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Turkish Press Review, 98-08-06
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
06.08.98
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] SECURITY FORCES KILL 165 PKK TERRORISTS
[02] EURASIA ENERGY CORRIDOR
[03] INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION INCREASES
[04] CHP PRESENTS REPORT ON SOUTHEAST
[05] FOREIGN MINISTRY TO BOOST TURKEY'S IMAGE ABROAD
[06] CARTOON FESTIVAL
[07] NETAS IN KAZAKISTAN
[08] GURDAL MEETS WITH FOREIGN PRESS
[09] TURK ON ICG BOARD
[10] IMF TO DISCUSS TURKISH ECONOMY
[11] CELEBI: "THERE IS NO ELECTION ECONOMY"
[12] FOREST FIRE IN MARMARIS
[13] ITALIANS WELCOME RO-RO CONNECTION
[01] SECURITY FORCES KILL 165 PKK TERRORISTS
Security forces in southeastern Turkey have killed 165 PKK
terrorists in week-long operations. Thirteen soldiers also died
in the clashes. A statement made by regional officials said that
Turkish troops have been conducting operations in the mountainous
areas of the Sirnak, Hakkari and Van provinces. Apart from the
165 terrorists killed in the operations, seven other terrorists
surrendered to the security forces.The troops also seized a
considerable amount of food and ammunition belonging to the PKK.
The regional authorities also said that 13 members of the
security forces had been killed. They did not clarify whether the
killing of security members was related to an earlier Turkish
press report saying that the PKK had attacked and injured 25
others. That report also said that the PKK had kidnapped 10
Turkish soldiers following an attack that took place on Mount
Kato along the Iraqi border. /All papers/
[02] EURASIA ENERGY CORRIDOR
Turkish Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Ambassador Yaman
Baskut said yesterday that the Turkish-US initiative regarding
the "Eurasia Energy Corridor" has achieved its goal. Baskut noted
that Azerbaijani President Haydar Aliyev's message regarding the
Baku-Ceyhan pipeline saying: "Baku-Ceyhan is my personal
prestige" was a clear message for those who have reservations
about the pipeline project.
In the meantime, retired US general and honorary president of the
American-Turkish Council (ATC) Fred Haynes said that the interest
of the US Congress and US business in Turkey's energy problem and
Baku-Ceyhan was still very much alive. Visiting Turkish
Parliament Speaker Hikmet Cetin yesterday, Haynes was briefed on
energy sources, the Baku-Cyehan pipeline and Turkey's growing
need for energy. Cetin said that Haynes was a real friend of
Turkey and that as a retired general, he also realized Turkey's
strategic importance. /Cumhuriyet/
[03] INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION INCREASES
Production in the industrial sector increased by 7.3 % during the
first six months of this year. Production increase in June was
2.4 %. According to a statement by the State Institute of
Statistics (DIE), while production in mining increased by 17.7 %,
production in manufacturing increased by 6.8 % and 7.8 % in the
electricity, gas and water sectors. /Cumhuriyet/
[04] CHP PRESENTS REPORT ON SOUTHEAST
Republican people's Party (CHP) parliamentarians presented their
party's report on the southeast region of the country to the
public in a press meeting held in Diyarbakir, the Anatolia news
agency reported yesterday. The report envisions reverse migration
to the region as part of a new regional development plan. It
focuses on the encouragement of livestock breeding in the
southeast and proposes land reforms to put an end to the existing
feudal structure.
[05] FOREIGN MINISTRY TO BOOST TURKEY'S IMAGE ABROAD
The Foreign Ministry is in the process of preparing a new,
comprehensive plan to boost Turkey's image abroad, adopting the
principle that one should "struggle to eliminate the negative
points and highlight the positive ones". Relevant departments
have already started preliminary work on the project, which aims
not only to improve Turkey's image but also to positively affect
the Turkish psyche, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday.
[06] CARTOON FESTIVAL
The 18th International Nasreddin Hodja Cartoon Festival organized
by the Cartoonists' Association has ended. 754 cartoonists from
50 countries attended the festival bringing with them 1,152
cartoons. Cumhuriyet newspaper special award was given to
Aristides E.Hernandez Guerrero from Cuba. /Cumhuriyet/
[07] NETAS IN KAZAKISTAN
The NETAS group has won a bid in Kazakistan for the modernization
of the telecommunications network there. The agreement is
expected to be signed in September in Kazakistan. General
Director of NETAS, Sait Gozum said that the company was exporting
technology to almost 20 countries all around the world, adding
that last year they realized $ 51 million in total exports and
that they were aiming ar reaching $ 70 million this year.
/Milliyet/
[08] GURDAL MEETS WITH FOREIGN PRESS
Tourism Minister Ibrahim Gurdal gave a banquet to foreign press
members in Ankara yesterday. At the banquet Gurdal said that a
British tourism agancy had asked for permission to establish a
holiday-village costing $ 15 billion and with a 50,000 bed
capacity in a region between Mersin and Tarsus. He added that
German companies would also like to rent land in the
Mediterranean region or along the Aegean coast to make tourism
investments. Such foreign invetsments a more employment
opportunities and foreign exchange, said Gurdal. /Milliyet/
[09] TURK ON ICG BOARD
Ersin Arıoğlu, one of the founders of the Turkish Science
Foundation, has been made a member of the International Crisis
Group (ICG), a multinational and independent peace organization
which played an active role in the preparation of the Dayton
Agreement for a settlement in Bosnia- Herzegovina. Arioglu thus
becomes the first Turkish man to sit on the board of the ICG in
which important politicians and businessmen participate.
/Hurriyet/
[10] IMF TO DISCUSS TURKISH ECONOMY
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will
discuss today the Close Watch Agreement signed in June 1998
between Turkey and the IMF. IMF representatives said that they
expected that the agreement would be fully applied in order to
get positive results in the long term. In line with the agreement
the IMF will closely follow developments in Turkey over
three-month periods. /Sabah/
[11] CELEBI: "THERE IS NO ELECTION ECONOMY"
State Minister responsible for the economy, Isin Celebi said that
there will be no loss of economic discipline beacuse of the early
election process. Celebi noted that inflation was decreasing and
that the government aimed to reach $ 29 billion in exports by the
end of 1998. /Sabah/
[12] FOREST FIRE IN MARMARIS
Nearly 15 hectares of forest near Marmaris was destroyed by fire
yesterday. The fire, which occurred due to a fault in power lines
means and fanned by heavy winds, was put out by a fire-fighting
team equipped with helicopters and heavy earth-moving machines.
Military units and civilians also helped the 450 firemen to
prevent the fire from spreading.
In the Mediterranean district of Antalya, a 90 hectare area of
forest was burned up yesterday. A 100 hectare area of a forest
near Kutahya, and nearly 100 acres of forest near Konya was also
burning yesterday. /Hurriyet/
[13] ITALIANS WELCOME RO-RO CONNECTION
The start of ro-ro ferry connections between Tekirdag and Trieste
has been welcomed by the Italian press. The ferry route set up by
the Ege Ro-Ro corporation is seen as a new connection for
transports between Turkey and Italy. A ceremony will be held for
the opening of the Tekirdag connection on the 8th of August when
President Demirel and Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and the Italian
Maritime Minister will also participate. /Hurriyet/
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