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Turkish Press Review, 98-05-07
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
07.05.98
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] DINCMEN: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS ARE HOPE-INSPIRING
[02] NEW INCENTIVES FOR PRIORITY DEVELOPMENT REGIONS
[03] INTERIOR MINISTER VISITS ROMANIA
[04] TURKISH MILITARY UNIT IN HUNGARY
[05] MURAT OPERATION IS CONTINUING
[06] TURKISH CITIZENS TO VOTE ABROAD
[07] BAHATTIN YUCEL JOINS ANAP
[08] US REQUESTS INFORMATION ABOUT PKK BUREAU IN ATHENS
[09] AUSTRIA SUGGESTS NEW POLICY FOR TURKEY
[10] CEM ATTENDS PARIS CONFERENCE
[11] SYRIAN CLAIMS REGARDING HATAY
[12] TURKISH WOMEN IN DUTCH ASSEMBLY
[13] DEMIREL: "SYRIA TRYING TO HARM TURCO-ARAB RELATIONS"
[14] PAPANDREU: "GREECE NO DIFFERENT FROM EUROPEAN COUNTRIES"
[15] CETIN SPEAKS AT WASHINGTON INSTITUTE
[16] CEM OFF TO NORWAY
[17] TURKEY SUPPORTS POLAND'S NATO MEMBERSHIP
[18] HOLBROOKE VISITING CYPRUS IN JUNE
[19] ECEVIT: "HOLBROOKE'S MISSION USEFUL"
[20] "CYPRUS FEDERAL STATE"
[21] GREEK CYPRIOTS SYMPATHIZE WITH PKK
[22] DUTCH AKZO-NOBEL IN JOINT VENTURE WITH MONOPOLIES
[23] RUSSIA TO ATTEND THE TURKISH SUMMIT
[24] KOC CONGLOMERATE LAUNCHES GAP EDUCATION PROGRAMME
[25] IMKB, OECD COLLABORATION
[26] MOODY'S COMMENTS ON TURKISH ECONOMY
[27] INTEL NOTES GROWTH IN TURKISH COMPUTER MARKET
[01] DINCMEN: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS ARE HOPE-INSPIRING
Treasury Undersecretary Yener Dincmen noted yesterday that
economic developments in Turkey were "hope-inspiring" and said that
great strides have been made in reforms. Furnishing information about
IMF contacts in Turkey last week, Yener stated that the IMF delegation
had held contacts and meetings with public economy-oriented
institutions and said that they also regarded the Turkish economy as
hope-inspiring. /Milliyet/
[02] NEW INCENTIVES FOR PRIORITY DEVELOPMENT REGIONS
According to an official notice published in the Official Gazette
yesterday, the minimum amount for investments in priority development
regions will total $25 billion and $50 billion in the developed
regions. /Milliyet/
[03] INTERIOR MINISTER VISITS ROMANIA
Interior Minister Murat Basesgioglu, who is currently in Romania,
has held contacts in Bulgaria and Croatia within the framework of a
programme which he launched six months ago in order to cut the Balkan
route used by the PKK terrorist organization. Basesgioglu,
accompanied by a security delegation headed by Deputy Chief of
Security Halil Tug, who arrived in Bucharest as the official guest of
Romanian Interior Minister Gavril Dejeu, attended meetings between the
delegations of the two countries. The Turkish delegation emphasized
the importance of the struggle against terrorism, trafficking in drugs
and people, and organized crime. The Turkish delegation also
requested assistance from Romanian officials to block the passage of
ammunition used by the PKK via Romania to Turkey. /Milliyet/
[04] TURKISH MILITARY UNIT IN HUNGARY
A Turkish military unit, which will participate in the
Cooperative Lantern 98 Exercise on 11-15 May in Hungary, was seen off
with a ceremony at Corlu Military Airport yesterday. Commander of the
Turkish Unit, Infantry Staff Colonel Muharrem Bayram noted that
peaceful efforts initiated in Korea were continuing in various
countries and added that these kinds of exercises were needed to
follow technological development. /Milliyet/
[05] MURAT OPERATION IS CONTINUING
A total of 128 PKK terrorists have been either wounded or killed
during the "Murat Operation" being carried out by Turkish Armed Forces
in Diyarbakir, Bingol, Mus and Bitlis. Two Turkish soldiers died
during confrontations in Tunceli. /Milliyet/
[06] TURKISH CITIZENS TO VOTE ABROAD
The Constitution Harmonization Commission of the Turkish
Parliament, which is trying to prepare a draft for securing the voting
rights of Turkish citizens living abroad, has received a positive
response from French officials. French officials have agreed that
Turks can cast their votes at consulates and similar Turkish
government offices. /Milliyet/
[07] BAHATTIN YUCEL JOINS ANAP
Istanbul Deputy Bahattin Yucel, who recently resigned from the
True Path Party (DYP), joined the Motherland Party (ANAP) yesterday.
Thus the number of ANAP seats in Parliament has reached 140 and the
number of independent deputies has fallen to 15. /Milliyet/
[08] US REQUESTS INFORMATION ABOUT PKK BUREAU IN ATHENS
The US administration has requested information about the PKK
office in Athens. US State Department Spokesman Lee McLenny said in a
statement yesterday that the US was cooperating with Greece in the
struggle against both national and international terrorism. He added:
"We requested information from Greece about whether a new PKK bureau
has been opened in Athens or not. Some members from the Greek
Parliament have stated that extending political support to the PKK was
against the aim of reducing tension with Turkey and Greek
international responsibility. The US has officially declared that the
PKK is a terrorist organization. The PKK massacres many innocent
people including children". /Milliyet/
[09] AUSTRIA SUGGESTS NEW POLICY FOR TURKEY
Austrian President Thomas Klestil said that he was thinking of
inviting Turkish President Suleyman Demirel to Vienna. Klestil, who
will be EU Term-President in July, said in a statement to journalists
yesterday that he did not approve of the policy pursued by the EU
against Turkey. He noted that the EU should provide a long-term
European perspective for Turkey. He added that the alternative to
full EU membership for Turkey was Islamic fundamentalism, which was
not to the benefit of the EU. /Milliyet/
[10] CEM ATTENDS PARIS CONFERENCE
Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, who has gone to Paris as the
guest of the French-Turkish Friendship Association, attended a
conference organized by the association at the French Parliament
yesterday. French Minister for European Affairs Pierre Moskovici was
also present at the conference during which Turkish-EU relations and
Turkish-Greek problems were discussed. /Milliyet/
[11] SYRIAN CLAIMS REGARDING HATAY
Syrian Ambassador in Washington Velid El Muallim said in a
statement to the "Arab Network of America" TV channel that they would
bring the issue of Hatay to the agenda after they acquire the Golan
Heights from Israel. In Syrian maps, the Hatay province, which is
Turkish, is still being shown as a part of Syria. /Sabah/
[12] TURKISH WOMEN IN DUTCH ASSEMBLY
Following general elections held in Holland yesterday, Turkish
candidates Nebahat Albayrak (Labour Party) and Fadime Orgu (Liberal
Party) joined the Dutch Parliament. In the elections, parties on the
right have lost votes, and leftist parties have boosted their votes.
/Sabah/
[13] DEMIREL: "SYRIA TRYING TO HARM TURCO-ARAB RELATIONS"
President Suleyman Demirel on Wednesday said that there were
efforts being made to harm Turco-Arab relations. Answering reporters
on his way home from Tunisia, President Demirel said that anti-Turkish
feelings were trying to be provoked in the Arab states. Demirel also
said that Syria was agitating the Arabs against Turkey. Demirel
stressed that Turco-Israeli relations were not directed against the
Arabs. /Cumhuriyet/
[14] PAPANDREU: "GREECE NO DIFFERENT FROM EUROPEAN COUNTRIES"
Deputy Greek Foreign Minister Yorgo Papandreu claimed on Tuesday
that his country does not follow a policy on the PKK terrorist
organization that is any way different from other European countries.
During a press conference on the occasion of the upcoming Greek
presidency of the European Council, Papandreu said that if any
organization, including the PKK, does not engage in terrorist activity
in his country, then there was no problem. /Sabah/
[15] CETIN SPEAKS AT WASHINGTON INSTITUTE
Speaker of Parliament Hikmet Cetin delivered an address at the
Washington Institute for Near East Policy yesterday. In his speech
Cetin painted the picture of a robust Turkey which will continue on
its secular, democratic way "with or without the European Union."
Later Cetin held a press conference with Turkish journalists at the
Turkish Embassy.
Completing his contacts in Florida and Washington, Cetin
continued on to New York where he will meet with representatives of
the city's Jewish-American community groups, as he did in Florida.
/Hurriyet/
[16] CEM OFF TO NORWAY
Foreign Minister Ismail Cem will pay a two-day working visit to
Norway between 7-8 May on the official invitation of his Norwegian
counterpart Knut Vollabeak. According to the Foreign Ministry, Cem
will be received by Norwegian King Harald and Prime Minister Bondevik.
Bilateral relations and international issues will be on the agenda of
their meetings. /Cumhuriyet/
[17] TURKEY SUPPORTS POLAND'S NATO MEMBERSHIP
Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ismet Sezgin received
Polish Deputy Defense Minister Romuald Szeremietiew yesterday in
Ankara. At the meeting Sezgin said that Poland had shown great
progress in its democratization process. He added that Turkey would
continue to support the Polish NATO membership process. /Cumhuriyet/
[18] HOLBROOKE VISITING CYPRUS IN JUNE
According to diplomatic sources, US special presidential envoy to
Cyprus Richard Holbrooke is expected to pay another visit to the
island in June following the planned visit of US Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright to Ankara and Athens in late May. /Cumhuriyet/
[19] ECEVIT: "HOLBROOKE'S MISSION USEFUL"
Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said on Wednesday that
despite the apparent failure of Holbrooke's recent mission to Cyprus,
it had been "useful" due to the realistic and unbiased approach that
he had followed. He also stressed that for the the first time,
Holbrooke had mentioned the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
(TRNC)" and did not refer to Greek Cypriot Leader Glafkos Klerides as
"President". /Cumhuriyet/
[20] "CYPRUS FEDERAL STATE"
Russia on Wednesday revealed the full text of its proposal for a
fully-fledged demilitarization on Cyprus, in which the future
structure of the state there was described as the "Cyprus Federal
Republic". The five-page proposal, entitled "Russia's Initiatives for
a Solution on Cyprus" was handed over to the United Nations last
Thursday.
The Russian plan suggests the following basic points: the Cyprus
Federal Republic should not have any armed forces or reserves, except
for coast guard duties; the utilization of civilians as paramilitary
forces should be banned; the two entities of the federation (the
Turkish Cypriot and the Greek Cypriot communities) should have their
own police forces; and the security of the federation and its entities
should be guaranteed. /Cumhuriyet/
[21] GREEK CYPRIOTS SYMPATHIZE WITH PKK
Greek Cypriot Administration Foreign Minister Yannakis Kassulides
declared yesterday that they did not view the PKK as a terrorist
organization and expressed sympathy for the Kurdish struggle.
Answering questions on his government's policy towards the Kurds at a
meeting of the Human Rights Commission of the Greek Cypriot
Parliament, Kassulides said that to condemn the PKK as terrorist
organization, a court decision was required and that no such decision
had been reached. /Hurriyet/
[22] DUTCH AKZO-NOBEL IN JOINT VENTURE WITH MONOPOLIES
The Directorate General of Monopolies has agreed to a joint
venture with the Akzo-Nobel Chemical BV group based in Holland. Their
aim is to modernize tha Camalti salt pans by increasing production and
improving management. According to a joint letter of intent released
in Istanbul 53 % of the joint venture corporation shares will be owned
by Akzo-Nobel. /Hurriyet/
[23] RUSSIA TO ATTEND THE TURKISH SUMMIT
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Southeast Europe and Turkey
Director Martin Hardy will be speaking at the First Economic Summit of
Turkish Speaking States organized by the Social and Strategic Research
Fund of the Marmara Group. The summit, which will be attended by
representatives from Turkey, the Turkish Speaking States, the EU, the
IMF, the World Bank and the UN, is considered to be a "Turkish Davos".
The summit, which will be held on the 75th anniversary of the
foundation of the Turkish Republic, will be attended by Russian
Federation. This is the first time the Russian Federation will be
participating in an international meeting with the Turkish Speaking
States. /Hurriyet/
[24] KOC CONGLOMERATE LAUNCHES GAP EDUCATION PROGRAMME
An integrated educational facility was opened yesterday by
Trakmak A.S., one of the companies of the KOC conglomerate, a leading
Turkish business and industry organization. The non-profit facility,
aims to provide agricultural education in the GAP region. /Hurriyet/
[25] IMKB, OECD COLLABORATION
The Istanbul Stock Exchange Bourse (IMKB) and the Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) signed a protocol
yesterday for a joint project, aiming to develop IMKB information
exchange links, especially those related to the newly founded
republics in Eurasia. /Hurriyet/
[26] MOODY'S COMMENTS ON TURKISH ECONOMY
A high level manager from Moody's, one of the leading credit
rating organizations in the US, said yesterday that the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) might well give a verbal promise of support after
a review by the IMF to be carried out in Turkey and added that even a
verbal promise could provide Turkey with financial advantages in
international circles. /Hurriyet/
[27] INTEL NOTES GROWTH IN TURKISH COMPUTER MARKET
Answering questions by journalists in a seminar held yesterday in
Istanbul, Craig Barrett, who is expected to become the chairman of the
Intel Corporation, a leading software producer, said noting the fast
technological growth in Turkey that the computer software market in
Turkey was one of their target markets. /Hurriyet/
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