|
|
TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (January 24, 1996)
From: TRKNWS-L <trh@aimnet.com>
CONTENTS
[01] NO COALITION BREAKTHROUGH
[02] THREE CANDIDATES RUNNING FOR PARLIAMENT SPEAKER
[03] PKK IS CLAIMED TO HAVE 300 SYRIAN MILITANTS
[04] ISRAEL LOOKS TO TURKEY FOR WATER
[05] DENKTAS RULES OUT UNILATERAL TROOP REDUCTION
[06] GHALI SAYS HE IS HOPEFUL OF PROGRESS IN CYPRUS
[07] TURKEY AND BOSNIA SIGN MILITARY TRAINING DEAL
[08] ABOU SAYS TURKEY IS READY FOR CUSTOMS UNION
[09] MILITARY ANGLE TO TURCO-ISRAEL COOPERATION
[10] MORE RUSSIAN PRAISE FOR TURKEY
[11] TURKEY SIGNS A DEAL WITH KAZAKHSTAN
[12] TURKEY TO FINANCE BAKU-SUPSA OIL PIPELINE
TURKISH PRESS REVIEW
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 24, 1996
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
[01] NO COALITION BREAKTHROUGH
A meeting was held yesterday between True Path Party (DYP) leader
Tansu Ciller and Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz.
Emerging from the two-hour meeting, Ciller, heading the current
caretaker coalition, said she had offered Yilmaz a coalition
partnership based on a rotating premiership with each leader
heading the government for half of the five-year term. Ciller,
saying she had already overreached the limits of the mandate her
party had given her for a compromise, said she should take the
first run at leading the projected partnership, to ensure the
continuity of government and so as not to hamper the steps taken
for the settlement of the problems facing the country. But Yilmaz
disagreed at the joint press conference, saying he had told
Ciller that the "nation wanted a change in the shopwindow", and
that he asked Ciller "to reconsider her views about the turns".
"If this is not done, we have serious reservations about the
chances for success of the new government, and I have told her
that we would not want to be a party to it" Yilmaz said. "I see
no reason for despair" Yilmaz told the news conference. /All
papers/
[02] THREE CANDIDATES RUNNING FOR PARLIAMENT SPEAKER
None of the three remaining candidates in the race for election
to the Parliament Speakership managed to win the required
absolute majority of 367 votes in Tuesday's second round of
voting in the Turkish legislature. The third round of voting will
be held today between Mustafa Kalemli (ANAP), Aydin Menderes (RP)
and Ismet Sezgin (DYP). In yesterday's voting, Kalemli received
209, Menderes 160 and Sezgin 150 votes. In the third round,
candidates need to win at least 267 votes (a simple majority) in
order to be elected speaker. /All papers/
[03] PKK IS CLAIMED TO HAVE 300 SYRIAN MILITANTS
Approximately 300 Syrians are claimed to be part of the outlawed
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq and Turkey,
according to security reports. These reports say that between the
years 1987 and 1996, 125 militants of Syrian origin were among
the PKK terrorists captured by Turkish forces or who surrendered.
Some of the Syrians once active in northern Iraq have since left
the terrorist organization to return to their country while some
joined the Iraqi Kurdistan Democracy Party. It is believed that
there are still 300 Syrians among the members of the PKK in
northern Iraq and Turkey. /All papers/
[04] ISRAEL LOOKS TO TURKEY FOR WATER
The aggravating water shortage of Israel is likely to sharpen its
interest in tapping Turkey's surplus resources, the Anatolia news
agency reported yesterday. Israel is particularly interested in
buying water from the Manavgat river flowing into the
Mediterranean, in the province of Antalya, when the project,
involving the construction of a loading terminal at the mouth of
the river is complete. /All papers/
[05] DENKTAS RULES OUT UNILATERAL TROOP REDUCTION
Turkish Cypriot President Rauf Denktas has ruled out any
unilateral reduction in the number of Turkish troops on Cyprus.
Pointing out that Greek Cypriots are continuing a massive arms
build-up, Denktas told the Turkish Cypriot daily "Birlik" (Union)
that his people should not be expected to sacrifice their
security. The Greek Cypriot government has procured dozens of
Greek-made armoured personnel carriers and Russian infantry
fighting vehicles in recent months. Denktas said that military
preparations were "not an inducement to the Turkish Cypriots to
consent to a reduction of Turkish forces". "Had I been in their
place, seemingly wanting a reduction and final withdrawal of
Turkish forces from Cyprus, I would have done the opposite of
spending money on new arms and armaments" Denktas said. "So, the
Turkish military presence would, by itself, be reduced to a
minimum" he added. /All papers/
[06] GHALI SAYS HE IS HOPEFUL OF PROGRESS IN CYPRUS
UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali said that he was
hopeful of progress in Cyprus. Briefing reporters on Monday night
after a meeting with the Security Council members, the UN Chief
said efforts were underway vis-a-vis the Cyprus problem, but he
would not further comment "at this stage". Answering a question
by Turkey's Anatolia news agency, Ghali said: "Our aim is to
continue the talks process that we have started. I personally
work on this issue". /Cumhuriyet/
[07] TURKEY AND BOSNIA SIGN MILITARY TRAINING DEAL
Turkey will provide military training to the Moslem-led Bosnian
government army under an agreement signed by generals of the two
sides, official Bosnian radio reported on Monday night. The
protocol was signed in Sarajevo by Turkey's general Ersim Yaltsin
and Bosnian General Rasim Delic, the radio reported. "We expect
huge aid from Turkey which has a long military tradition" Delic
was quoted as saying. "This is only a beginning. Full military
training is expected" Yaltsin was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, Turkey yesterday dispatched fresh military equipment
to Bosnia in preparatory to increasing the number of its troops
stationed in Zenica. The material was sent aboard a ship which
sailed to Split from the port of Derince near Istanbul. A frigate
will reportedly escort the transport vessel throughout its
voyage. Addressing the sending-off ceremony, Lt.General Rasim
Bedir said that Turkish troops were accustomed now to
international peacekeeping duties, having fought under the UN
banner in Korea and having served in Somalia before Bosnia. The
units, which will reinforce the Turkish contingent in Zenica,
will be flown from Ankara tomorrow. /All papers/
[08] ABOU SAYS TURKEY IS READY FOR CUSTOMS UNION
Turkey is ready for customs union (CU) but the biggest adjustment
will be in attitudes, Serge Abou, the European Commission's
official responsible for Cyprus, Turkey, Malta and Slovenia said
on Monday. Abou, a supporter of the CU from the beginning, said
that his recent visit to Turkey has shown that Ankara was ready
for CU with the EU. He particularly praised the adjustment made
by the textile sector, but added that other sectors should
follow. Abou noted that he no longer carries the title "EU's
observer for Cyprus" which was given to him during the 1994-95
term but was never recognized by Turkey. /All papers/
[09] MILITARY ANGLE TO TURCO-ISRAEL COOPERATION
It has been reported that General Cevik Bir will soon make an
official visit to Israel in order to strengthen strategic ties
between Turkey and Israel. Cooperation between the two countries
is growing in the economic, cultural and political spheres, but
with the visit to Israel of General Bir, ties between the two
countries will take on a new dimension.
It is anticipated that among other things, Bir will talk about a
deal on updating Turkey's F-4 fighter planes, the Middle East
peace process and military mechanisms designed to further that
process. /Cumhuriyet/
[10] MORE RUSSIAN PRAISE FOR TURKEY
The Russian press has once again praised the way Turkish
officials dealt with the Avrasya affair-the case of the Black Sea
ferry boat hijacked by Chechen gunmen. One Pravda newspaper said
that it was a good thing the ferry boat had been hijacked to
Turkey and not Russia.
The paper went on to say that Turkey had shown how to deal with
the "Kremlin's terror" tactics without firing a bullet.
/Cumhuriyet/
[11] TURKEY SIGNS A DEAL WITH KAZAKHSTAN
The Cabinet has signed into effect a protocol initialled by
Turkey and Kazakhstan on July 11, 1995. The agreement opens the
way for more cooperation in the areas of science, agriculture and
technical development.
The decision was published in the Official Gazette yesterday and
foresees cooperation especially in connection with animal
husbandry, village affairs, the food and fish sectors and related
agricultural industries. /Cumhuriyet/
[12] TURKEY TO FINANCE BAKU-SUPSA OIL PIPELINE
Folowing a proposition agreed to during a meeting in Baku, Turkey
will finance the Baku-Supsa oil pipeline project, a major project
to carry Azeri early-produced oil.
In the meeting, Turkey proposed a project to build the Baku-Supsa
oil pipeline according to "Build-Operate-Transfer"(BOT) model and
would also finance the project. The suggestion that Turkey will
also finance the project made the deal more attractive.
/Hurriyet/
|