Turkish Daily News, 96-05-06

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

TURKISH DAILY NEWS
6 May 1996

CONTENTS

[01] Egypt: Strategical pacts in Mideast may invite counter pacts

[02] Yasser Arafat praises Turkey's support for Palestinian cause

[03] Turkey, Egypt explore prospects of technical cooperation in defense

[04] Coalition crisis lingers on

[01] Egypt: Strategical pacts in Mideast may invite counter pacts

Amr Moussa visit shows Turkey has to convince Arabs about PKK

By Ilnur Cevik
Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa departed from the Turkish capital convinced that the recent military training accord between Turkey and Israel will not create a strategical alliance between the two countries and thus ruin the delicate balances in the region.

Speaking to some leading newspaper editors at the residence of the Egyptian ambassador Thursday night, the visiting foreign minister stressed such an alliance would spoil the delicate balance of power in the region and ruin the already fragile peace process.

"Turkish leaders explained to us that the agreement reached between Turkey and Israel is very similar to the accords Ankara has signed with more than a dozen countries and we are satisfied," the foreign minister told the editors.

He said he was not informed about the content of the agreement but added that the accord was not secret or beyond his reach. Amr Moussa was informed that the agreement would be submitted to the Turkish Parliament for approval.

Egyptian sources said they were concerned because a joint military venture between Turkey and Israel which would especially create a strategical alliance would be harmful not only to the region but to the strong bonds that have been forged between Cairo and Ankara in recent years. "We have a peace and cooperation agreement with Israel but this is not a military pact and it does not create a strategical alliance," Amr Moussa told the editors. "A strategical pact would only invite counter reaction and would further create non-confidence in the region," he warned.

Egyptian officials said Egypt as a friendly country to Turkey did not create a fuss over reports that Ankara had made a military deal with Israel, and had preferred to send its foreign minister to the Turkish capital to get an on-the-spot picture of the real situation. "President Suleyman Demirel and Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay assured us that there is no strategical link between the two countries and we are satisfied," Amr Moussa said.

The Egyptian foreign minister also stressed that while his country did not approve of the Iranian policy of exporting its revolution abroad, it also did not feel that arguments that Iran should not acquire nuclear arms were valid. "Israel, which has refused to sign the nuclear nonproliferation treaty, is allowed to have nuclear arms and other countries in the region are not. This is not logical. If we do not want Iran to acquire nuclear arms then Israel should also give up its nuclear arsenal and thus put an end to the arms race. If not, an arms race is inevitable," Amr Moussa declared.

The Turkish Daily News was told the Egyptians also feel very strongly about the territorial integrity of Iraq. "We are against any moves that will divide Iraq," the foreign minister said.

Egyptian officials privately told the TDN they do not want Iraq split into three parts, with northern Iraq under Kurdish rule, central Iraq controlled by Saddam Hussein, and southern Iraq becoming a Shiite entity.

Amr Moussa said Egypt had voiced its concerns to the Western powers on several occasions. He said Washington told Cairo the recent U.S. move to patrol the skies of southern Iraq with its fighter planes based in Jordan was "temporary" and the planes would be withdrawn.

"The people of Iraq are suffering. They do not have food or medicines. The international community has a duty to help them and in this regard we are also seeking help from Turkey," Amr Moussa said.

The Egyptian foreign minister also said his country condemns every terrorist action levelled against Turkey. "We cannot tolerate actions against Turkish society. If this comes from the PKK we also condemn this action."

Egyptian officials accompanying Amr Moussa said they would raise Ankara's concerns about the PKK and the water issue with the Syrian administration. "Talking about your problems offers the best solution. The Syrians will be informed about Turkey's deep concerns," the officials said.

However, the officials stressed that Egypt needed more information about the PKK before it condemned it. He hinted that Turkey should also do some explaining to the Arab countries about the PKK as it does to the Western countries. "If you lobby with the United States about the PKK you should do the same with Egypt," a ranking Egyptian official told the TDN.

Amr Moussa said the rise of extremism in the Middle East went hand in hand with the injustices done to the Palestinians. "You cannot have a solution in the Middle East as long as the Palestinians do not have their own state," Amr Moussa said.

[02] Yasser Arafat praises Turkey's support for Palestinian cause

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, taking a different position from other Arab countries, has refrained from any direct criticism of Turkey for its recent military accord with Israel and has instead praised Ankara for its unwavering support to date for the Palestinian cause.

Arafat was talking on Thursday at a press conference he held at the U.N. headquarters in New York after a working lunch with U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.

Questioned about a recent agreement permitting Israeli air force pilots to train in Turkish airspace, he was quoted by Reuters as saying: "The most important thing to me is that there are good and strong relations between Turkey and the Palestinians. Turkey supports the demands of the Palestinian people and the... establishment of comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East."

Arafat also referred to the visit to Gaza by Turkish President Suleyman Demirel and said it must not be forgotten that this was a successful visit, the Anatolia news agency,also reporting on the press conference, said on Thursday.

The military cooperation accord Turkey signed with Israel in February has come under fire from the Arab League, individual Arab countries and Iran for "serious risking the disruption of regional balances."

Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa, whose country spoke out against the accord, was told in Ankara on Thursday that the arrangement between Turkey and Israel did not target any country in specific and could not be considered a step at forming a "strategic alliance."

[03] Turkey, Egypt explore prospects of technical cooperation in defense

ANKARA- Turkey and Egypt explored on Friday the prospects of technical cooperation in the field of defense during the two-day working visit of Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa.

Egypt, whose concern over the signing of a Turco-Israeli military training accord, appeared eager to "activate" the defense technical cooperation accord, which had been signed in the early 1990s.

Moussa, in a press conference before his departure, signalled the Egyptian eagerness for the deal.

According to diplomats from both sides, the accord is as important as the Turco-Israeli deal, which Ankara assured was a "largely routine one" that Turkey signed with many other countries.

The prospects of activating the accord was discussed by Moussa and Turkish Defense Minister Oltan Sungurlu. "It is important that your visit took place after the clouds of anger have dissolved," Sungurlu said, in a thinly-veiled reference to the Arab wrath against the Turco-Israeli deal.

Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, who also received Moussa, said that Turkey and Egypt were two countries that were the pillars of stability in the Middle East.

[04] Coalition crisis lingers on

By Kemal Balci
TDN Parliament Bureau

ANKARA- The True Path Party (DYP)-Motherland Party (ANAP) coalition government has been plagued by a confidence crisis since April 24 when some ANAP deputies voted in favor of a Welfare Party (RP) motion calling for a parliamentary inquiry into alleged irregularities committed in the awarding of electricity contracts under DYP leader Tansu Ciller's prime ministry.

The confidence crisis is turning into a fully-fledged government crisis. The second motion introduced against Ciller will be put to a vote in the Parliament on May 9. If the ANAP deputies turn their back on their coalition partner in that vote too, the coalition may collapse.

DYP officials, still simmering with resentment over the fact that some ANAP deputies voted against their leader Ciller on the Turkish Electricity Distribution Company (TEDAS) issue, have a tendency to cause problems for ANAP by delaying government action. First, the DYP wing of the coalition government boycotted government meetings. Then, to create problems for ANAP leader Mesut Yilmaz, they refused to sign any government decrees. DYP leader Tansu Ciller publicly complained that the government had done nothing since Mesut Yilmaz became the "rotating prime minister" two months ago, and that Mesut Yilmaz had not performed successfully.

The DYP side not only boycotted government meetings but also prevented the convening of the Central Bank General Assembly meeting last week. State Minister Yaman Toruner, who is a member of the DYP, tried to attend the meeting as the Treasury representative. On the agenda was a discussion of the bank accounts of the period during which Toruner himself had been the Central Bank governor. When Prime MInister Yilmaz got wind of Toruner's attempt, he sent written orders which said that State Minister Rusdu Saracoglu of the ANAP, another ex-Central Bank governor, was authorized to represent the Treasury at the meeting. Following the incidents which prevented the convening of the Central Bank General Assembly, Toruner had a quarrel with Prime Minister Yilmaz, reportedly telling him, "I will not take orders from you."

In the face of the "obstructionist" attitude of his coalition partner, Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz decided to adopt new tactics. After the RP motion on TEDAS was adopted by the Parliament, Yilmaz did not even phone Ciller. And he did not invite State Minister Yaman Toruner to a recent "summit meeting" where key economic decisions were made. Angered by that development, Toruner boycotted the government meeting which discussed the May Day incidents in Istanbul.

During a telephone conversation he had with Ciller on Wednesday, Yilmaz said he would not change his basic stance regarding the motions introduced against Ciller, which he recently summed up as: "The ANAP deputies are free to vote in any direction according to their own consciences."

Yilmaz has also decided to stage a press conference next Monday to explain to the general public his government's performance in the past two months. He has already announced that the ANAP-DYP partnership was continuing in line with the coalition protocol, and that ANAP would not be the side which ends the coalition government, unless faced "with an act contrary to the coalition protocol."

Meanwhile, desperate not to be seen as the person who ended the coalition because of a motion introduced against her, Tansu Ciller decided not to pull the DYP from the coalition at least until May 9 when another motion on alleged irregularities will be debated and put to a vote. She will make a final decision on May 9 if she fails to get from her coalition partner the support she expects. That motion involves alleged irregularities in the sale of the state-owned shares in TOFAS car company.

Though it continues to exist legally, the DYP-ANAP coalition is not functioning anymore. Whether it will be brought to an end legally too will depend on the DYP circles' capacity to endure the anti-Ciller motions being introduced one after another.

Meanwhile, there are reports indicating that ANAP officials are having "secret" talks with the Welfare Party with a view to reviving the coalition talks between the two parties if the current DYP-ANAP coalition collapses.

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