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Turkish Press Review, 97-04-16
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
CONTENTS
[01] PILGRIMS PERISH IN HADJ BLAZE
[02] TURKISH TROOPS IN TIRANA
[03] TURKEY PROPOSES MEDA FUNDS WITHOUT POLITICAL STRINGS
[04] WEU ACCEPTS TURKEY IN DECISION MAKING
[05] KALEMLI WARNS ATHENS
[06] US CAN PARTICIPATE IN TUKISH-ISRAELI MILITARY EXERCISES
[07] LIVANELI JOINS UNESCO'S SCHOLARSHIP COUNCIL
[08] NATURAL GAS RESERVES IN THE BLACK SEA
[09] OPERATIONS AGAINST PKK CONTINUE
TURKISH PRESS REVIEW
APRIL 16, 1997
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this
morning.
[01] PILGRIMS PERISH IN HADJ BLAZE
Up to 50 hadj pilgrims died in a blaze at a tent compound near the
holy city of Mecca on Tuesday, news agencies report. Strong winds
fanned the flames which spread rapidly after the blaze broke out in
tents housing pilgrims from India, Pakistan and Iran in the plain of
Mina. Turkey's Religious Affairs Director Mehmet Nuri Yilmaz said
there were no Turks in the camp at Mena adding that Turkish pilgrims
were safe. /All papers/
[02] TURKISH TROOPS IN TIRANA
Turkey is sending troops to strife-ridden Albania as part of an
international effort to restore calm in the country. Numerous
military vehicles and 850 troops are to be sent by aircraft and
warships in stages over the next week. According to high-level
military sources, Turkey will be responsible for the Albanian capital
Tirana, Tirana Airport and the northern part of Albania./Cumhuriyet/
[03] TURKEY PROPOSES MEDA FUNDS WITHOUT POLITICAL STRINGS
Turkey submitted a proposal to the Malta meeting that Mediterranean
Development (MEDA) funds from the EU should not be based on political
criteria. State Minister Ufuk Soylemez, who is representing Turkey in
Malta, told reporters that Turkey would not accept MEDA funds if there
were strings attached, the Anatolia news agency reported. Soylemez
said that Turkey had submitted 101 projects to MEDA but only five -
worth $33 million - had been accepted.
[04] WEU ACCEPTS TURKEY IN DECISION MAKING
The Western European Union (WEU) has accepted associate member
Turkey's participation in the decision-making process related to
exercises hold with the use of NATO military forces. The news came at
Tuesday's meeting of WEU ambassadors in Brussels, the Anatolia news
agency reported. Turkey welcomed the decision.
[05] KALEMLI WARNS ATHENS
Moves by Greek parliamentarians to invite PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan
to Greece have incurred the fierce criticism of Turkish Parliament
Speaker Mustafa Kalemli. In a letter to his Greek counterpart,
Kalemli warned that the invitation of the leader of the terrorist PKK
organization to Athens would seriously harm Turco-Greek relations.
/Cumhuriyet/
[06] US CAN PARTICIPATE IN TUKISH-ISRAELI MILITARY EXERCISES
The US Defence Department has admitted that it would be willing to
participate in joint military exercises with Turkey and Israel. At a
press conference on Monday a Pentagon official said that "if there is
such an exercise, the US is willing to participate in it". The US is
presently denying that any plans were afoot for the organization of
such maneuvres.
[07] LIVANELI JOINS UNESCO'S SCHOLARSHIP COUNCIL
Zulfu Livaneli, ambassador and general adviser to UNESCO, has been
appointed as a member of the Scholarship Council, which provides
education grants worth $6 million every year, the Anatolia news agency
reported. Livaneli is the first Turk to become a member of the
Council whose members are appointed every four years.
[08] NATURAL GAS RESERVES IN THE BLACK SEA
Research carried out by the US Atlantic Richfield Company has revealed
that there are natural gas reserves in the Black Sea region close to
Turkey at a depth of 800 m. There are estimations that the reserves
could meet Turkey's natural gas needs for 3-7 years. /Sabah/
[09] OPERATIONS AGAINST PKK CONTINUE
Turkish security forces are pressing PKK strongholds in the Tunceli
region hard, and the latest reports from the area confirm that 42 PKK
terrorists have been killed. One member of the security forces was
killed in the fighting and another wounded.
Reports add that 45 thousand troops are being deployed against the
PKK. Helicopters and fighter planes are supporting the ground forces.
Other reports from Europe, especially Germany, suggest that the PKK is
quietly kidnapping young people-both male and female-and spiriting
them away for training in special camps. The same reports claim that
up to 500 young people every year are taken away by the PKK to camps
in Syria, Iraq and Iran. /All papers/
END
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