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Turkish Press Review, 98-01-28
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
28.01.98
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] SEZGIN VISITS SARAJEVO
[02] FM DEPUTY UNDERSECRETARY IN TBILISI
[03] STATE MINISTER GUREL VISITS TRNC
[04] SUPPORT FOR INVESTMENT IN EAST AND SOUTHEAST
[05] CEM-KINKEL MEETING
[06] FIVE TERRORISTS KILLED
[07] XANTHI MUFTI MEHMET EMIN AGA TO GO TO LONDON
[08] ANKARA ACCUSES GREECE OF TERRITORIAL WATERS VIOLATIONS
[09] PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE REPORTS ON DEMOCRATIZATION PROPOSAL
[10] IMPORTS AND EXPORTS INCREASE
[11] APO CONFESSES: "WE ARE BEING DEFEATED"
[12] NO AIRCRAFT AT BAF BASE
[13] PARIS RAID AGAINST PKK
[14] DIALOGUE WITH TURKEY IS ESSENTIAL
[15] BRITISH FM WARNS RUSSIA
[16] AMERICAN 3M COMPANY IN TURKEY
[17] BAD WEATHER EXPECTED TRHOUGHOUT MOST OF HOLIDAY
[01] SEZGIN VISITS SARAJEVO
Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ismet Sezgin will visit
Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina, to hold official contacts
on 28-31 January, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday. Sezgin
will proceed to Paris for more talks on 1 February.
[02] FM DEPUTY UNDERSECRETARY IN TBILISI
Turkish Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Mehmet Ali Irtemcelik
went to Tbilisi, Georgia, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday.
Irtemcelik there met with deputy foreign ministers of Georgia, Mikail
Ukleba and Malkhaz Kakabadze. Georgian officials noted that
Irtemcelik's visit was aimed at completing preparations for an
official visit by Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz to Georgia on
11-12 March.
[03] STATE MINISTER GUREL VISITS TRNC
Turkish State Minister Sukru Sina Gurel is visiting the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), the Anatolia news agency reported
yesterday. Gurel will meet TRNC President Rauf Denktas and Prime
Minister Dervis Eroglu today. Gurel will return to Ankara on Sunday.
[04] SUPPORT FOR INVESTMENT IN EAST AND SOUTHEAST
A draft law envisaging tax reduction and land allocation in order to
support investments in regions which have development priority in the
State of Emergency Region has been passed by the General Council of
the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA).
The law will affect regions which will be determined by the Cabinet,
and where the socio-economic development level is under 0.5, includes
regulations supporting new investments. /Cumhuriyet/
[05] CEM-KINKEL MEETING
Foreign Minister Ismail Cem met with his German counterpart Klaus
Kinkel yesterday in Bonn. After the meeting Kinkel made a statement
and said that he was pleased to see his Turkish counterpart in Germany
and stressed that trusting and friendly relations between Germany and
Turkey should continue. Pointing out that they had discussed Federal
Public Prosecutor Kay Nehm's statement about the PKK terrorist
organization, Kinkel said that restrictions against the PKK terrorist
organizations would nevertheless countinue. Regarding the European
Conference Kinkel declared that Turkey should attend the conference
because Turkey was a part of Europe.
Ismail Cem for his part said that the Cyprus problem had reached more
crucial levels after the news that Russian-made S-300 missiles would
be deployed in southern Cyprus. He stressed that the status of the
two communities on the island had to be accepted equally.
/Cumhuriyet/
[06] FIVE TERRORISTS KILLED
During operations in and around Tokat and Adiyaman, five separatist
terrorists have been killed. In Tokat three terrorists have been
killed, and one captured wounded by security forces while trying to
escape. According to Adiyaman officials during clashes between
security forces and separatist terrorists in Uzunkoy village, two more
terrorists were killed. /Sabah/
[07] XANTHI MUFTI MEHMET EMIN AGA TO GO TO LONDON
Xanthi Mufti Mehmet Emin Aga will go to London tomorrow to attend
activities marking the occasion of the January 29 National Challenge
and Social Solidarity Day of the West Thracian Turkish Society, the
Anatolia news agency reported yesterday. Mehmet Emin Aga will depart
from Britain on 2 February.
[08] ANKARA ACCUSES GREECE OF TERRITORIAL WATERS VIOLATIONS
Turkey protested to the Greek Embassy in Ankara yesterday over
violations of Turkish territorial waters by Greek patrol boats and
Greek military aircraft flying low over Turkish fishing boats in the
Aegean, Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesman Sermet Atacanli said. The
first counsellor of the Greek Embassy in Ankara was invited to the
Foreign Ministry, and all the violations of Turkish territorial waters
by Greece, which took place in January, were officially protested
against. /Cumhuriyet/
[09] PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE REPORTS ON DEMOCRATIZATION PROPOSAL
The Presidential State Supervisory Board has prepared a 180-page
report proposing the amendment of laws hindering democratization. The
report is calling for changes in many laws ranging from the
Constitution, the Political Parties Law, the Election Law, and the
Civil Code of the Higher Education Law. Copies of the report have
been sent to the Office of the Parliament Speaker, the Ministry of
Justice and the Interior Ministry, as well as to the parliamentary
group deputy chairmen of the political parties. /Hurriyet/
[10] IMPORTS AND EXPORTS INCREASE
Turkey made exports worth $20.362 billion and imports worth $37.837
billion during the January-October period last year. According to the
State Statistics Institute, during the January-October period, exports
increased by 10 % and imports increased by 9.9 % compared to the
corresponding period of 1996. /Milliyet/
[11] APO CONFESSES: "WE ARE BEING DEFEATED"
The leader of the PKK terrorist organization, Abdullah Ocalan, has
confessed that they are being defeated and that militants have
massacred thousands of innocent people in the region. The German
Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, quoting an article by Ali Firat
published in the Ozgur Halk Magazine, known as a PKK publication,
said: "The situation of the organization has come to a critical point
and this situation is creating concern". /Milliyet/
[12] NO AIRCRAFT AT BAF BASE
The Greek Cypriot administration has stated that there will be no war
planes at the Baf Base. Foreign Minister Yannis Kasulides noted that
they had no plans regarding the deployment of war planes at the base,
which was handed over on 24 January, and said: "The base will be used
in case of a Turkish attack". /Milliyet/
[13] PARIS RAID AGAINST PKK
Around 10 militants of the PKK terrorist organization were taken into
custody in Paris yesterday. The militants were involved in extorting
money and in money laundering activities in Belgium. The Brussels
Prosecutor's Office later stated that operations against the PKK will
continue in various EU countries, without giving any further details.
/Milliyet/
[14] DIALOGUE WITH TURKEY IS ESSENTIAL
Robin Cook, Foreign Minister of Britain, the current EU
Term-President, said that pro-Western political elements in Turkey
should certainly be supported. Cook replied to the questions of
European parliamentarians at yesterday's session of the Foreign
Relations Commission of the European Parliament and said that
political dialogue with Ankara was "essential". Cook added: "Turkey
accepted the Customs Union as a whole, including financial aid.
However so far Turkey has not received this aid". /Milliyet/
[15] BRITISH FM WARNS RUSSIA
During the current meetings of the Russia-EU Council, held in
Brussels, British Foreign Minister Robin Cook warned Moscow by saying
that it was not reasonable to sell Russian missiles to the Greek
Cypriot administration, because this would create further tensions
even while the European Union was trying to negotiate a peaceful
solution to the problems on the island. /Hurriyet/
[16] AMERICAN 3M COMPANY IN TURKEY
Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co.(3M), an American Company active
in 60 countries, which is described as the "factory of discovery"
because of its novel products such as post-it and reflectors on
traffic signs, has decided to include Turkey among the six new
countries into which it is planning to expand. /Hurriyet/
[17] BAD WEATHER EXPECTED TRHOUGHOUT MOST OF HOLIDAY
It is forecast that rainy and snowy weather conditions will prevail on
the eve and the first day of the Ramazan Holiday and will leave the
country on the last day of the holiday. According to information
released by the General Directorate of Meteorology, throughout the
holiday temperatures will be below seasonal averages in the northern
and central parts of the country and around seasonal averages in other
regions. /All papers/
Note: Because of the holiday season following the end of the Ramazan
fast, the Turkish Press Review will not be published until February 2,
1998.
END
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