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Turkish Press Review, 97-01-03
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
CONTENTS
[01] TOP TRNC OFFICIALS VISIT TURKEY
[02] D-8 MEETING IN ISTANBUL
[03] TURKEY, PAKISTAN AND IRAN TO DISCUSS AFGHANISTAN
[04] GREEK DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER RESIGNS
[05] WAR IN CYPRUS POSSIBLE
[06] RUSSIAN PROPOSAL FOR CYPRUS
[07] 154 PKK MILITANTS KILLED
[08] CILLER: "PRIVATIZATION WILL PUT ITS STAMP ON 1997"
[09] TURKISH CAPITAL RANKS FIRST IN AZERBAIJAN
[10] TURKEY IS RELIABLE IN INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
[11] PENSIONS FOR WORKERS ABROAD
[12] BAYKAL AND INONU TO GO TO ROME
[13] TURKEY: A HOLIDAY COUNTRY FOR ALL SEASONS
[14] TURKS IN ANTARCTICA
TURKISH PRESS REVIEW
FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 1997
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press
this morning.
[01] TOP TRNC OFFICIALS VISIT TURKEY
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister, Dervis
Eroglu, and Deputy Prime Minister Serdar Denktas have arrived in
Turkey for a working visit, the Foreign Ministry announced on
Thursday. The TRNC officials will meet with Prime Minister
Necmettin Erbakan and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister
Tansu Ciller. At the end of the talks, a protocol for economic
cooperation will be signed. The TRNC delegation will be received
also by President Demirel. /Hurriyet/
[02] D-8 MEETING IN ISTANBUL
Turkey is to host the foreign ministers of eight developing
Muslim countries, commonly known as the D-8, at a meeting on
Saturday in Istanbul to discuss ways to improve relations in all
aspects, the Anatolia news agency reported. The meeting is
expected to be officially opened by Prime Minister Necmettin
Erbakan. This will be the second gathering of D-8 members. The
first was held in Ankara by high ranking officials from the
involved countries. Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia,
Nigeria and Pakistan make up the other seven members of the D-8,
a group launched by Turkey after the pro-Islamic Welfare Party
led by Necmettin Erbakan came to power in 1996.
[03] TURKEY, PAKISTAN AND IRAN TO DISCUSS AFGHANISTAN
High ranking officials from Turkey, Pakistan and Iran will meet
on Saturday in Istanbul to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.
Turkey's interest in trying to find a solution to the
long-running civil war in Afghanistan has been shown by the offer
to host a UN conference on the issue as well as by donating TL 7
billion in humanitarian aid. The meeting in Istanbul has been
arranged following initiatives by Prime Minister Necmettin
Erbakan. Turkey will be represented by State Minister Abdullah
Gul, and Iran and Pakistan are expected to send their foreign
ministers to the meeting. /Cumhuriyet/
[04] GREEK DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER RESIGNS
Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Christos Rozakis resigned on
Thursday following criticism from within the government of his
conciliatory line towards Greece's longtime rival Turkey.
Government officials said Rozakis was at odds with his boss,
Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos who backs a hard line against
Ankara. Rozakis was an advocate of a reapproachment with Turkey
and supported closer relations between the European Union and
Ankara, something that Pangalos has repeatedly vetoed. /Milliyet/
[05] WAR IN CYPRUS POSSIBLE
According to military sources close to the Pentagon, the risk of
serious confrontation in Cyprus is increasing. A new military
report on the situation says that the position on the island
today is similar to the 1974 situation when Turkey finally
carried out the "peace operation" to save the Cypriot Turkish
community on the island.
Greek radio on the island constantly draws attention to the way
the Greek community is beefing up its arms and military strength.
President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Rauf
Denktas, has again informed the UN about developments on Cyprus,
noting that the Greek side was spending two million dollars a day
on new military systems. Taking all the factors into
consideration, US experts reckon that a hot confrontation is very
likely. /Cumhuriyet/
[06] RUSSIAN PROPOSAL FOR CYPRUS
It is reported that Russia will propose the establishment of 'a
special working group' for Cyprus within the framework of the
Security Council to extend practical help to the goodwill mission
of the UN Secretary-General. Russia also wants EU representatives
and five permanent members of the Security Council to convene in
the shortest possible time to discuss the Cyprus issue in detail
and work on a joint action plan. /Cumhuriyet/
[07] 154 PKK MILITANTS KILLED
During operations inititated by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) on
December 31, 1996, against the PKK terrorist organization in
northern Iraq, 154 militants were killed. It is reported that the
number of PKK terrorists killed during operations carried out by
the TSK to date has reached 31,130. The number of PKK militants
who have surrendered totals 1,890. Meanwhile, two Turkish
soldiers died during the last TSK operation, while seven Turkish
soldiers and three village guards were injured. /Sabah/
[08] CILLER: "PRIVATIZATION WILL PUT ITS STAMP ON 1997"
Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Tansu Ciller held the
first meeting of 1997 with bureaucrats in the economic sectors.
State Ministers Ufuk Soylemez and Ayfer Yilmaz, Undersecretary of
the State Planning Institution (DPT) Necati Ozfirat, Treasury
Undersecretary Mehmet Kaytaz and other bureaucrats attended the
meeting. Delivering an opening speech at the meeting, Ciller
said: "Privatization will put its stamp on 1997". Noting that
they had exerted great efforts preparing the infrastructure for
privatization during the past three years, Ciller stated that
they would review the results. /Sabah/
[09] TURKISH CAPITAL RANKS FIRST IN AZERBAIJAN
It is reported that 45 % of the companies active in Azerbaijan
were jointly set up with Turkey in 1996. According to officials
of the Azeri Foreign Economic Relations Ministry, 444 out of 1006
companies in Azerbaijan were jointly set up with Turkey in 1996.
Iran ranked second with 222 companies and Russia ranked third
with 88 companies, while the US came fourth with 44, Germany
fifth with 41 and Britain ranked sixth with 28 joint companies.
/Sabah/
[10] TURKEY IS RELIABLE IN INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
It is reported that Turkey can get into debt in international
markets at a lower cost when compared with other countries in the
same category. Even though rating institutions such as Standard
and Poor (S and P) and the IBCA have reduced Turkey's credit
rate, Turkey is still a "reliable country" in international
markets. According to research made by international financial
circles, Turkey has a lower debt profile because Turkey pays its
foreign debts in due time and has a dynamic private sector.
/Sabah/
[11] PENSIONS FOR WORKERS ABROAD
Labour and Security Minister Necati Celik said on Thursday that
he had presented a draft bill to the Prime Ministry which, if
passed by Parliament, would allow Turkish nationals abroad to
receive pensions without having to return to Turkey. Briefing
journalists on the contents of the bill, Celik said there were
3.3 million Turkish nationals abroad and added that workers
abroad had demanded similar measures for years. The bill aims to
make Turkish workers living abroad eligible for retirement
pensions without having to return to Turkey, and to enable them
to receive a higher pension by paying higher insurance premiums.
/Sabah/
[12] BAYKAL AND INONU TO GO TO ROME
Chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP) Deniz Baykal and
former Chairman of the Social Democrat People's Party (SHP) Erdal
Inonu will go to Rome, Italy, on 20 January to attend a meeting
of the Socialist International Council. The meeting, which will
begin on 22 January, will last two days. /Cumhuriyet/
[13] TURKEY: A HOLIDAY COUNTRY FOR ALL SEASONS
Leading European publications recently praised Turkey for its
advances in tourism, the Anatolia news agency reported. The
British travel magazine "Travel Weekly" applauded Turkey's
growing success and its natural and historic beauty in a
four-page spread and estimated that 800,000 British tourists will
visit Turkey this year. Another story was published in the
journal "Selling Short Breaks" under the headline "Turkish
Delight". It said Turkey was a country to be toured during all
four seasons. The German magazine "Travel Tribune" took in hand
tourism developments in Turkey, and the internationally acclaimed
French newspaper "Le Figaro" introduced Turkey as a holiday
heaven to its readers for three days in a row, saying the
country's tourism richness should be recognized across the globe.
[14] TURKS IN ANTARCTICA
Sponsored by UNESCO, a young Turkish man is part of a team of 35
young people on a tour of discovery in Antarctica. Aktug Birinci
from Istanbul's Bogazici Unýversity set off for Argentina
yesterday on his way to joining the team.
The group will assess pollution damage in the region and prepare
reports on damage resulting from commercial abuse of resources in
the area. /Milliyet/
END
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