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Turkish Press Review, 97-07-02
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
CONTENTS
[01] TIMETABLE FOR VOTE OF CONFIDENCE
[02] DENKTAS MAY NOT ATTEND NEW YORK TALKS ON CYPRUS
[03] DEMIREL WILL ATTEND NATO SUMMIT
[04] TENSIONS EASING IN THE AEGEAN
[05] POSITIVE VIEW ON MOTHERLEFT-D
[06] TURKISH COMPANIES AMONG THE GIANTS
[07] SIX MILITANTS CAPTURED
[08] GREECE HANDS A NOTE TO TURKEY
[09] TURKEY LOOKING TO ISRAEL FOR WEAPONS
[10] GREECE-PKK COOPERATION
[11] HUMAN RIGHTS COURT REJECTS COLONEL'S COMPLAINT
[12] NAVIGATION AND CABOTAGE DAY CELEBRATED
[13] EMLAKBANK IN EUROBOND MARKET
[14] CREDITS WITHOUT INTEREST FROM ZIRAAT BANK
[15] US TOURISTS FLOW TO TURKEY
TURKISH PRESS REVIEW
WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 1997
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning.
[01] TIMETABLE FOR VOTE OF CONFIDENCE
The Parliamentary Consultative Commission has agreed that the
programme of Yilmaz's government be read out in Parliament on July 7.
Debates over the programme will be held on July 10, and the vote of
confidence will be held on July 12. President Demirel's letter
stating that he had approved the Yilmaz government was read out in
Parliament on Tuesday and the vote of confidence process has started.
Major issues targeted in the programme of the coalition
government include restoring the economic balance in the country,
adopting a firm stand with respect to traditional Turkish foreign
policy priorities, dealing with fundamentalism and reactionism,
democratization and preparations for elections. /Sabah/
[02] DENKTAS MAY NOT ATTEND NEW YORK TALKS ON CYPRUS
The direct talks on Cyprus which are scheduled to start in New
york on July 9 may not be held, reports from the island indicate. The
prospects of holding the meeting have been jeopardized by a statement
of Greek Cypriot government spokesman Monolis Christofides that UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan was expected to table a new proposal for
resolving the Cyprus issue during the talks. Turkish Cypriot
President Rauf Denktas said he may not attend the summit if it becomes
clear that he will be presented a settlement plan not previously
discussed by the two sides.
Newly appointed Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem stressed the
importance of the Cyprus issue for Turkey and added that Turkish and
Turkish Cypriot security were closely related issues. /Milliyet/
[03] DEMIREL WILL ATTEND NATO SUMMIT
On July 8-9, President Demirel will attend a NATO summit in
Madrid, Spain. President Demirel will be accompanied by Defence
Minister Ismet Sezgin and Foreign Minister Ismail Cem. /Hurriyet/
[04] TENSIONS EASING IN THE AEGEAN
The Turkish General Staff announced on Tuesday that Turkey would
unilaterally cancel military maneuvres in the Aegean scheduled for
July 1-August 15. The move is designed to support NATO Secretary
General Javier Solana's efforts to ease tensions in the region and to
implement a number of confidence-building measures.
US Defence Department Spokesman Kenneth Bacon welcomed this
Turkish move in a statement yesterday. /Milliyet/
[05] POSITIVE VIEW ON MOTHERLEFT-D
The European press has given wide and positive coverage to the
new Turkish government headed by Mesut Yilmaz and forecasts that it
should receive a vote of confidence. Suddeutsche Zeitung (Germany)
said that Yilmaz wanted to bring Turkey into harmony with the modern
world. Italian Corriere Della Sera stated that a nightmare, which had
lasted for one year, was over. Liberation (France) pointed out that a
coalition government was being set up to block fundamentalists.
/Milliyet/
[06] TURKISH COMPANIES AMONG THE GIANTS
The latest issue of American Business Week magazine published a
list of the biggest 1,000 companies in the world. The magazine noted
that 50 % of these companies were American and also that five Turkish
companies were among a list consisting of 200 leading firms including
Akbank (74) with a $4.5 billion market value, Is Bank (101) with $3.3
billion, Turkish Airlines (160) with $2.4 billion, Koc Holding (181)
with $2.13 billion and Tupras (183) with $2.11 billion. /Sabah/
[07] SIX MILITANTS CAPTURED
During operations against PKK militants planning to carry out
terrorist activities, five terrorists have been captured in the Amanos
and Toros mountains. Ammunition and documents have also been seized.
One PKK militant was killed during the operation. /Sabah/
[08] GREECE HANDS A NOTE TO TURKEY
Greece, accused of supporting the PKK terrorist organization by
Turkey, has sent a note to Turkey. Greek Ambassador in Turkey
Dimitrios Nezeritis, noted that Greece did not support terrorism and
said that Greece protested against this statement made by Turkey.
Nezeritis went to the Turkish Foreign Ministry yesterday and handed
the note to Deputy Undersecretary Ambassador Inal Batu. On the other
hand, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Omer Akbel said: "We have
concrete evidence. There is a letter written by a group of Greek
parliamentarians inviting PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan with the
signatures of these parliamentarians". /Sabah/
[09] TURKEY LOOKING TO ISRAEL FOR WEAPONS
As an alternative to buying weapons from the US, Turkey is
looking at Israeli military hardware and equipment systems. In the
wake of the poor showing of US made Cobra helicopters during the
continuing Turkish military operations in northern Iraq, The Turkish
armed forces are looking more closely at the alternatives to US
military products. Israeli developed helicopter attack and defence
systems particularly interest Turkish military leaders. /Cumhuriyet/
[10] GREECE-PKK COOPERATION
According to a new Turkish Foreign Ministry report, the Greek
government is accepting false papers prepared by ERNK, the military
wing of the PKK terrorist organization, and is sheltering PKK
terrorists in camps in Greece. The report also claims that Greek
government departments are actively involved in supporting the PKK.
The foreign ministry report also stresses that Greek socialist PASOK
party members visit PKK camps in Lebanon. /Milliyet/
[11] HUMAN RIGHTS COURT REJECTS COLONEL'S COMPLAINT
The European Court of Human Rights ruled on Tuesday that Turkey
had not violated the human rights of a colonel who had been forced
into early retirement for being a member of a religious sect. Colonel
Faruk Kalac had applied to the European Human Rights Court after being
forced to retire prematurely in 1990. Although he had kept his
retirement rights, his right to carry a gun and his military indentity
card were revoked. /Sabah/
[12] NAVIGATION AND CABOTAGE DAY CELEBRATED
Navigation and Cabotage Day was celebrated with ceremonies on
Tuesday. In a message, President Demirel said that Turkey, as a
country surrounded by water on three sides, should take advantage of
its geographical situation to improve public welfare. /Cumhuriyet/
[13] EMLAKBANK IN EUROBOND MARKET
The Emlak Bank has made an agreement with German Commerzbank and
the Swiss UBS Bank regarding bond issues worth DM 150 million in the
European market. The signing ceremony of the agreement will be held
in Istanbul on 4 July. /Hurriyet/
[14] CREDITS WITHOUT INTEREST FROM ZIRAAT BANK
The Ziraat Bank is getting ready to extend credits in foreign
exchange to the agriculture sector for the first time. Within the
framework of a project prepared to irrigate the plains around the
Ataturk dam in the southeast of Turkey, credits in foreign exchange
without interest will be extended to farmers in the region. Resources
for the project will be provided from Germany. /Cumhuriyet/
[15] US TOURISTS FLOW TO TURKEY
Newsweek magazine notes that US tourists have begun to flow to
"exotic" Turkey. The magazine says that the Turkish nation with its
traditions of hospitality was very friendly. It also reports that
there has been a 412 % increase in the number of US tourists visiting
Turkey since 1991 to date. /Sabah/
END
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