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Turkish Press Review, 98-03-06Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>06.03.98Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] SPAIN SUGGESTS PATIENCELeaders within the Spanish administration have once again declared that although Spain supports Turkey's efforts to join the European Union (EU), Turkey too must be patient and respond to the situation in line with current EU thinking.Continuing with his official visit to Spain, President Suleyman Demirel and his wife have met with many Spanish officials and done much to deepen ties between Spain and Turkey. In an atmosphere of goodwill, Spanish government leaders have recommended that Turkey should win over Germany and work for full support from other EU countries- "all of which will take time. Turkey needs patience" noted one official. When President Demirel and his wife were invited to the royal residence in Madrid for an evening meal in their honour, King Juan Carlos made some telling comments on similarities between the Turkish and Spanish regimes and stressed the deep friendship between Spain and Turkey. He noted too that pride needed to be tempered with understanding and wisdom. President Demirel and his entourage concluded their visit and arrived home last night. /All papers/ [02] ALBRIGHT: "TURKEY TAKING POSITIVE STEPS ON HUMAN RIGHTS"US Secretary of State Madeleine K.Albright, delivering a speech before the House Appropriations "Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programmes" subcommittee chaired by Rep.Sonny Callahan (Republican) of Alabama, said: "We continue to urge the Turkish government to make really systematic human rights reforms". "I think it's a point that we make very loudly to them. They took some positive steps in 1997. They lifted the state of emergency in three provinces, and they have reduced the maximum pre-arraignment detention period in the southern regions. And they have granted provisional amnesties to six jailed editors".Concerning the EU, Albright said: "Some of the reasons that Turks are not members of the EU involve more than just human rights issues. And we are talking to our EU friends about this. We strongly support the expansion of the EU into central and eastern Europe, and Turkey's desire to be a part of that process". /Sabah-Milliyet/ [03] FP BECOMES LEADING PARTY IN PARLIAMENTSix more former Welfare Party deputies joined the Virtue Party (FP) yesterday bringing the number of this party's parliamentary seats to 140. FP now holds the majority of the seats in Parliament, with the number of independent deputies dropping to 19. /Sabah/[04] PM YILMAZ RECEIVES JEWISH REPRESENTATIVESTurkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz talked with representatives from American Jewish organizations yesterday, and called for further improvements in Turco-American relations, which he described as an "expanding partnership". Yilmaz said that Turkish and US investors could undertake joint projects in Central Asia and expressed gratitude for American support for the proposed Baku-Ceyhan natural gas and oil pipelines. He also stressed that there were some "sensitive points" in current bilateral relations due to the activities of some ethnic lobbies in the US Congress.Mel Salberg, who spoke on behalf of the Jewish delegation, stressed that Turkey was of great importance both for the US and Israel and expressed gratitude for Turkish hospitality to Jewish refugees in the past. /Sabah-Milliyet/ [05] ASPEN INSTITUTE MEETINGA young leaders study group on "The Future of the Balkans" assembled by the Aspen Institute, Berlin, is holding a five-day meeting in Istanbul. In a bulletin issued following a press conference, the Aspen Institute called for an end to violence in Kosovo and proposed that the Former Yugoslavian Contact Group serve as a mediator to provide for an exchange of views between the sides involved. It was noted in the bulletin that every possible means of preventing further violence, including military force, should be employed.President Suleyman Demirel will deliver the final speech on Saturday, before the closing dinner when Turkish Parliament Speaker Hikmet Cetin, will speak on the future of the Balkans. Chairman of the Commission, former Prime Minister of Belgium and Member of the European Parliament, Leo Tindemans, will be a special guest of honour. /Sabah-Milliyet/ [06] BROEK: "TURKEY KEY COUNTRY IN EU MEMBERSHIP FOR CYPRUS"The EU Commissioner for foreign affairs, Hans van den Broek, underlined yesterday Turkey's importance in the accession of Cyprus as a member in the EU. "Turkey has a key role in the EU membership process for Cyprus. That's why the EU wishes to maintain warm relations with Ankara, Broek said in Greek Cypriot Cyprus. Broek arrived in Cyprus on Wednesday for talks on how Turkish Cypriots can be included in EU entry negotiations. Along with Broek, Britain's Cyprus envoy David Hannay also held talks in Greek Cypriot Cyprus with the same objective.Hannay said that the general wish of the EU was for Cyprus to become an EU member as a bizonal, bicommunal federation and that this was possible only with Turkish Cypriot participation in the entry talks. However, he stated that if the Turkish Cypriots refuse to participate "talks will start with the Greek Cypriots only". /Milliyet/ [07] DEMIRBANK SECURES $70 MLN SYNDICATED LOANTurkey's Demirbank signed an accord for a $70 million two-year syndicated loan, representatives said yesterday. Twenty-seven banks, led by Societe Generale, American Express and Baden Wurttembergische Bank, participated in the pre-export financing facility, initially planned for $50 million. The agreement was signed on Tuesday in London. Demirbank gave no other details. /Sabah/[08] CIVIL SERVANTS HOLD NATIONWIDE STRIKEPublic sector employees throughout the country halted or slowed down work yesterday in order to protest a government bill limiting their union rights. Members of the Confederation of Public Workers' Unions (KESK) staged a sit-down strike in downtown Ankara in further protest following clashes with police on Wednesday.Speaking about the protest of the public sector employees, Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said that the timing for the protests was wrong. "If everyone takes to the streets everytime a bill is discussed in Parliament, this means that pressure is being inflicted on Parliament, and therefore it may have a negative effect on Parliamentary processes" Yilmaz told reporters in Ankara. /All papers/ [09] EU: TURKEY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE ROADHead of the EU Commission International Relations Department Competition Board, Yues Devellennes, has noted that with the establishment of a similar board in Turkey, Turkey was moving onto the right path, but added that further obligations had to be met regarding transportation and monopolization for full EU harmonization. Develennes added: "The Competition Board must be independent, however it needs political support".[10] FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES UPCentral Bank foreign exchange reserves increased by $1.025 billion last week and reached $19.422 billion. Turkey has paid out $2.366 billion in foreign debts from the beginning of the year until 4 March. /Milliyet-Sabah/[11] ISRAELI DIAMOND DEALERS FOCUS ON TURKEYIsrael, which has long chanelled most of its exports over to the Far Eastern market, has discovered Turkey thanks to the recent financial crisis. Chairman of the Israeli Diamonds and Valuable Stones Bourse, Moshe Nissan, has confessed that although Israel has in the past undermined the Turkish market, following the Far Eastern crisis Israel has come to view the Turkish market as one of the potentially biggest. Noting that Turkish jewellery was even better than Italian jewellery, Nissan said that 33 Israeli companies participated in the 13th International Jewel, Ornament and Watch Fair in Istanbul. /Sabah-Cumhuriyet/[12] ATHENS INVITES KARADAYIIt is expected that Turkish Chief of General Staff General Ismail Hakki Karadayi will go to Athens on 6-7 April as the guest of his Greek counterpart Athanasios Tsoganis. Greece is currently the term-president of the Western European Union (WEU). Karadayi, who will participate in a meeting of WEU military leaders, will discuss military issues in Turco-Greek relations with Tsoganis. Meanwhile, Speaker of the Greek Parliament, Apostolos Kaklamanis, has invited Turkish Parliament Speaker Hikmet Cetin to Athens. /Sabah/[13] FT SUGGESTS RECONSIDERING EU INVITATIONSIn an article that appeared in the previous day's issue of the Financial Times newspaper, it was claimed that Turkey might "punish itself" by not accepting the latest invitations of the European Union. The article, which evaluates a report aiming to prepare Turkey for full membership in the EU, stated that Turkey might ignore invitations to attend upcoming meetings because of annoyance at not being included among the candidate countries for full EU membership. The paper also comments on the Turkish economy, suggesting that Turkey should make structural changes in the economy in order to eliminate budget shortfalls that could cause hyperinflation. /Hurriyet/[14] GREEK HARASSMENT OVER AEGEAN SEAHolding maneuvers in international airspace over the Aegean Sea, two Turkish F-16 aircraft were harassed by four Greek F-16s, Turkish Foreign Ministry sources said. /Hurriyet/[15] GERMAN PKK MEMBERGerman citizen Eva Juhnken (32), suspected of being active in PKK camps in Northern Iraq, has been handed-over to Turkey by Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) representatives. It is calimed that five German citizens worked for the PKK the organization in Germany and then they went to PKK camps in northern Iraq in 1993. German terrorists used to promote the PKK are often introduced to German and European journalists who visit the region. An interview with five PKK militants, who learned to speak both Turkish and Kurdish, was broadcast by MED TV last month. /Milliyet/[16] HARSH REACTION FROM DENKTAS TO HANNAYPresident of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Rauf Denktas, reacted harshly to European Union (EU) Term Chairman Britain's Special Envoy to Cyprus Sir David Hannay, who said that Cyprus would be included in the EU without the Turkish side. Denktas said that an illegal application could not be turned into a legal one by using threats. Denktas pointed out that Hannay's threatening statements could not alter the determination of the TRNC administration and people not to attend upcoming EU negotiations if imbalances between Turkey and Greece were not addressed. /Cumhuriyet/[17] "TURKEY SHOULD START KOSOVO INITIATIVES"Leader of the Republican Peoples' Party (CHP), Deniz Baykal yesterday received representatives of the Roumelian Businessmen's Association, Kosovo Coordination Council and Pristina Association in Istanbul. At the meeting Baykal made a call both to the Turkish government and to the world to halt the massacre going on in Kosovo. Baykal added that Turkey would start begin initiatives with NATO and the Western European Union (WEU) to stop the bloodshed in Central Europe.Chairman of the Kosovo Coordination Council Celalettin Olmezcan said that Turkey and Kosovo had historical and political ties streching back 520 years. He added that the people of Kosovo were looking for help from Turkey. Ergun Zoga, a member of the Council, said that Turkey was one of the most powerful Balkan countries, and that Turkey should therefore exert every effort to establish stability in the region. /Milliyet/ [18] TURKS IN DUTCH MUNACIPALITY ASSEMBLIESAlmost 60 Turkish citizens living in the Netherlands have won seats in municipality assemblies in different cities. Twenty 20 Turks have won seats in Amsterdam Municipality Assembly, 10 in Rotterdam and 30 other Turkish citizens have won seats in different areas of Holland. /Milliyet/Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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