|
|
|
Turkish Press Review, 98-06-08
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
08.06.98
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] IMF SAYS TURKISH ECONOMIC PROGRESS IS ENCOURAGING
[02] NEW LEVERAGE APPEARS IN TURCO-GERMAN RELATIONS
[03] 89TH LABOUR CONFERENCE
[04] ERSUMER VISITS CANADA AND US
[05] BASESGIOGLU TO ATTEND UN MEETING
[06] TURKS LEAVE TROUBLED AREA
[07] HEROIN WORTH TL 10 TRILLION SEIZED
[08] PRODUCTION INCREASES IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY
[09] WORLD BANK SUPPORT FOR FLOOD DISASTER
[10] PKK BOMB TEAM SEIZED IN ISTANBUL
[11] SEA WOLF '98 MILITARY EXERCISE
[12] JORDAN TO USE TURKISH AIR SPACE
[13] SOUTHEAST EUROPEAN BUSINESSMEN'S CONFERENCE
[14] NEW SHAPE IN EU-TURKEY RELATIONS
[15] BOSPHORUS PROTEST
[16] DEMIREL COMMENTS ON EARLY ELECTION AGREEMENTS
[17] MISSILES TO ARRIVE IN CYPRUS IN AUGUST
[18] GERMAN TOURISTS IN TURKEY
[19] INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS IN IZMIR AND ISTANBUL
[01] IMF SAYS TURKISH ECONOMIC PROGRESS IS ENCOURAGING
Stanley Fischer, the first deputy president of the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), referred on Sunday to developments in the Turkish
economy as encouraging, and said he hoped that the downward trend in
inflation would continue into 1999. Before his departure from Turkey,
Fischer made statements about his meetings with Prime Minister Mesut
Yilmaz, State Minister Gunes Taner, top level bureaucrats and
representatives from the private sector of Istanbul. Pointing out that
he had read prior to his visit the draft report evaluating Turkey, which
Martin Hardy, the chief of the IMF Turkey desk, had prepared, Fischer
said during his meetings in Istanbul he had seen that the economic
programme being followed in Turkey was encouraging.
Meanwhile, State Minister Gunes Taner said Turkey had displayed a
performance which was beyond the expectations of the IMF delegation.
Taner said with such developments in the economy, expectations regarding
the downward trend of inflation in 1998 had become stronger. In a press
conference at Ataturk Airport following Fischer's departure from Turkey,
Taner said that the IMF delegation had found the opportunity to talk
about economic and political stability in Turkey with organizations
other than the government. He noted that a standby agreement with the
IMF was not on the agenda. /All papers/
[02] NEW LEVERAGE APPEARS IN TURCO-GERMAN RELATIONS
The German-Turk Foundation (DTS), which recently opened in Hamburg,
will attempt to ease recently tense relations and develop ties between
Turkey and Germany. The DTS is one of the most powerful Turkish
foundations established outside of Turkey and has such prominent members
from the large Turco-German community as the owner of Oger Tours, Vural
Oger, and the publisher of the leading German daily Die Zeit, Dr.Theo
Sommer. In a meeting last week, Sommer said: "The DTS will lobby
intensely for Turkey's accession into the European Union (EU)". The DTS
will open a branch in Istanbul within two months. /All papers/
[03] 89TH LABOUR CONFERENCE
Labour and Social Security Minister Nami Cagan, Chairman of the
Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions (TISK) Refik Baydur and
Chairman of the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers' Unions (DISK)
Bayram Meral are to address the International Labour Organization's
(ILO) 89th Labour Conference. The conference will take up the child
labour problem and will create more jobs for small and medium-scale
enterprises. /All papers/
[04] ERSUMER VISITS CANADA AND US
Energy Minister Cumhur Ersumer started a key official trip covering
the US and Canada yesterday. Ersumer left Ankara for New York, where he
plans to address a conference entitled "Financing of Eurasia Energy
Projects in the 21st Century" to be held by the East-West Institute.
Ersumer said he would discuss ways of financing energy transportation
projects in the east_west corridor. Ersumer will proceed to Canada
after the conference in New York upon the invitation of his Canadian
counterpart. Ersumer and the energy delegation will return to Turkey on
Sunday. /All papers/
[05] BASESGIOGLU TO ATTEND UN MEETING
Interior Minister Murat Basesgioglu will attend a UN meeting,
"Fight Against Drugs in the US". Before leaving Ankara yesterday,
Basesgioglu said the preliminary work for the meeting to be held between
June 8-10 was completed during an earlier meeting in Vienna. "Turkey is
helping the struggle against drugs whether it be within its borders or
connected with other countries" he said. He also noted that he would
underline the link between drug trafficking and international terrorism.
/All papers/
[06] TURKS LEAVE TROUBLED AREA
Turks headed for the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa yesterday in
an attempt to evacuate the country, which is facing renewed fighting
with Eritrea. Turkey's ambassador to Ethiopia, Murat Ilhan, told the
Anatolia news agency that a group of 160 Turkish nationals were
travelling by road to the capital and will return home on a Turkish
Airlines aircraft. ILhan also said there were a few other Turks in
Ethiopia, most of them living far from danger in the capital, and that
as far as he knew, there were no Turks in Eritrea, which he had
recommended people to avoid. Ilhan said the authorities in the country
had been very helpful in the evacuation of foreigners, and that both
sides had respected the cease-fire.
[07] HEROIN WORTH TL 10 TRILLION SEIZED
During operations carried out in Istanbul, 201 kg of heroin has
been seized. Information regarding the operations was given to Interior
Minister Murat Basesgioglu before he went to New York to attend a
meeting for the struggle against drugs. An official noted that 14
people have been taken into custody and said: "The market value of the
heroin totalled TL 10 trillion. Operations are continuing". /Hurriyet/
[08] PRODUCTION INCREASES IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY
According to the National Productivity Centre, there was an 18.2 %
increase in the manufacturing industry between 1992 and 1996. On the
other hand, there was a 31 % decrease in wages.
Meanwhile, according to Treasury Undersecretariat data, foreign
capital permitted in Turkey since 1980 totals $22.9 billion, while
actual foreign capital entry amounts to $10.7 billion. /Hurriyet/
[09] WORLD BANK SUPPORT FOR FLOOD DISASTER
Experts from the World Bank will visit Turkey this week to hold
meetings regarding the credit to be extended to Turkey for the
reconstruction of the area which was devastated following a flood
disaster in the Western Black Sea region. The credit is expected to
amount to $100 million. /Hurriyet/
[10] PKK BOMB TEAM SEIZED IN ISTANBUL
Interior Minister Murat Basesgioglu said yesterday before his
departure to New York that a 21-member PKK team had been seized in
Istanbul. He also revealed that the team had bombed a train in Istanbul
the week before, which resulted in the death of a passanger.
Basesgioglu noted that Chief of the Istanbul Police Department, Hasan
Ozdemir, would hold a press conference today evaluating the operation.
Meanwhile, a village guard was killed yesterday in Silvan, near
Diyarbakir, which is used as a base by the Hizbullah terrorist
organization, by an unknown person. /Sabah/
[11] SEA WOLF '98 MILITARY EXERCISE
The Sea Wolf '98 military exercise has been successfully completed
the Navy Forces Commander in the international waters of the Aegean.
Military observers from Bangladesh and Pakistan also watched the
exercises. /Cumhuriyet/
[12] JORDAN TO USE TURKISH AIR SPACE
Turkey, which is on the way to becoming one of the most important
countries in the Middle East, has decided to open its air space to
Jordan for training purposes. During General Ilhan Kilic's visit to
Jordan last week, it was decided that Turkish and Jordanian pilots would
mutually use their country's air space for training purposes. During
the visit it was also decided that Turkey would give simulated flight
training to Jordanian pilots in Turkey. Turkey will also hired-out two
Spanish-made Casa transportation planes to Jordan. These recent
developments in military cooperation between two Muslim countries,
Jordan and Turkey, will be a more deterrent in the Middle East than
Turkish-Israeli military cooperation, said diplomatic sources.
/Cumhuriyet/
[13] SOUTHEAST EUROPEAN BUSINESSMEN'S CONFERENCE
Heads of governments and businessmen from eight southeastern
European countries will meet today in Istanbul. The conference is being
held by the Foreign Economic Relations Consul in parallel with a
Southeast Foreign Ministers Meeting. Government representatives,
chairmen of industry and trade chambers and businessmen from Turkey,
Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia and
Romania will attend the two-day meeting. /Cumhuriyet/
[14] NEW SHAPE IN EU-TURKEY RELATIONS
It has been pointed out that Austria, which will take over the
European Union (EU) term presidency in the second half of the year, will
give new shape to EU-Turkey relations. Chairman of the Austrian
People's Party, Andreas Khol said in a conference on "European Union
'98: Problems Awaiting The Austrian Term Presidency", that Turkey-EU
relations should be improved and the necessities of the customs union
agreement between Turkey and EU should be meet. /Cumhuriyet/
[15] BOSPHORUS PROTEST
Thousands of people joined yesterday in a demonstration aiming to
protest the lack of concern over the dangerous situation in the Turkish
straits. The demonstration was organized jointly by nearly 100
associations which want international organizations to give more
attention to the Turkish straits, namely the Bosphorus and Dardanelles
which are seriously threatened by ships carrying oil or other explosive
substances. /Milliyet/
[16] DEMIREL COMMENTS ON EARLY ELECTION AGREEMENTS
Commenting on the agreement reached by Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz
and Republican People's Party chairman Deniz Baykal that foresees an
early election to be held on April 1999, President Suleyman Demirel
warned parliamentarians by saying that an election under the present
election system would bring no good to the country and that necessary
changes must be made in the system prior to another election. /All
papers/
[17] MISSILES TO ARRIVE IN CYPRUS IN AUGUST
The Russian Defence Ministry will deliver S-300 missiles to the
Greek Cypriots in August, the Greek "To Vima" newspaper reports. The
report states that the announcement of the delivery by Russia has
worried Greek Cypriot officials because it will further intensify the
tension on the Island. /Cumhuriyet/
[18] GERMAN TOURISTS IN TURKEY
One out of every four tourists who chooses Turkey for a vacation is
German, official State Statistic Institute figures show. According to
the same statistics, most of the tourists visiting Turkey between
January and April were Germans (155,639 or about 24 % of the total)
followed by the French (44,218 or 6 %) and the Russians (43,638 or 6 %).
/Hurriyet/
[19] INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS IN IZMIR AND ISTANBUL
The 12th International Izmir Festival organized by the Izmir
Culture Art and Education Foundation will begin on June 14, while the
26th International Istanbul Music Festival will start today. /Hurriyet/
|
