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Turkish Press Review, 97-09-19Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>CONTENTS
TURKISH PRESS REVIEWDIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION,OFFICE OF PRIME MINISTER19.09.97Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning. [01] PRESIDENT DEMIREL GOES TO CROATIAPresident Suleyman Demirel will go to Zagreb on September 22-24 at the invitation of his Croatian counterpart, Franjo Tudjman. Demirel will address the Croatian Parliament and on the same day will participate in a meeting of the Turco-Croatian Business Council. He will go to Dubrovnik on September 14 and pay a visit to an Ottoman archive there. /All papers/[02] KARADAYI FLIES TO USMeeting with his counterparts from 16 NATO member-states, Chief of General Staff Gen. Ismail Hakki Karadayi said that Turkey had withdrawn from the Dynamic Mix'97 war games because they fell outside the boundries of international agreements. Karadayi arrived in Washington after a series of meetings at military bases in Canada and the United States. For the first time in NATO history, Turkey is not participating in a NATO exercise.After attending a handing-over ceremony in the port city of Norfolk, where a large U.S. naval base is located, Gen. Karadayi will return to Turkey. /Hurriyet/Cumhuriyet_ [03] RUSSIA AND US TO TALK ABOUT CYPRUSRussian Foreign Minister Yevgei Primakov and U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright will talk about Cyprus as well as other international problems next week in New York during an upcoming U.N. General Assembly meeting, the Anatolia news agency reported.The Greek Cypriots have purchased Russian-made S-300 missiles within the framework of their joint defense doctrine with Greece. Ankara has stated that if the missiles are delivered to Greek Cyprus, Turkey will strike the missile silos, but Russia has maintained it will still deliver the missiles. /All papers/ [04] SLOVAK PRESIDENT IN ANKARA FOR IMPROVED TIESSlovak President Michal Kovac, who has arrived in Ankara as the guest of President Suleyman Demirel, was welcomed at the airport yesterday by Yucel Seckiner, State Minister, Abdullah Gul of the Welfare Party and senior Foreign Ministry officials.Nurettin Nurkan, Turkey's Ambassador to Slovakia, who is in Ankara for the visit, said that the main goal of the visit was to improve ties between the two countries, especially in the field of defence and trade. Nurkan also said that next month there would be two ministrial visits to Bratislava, during which a defense cooperation agreement would be signed with Slovakia. After meeting with President Suleyman Demirel and Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, Kovac will travel on to Izmir today. /Cumhuriyet/Sabah_ [05] ISTANBUL TO HOST 4TH GENDER EQUALITY CONFERENCEThe state minister responsible for women and family, Isilay Saygin, will be Turkey's representative at the fourth conference for ministers responsible for the equality of men and women, which will be held in Istanbul November 13-14, the Anatolia news agency reported. Saygin said that an "Istanbul Report" which will be published at the end of the conference will guide the member countries' equality policies.As well as delegations from European Union countries, approximately 250 other people are expected to attend the conference. [06] YAZAKI-SABANCI TO OPEN VENTUREJapan's auto parts maker Yazaki Corporation and Turkish Sabaci Holding will this month open a joint automotive parts plant, set up with a TL 1 trillion investment in western Turkey. The plant, to be opened with a ceremony on September 29, will produce electrical wiring harnesses for the automotive sector and aims to export most of its output. /All papers/[07] "NO TERRORISM PROBLEM BETWEEN TURKEY AND SYRIA"Syrian President Hafiz Esad said at a joint conference following the meeting with Egyptian President Husnu Mubarek in Alexandria that there was no terrorism problem between his country and Turkey. He added that there were a good neighbourly relations between Syria and Turkey. If Turkey asked, Syria would help to solve terrorist activities along the Turkish borders, said Esad. /Cumhuriyet/[08] AUGUST CAPACITY UTILIZATION HITS TWO-YEAR HIGHWhen it comes to getting most out of plant, labor and machinery, Turkish manufacturers saw a rise of 2.8 percent for August over July to reach a high for 1997, according to a survey released by the State Institute of Statistics (DIE) on Thursday. For August, manufactoring firms reported production value-weighted capacity utilization to be at 83.6 percent, up 2.8 percent over July and 4.6 percentage points higher than the figure for August last year. /Sabah/[09] JOINT GLASSWEAR FACTORY WITH GERMANSThe Turkish Bottle and Glass Factory will construct a joint glasswear factory with German Schott Firm in Eskişehir. The factory, which will cost DM 100 million, aims to export its total production. General-director of the Turkish Bottle and Glass Factory, Adnan Caglayan said that 600 people will be employed in the factory and will begin the production in 1999. /Sabah/[10] CEM: "I AM NOT PESSIMISTIC"Foreign Minister Ismail Cem noted that Turkey was not pessimistic about full EU membership and said: "Remarkable and objective approaches will bring us acceptable results. However if there is no result at the end of these efforts, it is not the end of the world". Delivering a speech at the opening meeting of the seventh EU-Turkey Journalists Conference organized by the EU European Commission's Turkish representation, Cem replied to questions from foreign journalists. Cem said: "Turkey should assume her rights and responsibilities as an equal candidate. The ball is not in our hands. A message that Turkey is excluded should not be given. Issues which are considered so important for Turkey are not so much discussed where other candidate countries are concerned. He pointed out that the Madrid talks were a turning point in Turco-Greek relations and said: "We view the agreements made in Madrid as very serious. I hope the Greeks will abide by the agreements in Madrid. If the "wise men" meeting had been held, it would have been an important step". /Milliyet/[11] TOWARDS A DISARMED CYPRUSGreek Cypriot leader Glafkos Clerides gave a positive reply to a call made by President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Rauf Denktas, who has suggested: "Let's announce that we will not solve the problem by using weapons. Let Turkey and Greece sign this and let the people relax". In a statement to Greek Cypriot newspapaers yesterday, Clerides said: "I view this call as a positive proposal. Security in Cyprus will create more security in the region. This will prevent an explosion". /Milliyet/[12] AZERI PEOPLE VOTE FOR ATATURKThe Azeri people, who actively participated in a campaign launched by the CBS TV channel and Time magazine to determine the "Man of the Century", are giving their votes to Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic. Following a call made by the New Azerbaijan Party headed by Azeri President Haydar Aliyev last week to support Ataturk, a campaign has been started: "Let's give our votes to Ataturk" through meetings held throughout the country. /Milliyet/[13] FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES INCREASEDuring this week, foreign exchange reserves in the Central Bank increased by $242 million and reached $18.5 billion, a new record. According to Central Bank data, foreign exchange reserves, which totalled $18.288 billion on 5 September, reached $18.530 billion on 12 September. According to data dated 29 August, foreign exchange reserves in commercial banks amounted to $8.249 billion while gold reserves totalled $1.384 billion. Thus, Turkey's international reserves, which totalled $27.178 billion on 22 August, increased by $209 million and rose to $27.387 billion on 29 August.Meanwhile, Turkey paid off $373.6 million in foreign debts between 1-17 September. Out of this debt, the Treasury paid $263.02 million, the Central Bank $14.50 million, and other public institutions $51.08 million, while the Turkish Defense Fund paid out $45 million. According to Central Bank data, Turkey has paid out $6.925 billion since the beginning of this year until 17 September. /Milliyet-Sabah/ [14] SCIENTIFIC WORLD SPEAKS OF INONUFamous scientists are discussing the function of group deformation in mathematical physics discovered jointly by Prof.Erdal Inonu and Nobel awarded physician Prof.Eugene Wigner. In addition to Inonu, over 50 scientists from Uzbekistan, Bulgaria, Greece, Russia, Egypt, France and Britain are attending the conference. /Milliyet/[15] TURKEY RETURNS THANKS FOR FRIGATESPresident Suleyman Demirel received Chairman of the American-Turkish Business Council Mustafa Koc and ATC Co-Chairman Thomas Pownall yesterday and they discussed the recent developments in the world and Turco-US relations. Demirel pointed out the importance of Turco-US alliance in overcoming the Cyprus problem and talked about the conflicts in the Middle East and the recent situation in the Balkans. Noting that there were good relations between Turkey and the US in the defense and economy sectors, Demirel recalled the loss suffered by Turkey due to the tension in the Gulf region.Thanking the Council for its efforts in the delivery of the frigates to Turkey, Demirel stated that the US supported Turkey's to integrate with the European Union (EU) and the Customs Union (CU) and in her struggle against terrorism. Thomas Pownall, for his part, said that Turkey was the best friend of the US and added: "We want to improve these relations". /Milliyet/ [16] DEV-SOL OPERATION IN PARISSince the beginning of the week, nearly 40 militants of the illegal Dev-Sol organization have been interrogated and some of them have been taken into custody in Paris. It is reported that anti-terrorist police units started these operations in Paris. /Milliyet/[17] TURKISH SOLDIER KILLED BY PKKDuring a conflict in the rural area in the Dargecit district of Mardin, militants of the PKK terrorist organization killed a Turkish soldier. After burning down a transformer building in Nusaybin two days ago, the terrorists involved managed to escape. Conflicts also flared up two nights ago between PKK militants and village guards in Yonca village in the Ergani district of Diyarbakir. The terrorists fled when Turkish soldiers arrived. /Sabah/[18] SECURITY LINE ALONG THE BLACK SEAIn a move to block PKK activities in the Black Sea region, the Directorate of Security is planning to set up a security corridor stretching from Kelkit to Erbaa along the Black Sea coast. Security experts have prepared a special Black Sea Report to be submitted to Minister of the Interior Murat Basesgioglu. The report suggests measures for restricting the circulation area of PKK militants who have set themselves up in the region, as well as steps for preventing their passage from Eastern Anatolia to the Black Sea region. /Milliyet/[19] TURKISH COMPANIES WIN QUALITY OSCARSReports related to two Turkish companies presented with the quality awards of the European Quality Foundation are given front-page coverage by today's papers. Beksa company from the Sabanci Group has won the Quality Award for small and medium range companies, which was presented this year for the first time. Beksa also won the Success Award in the same branch. Netas, the winner of last year's Success Award, this year was presented once again the same prize. Sabanci officials said that these awards were an indication of the success of Turkish entrepreneurs. The big Quality Prize of the Foundation presented last year to Brisa, part of the Sabanci Group, this year went to the French Thompson company. /Hurriyet/[20] MEASURES TO COMBAT MONEY LAUNDERINGThe government is planning to launch fresh measures against money laundering. From October 1 on, financial transactions involving amounts exceeding TL 5 billion will have to be reported to the Board for Investıgatıng Financial Crimes. Operations to be reported to the board include all kinds of transactions - sales, bank deposits, bank money transfers, loans, debt repayments, rent payments, cheque payments and so on. Visitors going to or coming from foreign countries will have to notify customs officials of amounts exceeding TL 5 billion, and customs officials will in turn inform the Board for Investigating Financial Crimes. The Board will follow the route of the money with the help of computer systems, and will resort to legal measures in case an irregularity is spotted. These measures are expected to contribute to coping with money laundering and at the same time will enhance financial controls. /Sabah/[21] MOVES TO ACCELERATE PRIVATIZATIONThe High Privatization Board has announced its decision to privatize six subsidiaries of Sumer Holding and Deniz Transportation. In this way the Board is planning to raise revenues of $162 million.The Privatization Board will also speed up moves for the privatization of the Tupras oil refineries and the Petrol Office company. Shares in these companies will be sold on the international market. /Cumhuriyet/ [22] DEMIREL SENDS LETTERS TO ARAB COUNTRIESIn a move to calm down tensions related to the joint military exercises to be staged by Turkey, Israel and the US, President Demirel has sent letters to the leaders of all the Arab countries except Syria stressing that the maneuvres are not designed to threaten the security of the Arab countries and will include only search and rescue operations. In his letter, Demirel harshly criticized Syria for its support for terrorism. /Hurriyet/END Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |