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Wednesday, 18 December 2024
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Turkish Press Review, 98-10-09Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>09.10.98Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] DAY OF DECISIONSFollowing a "summit" of government leaders today, a new package of diplomatic measures to deal with the crisis with Syria will be revealed. The packet will contain the options that Turkey will offer as final solutions to Damascus. Although top government officials have already declared that Turkey prefers a diplomatic solution, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit again stressed yesterday that "Turkey will not wait much longer for Syria to end its support for PKK terrorism".Turkey meanwhile has briefed world institutions including the UN on Turkey's position with regard to bringing an end to the terrorism that has cost thousands of Turkish lives. Foreign Minister Ismail Cem has sent letters to the Arab states outlining Turkey's proposed diplomatic initiatives, and Ankara now awaits Syrian Head of State Hafiz Asad's reply to Ankara's conditions to end the tension as sent to Syria through the good offices of Egyptian Head of State Husnu Mubarek earlier this week. While Ankara debates both diplomatic and military alternatives, the Washington administration has again warned Syria that Turkey's threats to use force to make Syria cut its ties with PKK terrorism "must be taken seriously." Turkish Parliamentary Speaker Hikmet Cetin also stressed yesterday that the current situation between Turkey and Syria was very serious. He noted during a conference on security being held in Antalya that Turkey had taken the steps needed and that now the ball was in Syria's court. "Our every move has been towards ending this crisis peacefully. Now Syria has to do something", said Cetin. In yet another initiative to resolve the issue without resorting to military action, Iranian Foreign Minister Kemal Harrazi went to visit Damascus yesterday. After talking with Syrian leaders it is expected that he will come to Ankara to convey Syria's response to Turkey's demands for an end to Syrian-supported terrorism. The Cyprus Greek Cypriot administration has declared that it has taken the side of Syria. /All Papers/ [02] SYRIAN SUMMIT AT CANKAYA PALACEA summit to discuss the recent crisis between Turkey and Syria will be held today at Cankaya Palace, Ankara. Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, chief of General Staff Huseyin Kivrikoglu, Undersecretary of the Intelligence Services, Senkal Atasagun, commanders of the Armed Forces and other officials will attended the summit to be held under the chairmanship of President Suleyman Demirel. /Hurriyet/[03] WALL STREET JOURNAL "TURKISH ARMY HAS THE EDGE"The Wall Street Journal discussed in yesterday's issue the reasons for the Turco-Syrian crisis and predicted possible results. The report claimed that water supplies and the PKK were the most serious problems dividing the two countries. The newspaper noted that the Turkish army is one of the best trained and disciplined armies of the world, adding that if there was a war, the Turkish army would have the advantage. /Hurriyet/[04] US WARNS SYRIAThe United States has called on Turkey to be patient, and for Syria to take the necessary steps to diffuse the crisis. In a statement following talks with the Egyptian Foreign Minister, US Deputy Secretary of State Martin Indyk said, "Cairo and Washington agree that the situation has to calm down prior to evaluating Turkish concerns." Noting that the US will exert efforts to ease the situation, Indyk said that the best way to eliminate the tension was through serious dialogue.Completing a visit to Athens, Russian Defence Minister Igor Sergeiev stated that Russia was "extremely distressed" over the tension between Turkey and Syria. Sergeiev also said that he would go to Damascus and meet with officials there, and that Russia would look for diplomatic solutions to the problem. In another development Iranian Foreign Minister Kemal Harrazi has gone to Damascus for talks with officials about the tension between the two countries, and following his visit to Damascus, Harrazi will come to Turkey to meet with Foreign Minister Ismail Cem./Sabah/ [05] "APO STILL IN DAMASCUS"According to the Turkish Intelligence Services (MIT), PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, "Apo", is still in Damascus. It is noted that Ocalan met with members of the Muhaberat, Syrian intelligence, four times during this week. It is also on record that Syria is trying to mislead Turkey on issues related to the whereabouts of Ocalan. /Hurriyet/[06] OPERATION AGAINST SYRIAN BOMBER IN THE BLACK SEA REGIONSecurity Forces are after a Syrian terrorist code named 'Rodi', who came to Turkey in 1995 and trained separatists in bomb attacks in rural regions of southeastern Turkey . He was recently seen in the regions of Sivas, Tokat and Ordu. As a result of the operations to catch him, two of the terrorists with him have surrendered and three of them have been killed. An official said yesterday that the operations were continuing. /Hurriyet/[07] AGREEMENTS SIGNED FOR NATURAL GAS POWER STATIONSContracts for four natural gas power stations which will be implemented on a "build-operate" model were signed yesterday with the participation of Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz. 70 % of the power station investments worth 3 billion dollars will be met by foreign capital, while the remaining 30 % will be met by firms participating in consortiums.Out of the four power stations, three will be constructed by a consortium formed by ENKA holding of Turkey and Intergen of US, and one by another consortium named "Baymina" comprised of the Bayindir, Mimag and National Power firms. Energy Minister Cumhur Ersumer said at the signing ceremony that contacts for 21 dam projects planned to be built on the "build-operate" model were continuing and that his ministry aimed at finalizing a tender for a nuclear power station. /Milliyet/ [08] WORLD BANK VICE PRESIDENT TO VISIT TURKEYVice President of the World Bank, Jozef Stiglitz, a leading economist, will come to Turkey on October 23 to present a 1998 World Development Report. /Milliyet/[09] CENTRAL BANK FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES UPForeign exchange reserves of the Central Bank increased by $ 542 milllion and reached $ 22 billion, 20 million over a one week period between September 25- October 2. /Milliyet/[10] PARRIS PRAISES TURKISH ECONOMYMark Parris, US Ambassador to Ankara praised the Turkish economy in a speech he delivered during a "traditional" meeting held in Washington for marking the 19th anniversary of the Turco-American Associations Assembly.According to a statement released yesterday by the US Embassy in Ankara, Parris said that the "US continuously supports the Turkish governmennt in its efforts to implement the reforms of what it describes as `delayed structural reforms'." Parris praised the resolution of the government in reducing the inflation rate and maintaining the "close observation programme" imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). /Milliyet/ [11] BULGARIAN PRAISE FOR ATATURKA scientific conference on "Kemalist Ideas and the 75th Anniversary of the Turkish Republic" organised jointly by the Bulgarian National Strategic Research and Study Centre and the Atlantic Club yesterday began in Sophia, Bulgaria. The conference was opened by Bulgarian vice-president Todor Kavalciev who stated that Ataturk was the most successful statesman of the twentieth century./Sabah/[12] AIR OPERATION IN GABARAs silence prevails over the Turkish-Syrian border, warplanes taking off from Diyarbakır base, carried out air strikes against terrorists on Mt. Gabar near Sırnak. After fixing the location of terrorist groups, Diyarbakır, Second Tactical Air Force Command was asked for air support. F-16 and F-4 warplanes taking off from their base bombed Mt. Gabar used by terrorists for infiltrating into Turkey. /Hurriyet/[13] PARLIAMENT APPROVES TROOPS FOR KOSOVOOn Thursday Parliament unanimously approved Turkish participation in a multinational NATO force, currently being prepared for possible intervention to stop the continuing ethnic turmoil in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo. Parliament has authorized the government to decide on the number of troops and the amount of equipment to be dispatched, the deployment of the units involved. /All papers/[14] TANER, "TURKISH ECONOMY IS SOLID"State Minister Gunes taner, who is in Washington to attend International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank autumn meetings, completed his visit on Thursday and went on to New York. Taner met with IMF chairman Michel Camdesus and with representatives from Nomura Int., West LB, Credit Suisse First Boston, Vereins Bank, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Nordic Investment Bank and Bank Boston Securities.The Minister also attended the IMF-World Bank Governors Council meeting before going to New York. Taner stressed in his meetings that the Turkish economy was improving in accordance with determined targets, and that despite the Asian and Russian financial crises the Turkish economy was "solid." /Hurriyet/ [15] BALKAN SUMMIT IN ANTALYAThe continuing ethnic turmoil in Yugoslavia's province of Kosovo will be the top issue on the agenda of the upcoming summit of state and government heads of the Southeast European countries, which will take place on October 12-13 in Antalya. Political directors from the six participant countries, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Yugoslavia and Turkey, will have a preliminary meeting on Saturday to prepare the agenda and outline the framework of a final declaration to be adopted at the end of the summit.Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and Foreign Minister Ismail Cem will represent Turkey. Prime Minister Costas Simitis and Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos of Greece are expected to be among the leaders attending the summit. A face-to-face meeting is expected between Yilmaz and Simitis. /Milliyet/ [16] AWARD TO TURKISH PUBLISHEROn the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Human Rights Universal Declaration, the International Publishers Union and the German Publishers Union have given an "International Publications Freedom Award" to Ayse Nur Zarakolu, owner of Belge Publications. Chairman of the German Book Stock Exchange, Dr. Gerhard Kurtze, yesterday congratulated Zarakolu for her efforts to increase freedom of expression and the press and human rights in the world of publishing. /Hurriyet/[17] FISH EXPORTS TO JAPANFish caught in Mordogan Bay on the coast of the Aegean Sea, which is the cleanest deep water along Turkish coasts, are being exported to Japan. Because of continuous circulation, the bay is very clean and all kind of Aegean fish lay their eggs in the bay. Aegean fishermen said yesterday that there was a great abundance of fish this year and that they were exporting fish to Japan. /Hurriyet/[18] TURKISH ACTRESS GIVEN MERIT MEDAL IN GERMANYRenan Demirkan, an actress and author of Turkish origin living in Germany, was among 54 persons, including Peter Ustinov, Uschi Glas and Marie Luise Marjan, who were presented with a "merit medal" during a ceremony in the Presidential Palace in Berlin. German President Roman Herzog praised Demirkan when he presented her with the medal. /Milliyet/Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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