Turkish Daily News, 96-05-25

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

TURKISH DAILY NEWS
25 May 1996

CONTENTS

[01] DYP to withdraw from coalition

[02] Defense Minister says cancellation of Turco-Israeli pact not on agenda

[03] U.S. delegation chief: Habitat means Istanbul is 'confluence of ideas, thoughts, exciting potential'

[04] Election time at Turkey's largest business organization

[01] DYP to withdraw from coalition

Consequences: Demirel, keeping himself out of the slush fund dispute, said the government continues until it resigns and warned Ciller she 'will have to bear the consequences' if she doesn't inform Yilmaz on where TL 500 billion went

Partners in crime: ANAP officials thanked Demirel for his statesmanly stance and claimed the next coalition will most likely be a 'partnership in crime' between the DYP and the RP

TDN Parliament Bureau

ANKARA- Following her meeting with President Suleyman Demirel on Thursday evening, True Path Party (DYP) Chairperson Tansu Ciller on Friday announced the end of the three-month-old Motherpath government, saying that DYP executives will be taking the necessary step to end the partnership with the Motherland Party (ANAP).

Ciller's statement came from Madrid where was attending a conference on the subject of "Europe's Future." She reiterated her views about her partner, Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, saying his government is finished both "legally and practically."

"Being a minority government it cannot carry out the functions of state in this situation. In other words the government is finished. Our (DYP) authorized bodies will take the necessary step. It is essential to form a majority government which can work and solve the country's problems. The DYP will give the necessary support to such a majority government," said Ciller.

Adding that Yilmaz is ignoring the Constitutional Court decision annulling the confidence vote, Ciller further criticized Yilmaz for indifference.

She had made similar statements after a meeting with President Demirel the previous day when she said she had informed the president about her controversial slush fund spending. She had also asked the president not to approve government decisions because the government didn't legally exist.

During a press conference after her meeting with Demirel, Ciller said that she went to meet the president with all of the documents concerning the use of the TL 500 billion from the slush fund and gave every necessary information expected from her. "The issue is closed for me. I am not going to give any information to the prime minister whose position became questionable with the court decision," she said.

Demirel's statement on the meeting with Ciller came with a press release from his press office. In the press release Demirel did confirm Ciller's statement about her demand that he shouldn't approve government decisions, but said he would continue to consider the government as existing until it resigned.

He denied, however, having received any information from Ciller concerning the slush fund spending. On the contrary, he quoted Ciller as saying she isn't entitled to give any information to anyone about the fund. He said he reiterated that Ciller should give the information on the slush fund to the prime minister and not himself. "If you refuse to inform the prime minister then you will have to bear the consequences," Demirel was quoted in the presidential press release. Demirel also underlined that it was up to the Parliament if it wanted to oust the government but until then, if the government remains in office, "state affairs cannot be stopped."

Ciller, meanwhile, didn't respond to any questions from journalists, leading to assessments that the president wasn't actually satisfied with her explanations.

Assessing the Demirel-Ciller meeting, DYP deputy Chairman Hasan Ekinci, on Friday said, "Ciller submitted information (regarding the slush fund) to the president and now the public's wish has been granted. The public and Prime Minister Yilmaz wanted this, the nation wanted this," he said.

Ekinci said Ciller went to the president, placing all documents concerning the slush fund spending, and requested "his orders" on the matter, "even though there is no legal obligation on the part of Ciller to submit information to the president and that the president is not legally entitled to demand information on the slush fund." He defined Ciller's gesture as one to satisfy public opinion.

Ciller's aide defended his leader saying she was right not to show Yilmaz the slush fund documents or to make any explanation to him "because the public doesn't want this since this person (Yilmaz) first leaked state secret documents to the press, and then started using language which put our party under suspicion."

When asked why the president asked Ciller to give the information to Yilmaz, Ekinci said, "That is entirely the president's decision." He further said that DYP executives will take the necessary decision regarding the coalition.

Meanwhile, Ciller sent the resignations of two DYP ministers to Prime Minister Yilmaz. State Ministers Unal Erkan and Ayvaz Gokdemir had presented their resignations to their party leader on Wednesday. Erkan on Friday confirmed that his and Gokdemir's resignations were sent to Yilmaz for him to put into action. "There is a confidence crisis, I couldn't continue in such a government," Erkan stated.

ANAP: Prime Ministry is the address

ANAP officials on Friday argued that the next "majority coalition" that Ciller was talking about would most likely be a coalition between the DYP and the Islamist RP.

Deputy Chairman Yasar Okuyan during a press conference said that the address of the slush fund documents was the Prime Ministry and not the presidential palace, claiming that Ciller is planning to use the June 2 local by-elections to settle the account with Yilmaz. "We accept her challenge", Okuyan said.

He further stated that Ciller's plan was to establish a coalition with the RP which he said "will be a partnership in crime."

Halit Dumankaya, another deputy chairman in ANAP, accused Ciller of having used the presidency for her political aims. "Ciller is total confused in going so far as to say she had submitted all information (about the slush fund) to the president (even though the president denied it)," Dumankaya said during a press conference he held at ANAP headquarters on Friday.

Dumankaya said that the president acted in the manner expected of him and he thanked Demirel on ANAP's behalf. "Mrs. Ciller is trying to fool the public," he said.

Responding to the question of a DYP-RP coalition, Dumankaya said that such a coalition would not necessarily be a majority government, "but one that would save Ciller from going to the Supreme Court." To another question about the resignation of the two DYP ministers, Dumankaya said, "Ministers cannot be considered as having quit simply by handing in resignations."

Burhan Kara, an ANAP deputy chairman, also reacted against Ciller's statement saying it would be up to Prime Minister Yilmaz to decide the government's fate. He said that ANAP will also convene its executive board and assess the situation if the DYP executives decide to withdraw from the government.

"Prime Minister Yilmaz will decide what to do regarding the government. Our decision making body may decide to carry on the government and make new appointments to replace the DYP ministers, or maybe find another coalition partner and carry on with a new partner," he said.

Speaking to the TDN, Kara said that Ciller's meeting with the president had proved that the DYP leader had been lying to the nation all this time.

DYP files inquiry motion against Yilmaz

The senior coalition partner the DYP on Friday filed a motion of inquiry concerning ANAP leader and Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz's private assets.

The motion alleges that Yilmaz, his wife Berna Yilmaz and brother Turgut Yilmaz amassed their private assets by illegal means, and that they subsequently hid these assets.

Mehmet Gozlukaya, the deputy head of the DYP's parliamentary group, told a press conference on the subject that Prime Minister Yilmaz had abused his political position after 1985, both as a minister and then as prime minister, to amass private wealth.

The allegations in the DYP's inquiry motion are listed as follows: <UL> <LI>The Transalkim company established in 1980 in Germany, which was under the administration of Mesut Yilmaz and his sister-in-law Claudia Yilmaz until 1985, was after that date transferred to the name of the company's accountant Herbert Bader. How was the DM 50,000 used as capital to set up this company acquired? Was the money earned brought to Turkey or left in Germany? There are also allegations that arms purchases during the time that Mesut Yilmaz served as foreign minister in 1980s were transported to Turkey by Transalkim. <LI>In whose name were the four accounts belonging to the Yilmaz family in Cologne Germany at Sparkasse Bank -- which hold millions of marks -- opened? Who holds the drawing rights to these accounts? <LI>The Delta leather goods factory belonging to the Yilmaz family was located in Istanbul's Maltepe district after Yilmaz used his political power to this end. There is a court ruling against this factory on the grounds that it did not pay its VAT. Transalkim was implicated in bogus export allegations involving the Delta Foreign Trade Company's 1991-92 transactions. <LI>Mesut Yilmaz did not list his shares in Financebank in his mandatory declaration of his private assets. This constitutes a crime. <LI>There are various allegations concerning the deeds that the Yilmaz family holds in the Beyaz Saray office center inIstanbul. There are also allegations that the house that Yilmaz lives in belongs to a contractor, and suspicions about the deeds to his house in Bodrum. <LI>There are also allegations that Yilmaz was instrumental in having credits extended by irregular means to the AKFA group of companies belonging to his family when he was minister and prime minister. <LI>Is the Yilmaz family a partner in the Conrad hotel in Istanbul? </UL>

[02] Defense Minister says cancellation of Turco-Israeli pact not on agenda

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- Minister for Defense Oltan Sungurlu said on Friday that a cancellation of the accord Turkey concluded with Israel in February was not on the agenda.

Addressing a press conference, Sungurlu said that recent media speculation that Turkey was preparing to cancel this controversial accord had resulted from a misrepresentation of words he had spoken in response to a question.

"Many questions were asked me (by the press) on this subject. They wanted to know if the accord could be cancelled and I said this could be done legally although this was not a subject on the agenda."

Pointing out that the accord, which elicited an angry reaction from Islamic circles in Turkey and from Arab countries, was renewable annually, Sungurlu said therefore it could easily be ended.

He repeated, however, that such a cancellation was not currently on the agenda of either the Ministry for Defense or the office of the chief of General Staff.

Sungurlu also denied that the accord with Israeli foresaw joint military maneuvers between the two countries.

"I don't think there is question of such a thing. I have not heard that joint maneuvers will be held. Had there been such a thing I would have heard of it," Sungurlu said.

Asked about the four-day visit that Admiral Guven Erkaya paid to Israel earlier this week, Sungurlu said it had been a "fact-finding" visit.

He added that he had not further information on Admiral Erkaya's contacts in Israel.

Admiral Erkaya was received by Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres on Thursday, the last day of his visit to that country.

The discussions during the visit were said to have concentrated on ways to further improve defense cooperation, the Anatolia news agency reporting from Tel Aviv said.

An Israeli Defense Ministry source was quoted by Anatolia as saying later that Peres, who is also defense minister, had expressed his satisfaction over the level of Turkish-Israeli cooperation, especially in defense.

The same source indicated that Admiral Erkaya had inspected military factories and bases during his four-day visit to Israel and had explored the potential for military cooperation.

[03] U.S. delegation chief: Habitat means Istanbul is 'confluence of ideas, thoughts, exciting potential'

Turkish Daily News

WASHINGTON- Hosting the Habitat II conference means figuratively that "Istanbul once again is becoming the confluence of ideas, confluence of thoughts, confluence of exciting potential," in the view of the American official who will head his country's delegation to the "city summit."

Speaking in a televised discussion on Thursday with participants in Istanbul, Ankara, Calcutta and Bangkok, Henry Cisneros, the U.S. secretary of housing and urban development (HUD), said the conference will enable Istanbul to "play the role that it has played throughout history, which is as a communications crossroads for the world."

"In the past," the U.S. official commented, "Istanbul played the role of a critical geographic crossroads, linking Asia and Europe, and connecting trade routes from time immemorial, for better than, well, 2000 years. This time, Istanbul positions itself at the center of the communications technology crossroads and brings people together to focus on solutions."

Cisneros forecast that, "if this conference goes as well as I hope it will, (Istanbul) will be remembered for the next 50 years as a place where the focal point on shelter and urban settlements began. So I suspect that as we look back, people will talk about not Habitat II, but Istanbul, as the conference that they remember starting off this critical commitment to work on these problems."

Cisneros said that the United States is looking to both "share with the world developments in urban progress... and learn from developments around the world." The U.S. delegation will focus on issues of sustainability, cooperative strategies with other governments, and "creating a framework in which partnership with the nonprofit sector ... can play an increasing role in solving urban problems around the world."

Urban problems "are among the most pressing of all ... global issues," he said. "Many experts believe that in the next century, one of the premier problems facing the globe will be the out-migration from rural areas to cities."

Cisneros said "the integration of global concerns, global structures and local action is not only possible, but indeed imperative." The conference will be important for countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Western Europe, as well as for the United States and Japan, "to the extent that we can see patterns of organization that allow us to learn from one another."

The conference "gives us an opportunity to highlight issues such as homelessness," which is a serious problem in the United States, Cisneros said.

"We've developed some techniques that we think actually work, work well. And the application of these techniques in other countries, such as in Turkey, could be one of the positive outcomes of a conference such as this; just sharing information."

The discussion was carried over WorldNet, the international television service of the United States Information Agency.

[04] Election time at Turkey's largest business organization

ANKARA- After intense legal disputes, the weekend is the general meeting and election time at Turkey's largest business grouping, TOBB, which has more than 600,000 members, mostly small and medium-scale businesses in urban as well as rural areas.

Two rivals, Ahmet Cavusoglu and Fuat Miras, gave pace to their lobbying before elections at the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB).

Current Chairman Fuat Miras is expected to get the support of Samsun Chamber of Commerce as well as Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO) which will pay an important role in the elections.

Acting upon the TOBB appeal, a district election board in Ankara ruled last week that the elections at the union could be held under to previous regulations whereby only (TOBB) council members are allowed to vote for the chairman and the board members.

Sources close to TOBB said the ruling would increase the changes of the current chairman, Fuat Miras.

"Mr. Cavusoglu would have had stronger chances had the election board allowed all delegates to vote," said the same source.

Cavusoglu, currently the chairman of the Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO), has long been challenging the TOBB administration, accusing the chairman and the board members of "politicizing the organization."

Miras, a prominent business figure said earlier the May convention would not hold elections to renew the group's executive board. "Unless the legal complications concerning elections at TOBB are removed, we shall have to postpone elections. Until then, the current executive board will remain at office," Miras said.

A government decree, which authorized the Cabinet "to make amendments in the law on TOBB," was cancelled by the Constitutional Court, leaving behind several unexplained and controversial areas concerning the election process.

The controversy centered on whether the delegates or business councils of the TOBB would vote for the executive board.

Cavusoglu had been accusing TOBB administrators of trying to avoid polls. Cavusoglu declared earlier he would run for the presidency at the May convention.

"I see no obstacles, legal or otherwise, against polls. The argument that there is confusion concerning the election process is the latest alibi in a series the present management has been trying to invent over the past year," Cavusoglu said.

In January, a major reshuffle at TOBB caused a political controversy with allegations that the new administration was "chopping off" executives close to President Suleyman Demirel.

Miras replaced State Minister Yalim Erez, who was elected to Parliament on the True Path Party ticket at the Dec. 24 polls.

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