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Turkish Press Review, 98-07-13
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
13.07.98
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] GENERAL KARADAYI TO GET US AWARD
[02] TURKEY READY TO HELP KOSOVO
[03] TURCO-ISRAELI MILITARY COOPERATION
[04] PESHMERGES ATTACK PKK
[05] ISRAELI AIR BASE IN TURKEY
[06] JERUSALEM CYPRUS INITIATIVE
[07] THIRD BOSPHORUS BRIDGE
[08] TURCOLOGY DEPARTMENT IN FLORIDA
[09] TURKISH AND GREEK CYPRIOT FERRY BOATS COLLIDE OFF CORFU
[10] TURKISH COMPUTER WIZ
[11] AUTOMOTIVE CAPACITY INCREASES
[12] FIRE IN AYDIN
[13] EVALUATIONS ON TURKISH ECONOMY
[01] GENERAL KARADAYI TO GET US AWARD
Chief of General Staff General Ismail Hakki Karadayi will begin a
visit to the United States on July 16 to receive a medal of merit. The
visit by General Karadayi will have the character of a farewell visit,
as the top Turkish general retires in August. General Shelton will be
presenting the medal of merit to his Turkish counterpart.
During his visit, General Karadayi will visit the NATO Command in
Norfolk, Virginia. He will also meet with US Defense Secretary William
Cohen for talks that are expected to focus mainly on Turkey's relations
with Greece and the Cyprus issue. /Hurriyet/
[02] TURKEY READY TO HELP KOSOVO
In a statement to Koha Jone newspaper published in Albania,
President Suleyman Demirel over the weekend said that Turkey was ready
to undertake its duties within the international community to prevent
any more spilling of blood. Noting that an agreement between Pristina
and Belgrad on the independence of Kosovo would be welcomed, Demirel
stated that if Kosovo insisted on independence under the present
conditions it would not be accepted by the international community.
/Sabah/
[03] TURCO-ISRAELI MILITARY COOPERATION
A military mission from Turkey are holding military exercises at an
air base in Israel. Six Turkish Air forces F-16 warplanes exercised at
the Sdhema Training Base which is equipped with many missile systems and
radars, including systems for Russian-made S-300 missiles. The
exercises aim to test the readiness of Turkish warplanes and pilots to
launch an attack against S-30O missiles which are planned to be deployed
by the Greek Cypriot administration. Turkish military officials
evaluated the manoeuvres as "perfect", and noted that Turkey would open
a similar training centre. /Hurriyet/
[04] PESHMERGES ATTACK PKK
Nearly 8,000 peshmerges affiliated to the Iraqi Kurdistan Democrat
Party (IKDP) have launched initiatives against the PKK terrorist
organization, which has killed many innocent people in northern Iraq.
During operations carried out by peshmerges against the PKK, many
terrorists have been killed. Meanwhile, due to a possible penetration
of PKK terrorists fleeing from the attacks of the peshmerges through
Turkey, units of the Turkish Armed Forces have been moved to the border
regions. /Milliyet/
[05] ISRAELI AIR BASE IN TURKEY
According to the Christian Science Monitor newspaper published in
the US, Israel has constructed a special base for the use of only
Israeli aircraft in eastern Turkey and Turkish jets are under training
in Israel to deal with PKK missile attacks. An article written by Scott
Peterson noted that relations between Turkey and Israel are rapidly
developing. /Milliyet/
[06] JERUSALEM CYPRUS INITIATIVE
According to the Haaretz newspaper published in Israel, due to the
tension caused by Russian-made S-300 missiles to be deployed in southern
Cyprus, the Israeli government has proposed to mediate between Turkey,
Greece and southern Cyprus. However this initiative has not so far
yielded any positive results. According to the newspaper, the Israeli
government launched mediation initiatives following suggestions from
Washington. A Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesman noted that the Israeli
government brought this issue to the agenda during Turkish Foreign
Minister Ismail Cem's recent visit to Israel.
According to the newspaper, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu talked
about the tension created by the S-300 missiles during his meeting with
Ismail Cem and said that he supported finding a solution to this problem
through peaceful means. The Israeli government thinks that the purchase
of S-300 missiles is a "great mistake", the newspaper added. /Milliyet/
[07] THIRD BOSPHORUS BRIDGE
Public Works and Housing Minister Yasar Topcu pointed out yesterday
that a foundation ceremony for a third Bosphorus Bridge was planned to
be held before the end of this year, while the tunnel project would be
put into implementation by 2010 and at the latest in 2015. Topcu
delivered a speech yesterday during an opening ceremony held for a new
highway, which connects Altunizade to Umraniye in Istanbul. Topcu said:
"The third Bosphorus Bridge project is the biggest project planned and
designed for Istanbul". /Milliyet/
[08] TURCOLOGY DEPARTMENT IN FLORIDA
A Turcology department will be opened at the US Atlantic University
in southern Florida. Rector of South Florida Atlantic University
Prof.James Catanese and Student Director Prof.William B.Stronge have
visited universities in Ankara and Konya. /Milliyet/
[09] TURKISH AND GREEK CYPRIOT FERRY BOATS COLLIDE OFF CORFU
Two ferry boats collided on Sunday off the coast of the Ionian
island of Corfu, causing material damage to both ships but no injuries,
the Merchant Marine Ministry said. The head-on collision between the
Turkish Iskenderun and the Greek Cypriot Valentino occurred 27 kms west
of Corfu, the ministry said. The Valentino had shortly before left the
southern Greek port of Patras for Italy, while the Iskenderun was headed
for Izmir, Turkey, from a Croatian port, the ministry added.
/Hurriyet-Sabah/
[10] TURKISH COMPUTER WIZ
The founding member of Fore System, one of the three fasting
growing US computer firms, is a Turk, Onat Menzilcioglu. Within the
framework of the company he founded with three friends, Menzilcioglu has
achieved massive success in computer technology, by developing the ATM
system. /Sabah/
[11] AUTOMOTIVE CAPACITY INCREASES
While the average rate of capacity utilization in the automotive
industry totalled 51 % during the first five months of this year, this
figure rose to a huge 147 % in the midi-bus sector. According to
Automotive Industry Association (OSD) data, total capacity was 339,530
units during the first five months of this year. Midi-bus capacity was
2,770 units while total output in the automotives industry was 247,500
units. /Milliyet/
[12] FIRE IN AYDIN
Fire brigades saved a forest in the borderland between Izmir and
Aydin in the Aegean region by putting out a fire which could have spread
after destroying a two square kilometres area yesterday morning.
/Cumhuriyet/
[13] EVALUATIONS ON TURKISH ECONOMY
A review carried out by "the Economist", a British economics
magazine, forecasts that Turkey's growth rate for this year will be 5.3
%, and 4.5 % in 1999.
Meanwhile, representatives of Fitch IBCA, an economic rating
company, said that they were not about to increase Turkey's credit grade
because of concerns over an early election planned to be held in April
1999. /Cumhuriyet/
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