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Turkish Press Review, 98-03-30
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
30.03.98
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] ARSONISTS TORCH TURKISH EMBASSY CAR IN GREECE
[02] PARLIAMENT'S SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
[03] INTERIOR MINISTRY HOLDS CONFERENCE ON HUMAN RIGHTS
[04] CULTURE MINISTER IN MOSTAR
[05] SEPARATISTS ARE IN CHARGE IN GREEK CYPRUS
[06] EU ENLARGEMENT STARTS
[07] UNIVERSITY ENTRANCE EXAM
[08] NEW ANTALYA AIRPORT TERMINAL OPENS TOMORROW
[09] CONSENSUS BETWEEN YILMAZ AND BAYKAL
[10] BAYBASIN BROTHERS TO BE TRIED IN THE UK
[11] GREAT SUCCESS IN BASKETBALL
[12] WORLD'S INTEREST IN BSEC
[13] TURKEY, ONE OF THE BIGGEST COUNTRY IN IRON-STEEL INDUSTRY
[14] TRANSPORTATION COUNCIL
[01] ARSONISTS TORCH TURKISH EMBASSY CAR IN GREECE
Arsonists torched a car belonging to Turkey's military attache in
Athens early on Sunday, causing some damage but no injuries. The car
was torched near Col.Ahmet Haluk Arabacibasi's home in the Paleo
Faliro suburb south of the city centre. According to the fire
department, the incendiary device caused about one million drachmas
($3,000) worth of damage to the vehicle. A leftist group known as the
"conscientious arsonists" claimed the responsibility for the attack
with phone calls to local media. /Sabah-Milliyet/
[02] PARLIAMENT'S SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
Throughout this week, Parliament will continue discussions on the
bill concerning the unionization of civil servants. The parties in
the government are expected to ask the Advisory Council to add extra
working hours to Parliament's schedule in order to facilitate passage
of the unionization bill and the bill concerning an 18 percent salary
increase for teachers.
The Planning and Budget Commission will discuss a bill amending
the Capital Market Law, while the Industry and Commerce Commission
will deal with the restructuring of fruit and vegetable markets. The
Constitution Commission will debate amendment proposals to the
Political Party Law aimed at harmonizing the law with the
constitutional amendments. /Sabah/
[03] INTERIOR MINISTRY HOLDS CONFERENCE ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Senior Interior Ministry officials are to participate in a
conference on worldwide changes and developments concerning human
rights. According to a statement released by the Interior Ministry,
the Emergency Rule Region (OHAL) governor, governors of 80 provinces
and Ankara's security chief are attending the conference that starts
on Monday and will last for two days. The opening speeches of the
conference will be given by President Suleyman Demirel, Prime Minister
Mesut Yilmaz, State Minister Hikmet Sami Turk, Interior Minister Murat
Basesgioglu and the Ministry's Research, Planning and Coordination
Board (APK) Acting Chairman Ismail Ozdemir. /All papers/
[04] CULTURE MINISTER IN MOSTAR
The Turkish Culture Ministry is calling for aid to everyone
especially businessmen to restore the historical Mostar bridge, which
was bombed in 1993 by the Serbs during the domestic war in Bosnia.
Turkish Culture Minister Istemihan Talay, who visited Mostar over the
weekend to this end, noted that $10 million was needed for the
restoration of the Mostar bridge. Talay stated that the Turkish
government has granted $1 million so far however more was needed.
/Milliyet/
[05] SEPARATISTS ARE IN CHARGE IN GREEK CYPRUS
The Greek Cypriot administration no longer hides that fact that
it harbors members of the PKK separatist terrorist organization within
its territory, according to an AFP report. In the report published by
the French news agency AFP and written by Refika Mahjoub, a separatist
who claims to be the spokesman for 200 PKK militants now in Greek
Cyprus introduces himself as "Comrade Saint" confesses that the
cohesive factor between the PKK and Greek Cypriots is a shared enmity
for Turkey.
Comrade Saint, the alleged leader of the official agent of the
PKK in Greek Cyprus, says that he is also the director of the
Kurdish-Greek Cypriot Friendship Association, founded with the
tolerance of Greek Cypriot officials. Comrade Saint stated that the
Greek Cypriots have shown solidarity with the PKK since the beginning
of their activities. /Sabah/
[06] EU ENLARGEMENT STARTS
The European UNion (EU) formally launches its historical eastward
enlargement on Monday as Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots -both out of
the process- are determined to enhance their rapprochement in
response. The EU formally opens its expansion process with 11 new
candidates in Brussels on Monday. The following day, formal
membership talks will begin with the so-called "first wave" countries:
Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovenia and Greek
Cyprus. The same day, the Turkey-Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
(TRNC) Association Council, which is designed to be an effective
mechanism of decision-making between the two countries, will hold its
first meeting in Ankara, following a visit by Turkish Foreign Minister
Ismail Cem to the TRNC on Monday.
"In response to the integration process of Greek Cyprus with the
EU, we will do just the same with Turkey", TRNC President Rauf Denktas
said on Saturday in Geneva before meeting UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan. /All papers/
[07] UNIVERSITY ENTRANCE EXAM
The first step of the university exams, the Student Selection
Exam (OSS), on March 29, brought out 1,359,579 candidates striving to
obtain a place in the universities. Approximately 190,000 civil
servants monitored the exam, which was held in 80 provincial and 64
district centres in Turkey and in Lefkose, in Northern Cyprus. The
results of the OSS will be available via the Internet and the 900
telephone lines at the beginning of May. /All papers/
[08] NEW ANTALYA AIRPORT TERMINAL OPENS TOMORROW
Antalya Airport's new international terminal will be officially
opened tomorrow at a ceremony which will be attended by President
Suleyman Demirel and Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz. The new terminal
will have the capacity to serve 15 million passengers annually and 22
flights hourly. Airlines and tour operators bringing tourists from
Europe to Turkey are overjoyed by the opening of the new terminal.
/Hurriyet/
[09] CONSENSUS BETWEEN YILMAZ AND BAYKAL
The recent consensus between Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and
Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal has calmed the
political uneasiness in the country. Yilmaz and Baykal have
reportedly agreed to meet during the Bayram Holiday to discuss the
CHP's participation in the coalition government, the date of the early
elections as well as the amendments considered in the Election Law and
the Political Parties Law.
Following the National Security Council (MGK) meeting last
Friday, Yilmaz visited Baykal on Saturday and suggested that he become
a partner in the coalition government in order to pass the bills
required for economic measures and to struggle against fundamentalism.
Baykal, whose party's support is vital for the survival of the
government coalition, reportedly looked favourably on this proposal.
/All papers/
[10] BAYBASIN BROTHERS TO BE TRIED IN THE UK
Two brothers of Huseyin Baybasin, alleged drug gang leader who is
thought to have good contacts with the Kurdish Med-TV and the Kurdish
Parliament in-exile, are being tried by Magistrate Court in the UK.
Abdullah Baybasin and Sirin Baybasin who were arrested together with
Mehmet Cetin on Friday in London, as part of coordinated police
operations against "organized crime" in Europe, were charged on
Saturday with possession of firearms and drug-related crimes. /All
papers/
[11] GREAT SUCCESS IN BASKETBALL
The European basketball finals in 2001 will be held in Turkey.
During the voting in the Federation of International Basketball
(FIBA), while Turkey received 13 votes, Sweden received only three
votes and Israel and Hungary could not receive any vote.
/Sabah-Hurriyet/
[12] WORLD'S INTEREST IN BSEC
The number of the countries, which are interested in the Black
Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) established in 1990, is increasing.
Following Italy and Austria, which gained the status for observer
membership, it is reported that France is also launching initiatives
to gain this status. /Milliyet/
[13] TURKEY, ONE OF THE BIGGEST COUNTRY IN IRON-STEEL INDUSTRY
Turkey produced 1.3 million tons of steel in January. According
to the Iron-Steel Producers' Association, Turkey became the 14th
biggest country in steel production in the world in January.
/Hurriyet/
[14] TRANSPORTATION COUNCIL
Transportation Minister Necdet Menzir said that after 11 years
they planned to gather the 9th Transportation Council to discuss and
evaluate transportation systems in Turkey. Menzir noted that they
would re-evaluate the "Transportation Main Plan" and would establish a
unit in the Ministry to maintain coordination between institutions.
He added: "We aim to decrease heavy traffic on highways but to
benefit from rail roads. We have already started legal arrangements
to harmonize with the EU norms." /Hurriyet/
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