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Turkish Press Review, 98-03-10Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>10.03.98Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] CABINET DISCUSSES KOSOVO SITUATIONThe Turkish government, which has been monitoring the current tension in the Balkans closely, discussed the ongoing incidents in Kosovo in its Monday meeting. Defense Minister Ismet Sezgin told reporters before the Cabinet meeting that the rights of the Kosovo people, should be protected. He said that the Kosovo issue will be discussed broadly during the ministerial-level NATO meeting that will take place in Brussels on Thursday.Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz told reporters yesterday that Turkey was doing everything possible and that the international community should make efforts towards bringing peace to Kosovo. He said that the best solution to the Kosovo crisis would be to restore the autonomous status of Kosovo which was agreed upon in 1991. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Necati Utkan told reporters that ending the bloodshed in Kosovo "is a priority for Turkey". Commenting on the tension in Kosovo, Utkan said that no one, including Turkey, will let the things that happened in Bosnia be repeated again. Foreign Minister Ismail Cem told reporters that the conflict can be eased in three stages. After initial steps, an agreement on education between Kosovo Albanians and the Yugoslav administration should be implemented. The third and final stage should be the reinstitution of rights given to Albanians but removed by Yugoslavia in 1989, Cem added. /All papers/ [02] TURKEY-EU RELATIONSGerman daily newspaper "Die Welt" has urged the EU to play with an "open hand" in its relations with Turkey. Tensions in Turkey-Germany relations have increased following a recent statement by Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz that Germany was blocking Turkey's integration with Europe. /Cumhuriyet/[03] DIPLOMATIC TRAFFIC IN CYPRUSTom Miller, Assistant to US President Bill Clinton's Special Cyprus Envoy Richard Holbrooke will pay a visit to Ankara tomorrow. Yesterday Miller had talks with representatives of the Greek Cypriot administration, and today he will meet Turkish Cypriot officials. Miller's contacts are of special importance as they come on the eve of EU membership discussions with Cyprus scheduled to begin on March 31.Last week EU Commissioner responsible for foreign relations, Hans Van Den Broek, and EU Cyprus Envoy David Hannay had talks in a move to mediate for a compromise on the problem-plagued island. Turkish Cypriot President Rauf Denktas declined the EU representatives demands for a meeting, and said that Turkish Cypriots participation in discussions for accepting Cyprus into the EU was out of the question. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's Special Cyprus Envoy Diego Cordovez will also hold contacts on the island late in March, and US Envoy Holbrooke will visit the region in April. /Cumhuriyet/ [04] BATTLE OVER WORDSArgument over, and reaction to, the words that Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz used in an interview with Britain's noted Financial Times newspaper continues. In a weekend interview with the paper, Yilmaz used a German word that was popularly used during the Hitler regime to describe German attitudes today.Yesterday the Foreign Ministry claimed that there had been a misunderstanding, and that in fact, Yilmaz had been referring to another aspect and that he had actually been using the word in another way. Explaining the matter, Foreign Ministry spokesman Necati Utkan noted that the German word "lebensraum" had more than one meaning. /Sabah/ [05] MASSIVE SUPPORT FOR THE SOUTHEASTThe government has announced that government workers and officials in the depressed regions of the south and southeast of Turkey will have the opportunity invest more in the region. The same government statement also notes that business sectors too will be given more of a chance to develop interests in these undeveloped areas. According to releases made yesterday, small and medium sized businesses will be given more support and help and state-run banks will be empowered to provide more services.Commenting on the new initiatives, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said that the new measures would be applied in the most productive way possible, and that the government aimed at "balanced development" in the region. /Sabah/ [06] AWARD FOR TURKISH SCIENTISTTurkish scientist Tuncer Kuzay has been presented with a special award for his outstanding accomplishments in the Chicago-based American Argon Laboratories where he has been directly responsible for over 160 research projects. /Sabah/[07] BLAIR SHOULD VISIT ANKARAAccording to the Financial Times, Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair should make a visit to Ankara, this especially so in view of the current situation involving Turkey and the European Union (EU). The Financial Times noted on March 5 that relations between Turkey and the EU have dropped to a new low, and that the time had come for Blair to visit Ankara to restore a rapidly worsening situation.The Financial Times noted that as term president of the EU, Britain was obliged to take up the matter of Turkey's current situation including relations with Greece, and full membership in the EU, and to do this as urgently as possible. /Milliyet/ [08] TURKEY IN WORLD TEXTILESThere are 19 Turkish companies in a list of the "World's Biggest Textile Companies" compiled by the German 'TextilWirtschaft' magazine. According to an article in the Textile Employer Magazine published by the Textile Industry Employers' Union, the American Sara Lee Corp ranked first with an income of $11.082 billion. The income of the companies in the list is over DM 100 million for the year 1996. /Sabah-Hurriyet/[09] CAGAN CANCELS VISIT TO GERMANYWhen German Minister of Labour Norbert Blum stated that he would not attend a meeting to be held with Turkish Minister of Labour and Social Security Nami Cagan during an official visit to Germany, and would instead only attend a luncheon, Cagan cancelled his whole visit. Cagan will convey his reponse to Germany in a written statement today. /Sabah-Hurriyet/[10] 40 PKK MILITANTS KILLEDDuring operations carried out in the rural area of the Yedisu district in Bingol, 40 militants of the PKK terrorist organization have been killed and their weapons seized. During the operations, two Turkish soldiers also died. It is reported that operations are continuing. /Sabah-Milliyet/[11] MONGOLIA'S PRESIDENT TO VISIT TURKEYMongolia's President, Naksagin Bagabandi, will pay an official visit to Turkey on March 16-17 at the invitation of Turkish President Suleyman Demirel. According to a statement issued by the Board of Foreign Economic Relations (DEIK), Bagabandi, accompanied by a large delegation of Mongolian businessmen, will meet Turkish businessmen in Istanbul on the last day of his visit, the Anatolia news agency reported.[12] SOUTH KOREAN BUSINESSMEN TO VISIT TURKEYSouth Korean businessmen will visit Turkey to improve trade relations between Turkey and South Korea. Within the framework of the visit which will be organized by the South Korean Trade Investment Agency (KOTRA), fifteen Korean businessmen will first visit Istanbul and then Ankara. /Milliyet/[13] TURKEY-MACEDONIA JOINT ECONOMIC COMMISSION MEETINGThe Turkey-Macedonia Joint Economic Commission 2nd Term Meeting has started in Skopje. State Minister Rustu Kazim Yucelen, who headed the Turkish delegation in Macedonia, will be received by Economy Minister Boris Bikalovski and Prime Minister Brabko Crvankovski and will also meet with Housing and Environment Minister Tome Trombev. At the end of the four-day meeting a Joint Economic Commission 2nd Term Meeting Protocol will be signed. /Milliyet/[14] GEORGIAN FULL SUPPORT FOR TURKEYPrior to Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz's visit to Georgia, Georgian Head of State Eduard Shevardnadze said in a special statement to daily newspaper Milliyet that Georgian-Turkish relations were at a "perfect level" and added that Turkey had a very important role in the region. He further pointed out that the Georgia Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline would be the most suitable and safest way to transport Azeri oil to world markets. /Milliyet/[15] DENKTAS: "GREEK CYPRIOTS WILL WAIT FOR 30 YEARS"President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Rauf Denktas, declared yesterday that they had received information that the European Union would open and then close meetings with the Greek Cypriot Administration regarding its full membership in the EU. When he was receiving members of the Association of Diplomatic Correspondents yesterday, Denktas said: "We have received information that the European Union's response to the Greek Cypriots will be 'first solve the problem of Cyprus so that we can start'. The European Union does not want a divided Cyprus. I think they will have to wait for 30 years more." He also mentioned the TRNC parliament's extraordinary meeting yesterday, noting the members' determination to resist participating in EU where Greece is a full member, and Turkey is not. Denktas stressed that Greece was aiming at political, not economic goals. /Hurriyet/[16] NEW GAP AIRPORTNew investment worth of trillions of TL will be launched in southeastern Anatolia, which is seen as one of the tourism centers of the future because of its historic and natural riches. An international airport, the foundation of which is to be laid on April 28 in a location 21 kilometre away from Urfa , will be built by a consortium of three Turkish construction companies in 30 months. /Hurriyet/[17] ZIRAAT BANK TO OPEN BRANCH IN BULGARIATurkey's biggest state bank Ziraat Bank plans to open a branch in Bulgaria, Bulgarian Prime Minister Ivan Kostov said. "The Bulgarian National (central) Bank will issue a branch operation license after Ziraat Bank submits the required set of documents" Kostov told reporters after a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Mesut Yilmaz over the weekend. Setting up a joint free trade zone was also discussed.[18] NUMBER OF TOURISTS UPDuring January 1998, 348,164 tourists visited Turkey, an increase of 15 %. According to the State Statistics Institution (DIE) 302,452 tourists visited Turkey in the same period last year. /Milliyet/Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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