Turkish Daily News, 96-06-05

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

TURKISH DAILY NEWS
5 June 1996

CONTENTS

[01] Turkish inflation remains unbeaten amid political turmoil

[02] Intense contacts underway for Operation Provide Comfort force

[03] Yilmaz reminds EU of its obligations to Turkey

[01] Turkish inflation remains unbeaten amid political turmoil

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- Turkey's rampant inflation remained unchallenged in May when annual consumer price inflation rose to 82.9 percent, the highest since October, official figures revealed on Tuesday.

The State Institute of Statistics (DIE) said that consumer prices in May soared by 4.5 percent, sending the year-on-year rate to 82.9 percent, up from 80.8 percent in April, 79.3 percent in March, 77.5 percent in February and 78.1 percent in January. Monthly inflation in May was, however, the lowest since November's 4.7 percent.

DIE said that wholesale prices went up by 4.1 percent in May, down on 8.1 percent the previous month. It was the lowest monthly rate since November's 3.5 percent.

It said that year-on-year wholesale inflation was 73.7 percent in May, the highest annual rate since last October. Wholesale prices had risen on an annual basis by 69.9 percent in April, 65.3 percent in March, 63 percent in February and 64.9 percent in January.

The national statistics agency also said that the annual average consumer and wholesale inflation rates in May were 80.8 percent and 70.3 percent respectively.

Retail prices, according to the DIE price index, based on the 1994 prices, went up by 33.3 percent in the January-May period. Wholesale price inflation in the same period was 39.9 percent. Turkey's original target for the year 1996 is 65 percent.

The DIE statistics suggest that the government remained relatively reluctant in raising state sector prices but private companies were seen to be more tempted to hike prices. The government sector's (wholesale) price inflation was 3.3 percent in May, down on 4.4 percent in the private sector.

Analysts see further rises in Turkish prices. They say any further political complications and heavier anticipation of early polls would push particularly private sector firms to raise prices. They also say that the government might remain reluctant on public sector price hikes in the event of early polls.

The International Monetary Fund, with which Turkey recently concluded a round of consultation meetings, sees higher inflation for Turkey. Martin Hardy, head of an IMF mission which left Ankara last week, said he expected higher rates of inflation ahead for Turkey.

[02] Intense contacts underway for Operation Provide Comfort force

By Kemal Balci
TDN Parliament Bureau

ANKARA- An intense flurry of discreet diplomatic activity is taking place concerning the Operation Provide Comfort (OPC) force, the Turkey-based multinational relief force for the northern Iraqi Kurds the mandate for which expires at the end of the current month. Following Defense Minister Oltan Sungurlu's visit to the United States, the U.S. Ambassador in Ankara Mark Grossman paid a call on opposition Democratic Left Party (DSP) Chairman Bulent Ecevit yesterday. Before the government takes a final decision on the OPC issue Sungurlu will reportedly have another meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry at the NATO Defense Planning Committee meeting scheduled to take place on June 13.

Accompanied by two diplomats, one of them the embassy counsellor, Ambassador Grossman had a 75-minute meeting with Ecevit at the latter's office in Parliament at noon yesterday. Those present included Chairman of the DSP parliamentary group Mumtaz Soysal and DSP Izmir Deputy Sukru Gurel.

Assessed at the meeting was the "regional security plan" recently proposed by the DSP. The U.S. ambassador reportedly referred to certain steps taken in the direction sought by Turkey, and asked the DSP to agree to a further renewal of the OPC mandate.

The DSP plan says, among other things, that Turkey should strive to ensure cooperation between the administration in northern Iraq and the Baghdad government. Referring to that suggestion Grossman made a remark along the lines of, "One can not rely on the Baghdad regime. When putting forth such a suggestion Turkey should be prepared for the future risks."

Grossman reportedly reacted negatively to the part of the DSP plan which said that the OPC headquarters in the northern Iraqi town of Zakho should be moved to Turkey's Silopi district. He stressed that Turkish military officers were serving anyway in the unit based in Zakho.

Ecevit's reply to that was to say that as a concrete step intended to relieve the worries of the Turkish public, it would be far better to set up a 'liaison office with northern Iraq' in Silopi. Without that, that is, without seeing a concrete development, Ecevit said he could not support a renewal of the OPC force mandate.

The DSP delegation emerged from the meeting with positive impressions. Without taking a final party decision on the issue, party officials will have another meeting with the representatives of the Chief of Staff's office. That will be the second briefing the DSP delegation will receive from these officers.

Meanwhile, there are reports that at the forthcoming NATO Defense Planning Committee meeting Defense Minister Sungurlu will again explain to U.S. officials the difficulties the government would face in Parliament to push through a renewal of the OPC mandate.

Also, the Turkish Foreign Ministry has sent two high-level diplomats to northern Iraq to get first-hand information about the situation there. The visit has been kept confidential. The ministry's aim is to determine to what extent Turkish worries about OPC activities in northern Iraq are justified. Ministry officials said that the two diplomats intended to discuss the issue with Iraqi government officials, and that there was the possibility of their proceeding to Baghdad for that purpose.

When the Turkish Parliament extended the OPC mandate for three months ending on June 31, Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz declared that the mandate would not be renewed again if the present conditions continued.

The Southeast

Meanwhile, there are reports which claim that the government is preparing to take certain steps regarding another thorny issue: the future of emergency rule in the Southeast. The government is said to be planning a four-month extension of emergency rule when its mandate expires on July 19.

For the time being, emergency rule is in force in 10 provinces. Interior Minister Ulku Guney has announced that they are thinking of limiting emergency rule to only four of these provinces. These will be the provinces situated on the border. To fill the vacuum to be created in the remaining six provinces the Provincial Administrations Law would be duly amended.

[03] Yilmaz reminds EU of its obligations to Turkey

BRUSSELS- Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, abandoning domestic instability for a visit to Brussels, Tuesday urged the European Commission to carry out its contractual obligations toward Turkey, despite the obstacle created by Athens.

"We believe that the obstruction of Greek to the implementation of the customs union is an issue that should be solved within the community," he said after his meeting with European Commission President Jacques Santer.

Yilmaz gave two main messages to Jacques Santer on Turkey's links with the European Union.

The first of these messages was Turkey's desire to achieve step-by- step integration with the European Union. The second message was that the customs union, which suffered a blow due to the Greek blockade of financial funds, should be implemented fully, with the Fourteen taking a clear stand on this matter.

To both of those messages, Santer had the same answer. "We are committed to the customs union package, which was accepted on March 6. We hope we can release the package," he said at a joint press conference with Yilmaz This was also the answer he gave while dodging a question on Turkey's full membership.

Stressing the close ties between Turkey and the European Union through the customs union, Yilmaz reiterated once more that Turkey's goal was full membership.

Ankara has been angered by the Greek blockade of the EU financial assistance to Turkey. A positive step was seen on this, however, when Greece allowed last week the MEDA funds of the strengthened Mediterranean program to be sent to the European Parliament for approval.

But Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos said that he would veto it when it came back to the Council of Ministers, if it benefited Turkey.

Yilmaz began his contacts in the Belgian capital by visiting Klaus Haensch, the president of the European Parliament, in the morning.

The visit takes place on the eve of a Joint Parliamentary Commission meeting which comprises of deputies from Turkey and the European Parliament. The meeting, the preparations for which have already been made, is to take place in Turkey later this month, thus officially breaking the ice between Ankara and Strasbourg, the seat of the European Parliament.

Yilmaz and Haensch made brief statements after their meeting, both underlining the need to have more dialogue between Turkey and the European Parliament.

Pointing out that some of the EP resolutions stemmed from lack of information about Turkey, Yilmaz stressed that he hoped the revitalization of the joint parliamentary commission would prevent the recurrence of such events.

Haensch, in return, said that the European Parliament had some criticisms of Turkey from time to time but these were constructive ones, aimed at achieving more positive steps in Turkey.

"Our aim is to get closer to Turkey, not get further away," he said.

Haensch also underlined that the EP considered the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK a terrorist organization and condemned terrorism.

The meeting of the joint commission was suspended two years ago when the Turkish Parliament stripped eight former deputies of the pro-Kurdish Democracy Party (DEP) of their parliamentary immunity.

But the European Parliament decided to resume its ties with the Turkish Parliament last December in a move consecutive to its vote, by 343-149, in favor of the customs union.

With a resolution adopted right after the vote, however, the European Parliament urged the European Commission to report annually to the Parliament on human rights developments in Turkey.

By the inclusion of Haensch in his contacts, Yilmaz is not only respecting protocol but aiming to explain to the head of the generally- cool Euro Parliament the developments and the plans of his government -- now a lame duck one -- for democratization.

But the lack of steps taken by the coalition between feuding True Path Party and Yilmaz's Motherland Party is causing rising voices of discontent from both the European Parliament and the European Commission.

Last week in an interview with daily Milliyet, Ambassador Michael Lake, the representative of the European Communities in Turkey, said that there had been no improvements at all in the human rights situation since the customs union vote.

Decidedly quiet

Yilmaz, as was the case in his visit to Sarajevo two weeks ago, carefully avoided any questions on domestic politics.

He was received on Monday night by Turks living in Belgium, who cheered at him at the airport.

Late on Tuesday, he opened the Brussels office of the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association.

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