from Tehran, Talabani arrived in Ankara in the early hours. He held talks with the General Staff and the Foreign Ministry, as well as intelligence officials at the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) centre. After having lunch with the British delegation, he met with Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller in the residence of the Foreign Ministry. Sinan Celebi, leader of the Turkmen Front, was present for part of the meeting as well. Ciller, Talabani and Celebi briefed the press after the meeting. Ciller declared that the Iraqi Kurdish groups were ready to cooperate with Ankara against the PKK, which they saw as necessary for a lasting peace in the region. In his speech Talabani said that the PUK's main goal was a united democratic and independent Iraq. He said: "We will try to secure the border of Turkey. Our people do not accept the existence of any military groups in Iraqi Kurdistan which are against Turkey." Celebi reported his pleasure that the two Kurdish groups had declared their confidence in the Turkmens./Sabah/Cumhuriyet_ [06] STATE MINISTER ADAK IN NEW YORKCompleting the Washington-leg of his official visit to the U.S. on Wednesday State Minister Fehim Adak left for New York City where he will meet with representatives of international finance organizations.Adak, at a press conference he held for Turkish journalists at the Turkish Embassy, said that the Turkish delegation was in the U.S. in response to an American invitation, and stressed the importance of continuing both economic and political cooperation between Turkey and Turkey's friend America. Confirming the meetings he had with representatives of two giant aircraft manufacturers, Boeing and McDonnell Douglas, Adak said they were interested in investing in Turkey./Sabah/ [07] POLICE STRIKE DEV-SOL IN GERMANYGerman police yesterday struck a blow against the DHKP-C (formerly DEV-SOL) extreme leftist terror group by raiding houses used by the terrorists in provinces throughout Germany.DEV-SOL has long operated in Turkey and there are reports that it has now joined forces with the PKK terrorist organization to increase urban terror. In a statement yesterday, German police officials said that they were looking for suspects involved in the murder of leading Turkish businessman Ozdemir Sabanci. /Sabah/ [08] PKK MEETING IN MOSCOW BLOCKEDA meeting of the PKK terrorist organization in Moscow was stopped yesterday following complaints from Turkey. Turkish diplomatic representatives in Moscow stressed that the already negative developments stemming from agreements between Russia and the Greek Cypriots for the purchase of Russian missiles, would only be made worse by a PKK meeting in Moscow.Although PKK representatives claimed that only "current developments" were to be taken up at the meeting, Russian officials nevertheless acted on Turkey's advice to stop the meeting and blocked the PKK meeting following a government decision. /Sabah/ [09] US CLAIMS TIME GAINED IN CYPRUSUS special representative now in Ankara to talk about the Cyprus missile crisis, Carey Cavanaugh, claimed yesterday that US initiatives had "gained time" for finding a solution to the island's worsening problems.Although details of just what Cavanaugh meant have not been released, it is understood that a future cancellation of the Greek Cypriot order for Russian-made S-300 missiles is included in the solution package. /All papers/ [10] TURKISH TRADE CENTRES IN MOSCOW AND KIEVThe Turkish Exporters' Assembly has decided to establish Turkish Trade Centres in Moscow and Kiev aimed at establishing control over the growing bag trade carried out by Russian tourists coming into Turkey and to ensure the high quality of the Turkish products sold in Russia. During her visit to Russia, Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller signed a protocol in this connection with the Russian government. The Turkish Exporters' Union will establish jointly with the Moscow Municipality a company that will both administrate the establishment of the centre and assist exporters in marketing and export activities. /Hurriyet/[11] HOLLAND: CYPRUS ISSUE MUST BE RESOLVEDEU Term Chairman Dutch Foreign Minister Hans Van Mierlo noted that Cyprus attached key importance to the expansion of both the EU and NATO, and stressed that the European Union would exert efforts to find a solution to the issue. The term chairman invited EU parliamentarians to be sensitive towards the attitudes of Turkey, warning that no lasting solution to the Cyprus issue could be found without first obtaining Turkey's support. The recent missile crisis has once more brought to the agenda the dimensions of the Cyprus question and has indicated that accepting Cyprus as an EU member without finding a solution to the disputes already there would only open the way to new problems. /Milliyet/[12] GERMANY IMPOSES VISA REQUIREMENTS FOR CHILDRENWith a decision taken yesterday, the German government has imposed visa requirements also for children under the age of 16. At the same time, Turkish children under the age of 16 are also required to obtain residence permits even if they were born and raised in Germany. The decision has been taken upon the initiative of Minister of Interior Manfred Kanther on the grounds that Germany had to harmonize its regulations with the regulations valid in the countries party to the Schengen Agreement. Turkey has been given no prior notice of the new implementations. /Cumhuriyet/[13] FEISSEL IS HOPEFULCyprus Special Deputy Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Gustave Feissel, said that he expected remarkable changes regarding the "military dialogue" in the forthcoming days. In a statement following a meeting with Greek Cypriot leader Glafkos Klerides yesterday, Feissel noted that he was optimistic because of the exchanges between Klerides and UN official Carey Cavanaugh. Feissel pointed out that he had discussed with Klerides regarding the military dialogue. Stressing that dialogue should be initiatied unconditionally, Feissel added that positive results could be achieved by taking up the approaches of the two sides during negotiations. /Cumhuriyet/[14] A CALL FOR PEACEThe Turkish-Greek Friendship Association has called on the two sides to avoid an impasse and establish a lasting peace. A text dubbed "A call for peace" published by the Association said: "Billions of dollars spent on armaments. When are we going to learn not to fall into the trap of arms producers? We must understand that we can solve our problems not by becoming enmities but only by talking to each other in a friendly manner". /Cumhuriyet/[15] TURKISH TEXTILES IN USTurkish textile producers have begun to pay attention to the US market. On 21-23 January, a business meeting will be held between Turkish and American exporters in New York in order to increase Turkey's textile and ready-to-wear exports to the US. /Sabah/[16] INCREASE IN FOREIGN INVESTMENTThe number of the foreign companies active in Turkey has reached 3,582, up from 3,161 in 1995. The total amount of foreign capital was declared as TL 121.1 trillion, a big increase over TL 55.5 trillion in 1995./Cumhuriyet/[17] FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES UPCentral Bank foreign exchange reserves have increased to $16.5 billion. According to Central Bank data foreign exchange reserves were $16,368 billion on 3 January and increased to $16,513 billion on 10 January./Cumhuriyet/END Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |