TRKNWS-L Turkish Daily News excerpts (January 10, 1996)

From: TRKNWS-L <trh@aimnet.com>

Turkish News Directory

CONTENTS

TURKISH DAILY NEWS / 10 January 1996

[01] Turkish leaders offer condolences for Mitterrand

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- Turkish leaders, from President Suleyman Demirel to Foreign Minister Deniz Baykal, sent condolences for Francois Mitterrand, the ex-president of France who died Monday, describing him as a statesman who put his mark on European history.

Demirel announced that he would fly to Paris Wednesday night to attend Mitterrand's funeral on Thursday. He will delegate his presidential authority to Suleyman Arif Emre, Parliament's interim speaker from the Welfare Party. Leaders attending the ceremony in Notre Dame Cathedral will be received by President Jacques Chirac at the Elysee Palace, according to a statement from the French Embassy.

Demirel, in a letter to his French counterpart Jacques Chirac, said that he had learned of Mitterrand's death with deep sorrow.

"Mitterrand... has played a determinant role in the shaping of Europe's future architecture," Demirel said in his message.

"The Turkish people have watched his efforts with admiration, which proved President Mitterrand's qualities of statesmanship.

Moreover, he has the gratitude of Turks for the understanding and effort he has shown in the development of bilateral ties," Demirel said.

Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, meanwhile, sent a letter to Prime Minister Alain Juppe, saying that Mitterrand's efforts had been watched not only by Turkey but by the whole world.

Deniz Baykal sent a message to his counterpart, Herve de Charette, which said that Mitterrand, during his two terms in office, made an important contribution to bilateral ties "in accordance with the desires and interests of the two countries' peoples who share common contemporary values." Meanwhile, the Embassy of France in Ankara and the Consulate-General in Istanbul have set out a condolences book for the next three days in memory of Mitterrand.

[02] Panelists stress need to reorganize local administration in ex-Soviets

ANKARA- Turkey has launched a project for the restructuring of local administrations in the former states of the Soviet Union, the president of the Turkish Cooperation Agency (TIKA) said on Tuesday.

TIKA President Umut Arik, opening a meeting of senior local administrators, said that the project aimed at "sharing Turkey's experience in local administration" with Turkic states, who had expressed their desire for such assistance during presidential or prime ministerial visits.

The project will be implemented jointly with the German government, Arik said.

Dr. Hans Joachim Vergau, German ambassador to Turkey, said that Germany had experienced the challenge of reforming local administration after reunification with the former East Germany.

"The books concentrate on the transition from a capitalist economy to socialism, and not the other way around," Vergau said. "Thus we gained experience by living through this." He said that Turkey would be in the central position in the cooperation between Ankara, Bonn and the capitals of the Turkic states.

The first part of the meeting, which started Tuesday, was with local administrators from Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan. Later, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan will join in, along with Azerbaijan.

However, Turkey's interior minister told the participants plainly that Turkish local administrations faced problems, and made them wonder just how good a model the Turkish one was.

"Many of the rights of local administrations were taken back after Turkey transferred to multi-party democracy," he said, adding that the first local administration model prepared by "the military men who created the republic" was a very democratic one.

"Let me cite an example. Before 1950, all elementary schools, teachers, state hospitals and local police were civil servants of the local administration. But all those powers were taken over by, one by one," he said, adding that his ministry had prepared a reform bill for returning to the pre-1950 status.