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Turkish Press Review, 98-04-20Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>20.04.98Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] PM MESUT YILMAZ'S PRESS CONFERENCETurkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said the government had been very successful since it came to power nine months ago and reiterated that it had agreed with the Republican People's Party (CHP) that there would not be any early elections in 1998. Speaking during a two-hour-long press conference yesterday to assess the government's performance, Yilmaz said the government's major objective would be to drop the rate of inflation. He also confirmed that he would bow to the court decision regarding the privatization of electricity generation and distribution. Yilmaz attended the press conference with Bulent Ecevit, his deputy and the chairman of the Democratic Left Party (DSP), and Rifat Serdaroglu, state minister from the coalition's junior partner, the Democratic Turkey Party (DTP).He said during the press conference that Turkey had suspended its political ties with the European Union (EU) and had given up demands that it must join the EU. He noted that Turkey would also consider its national interests more. Yilmaz responded to a question regarding whether the separatist Kurdish leader, Semdin Sakik, could benefit from the Repentance Law and said that the Repentance Law had been repealed in 1995 and that there was no way Sakik, the number-two leader of the PKK terrorist organization, could benefit from it. Yilmaz also expressed his displeasure with the "non-cooperation" on the part of the private sector. He said the government had expected support from the private sector for its austerity measures, but so far had not received any. Yilmaz and Baykal will have new talks on April 23 and are expected to agree on the new draft laws to be presented to Parliament by the end of June, when Parliament will begin its summer recess. /All papers/ [02] FRENCH DC-10 SKIDS OFF ATATURK AIRPORT'S RUNWAYA French passenger plane skidded off the runway at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport yesterday and came to a halt off the tarmac. No injuries were reported. The DC-10, which belongs to French charter company Air Liberte, was rescued at 4:20 p.m. as a result of a three-hour effort on the part of State Airport Department (DHMI) rescue teams from Ataturk Airport. The incident closed Turkey's busiest airport to traffic for a while, but it was re-opened to traffic at 4:30 p.m., the Anatolia news agency reported. The plane, arriving in heavy rain from Paris and carrying 309 passengers, stopped in the mud after skidding about 10 metres off the tarmac.[03] PM INQUIRY TO BE DISCUSSED ON WEDNESDAYAn investigation to set up a commission for probing allegations that Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz had misused his office by illegally acquiring assests will be discussed by Parliament on Wednesday. The proposal was presented by True Path Party (DYP) deputies led by Meral Aksener. Yilmaz might address Parliament in order to defend himself, the Anatolia news agency reported.[04] 88 PKK MILTANTS KILLEDDuring operations in the Besta region including the provinces of Hakkari, Siirt, Sirnak and Van, 88 militants of the PKK terrorist organization have been killed while seven Turkish soldiers and four village guards died and 10 security officials have been wounded. Head of the Emergency Rule Region (OHAL), Aydin Arslan, said in a statement that since the announcement of the emergency rule in the region, 20,305 PKK militants have been killed and a total of 25,558 terrorists have been rendered ineffective. Noting that during 89 conflicts within this year, 36 security officials and 10 citizens died, while 459 PKK militants have been rendered ineffective. Meanwhile, Der Spiegel, a weekly magazine published in Germany, said in its recent issue that the PKK terrorist organization was panic-stricken. /Milliyet/[05] KINKEL IS IN FAVOUR OF SOFTENING BILATERAL RELATIONSGerman Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said that he was in favour of softening relations between Turkey and Germany. During a conversation with journalists at a council meeting of the German Free Democrat Party (FDP) in Berlin, Kinkel noted that he supported the normalization and development of traditional and historical Turkish-German relations as soon as possible. In response for Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, who said that German Prime Minister Kohl prevented Turkey's full membership into the European Union (EU), Kinkel said that such an initiative was out of the question. /Milliyet-Sabah/[06] REPORT: ARMS SHIPPED TO EUROPE END UP IN HOT SPOTSDespite laws aimed at curbing international weapons trafficking, US officials have discovered that the US has almost no control over the flow of guns once they reach Europe, The New York Times reported yesterday. Thousands of semiautomatic American pistols and rifles sold to European arms dealers in the last few years have ended up in Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia, Algeria and Turkey, the paper reported, citing American and European law enforcement officials they did not identify. The weapons also found their way to organized crime syndicates, the paper said, and there are indications some US firearms got to Iraq and Iran. To address the problem, the US is on the verge of revoking all oustanding licences for firearms exports to British companies, the paper said. The US will present its proposal in May at a summit in Birmingham, England, of leading industrial nations-the so-called Group of 7. /Hurriyet/[07] DENKTAS IN MALATYAPresident of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Rauf Denktas, said that the TRNC should improve its economy in order to be powerful in politics. Speaking at a conference titled "Recent Political Developments in TRNC", Denktas said that Northern Cyprus was very eligible to make investments in education, tourism and industry and he wanted businessmen to invest in his country. /Cumhuriyet/[08] KILIC IN PAKISTANCommander of the Air Forces, General Ilhan Kilic went to Pakistan yesterday upon an official invitation of his Pakistani counterpart General Parvaiz Mehdi Quereshi. After completing his contacts, Kilic will return home on 23 April. /Cumhuriyet/[09] MARK PARRIS PRAISES TURKEYU.S. Ambassador to Turkey, Mark Parris said yesterday that Turkey had the potential to be one of the economic power in the 21st century. During his speech at Foreign Investors' Association in Istanbul, Parris said that Turkey was certainly a part of Europe and it had enough dynamic power to improve economic development in Central Asia and Caucasus. He added: "If Turkey takes the necessary measures, it will be one of the economic power of the world. Turkey's future is very bright. We are ready to cooperate with Turkish leaders to strengthen Turkish economy." /Sabah/[10] GARIH NAMED MOST SUCCESSFUL YOUNG BUSINESSMENAlarko Holding construction group manager Izzet Garih has been named the "Young Businessmen of the Year" by judges in a competition sponsored by Worldcom, the giant communications company in the world. Garih was nominated for his work on the "Alkent Istanbul 2000" project.Tunc Tonger, the owner of the Tunc Tonger constructive company, won the special success award in the same contest held in Beijing. /All papers/ [11] BASESGIOGLU DECISIVE ABOUT ENDING TERRORInterior Minister Murat Basesgioglu said that the latest operations carried out against terrorists were a great step in the fight against terrorism, adding that their aim was to completely destroy terrorism.Basesgioglu, answering journalists' questions over the weekend, said: "There could be always some threats to a country like Turkey which is situated in a problematic area. We keep our security forces alert against any potential threat." /Milliyet/ [12] SECURITY FORCES SOLVE HIZBULLAH PUZZLEIn operations carried out by security forces against the outlawed Hizbullah organization in the Southeast for the last few years, various data about the organization's structure were discovered including information relations to its background, income and the number of its supporters and militants.The information shows that Hizbullah currenty instructs about 1,000 people in 58 mosques in Diyarbakir in its political doctrines. Meanwhile, 120 Hizbullah members from its military branch have been captured by security forces up until the present time. /Milliyet/ [13] FAO CAMPAIGN FOR POOR FARMERSThe U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has started a campaign called "Bread to Everyone" for providing financial aid to poor farmers in order to help them increase their agricultural production. Within this context, the FAO also has decided to support poor Turkish farmers with a $ 60,000 share from the $ 2 million provided by the pooling of money collected in various countries for this purpose.Culture Ministry will organize concerts and other activities to provide income to the campaign. An income of about $ 25,000 is hoped to be generated from the activities. /Milliyet/ [14] ERSUMER VISITS AZERBAIJANMinister of Energy and Natural Resources, Cumhur Ersumer, will go to the Azerbaijani capital of Baku today. Ersumer will have contacts on Baku-Ceyhan pipeline in this country where he will be received by President Haydar Aliyev as well. He will present the Azerbaijani officials with Turkey's new proposals for the projected pipeline aiming to meet their demands concerning this issue. /Hurriyet/[15] STATE MONOPOLIES INCREASE EXPORT CAPACITYThe General Director of State Monopolies, Mehmet Akbay, declared yesterday that their target of exports in 1998 was over 300 million dollars. He also noted that in order to achieve this target they had already made sales contracts with several countries including the USA, ex-Soviet republics, Australia, and various European countries.[16] ANKARA MUSIC FESTIVALThe 15th International Ankara Music Festival started yesterday with an opening concert also attended by Turkish President Suleyman Demirel. The festival will continue until 18 May. /All papers/Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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