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Turkish Press Review 96-06-17Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>CONTENTS
TURKISH PRESS REVIEWMONDAY JUNE 17, 1996Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning[01] DEMIREL VISITS BOSNIAPresident Suleyman Demirel is today visiting Bosnia upon the official invitation of Bosnian President Alia Izzetbegovic. Demirel's programme includes participation in the opening ceremony of a Turkish Embassy in Mostar, and meeting with Turkish soldiers stationed in Zenica. During his meeting with his Bosnian counterpart, Demirel is expected to discuss issues regarding Turco-Bosnian cooperation, as well as ways for bringing to life the Bosnia-Herzegovina-Croatia Federation. /Cumhuriyet/[02] UN PRAISES TURKEY FOR HABITATHabitat Secretary General Wally N'Dow said that Habitat II had been a successful conference for which Turkey had exerted great effort and congratulated President Suleyman Demirel and the Turkish nation. Noting that many heads of state, ministers, deputies, representatives from private sector and non-governmental organizations throughout the world had participated in the conference, N'Dow stated that decisions which would benefit people's future were taken at the conference. He said: "Economic, social and political issues which interest all countries in the world were discussed".Meanwhile, the Istanbul Declaration, a statement of "political will", expressed the conference's endorsement of the "universal goals of ensuring adequate shelter for all and making human settlements safer, more liveable, equitable, sustainable and more productive" and a "commitment to better standards of living in larger freedom for all humankind". In a sentence added during the final day's deliberations, the Istanbul conference was said to mark "a new era of cooperation, an era of a culture of solidarity". /Sabah/ [03] ISTANBUL BOURSE DRAWS UP OUTLINES FOR INTERNATIONAL STOCK MARKETThe Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB) has drawn up outlines to regulate stock trading on its international securities market, according to a decree published in the Official Gazette on Friday. The decree, issued by the capital market board SPK, said that the currency to be used on the international bourse will be the US dollar. It said all transactions, including prices, fees, collaterals, penalties and interest payments, will be carried out in dollar values.The executive board of the IMKB will be authorized to allow foreign stocks and other foreign financial instruments, Turkish and foreign depository certificates and Turkish government papers to be traded on the international market. An International Market Quotations Committee will be formed, according to the SPK decree. Its members will be assigned by the IMKB board. The banks and brokerage houses to trade on the new market will have to win licences from the free zones department at the Foreign Trade Undersecretariat and to win authorization for market transactions from the IMKB. The decree also said all depository services at the market will be given by officials authorized by the stockbrokers. /Sabah/ [04] TURKISH BUSINESSMEN TOP FOREIGN INVESTORS IN KAZAKHSTANTurkish businessmen top a list of foreign investors in the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan, a senior Kazakh finance official has said. Vladimir Shishikov, head of the foreign investment committee at the Kazakh Finance Ministry, noted that a total of 111 Turkish companies have so far registered themselves in Kazakhstan, ranking first among all foreign investors. Shishikov said China ranked second with 80 companies and the Russian Federation third with 75. He also said Turkey was top creditor to Kazakhstan. He said Kazakhstan, between 1992 and 1995, had borrowed $2 billion from foreign creditors. /All papers/[05] 16 PKK MILITANTS KILLED IN SOUTHEASTTurkish security forces killed 16 militants of the PKK terrorist organization yesterday in operations carried out in Hakkari's Cukurca district and the northern Iraqi border region. The operations involved 15,000 troops, which have penetrated 6-7 kilometres into Iraqi territory. The emergency rule region governor has stated that the number of terrorists killed during the operations, which have been going on for four days, has reached 163. During clashes in Van, Sirnak and Mardin, 12 militants were killed and two arrested. In searches conducted after the operations on and around Bagok Mountain many weapons, mines, bullets and documents were found in shelters there. The shelters were later destroyed. /Sabah-Hurriyet/[06] FOREIGNERS TO BE ISSUED PERMITS MORE EASILYThe draft law on decreasing bureaucratic processes in the residence of foreign nationals in Turkey has been submitted to the Interior Commission of the Parliament. According to the draft law, which aims to conform the Turkish regulations to the regulations of EU member countries, the residence permit of foreigners in Turkey will be five years. The Interior Ministry has the right to shorten or extend this period according to the principle of reciprocity. The permit can be given to a family consisting of the husband and wife and their children under 18 either collectively or personally. Foreigners who want to renew or extend the period of their permit have to apply within 15 days after the permit expires. Those who have not moved or divorced do not have to submit a declaration when renewing or extending the period of their permits. /Sabah/[07] HAMMER FORCE EXTENSIONFollowing a two hour Sunday meeting of the National Security Council, it was decided that the stay of the multinational "hammer" strike force deployed in Turkey should be extended. Both military leaders and the Foreign Ministry appear to be more positive in their attitude to an extension of the force, the mandate of which includes the protection of Kurds in northern Iraq.The strike force is a highly sensitive issue in Turkey, and in talks with the US administration, Ankara has demanded a number of changes in the operation and administration of the force. Turkey, together with Britain, France and the US has a share in the administration of the force. /Hurriyet/ [08] US INTERVENES BETWEEN TURKEY AND GREECEDuring the recent NATO meeting in Brussels, a top level US official, Chief of staff president John Shalikashvili managed work a deal with his Turkish and Greek counterparts to cool the situation in the Aegean Sea. Tempers are running high in the region, which is known for producing tension between Greece and Turkey, but reports from Brussels indicate that Shalikashvili has managed to ease the situation through talks with both sides.Reports say that Shalikashvili managed to extract a promise from both sides that nothing would be done by either party to aggravate the situation, and turn a strained situation into a serious crisis. According to the Greek press, Shalikashvili has managed to set-up a base for further talks. /Milliyet/ [09] IMPORTS FROM EUROPE INCREASEAs anticipated at the beginning of the year when Turkey moved into customs union with the European Union (EU) countries, Turkey's imports from the EU have increased, but exports have remained dismally low. During the first six months of this year, imports from the EU have increased by 24.4% over the same period last year.Noting that the Turkish Customs Administration has been caught on the hop, sector leaders complain that the Administration has been unable to pull it all together and get in line with EU policy. Germany leads the top five EU countries exporting to Turkey, and is followed by Italy, France, Britain and Holland. /Sabah/ [10] TURCO-ISRAELI COMMERCIAL AGREEMENTTurkey and Israel have signed an agreement aimed at improving bilateral commercial relations. The text of the agreement for commercial, economic, industrial, technical and scientific cooperation was published in yesterday's edition of the Official Gazette. Both countries have agreed to facilitate the transit passage of each other's commercial goods being transported to third countries, and to recognize reciprocal tax exemptions for goods being imported for commercial fairs and expositions. Turkey and Israel have also reached an accord to cooperate in technical and scientific research and develop joint projects. /Hurriyet/[11] GAP EXPORTS BOOMTextile exports made from provinces included in the scope of the GAP project for the first five months of the year have exceeded $48 million. This figure represents a 13.4 percent increase in comparison to the same period last year. /Hurriyet/Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |