Turkish Daily News, 96-05-10

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

TURKISH DAILY NEWS
10 May 1996

CONTENTS

[01] Parliament passes second Ciller probe

[02] Ankara looks for alternatives to Baku-Supsa pipeline

[03] Turkey drafts law to regulate private power production

[04] President Demirel says straits cannot be used for increased transportation of Caspian oil

[05] Demirel calls on Turkish businessmen to put trust in Uzbekistan's future

[06] Denktas calls on Clerides for face-to-face meeting

[01] Parliament passes second Ciller probe

TDN Parliament Bureau

ANKARA- Parliament on Thursday backed a second motion introduced by the main opposition Welfare Party (RP) for an investigation of True Path Party (DYP) Chairwoman Tansu Ciller's alleged corruption in the sale of automotive concern TOFAS.

Ciller has been accused of irregularities in the bidding process regarding the selection of which firms which would market the state shares in TOFAS. The passage of a parliamentary motion late April regarding the an inquiry into Ciller concerning the alleged corruptions at state electricity distributor TEDAS led to a crisis of confidence between the coalition partners. The motion, which was also introduced by the pro-Islamic RP, was passed by 232 votes to 179 in the 550-seat Parliament in a secret vote, during which 32 deputies from Mesut Yilmaz's Motherland Party (ANAP) apparently voted in favor of the investigation, as thus against their coalition partner, the DYP.

The two center-right parties formed a coalition after the Dec. 24 election left no outright winner. A third motion requesting an investigation of Ciller's assets will be debated in Parliament within the next two weeks. Only the DYP deputies voted against the RP motion during Thursday's session. Besides ANAP, the parliamentary opposition parties, namely the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Democratic Left Party (DSP) backed the RP motion.

RP parliamentary group Deputy Chairman Sevket Kazan, who wanted the motion to be accepted by his colleagues, said that there were grave doubts over the TOFAS tender and added that the existing documents demanded the opening of an inquiry. Many from the DYP women's branch followed the debate from the viewing galleries in Parliament. Deputy Parliament Speaker Uluc Gurkan warned the spectators not to disrupt the proceedings. Ciller followed the debates from her office in Parliament.

ANAP, the RP and the DYP will each be represented by four seats on the 15-person commission; the DSP has two and the CHP one. The Parliament will decide on whether or not to recommend charges to the court after the commission of inquiry, which will convene over a four-month period, studies the allegations and presents its report. The Ciller opponents, however, have to muster 276 votes in the Parliament to send Ciller before the Supreme Court.

During the debate, Ciller was represented by Ahmet Iyimaya from the DYP group. Iyimaya said that Ciller had acted in conformity with the law and that was innocent of any responsibility. He said bureaucrats had been cleared of charges in an earlier case on the subject. He claimed that the motion was politically motivated and had no legal foundation.

The ANAP administration branded Ciller's harsh criticism of her coalition partner for its support for the RP motions as unjust. ANAP parliamentary group Deputy Chairman Cumhur Ersumer rejected all the charges which Ciller levelled on Wednesday against his party at a press conference in Parliament. Ersumer said his party faced accusations which it had never deserved.

Ersumer said that he and his colleagues did not have the intention of stabbing Ciller in the back, as she has claimed. Yilmaz, who has not met with Ciller since the crisis of confidence emerged on April 24, talked with her over the phone last week and told her that the ANAP parliamentary group would continue to cast its votes as it wished during the votes on the parliamentary investigations. As a result of the ongoing criticism by Ciller to discredit the government, Yilmaz demonstrated that he did not intend to make sacrifices for the continuation of the government.

(TDN, 10.05.1996, page 1)

[02] Ankara looks for alternatives to Baku-Supsa pipeline

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- Turkey, unable to persuade the international oil consortium on Turkish terms for financing the Baku-Supsa pipeline, explicitly declared Thursday that it would look for alternative ways for transporting Caspian oil via Turkey.

"We have not abandoned the Baku-Supsa pipeline," Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Nurettin Nurkan said in his weekly press conference on Thursday. "But if there is any delay or reluctance on the realization of the Baku-Supsa route -- which we consider as an essential component of the Baku-Ceyhan line -- Turkey will use its own initiative to look at other alternatives." He said that a possible alternative was having talks with Georgia and Azerbaijan for the transit rights of Azeri oil.

Since 1991, Turkey has aimed to ensure the passage of oil pipelines that would carry the lucrative Caspian oil to European markets via its own territory. When the project for Azeri early oil came up, Turkey shifted the balances from the Russian route -- that would take the oil to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk -- by saying that it would finance the Baku-Supsa route and buy the early oil. From then on, Ankara would carry the route further, down to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan.

In order to ensure that the Baku-Supsa route will be a step toward the longer Baku-Ceyhan one, Ankara insisted on certain conditions on the financing agreement, ranging from a Turkish-dominated consortium to build the pipeline to explicit wording that the ultimate aim was a Baku-Ceyhan pipeline. Ankara also said that there should be an upper limit to the transportation capacity of the pipeline.

But the International Consortium for Azeri Oil (AIOC) failed to accept those conditions so far, and announced that it had opted instead for inviting fresh bids for the project.

Almost simultaneously with the delay in the Baku-Supsa agreement, Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement for the construction of an oil pipeline that would take the oil from the Tenghiz fields to Novorossiysk.

In a direct response to the developments, Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay said earlier this week that Turkey was looking for new alternatives to the Baku-Supsa pipeline, and was quoted as saying that the project had been abandoned.

A day later, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported that the Turkish credit offer made to the AIOC had been withdrawn. This had been conveyed to AIOC President Terry Adams in a letter, Anatolia said.

Spokesman Nurkan sought to bring clarification to Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay's statement in his weekly press conference, saying that Turkey had not given up the Baku-Supsa pipeline.

"We continue to consider it as an important step to the realization of the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline," Nurkan said.

If Baku-Supsa is not possible

Nurkan stressed that Turkey would bring no new offers to the consortium, but use its own initiative to talk to Georgia and Azerbaijan on transit rights. This may mean that Turkey, through its own financing, may seek a new route that would bring Azeri oil to Tbilisi and transport it to Ceyhan via a pipeline from there. However, it seems difficult to assess the feasibility of such a project, particularly if it is to be carried out independently of -- if not in spite of -- the international consortium which has been established for the transportation of the Caspian oil. Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay will make a swift working visit to Washington on May 19, to discuss, along with Turco-Greek relations and Operation Provide Comfort, the oil pipeline issue and ask for Washington's support on the transportation of oil via Turkey.

Ankara has also started issuing strong messages on the safety of the Bosphorus. "It is very clear that the safety of the straits and Istanbul cannot be jeopardized," spokesman Nurkan said, adding Turkey was ready to make adjustments regarding the safety of its territorial waters.

Nurkan's remarks indicate a pending assessment in the Turkish Foreign Ministry of further measures Turkey can use against the large oil tankers which pass through the Bosphorus. "We have no intention of revising the Montreux Convention," Nurkan assured.

(TDN, 10.05.1996, page 1)

[03] Turkey drafts law to regulate private power production

ANKARA- The coalition government is reportedly drafting a fresh piece of legislation in order to regulate power production by private sector companies both for their own use and to trade.

Energy sources said the draft, detailing the principles of auto-production, will encourage private firms to generate power.

"A new 'build-operate' system will thrive to ensure maximum participation of private firms, including auto-production, into the energy sector," the Anatolia news agency quoted one official as saying.

The draft, prepared by the Energy Ministry, has been sent to ministers' desks. It may win Cabinet approval within a week. The draft excludes nuclear, hydroelectric and geothermal power stations from the scope of the proposed build-operate model. It includes thermal, liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas and imported coal-fired stations.

The Energy Ministry will be authorized to set electricity rates if a private producer wishes to supply power to the public. The ministry will also be allowed to give purchase guarantees to private producers through the national power company TEAS.

Some 64 percent of Turkey's total power generation of 85 billion kilowatt hours in 1995 was used in the industrial sector.

(TDN, 10.05.1996, page 2)

[04] President Demirel says straits cannot be used for increased transportation of Caspian oil

By Yusuf Kanli
Turkish Daily News

SAMARKAND- President Suleyman Demirel, in Uzbekistan for an official visit, said on Wednesday that the Turkish straits could not be used to transport excessive amounts of Caspian crude oil to international markets.

"The party that tries to increase the load on the straits excessively will find its tankers stacking up at the entrance of these straits," Demirel said.

Turkey has been wary of an agreement between Russia and Kazakhstan that threatens to dangerously increase the oil tanker traffic in the Turkish straits.

Turkey is not telling any country that it cannot use the straits, Demirel said. But he added that the volume of traffic that these waterways could handle was ultimately limited.

"Now we are talking about transporting early oil. That is 5 million-10 million tons of oil per year. This is no problem. But what will happen when the need arises for transporting 100 or more million tons of oil per year?" Demirel said while talking to reporters in the ancient city of Samarkand.

Demirel added that a pipeline running between Baku in Azerbaijan and Ceyhan on Turkey's Mediterranean coast was "a must" and said he believed everyone would come around to realizing this eventually.

Demirel's remarks followed the remarks of Turkish Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay earlier in the week in which he suggested Turkey could institute further safety measures in the straits if Russia planned to increase the tanker traffic there for Caspian oil.

Russia considers the new safety measures introduced in July 1994 and these latest remarks of Gonensay's as a ploy by Ankara aimed at forcing the issue of a pipeline going over Eastern Anatolia.

Ankara does not deny the advantages such a pipeline will bring Turkey but also says it is sincere when it expresses concern for safety in the straits.

This concern is especially acute for the Bosphorus which has witnessed major tanker accidents in recent years and on whose two shores hundreds of thousands of Istanbul residents live.

(TDN, 10.05.1996, page 3)

[05] Demirel calls on Turkish businessmen to put trust in Uzbekistan's future

Turkish Daily News

TASHKENT- President Suleyman Demirel on Thursday called on Turkish businessmen to "continue trusting in the future of Uzbekistan" and to invest in that country.

Demirel was speaking to a group of Turkish investors in the capital of Uzbekistan just prior to ending his official visit to that country.

Demirel said that Turkey and Uzbekistan were brotherly countries. He indicated that the country that had been the most pleased when Uzbekistan gained its independence was Turkey. "This is because Turkey itself won a war of liberation and is naturally pleased to see this as an example to other countries," he said.

Indicating that institutionalization in accordance with current needs was one of the major problems facing countries like Uzbekistan today, Demirel said Turkish businessmen could contribute to the development of these countries.

"We have no other aim but to serve Uzbekistan. Others may have ideas of coming here and securing great benefits for themselves. But such an idea does not exist in the minds of our businessmen," Demirel said.

He indicated the fact that an estimated 200 Turkish companies were now engaged in serious operations in that country was a matter that had to be deeply appreciated. "We know the difficulties involved in a country that is just opening up to a market economy. But what is important here is good intentions ... Two of Turkey's greatest assets are democracy and entrepreneurs who are aware of modern technology. May God make your endeavors easier," Demirel said.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday on his talks with the president of Uzbekistan, Islam Kerimov, and his contacts during his official visit to that country, Demirel said the development of Eurasia was an opportunity for mankind that should not be missed.

He pointed out that 200 years of Russian and Soviet administration in the region had had a significant destructive effect.

Demirel said that the Soviet Union had dissolved but that there were still different peoples within the borders of the Russian federation.

He pointed to the restive Chechens in this regard and said Russia had tried to crush this nation in order to set an example to others who may be thinking of independence from the federation.

"It is not right (for Russia) to say, 'This is Russia's internal affair. I can shed blood as I please.' There are international relations," Demirel said.

He went on to say that certain republics had been forced into the Soviet Union even though they had nothing in common with Russia in terms of their ethnicity, culture or religion.

He said that now that these countries had gained their independence and were trying to stand on their own feet they were disturbed at certain efforts aimed at trying to revive the Soviet Union.

"Politically speaking Eurasia has just joined the world geography," Demirel said, adding that developments in Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Eurasia concerned Turkey very closely.

He pointed out that of the 3,200 foreign companies from 65 countries in Uzbekistan 200 were Turkish. He said that the value of Turkey's business undertakings abroad today stood at $10 billion and said this figure could easily be increased to $50 billion.

(TDN, 10.05.1996, page 3)

[06] Denktas calls on Clerides for face-to-face meeting

WASHINGTON -- Rauf Denktas, president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), repeated his call for a face-to-face meeting with Glafkos Clerides, president of Greek Cyprus, in order to resolve the Cyprus issue. According to the TRNC office in New York, Denktas said: "We can resolve this matter on a reciprocal basis, by respecting each other's equality, sovereignty, rights and status; by respecting bi-zonality; and by considering the Treaties of Guarantee and Alliance, which saved Cyprus from being colonized [by Greece], as fundamental. There is no other way."

Clerides recently said that Turkey had to "change its mentality" to clear the way for a solution. Responding to Clerides' remark, Denktas recalled that it was not Turkey which had created the Cyprus problem. He advised Clerides to read his own memoirs. A spokesman for the TRNC's New York office said that Clerides in his book "Cyprus: My Deposition" had admitted that the Greek preoccupation, from the beginning, had been that "Cyprus should be a Greek Cypriot state," whereas the Turkish Cypriot preoccupation "was to defeat any such effort and to maintain the partnership concept."

Pointing out that the threat posed by Greece to Cyprus would continue as long as the former's claim over the island continued, Denktas said the most obvious evidence of this was "the militarization in the south, the military agreement signed with Greece, and the Greek Cypriot side's effort to dominate the island through the European Union (EU)."

(TDN, 10.05.1996, page 4)

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