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Turkish Press Review, 98-09-16
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
16.09.98
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] SWITZERLAND SUGGESTS LAUSANNE FOR CELEBRATIONS
[02] CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF IN DENMARK
[03] COMMENT BY NEW REPRESENTATIVE OF EUROPEAN UNION
[04] WORLD ENERGY CONGRESS
[05] TURKEY AND BRITAIN SIGN DEFENSE COOPERATION DEAL
[06] TURKISH-ISRAELI JOURNALISTS MEET
[07] AMB.BRILL: "PROPOSAL FOR CONFEDERATION IS POSITIVE"
[08] GUREL RENEWS CRITICISM OF EU
[09] DENKTAS TO MEET WITH HOLBROOKE
[10] HASHISH SEIZED IN SIVEREK
[11] SLOVENIAN PRIME MINISTER IN TURKEY
[12] CAPITAL MARKETS AND INVESTMENT IN TURKEY
[13] SYMPOSIUM IN ISTANBUL
[14] CIVILIZATIONS SYMPOSIUM
[15] FIRES IN ISTANBUL
[16] TOURISM SECTOR
[17] CLEAN START FOR UNRECORDED REVENUES HOLDERS OFFERED
[18] "NO AUTONOMOUS KURDISTAN STATE IN N.IRAQ"
[19] PKK OPERATIONS
[20] YILMAZ, CEM AND CILLER TO US
[21] "NO VISA APPLICATION FOR TURKEY"
[22] BERISHA: "TURKEY AND THE U.S. SHOULD HELP US"
[01] SWITZERLAND SUGGESTS LAUSANNE FOR CELEBRATIONS
Swiss Ambassador to Ankara, Andre Faivet said yesterday that
Turkey could celebrate the 75th anniversary of the foundation of
the Turkish Republic in the historical Rumine Palace in Lausanne.
Faivet also said that the disapproval of Turkish request for
organizing a celebration in June was for security reasons.
[02] CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF IN DENMARK
Chief of the General Staff, Huseyin Kivrikoglu, who is in the
Danish capital of Copenhagen for a NATO meeting, watched a
military exercise of the Danish Army in Slagelse yesterday.
During a ceremony following the exercise, Kivrikoglu delivered a
speech as the head of the NATO High Committee, and presented a
plaque to Danish General Jesper Helso. The Danish General also
presented a plaque to Kivrikoglu. /Hurriyet/
[03] COMMENT BY NEW REPRESENTATIVE OF EUROPEAN UNION
The European Union has appointed a British bureaucrat, Karen
Fogg, as the head of its representative office in Ankara. In a
commentary she wrote for Hurriyet newspaper, she stressed the
necessity of a careful observation by the EU of changes and
improvements in Turkey. "My duty is to contribute to develop a
mutual understanding,"she stated. /Hurriyet/
[04] WORLD ENERGY CONGRESS
In a determination to realize the east-west energy corridor,
Washington has rolled up its sleeves to clear all obstacles in
the way of this major project. The newly-appointed US Secretary
of Energy Bill Richardson expressed strong commitment to solve
the Caspian dispute between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan on Monday
in separate meetings with Turkish Energy Minister Cumhur Ersumer
and Turkmenistan Deputy Prime Minister Batirbey Serciyev, which
took place in the margins of the 17th World Energy Congress in
Houston.
Richardson also reiterated the strong American support for the
construction of oil and natural gas pipelines that will run via
Turkey to the Mediterranean. Turkey rallies for the construction
of an oil pipeline from Azerbaijan's capital of Baku to Turkey's
Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. /All papers/
[05] TURKEY AND BRITAIN SIGN DEFENSE COOPERATION DEAL
Turkish and British officials yesterday signed a defense industry
cooperation agreement. The agreement coincides with the arrival
of the British Defense Secretary George Robertson for two-day
official talks. Receiving his British counterpart, Turkish Deputy
Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ismet Sezgin said that Turkey
and Britain, both NATO allies, have always had friendly bilateral
ties.
Robertson said that Britain views Turkey as the most valuable
NATO ally. Apart from Sezgin, Robertson is scheduled to meet with
Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and Foreign Minister Ismail Cem. /All
papers/
[06] TURKISH-ISRAELI JOURNALISTS MEET
The Turkish Journalists' Association has organized a meeting
between Turkish and Israeli journalists and intellectuals. The
two-day meeting which started yesterday in Istanbul covers
geopolitical and historical matters involving Turkey, Israel and
the Middle East. /Sabah/
[07] AMB.BRILL: "PROPOSAL FOR CONFEDERATION IS POSITIVE"
US Ambassador to Nicosia Kenneth Brill commented yesterday the
proposal of Turkish Cypirot President Rauf Denktas for the
establishment of a Cyprus Confederation as a permanent solution
in Cyprus. "It is a political and not a military proposal. That
is why it is useful and positive" Ambassador Brill was quoted as
saying by the Anatolia news agency.
Ambassador Brill was speaking after a meeting with Greek Cypriot
Leader Glafkos Klerides, which took place prior to the upcoming
UN General Assembly session where the Cyprus issue is expected to
be high on the agenda. In a related development, President of the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Rauf Denktas received
yesterday a delegation of British deputies, headed by Peter
Amery, a member of the parliamentary foreign relations committee.
[08] GUREL RENEWS CRITICISM OF EU
State Minister Sukru Sina Gurel, responsible for relations with
the European Union (EU) and Cyprus affairs, lashed out at the EU
yesterday criticizing it for not taking any action to fulfil its
commitments to Turkey. In an opening speech at a meeting of the
EU Coordination Council, Gurel accused the Union of being
"negligent" with respect to its promises to release EU financial
aid to Turkey, which was supposed to be released in 1995 but has
been blocked by Greece since then.
Gurel also complained that Turkey was not associated enough to
Union works on the proper implementation of the customs union
between the EU and Turkey. He stressed that Turkey was expanding
efforts to fulfill its obligations towards the Union, but noted
that the EU stance continued to be vague. /Cumhuriyet/
[09] DENKTAS TO MEET WITH HOLBROOKE
Rauf Denktas, President of the Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus (TRNC), will meet with Richard Holbrooke, US President
Bill Clinton's former Special Representative to Cyprus, during
his visit to the US to start on September 29, the Anatolia news
agency reports. President Denktas earlier announced that during
his visit to New York, he will meet with Kofi Annan,
Secretary-General of the UN, to brief him on the confederation
proposal and the latest situation on Cyprus.
[10] HASHISH SEIZED IN SIVEREK
In the Siverek district of Sanliurfa, 1.5 kilograms of hashish
were seized by security forces yesterday. One person was taken
into custody regarding the incident, the Anatolia news agency
reported.
[11] SLOVENIAN PRIME MINISTER IN TURKEY
Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek arrived in Turkey
yesterday as the official guest of Turkish Prime Minister Mesut
Yilmaz. Drnovsek was welcomed by State Minister Rustu Kazim
Yucelen and other officials at Ankara's Esenboga Airport. A
bilateral protocol on cooperation between the Turkish and
Slovenian foreign ministries was signed. Drnovsek is scheduled to
meet with Parliament Speaker Hikmet Cetin today. /All papers/
[12] CAPITAL MARKETS AND INVESTMENT IN TURKEY
A meeting on "Capital Markets and Investment in Turkey" will be
held on September 18 in London. During the meeting organized by
the Turkish-British Business Council, investment opportunities in
Turkey will explained to British and American investors, the
Anatolia news agency reported. State Minister Gunes Taner,
Undersecretariat of Transportation Ministry Sureyya Yucel Ozden,
Head of Central Bank Gazi Ercel, Deputy Undersecretariat of
Treasury Cuneyt Sel, Head of the Privatization Administration
Ugur Bayar, Head of the Istanbul Stock Exchanges Osman Birsen and
Turkish Ambassador to London Ozdem Sanberk will participate in
the meeting.
[13] SYMPOSIUM IN ISTANBUL
A symposium on "Problems created by the Oil Transportation in the
Mediterranean and Black Sea Regions" jointly organized by the
Bogazici University and Manchester University started yesterday
in Istanbul. During an opening ceremony, Dr.J.T.Turner from the
Manchester University presented a plaque to Dean of the Bogazici
University, Prof.Ustun Erguder. /Cumhuriyet/
[14] CIVILIZATIONS SYMPOSIUM
A symposium on "Dialogue among civilizations" will be held in
Diyarbakir on September 18-20. The symposium organized by the
Diyarbakir Municipality will be attended by 27 scientists from
Turkey, the US, Belgium, France, Britain, Egypt, Iran and
Pakistan. /Cumhuriyet/
[15] FIRES IN ISTANBUL
The fires which began at 27 separate places over five days and
burned 200 hectares of land have been gotten under control. All
the fire brigade teams in Istanbul including reinforcements from
the neighbouring province and districts worked without a break.
The crisis desk has been created under the chairmanship of
Forestry Minister Ersin Taranoglu. /All papers/
[16] TOURISM SECTOR
The number of tourists who visited Turkey in the first eight
months of 1998 increased by 2.29 % compared to the same period
last year. The number of tourists from Romania, France, Britain,
the US, Holland and Bulgaria increased by 75.38 %, 34.69 %, 8.84
%, 21.79 %, 25.29 % and 32.31 % respectively, according to a
press release issued by the Turkish Hotel Association. /All
papers/
[17] CLEAN START FOR UNRECORDED REVENUES HOLDERS OFFERED
A financial circular took effect yesterday when it was published
in the Official Gazette. The circular aims at broadening the tax
base and registering unrecorded revenues before September 30. If
previously unrecorded revenues are deposited in banks on
September 30 and kept in the bank for one full day, the
depositors will be given "tax amnesty". Funds over TL 3.5 billion
that are deposited in the bank on this date will be subject to
investigation as of January 1, 1999. /All papers/
[18] "NO AUTONOMOUS KURDISTAN STATE IN N.IRAQ"
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader, Celal Talabani said
that Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos misinformed the
world public opinion. Talabani noted that they had not negotiated
with Greece to establish an autonomous Kurdistan state in
northern Iraq including a region of Turkey. Accusing Pangalos of
giving misinformation to the world public opinion, Talabani
refused the claims about the efforts to establish a new 'Cyprus'
in northern Iraq. /Sabah/
[19] PKK OPERATIONS
Operations conducted by Turkish security forces in Farasin region
of Sirnak have been continuing since September 11. During the
last 24 hours eight terrorists were killed and the number of
terrorists killed since the beginning of the operation has risen
to 24. Military officials announced that operations would
continue. /Sabah/
[20] YILMAZ, CEM AND CILLER TO US
Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and Foreign Minister Ismail
Cem will attend the new term opening session of the United
Nations General Council (UN) in New York. Ismail Cem will go to
New York on 19 September whereas Mesut Yilmaz will go on 22
September. Yilmaz will give a speech at the Council on 24
September. Both Yilmaz and Cem will hold bilateral meetings with
prime ministers and ministers of the countries attending the
opening session of the Council. In his speech Yilmaz will express
Turkey's foreign policy, Cyprus issue and S-300 missiles besides
other issues.
On the other hand, the True Path Party (DYP) leader Tansu Ciller
will attend academic conferences organized by Boston University
and Princeton University in the US. /Milliyet/
[21] "NO VISA APPLICATION FOR TURKEY"
The European Parliament Green Party requested the abolition of EU
some visa requirements for Turkish citizens in Europe. The
European Parliament will discuss today the request which asks new
arrangements to ease travelling of Turkish families living in EU
countries when they travel in EU borders. The request also
comprises Turkish businessmen trading with EU countries.
/Milliyet/
[22] BERISHA: "TURKEY AND THE U.S. SHOULD HELP US"
Former President of Albania, Sali Berisha wanted Turkey and the
U.S to help them to re-establish peace in their country. Claiming
that the current government dealt with drug smuggling which was
giving harm not only to youth in Albania but also in Europe,
Berisha said, "Turkey, the US and other friendly countries should
examine the violence incidents in Albania and help us to
stabilize the negative situation in our country." /Milliyet/
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