Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot Press and Other Media, 98-10-08

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From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>

TURKISH CYPRIOT PRESS AND OTHER MEDIA

No. 185/98 -- 8.10.98

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] ANN HERCUS' CONTACTS IN ANKARA

[02] ACTING SPEAKER: SYRIA OBLIGED TO FULFILL TURKEY'S DEMANDS

[03] TURKISH INTELLIGENCE OFFICIAL REMOVED FROM MIT

[04] DENKTASH'S CONTACTS IN CANADA

[05] TRAP/SKEET CHAMPIONSHIP IN THE OCCUPIED AREA

[06] GEORGIAN JOURNALISTS IN THE OCCUPIED AREA

[07] "LEFKA UNIVERSITY" TO OPEN NEW FACULTY

[08] TALAT TO MONITOR AZERI ELECTIONS

[B] COMMENTS AND EDITORIALS

[09] COLUMNIST VIEWS TURKEY'S MILITARY SUPERIORITY OVER SYRIA; IMPLICATES GREECE AND CYPRUS

[A] NEWS ITEMS

[01] ANN HERCUS' CONTACTS IN ANKARA

A high-level official from the Foreign Ministry told the A.A. correspondent that the Foreign Ministry conveyed to Hercus the message, "within the framework of the shuttle diplomacy, which was started with the initiative of the UN Secretary General, the establishment of an atmosphere of confidence and the decreasing of tension between the two sides on the island carry great importance."

The officials said the Foreign Ministry also stressed that the process should be oriented towards concrete and specific targets. Pointing out that the Ministry explained to Hercus that the indirect contacts aimed at military confidence building measures, the official said that the Ministry told Hercus that other issues will be put onto the agenda if a progress is recorded on this issue.

Hercus, within the framework of her contacts in Ankara, met on Tuesday with Ismail Cem, the Foreign Minister; Korkmaz Haktanir, the Under Secretary of the Foreign Ministry; and Faruk Logoglu, the Deputy Under Secretary of the Foreign Ministry.

Meanwhile, Necati Utkan, the Spokesman of the Foreign Ministry, claimed that the European Union (EU) insisted on not taking into consideration "the destructive effects" of its Luxembourg Summit decision on the island. Addressing his weekly press conference, Utkan evaluated the EU General Affairs Council's decision about the negotiations for the full-membership of Cyprus in the EU.

Alleging that the final communique of the meeting once more proved the "rightfulness" of the confederation solution for the Cyprus issue, Utkan claimed that the "EU destroyed the equality, equal sovereignty and founder partnership rights of the Turkish Cypriots stemming from the agreements signed in 1959 and 1960, and the EU brings the island to final division."

[02] ACTING SPEAKER: SYRIA OBLIGED TO FULFILL TURKEY'S DEMANDS

Hasan Korkmazcan responded to the questions of reporters about the relations between Turkey and Syria.

Pointing out that the initiatives for the solution of the tension proved that a solution will be found in the near future, Korkmazcan said: "Turkey has been facing an armed attack since 1984. Those attacks were prevented and their roots were eradicated within the country. Now, it is the time for destroying the external source of those attacks."

Stressing that all of the countries in the world are of the same opinion that Syria constitutes the center for the external terrorism and Syria was included on the list of "terrorist states", Korkmazcan emphasized, "we are determined to eradicate terrorism wherever it shelters."

Responding to another question, Korkmazcan said: "Turkey's stepping back is out of the question. The world also accepts that the terrorism against Turkey grows through external supports. The terrorism against Turkey didn't originate from domestic problems. We have lost a considerable part of our economic resources and a total of 30 thousand people died due to the terrorist attacks continued for 14 years. Despite our efforts to secure peace, Syria has continued her support for terrorism and made an effort to gain time with every initiative for a solution. Now, Syria will be made obliged to fulfill our demands. Otherwise, Turkey's initiatives for the solution of the problem will be concluded in a very short time."

When asked what he thinks about the support of the Arab countries to Syria, Korkmazcan said: "We will wait and see. Our experiences in the past shed light to us on the issue."

[03] TURKISH INTELLIGENCE OFFICIAL REMOVED FROM MIT

While Yavuz Atac, another MIT official, had asked to retire from the service when his links with gangster Alaatin Cakici became public, Aymur insisted on staying in the MIT.

Eymur, who was asked to resign or retire according to the common practice in the MIT, has been removed from office in accordance with Article 19 of the MIT statute and appointed to the Turkish Sugar Factories Corporation by Mesut Yilmaz. Article 19 allows the appointment of personnel incompatible with the organization to another establishment by the approval of the Prime Minister.

[04] DENKTASH'S CONTACTS IN CANADA

Prior to his departure from Toronto, Denktash had a meeting with Canada's largest circulation newspaper Globe and Mail editor and other senior staff members. He also met with editorial staff from the Toronto Sun and invited them to visit the occupied area to see, as he alleged, "the realities". While in Toronto, Denktash had meetings with academicians and lawyers who have an interest in the Cyprus problem. He discussed with them the issue of holding an international Lawyers Conference in the occupied area in May 1999. KIBRIS also reports that Denktash has given a telephone interview to Cyprus Radio Ilios correspondent Michael Kyprianou.

KIBRIS further writes that from Toronto Denktash went to Washington where he will have a number of contacts and will be a guest speaker on a CNN programm. From the USA, Denktash will go to Norway on 10 October where he will deliver a speech at Norway's Foreign Policy Institution in Oslo. On 13 October, Denktash will go to Denmark where he will give a conference and take part in a panel discussion.

Denktash will return to the occupied area on 17 October via Istanbul. (MY)

[05] TRAP/SKEET CHAMPIONSHIP IN THE OCCUPIED AREA

VATAN says that sportsmen from Germany, Britain, Luxembourg, Denmark, Russia, Slovakia and Turkey are taking part in the championship which will continue until 11 October.

[06] GEORGIAN JOURNALISTS IN THE OCCUPIED AREA

He said that they are pleased to see foreign journalists visiting the occupied area.

The Georgian journalists will continue their contacts in the occupied area the whole week.

(MY)

[07] "LEFKA UNIVERSITY" TO OPEN NEW FACULTY

The head of the new faculty is Associated Prof. Dr. Ulrich Kersting. (MY)

[08] TALAT TO MONITOR AZERI ELECTIONS

Talat, as a member of an observer team, left the island for Azerbaidjan yesterday.

Following a call from the National Democracy Institute, the 20-man international observers' team, among them Mr. Nelson Ledsky, former USA special representative for Cyprus, will monitor whether the elections in Azerbaidjan will be held according to democratic principles.

Talat, who has been invited to take part in the delegation, said that he was very happy to receive an invitation to monitor the elections on behalf of the international community. He added: "At a time when the problems facing the Turkish Cypriot community are yet to be overcome, to receive such an invitation is meaningful from the point of view of noticing the democratic experience of the Turkish Cypriot community".

Referring to the forthcoming "elections" to be held on 6 December in the occupied area, Talat said that being in the international observers' team demonstrates the RTP's sensitivity to have an "election" without the casting of any shadow on it.

Talat will be returning to the occupied area on 14 October. (MY)

[B] COMMENTS AND EDITORIALS

[09] COLUMNIST VIEWS TURKEY'S MILITARY SUPERIORITY OVER SYRIA; IMPLICATES

"Turkey has suddenly become the center of international attention. First, Egyptian President Husni Mubarak is in Ankara.

Second, Greek Prime Minister Simitis is scheduled to visit.

Even though this is nothing new, Simitis' visit is important because it is believed that Greece would side with Syria if there was a possible Turkish- Syrian clash.

The Southeast Europe Countries summit was held in Crete last summer and it was agreed to hold the next one in Turkey this year. Besides Greece, the summit will be attended by Macedonia (The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), Albania, Romania, and Bulgaria.

The exciting part will be Simitis' meetings. His arrival in itself will be a message since it coincides with the ongoing tension with Syria and the beating of the war drums. Had there been a question of Greece siding with Syria, a request would have been made to postpone this visit.

Now we can look into the possibility of a clash with Syria.

I put a very frank and open question to a commander who was at the very top of the Turkish Armed Forces until recently: 'What would be the outcome of a war between Turkey and Syria?'.

His reply was short and sharp: 'We could enter Syria on one side and come out the other.' He was stressing our clear superiority over Syria.

When asked about the long-range missiles in the hands of Syria and if they could hit sensitive targets in Turkey such as the 'Ataturk Dam' and leave a part of Turkey in the dark, he replied: 'They are not accurate. They scatter over a wide area. Our sensitive targets may get a few hits only by chance. Even then, it would not cause any major or irreparable damage.' In short, Turkey's military might is unquestionably superior to Syria's. Now let us look at the medallion's Syrian face. In Syria the media belongs to the state and newspapers and televisions are state enterprises. The Syrian media only quotes the Turkish President, Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, commanders, televisions, and newspapers. Absolutely nothing is reported about the opinions of the Damascus administration. But according to impressions gathered by foreign correspondents from their contacts with the Damascus administration, Syria's assessment of the situation is as follows: 'Turkey is so committed to the crisis that it is too difficult for it to backtrack. Only a concession from us could stop Turkey. Ankara expects the extradition of Abdullah Ocalan or some such gesture. But, we cannot do that, since it would be construed us buckling under pressure, something we cannot explain to the people and the commanders. We will, therefore, wait. Turkey would probably not initiate a full-scale war. It would hit a few targets. It will not go further than that. We would not respond with arms, but we would declare Turkey an aggressor to the world, expecially the Arab world. We would urge the Arab countries to impose an economic embargo on Turkey. In such an attack, the Shiite Iran, Iraq, Sudan, and Libya would immediately side with us. Even Jordan declared its disapproval of a possible Turkish attack. Greece, south Cyprus, Armenia, and Russia would also support us. Turkey's operation to hit a specific target would benefit us.' Let me also bring to your attention the domestic political pulse in Syria that I obtained from the same sources. Hafiz al-Asad is suffering from cancer. He is not expected to last long. He was planning to have his son, Basil, take his place. Basil was the president of the Syrian Football League champion al-Tahiha club. As cavalry major, he participated in world equestrian competitions and won cups. He liked fast cars. He was the de facto governor of Syria. The people liked him. But, he died in a car accident. His other son, Bashshar, a dentist, was seen as his successor, but he was unpopular and was not endorsed by the people.

Hafiz al-Asad's brother, Rif'at, shone and gained strength as deputy president. He is a secularist of Turkish school and was the one who decimated the Moslem Brotherhood in the notorious Hamah massacre. He does not support Hafiz al-Asad on the PKK (Workers Party of Kurdistan) issue. He believes 'Syria's image is being damaged as a country sheltering terrorism.' Seeing his political rise, al-Asad banished him to Paris six months ago, but Rif'at is still strong. He is particularly influential with the Armed Forces. A possible operation by Turkey may force the developments both ways. Faced with a foreign threat, the people and the army will either rally around al-Asad or replace him with Rif'at.

Whereas Turkey is not run by a clan or Bedouin mentality and we would like to think that Turkey would not have taken all these measures had it not 'calculated in depth the aftermath of the war'."

From the Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office (PIO) Server at http://www.pio.gov.cy/

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