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Turkish Press Review, 97-06-25
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
CONTENTS
[01] COALITION TALKS
[02] PUK OFFERS PEACE TO POLITICAL RIVAL KDP
[03] UN TO STEP UP EFFORTS ON CYPRUS
[04] PAKISTAN EXTRADITES KAMHI ASSAILANT
[05] SEVEN MONEY LAUNDERING INCIDENTS
[06] EIGHT MILITANTS KILLED
[07] ISTANBUL TO BE A WORLD GOLD CENTRE
[08] RUSSIA DENIES SUPPORT FOR PKK
[09] SSK PLUNDERED BY PKK
TURKISH PRESS REVIEW
WEDNESDAY JUNE 25, 1997
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
[01] COALITION TALKS
The first days of coalition talks by Prime Minister designate
Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz have produced the
anticipated outcome; full support from the Democratic Left (DSP),
Republican People's (CHP) and Democrat Turkey (DTP) parties while True
Path Party (DYP) leader Tansu Ciller declared a categorical "No" and
Welfare Party (RP) leader Necmettin Erbakan was totally left out of
the coalition talks by Yilmaz.
Yilmaz started his talks with a meeting with Parliament Speaker
Mustafa Kalemli. Later, Yilmaz met with DSP leader Bulent Ecevit who
told reporters only that he was in full support of Yilmaz and if
necessary he himself was ready to assume a duty in the new government.
CHP leader Deniz Baykal, on the other hand, remained uncommitted on
whether or not his party will directly join the coalition. But, he
said all 49 deputies of the CHP would be supporting the new
government. DTP leader Husamettin Cindoruk said supporting a Yilmaz
government had become a requirement for the survival of democracy in
the country. Yilmaz will hold a press conference today and furnish
information regarding coalition talks. He will meet with President
Suleyman Demirel at 6:00 p.m. /Milliyet/
[02] PUK OFFERS PEACE TO POLITICAL RIVAL KDP
Celal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), one of the
two Kurdish groupings in northern Iraq, has proposed to its rival, the
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) led by Mesut Barzani, that elections
be held in the region and a new Parliament be established in Erbil.
According to a so-called "peace draft" prepared by the "Kurdistan
Democratic Alliance" led by the PUK and involving other regional
organizations, a temporary parliament would be appointed as part of a
unified government. The government would hold elections within one
year. It is reported that the KDP has not yet replied to the offer.
/All papers/
[03] UN TO STEP UP EFFORTS ON CYPRUS
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called for a "sustained
process of direct negotiations" to reach a comprehensive settlement of
the Cyprus question and urged the full backing of the UN Security
Council. In a letter to the president of the council, Annan gave
formal notification of face-to-face talks between the leaders of the
Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities to be held in the New
York area from July 9-13. /All papers/
[04] PAKISTAN EXTRADITES KAMHI ASSAILANT
Pakistan has extradited to Turkey a Muslim fundamentalist who
allegedly masterminded an unsuccessful assassination attempt on a
prominent Jewish industrialist in Istanbul four years ago, police said
yesterday. They said Ahmet Burak, accompanied by officers from
Interpol, arrived in Istanbul yesterday and was quickly arrested for
his role in the attempted assassination of Jak Kamhi. Police said
that Burak was detained at the Pakistani border, when he attempted to
enter that country from Iran without a passport. /All papers/
[05] SEVEN MONEY LAUNDERING INCIDENTS
Seven money laundering incidents have been uncovered in seven
months since the law concerning the crime was put into force.
Officials from the Financial Crimes Investigation Board, which was
established seven months ago to tackle money laundering, stated that
the information flow to the security officials and the board regarding
this type of offense had increased after the law was passed in
Parliament. The board members said that they were mounting an
intensive fight against money laundering and added that the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in its last
meeting in Rome had extended the time for Turkey to implement new
regulations concerning this type of crime until September. /All
papers/
[06] EIGHT MILITANTS KILLED
Turkish security forces have killed eight militants of the PKK
terrorist organization in recent clashes in which one soldier died and
two were wounded in southeast Turkey, military officials said
yesterday. Turkish soldiers killed six PKK militants late on Monday
in Aktuluk village in Tunceli in an operation to seek out the
terrorists, a military official said. One soldier died in a rebel
ambush in Doludizgin village in the same province. A further two
militants were killed and two soldiers were wounded in separate
fighting over the weekend in the Kutuderesi ravine in Tunceli. /All
papers/
[07] ISTANBUL TO BE A WORLD GOLD CENTRE
Head of the Executive Board of New York Merchantile Exchange
(NYMX) John F.Moore has arrived in Turkey to make observations at the
Istanbul Gold Stock Exchange (IAB), which will begin forward
transactions. The NYMX, which had a $2 trillion transaction volume
with a total of 75 million contracts, is a market where all forward
silver transactions of the world are carried out. On the other hand,
out of 75 million contracts, $9 million constitutes gold transactions
with a $314 million transaction volume.
NYMX bourse members will make transactions in Turkey via the
current system. Moore said that Turkey has begun to become an
important financial centre along the Hong Kong-London line and added
that forward transactions were a significant step forward in this area
of financial activity. /Milliyet/
[08] RUSSIA DENIES SUPPORT FOR PKK
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Gennadi Tarasov dismissed as
"unfounded" Washington Times newspaper allegations that the Russian
mafia was selling arms to the PKK terrorist organization. Tarasov
said that the Washington Times was a newspaper "eager to produce
sensations" and added that there was no evidence to support the
claims. /Sabah/
[09] SSK PLUNDERED BY PKK
Investigations carried out by Ankara security officials revealed
that PKK terrorists had robbed the depot of the Diskapi Training
Hospital of the Social Security Institution (SSK). After plundering
electronic equipment, the terrorists fled from the hospital. /Sabah/
END
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