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Turkish Press Review, 98-11-26
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
26.11.98
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] 55TH TURKISH GOVERNMENT TOPPLED
[02] ISRAELI LAND FORCES COMMANDER IN ANKARA
[03] ITALY: WE DO NOT WANT TENSION
[04] YASED SENDS A LETTER
[05] UTKAN: NO STATE SUPPORT BEHIND BOYCOTTS
[06] TURKEY SENDS OBJECTION FILE TO ITALY
[07] PIRELLI WARNS AGAINST OCALAN
[08] ITALIAN AND TURKISH BUSINESSMEN PURSUE A WAY OUT
[09] POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS INFLUENCE TURKISH ECONOMY
[10] TURKISH HOUSE IN GERMANY SET ABLAZE
[11] TANER'S VISIT TO US CANCELLED
[12] TURKISH INVESTMENTS IN AZERBAIJAN
[13] OVAAKCA NATURAL GAS POWER STATION
[14] TURKISH HYPERMARKET OPENING IN MOSCOW
[15] ENORMOUS BURDEN TO THE STRAITS IS ON THE WAY
[01] 55TH TURKISH GOVERNMENT TOPPLED
Formed by three political parties (the Motherland Party-ANAP, the
Democratic Left Party -DSP- and the Democrat Turkey Party -DTP),
the coalition that has governed the country since July 1997 has
been toppled by a no-confidence vote. During the voting held in
Parliament yesterday evening, 314 members of Parliament voted
against ANAP Leader and Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz in a
no-confidence motion and, with these votes, which is more than
half of the absolute majority of parliamentary votes required,
the government fell. Ten members of Parliament didn't attend the
voting.
According to the Turkish Constitution, the old government will
stay in power until the establishment of a new government, but
Gunes Taner will not serve as state minister in the government,
as his tenure as minister has been ended by the no-confidence
vote. Again according to the Constitution, the new government
should be formed within 45 days. If a new government cannot be
formed, an election, or a caretaker, government would be
appointed by the President. This government is obliged to win a
vote of confidence in Parliament. According to the Constitution,
the Prime Minister of this government will be named by the
President and every political party in Parliament would be
proportionally represented according to their number of seats.
/All papers/
[02] ISRAELI LAND FORCES COMMANDER IN ANKARA
The Israeli Land Forces Commander, Major General Moshe Ivry
Sukenik, who is paying an official visit to Turkey, visited his
Turkish counterpart Gen.Atilla Ates yesterday. Gen.Ates said that
he was very pleased with the visit of the Israeli Commander.
Major General Sukenik said for his part that he would visit some
facilities of the Turkish Land Forces. Sukenik will later proceed
to Istanbul and return to his country on November 27, the
Anatolia news agency reports.
[03] ITALY: WE DO NOT WANT TENSION
The Italian Industry Minister, Pier Luigi Bersani, has stated
that they do not want tension to increase between Turkey and
Italy, especially in the commercial field. Replying to questions
following a conference on energy, the Italian Industry Minister
evaluated the recent situation in relations between the two
countries and said: "We are trying to ease the tension between
Turkey and Italy". The Italian Foreign Trade Minister, Piero
Fassino, said that the economic boycott in Turkey against Italian
goods should end and if it does not end, they would launch
initiatives on the international arena and within the EU.
/Hurriyet/
[04] YASED SENDS A LETTER
The Foreign Capital Association (YASED) has sent a letter to the
Chairman of the members of the Italian Businessmen's and
Industrialists' Confederation, Confindustria, and recalled that
12 out of 180 members of the YASED in Turkey were companies
funded by Italian capital and said: "We believe that your
organization and members will exert the necessary efforts for the
development of relations between the two countries". /Hurriyet/
[05] UTKAN: NO STATE SUPPORT BEHIND BOYCOTTS
Commenting in Ankara on a recent European Union (EU) statement
warning that the EU would retaliate against Turkey if it puts
state support behind expanding the boycott of Italian goods,
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Necati Utkan emphasized yesterday that
the boycotts were not a government policy, but rather the
spontaneous reaction of the Turkish people.
Referring to Turkey's demand for the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan's
extradition, Utkan said that the Justice Ministry's work on the
necessary documents had reached its final phase. Also yesterday,
the Italian Ambassador to Ankara, Massimiliano Bandini, was
summoned to the Foreign Ministry for talks on the ongoing
dispute. Bandini declined to comment on the content of the talks,
saying only that "the dialogue must continue".
Meanwhile, in an interview with the German newspaper Frankfurter
Rundschau, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer has criticized
the tone of Turkey's reactions to the Ocalan controversy and has
called on Ankara to stop threatening Italy. Commenting on the
effects of the Ocalan crisis on Turkey's EU membership prospects,
Fischer said: "Turkey's membership prospects shouldn't be
weakened". /All papers/
[06] TURKEY SENDS OBJECTION FILE TO ITALY
Turkey has sent its objection file against the decision of the
Italian Court of Appeals which released the leader of the
terrorist organization, Abdullah Ocalan. It is claimed that the
decision of the Italian court, which released Ocalan before
waiting for Turkey's extradition application within 40 days, was
against the European Charter for the Extradition of Criminals.
Turkish officials in Rome announced that the file would be handed
to the court today. /Sabah/
[07] PIRELLI WARNS AGAINST OCALAN
Having a significant investments in Turkey, Italian tyre giant
Pirelli sided with Turkey in the tension between Italy and Turkey
concerning the extradition and release of Ocalan. At a panel
meeting in Rai-2, Pirelli Executive Board member Ricardo Perrish
warned the Italian government that the right of asylum for Ocalan
would result in unbearable consequences. He also described the
Kurdish meeting held at the Italian Parliament in the late
September as irresponsible and implausible on the part of the
political authorities. /Milliyet/
[08] ITALIAN AND TURKISH BUSINESSMEN PURSUE A WAY OUT
Despite the campaign against Italian firms and goods, Turkish and
Italian businessmen met at Istanbul and discussed possible
measures for the resolution of the tension two days ago. In this
respect, Enrico Aliotti, the Chairman of the Italian Trade
Chamber, said: "The past of our trade relations can be traced
back for centuries", referring to those trade aggreements between
Italians and Turks at the time of Mehmet the Conqueror in the
15th century. "Such a relationship is by no means dispensible for
the sake of Ocalan. That will also be disrespectful to history".
A number of Italian businessmen attended the meetings whereas the
Turkish side was represented by Yavuz Zeytinoglu, the Chairman of
the Executive Board of Foreign Economic Relations Committee
(DEIK), Meral Gezgin, the Chairman of the Economic Development
Foundation (IKV), and Husamettin Kavi, the Chairman of the
Istanbul Industry Chamber (ISO). /Milliyet/
[09] POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS INFLUENCE TURKISH ECONOMY
The Chairman of the Turkish bureau and Chief Analyst of the
Japanese rating institutiton (JCR) Masami Shigematsu stated that
the Turkish economy displayed a successful picture in 1998, but
the political instability in the country had influenced the
Turkish economy. In a statement to the Anatolia news agency
Shigematsu said that inflation had begun to fall in Turkey due to
the measures taken in 1998, a Staff Monitoring Agreement was
signed with the IMF, and structural programmes had begun to be
implemented. Shigematsu added that due to the economic measures
taken, the Turkish economy had begun working properly. /Hurriyet/
[10] TURKISH HOUSE IN GERMANY SET ABLAZE
The house where a Turkish family lived in Hamburg was set ablaze
by people of unknown identity. Since the family members were not
at home there was no loss of life. The police stated that the
people who threw a burning substance through the letter box in
the door escaped. Police officials saying that there was only
damage to the house, added that, since the fire was noticed
immediately by the neighbours, a tragedy was averted. /Hurriyet/
[11] TANER'S VISIT TO US CANCELLED
It is reported that State Minister Gunes Taner will not go to the
US for IMF meetings because his tenure has been ended by the
no-confidence vote. The cancelation of the visit was conveyed to
IMF officials, the Anatolia news agency reports.
[12] TURKISH INVESTMENTS IN AZERBAIJAN
The total of investments in Azerbaijan by Turkish investors since
1992 have exceeded $1.2 billion. According to Azer-press Agency,
Turkey stands at the top of the list taking into consideration
the investments done in the Azerbaijani economy in every field
other than oil in the last six years. Turkey is followed by the
US, Britain and Germany.
[13] OVAAKCA NATURAL GAS POWER STATION
The Ovaakca Natural Gas Combined Cycling Power Station in Bursa
will be opened on November 28, the Anatolia news agency reports.
President Suleyman Demirel and Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz are
expected to attend the opening ecermony of the power station
which was constructed by the consortium of the Turkish and
Japanese companies and cost $512 million.
[14] TURKISH HYPERMARKET OPENING IN MOSCOW
Turkish Koc-Enka joint corporation is opening Ramstore-2, the
largest hypermarket in Moscow, today. The foundation stone of the
mall was laid on April 25 and the whole project cost 45 million
dollars. Together with a number of world-renowned brands from
Navigator_Camel to L'Etoile, and Sasch to Yves Rocher, the centre
includes more than 80 shops,restaurants and four cinemas with a
total capacity of 700 seats. The opening of the mall is
essentially important for Russia which is currently faced with an
outflow of foreign capital due to deep economic recession. It is
reported that Ramstore-3 will also be opened in 1999. /Milliyet/
[15] ENORMOUS BURDEN TO THE STRAITS IS ON THE WAY
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) project, which will
transport Kazakhstan petroleum to Russian ports on the Black Sea,
has officially been put into practice by the subscription
ceremony held in Moscow last night. According to the project,
67,5 million tones of oil are planned to be transported via
Istanbul and the Canakkale Straits while Turkey opposes the
overloading of the Straits, mainly for security reasons.
/Milliyet/
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