Turkish Daily News, 96-06-13

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

TURKISH DAILY NEWS
13 June 1996

CONTENTS

[01] Erbakan draws blank with the left

[02] UN chief presents questions to world leaders at Habitat

[03] Turco-Israeli agreement still under discussion

[01] Erbakan draws blank with the left

TDN Parliament Bureau

ANKARA- Necmettin Erbakan, the leader of the pro-Islamic Welfare Party (RP) trying to draw partners into a coalition to succeed the collapsed center-right partnership, received a firm rebuttal from the Democratic Left Party (DSP), a key player on Turkey's confused political stage.

Addressing a press conference after the hour-long meeting with DSP leader Ecevit, Erbakan reported the leftist leader to be set on remaining in opposition.

The Islamist leader, assigned by President Suleyman Demirel last week to form the new government after the resignation of the center- right minority coalition led by caretaker Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, indicated he was still confident about bringing his task to fruition.

He said he preferred a four-party coalition including Yilmaz's Motherland Party (ANAP), Tansu Ciller's True Path Party (DYP) and the small Islamist-nationalist Grand Unity Party (BBP) beside his RP.

The new government is to succeed the ANAP-DYP partnership which collapsed early this month over the resurfacing feud between the two center-right leaders and Yilmaz's support for corruption probes into Ciller which threaten her political future.

But so far there has been no concrete progress in the formation of the new alliance since last Friday when Erbakan received his mandate -- the second since the inconclusive Dec. 24 poll -- to justify his confidence.

Although the RP is consistently reported to be close to a deal with the DYP following discreet contacts between the officials of the two parties, Ciller's insistence on leading the partnership first is seen as a potential stumbling block.

Sources close to Erbakan told the TDN that the DYP leader has sent word to Erbakan, calling for his agreement to her premiership for the first four months, to be followed by Erbakan's leadership for the next four years.

Ciller reportedly based her request on the allergy of the (secularist) military to seeing Islamists in power while the command chain of the powerful caucus is up for a reshuffle in the upcoming meeting of the Supreme Military Council.

President, prime ministers and key Cabinet ministers participate in the meetings of the council which decides on the promotion and retirement of senior officers, always a delicate business in Turkey given the military's traditional influence over the country's politics.

Ciller, however, failed to explain how the military would drop their allergic reaction for the next four years during which she is happy to concede the command of the partnership to Erbakan. The RP leader, fighting to improve his party's suspect domestic and international image, has been hotly denying any military opposition to an Islamist-led government.

Parliament sources say a stint in the command seat, no matter how short, is important for Ciller assailed by in-party adversaries ahead of a crucial party convention and the object of critical public focus on her controversial private wealth.

But Erbakan left no doubt after Wednesday's meeting that he was averse to relinquishing the premiership at any point, telling reporters that he would not agree to any formula based on a rotating premiership.

Although Erbakan has repeatedly manifested his preference to draw both center-right parties onto his side, he has received a less-than- encouraging response from Yilmaz who has already rejected his overtures twice after the December poll.

After their meeting with Yilmaz on Tuesday, the ANAP leader told Erbakan that he should pass him first in the current round, and if he still thinks a coalition with ANAP is essential, then the sides can sit down for talks once more.

The position was interpreted as a diplomatic "no" and a tactical move to scuttle the projected RP-DYP partnership, given unequivocal earlier statements from Yilmaz about the difficulty of a partnership with the RP and the open hostility of many mainstream ANAP politicians to any deal with the Islamists.

Despite his air of confidence, Erbakan did not completely rule out failure in his efforts, telling the Wednesday news conference that "it will not be a great surprise."

But, he warned, if the RP returns to opposition, it will further beef up its strength.

Erbakan also reacted firmly but diplomatically to the remarks attributed to the visiting Israeli President Ezer Weizman, expressing concern about a RP-led Turkish government and predicting that President Suleyman Demirel will not allow it.

"He (Weizman) is a veteran politician, an old stalwart; I do not think he has said such a thing. I guess his words had been distorted," Erbakan told reporters.

[02] UN chief presents questions to world leaders at Habitat

Demirel: Participants must "display the resolve and political will of the international community to solve the problems ..., as well as to reflect this political will in the effective implementation of policies"

By Don Cofman
Turkish Daily News

ISTANBUL- During its first seven days, participants in the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, Habitat II, heard a couple of hundred statements by officials from nearly 140 nations and representatives of public and private organizations, all aimed at coming up with answers to the manifold problems of urbanization.

However, Wednesday morning, in his keynote speech at the first session of the conference's "high-level segment" with heads of state and government and cabinet ministers participating, U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali rose not to suggest solutions but to raise questions.

"How do we improve the governance and financing of human settlements?" Boutros-Ghali asked. "Which policies can improve the living and working conditions of the poor, of families and communities? How can economic growth and employment opportunities be greatly expanded in cities without long-term environmental damage and waste of the planet's natural resources? How do we provide both town and countryside with scarce resources? How do we provide affordable housing and services to the world's growing population?"

These questions, the U.N. leader emphasized, "are not aimed only at the developing South," many countries face overwhelming problems resulting from the flow of people from rural areas to the cities. "Economic and social change casts a shadow over cities in the industrialized North as well. Common problems demand a common global agenda to address them," Boutros-Ghali said.

Turkish President Suleyman Demirel, in welcoming the delegates to the three days of deliberations involving about 20 heads of state or government and their deputies and a much larger number of cabinet ministers, said the previous seven days had "plainly revealed" four points:

* "The issues related to human settlements lie at the very core of both economic growth and sustainable development."

* "The problems associated with 'adequate shelter for all' and 'sustainable human settlements' in a rapidly urbanizing and globalizing world are common challenges faced by all countries, in varying degrees."

* "There remains much ground that needs to be covered, both at the national and international levels, in order to resolve these problems ... It is imperative that existing policies are reviewed (and) new ones formulated and implemented at the national levels and that effective cooperation, collaboration and solidarity are enhanced at the international level."

* "It is essential to mobilize all available resources (and) exert every effort, taking into account the needs of all groups, including those of women, children and the elderly, as well as to incorporate as broadly as possible every component of society, ranging from parliaments to the private sector and local administrations to nongovernmental organizations, in the activities aimed at redressing these problems."

"The question at hand now," Demirel said, "is to display the resolve and political will of the international community to solve the problems ..., as well as to reflect this political will in the effective implementation of policies."

In this phrasing of the "question" Demirel foreshadowed the two major documents expected to be approved by the conference before it ends on Friday: the "Istanbul Declaration" of the delegates' political intention to work toward solving the urban crisis and the "Habitat Agenda," a "global plan of action" of specific activities aimed at that goal.

The declaration, the Turkish president forecast, will "send forth a loud and clear political message to the entire world." It and the agenda "will serve as our guide and road map in our quest, as we stand on the eve of a new millennium, to render all human settlements increasingly more healthy, equitable, prosperous and safe."

"It is not possible to remain indifferent to this common cause," Demirel asserted. "We are all in the same camp. We are all on the side of humanity."

Also speaking in the conference's Wednesday morning session were the presidents of Kenya, Romania, Poland and Israel, the vice president of Tanzania, the prime minister of Pakistan and the acting prime minister of Afghanistan, while the president of Albania, the vice president of Sudan, the prime ministers of Armenia, Guinea Bissau, Djibouti and Burundi, the deputy prime minister of China and lower-ranking representatives from 33 other governments spoke in the afternoon.

Officials, mostly cabinet members, from 62 countries are to address the conference on Thursday.

[03] Turco-Israeli agreement still under discussion

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- As discussions over a Turco-Israeli military agreement continue, Defense Minister Oltan Sungurlu said that this agreement was not against a third party, the Anatolia news agency reported.

Sungurlu said that he did not regard the reactions of the Arab countries with respect to the agreement as appropriate. He pointed out that Syria and Greece would sign the same kind of agreement.

"They said that (Greece and Syria) this accord will be against Turkey. Our agreement with Israel is not against a third party. We are saying another thing to Syria. (Let us sign an agreement wider than this and solve the problems. Give up supporting the PKK and be friends). A country which does not respond to this call has no right to talk about Turkey's agreements," Sungurlu said to Anatolia.

Meanwhile Turkish Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Nurettin Nurkan in a written statement said that explanations with respect to the Turco-Israeli Military agreement have been given several times and the countries which wanted more information have received it. "Any further speculation does not concern us at all," he said.

The ambassador of Syria, Abdul Aziz Al Rifai, told journalists at the Russian National Day reception that reports claiming that the Arab world has created a new pact against Turkey were not true.

Rifai, referring to the meeting in Damascus between the presidents of Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia and calling upon Turkey to review the Turco-Israeli accord, said that this was not indicative of a hostile attitude towards Turkey.

Rifai added that the news claiming that Turkmens have been arrested in Syria did not reflect the reality. These are new games of the United States, he said, aimed at trying to establish pressure on Syria in the wake of the Israeli elections.

The ambassador of Egypt told the journalists that the peace process entered a critical period following the Israeli elections and at such a time it was natural that "some doubts concerning developments in the region have emerged. And in this context, it is natural for Arab countries to ask some questions about whether the Turco-Israeli agreement has a strategic aspect or not."

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