Turkish Daily News, 96-05-03

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From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>

TURKISH DAILY NEWS
3 May 1996

CONTENTS

[01] Egypt's foreign minister satisfied with Ankara's explanation of Turco-Israeli deal

[02] Turkish net galloping with turtle speed

[03] PKK confirms arrested Kurdish activist is a 'PKK friend'

[04] Clinton expresses 'optimism' for Cyprus accord in 1996

[05] Japanese Foreign Minister begins visit of Turkey

[01] Egypt's foreign minister satisfied with Ankara's explanation of Turco-Israeli deal

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- The Egyptian displeasure over the signing of a Turco-Israeli military training accord ended during the visit of Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa on Monday.

Moussa, who held a press conference after his talks with Turkish President Suleyman Demirel and Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay, said that he was satisfied by Turkey's assurances that the accord was "not a military or a strategic pact" that would upset the balances in the volatile Middle East.

"(We were told that) it was an agreement like any military training agreement Turkey has signed with other countries," Amr Moussa told journalists. "We are absolutely satisfied with the Turkish explanations."

The Egyptian minister admitted that there had been "some misunderstandings" in the way that accord had been explained to Cairo.

Egypt has been among the vocal critics of an agreement Turkey signed with Israel which gave the jets of the Jewish state the right to use Turkish airspace for training purposes. Turkey's neighbors complained that Israel would use this opportunity to gather information on countries in the region -- namely Syria and Iran. Turkey assured them that the jets would only use the Turkish airspace unarmed and without electronic monitoring equipment.

But Moussa added that the regional agreements should not "upset the balances in the region" given the fragility of the peace process. Any accord should be in the direction of peace," he said at the press conference.

This point was also stressed in the message of President Hosni Mubarak, which was delivered to President Suleyman Demirel by Moussa.

Moussa said that the message was a detailed one which took up bilateral and regional issues, as well as making a reference to Mediterranean cooperation.

The Egyptian foreign minister was received at the airport by his Turkish counterpart, Emre Gonensay, and the Egyptian ambassador to Turkey, Mahdi Fathullah.

Gonensay, who had accompanied President Demirel on a working visit to Egypt in March, said that the meeting between the foreign ministers had been agreed upon then, but had been postponed until now.

The Turkish and Egyptian foreign ministers agreed that it was important to have a common approach to regional problems at a time when important developments were happening in the region.

The two ministers evidently were referring to the Israeli operation Grapes of Wrath against the Hizbollah bases in south Lebanon last week and the establishment of a cease-fire over the weekend.

Moussa said that the question of terrorism had been discussed during his talks in Ankara "in general terms" but no countries had been named. The minister's statement reflected Cairo's reluctance to support Turkey's concern with Syria, which Ankara accuses of harboring terrorism.

"You know we have special bonds with Syria,' Moussa said. "Turkey and Syria are neighbors. If they have problems, they have to be discussed at the table."

Neither did he rule out a special role for Egypt in the Turco-Syrian dispute. "If (mediation) is needed and if we are asked, we will not hesitate," he said, adding that the water question -- on which the Cairo-based Arab League takes a stance in favor of Syria -- was not discussed.

The veteran foreign minister also adopted careful wording on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party. "We are against any attack that targets Turkish people," he said.

[02] Turkish net galloping with turtle speed

ANKARA- Quite a few Turkish media enterprises have been preparing to go online, very much like their international counterparts, but the Turkish net is still "galloping" with the speed of a turtle.

The "tr-net", as the Turkish web network was originally named, was converted into an "education channel" in February and a semi-commercial net was established under the patronage of the Middle East Technical University to cater for the mounting demands of the private sector until the "turnet" -- the national network -- becomes operational, hopefully by June this year.

Ever since the idea of establishment of a national network started to be considered, many opponents have been claiming that with over 60 percent of the shares in the company to remain with the state, internet publication would remain under strict state scrutiny, if not censorship.

Indeed, the failure of "turnet" to become operational -- despite over two years of preparation and repeated declarations over the past year that it would soon be established -- is considered by many to be the failure of the state to find a smooth way of "monitoring" internet publications in the country as well as access to the international network by Turks.

To minimize the amount of subscribers, after the initial boom rates were drastically increased and there are semi-confirmed rumors that once "turnet" becomes operational, going online will be even more expensive for Turks.

Another major problem of the "Turkish internet subscribers society" is the incredible situation of Turkish telecommunications. While the international community is talking nowadays about shifting to a system that would enable high data transfer and thus would provide opportunity for TV stations to go on the internet -- expected to be realized within the next three to four years -- Turkish internet subscribers are condemned to wait for tens of minutes for a download from abroad due to the low capacity of the country's access to the international net as well as the backbone between the main gateway and the internet service providers.

So far, the excuse of "tr-net" as well as the Middle East Technical University's semi-private new network is that they are trying to connect the country to the world with an "amateur approach" and that the problems will be eradicated once "turnet" becomes operational. When? Now, the new target for "turnet" is set for June. The previous target was May and the one before that was March.

Turkish media going online

Most of Turkey's national dailies, as well as some leading magazines and prominent TV news programs have been preparing to go online for the past few years. While the web pages of most newspapers are still in early preparation stage, the semi-official Anatolia news agency and the Hurriyet web sites are now available. Both these two sites, however, are not updated on a daily basis.

For the time being the Turkish media mostly uses the e-mail opportunities provided by the internet rather than having daily updated web sites.

The Turkish Daily News, meanwhile, launched its internet program in late December last year and since February the daily updated experimental site of the paper is available at "194.27.212.2" or "www.tdn.com.tr". The TDN web site, which will be inaugurated on May 19, 1996 will be reached at "www.turkishdailynews.com" and will be established in the United States due to difficulties in communications between Turkey and the outside world. There will be, however, a mirror site in Turkey as well to cater for domestic subscribers to the "Turkish Daily News online."

[03] PKK confirms arrested Kurdish activist is a 'PKK friend'

Turkish Daily News

WASHINGTON- Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has admitted that Kani Xulam, a Kurdish activist arrested in Washington on April 13 on passport fraud charges, is a friend of the PKK. Xulam, who worked for the American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN), was arrested for adopting three false identities since 1986 and posing as a U.S. citizen to obtain a U.S. passport.

During a MED TV broadcast on April 26 which Ocalan made by telephone from an unidentified location, he said Xulam was "a PKK friend who has been residing in the United States for 25 years, always held a fake passport given to him by the United States" -- according to the text of the broadcast translated into English by the U.S. Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS). The court records claimed that Xulam took residence in the U.S. in 1986, not in 1971 as suggested by Ocalan.

Ocalan claimed Xulam's arrest was "as insignificant to us as the cutting of a single strand of hair. The Turkish state, however, regards it as a great blow to the PKK."

Xulam, on the other hand, has been extradited to the Central District Court of California after an appeal filed on April 24 to keep him in Washington has been rejected by the District Appeals Court. A TDN source said Xulam, who is being transported to California by prison bus, reached Oklahoma on Wednesday en route to Los Angeles.

[04] Clinton expresses 'optimism' for Cyprus accord in 1996

WASHINGTON- President Bill Clinton expressed optimism in a report to Congress that a settlement could be reached in Cyprus in 1996.

Stressing that his administration hopes "to be able to launch" a new Cyprus initiative this summer, Clinton said, "If the two communities possess sufficient political will to make tradeoffs required for an intercommunal agreement, we believe it should be possible to arrive at a fair and just solution."

The American president said attaining a settlement in Cyprus "requires the active support of Turkey and Greece."

Clinton said the planned American initiative on Cyprus was delayed because of "unavoidable events."

The American initiative was originally expected to be launched last February by former Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke.

But Holbrooke and his "big push" for reunification of the island were sidetracked earlier in the year when Greece and Turkey nearly came to blows over the ownership of a rocky islet -- "Kardak" in Turkish, "Imia" in Greek -- in the Aegean.

Clinton said the groundwork for the new Cyprus initiative of his administration was complete.

"In this respect, in March I had a useful session on Cyprus with Turkish President Demirel who expressed his government's desire to be helpful," he said.

Signalling that his "Cyprus schedule" will be busy in the coming months, Clinton said "I plan on engaging other visitors similarly in the lead-up to our Cyprus effort."

Clerides, Stephanopoulos to visit US

Greek Cypriot President Glafkos Clerides will be visiting Athens on Monday for talks on Cyprus with Greek President Kostis Stephanopoulos before the two officials make separate trips to the United States.

Stephanopoulos flies to Washington on Tuesday for talks with U.S. President Bill Clinton on Greek-Turkish relations and Cyprus. Clerides is expected to meet Clinton in Washington in June.

Boucher calls on all sides to step up efforts

Meanwhile, the American ambassador to the island, Richard Boucher, has appealed to all sides involved in the Cyprus question to demonstrate stronger determination and more decisiveness and readiness so that an agreement can be reached.

In a statement, Boucher said he agreed with the U.N. secretary-general's deputy special representative, Gustave Feissel, that the issues for negotiation were on the table. "We are trying to persuade the two sides to demonstrate decisiveness and act accordingly..." Boucher said.

Visiting the island last week, American Assistant Secretary of State John Kornblum said Cyprus probably has a "unique opportunity" this year to achieve progress towards a settlement.

Denying claims in the Greek Cypriot press that he would unveil a new American initiative, Kornblum said his trip to the island was not to launch an initiative. "I come to listen, to learn and to make the personal acquaintance of all the leaders and to recommend how we can proceed further," Kornblum said.

"I can tell you that the United States is sincere about its desire to make progress here. There are a number of developments here ... there is a rapidly changing situation brought about both by the end of the Cold War and by prospects for peace in areas such as the Balkans," he said.

A U.S initiative towards efforts to broker a settlement is expected to start early in the summer, after the May general elections on the Greek Cypriot side of the divided east Mediterranean island. The new American initiative was originally expected from Kornblum's predecessor, Richard Holbrooke.

Wrapping up his visit to the island, Kornblum said "I certainly found a climate focused on problem-solving and a pragmatic approach."

"The most important thing is for the two sides to demonstrate readiness to move forward ... to show that they are ready to take the necessary decisions for a solution," he told Greek and Turkish Cypriot reporters at a Nicosia hotel in the United Nations controlled buffer zone dividing the two communities.

"There was a pragmatic attitude, focusing on issues and means of moving forward with very little polemics," he said.

"The U.S. is committed to moving things forward," he declared.

Kornblum met with Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktas during his visit. "We did not start the Cyprus problem and we are not responsible," said Denktas, speaking after a 90-minute meeting with Kornblum.

"We explained to him that we have exerted every effort for a federal structure. We no longer believe the Greek Cypriots want a federation. If they do they should come and talk with us on equal footing," said Denktas.

The Greek Cypriot government has stated it will only start negotiations with the Turkish Cypriots once "common ground" on basic aspects of the problem was achieved.

Leave Cyprus out, Greece tells Turks over EU funds

Meanwhile, Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos, currently on a visit to the Greek Cypriot side of Cyprus, said Greece would toughen its stance on Turkey's ties with Europe if the issue was connected in any way to the island's European Union entry.

Pangalos issued what he described as a warning to anyone thinking of using the island's future status as an EU member to blackmail Greece into "submission to aggressive aspirations and schemes" by Turkey.

"Any such attempt will make Greece harden its position in what concerns the relationship between Turkey and Europe," Pangalos told reporters at Larnaca airport.

The Greek Cypriot administration is due to start accession negotiations with the European Union in about 18 months time.

An accession talks date was set after Greece lifted its objections to a customs deal between the European Community and Turkey in March 1995.

But Greece and Turkey nearly came to blows in February over control of a barren Aegean outcrop called Imia by Athens and Kardak by Ankara. Since then, Greece has blocked the release of community funds Turkey would have received under terms of its customs deal with the European bloc.

Blasts hit CTP office

Meanwhile, three small bombs exploded at the Nicosia office of the socialist Republican People's Party (CTP) and a nightclub in the Turkish sector of Nicosia early on Thursday but there were no injuries, police said.

Two of the blasts damaged the Nicosia branch office of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP), a member of the coalition government of the Turkish Cypriot state, which is in favor of closer cooperation with the Greek Cypriot government. The building's door was damaged, police said in a statement.

One other bomb shattered windows at the Imparator nightclub in Nicosia. Witnesses said there had been two bombs at the nightclub.

The noise of the blasts could be heard throughout the Turkish Cypriot part of the city.

"We have been publicly threatened recently by anti-progressive forces," CTP leader Mehmet Ali Talat told Reuters. He did not elaborate.

Right-wingers have criticized the party for urging a reduction of the 30,000-strong Turkish troop presence in north Cyprus and dialogue with Greek Cypriots.

[05] Japanese Foreign Minister begins visit of Turkey

ISTANBUL- Japanese Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda arrived in Istanbul Thursday on a two-day official visit aimed at expanding Turkish-Japanese economic ties, the Anatolian News Agency reported.

"Turkey plays a key role in the changing world order," Ikeda, in Turkey as guest of Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay, declared in an arrival statement.

In addition to holding bilateral talks with his Turkish counterpart, Ikeda is expected to have an audience with President Suleyman Demirel, visit Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and meet State Minister Ufuk Soylemez.

Speaking on the same occasion, Sarik Tara, president of the Turkish- Japanese Friendship Council and chairman of the construction company Enka, said the visit would help foster closer economic ties between the two countries.

The Japanese government is providing a $530 million loan to help finance a thermal energy plant in Bursa.The power plant will be constructed within three years.

Ikeda was expected to meet a group of Turkish journalists on Thursday and fly to Ankara for official meetings. He will leave Turkey on May 4.

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