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Turkish Press Review, 99-03-01Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>01.03.99Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] FROM THE COLUMNS....FROM THE COLUMNS....FROM THE COLUMNS....[02] DEMIREL IN DAKKAPresident Suleyman Demirel went to the Bangladeshi capital of Dakka yesterday to attend the second Summit of the D-8 countries. Prior to his departure from Ankara's Esenboga Airport, Demirel said: "Mutual dependence between countries during the days in which globalization has become a reality affects every corner of our lives". Demirel was welcomed by the Bangladeshi President Shahabuddin Ahmed, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Turkish Ambassador to Dakka, Erdinc Olumlu, and Deputy Undersecretary for the Foreign Ministry's Economic Relations Department Ambassador Mithat Balkan, at the Dakka Airport. Demirel, who will participate in the opening ceremony of the D-8 Summit today, will deliver an opening speech as the current D-8 Term-President. Meanwhile, Ambassador Olumlu gave a banquet in Demirel's honour yesterday evening. /Sabah/[03] "TURKEY IS NOT ANOTHER BOSNIA"President Suleyman Demirel said that PKK terrorism was the most important issue which the Republic of Turkey had had to contend with since her proclamation; in addition, he added that Turkey was determined to remove this problem. Regarding the PKK terrorist organization Demirel said, "It has been clearly seen that the PKK movement is a professional organization which has been well-supported and aided in its preparations outside the borders of Turkey; it has been financed by foreign sources." Speaking to the TRT 1 television channel Demirel pointed out that the top officials and institutions of the Turkish State were seriously determined to remove this huge problem which Turkey has been tackling.Demirel noted that some circles drew parallels between the PKK issue in Turkey and the situations in Kosovo and Bosnia. He added; "In contrast the situation in Kosovo and Bosnia, the Turkish Army is the target of the PKK as it protects society from terrorism." Demirel stressed that Turkey had no problem called the 'Kurdish issue' and that others ought not to dare to turn the situation in Turkey into the one current in the former Yugoslavia. He added that if the dirty game played against Turkey was aimed at destabilizing Turkey, Turkey would not fall into such a trap. Demirel called on foreign countries, especially Greece, to cut their support for terrorism. "Turkey has already said her last word and now she will take any measures necessary to defend herself against terrorism," Demirel concluded. /Aksam/ [04] SIMITIS CRITICIZES OCALAN SUPPORTERSGreek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis criticized ultra-nationalist Greeks who support the PKK leader, Abdullah Ocalan, as well as PKK members who blame him for delivering Ocalan to Turkey. Simitis said: "The Greek government has extended humanitarian aid to a certain extent. However, it would have been a tragic error for the Greek government to let Ocalan enter the country. We had earlier announced that we would not be a channel for those who want to harm Greece". /Sabah/[05] A PARADE BY FAMILIES OF MARTYRSFamilies of those who have been killed by members of the PKK terrorist organization held a parade yesterday in the Mudanya district of Bursa along the route towards Imrali Island where the PKK leader, Abdullah Ocalan, is imprisoned. The Head of the Solidarity and Social Assistance Association, Sencan Bayramoglu, called on those who support the PKK in Europe and urged: "Give up this Crusade mentality of hostility towards Turks". /Sabah/[06] CIVILIAN DGM PLAN BY MILITARYThe Office of General Staff and Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit have prepared a plan, in order to "civilianize" the State Security Courts (DGMs), to be implemented immediately after the elections in April. Accordingly, following the legal amendment, military members will be withdrawn from the courts. Therefore, the DGMs will remain but they will have been civilianized. The plan is expected to be carried out in parallel with the schedule of Ocalan's trial, in which no military judges or attorneys have been appointed yet. /Hurriyet/[07] FILE OF TREACHERYThe Turkish Government has recently prepared a file concerning European support for the terrorist PKK organization by 30 European politicians and state oficials at different times. Meanwhile, it has been revealed that, in the past, Greece sent 20,000 Kalashnikov automatic rifles and 30 Stinger missiles to the PKK for its terrorist activities.To this end, many Greek officials have held meetings with both Ocalan and several PKK militants in order to arrange the flow of Greek aid to the terrorist organization during and after the late 1980s. It is reported that together with a number of Greek Generals, Mihalis Haralambidis, an advisor to Greek Prime Minister Papandreu and a Greek Intelligence Service agent at the time, went to Bekaa Valley in Lebanon and met Ocalan in 1988. Following the introductions, during which General Dimitis Matafias had been appointed responsible for Greco-PKK relations, Greece sent 20,000 Kalashnikovs to the PKK camp at Bekaa. Moreover, Greece granted the PKK 30 Stinger missiles, which she had received from the US due to her NATO membership, in order to be used against Turkish helicopters. On the other hand, it is also stated in the file that a number of German, Italian and British politicias and state officials have been helping PKK over the last 10 years, including the German Federal MP Heinrich Lumner, Hannover Mayor Grunewald, British MP John Austin Walker, Lord Avebury, and the Italian Communist MP Montovani. /Hurriyet/ [08] MED TV SUPPORTERS SEIZEDTwo persons, charged with transmitting Med TV broadcasts, the voice of the terrorist PKK, to imprisoned PKK militants, were seized in Mugla. The accused persons confessed in their first affidavit that they had informed PKK militants about the recent developments in the organization in the aftermath of the capture of its leader, Abdullah Ocalan. /Hurriyet/[09] BURNS: "GREECE MADE A MISTAKE"The US Ambassador to Athens, Nicholas Burns, has said that Greece committed a grievous error in hiding the PKK leader, Abdullah Ocalan, in its Nairobi Embassy. In a statement to 'To Vima' newspaper published in Athens, Burns expressed US concerns over the Greek efforts to hide Ocalan and said: "Greece and Turkey should stop the rhetorical war". Meanwhile, Greek Foreign Minister Yorgos Papandreu and US State Secretary Madeleine Albright will meet in the upcoming weeks following a request by Athens. /Turkiye/[10] D'ALEMA WANTS A FAIR TRIALThe Italian Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema has wished for US President Bill Clinton to put pressure on Turkey for a fair trial of the PKK leader, Abdullah Ocalan. D'Alema will go to Washington on Friday. In a statement to the 'Il Messaggero' newspaper published in Italy, D'Alema said: "Italy is against terrorism and supports Turkey's territorial integrity. However we cannot overlook democratic principles". /Turkiye/[11] RADU: "MOST OF THE KURDS DO NOT SUPPORT PKK"An expert from the Foreign Politics Research Institute, Michael Radu, has noted that most of the Kurds in Turkey and in Europe do not support the PKK terrorist organization and its leader Abdullah Ocalan. Radu said that the ideology and activities of the PKK were not in line with democracy. Radu said that it was very humiliating for a human rights organization to deal with the rights of Ocalan instead of those of the victims of terrorism. /Turkiye/[12] BULLETINS FOR TERRORISTSFollowing the capture of the PKK leader, Abdullah Ocalan, by Turkey, the Emergency Rule Region has begun to distribute bulletins to PKK terrorists in rural areas by helicopter. The bulletins urge the PKK terrorists to surrender themselves to security forces. /Turkiye/[13] SPECIAL RETINA-SCANNERS FOR OCALANASELSAN will produce retina-scanning equipment using NATO technology to help guard the PKK leader, Abdullah Ocalan. This equipment, which has the capability of recognizing people, will be deployed at various points on Imrali Island. After this equipment is put into service, everyone on the Island will be determined by a retina scan and only those personnel vetted by this equipment will be able to enter the area. /Sabah/[14] TUSIAD'S REACTION TO GREECEThe Chairman of the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD), Erkut Yucaoglu, said that Greece had had an unpleasant attitude towards Turkey. The realities revealed in the aftermath of the capture of Abdullah Ocalan, showed clearly that Greece always followed a policy of hatred and enmity towards Turkey, noted Yucaoglu, adding that Greece clearly supported terrorist organizations. He urged Greek businessmen to alter their government's point of view concerning Turkey and stated that Greece ought to cut its support to the PKK terrorist organization. Yucaoglu also stressed that Europe was a mere spectator of the unpleasant Greek attitude towards Turkey but made no move to rebuke Greece. He said finally that if Turkey had showed herself thus, they believed that Europe would have displayed a totally different approach towards Turkey. /Aksam/[15] PKK BROADCASTS FROM A GERMAN RADIO STATIONThe "Radio Freies Stuttgart" radio station, which broadcasts from Stuttgart with state support, allows the PKK two hours broadcasting time every Saturday. The station, which receives 200,000 DM from the Provincial government every year, broadcasts under licence and allows the PKK to broadcast in Kurdish under the title of "Redaktion Kurdistan". Evaluating the situation as a scandal, one of the leading newspapers in Germany, the "Bild", opposed the fact that the station allows PKK to broadcast using taxes collected from German citizens. In the newspaper report, it was said that the PKK broadcasts ought to be cut as soon as possible. /Milliyet/[16] OCALAN'S AIDES BECOMING A HEADACHE FOR ATHENSAfter sheltering the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, top Greek officials assisted in the international conspiracy that led to the terrorist leader's capture by Turkish commandos, an Ocalan associate alleged over the weekend. "We will not forget that our leader was captured with the help of Greek officials" said Semsi Kilic, who was granted political asylum in Greece. The allegations could extend the political nightmare for Greece, which flew Kilic and two other Ocalan aides from Nairobi, Kenya, on Thursday. Greek officials had hoped that helping Ocalan's allies would end the fallout that followed the arrest of the PKK leader on February 15.Meanwhile, speaking to reporters in front of the Prime Ministry building on Saturday, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said that Ocalan's lawyers had been disappointed after failing to find any evidence of torture on Ocalan and had, therefore, cut their visit short and left Imrali Island. Ecevit also criticized the Greek government for bringing three of Ocalan's aides from Kenya to Greece last week and granting them political asylum. "This act cannot be pardoned" he said. /All papers/ [17] THIRD TURKISH SATELLITE IN 2000Hasan B. Aktan, Minister of Transportation, and Atilla Sezgin, the General Director of Turkish Telecom, inspected the as yet unfinished production of the third Turkish satellite in France. Aktan said that the satellite, which would be completed within the next six months, would cost $ 300 million and be sent in space in the year 2000. Concerning the technical specifications satellite Aktan said the capacity of TURKSAT 2A was larger than the previous ones and would transmit 32 channels. In addition, Aktan pointed out, there was also a movable camera on board which would be directed towards those countries which requested to benefit from the service of the satellite. He added that it would serve in Eurosia, Turkey, Caucasia and the Turkish-Speaking Republics. "TURKSAT 2A is of great significance in increasing Turkey's economic revenue, ensuring a contribution to telecommunication services and gaining strategic benefit in the region. After the tests the satellite will be sent into the space in March 2000", Aktan noted. /Aksam/[18] SPAIN: "TURKEY WILL BE AN EU MEMBER WITHIN 10 YEARS"The Spanish Minister of Industry and Energy and Government Spokesman, J. Pique, said that Turkey's European Union (EU) membership issue would not be postponed for a second 10-year period. He added that Spain was always in favour of the expension of the EU. Pique rejected claims that the region plays an important negative role in Turkey's EU membership process and added that the economic situations of the countries' were important when it came to inclusion into the organization.Meanwhile, the Spanish Undersecretary of Trade, Louis Orgaz, said that Spain had given a $ 410 million loan to Turkey following the guidelines of the financial protocol signed between Turkey and Spain last year. He added that the loan would be increased if required. Orgaz noted that the loan had been extended to Turkey in order to increase trade relations between the two countries. Spain was interested in various projects in Turkey and the loan would be used in purchasing technology to be used in these projects, said Orgaz. It is reported that Spanish businessmen chose Turkey as their "economic strategic trade partner". /Aksam/Milliyet/ [19] DRAFT LIST OF CANDIDATESThe High Election Board (YSK) will declare the draft list of the Parliamentary candidates to run in the 18 April elections today; the list will be announced on radio and television. After the rejections will have been evaluated, the final list will be announced on 9 March. It is also reported that objections to the list will begin today once it has been announced. /Milliyet/[20] BAHCESEHIR SATELLITE VILLAGE PROJECT IN GERMANYA German delegation comprising businessmen, architects and academics visited Turkey last week. The delegation went to the Bahcesehir satellite village, which is a contemporary outlying settlement in the Istanbul area, and was informed about the project. After the visit, the German guests said that they aimed to construct a settlement in Berlin, taking the Bahcesehir project as an example. The Bahcesehir satellite project was awarded the "Best Institutional Project" during the 1996 Habitat II Conference in Istanbul and the "Best Settlement Units in the World" in 1997 in Canada. /Aksam/[21] TURKEY TO BECOME A CENTRE FOR NATURAL GASTurkey, constituting an important bridge between Europe and the Middle East and Central Asia and whose natural gas requirement will increase to a high level in future, has already taken precautions to meet her future natural gas needs. The General Directory of the Pipeline Transportation Company (BOTAS) has already signed six natural gas agreements with various countries. Turkey will have a 42 billion-cubic-meter natural gas requirement by 2020; and that Turkey has planned to export natural gas from Russia, Turkmenistan and Iran in the short-term and from some of the Turkish-Speaking countries within the Caspian-Mediterranean region in the long-term. Within the long-term project Turkey will import liquefied natural gas by sea from Libya, Algeria, Nigeria, Qatar, Yemen, Omman, Abudabi and Norway. /Aksam/[22] US: "WATER PLAYS AN ESSENTIAL ROLE IN THE REGION"An article written by Stephen Kinzer in the New York Times, a leading US newspaper, noted that Turkey, which controls water resources in its region, stands to gain a lot in the future. Kinzer stated that the PKK leader, Abdullah Ocalan, has been able to continue his 14-year war against Turkey with the support of foreigners and said that there were historical, psychological and geopolitical reasons underlying this support. Kinzer said: "Syria and Iraq have not extended any help to Ocalan because they love Kurds. They helped Ocalan previously because they wanted Turkey to give them more water from the rivers originating on Turkish territories, and they used Ocalan and his PKK terrorists as a means of pressurizing Turkey. The Turkish government, which implemented the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), is aware of the strategic importance of water". /Sabah/[23] 42 IMMIGRANTS CAPTUREDForty-two immigrants from Iraq, Iran, Lebanon and various African countries who illegally entered Turkey have been captured on the Istanbul highway. These people, who were about to go to Greece, were later sent to the Immigration Department. /Sabah/[24] AZIZ PRAISES TURKISH BUSINESSMENThe Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq, Tariq Aziz, has said during a speech in Baghdad that Turkish businessmen have shown the utmost solidarity with Iraq in the field of commerce. Aziz added that unless the sanctions imposed on Iraq are lifted, Iraq will not abide by UN resolutions. /Sabah/[25] SECURITY THROUGH THE STRAITSA tender to establish a 'Computerized Shipping Control System' expected to be launched in order to increase the security through the Bosphorus and Canakkale Straits has been postponed. The Maritime Undersecretary Office will receive proposals on April 12. It is expected that the firm, US Lockheed, Germany's Stn Atlas and Daimler Benz, the Dutch firm, Hitt, France's Thomson, Britain's Marconi and Italy's Alenia firms will participate in the bidding to establish the system, $40 million of which will be financed through foreign loans. /Sabah/[26] 15 MILLION TOURISTS TO VISIT TURKEY IN 2000It is expected that the tourism sector will rank first in the world in the year 2000. According to an analysis prepared by Ekonom Magazine, a publication of the Economy Correspondents' Association, the Turkish tourism sector has grown in line with that of the world. The analysis noted that according to a survey by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), 15 million tourists are expected to visit Turkey in the year 2000; the share received by Turkey from world tourism would rise to 2.08 % and would be among the top 10 countries obtaining the highest income from tourism. /Sabah/[27] 103 UYGUR TURKS KILLEDIt is reported that during demonstrations in February in Eastern Turkistan which is occupied by China, 103 Uygur Turks were killed and more than 3,000 were wounded. Meanwhile, China put its military units and security forces on alert in Eastern Turkistan and the Uygur Autonomous Region. A Human Rights Report prepared by the US State Department condemns China and Yugoslavia as places where human rights are violated the most. /Turkiye/[28] SARAJEVON PRIME MINISTER IN ISTANBULVisiting Istanbul Governor Erol Cakir, Beriz Belkic, the Federal Prime Minister of Sarajevo Canton in Bosnia, said they they have much to learn from Turkey concerning security issues. Belkic noted that they had undergone a very disastrous war, during which they had received remarkable support from Turkey. /Cumhuriyet/[29] MINISTER TURK GOES TO THE USHikmet Sami Turk, the National Defence Minister, went to the US in order to attend the Western European Union Transatlantic Forum Conference to be held in Washington. In his statement at Ataturk Airport, Turk said that the Conference will emphasize the improvement of European-Atlantic cooperation. /Cumhuriyet/[30] TURKEY IN EDUCATION AND YOUTH PROGRAMMES OF THE EUBy virtue of the efforts set into motion by Turkish student members of the General Forum of European Students (AEGEE), Turkey has been admitted to the EU Education and Youth Programmes following a vote in the European Parliament (EP). According to the decision, Turkey will be able to participate in the post-2000 timetable of the programmes. The Ankara and Istanbul units of the AEGEE have been lobbying across Europe in order to achieve the admission of Turkey into the Programmes. /Cumhuriyet/[31] HEROIN OPERATIONDuring operations carried out by members of Istanbul Security Office's Narcotics Department in Bakirkoy, Maltepe and Golcuk, 30 kilos of heroin worth TL 1.5 trillion were seized. Eight people have been taken into custody regarding the incidents, officials noted. /Turkiye/[32] BORDER TRADE HAS PRIORITYWithin the guidelines of a package to develop the Eastern and Southeastern Anatolian regions, the Foreign Trade Undersecretariat (DTM) is launching some new initiatives. Initially, the infrastructure of the free trade zones in the region will be improved. The Agriculture Fair held last year in Diyarbakir and Sanliurfa will be organized again and those firms which participate in the Fair will be supported. It is reported that the mediating offices of Eximbank and the exporters' unions will play an important role in the export of products. It is also planned that the Export Development Centre will arrange an effective training programme for exporters in the region. Official meetings to revive the border trade with Iran, Iraq and Syria will also be very beneficial for the improvement of the region. /Turkiye/[33] IRAQ: US HIT KIRKUK PIPELINEAn official from the Iraqi Petroleum Ministry, Salih Hasan el Hayat, said that during an operation undertaken by US and British aircraft, the oil pipeline which carries petroleum from Kirkuk to Turkey has been damaged. El Hayat pointed out that therefore oil pumping has been ceased. The pumping station for the pipeline is 40 kilometres to the southwest of Mosul. /Turkiye/[34] EUROPEAN JAZZ DAYS IN IZMIRThis month British, Italian, French, Austrian and Turkish jazz musicians will meet in Izmir. The sixth 'European Jazz Days' organized by the Izmir Culture, Art and Education Foundation will be held at Sabanci Culture Palace in Izmir's Dokuz Eylul (September 9) University on March 16-24, 1999. /Sabah/[35] GALATASARAY AT THE TOP AFTER 16 WEEKSFollowing a 1-0 win against Erzurumspor, and thanks to Fenerbahce's failure to gain points in a 0-0 draw with Karabukspor at the bottom, Galatasaray, last year's champion, has became the leader of the Turkish Premier League after 16 weeks. /Hurriyet/[36] GILBERT BECAUD IN ISTANBULIt is reported that one of the most upstanding artists in France, Gilbert Becaud, will give a performance on 5 March in Ciragan Palace in Istanbul. Under the sponsorship of the French Peugeot firm a "Paris Night" will be organized in Istanbul and Becaud will sing French love songs during the event. /Aksam/[37] TWO IMPORTANT TOURIST EVENTS IN 1999There will be two important tourist events in 1999 in Turkey. One of them will be the "St. Pavlus March" to be organized to celebrate the Millennium; the other one is the final eclipse of the Sun this century.For the former occasion, leaders of the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant branches of Christianity will meet in Turkey; there will be a pilgrimage between 29 April and 4 May, attandent by the Chairman of Religious Affairs, Mehmet Nuri Yilmaz. The pilgrimage will take in Perge, Antalya, Yalvac, Isparta and the island of Nis in the Egridir region. For the latter, a tourist influx to Turkey is expected to watch the final solar eclipse this century on 11 August. Almost 100,000 person, in particular especially from Japan and the US, have made their reservations already in order to follow the event. It is reported that the eclipse will last two and a half hours and will be clearly seen from Bartin, Kastamonu, Corum, Amasya, Tokat, Sivas, Elazig, Diyarbakir and Batman. /Milliyet/ [38] FROM THE COLUMNS....FROM THE COLUMNS....FROM THE COLUMNS....[39] ENERGY ISSUE -BY SEDAT SERTOGLU (SABAH)There are similar proclamations everywhere, in every capital, issued by the aides to the President or the Prime Minister..The State is pleased when it announces such news..However, if you receive news from inside the State and you leak it, then the State is on alert, a good example is the Turkish Petroleum Board (TPAO) issue..Energy Minister Prof.Ziya Aktas has read the reports of the inspectors and now he is to implement the procedures necessary.. We are determined that Aktas will do his best because he is an extremely honest Minister.Now let's recall some facts to Aktas' mind. Firstly, Mr.Minister, without including some of the Kazakh oil, there will be no Baku-Ceyhan..even though there have been some attractive proposals put on the table by the Russian lobby and Lukoil... Secondly, Azerbaijani and Turkmen natural gas will meet Turkey's requirements..Thus Turkey will get rid of the 'Blue Stream Project' which will make Turkey extremely dependent on Russia for her energy. Then Turkey will be able to use its money more rationally...We are awaiting Aktas' initiatives../Sabah/ [40] RIGHTS AND WRONGS - BY YAKUP KEPENEK (CUMHURIYET)Yakup Kepenek, a columnist in the `Cumhuriyet' daily and a university professor, reflects on the economic and political repercussions of the `Southeastern Question'. Kepenek writes:"It is obvious that the Southeastern Question has reached a new stage due to the recent developments. Now we have to leave sentimental responses aside and try to find robust solutions to this question. In the first place this is an `economic' question. It is estimated that Turkey spends $6-7 billion annually on the military struggle against terorism in the region. Can it be possible to convert such a gigantic monetary source into productive investments in the region? Yes, but there are several bureaucratic obstacles to that, including the efficiency and the capability of the administrative structure. Thus, in order to ensure the economic development of the region, either a unit should be established to this end within the State Planning Organization (DTP), or the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) Administration should be empowered through institutional restructuring. Moreover, there are problems within the GAP itself, including the allocation of the agricultural riches received due to the vast irrigation project in the region, the establishment of agriculture-based industrial plants, and both the re-population and the urbanization of Southeastern Anatolia. A more general question is the structure of land ownership, which still involves feudal and semi-feudal elements despite various efforts towards land reform since the 1930s. If the government wants to reach an ultimate solution to terrorism, it should first solve the questions of land ownership and unemployment. The `political' state of affairs in the region is obscured. In passing, I should mention a misinterpretation first: the PKK can by no means be considered a `leftist' organization simply due to the word `worker' in its name. The PKK, which survives on direct and indirect aids by some neighboring countries, has not yet put on its agenda the egalitarian allocation of agricultural land ownership in the region. It is obvious that an organization which has been nourished by individual deficiencies, provocation, deception and drug trafficking can never stand on a substantial socialist intellectual ground. Furthermore, the PKK's political purpose is still vague. It continuously vacillates between two poles of the political spectrum, between an independent Kurdish state and the recognition of cultural rights, which covers various possibilities from autonomy to federation. Last but not least, the PKK presents a non-homogenous, and self-divided structure in terms of its political goals. Consequently, one can hardly estimate the possible route of evolution of the issue at the politico-intellectual level. The `social memory' of the Turkish people is quite sensitively opposed to any idea to `divide' the country, mainly due to the gigantic price paid during the anti-imperialist Independence War. However, society should now crown the success against terrorism with peace. Nobody should consider our citizens of Kurdish origin enemies, who prefer that the country never be divided. Society needs inner peace more than ever now." Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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