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Turkish Press Review, 97-10-28Turkish 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 MINISTER28.10.97Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning[01] DEMIREL: "EU IS CLEVER FOR NOT EXCLUDING TURKEY"President Suleyman Demirel yesterday, while answering the questions of reporters after the unofficial meeting of the European Council in Luxembourg over the weekend, said Europe was clever for not excluding Turkey. In this meeting, the Council did not envisage a timetable for Turkey's membership to the European Union and its name was not among the 11 candidates. At the same meeting Germany also voiced its scepticism at whether Ankara should be invited to a pan-European conference embracing all nations seeking EU membership.Demirel said the situation was worrying and was disturbing Turkey. He recalled that German Chancellor Kohl told him they would help pave the way for Turkey. Demirel added later the same thing had been said to Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz. Parliament Speaker Hikmet Cetin said this decision of the EU Council was unjust. He said that since the beginning he had the impression that Germany was thinking about the customs union plus another arrangement for Turkey. Cetin said this was unacceptable. Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said the EU wants to apply pressure to Turkey but he did not give further details. Before his departure to Macedonia yesterday, Foreign Minister Ismail Cem said that most of the EU countries had come to reach a positive position concerning Turkey. He said that when his government came to power the EU subject for Turkey was almost closed but following their efforts at least some countries within the EU were positive now. After completing his contacts in Macedonia, Cem will proceed to Albania. Meanwhile, the Financial Times newspaper said that the EU was getting ready to launch a series of diplomatic initiatives to remedy its relations with Turkey, which have been recently damaged. /Milliyet-Sabah/ [02] REGIONAL UN-UNDP MEETING IN ISTANBULOfficials from 24 countries from eastern European and the former Soviet Union met in Istanbul on Monday for a regional meeting of United Nations (UN) resident coordinators and UN Development Programme (UNDP) representatives. Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit opened the five-day meeting, by pledging to carry out the economic development of Turkey's eastern and southeastern provinces and educational reforms of the nation. The officials discussed the workings of the Bureau for Europe and the CIS UNDP. /Cumhuriyet/[03] BULGARIA GIVES STATE DECORATION TO TURKISH AMBASSADORBulgarian President Petar Stayanov on Monday gave the biggest state decoration, called the "Stara Planina" to Turkish Ambassador Mehmet Ali Irtemcelik, whose term in Sofia has just finished. Stayanov said that they had given this decoration to Irtemcelik because of his efforts to improve relations between Turkey and Bulgaria. /Hurriyet/[04] SECOND JOINT SCIENTIFIC SYMPOSIUM IN ANKARAThe "Second Joint Scientific Symposium" has opened in Ankara. The symposium, organized by Ankara Numune Hospital and Pittsburgh University Medical Faculty, was attended by President Suleyman Demirel, Parliament Speaker Hikmet Cetin, Health Minister Halil Ibrahim Ozsoy and important names from the health and medical circles. In his speech, Demirel stated that "Turkish doctors are maintaining their high standards, and are striving to achieve those of the developed countries". Ankara Numune Hospital is considered among the best 10 hospitals in Turkey. /Sabah/[05] OUTSTANDING SERVICE MEDALS TO 34 PEOPLEPresident Suleyman Demirel presented medals of Outstanding Service to the State to 34 people who have been selected to be honoured for their efforts for the nation. President Demirel stated in his speech at yesterday's ceremony held at the presidential palace that people who worked to improve the image of the Turkish state would receive medals every year to encourage others to do the same.The areas for which the Outstanding Service to the State medal were given included education, health and other social services. Among the 34 honoured people this year appear such names: Sakip Sabanci, Rahmi Koc, Sarik Tara, Halis Toprak and Faruk Eczacibasi on behalf of Nejat Eczacibasi who died several years ago. The recipients had to have the approval of Cabinet. Many ministers and deputies including Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz attended the ceremony. /Milliyet-Cumhuriyet/ [06] DENKTAS: "WE ARE MOVING TOWARDS A CRISIS IN CYPRUS"President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Rauf Denktas said prior to a banquet given in his honour by US Special Envoy to Cyprus Richard Holbrooke in Washington that they were moving towards a crisis in Cyprus. Denktas noted that the application for full EU membership was a game to seize the whole Cyprus and stated that it was impossible to agree with the Greek Cypriot side regarding this issue. Welcoming Denktas, Holbrooke said, for his part, that Turkey and Greece were two important allies in a very important region from the standpoint of the US. /Sabah/[07] ISREAL INTERESTED IN GAPOfficials from the Israeli Embassy in Ankara said that Turkey has purchased from Israel agricultural equipment worth millions of dollars. Nissan Amdor, Second Secretary at the Israeli Embassy in Ankara, noted that Israel was willing to cooperate with Turkey in agricultural issues, and added that they were especially interested in cooperation with Turkey in the materialization of irrigation and stock breeding projects launched within the scope of the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP). /Cumhuriyet/[08] MESSAGE FROM IRANIranian President Muhammed Hatemi has sent a congratulatory message to President Demirel on the occasion of the 74th anniversary of the establishment of the Turkish Republic. In his message, Hatemi touched upon the historical ties between Turkey and Iran and voiced optimism about the improvement of the friendly relations between the two countries. /Hurriyet/[09] GOOD NEWS FROM ATHENSGreek Chief of the General Staff Atanasios Doganis announced that he will attend the reception given by the Turkish Embassy in Athens to mark the 74th anniversary of the establishment of the Turkish Republic. Observers expect this move to influence positively the Crete summit next week.Turkish Chief of the General Staff, General Ismail Hakki Karadayi, had attended a reception given by the Greek Embassy in Ankara to celebrate the Greek National Day on March 25 this year. /Hurriyet/ [10] TURKISH BUSINESS DELEGATION IN THESSALONIKIA delegation of the Turkish Businessmen's and Industrialists' Association (TUSIAD) will arrive tomorrow in the Greek town of Thessaloniki, the birth place of Turkish Leader Ataturk, on the invitation of the Association of Northern Greek Businessmen. The Turkish delegation of 150 businessmen will attend a reception given by the Turkish Chief Consulate in Thessaloniki on the occasion of the 74th anniversary of the establishment of the Turkish Republic. The Turkish and Greek entrepreneurs will participate in a symposium on "Ataturk and Venizelos" and later will come together at a Turco-Greek friendship dinner. /Sabah/[11] ATACANLI: "TURKEY'S EU POLICY WILL NOT CHANGE"Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesman, Sermet Atacanli said at the weekly press conference that Ankara's European Union (EU) policy would not change according to the recent decisions taken against Turkey at the EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg. Stressing that Turkey's final target was still full membership to the EU, Atacanli added Turkey asked to be evaluated with equal criteria with other candidate countries. /Milliyet/[12] "DELTA FORCE" IN CYPRUSAccording to the Greek Cyprus daily newspaper Tharos, the U.S. Defense Department accommodate a group of soldiers of Delta Force, a Special Operation Unit formed in 1997 to struggle against terrorism, in British Military Base in order to be missioned against S-300 missiles. The paper reported that the military unit would follow the developments about the recent tension between Turkey and Greece. It was also claimed that the Delta Force unit would take measures against targets which had strategic importance like Russian S-300 missiles. /Milliyet/[13] KARADAYI WARNS NATOChief of General Staff, Gen. Ismail Hakki Karadayi sent a letter to the NATO Supreme Commander regarding the stance of Greece. General Karadayi states in the letter that if Greek provocations were not prevented, these would have grave consequences. Karadayi wanted immediate measures to be taken in the face of Greek harrassment in the Aegean and Greek-Russian alliance. In the three page-letter, Karadayi issued a clear warning saying, "We are asking you to express concern over the serious collapse of the Southern Flank of NATO and to take due action to prevent these from taking place. Karadayi also stated in the letter that the S-300 missiles were being purchased with the aim of providing air coverage to Greek planes attacking Turkey and added: "If you do not take action, Turkey cannot be held responsible for the grave consequences to occur."General Karadayi sent a copy of the letter to the Chiefs of General Staff of all NATO member countries, with the exception of Greece. /Sabah/ [14] POLICE HIT TIKKO IN ANKARAThe Turkish Workers' and Peasants' Liberation Army (TIKKO), an outlawed leftist organization which is collaborating with the PKK terrorist organization in the Black Sea region, has suffered one of its greatest setbacks in recent years. A depot, used by the organization in Sincan, was raided by the police and arms and ammunition captured, the Anatolia news agency reported.In a series of operations carried out recently in Ankara in an attempt to identify members of TIKKO, a group of suspects, all from the same family, were interrogated by police. A short time ago a number of TIKKO members died in an internal struggle which resulted in a splinter group of the organization being formed. [15] RUSSIAN TOURISTS LOVE TURKEYCumhuriyet daily newspaper reports that Turkey is on the top of the list of countries prefered by Russian tourists. Most of the Russians come to Turkey for "bag trade" taking advantage of liberal visa and customs regulations. Russian entrepreneurs buy cheap goods from Turkey and make huge profits by selling Turkish-made items on the Russian market. /Cumhuriyet/Note: The Turkish Press Review will not be published tomorrow on the occasion of the 74th anniversary of the establishment of the Turkish Republic. END Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |