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Turkish Press Review, 98-01-06Turkish 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 MINISTER06.01.98Newspot, Directorate General of Press and Information Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning[01] TURKEY BLASTS PKK OVER IMMIGRATION STREAMTurkey blasted the PKK terrorist organization yesterday for promoting and organizing the latest immigration flood which has been dominating both European and Turkish agendas for the past week. Talking to reporters, Interior Minister Murat Basesgioglu responded to questions on the growing immigration issue. He said that Europe had becoming especially aware of this situation when nearly 1,200 refugees -many of them Kurds from Turkey and northern Iraq- landed on the Italian coast last week.The meeting, which aimed to formulate Turkey's policy toward the issue, gathered the top brass from the Interior Ministry, Foreign Ministry, National Intelligence Agency (MIT), National Security Council, Security Department, Interpol, General Staff, Maritime, Customs Undersecretariat, Gendarmery and Coast Guard. "We are going to evaluate our previous and current policies and security measures, with all the representatives of the security units" said Basesgioglu, adding: "Measures have been tightened in all Turkish harbours, all check-points, exists from Turkey and, of course, the Bosphorus". He called on Europe, especially Italy, not to give political asylum to these people fleeing from poverty, but not persecution. In a press conference yesterday, Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Sermet Atacanli said that Italy would attract more illicit Kurdish migration if it went ahead with plans to grant political asylum to Kurds on a large scale. Security chiefs from six European countries will meet in Rome Thursday. Ankara blames the PKK terrorist organization for the escalation of the crisis. During the meeting in Rome, Turkish officials will present a file providing evidence that their fears are not groundless. The meeting will be attended by security officials from Turkey, Germany, Italy, France, Holland and Austria. German Minister of the Interior Manfred Kanther said that if the flow of refugees is not taken under control, not only Italy, but the whole Europe will be flooded with refugees. Kanther said that especially Greece an Italy should undertake strict controls to cope with the growing problem. /All papers/ [02] LE MONDE: EUROPE IS WRONG IN ITS ATTITUDEAn article published in the French daily newspaper Le Monde says that Europe's reaction towards Turkey on illegal immigration is not reasonable. The article adds, "If Europe closes its doors against Turkey, neither should it let in Kurdish refugees." /Cumhuriyet/[03] TURKEY, US AND ISRAEL GIVE MESSAGE TO THE WORLDTurkey-US-Israel joint naval exercises commenced in the eastern Mediterranean yesterday afternoon despite the fierce reactions of Iran and some Arab countries. Two Turkish frigates participating in the "Reliant Mermaid" maneuvres arrived in the Israeli port of Haifa yesterday morning. In a meeting with journalists, the commanders from the three countries clasped their hands together and said: "These maneuvres are a message to the world. We are proud that our three countries are cooperating in staging humanitarian exercises." /Sabah/[04] NEW TENSION IN THE AEGEANNews that Greece was about to settle some islets and islands in the Aegean has created strong reaction in Ankara. Foreign Ministry officials have accused Athens of provoking new tensions and added that Greece was aiming to extend its Aegean territorial waters and turn the Aegean into a Greek lake. They stressed that Turkey was closely watching recent Greek initiatives involving the settlement of Aegean Sea islands. /Cumhuriyet/[05] PARLIAMENT DISCUSSES EU'S DECISION ON TURKEYParliament holds a debate today to discuss the European Union's (EU) recent decision to exclude Turkey from the list of full membership candidates, and is expected to issue a declaration at the end of the meeting outlining its stance on the subject. /All papers/[06] COOK'S STATEMENTBritish Foreign Minister Robin Cook said yesterday that it was not possible to determine a definite date for Turkey's EU membership. He underlined the importance of the continuation of the Turco-EU dialogue and asserted that Britain would work to support this during its EU term-presidency (which started on January 1 and will continue until the end of June). /All papers/[07] FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER TO VISIT ANKARAFrench Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine, who will be in Ankara tomorrow on the first leg of his visit to Turkey and Greece, will urge the two countries to adopt "a realistic and cool-minded policy" in order to normalize relations between the two countries, said French Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesman Yves Doutriaux yesterday.The spokesman reaffirmed that France wanted a "normalization" of relations between the two countries and stability in the eastern Mediterranean. This desire will be expressed during the visit of Vedrine to Athens and to Ankara where he will meet with his Turkish counterpart Ismail Cem, Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, President Suleyman Demirel and Parliament Speaker Hikmet Cetin. /Milliyet/ [08] UZBEK DEFENSE MINISTER IN ANKARAUzbekistan's Defense Minister Tursunov Hikmetulla paid an official visit to Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ismet Sezgin yesterday. Recalling that Turkey was the first country to recognize Uzbekistan, Sezgin said Turkey appreciated the steps taken by Uzbekistan for economic and political reforms to integrate into a democratic system, and was politically supporting the process.Hikmetulla stated during his visit to Sezgin that this was his first official visit. "International cooperation is one of Uzbekistan's priorities, and Turkey carries importance within these relations" said Hikmetulla, who later visited Chief of General Staff Gen.Ismail Hakki Karadayi. [09] US DRAWS ATTENTION TO TANKER TRAFFIC VIA STRAITSAmid the increasing tanker traffic via the Straits, which has been evaluated as signaling a potential environmental catastrophe, a voice in opposition to this increase came from Washington, with the releasing of another "Turkey report" by the US Department of Energy. The "Turkey report" draws attention to the increasing traffic of oil-loaded tankers through the Straits, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday.[10] ISTANBUL STOCK INDEX BREAKS RECORDThe Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB) National-100 index rose to 3,626 with a 175-point increase following closure on Wednesday. Stock shares rose on average 5.08 percent in value. The expectation of increases in January created new movement in the markets. The index, which stood at 3,522 points on opening, passed the 3,600 mark due to movement in energy and public sector shares. Toward the end of the first half of the day's trading the index reached 3,623 points, breaking the old peak of 3,624, the Anatolia news agency reported.[11] "TIME" MAGAZINE PRAISES TURKEYIn its latest issue, the noted "Time" magazine extended front page coverage to Turkey and the founder of the Turkish Republic Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Ataturk, who emerged as a leader in the survey carried out by "Time" to find out the most important personality of the 20th century, appears for the third time on "Time" cover. Votes in support of Ataturk in the "Time" survey have exceeded two million.The magazine gives details about modern Turkey in a six-page article. Turkey is described as "the most democratic Islamic country" and is said to have huge economic potential rivalling that of Germany. "Time" stressed that there were few countries with greater economic importance than Turkey. /Hurriyet/ [12] "CYPRUS IS A TIME BOMB"Examining EU expansion, the Financial Times newspaper looked at hand the prospects of Cyprus-Europe integration and said that if tensions on the island continue to escalate, EU policy-makers will "curse the day when they decided to bring Cyprus into the Union". The paper noted that accepting Cyprus into the EU may turn out to be a very risky move, but at the same time may offer opportunities for resolving problems on the islands. /Sabah/[13] FLOWER EXPORT BOOMDuring the Christmas Holidays, Antalya flower producers exported six million carnations to Europe worth $1.5 million. Taking advantage of the approaching St.Valentine's Day, flower exporters are planning to realize another big export drive. /Sabah/[14] BRITONS TO BRIEF TURKISH OFFICIALSThe British National Grid Company will brief Energy and Natural Resources Minister Cumhur Ersumer and ministry officials. The National Grid Company arranges relations between companies which produce energy and distribute energy. The British company will give information on privatization in energy and explain how power exchange works. /Hurriyet/END Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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