Anadolu Agency: News in English, 99-01-18

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

AA Daily

18 January 1999 Monday

CONTENTS

[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCAN

[02] ALIYEV, THE PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN, IN TURKEY TO UNDERGO SOME TESTS AND CHECKUP

[03] FM CEM: ''THE EXISTENCE OF CHIEF TERRORIST IN ITALY HAD A RESTRICTIVE FUNCTION FOR THE ACTIVITIES OF THE TERRORIST ORGANIZATION''

[04] THE U.S. GOVERNMENT: ''ITALY'S PATH DID NOT SERVE FOR THE TARGET OF TRYING OCALAN IN A COURT''

[05] FM CEM REQUESTES TO DISCUSS THE MASSACRE IN KOSOVO IN THE U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL

[06] BELARUS AND UKRAINE ANNOUNCE THAT THEY WILL NEVER ACCEPT CHIEF TERRORIST - BALTIC COUNTRIES EXTENDS WRITTEN ASSURANCES TO TURKEY

[07] PRESIDENT DEMIREL RECEIVES PREMIER ECEVIT - ECEVIT: ''I THINK THAT THE CHIEF TERRORIST CAN'T HIDE HIMSELF MORE THAN TWO OR THREE DAYS''

[08] PRIME MINISTER ECEVIT: ''IT WILL BE VERY GRIEVOUS IF THE ATROCITY IN KOSOVO CONTINUES ESPECIALLY DURING THE FEAST EID AL-FITR''

[09] THOMSON WATCH DECREASES TURKEY'S RATING TO ''BB-''

[10] THOMSON WATCH DECREASES TURKEY'S RATING TO ''BB-''

[11] TURKEY IN BRIEF: JANUARY 18, 1999

[12] PRIME MINISTER ECEVIT: ''RELIABLE SOURCES SAID THAT THE HEAD OF THE SEPARATIST TERRORIST ORGANIZATION WENT TO MOSCOW AND HIS PLANE LANDED TO AN AIRPORT OUTSIDE OF MOSCOW'' - IN CASE HE GOES TO RUSSIA, HE WILL IMMEDIATELY BE DEPORTED FROM THAT COUNTRY'' - ''RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES HAVE GOOD INTENTIONS AND ARE IN CONSENSUS WITH TURKEY''

[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCAN

HÜRRIYET (LIBERAL)

THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE THIS WAY
Russia lit a green light. Abdullah Ocalan, the terrorist chief, flew to Nizni Novogorod Airport, which is 110 kilometres away from Moscow, the capital city of Russia, by a private plane which was hired by the Italian government at about 15.000 US dollars.

MİLLİYET (LIBERAL)

TREATMENT TO ALIYEV
Haydar Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, arrived in Ankara to receive a treatment in Gata Military Medical Academy (GATA). Aliyev was diagnosed as having a viral infection and as bronchitis.

SABAH (LIBERAL)

Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said that the chief terrorist can't easily find a place to take shelter in.

IS HE WITH AL-QADDAFI?
Sources close to the Foreign Ministry in Ankara think that the chief terrorist had most probably arrived in Libya.

Aleksander Lebedev, the Russian Ambassador to Ankara, definetely denied the news claiming that the chief terorist was in Russia.

CUMHURİYET (LEFT)

Pointing out that the crisis anxiety started in the last quarter of 1998 was still continuing, Temizel said that the anxiety in question stemmed from external effects not from the internal ones. ''The developments in Brazil brought forward the crisis expectations but I am hopeful that we can overcome this tough period. We held a series of meetings concerning the measures which should be taken. I once again emphasize that there is not a situation to get panicked,'' he said.

RADİKAL (LEFT)

APO VANISHED INTO THIN AIR
There is a lot of ''information'' concerning where Abdullah Ocalan, the terrorist chief, went. Libya, South Africa, Armenia and Estonia are among the countries where Ocalan probably went after he had left Italy. The Foreign Ministry mobilized all of its representations in foreign countries and requested them to do all the necessary requirements in these countries.

YENİ YÜZYIL (LIBERAL)

'CRISIS PACKAGE' FOR STAGNATION
The minority government formed by Bulent Ecevit, the leader of the Democratic Left Party, will open a ''crisis package'' for the industrialists. This package is prepared by Husamettin Ozkan, Hikmet Ulugbay and Zekeriya Temizel. Taking into consideration the working calendar of the parliament, these ministers will only take measures which do not require laws.

TÜRKİYE (RIGHT)

D'Alema, at the end, understood that his dream had changed into a nightmare and sent away the chief terrorist responsible for the deaths of 30 thousand people.

MOTORWAY AND BRIDGE TO BE FREE FOR SEVEN DAYS
The crossing of the Istanbul Straits via the bridges and the motorways will be free for seven days due to the feast Eid Al-Fitr which ends holy month of Ramadan.

The Ministry of Public Works and Housing announced that the toll collection at the bridges and motorways would not be made between 18 and 24 January.

ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)

[02] ALIYEV, THE PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN, IN TURKEY TO UNDERGO SOME TESTS AND CHECKUP

The Foreign Ministry said in its statement that after President Suleyman Demirel heard that Aliyev suffered from an illness, he gave the instruction to send a delegation of Turkish doctors to Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, to make consultations on Aliyev.

The statement also said that the doctors stated that Aliyev was in good condition and that they thought that it would be appropiate to apply some tests on Aliyev as a precaution.

Thus, Aliyev came to Ankara to undergo necessary health controls in Gulhane Military Medical Academy (GATA), the statement said.

[03] FM CEM: ''THE EXISTENCE OF CHIEF TERRORIST IN ITALY HAD A RESTRICTIVE FUNCTION FOR THE ACTIVITIES OF THE TERRORIST ORGANIZATION''

Addressing a programme broadcasted by the TRT-1 TV Channel, Ismail Cem said some Italian sources claimed that the chief terrorist had left Italy for Russia. Cem said the Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov had sent a message concerning the issue saying that the chief terrorist had not arrived in Russia and would not be in Russia.

''Mr. Ivanov said the commitments given by the Russian Prime Minister to Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz are still valid. We earlier received te contribution of Russia about the issue and were pleased with Russia's proper approach. Today, we don't have any hesitation thay they will continue to assume the same attitude,'' Cem stated.

Noting that the essential issue was the deportation of the chief terrorist from Syria, Cem said, ''when he emerged in Rome, many people including myself felt hesitation with the concern that this appearance may strengthen some movements against Turkey. However, the existence of the chief terrorist in Rome functioned as an obstacle limiting the activities of the separatist terrorist PKK organization and it had not a function accelerating the so-called 'politicization' of the terrorist PKK.''

Noting that the real face of the terrorist organization had been revealed and become more clear in Western Europe due to the Rome incident, Cem said that period was a process during which the facts about the terrorist organization became clear.

Stressing that the terrorist organization was also the most powerful drug smuggler organization in the world, Cem said, ''there are politicians, deputies and managers secretly working for this organization. This organization managed to keep alive its campaign against Turkey by using its monetary facilities.''

Noting that the terrorist organization had come into the agenda on the West European press during that process and Turkey got benefits from this, Cem recalled that some Western European countries might want to keep handy the trump card of terrorist organization against Turkey.

Stating that there had been some evaluations that the terrorist organization became politicized when Ocalan arrived in Rome, Cem said, ''the incident had already become politicized. Their so-called parliament had already convened. There has already been a campaign. These will continue. We know it. However, the incident was discharged by Turkey. We started to overcome this and we will continue to do so.''

[04] THE U.S. GOVERNMENT: ''ITALY'S PATH DID NOT SERVE FOR THE TARGET OF TRYING OCALAN IN A COURT''

The U.S. Department of State said in its statement that Italy's path was very regretful.

The statement issued by James Foley, the spokesman of state department pointed out that Ocalan left Italy and said that Italy's path did not serve for the goal of trying Ocalan in a court. The statement added that the U.S. government felt sorry about this and that Ocalan had to be tried in a court for the crime of terrorism.

The U.S., which stressed in every opportunity that the PKK was a cruel terrorist organization, defended the view that the chief of the terrorist organization should be extradited to Turkey and be tried in a court for his terrorist crimes.

Washington had harshly reacted to the possibility of granting asylum to Ocalan in Italy and stated that this would be a bad mark and disgrace in the efforts of struggling against terrorism.

The U.S. government had submitted a comprehensive dossier to the Italian government which was prepared by the U.S. security and intelligence services FBI and CIA showing that the terrorist organization did not only commit terrorist crimes, but collected money by force, and smuggled drugs.

The U.S. government had an important role in deporting Ocalan from Syria and Bill Clinton, the U.S. President, sent a message to Hafez-al-Assad, Syrian President, noting that he should put an end to his relation with the separatist terrorist organization.

Madeleine Albright, the U.S. Secretary of State, had also emphasized that the PKK was an international terrorist organization.

[05] FM CEM REQUESTES TO DISCUSS THE MASSACRE IN KOSOVO IN THE U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL

Ismail Cem, the Foreign Minister, requested that this massacre should immediately be discussed in the United Nations (U.N.) Security Council.

The statement issued by the Foreign Ministry said that Turkey was against any kind of pressure and violence, regardless of its source and target, and that she regards such acts as crimes of humanity.

The statement also said that Turkey thought that this massacre was within the framework of crimes of humanity and condemned it to this end.

The massacre created great indignation among Turkish poeple, and Turkey expected that the investigation and interrogation about the massacre should immediately be realized and the ones who were responsible for this massacre should be brought before justice, the statement said.

The statement pointed out that Ismail Cem, the Foreign Minister, drew the attention of not only the U.N. and NATO but also the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) since the situation was very important and it threatened all the nations living in Kosovo. Cem conveyed Turkey's deep concern and views on the last developments, the statement continued.

The statement added that Cem proposed to discuss this problem in U.N. Security Council immediately and that he called for taking measures to put an end to such massacres.

To this end, Turkey found it useful to recall that she attached great importance to solving the Kosovo dispute in peaceful ways and that it was necessary not to waste time in solving this dispute, the statement said.

[06] BELARUS AND UKRAINE ANNOUNCE THAT THEY WILL NEVER ACCEPT CHIEF TERRORIST - BALTIC COUNTRIES EXTENDS WRITTEN ASSURANCES TO TURKEY

Speaking to the A.A correspondent, Oleksander Motsyk, the Ukranian Ambassador to Ankara, said that the news claiming that the terrorist chief could have gone to the Ukraine were baseless, adding that ''his entrance into the Ukraine has been banned.''

Nikolay Lepeshko, the Belarussian Ambassador to Ankara, said that Ocalan couldn't enter in Belarus, adding that ''the assurances to this end were given at highest-level to Ismet Sezgin, the then Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of National Defense, during his visit to Belarus in last December.''

Meanwhile, it was reported that the Baltic countries, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, extended written assurances to Turkey stating that the terrorist chief will never be allowed to enter their territories. These three Baltic countries said, ''he will be arrested and extradited to Turkey if he comes.''

Speaking to the A.A correspondent, Yasar Tunar, the Turkish Embassy in Lithuania Charge D'Affaires responsible for the relations with these three Baltic countries, said that they had launched initiatives in those three Baltic countries when Italy nearly one month ago claimed that the terrorist chief might go to Estonia.

Stressing that Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia attach great importance to good relations with Turkey, Tunar said, ''they extended written assurances to us stating that the terrorist in question will immediately be arrested and extradited to Turkey, if he enters one of these countries.''

The Italian administration, which could not even know what the chief terrorist will do next and thus launched frequent baseless and unsuccessful diplomatic initiatives in several countries, had put that claim about Estonia nearly one month ago.

[07] PRESIDENT DEMIREL RECEIVES PREMIER ECEVIT - ECEVIT: ''I THINK THAT THE CHIEF TERRORIST CAN'T HIDE HIMSELF MORE THAN TWO OR THREE DAYS''

Speaking to reporters following his weekly regular meeting with President Suleyman Demirel, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said that he conveyed to President Demirel his opinions about the primary issues, internal and external issues, security and economic issues.

''There is not a new information about the chief terrorist. We have still not received an information about the place of the terrorist chief. However, I believe he can't be kept secret for more than two or three days. Otherwise, he may totally lose his influence on the terrorist organization, '' he stressed.

''The essential thing is that Abdullah Ocalan has now a difficulty in finding a country which can take him under its wings. The world started to see the atrocity and cruelty staged by the terrorist PKK in Turkey and the damage it gives to the young people of other countries with drug trafficking. The concerned organizations in Turkey prepared an intense and very productive introduction study to reveal the real face of the terrorist organization. I believe the so-called politicization process of PKK will slow down as a result of that study,'' Ecevit stated.

[08] PRIME MINISTER ECEVIT: ''IT WILL BE VERY GRIEVOUS IF THE ATROCITY IN KOSOVO CONTINUES ESPECIALLY DURING THE FEAST EID AL-FITR''

Speaking to reporters, Prime Minister Ecevit said that there hadn't been a development about the arrival place of Abdullah Ocalan, the chief of the separatist terrorist PKK organization, after he had left Italy on 16 January.

Responding to a question about the atrocity staged by Serbs in Kosovo, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said, ''we applied to the United Nations (UN) for the convention of the Security Council. We also applied to the NATO. We approach sensitively to this incident. Of course, continuation of that cruelty in Kosovo especially during the feast Eid Al-Fitr will be very grievous. We are encouraging the world public opinion and the countries, which are closely interested in Kosovo, to launch more closer and effective interest.''

Explaining that the Russia's Ambassador to Turkey had requested an appointment from him before the chief terrorist left Rome, Ecevit said he would receive the Russian Ambassador the same day.

Prime Minister Ecevit added that he would visit Haydar Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, through the evening at the Gulhane Military Medical Academy (GATA) where he was receiving medical treatment.

[09] THOMSON WATCH DECREASES TURKEY'S RATING TO ''BB-''

Thomson Bank Watch, one of the largest bank rating agencies in the world, issued a written statement saying that although Turkey has finally succeeded in installing an interim government that will steer the country to fresh elections in April, it continues to face growing challenges on the economic, fenancial and political fronts.

The statement said that weakened by fallout from the Russian financial crisis, dampened demand throughout its major export markets abroad, and higher interest rates at home, the economy is experiencing sharply slower growth, declining export revenues, higher borrowing costs, and a continued heavy debt repayment schedule.

The statement added that these adverse economic conditions, in turn, are beginning to raise the level of systemic risk throughout the banking sector, contributing to thighter cash liquidity and rising asset quality problems for some local banks.

The statement said that the recent slowdown in the economy has been rather dramatic, led by the textile, leather, and construction sectors, adding that although official figures have not yet been reported for fourth quarter 1998, all preliminary indicators point to a significant slowdown.

The statement continued that although inflation has continued to trend downward, with the wholesale rate rising by only 54.3 percent last year and the consumer price index increasing by 69.7 percent, domestic interest rates have remained stubbornly high, hovering between 130 percent and 145 percent in the wake of the Russian financial crisis and subsequent domestic political controversies.

It said that continued political uncertainty, particularly over the outcome of the upcoming election and the composition of the new government, is likely to maintain the upward pressure on interest rates.

Pointing out that the high interest rate is intensifying debt-servicing pressures and exacerbating the country's chronic fiscal financial problems, the statement noted that the government's budgetary shortfall, including interest payments, continues to hover at around 7 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), even though the primary surplus has climbed to just over 5 percent of GDP.

Stressing that as a result, the government's borrowing and repayment requirments remain substantial, the statement put forth that during this year's first quarter alone, domestic debt-servicing will total nearly 16.7 billion US dollars, while foreign debt-servicing will amount to about 1.4 billion US dollars.

[10] THOMSON WATCH DECREASES TURKEY'S RATING TO ''BB-''

Betty Starkey, the Managing Director of Sovereign Risk for Thomson Bankwatch, issued a written statement saying, ''to meet these payments, the Treasury will need to roll over all-or as much as possible-its current domestic obligations, while at the same time continuing to raise additional funds from international capital markets. The latter could prove costly, however, if international market sentiment toward emerging market borrowers remains negative.''

Starkey said that some relief for Turkey could come this year in the form of a stronger endorsement from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), adding that under its Staff Monitoring Program with the IMF, Turkey has made steady progress in winning back the multilateral's support by adhering to its policy guidelines and moving closer to its budgetary and inflation targets.

Starkey stated that this renewed support, in turn, could serve to bolster market confidence in Turkey's economic management.

''Continued IMF backing, however, is likely to remain contingent on a deepening of the stabilization policies and these lines, the recent installation of an interim government under Bulent Ecevit, the leader of the Democratic Left Party (DSP), -after several weeks of political infighting and indecision-is a welcome development. Not only is Ecevit an experienced and widely respected politician, but his administration is expected to adhere to strict budget discipline and avoid populist measures and pork-barrel spending in the weeks leading up to April 18th elections,'' Starkey said.

Starkey stressed that the recent hard-fought consensus over an interim government, however, by no means represents an end to Turkey's political problems.

''Given the bitter rivalries between a number of the country's political parties, the prospect of strong, stable government with a clear political mandate and legislative majority emerging from the election appears dim,'' Starkey claimed.

[11] TURKEY IN BRIEF: JANUARY 18, 1999

The TUBITAK stated that the satellite will account for 13.3 million US dollars and that this amount will be met by the foreign credit.

ISTANBUL - A British trading delegation will come to Turkey between January 25 and 29, being the first British delegation which visits Turkey in 1999.

The delegation will carry out market research and will hold contacts for arranging agencies of their companies in Turkey.

ANKARA - ''Turkish Export Goods'' fair will be held in Algeria in May 1999.

The goods of the sectors including food, industrial machinery and equipment, consumption goods, automotive and by-industry, textile, construction materials, electrical and electronical industry and agricultural industry will be introduced and sold in the fair to which nearly 100 Turkish firms will attend.

ISTANBUL - ''Faithless'', a famous techno dance group, will meet with its Turkish fans in Istanbul on Saturday.

Faithless is known for its albums named ''Insomnia'' and ''Salva Mea'' in Turkey.

SANLIURFA - A total of 35 agricultural trainees from 22 different countries, including Papua New Guiena, Zimbabwe, Philippines, Nepal and Cameroon will carry out investigations in Harran Plain.

Stating that the workers in agriculture field who will come from the third world countries choose Harran Plain as ''their field of investigation'', the officials said that the trainees will also carry out an investigation at Ataturk Dam.

VAN - A total of five and a half kilograms of pure heroin was seized on Monday in operations held in Muradiye county of eastern Van province.

The security forces detained one Turk who was involved in smuggling of heroin having a market price of 300 billion Turkish liras.

[12] PRIME MINISTER ECEVIT: ''RELIABLE SOURCES SAID THAT THE HEAD OF THE SEPARATIST TERRORIST ORGANIZATION WENT TO MOSCOW AND HIS PLANE LANDED TO AN AIRPORT OUTSIDE OF MOSCOW'' - IN CASE HE GOES TO RUSSIA, HE WILL IMMEDIATELY BE DEPORTED FROM THAT COUNTRY'' - ''RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES HAVE GOOD INTENTIONS AND ARE IN CONSENSUS WITH TURKEY''

Prime Minister Ecevit told reporters after meeting with Aleksander Lebedev, Russia's Ambassador to Turkey, for 45 minutes that ''he did not go to Moscow within the framework of the approval of official authorities. The Russian authorities started a comprehensive interrogation by taking into consideration this possibility.''

In case the possibility that Ocalan went to Russia after he left Italy was true, he will certainly be caught and deported, Ecevit said.

Stating that Russian Ambassador Lebedev told him that Moscow warned all Russian consulates a couple of weeks ago about the issue, Ecevit said, ''Russian government had issued a decree for consulates not to provide visa for Abdullah Ocalan.''

Ecevit also said, Russian authorities have determined that the person called ''Abdullah Ocalan'' have not arrived in any airport in Russia, but they have taken into consideration that he might have entered into the country with a fake identity card.

''Russian authorities really have good intentions concerning this issue and they act in consensus with Turkey,'' Ecevit said, stating that Ocalan would be deported in case the head of the separatist terrorist organization went to Russia.

Ecevit said that his meeting with Lebedev was determined before Ocalan left Italy. ''We have been informed by our own sources that the head of the separatist terrorist organization landed to an airport outside of Moscow. It has been understood that Russian authorities are also taking into consideration this possibility,'' Ecevit added.

Stressing that the head of the separatist terrorist organization cannot keep his whereabouts a secret for a long time, Ecevit said, ''in this case, his relations with his organization would be weaken.''

Reasponding to a question, Ecevit said that they did not discuss about the extradition of Ocalan to Turkey in case he was in Russia during his meeting with Lebedev.

A.A

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