TRKNWS-L Turkish Daily News (March 7, 1996)

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

Turkish News Directory

CONTENTS

TURKISH DAILY NEWS / 7 March 1996

[01] Yilmaz will read government program in Parliament today

ANKARA- Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz on Wednesday announced his cabinet approved by President Demirel, clinching a five-year coalition partnership between his Motherland Party (ANAP) and Tansu Ciller's True Path Party (DYP) that crowned a zig-zag progress towards power after the inconclusive Dec. 24 election.

The ANAP-DYP alliance, popularly dubbed Motherpath, has replaced Ciller's often-troubled alliance with social democrat partners and has effectively barred the way to power to the Islamists who left behind both center-right parties in the December poll.

The 34-person cabinet was made up of top aides of both leaders.

Among them were Emre Gonensay, a former Ciller aide who represented Turkey in negotiations for pipeline schemes, Oltan Sungurlu, a top ANAP politician given the defense portfolio, Ulku Guney, a Yilmaz aide who took interior and Lutfullah Kayalar, another mainstream ANAP politician given the finance portfolio.

Addressing a news conference before reading out the cabinet list, Yilmaz stressed that being a minority government, the coalition will inevitably be in closer touch with the Parliament than its predecessors and this, in turn, will ensure a better functioning of democracy.

He said the coalition will carry out sweeping reforms and pledged an open and honest government.

In keeping with the coalition protocol signed on Sunday, Yilmaz will lead the partnership until the end of the year, then passing on the post to Ciller for the next two years. After Yilmaz takes a second term in the fourth year, a DYP deputy will take over in the fifth to carry the partnership to general elections.

The partners further agreed to cooperate in next general elections.

The two partners agreed on sharing power last week after abortive former attempts which hit the rocks over bitter rivalry between Ciller and Yilmaz.

In the end Ciller dropped her insistence on taking the first turn at the rotating premiership despite DYP's 135-to-126 advantage in the number of seats, luring Yilmaz away from a partnership with the Islamist Welfare Party (RP). Yilmaz's last-minute U-turn led to widespread speculation of behind-the-scenes intervention by the secular-minded military abhorring an Islamist-dominated government after more than 72 years of secular rule. Top military officials formally denied any meddling.

The alliance is still 15 short of an absolute majority in the 550-seat legislature, but the 75-strong Democratic Left Party DSP, led by Bulent Ecevit, is pledged to support it by blocking a no-confidence vote.

Yilmaz is scheduled to read the government program in the Parliament today.

After the mandatory passage of two full days after the presentation, debates on the program will start on Sunday and the vote will be taken next week.

A simple majority vote is all that is needed for the government to win the vote of confidence. With the Democratic Left Party (DSP) indicating that they will abstain from the vote, the coalition has enough deputies to ensure success.

The DYP is represented in the cabinet with nine ministers with portfolios and ANAP with eight. The 16 state ministry posts will be shared equally by both parties. Economic stability measures will be given emphasis during Yilmaz's 10-month premiership.

The coalition protocol foresaw stepped up privatization, a thoroughgoing reform of the over-centralized state apparatus, a tax reform, and better mechanisms to prevent corruption -- of which the two leaders freely accused each other before agreeing on the partnership.

In foreign policy, the protocol stipulated a peaceful approach to disputes with neighbors together with an unbending defense of national interests. It also foresaw paced up cooperation with the Turkic states while confirming the EU membership as a major target.

The government targets the gradual lifting of the emergency rule while granting a new, two-month mandate to a Western air force protecting the Iraqi Kurds, as it is being given a new shape.

While cooperating in ruling the country, the two leaders, faced with party congresses this year, are at the same time trying to put their parties in order and cope with dissenters.

To reshape party's management -- and curb the strength of conservatives opposed to the deal with Ciller -- Yilmaz had his aides resign from key party posts to allow a shakeup on Wednesday. Ciller did the same the day before.

A DYP member who participated in the penning of the government program said that the DYP-ANAP coalition government targets a one-digit inflation figure and that the government's applications in its first year will have a determining role in realizing that goal. He said that the government's foreign currency target would be around $45 billion-50 billion and that the existing economy had the potential to enable this target to be met.

Officials have described the government program as an expanded version of the coalition protocol which was signed by Yilmaz and Ciller on Sunday.

[02] Turkey and Iraq see light at the end of pipeline

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- After marathon talks on the eve of a U.N.-Iraqi final negotiation, Turkey and Iraq both indicated optimism that the dormant Yumurtalik-Kirkuk pipeline can be put to use after all.

A memorandum of understanding between Turkey and Iraq declares that Turkey and Iraq will cooperate in trade if the U.N. plan of oil-for-food was agreed.

Turkey, for its part, sounds hopeful. "There is a softening on both sides. I believe that a certainty will emerge on March 11 and Iraq will be able to obtain food and medicine in its just cause by selling oil," said Turkey's Energy Minister Sinasi Altiner, adding that the reopening of the pipeline would also boost trade ties between Ankara and Baghdad.

As a move to signal that the improvement of ties would go beyond the economic sphere, Iraqi Oil Minister Amir Mohammad Rasheed paid a visit to Turkey's outgoing Foreign Minister Deniz Baykal. What started off as a courtesy visit became one-and-a-half hours of discussion "on all issues of concern between the two sides." "We hope, along with the lifting of the embargo on Iraq, that relations with Turkey and Iraq will intensify so as to compensate for the past losses," Baykal told journalists. He noted that the two sides have discussed a number of energy projects for the future.

The Iraqi minister also took the opportunity to express Baghdad's displeasure with Operation Provide Comfort, whose multinational air component is based in Turkey to monitor the no-fly zone north of the 36th parallel, diplomats who attended the talks said. Iraq traditionally opposed the existence of the force, calling it a foreign factor which prevented normalization of relations in the region.

But both sides diplomatically refrained from mentioning the Iraqi support of Syria against Turkey on the water question and the question of Iraqi debts.

"This issue is not under discussion," Rasheed said after his talks with Baykal.

But the two sides have agreed on the transit fees, when Turkey refrained from raising them and agreed to transport on pre-closure prices. Altiner said Turkey would earn $50 million from transit fees in the six months of the U.N. plan.

Similarly, Ankara extracted from the Iraqi delegation a promise that Turkey will be the "foremost supplier" of food which will be provided to the Iraqi people.

"The Turkish market will be foremost in our considerations," Rasheed said after his meeting with Baykal.

Rasheed said the oil trapped inside the pipeline would also be sold under the U.N. plan and the food to be bought would be distributed under what he called the Iraqi food rationing system. "Every Iraqi will get a fair share of food," he said.

But the question of how the foodstuffs will be distributed is a question between Iraq and the United Nations, Turkish diplomats said.

The talks were held with the assumption that the second round of talks, to be held next week, will be successful.

Iraq and the U.N. began the negotiations on February 6 on the implementation of U.N. resolution 986, which envisages the sale of $2 billion of oil by Iraq for six months to buy food and medicine for its people.

Turkish officials say 7.5 million barrels of the approximately 12 million barrels inside the pipeline belong to Iraq.

Of the total, Turkey owns 3.5 million barrels for which it paid before the shutdown.

Both Turkey and Iraq said the sections of the pipeline on their territory were ready to be used "within days." "The oil inside is normal oil. There might be some degradation but it's still oil that can be used," Rasheed said.

Neither Turkey nor Iraq see the limited oil sales as an alternative to the end of sanctions imposed on Iraq. Foreign Minister Baykal said that it was only natural that the two countries would discuss their ties "after the sanctions were lifted." In Baghdad, Foreign Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf underlined Iraq's concern that U.N. permission to sell a limited amount of oil for food and medicine would be a substitute for ending the general ban on oil exports.

"If Iraq and the U.N. reach an agreement to sell a limited amount of oil...it is an interim arrangement that we seek to achieve," Sahaf said in a statement appearing in all the state-run newspapers.

However, the statement also noted Iraq's intention to press ahead with talks on the limited sale, saying Iraqi negotiator Abdul-Amir al-Anbari would leave Baghdad in the "coming few days" for renewed negotiations in New York.

Iraq fears that accepting the resolution for a limited oil shipment could reduce the humanitarian concerns that have been one of Baghdad's few weapons in its campaign for international support to lift the economic sanctions.

Those sanctions will not be changed by agreement on limited oil exports. The general ban on oil exports can only be lifted if the U.N. certifies that Iraq is free of weapons of mass destruction, and the ban is certain to be extended at a U.N. review this week.

"At this time we follow the developments of the talks with the U.N. and welcome any advancement, Iraq's main efforts will still be concentrated on requesting the Security Council to implement paragraph 22 of Resolution 687 (allowing all oil exports)," he said.

Sahaf said Iraq would cooperate fully with the U.N. commission established to oversee the elimination of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction to ensure the Security Council lifts the sanctions.

Charles Duelfer, deputy head of the U.N. Special Commission on eliminating Iraqi weapons is due in Baghdad on Thursday for more talks but U.N. officials have continued to say they are not yet satisfied.

Iraq has simultaneously dispatched emissaries this week to sympathetic Arab countries, including Yemen, Sudan, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, to explain its relations with the United Nations. But the exact purpose of the ministerial-level missions has not been revealed.

[03] Coalition prompts hopes of lower interest rates

ISTANBUL- Turkish bankers expect interest rates to fall further after private banks cut deposit rates in the wake of a long-awaited coalition pact signed by Turkey's two conservative parties over the weekend.

"It is too early to predict how much more T-bill yields will fall, but the market expects the maximum yield to hit 110-115 percent at tomorrow's T-bill auction," said Ali Ozenc, cash flow manager at private Finansbank.

The Turkish treasury has managed to gradually lower T-bill yields and extend maturities on its domestic borrowing since mid-January after more than doubling them to a 1995 high of 250.9 percent amid uncertainty before and after the inconclusive December polls. T-bill yields have since plunged to near 120 percent, but are still well above the 77.5 percent annual consumer inflation in February.

Bankers said the market set a psychological yield target of around 100 percent in coming weeks. Turkey's two centre-right, free-marketeering parties signed a coalition pact on Sunday to set up a government which will end five months of political impasse. An austerity package is expected to be drawn up by the proposed alliance whose programme will be debated in parliament late this week.

A vote of confidence may take place next week. Turkey launched an IMF-endorsed austerity plan in April 1994 following a severe financial crisis, cutting inflation to around 80 percent from about 150 percent. But its policies were largely shelved in October 1995 when parliament called early elections.

[04] Turkish KC-135 refuels F-16s on flight from US to Turkey

By Metehan Demir

Turkish Daily News

BANDIRMA AFB/ANKARA- Two Turkish F-16 fighter jets flew nonstop from the United States to Britain this week, refueled in flight by KC-135 tanker aircraft for the first time in Turkish Air Force (TUAF) history.

The two F-16s, which had been modified in the United States, then flew on to Turkey using the in-flight refueling system. Officials called this one of the landmark flights in Turkish Air Force history.

Brig. Gen. Cetin Dizdar, commander of Bandirma air base in the Marmara region, said that the two fighter jets were refueled seven times by Turkish tanker aircraft during the flight from the United States to Turkey.

Brig. Gen. Dizdar pointed out that Turkish Air Force planes had made two previous intercontinental flights between the United States and Turkey. However, the six F-5 aircraft that made the first flight to the United States in 1966 had to land at eight foreign air bases for refueling in order to reach Turkey. During the second flight in 1987, four Turkish F-16s were refueled in-flight by American tanker aircraft.

"Today, Turkey has been able to send its aircraft on long-distance flights with the help of its own tanker aircraft for the first time," said Brig. Gen. Dizdar.

After the F-16s' arrival at Bandirma AFB, a welcoming ceremony and party was held to celebrate the successful flight. The party to welcome the four Turkish pilots had some of the atmosphere of U.S. aviation films. The families and friends of the pilots

, and the commanders of the base were there to congratulate them. They opened champagne to celebrate the triumphant flight.

Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry spokesman Omer Akbel, at a press conference on Wednesday, voiced his ministry's pleasure that Greece permitted the planes to fly over Greek airspace during the flight from Britain to Turkey.

About the KC-135 tanker aircraft

Turkey's first two tanker aircraft, delivered at the end of July 1995, were leased for three years at a cost of $13.5 million. The two planes, manufactured by Boeing, will satisfy the immediate operational needs of the Air Force for three years until the delivery of a further seven aircraft can be made. Turkish military officials say the new planes, which will be purchased, not leased, will boost the operational range of the Turkish Air force.

Turkey will pay $292 million -- or $41.7 million each -- for the seven U.S. tanker aircraft. The price will also cover four spare engines and spare parts for each aircraft during the first two years of service. The planes are expected to be delivered at the end of 1997.

Turkey's KC-135R can fly on only one engine. The distance between Adana, on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, and New York is 5,500 nautical miles (NM), and the new aircraft can fly 11,000 NM without having to land. The aircraft can fly in all weather conditions and are able to take-off and land on shorter runways than other aircraft in the same class.

According to Air Force officials, it is likely that the KC-135Rs will remain in service until the year 2030.

[05] Human rights improve in '95 -- US report

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA/WASHINGTON- Washington has signalled improvement in the overall Turkish human rights situation in 1995, but admitted that problems remained, particularly in terms of torture and freedom of expression.

The number of deaths in detention and "mystery killings" fell considerably in comparison to the same figures for 1994, according to the annual human rights report of the U.S. State Department.

The report, released late on Wednesday, said that the human rights situation in a number of areas had improved but "very serious problems remained," particularly as far as the situation in the Southeast was concerned.

"But overall, we say that the human rights situation in 1995 has been improving, while we have said in 1994 that it was deteriorating," an American official said of the report.

But he added, echoing the report, that torture continued to be a major problem, along with repressions stemming from the presence of terrorism in the Southeast and problems regarding the freedom of expression.

"A number of mystery killings, in which the assailant's identity was unknown, also occurred, but the total was substantially lower than in previous years," the report said. "Political and extrajudicial killings credibly attributed to government authorities and terrorist groups continued but at substantially lower rates overall than in previous years." But the report said that there was an increase in the number of deaths attributable to government authorities due to excessive use of force. It quoted the Human Rights Foundation as saying that security forces were responsible for 55 extrajudicial killings in the first nine months of 1995. It also quoted the state minister responsible for human rights as saying that the police had committed extrajudicial killings in a raid in Ankara in April.

Although the report cited both the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Turkish government as responsible for village evacuations, it quoted some villagers as telling reliable sources that the security forces had evacuated them for refusing to participate in the paramilitary village guard system.

Marcus, Altayli and Yasar Kemal

The report also cited some high-profile cases on freedom of speech and the press, including that of Reuter journalist Aliza Marcus, academic Dogu Ergil, writer Yasar Kemal and Hurriyet journalist Fatih Altayli. It also mentioned the closure of Ozgur Ulke and Yeni Politika newspapers.

"Fortunately, both Yasar Kemal and Aliza Marcus were acquitted, as we mention in the report," the American official said.

The report said various laws restricted freedom of expression to one degree or another, but added that the United States welcomed the amendment of Article 8 of the Anti-Terrorism law.

The report also made a point of briefly mentioning two journalists who were kidnapped by the PKK in 1995.

The report mentions the responsibility of the PKK in village burnings, the murder of non-combatants and committing random murders. However, Turkish diplomats have categorically said in previous reports that the criticism toward the PKK is disproportionate to the graveness of the PKK atrocities.

"We expect terrorists to be terrorists and democratic governments to act as democratic governments,' the American official said, adding that he thought the human rights improvements in Turkey was in "steady progress." The report, in comparison to an unusually severe one in 1994, comes after Turkish predictions that it would also be "condemning" this year, particularly after remarks attributed to U.S. Assistant Secretary of State John Shattuck during a news program called "60 Minutes." Ankara, irked by the statements that Turkey was burning villages continuously, asked the United States for an explanation but Washington said that the remarks attributed to two senior officials had been misrepresented.

[06] Georgia's Shevardnadze stresses importance of Baku-Supsa pipeline

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze has said that a proposed pipeline for early Caspian oil between the Azeri capital Baku and Supsa on Georgia's Black Sea coast, would also constitute the foundation of another proposed pipeline between Baku and Ceyhan on Turkey's Mediterranean coast.

Shevardnadze said President Suleyman Demirel and Prime Minister Tansu Ciller have made great efforts for a decision in favor of the Baku-Supsa line.

The Georgian president was answering questions for the Anatolian news agency in Tbilisi on Wednesday during an official visit by Turkish Parliament Speaker Mustafa Kalemli to Georgia.

Shevardnadze said that the international agreement for this pipeline would be signed during a visit by Azerbaijan's president, Haydar Aliyev, to Tbilisi on March 8.

He added, however, that no final decision had been arrived at on the question of the financing of the project.

"For us every alternative is valid. We are ready to accept any options because our own resources are very limited" Shevardnadze said.

Turkey previously offered to foot the bill for the Baku-Supsa line in the understanding that this would pave to way for the Baku-Ceyhan line, a much larger project with great income potential.

Some recent reports suggested, however, that the Baku-Supsa project may be placed on the back burner in preference for an already existing line that goes over Russia the Black Sea.

Despite these reports Shevardnadze argued that the best eventual route for Caspian oil to reach international markets is through a pipeline connecting Baku and Ceyhan.

The Georgian president went on to say that the visit to Tbilisi by the speaker of the Turkish Parliament had been very useful in developing the ties between the two countries.

He said that they had received as "highly positive," remarks by Kalemli calling for enhanced ties between the legislatures of countries in the region in order to contribute to peace in the Caucasus.

"Georgia too is showing all the effort it can for peace in the region. The establishment of special groups that will take up regional problems will be very useful. I won't to stress that the visit of the speaker of the Turkish Parliament, Mr. Kalemli, is very important from this respect also," Shevardnadze said.

Shevardnadze also said he was very pleased to have received a letter from President Suleyman Demirel inviting him to Turkey. He indicated that this visit would further contribute to the growing ties between the two countries.

Kalemli's two day visit to Georgia, which ended on Tuesday, was covered extensively in the Georgian press according to Anatolia. It quoted an article in the first page of the official daily Sakasvelos Republica, which underlined that this was Kalemli's first visit abroad since being elected as Parliament speaker.

"We hope that these official visits between Georgia and Turkey will continue," the paper said.

"The Georgian people and the Georgian administration salute the foreign policy of the Turkish Republic," it added.

The independent daily Kafkasioni, on the other hand, also gave extensive coverage on its first page to Kalemli's visit.

It highlighted in this context the opening of an air corridor between the two countries, and Kalemli's remarks of pipelines for carrying Caspian oil to world markets.

The first channel of Georgian television also gave extensive coverage to Kalemli's visit and carried a long interview with him, during which developments in Turkey, including the efforts to form a government, were touched on also.

Returning to Turkey on Tuesday evening on a Turkish Airlines plane, Kalemli told reporters at Ankara's Esenboga airport, that they had been instrumental in opening a new air corridor between Turkey and Georgia.

Recalling that previous flights to Georgia went over Armenian airspace, Kalemli said that this was no longer the case as of Monday.

Kalemli, indicating that his visit to Georgia was highly successful and useful, said that he had found the opportunity to be informed, at first hand, by President Shevardnadze about developments in the Caucasus.