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Turkish Press Review, 97-08-13
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
CONTENTS
[01] SECOND ROUND ON EDUCATION STARTING
[02] LIMITATIONS ON IMMUNITIES
[03] ECEVIT: "STATE OF EMERGENCY WILL BE LIFTED"
[04] GULF LOSSES WILL BE PAID
[05] HEAVY RAINFALL WREAKS HAVOC
[06] FOREST FIRES HIT MARMARIS AND DIDIM REGIONS
[07] TURKEY DENIES SOUTH AFRICAN EMBARGO CLAIMS
[08] SECOND DAY OF MONTREUX TALKS
[09] NATO PLAN FOR THE AEGEAN READY
[10] ANKARA MEDIATING FOR PEACE IN AFGHANISTAN
[11] TALABANI IN ANKARA
[12] TRANSFER TO DTP
[13] WORLD TRADE MARKS ENJOY SUCCESS IN TURKEY
[14] NEW REGULATIONS IN BAG TRADE
TURKISH PRESS REVIEW
DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION,OFFICE OF PRIME MINISTER
13.08.97
Summary of the political and economicnews in the Turkish press this
morning.
[01] SECOND ROUND ON EDUCATION STARTING
The coalition government has succeeded in passing the bill on
education reform through the Parliamentary Planning and Budget
Commission in the form it desired. The coalition parties are now
preparing for the second test in the Parliament. They want to have
the bill included in today's agenda of discussions. The bill has
catalyzed heated debates lasting more than 95 hours in total, and
despite attempts at obstructing it by the Welfare Party and other
opposition groups, the coalition has managed to preserve its form
without allowing for any major amendments. /All papers/
[02] LIMITATIONS ON IMMUNITIES
Following the eight-year education reform, the Motherleft-D
coalition has now undertaken moves to limit the immunities granted to
the prime minister and the other members of the cabinet. The Chief
Republican Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeal will now be able
to initiate legal action against the Council of Ministers, the prime
minister and the members of the cabinet for corruption charges. The
government has announced that a related legal regulation will be open
for discussion in Parliament. /Hurriyet/
[03] ECEVIT: "STATE OF EMERGENCY WILL BE LIFTED"
The High Council for the Struggle Against Terrorism has agreed
that the state of emergency implementation are no longer a must for
ensuring security in the eastern and southeastern Anatolian provinces
of Turkey. The decision was issued following a five-hour meeting of
the Council chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit.
The Council of Ministers has also agreed with the decision put
forward by the Council for the Struggle Against Terrorism. Ecevit
said that the state of emergency would be lifted by the end of the
year. At the same time, the government has initiated moves designed
to provide relief for victims of terrorism. Within this framework,
the materialization of a project prepared by the Housing
Administration in 1994 will be facilitated. The project aims at
providing land and agricultural equipment to people living in the
region. /Cumhuriyet/
[04] GULF LOSSES WILL BE PAID
During the Gulf Crisis emerging from the Iraqi annexation of
Kuwait, Turkey had many losses. The United Nations started to
reimburse the losses of Turkey which totalled $30 billion. A $2
billion part of these losses comes in the first category. This part
consists of money for exporters, who could not receive their money in
return for goods sold to Iraq and Kuwait, and for contractors and
workers working in those countries. Foreign Ministry officials stated
yesterday that initially payments in the first category would be made.
/Milliyet/
[05] HEAVY RAINFALL WREAKS HAVOC
Excessive rain has been affecting parts of the country for three
days causing wide-spread floods and damage. Floods paralyzed
low-lying parts of Istanbul on Monday. Specialists say that this was
the worst single-day rain storm in more than 42 years. Two people
were killed and thousands of people were stranded by the rain.
Nevertheless, by yesterday all the people stranded by floods had been
rescued. /All papers/
[06] FOREST FIRES HIT MARMARIS AND DIDIM REGIONS
A forest fire broke out on Monday in the village of Hisaronu, the
Anatolia news agency reported. The fire continued to spread to the
south and southeast on Tuesday. Firefighters are working to put out
the fire with the help of two planes and seven helicopters.
[07] TURKEY DENIES SOUTH AFRICAN EMBARGO CLAIMS
The Defense Industry Undersecretariat has reacted harshly to
South African claims that Turkey's demands for helicopters was
rejected by Pretoria. Defence Industry Undersecretary Yalcin Burcak
said that the South African defense firm Denel was more than willing
to sell the helicopters to Turkey, but that Turkish officials had
ignored Denel's proposal taking into account previous similar
disagreements with South Africa. /All papers/
[08] SECOND DAY OF MONTREUX TALKS
Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders met for a second day on Tuesday
to talk peace for their divided island. Nevertheless, officials from
both sides played down prospects of a quick breakthrough because there
was "a difference of opinions". The talks, aimed at ending the
island's 23-year-old partition and re-uniting it under a bi-zonal and
bi-communal federation, follow a first round last month in New York.
/All papers/
[09] NATO PLAN FOR THE AEGEAN READY
Comprehensive plans for the reducing of tension in the Aegean Sea
region as prepared by NATO are ready. The NATO plans to secure peace
in the region will carry on where Turkey's unilateral moratorium on
Aegean military activity leaves off. Turkey's moratorium ends in just
two days time, when the NATO plans for Aegean peace will come into
effect. The plans include a package of measures to increase new ties
of security.
The US has played a large part in the preparation of the plan and
it is reported that initially a US aircraft carrier will observe
developments from the Rhodes straits. /All papers/
[10] ANKARA MEDIATING FOR PEACE IN AFGHANISTAN
Turkey has invited the leaders of the warring factions in
Afghanistan to meet in either Ankara or Istanbul to elaborate the
terms of a settlement that could end years of bloody civil strife.
First reports say that the invitation has been refused by the
Talebans, and that the anti-Taleban coalition is undecided. /Yeni
Yuzyil/
[11] TALABANI IN ANKARA
Following moves to settle problems in Cyprus and to improve
relations with Greece, the Motherleft-D coalition government has now
turned its attention to problem-plagued northern Iraq. Patriotic
Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Celal Talabani arrives today as the
guest of Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, for talks with government and
military leaders. During his talks in Ankara, Talabani will be urged
to sever his contacts with the PKK terrorist organization, observe the
cease-fire agreement with the Kurdish KDP party and avoid close
relations with Iran. /Hurriyet/
[12] TRANSFER TO DTP
Deputy for Mardin Muzaffer Arikan resigned yesterday from the DYP
party and jointed the Democratic Turkey Party (DTP) together with a
group of Mardin municipality officials and former DYP administrators.
Now the number of DYP seats in parliament has dropped to 92 from the
original 135. At the same time, the number of DTP deputies in
parliament has surged to 21. /All papers/
[13] WORLD TRADE MARKS ENJOY SUCCESS IN TURKEY
World-known trade marks have scored record sales in Turkey
recently. Sale figures high above expectations have encouraged giants
like Marks and Spencer, Kickers, Singer, Louis Vuitton and Versace to
open outlets in Turkey. /All papers/
[14] NEW REGULATIONS IN BAG TRADE
Registering the "bag trade", one of the government's main export
strategies, has resulted in 655 individuals and companies being given
export sale permits. Under the permit system, companies will be
allowed to sell goods to tourists involved in the bag trade without
having to pay Value Added Tax. /Hurriyet/
END
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