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Turkish Press Review, 98-12-18Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>18.12.98Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] ECEVIT MEETS CILLERThe Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader and Prime Minister-designate, Bulent Ecevit, has almost reached the point of making a final decision in his efforts to form a new government, 16 days after being given the mandate to do so. It is expected that Ecevit will meet Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal today. Ecevit met True Path Party (DYP) leader Tansu Ciller yesterday for the third time since he was given the mandate. Ecevit reportedly suggested to Ciller during the almost one-hour long meeting his latest plan for an 'enhanced minority government' which would include all parties expect the Virtue Party (FP).Ciller, however, said that this formula was impossible to implement and called on Ecevit to return the mandate to the President and not to waste any more time. She said the President should give her the mandate to attempt to form a government. /All papers/ [02] INONU BEING COMMEMORATEDEvents to commemorate the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey, Ismet Inonu, started yesterday. Ismet Inonu, who died on December 25, 1973, will be commemorated throughout a week as part of the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the Republic of Turkey. /Hurriyet/[03] ITALY: OCALAN IS IN HIS VILLAThe Italian Foreign Ministry and Italian Secret Police stated that the Court of Appeals in Rome released the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who is still lodging in his villa in Infernetto, Rome. The Italian Foreign Ministry made a statement yesterday morning upon an official application by the Turkish Ambassador to Rome, Inal Batu; the statement said that Ocalan had not left Italy and was still in his villa. The Foreign Ministry pointed out that the headline in the 'Unita' newspaper, a publication of the Communist Party, which claimed that 'Ocalan left Italy' was not correct.Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema held a meeting concerning Ocalan with Interior Minister Rosa Russo Jervolino, Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini and Justice Minister Oliviero Diliberto two days ago. During the meeting, D'Alema noted that the decision of the Court of Appeals in Rome did not change anything. On the other hand, among the countries to which the PKK leader Ocalan can go, are Sweden, Ukraine, Holland and South Africa. Some sources close to the Italian Interior Ministry claim that South Africa is most likely. /Hurriyet/ [04] DEMIREL: "WE DO NOT CEASE FOLLOWING OCALAN"President Suleyman Demirel laid the foundation of a geothermal power-station in Ilgin, Konya yesterday. At the ceremony, Demirel said that Turkey was a strong democratic country and it was an effective country in its region. Regarding Ocalan's release Demirel said that there was no country in the world that could give shelter to the murderer of 30,000 people otherwise they would be a partner in these massacres. Turkey was determined to continue following Ocalan wherever he went. /Cumhuriyet/[05] OCALAN APPLIES FOR THE RIGHT OF ASYLUMAbdullah Ocalan's lawyers, Giuliano Pisapia and Luigi Saraceni sent a letter to the Italian Prime Minister and the Minister of Interior Affairs asking Ocalan to be granted the right of political asylum in accordance with Article 10 of the Italian Constitution. Ocalan's lawyers pointed out that Ocalan preferred to stay in Italy instead of going to a third country. /Cumhuriyet/[06] REACTION AGAINST OCALAN'S STATEMENTSThe former deputy of the Democratic Party (DEP), which was abrogated, Sedat Yurttas, said that recent statements by Abdullah Ocalan had caused a great reaction within the PKK. Yurttas recalled that Ocalan's statements putting the responsibility for the violent activities on members of the organization, had caused anger within the PKK. He added that the PKK chief claimed that he could not take steps together with his party because of certain ideological differences between them. Ocalan said that he had abandoned the thesis of a united Kurdistan and he was for a solution within the borders of Turkey, noted Yurttas; he added that the organization depended for its struggle on violence and that Ocalan had reached the point where he could break his ties with the PKK.Ocalan's statements on MED-TV insulting his militants caused uneasiness and "leadership" discussions had arisen inside the organization. /Cumhuriyet/ [07] FOREIGN PRESS: ITALY SURPRISES"La Derniere Heure", the Belgian daily, reported that the decision by the Rome Court of Appeals to release Ocalan was "surprising", whereas "La Libre Belgique" drew attention to the fact that this decision did not mean a total escape for Ocalan. Meanwhile, The Times reported that the decision aggravated Turkey. /Aksam/[08] "TURKEY SHOULD REACT"Bulent Akarcali, the Co-Chairman of the Turkey-EU Joint Parliament Commission and ANAP Istanbul MP, noted that Italy had released the cruelest murderer of recent decades. Drawing attention to the simultaneity of Ocalan's release and the US attack on Iraq, Akarcali stated that the terrorist organization may engage in new actions in Northern Iraq and Europe. Akarcali also mentioned that it was insufficient on the part of Turkey to react merely on a diplomatic and political basis, but legal effrots should be made to reflect Turkey's sensitivity on this matter. /Aksam/[09] ANKARA DEMANDS ARREST OF OCALANTurkey, yesterday, demanded the re-arrest of the leader of the terrorist PKK organization Abdullah Ocalan who was released by the Rome Court of Appeals. Turkey's Italian lawyer Augusto Sinagra in his letter to the High Court of Appeals recalled that Ocalan was arrested following a tip off on November 12 in Rome on Turkey's demand and subsequent request for his extradition. Sinagra mentioned the expression stated in the judgement concerning the preservation of Turkey's right to demand the extradition of Ocalan. Sinagra also noted that rescindment of the extradition demand by the German Federal Court would not affect Turkey's continuing demand for his arrest or extradition. He asked the Italian Minister of Justice Oliviero Diliberto, to take the same initiatives towards Turkey's demand as he has taken towards Germany's extradition demand and ask the judiciary to re-arrest Ocalan. /Milliyet/[10] ITALY WANTS TO GET RID OF OCALANGerman press evaluated the decision to release Ocalan as 'surprising' and added that Italy had put itself in a tight spot. The "Suddetsche Zeitung" newspaper wrote that Ocalan preferred to stay in the district of Infernetto which meant 'small hell". Noting that it was impossible to grant him political asylum, the newspaper said: "The troubles of Italy will increase". ARD television stated that the sentence of the court had divided Italian public opinion. In the news it was pointed out that preserving Turkish-Italian relations was more important than protecting a terrorist organization. On the hand, "Frankfurter Rundschau" drew attention to the fact that the possibility of trying Ocalan at an international tribunal was fading away. In the editorial in Stuttgarter Zeitung it was stated that this was a surprise move by Italy and that the Italian government searching for ways to get rid of a Stalinist terrorist. In the editorial it was said: "To release someone responsible for the deaths of many people is easy for Italy, but it is not something that can be accepted by Turkey." /Milliyet/[11] SEZGIN IN BRUSSELS TO ATTEND NATO MEETINGSThe Minister of Defence, Ismet Sezgin, went to Brussels to attend the autumn (term) meetings of the NATO Ministers of Defence. At the end of the first day of the meetings a document was issued asking for the continuation of the struggle against terrorism. Speaking to his counterparts, Ismet Sezgin reminded them that NATO countries had political and legal responsibilities to cooperate against terrorist activities, adding that it would harm the reliability of the organization if these reponsibilities were not met. Sezgin restressed that the Republic of Turkey condemned all terrorist activities and was determined to continue her struggle against terrorism. /Cumhuriyet/[12] BILD: 'MOST DANGEROUS TERRORIST IS FREE'Many European newspapers have devoted wide coverage to the release of the leader of the PKK terrorist organization, Abdullah Ocalan. The German 'Bild' newspaper said: "One of the most dangerous terrorists is now free again. Italy, which did not extradite Ocalan to Turkey due to Turkey's death penalty law, is setting him free. On the other hand, Germany, which first issued a warrant for Ocalan's detainment in prison, later said that it did not want him. The result is that relations with Turkey have further deteriorated and there has been a great blow to the struggle against international terrorism".Augsburger Allgemeine: Bonn clearly admitted its failure. The Foreign Ministry noted that the establishment of a tribunal to adjudicate on the Ocalan case is not in their hands; the Justice Ministry Spokesman stated that a country willing to try Ocalan should be found. These are all shameful. The Guardian: The release of Ocalan was very surprising and Turks have reacted against this decision. Ocalan went to Italy on November 12 on condition that he would not be extradited to Germany or Turkey. The Independent: Italy released the leader of the PKK terrorist organization which has claimed the lives of 30,000 people and the Turkish nation has strongly reacted against this decision. /Hurriyet/ [13] OCALAN WRITES A LETTER TO SWEDISH PRIME MINISTERThe PKK leader, Abdullah Ocalan, has written a letter to Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson and thanked him for his support. Ocalan, who wrote his letter in Turkish and sent it to Persson via the 'Aftonbladet' newspaper, said: "Your assistance will play an important role for the solution of the Kurdish problem. If our problems of status in Italy are solved, I would like to meet you". Ocalan claimed that Olof Palme was killed by right-wing groups, which are against peace. He said that Olof Palme had not wanted Sweden to be a NATO member and had been an important peace-supporter.Meanwhile, Ocalan, who made a statement in Turkish to the Greek Meda TV channel by phone, said that he was disappointed over the stance of the Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, who had closed the door of Greece to him. Ocalan said: "I like the Greek nation very much". /Hurriyet/ [14] FRANCE HITS THE PKKFifteen PKK militants, tried for their membership of a terrorist organization, were sentenced to imprisonment of between 10 months to 5 years by the 14th Criminal Court in Paris. The court sentenced Lokman Tas to five and Idris Durmus to three years, both of whom were among the leading staff of the PKK in Europe and had been seized during a joint operation conducted by the French and Italian Police in August 1998. The criminal file of the above mentioned militants had been prepared by Jean Francois Richard, the French coroner who cross-examined Ocalan last week in Rome. /Aksam/[15] TURKEY EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER STRIKE ON IRAQAnkara yesterday expressed concern over the joint US-British strikes on Iraq. Foreign Minister Ismail Cem started the day by making Turkey's first statement on the attack and expressed concern over the possible results of the operation. He spent the day evaluating the situation with his leading aides and meeting with key figures. In the morning, Cem told reporters that Turkey would do its best to prevent 'negative reflections' of the US strike on Turkey."The Habur border gate was unilaterally closed by Ankara, our security concerns made us take this step" said Cem, who also expressing Turkish fears over a possible flight of people from northern Iraq towards the Turkish border. Cem pointed out that Turkey fully respects the territorial integrity and political unity of Iraq and urged Iraq to implement all relevant UN decisions so as to bring about an end to sanctions on the country. /All papers/ [16] OPERATION AGAINST IRAQ TO DOUBLE TURKEY'S LOSSEconomic circles reported that the US operation against Iraq would double Turkey's loss increasing the economic problems that Turkey has been tackling with since the 1991 Gulf War. It is to be remembered that during the 1991 Gulf War, Turkish workers and businessmen with construction works in Iraq came back to Turkey and Turkish Airlines lost $ 17 billion. In addition, was a serious decrease in exports to Arab countries, Turkey's market in the Middle East closed and the total cost of the war to Turkey reached $ 50 billion.Meanwhile, Silopi Governor, Mustafa Demir, announced that the Habur bordergate was closed for security reasons. /Cumhuriyet/ [17] THE US DID NOT ASK FOR THE USE OF INCIRLIKThe air strike against Iraq was assessed at a mini summit held in the Foreign Ministry. Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ismail Cem and State Minister Sukru Sina Gurel yesterday met high level bureaucrats from the Foreign Ministry for a coordination meeting. Prior to the meeting, Cem received the US Ambassador to Ankara Mark Parris. During the meeting, Parris stated that he had not asked for anything from the Turkish government, and that they attached great importance to the cooperation of Turkey in the "Northern Exploration Operation" /Milliyet/[18] CLINTON INFORMS DEMIRELUS Secretary of State Madeleine Albright called Turkish President Suleyman Demirel on Wednesday night a few hours before the attack and furnished him with information on the operation. The US Ambassador to Ankara, Mark Parris, yesterday conveyed a message from US President Bill Clinton to Demirel. Clinton said in his message that in spite of all warnings, Iraq has insisted on ignoring UN Security Council resolutions and Iraq's mass destruction weapons continue to constitute a threat against its neighbours. /Hurriyet/[19] TURKISH AMBASSADOR STAYS IN BAGHDADTurkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem said that the Turkish Ambassador to Baghdad, Selim Karaosmanoglu, had asked on his own initiative to remain in the Iraqi capital even though other Embassy staff and their families are returning home. Key Embassy staff, however, remain at their posts. Turkish staff and their families are expected to fly to Turkey from Jordan's capital Amman today. /Hurriyet/[20] EU RELEASES ECU 113 MLN FOR TURKEYThe European Union (EU) has decided to release ECU 113 million for Turkey to be devoted to the financing of three major projects, a statement from the EU Commission delegation in Ankara said yesterday. The EU contribution will cover almost 75 % of the total cost of the projects, which is estimated at some ECU 152 million ($180 million). The EU funds include ECU 55 million for a programme on women, health-care and safe motherhood, ECU 51 million for a programme on vocational training and education, and ECU 7 million for a restoration project in Istanbul's historic Balat and Fener districts. The funds are being released from the MEDA fund. /All papers/[21] IGS SEEKS TO MARKET CLOTHES IN USIstanbul Giyim Sanayi Ticaret A.S. (IGS), Turkey's leading manufacturer of men's clothing, is holding talks with several American buyers to sell its quality clothes in the US, a senior executive of the garments producer said on Wednesday. "We have prepared our collection and are holding talks with large American buyers" Engin Cinko, the deputy general of IGS, said in a news conference at its company headquarters. "Our target is to enter the US market" he added. /All papers/[22] 'CRAZY PEOPLE OF MESOPOTAMIA'Bekir Coskun, a journalist from the 'Hurriyet' daily newspaper, says in his article today: "The character-types of Apo and Saddam are very similar to each other. One of them caused bloodshed in the lower part of Mesopotamia, the other in the upper part. First, they came from the source of their own races and then created streams of blood. Both of them have committed crimes against humanity..Both of them are terrorists.. Both of them are crazy...When two days ago, bombs were falling around Saddam's ears, Apo was set free by his hosts in Italy. Actually, the reason is oil. While the US has been playing its hand in bombing Saddam because of its oil interests, Apo is an oil card for Germany.. Following the integration of Eastern and Western Germany, Germany has further developed. Against the Barzani-Talabani trump cards of the US, Germany wants to participate in the game with Apo..Italy is bowed down under his weight../Hurriyet/[23] HASHISH OPERATIONDuring operations carried out in Izmir and Manisa, 4.2 kilos of hashish were seized yesterday. Three people were taken into custody regarding the incident, the Anatolia news agency reports.[24] KYRGYZ-TURKISH JOINT COMPANYThe Kyrgyz-Turkish joint company "Su-Temir", which has carried out many projects, including the reconstruction of highways in Kyrgyzstan, will reconstruct Kirov Dam in the Talas province of Kyrgyzstan, according to the Kyrgyz news agency Kutma. The Kyrgyz-Turkish joint company will repair the Kara-Buura Dam in the same province, the Anatolia news agency reports.[25] NATIONAL PARK WORTH TL 18 TRILLIONThe National Park on the Gelibolu Peninsula in Canakkale will be turned into a 'Peace Park'. A giant project worth $60 million (TL 18 trillion) will be achieved with the cooperation of Turkey and the states that participated in Canakkale Wars, Britain, Australia and New Zealand, and will turn the region into an international tourism centre. The project foresees the establishment of an open air museum and is expected to be completed in 2005. /Hurriyet/[26] FIRST ROUND CONTACTS FOR TURKISH-EGYPTIAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENTFirst-round contacts concerning the Turkish-Egyptian Free Trade Agreement started yesterday in Ankara, reported the Anatolia news agency. The Undersecretariat for Foreign Trade said in a statement that the trade volume between the two countries in January-September 1998 reached $ 588 million, adding that when the free trade agreement begins to be enforced this number will reach one billion dollars in 2000 and two billion dollars in 2005.[27] AUSTRIA: "EU DETERMINED TO IMPROVE RELATIONS WITH TURKEY"Victor Klima, the Prime Minister of Austria, which took over the term of the Presidency of the European Union (EU), said that the EU was determined to improve its relations with Turkey, reported the Anatolia news agency. He was making a statement concerning the agenda tenure of the Presidency in the General Assembly hearing. In order to improve its relations with Turkey, Klima noted that they were working to activate the European strategy for Turkey following the decision of the Cardiff Summit.[28] "BLUE STREAM" PROJECT TO BE ACHIEVEDMeetings concerning the construction of natural gas pipelines in Turkey as part of the Blue Stream Project between Botas, the Turkish company, and the contractor firm are ended, reported the Anatolia news agency yesterday. A significant step was achieved in the Russia-Turkey Black Sea natural gas pipeline project entitled "Blue Stream" which comes under the natural gas purchasing and selling agreements to meet the increasing demand for natural gas in Turkey. After the approval of the credits and offers by the Botas company, the contract will be signed and the construction will start in the first months of 1999.[29] FREE TRADE ZONE TO GAPSanliurfa Governor Sabahattin Harput, reported that preparations to establish a free trade zone in the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) region were almost finished. He added that a 1.5 million metre-square region between Sanliurfa and Gaziantep would become a free trade zone. Harput also noted that a report concerning feasibility studies for the second free trade zone along the Sanliurfa-Gaziantep highway was prepared. /Cumhuriyet/[30] NEW REGULATIONS FOR EXPORTERSRegulations prepared as regards the recent decisions to rejuvenate the domestic market by reducing the raw material costs of exporters and the cost of foreign loans received by national banks, will be put into effect by January 1, 1999. In this respect, the rate of the Resource Disposal Promotion Fund (KKDF) taken from consumer credits and those credits allocated by finance houses are discounted, while the KKDF deduced from foreign credits is removed. /Aksam/[31] FOUR GIANTS COMPETE FOR TURKISH AWACS'The Undersecretary of Defence Industry is beginnig to evaluate the bids offered for Turkish Awacs' by Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing and Reyhton. The evaluation will be completed in May 1999 and the first plane will be delivered to the Turkish Air Forces by 2001. Four planes are planned to be produced within the project which will cost an estimated $2 million. /Aksam/[32] TURKEY PAYS OFF 675-MILLION-DOLLARS IN FOREIGN DEBTSTurkey paid off $675 million of her foreign debts in the first two weeks of December. According to data provided by the Central Bank, a total of $11.5 billion of foreign debt has been paid by Turkey. /Aksam/Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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