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Turkish Press Review, 97-03-27Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>CONTENTS
TURKISH PRESS REVIEWMARCH 27, 1997Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning.[01] DEMIREL IN BANGLADESHPresident Demirel, who is visiting Bangladesh for the 26th anniversary celebrations of the independence of the country, said that Turkey was fully supporting the Bangladesh struggle for development and prosperity. He stressed that Turkey and Bangladesh will further cement the brotherly relations between themselves.President Demirel also had contacts with Palestinian Head of State Yasser Arafat and discussed recent developments in the Middle East peace process. In a statement after his meeting with Arafat, Demirel urged the parties in the Middle East peace process to stick to their commitments. /Sabah, Hurriyet/ [02] KINKEL EXTENDS ADVICE TO ANKARAGerman Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said yesterday that in connection with full membership in the European Union (EU), Turkey should be both "patient and realistic".During his official visit to Ankara, Kinkel has been speaking with top government officials about Turkey's relations with the EU and made clear to them that in the short term, full membership seems unlikely. During a meeting with Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller, Kinkel stressed that solving the Greek and "Kurdish" problems would be major steps towards membership in the EU. During another meeting with state minister Ufuk Soylemez, Kinkel spoke about the problems that German businessmen have in their trade relations with Turkey. It was suggested that a substantial German trade delegation should visit Turkey in the near future to iron out their difficulties with top Turkish business leaders. Although the visit was clouded at the start through misunderstandings, the situation has brightened, so much so that yesterday opposition leader Mesut Yilmaz said that Kinkel was "Turkey's friend." /All papers/ [03] EU TRAFFIC TO CONTINUEHigh level diplomatic traffic to Turkey from Europe is seen to be increasing. French Foreign Minister Herve de Charette and Dutch Foreign Minister Hans Van Mierlo are set to arrive in Ankara early in April for talks on Turkey-EU ties. These visits will take place on the heels of the ongoing visit by German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel to Turkey. The French minister's visit is to take up all issues of interest between the two countries - from the Middle East to the Caucasus - but the agenda will no doubt be topped by Turkey's relations with the EU.Diplomatic traffic in Ankara will be further intensified by the visits of Azerbaijani President Haydar Aliyev, and Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy. /Milliyet/ [04] MORE SIGNS OF A THAW IN TURKISH-GREEK RELATIONSThe attendance of Turkish Chief of the General Staff General Ismail Hakki Karadayi at Greek National Day celebrations in Ankara on Tuesday was welcomed by Athens. Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas told reporters on Wednesday that this had been a "polite gesture". The Greek media is also evaluating positively the development and is pointing to prospects for a further thaw in cross-Aegean ties. Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller for her part said on Wednesday that Turkey as a large country, wanted to enjoy friendly relations with all its neighbours. She said that Turkey was "ready now for dialogue" with Greece.Observers note that the seemingly intractable problems between Turkey and Greece still stand, but they add that the positive atmosphere that has started developing between the two countries should not be underestimated. On the other hand, Cumhuriyet newspaper reports that Greek Deputy Parliamentary Speaker Panayotis Sguridis had a meeting with PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan recently. During the meeting, PKK attacks planned against Turkey in the coming months were allegedly discussed. Sguridis is reported to have promised official support to the PKK terrorist organization. /Cumhuriyet, Sabah/ [05] PARLIAMENT PROLONGS STATE OF EMERGENCYThe Turkish Parliament voted 245 to 176 on Wednesday to prolong the state of emergency rule in nine eastern and southeastern provinces by four more months. Emergency rule has been in force in some southeastern Anatolian provinces since 1987. /Sabah/[06] YUCEL OFF TO RUSSIATurkish Tourism Minister Bahattin Yucel, who went to Russia yesterday to attend an "International Moscow Tourism Fair" in Moscow, said in a statement at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport that Russia's place in Turkish tourism was of great importance, an importance which further increased every year. Noting that 1,600,000 Russian tourists came to Turkey in 1996, Yucel said: "Following a decision of the Council of Ministers, we reduced flight prices from the Commonwealth of Independent States and Russia. Furthermore, measures to facilitate 'suitcase' tourism are being taken". Stating that nearly 30 Turkish firms will participate in the fair, Yucel added that provisions would be made for tourists coming from these countries to visit other provinces rather than just Istanbul and Antalya. /Sabah/[07] BIR BLAMES IRANDeputy Chief of General Staff Gen.Cevik Bir said in a statement to the French Le Figaro newspaper that because of intensive operations in northern Iraq, the PKK terrorist organization was now penetrating Turkey from Iran. French journalist Claude Lorieux, who wrote the article, pointed out that she believed the Turkish army had succeeded in defeating the PKK. Bir noted that there were at least 300 PKK militants in Iran. Gen.Cevik Bir stressed that the Turkish Armed Forces were providing security in the southeastern regions. /Sabah/[08] KARADAYI'S PEACE MESSAGEChief of General Staff Gen.Ismail Hakki Karadayi has sent a letter to founder of the Abdi Ipekci Peace and Friendship Award, Andreas Politakis. In reply to a letter from Politakis requesting contributions to develop Turco-Greek relations, Karadayi said in his letter that he would exert every effort for the improvement of bilateral relations. /Sabah/[09] AKSENER RETURNS TO TURKEYTurkish Interior Minister Meral Aksener, who yesterday completed her visit to Romania, has returned to Turkey. Aksener noted that current cooperation in the struggle against international terrorism, drug smuggling and organized crime has gained new momentum following the meetings she held in Romania. /Cumhuriyet/[10] KUWAITI MINISTER IN ANKARAKuwaiti Minister of Justice and Islamic Works Mohammed Daifallah Sharar, who is in Ankara for an official visit, yesterday visited Chairman of Religious Affairs, Mehmet Nuri Yilmaz. Delivering a speech during the visit, Yilmaz said that cooperation between Turkey and Kuwait would strengthen bilateral ties. Sharar, for his part, said that there were strong relations between the two countries that went a long wayback, and added that Turkey's condemnation of wrongs enacted against Kuwait had further developed bilateral relations. /Cumhuriyet/[11] NORTHERN CYPRIOT DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER IN TURKEYNorthern Cypriot Deputy Prime Minister Serdar Denktas yesterday met with Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Tansu Ciller. Following the meeting, Denktas said that Ciller had given him the good news that $50 million out of a total of $250 million to be granted to Northern Cyprus according to a protocol signed between the two countries, would be transferred without delay, the Anatolia news agency reported.Denktas also met Transportation Minister Omer Barutcu. During the talks, problems encountered in Northern Cyprus in transportation and communications were taken in hand. Yesterday, Minister of Transportation Omer Barutcu, also received Bosnian Rail-Roads General Director Nedzad Brankovic. The terms of an agreement for cooperation in rail-road transportation were elaborated during the discussions. /Cumhuriyet/ [12] ZIRAAT BANK OPENS BRANCH IN SARAJEVOThe Turkish government-owned Ziraat Bank opened an office in Sarajevo last week and started getting to grips with the complexities of business life in post-war Bosnia, a Ziraat bank official said. The branch ưn Sarajevo set up with DM 10 million in capital offers, the same services as Bosnian banks. Its customers include about 30 Turkish companies in addition to about one hundred individuals.[13] US COMMITTEE TO ADVISE ABOUT POLICE SYSTEMA US committee will arrive in Turkey to assist Turkish officials in their endeveavours to improve the Turkish police system, the Anatolia news agency reported. The US committee will cooperate with the Turkish Security Directorate in launching measures for modernization in the police system. Moves to be jointly undertaken will especially target dealing with cases involving missing persons and prevention of torture. The struggle against smuggling and drug trafficking are also among the issues to be jointly handled by Turkish and US specialists. /Cunhuriyet/[14] GERMAN ADD MEMBERS VISIT TASDELENCankaya Mayor Dogan Tasdelen said that Kemalist ideas were basic to contemporary thought. Delivering a speech while receiving members of the German Association for Kemalist ideas (ADD), Tasdelen said that it was very pleasing that there were ADD branches in Germany. /Cumhuriyet/[15] FIRE OR ARSONOn 29 May, 1993, a building where Turkish families were living was set on fire. Five Turks were killed in the incident. A similar incident occurred in The Hague, Holland, when six Turks died in a fire in the Schilderswijk neighbourhood where Turks live in great numbers.Officials from The Hague police force said that three fire bombs had been planted in different places at the same time among them the Azerbaijani Association building. Four people have since been detained for questioning. /Sabah/ END Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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