Anadolu Agency: News in English, 98-02-07

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From: The Anadolu Agency Home Page at <http://www.anadoluajansi.gov.tr/>

07 FEB 1998

CONTENTS

[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCAN

[02] TURKEY-IRAQ - COUNCIL OF MINISTERS MEETING ENDS

[03] TURKEY-US-IRAQ - SUMMIT IN PREMIERSHIP BUILDING - CYPRUS AND AEGEAN ISSUES AND UN-IRAQ CRISIS TAKEN UP IN SUMMIT

[04] TURKEY-US-BRITAIN - CLINTON AND BLAIR TALK ABOUT TURKEY

[05] TURKEY-UN - TURKEY BRIEFS UN SECRETARY GENERAL ANNAN ABOUT CEM'S CONTACTS

[06] TURKEY-US-IRAQ - DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER ECEVIT: ''WE ARE IN AN EFFORT TO DETER US FROM ANOTHER WAR''

[07] TURKEY-US - TRANSPORTATION MINISTER MENZIR LEAVES FOR US - MENZIR TO MEET BILL GATES IN THE US

[08] TURKEY-TERRORISM - DEATH TOLL OF TERRORISTS INCREASED TO 42

[09] TURKEY-IRAQ - DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER SEZGIN: ''TURKEY CALLS ON GULF CRISIS TO BE SOLVED THROUGH PEACEFUL WAYS''

[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCAN

HURRIYET (LIBERAL) INCIRLIK EARTHQUAKE
Government is in diffuculty. Two partners of the coalition government, Democratic Left Party (DSP) and Democrat Turkey Party (DTP) reacted to the usage of Incirlik Base in a possible US attack towards Iraq.

MILLIYET (LIBERAL) BUFFER IN THE 15 KM
Council of Ministers talked about war. At the moment US attack, Turkey soldiers will enter to Iraqi territory.

SABAH (LIBERAL) SADDAM'S HEAD ARGUEMENT
As decision to hit Iraq became clear in the US, arguement started openly to get rid of Saddam.

CUMHURIYET (LEFT) LOGISTIC SUPPORT TO US
Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said Turkey would extend logistic support to the US in a possible war that will erupt in the Gulf. Yilmaz also said a response will immediately be given in case fire is opened to Turkish planes which have a possibility to stage humanitarian aim operation.

YENI YUZYIL (LIBERAL)
15 KM SECURITY BELT IN NORTHERN IRAQ
Turkey will form a buffer zone if war erupts in the Gulf. Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said they decided to set up a 15 km security belt and a buffer zone called ''humanitarian support region'' in order to prevent a possible Kurdish immigration.

RADIKAL (LEFT) SADDAM LOST HOPE
Although diplomatic efforts are underway, US and Britain make plans for war.

TÜRKİYE (RIGHT) 5-WAY THREAT
Biologic and chemical danger is not coming to Turkey only from Iraq. Our neighbors like Iran, Syria, Bulgaria and Romania have such weapons. Ankara warned the UN and the US against the ''others.''

ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE) CEM HOPE IN THE UN
Foreign Minister Ismail Cem's contacts in Baghdad created a positive atmosphere in the UN. Turkey, Russia and France will submit a joint proposal.

FINANSAL FORUM (ECONOMY) YILMAZ: IT IS HARD TO REACH INFLATION TARGET
Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said crisis in Southern Asia and in the Gulf negatively affected the government's target to struggle against inflation and stressed that it was impossible to reduce the inflation to the level which we have to.

[02] TURKEY-IRAQ - COUNCIL OF MINISTERS MEETING ENDS

State Minister Sukru Sina Gurel staged a news conference following Council of Ministers meeting and disclosed the resolutions with a press conference.

Gurel said Council of Ministers evaluated the situation which erupted after the limitation of the UN Special Commission's controlling activities. Gurel said the following decisions were taken under the light of Foreign Minister Ismail Cem's contacts in Baghdad.

''-Any military operation will cause very big damages for Iraqi people and for regional countries that could not be compensated.

-Prevention of such an intervention depends on full implementation of UN resolutions. Diplomatic facilities should be tried to the last point to this end.

-In case Iraq implements those decisions fully, there will be softening in sactions which the UN imposes on this country.

-Iraq's territorial integrity should be preserved.

-Our government decided to take every necessary precautions against all negative aspects of a military intervention for Turkey.

Gurel said "our cabinet has decided to prepare a humanitarian aid programme in case a crisis situation emerges," and that he was appointed to provide coordination between several public institutions on the issue.

Gurel said as an outcome of Foreign Minister Ismail Cem's visit to Iraq, they decided that diplomatic means should be used to the end in Iraq-UN crisis.

[03] TURKEY-US-IRAQ - SUMMIT IN PREMIERSHIP BUILDING - CYPRUS AND AEGEAN ISSUES AND UN-IRAQ CRISIS TAKEN UP IN SUMMIT

During the summit which was closed to the press a general evaluation took place on Cyprus and Aegean problems and Foreign Minister Ismail Cem's visit to Baghdad was also on the agenda.

Prime Minister Yilmaz and Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit talked to the US Ambassador to Ankara Mark Parris after the summit. Foreign Minister Cem's visit to Baghdad and recent developments regarding Iraq-UN tension were taken up during the meeting.

Meanwhile, Cem was also received by President Suleyman Demirel. Cem briefed Demirel about his contacts in Bagdad and conveyed Iraqi Head of State Saddam Hussein's message to Demirel.

[04] TURKEY-US-BRITAIN - CLINTON AND BLAIR TALK ABOUT TURKEY

Blair, currently in Washington on an official visit, said he briefed the US President Clinton as the EU Term President and that they talked about the expansion process of EU including Eastern Europe and other countries.

Blair said he and the US President were of the same opinion that strengthening Turkey's ties with the EU was very important.

[05] TURKEY-UN - TURKEY BRIEFS UN SECRETARY GENERAL ANNAN ABOUT CEM'S CONTACTS

Turkey's Permanent Representative to UN Huseyin Celem in his meeting with Annan briefed him about the outcomes of Cem's contacts in Baghdad and exchanged views about the recent situation in Iraq.

Kofi Annan met Russian Ambassador Sergey Lavrov after meeting Celem. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan closely covers the initatives launched to prevent Iraq-UN crisis.

Meanwhile, Celem called on Kofi Annan to persuade Greek Cypriot and Greek governments to give up initiatives endangering regional peace and threatening security of Turkey and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
Also, Baf air base and negative developments in Cyprus causing concern were taken up during Annan-Celem meeting.

Celem conveyed the views of Turkish government to this end and voiced Ankara's expectations from the UN Secretary General.

Celem earlier sent a letter to Annan and said ''steps of Greek Cypriot Administration taken towards the opening of Baf air base and deployment of S-300 missiles formed a threat for the security of TRNC and Turkey as well as the regional peace and stability.''

[06] TURKEY-US-IRAQ - DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER ECEVIT: ''WE ARE IN AN EFFORT TO DETER US FROM ANOTHER WAR''

Addresing a TV channel Ecevit said Turkey suffered a lot from the US policy covered during and after Gulf War.

Ecevit said terrorism escalated and that Turkey suffered economic loses. He stressed that ''my personal thought is that embargos imposed on Iraq should be softened, moreover they should be ended.''

Ecevit said ''US is a super power yet at the same time an open society, a democratic regime. Deterring US from a new war is our right and duty.''

[07] TURKEY-US - TRANSPORTATION MINISTER MENZIR LEAVES FOR US - MENZIR TO MEET BILL GATES IN THE US

Menzir left for the US to participate in a meeting titled ''Information Technology in the year 2000's in Government and in Education.''

Speaking before his departure Menzir said he will meet the leading name of the computer world Bill Gates who is the boss of Microsoft company.

Menzir said ''Information'' issue should be promoted and supported by the government and mentioning about the importance of Internet system, Menzir said his ministry and the government will allocate more sources to make more use of the system.

[08] TURKEY-TERRORISM - DEATH TOLL OF TERRORISTS INCREASED TO 42

Three people from security forces died in the first hot contact with the terrorists.

Officials said a mass blow was put on the separatist terrorist organization with the operation.

[09] TURKEY-IRAQ - DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER SEZGIN: ''TURKEY CALLS ON GULF CRISIS TO BE SOLVED THROUGH PEACEFUL WAYS''

Speaking to reporters during a meeting with Antalya Governor Husnu Tuglu Sezgin recalled that there had been a war in Iraq earlier and stressed that Turkey knew that Iraqi people were in need of medicine and food stuff since 7-8 years.

Sezgin said Iraq should abide by UN resolutions fully to prevent a new war.

Sezgin said all the world knew that Iraqi Leader Saddam Hussein and his administration produced chemical, biologic and long ranged missiles adding that Turkey was in the range of the mass destruction weapons.

Defense Minister Sezgin said Turkey carried out a realistic policy to prevent a war ''not only Iraq is producing mass destruction weapons, it is estimated that Iran and Syria produce same kind of weapons. It is seen that Turkey is in a danger.''

Sezgin said abiding by the UN resolutions is a pre-condition for Iraq and stressed that ''We favor Iraq's territorial integrity yet, Iraq should abide by the UN resolutions.''

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