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Wednesday, 20 November 2024
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Turkish Press Review, 98-03-04Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>04.03.98Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] PRESIDENT DEMIREL IN SPAINPresident Suleyman Demirel, accompanied by a 400-strong delegation of ministers, bureaucrats, businessmen and journalists, is paying an official visit to Spain on the invitation of King of Spain, Juan Carlos. Demirel was given a warm reception in the Spanish capital of Madrid. Yesterday Demirel held contacts with King Juan Carlos and Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar to discuss possibilities for improving bilateral cooperation. Regional developments of mutual importance were also taken in hand. This is the first visit of a Turkish president to Spain. /Milliyet/[02] SPAIN SEEKING TO SELL ARMS TO TURKEYIn the initial stages of President Suleyman Demirel's official visit to Spain yesterday, Spain reportedly attempted to sell $2 billions worth of arms to Turkey in an effort to strengthen economic ties and in exchange for Spanish support for Turkey's efforts to join the European Union (EU). The country's leading newspaper, El Pais, reported that Spain is trying to market four frigates, a dozen CN-235 cargo planes and other defense supplies in talks with Turkish officials and defense experts who are accompanying the president.The newspaper pointed out that the deal would mean "record sales" for the Spanish defense industry. The deal was discussed during a previous visit to Spain by Defense Minister Ismet Sezgin. /Sabah/ [03] "US PUSHING TURKEY'S EU MEMBERSHIP"The US is holding contacts in Brussels on Turkey's European Union (EU) membership, which has been declared as being of "strategic importance" by the US administration. US Assistant Secretary of State and former Ambassador to Turkey, Marc Grossman and Assistant Secretary of State responsible for Human Rights, John Shattuck met yesterday with the Head of the EU Foreign Desk, Hans Van Den Broek. At the meeting Grossman pointed out that it was not logical to exclude Turkey, especially when the future of the European continent was considered. Shattuck for his part said that although there were human rights problems in Turkey, the government was struggling with determination against these problems.Just nine days before the European Conference, the US administration has put pressure on the EU by sending two diplomats at the level of assistant secretary of state. Grossman and Shattuck will continue their contacts in Brussels. /Cumhuriyet/ [04] TURKISH PARLIAMENT PREPARES "WEST THRACE" REPORTThe Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) has decided to deal with the West Thrace problem between Turkey and Greece. The TGNA Human Rights Commission has prepared a report about the problems of the Muslim Turkish minority in West Thrace. The report said that Greece had prepared grounds to divide the minority by describing it as a mixed society formed by Turks, Pomaks (Bulgarian Muslims) and Gypsies. The report added: "Greece applies strategies to weaken the Turkish minority by forcing them to either migrate or assimilate. It tries to disperse the Turkish minority by weakening its ties with Turkey. Economic development, social security and cooperation are blocked and people are forced to immigrate." /Cumhuriyet/[05] EU PANEL DISCUSSIONThe prospect for an ultimate Cypriot membership in the EU is not realistic as long as a federation is not established on the island, and as long as participation of Turkish Cypriots in the Greek Cypriot negotiating team is prevented, the participants in a panel discussion in Brussels concluded.Speaking on the panel, organized by the Greens' group in the EU Parliament, Democratic Left Party (DSP) deputy Mumtaz Soysal said that the EU's Luxembourg decisions regarding Turkey and Cyprus were unfair and had a negative impact on efforts to reunite Cyprus. Speaking on a panel on the Cyprus problem, the co-chairman of the Greens' group, Magda Aelvoet from Belgium, said that by inviting Greek Cyprus to start accession talks and keeping Turkey out of the enlargement process, the EU has negatively affected solution efforts in Cyprus and has adopted an unfair attitude towards Ankara. /Milliyet/ [06] EU COMMISSION DEVELOPS RAPPROACHMENT STRATEGY WITH TURKEYThe EU Commission has prepared a package of proposals for overcoming bottlenecks in Turkey-EU relations after the recent Luxembourg Summit when EU members decided to exclude Turkey from the process of EU expansion. In a news report the commission stresses that the ultimate goal of the rapproachement strategy is to pave the way for Turkey's integration with Europe. The report presses for releasing EU aid promised to Turkey and for taking steps for developing further the customs union established between Turkey and the EU in 1996. In contrast to previous EU initiatives, the report offers a specific timetable for materializing the proposals. /Milliyet/[07] NEW TIME VOTEA survey into "People who stamped their mark on the 20th century" organized by Time magazine ended. The result of the survey will not be announced until the end of 1999. Following the end of the five category survey, a new vote has begun. In the new vote, there will be only one category which consists of the most important 20 people of the 20th century. These people can be political leaders as well as scientists, artists and other leading figures. The same Internet address: http://www.time.com. will be used in the final vote. Those who wish to vote for Ataturk, for example, should write his name in small letters: mustafa kemal ataturk. /Sabah/[08] MOSCOW UNEASY OVER OIL MEETINGMoscow yesterday declared its displeasure at not having been invited to an Istanbul meeting where issues involving Caspian oil pipeline projects were discussed. In response to a question in Tuesday's press briefing, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Gennadi Tarasov said that all the related parties including Russia should have been invited to the meeting where sensitive issues regarding the Caspian region were taken up. Expressing dissatisfaction and surprise, Tarasov told reporters that the Russian reaction had been conveyed to Ankara through suitable channels. /Cumhuriyet/[09] ANKARA CALLS FOR DIALOGUEConcerned over the recent wave of violence in Serbia's Kosovo region and the possibility that the turmoil could spread to the rest of the volatile Balkans, Ankara yesterday urged the parties to act with prudence and start a dialogue for a peaceful solution. Referring to the recent killing of some 20 people in Kosovo, a region populated mainly by ethnic Muslim Albanians, a Foreign Ministry statement said: "Turkey regrets that the clashes on February 28 resulted in a loss of life". It also urged that the parties to the conflict immediately start a "constructive dialogue and find a peaceful and wise solution within the framework of Yugoslavia's territorial integrity".The statement also said that the basic rights and freedoms as well as the ethnic, religious and cultural identities of all the peoples living in Kosovo should be guaranteed without discrimination and with respect for internationally accepted principles of human rights. /Milliyet/ [10] 47 KG HEROIN SEIZED IN VANSecurity forces have seized 47 kg heroin in the Guzelsu district of Van. Two heroin smugglers were arrested at the end of the operation by Gendarmerie forces yesterday. 47 kg heroin with a TL 1.3 trillion market value, and two guns were seized when the drug dealers were arrested. /Cumhuriyet/[11] A CRITICIZING MESSAGE FROM SYRIA TO TURKEYSyrian Deputy Head of State, Abdul Halim Haddam claims that Turkish officials should consider the threatening results of cooperation with Israel. In a statement in the weekly Syrian government "Teshrin" journal, he claimed that good relations between Turkey and Israel would only serve for the benefit of Israel. He added: "Turkey's advantages are dependent on Islam and the Arab countries. We hope that Turkey will see the threats directed against itself very soon." /Cumhuriyet/[12] DECREASE IN INFLATIONGovernment decisions to freeze prices have began to yield results. In February, inflation rates decreased by nearly three percent in comparison to the previous month. Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz welcomed the reports and evaluated this development as an omen for greater achievements in efforts to pull down inflation. The prime minister yesterday told journalists that the government's anti-inflation programme was not expected to begin to bear positive results before May, and added that inflation figures revealed yesterday by the State Statistics Institute showed that yet greater decreases were ahead. /Milliyet/[13] CILLER TOURS PARTY LEADERSLeader of the True Path Party (DYP) Tansu Ciller has begun this week a tour of political party leaders in a move to raise support for a package of democratization measures. Yesterday Ciller met DTP leader Husamettin Cindoruk, YDP leader Hasan Celal Guzel and DEPAR leader Gokhan Capoglu. Ciller says that the country should head for early elections which should be held before the Autumn. /Milliyet/[14] RIGHTS OF TURKS ABROAD RE-REGULATEDInterior Minister Murat Basesgioglu in a written statament yesterday said that individuals born in Turkey but who had taken up citizenship in a foreign country, encounter frequent problems over legal regulations and their rights in Turkey. Basesgioglu stressed that according to Law 403 of the Turkish Citizenship Law, those who lost their Turkish citizenship because of becoming citizens of other countries without receiving the state's permission or because they were living abroad and did not return to Turkey in order to complete their military service, would be treated as foreigners.The Interior Minister added that these people would be only able to benefit from the rights granted to foreigners on issues such as the purchase and transfer of immobile assets, inheritance and labour. He stated that the amendment separates those who gave up Turkish citizenship by permission and their legal heirs from other foreign nationals. He added that preservation of the rights of former Turkish citizens would be available as long as the execution of those rights did not threaten the national security of the Turkish Republic and public order. [15] PUBLIC EMPLOYEES QUIT WORKThe Confederation of Public Employees' Unions (KESK) declared yesterday that because it was not possible for them to accept the draft law on "public employees unions" they would start their united protests today. Confederation chief, Siyami Erdem, told a press conference that employees in the state postal, railway and medical services, except for the emergency services, would quit work today in protest against the draft law by marching into the center of Ankara, Kizilay. "This draft brings no fresh rights whereas our existing rights are removed. We will maintain our protest action until it is withdrawn" said Erdem. /Hurriyet/Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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