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Turkish Press Review, 98-07-29
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
29.07.98
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] PARLIAMENTARY COMMISSION UNANIMOUSLY APPROVES DRAFT ON NATO
EXPANSION
[02] YILMAZ TO STEP DOWN IN DECEMBER
[03] THREE TURKS SHOT IN SWITZERLAND
[04] YILMAZ RECEIVES IKV DELEGATION
[05] 1999 TARGETS FROM CELEBI
[06] GREEKS FIRE ON TURKISH BOATS
[07] DEMIREL'S LETTER RECEIVES GREAT ATTENTION
[08] PARLIAMENTARY COMMISSION UNANIMOUSLY APPROVES DRAFT ON NATO
EXPANSION
[09] ANKARA CONDEMNS GREEK REMARKS
[10] TURKEY AND ROMANIA REITERATE SUPPORT FOR BALKAN PEACE FORCE
[11] SWITZERLAND PLAYS DOWN TURKISH CRITICISM
[12] HOSPITAL EXPLOSION
[13] PKK KILLS CHILDREN
[14] KURDISH FORUM IN US
[15] TURKISH ENERGY DELEGATION IN US
[16] TURKEY TO SELL EURO-DOLLARS
[17] LE MONDE COMMENTS ON EU-TURKEY RELATIONS
[18] SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE ENTREPRENEURS MEET IN SPAIN
[19] PRIVATIZATION ACCELERATES IN FIRST HALF OF 1998
[20] REACTION TO NATO
[01] PARLIAMENTARY COMMISSION UNANIMOUSLY APPROVES DRAFT ON NATO
EXPANSION
[02] YILMAZ TO STEP DOWN IN DECEMBER
Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz has assured the Republican People's
Party (CHP) that he will resign at the end of the year following a
decision by Parliament on the election date. Yilmaz said yesterday that
Parliament will decide on the election date by the end of this week.
Speaking at a Motherland Party (ANAP) parliamentary group meeting
yesterday, Yilmaz said that his coalition had been working harmoniously
over the last twelve months and that no one had the right to complain
about its performance.
Yilmaz stated that his government was still in conformity with
agreements reached with Deniz Baykal, Chairman of the CHP, which
supports the government from outside the coalition. According to these
agreements, early elections will be held on April 25, 1999. All
developments that follow his resignation will be dealt with by the
president, Yilmaz said. He indicated that the formation of the new
government, which was agreed on in the Yilmaz-Baykal deal, will be up to
the head of state's decision. /All papers/
[03] THREE TURKS SHOT IN SWITZERLAND
In a restaurant in Bern, Switzerland, four people including three
Turks and one Swiss were killed yesterday. Four assailants shot at the
people at the restaurant owned by a Turk, Garip Kirmizikaya. It is
reported that investigations into the incident are continuing.
/Milliyet/
[04] YILMAZ RECEIVES IKV DELEGATION
Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz stated yesterday that following recent
developments, relations between Turkey and the European Union (EU) would
require a longer and tougher transition period. Yilmaz, who yesterday
received a delegation from the Economic Development Foundation (IKV)
headed by Meral Gezgin Eris, pointed out that there were many further
steps which should be taken by Turkey.
Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, who also received
Meral Gezgin Eris and the members of the IKV executive board, noted that
he had received a letter from EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Hans Van
Den Broek yesterday. Cem said that Broek stated in his letter that a
report would be prepared for all candidate members by the end of this
year and that Turkey's report would be prepared within the framework of
the Copenhagen criteria like all the other candidates. Cem added that
the lettter included a message, which says: "Please, give us
information and convey your thoughts to us". The IKV delegation headed
by Eris was also received by President Suleyman Demirel yesterday.
/Milliyet/
[05] 1999 TARGETS FROM CELEBI
State Minister Isin Celebi delivered a speech on "Economic
Developments within the downward trend in inflation" and furnished
information about developments in the Turkish economy during the first
six months of this year, and the targets for the year 1999. During a
meeting organized by the Chamber of Industry for the Aegean Region
(EBSO) yesterday, Celebi recalled that the inflation rate would be
reduced to 20 % in 1999. He said that structural reforms including
privatization would be speeded up and added that it was expected that
exports would total $52 billion in 2002 and $87.4 billion in 2005.
/Milliyet/
[06] GREEKS FIRE ON TURKISH BOATS
Greek coastal security boats fired on Turkish fishing boats near
Sakiz island in the Aegean Sea yesterday. A Greek government official
noted that Greek coastal security boats first warned the Turkish fishing
boats verbally, however the Turkish boats did not go back, therefore
they fired warning shots at them. /Milliyet/
[07] DEMIREL'S LETTER RECEIVES GREAT ATTENTION
A letter sent by Turkish President Suleyman Demirel to Head of the
Yugoslav Federation Slobodan Milosevic and heads of state and
governments of the member countries of the "Yugoslavia Contact group"
regarding the current crisis in Kosovo, has received great attention in
the Balkan press. The Albanian and Serbian press especially devoted
wide coverage to the letter. /Milliyet/
[08] PARLIAMENTARY COMMISSION UNANIMOUSLY APPROVES DRAFT ON NATO
EXPANSION
Turkey's parliamentary Foreign Relations Commission yesterday
unanimously approved a draft resolution on the accession of Hungary,
Poland and the Czech Republic into the North Atlantic Alliance, but with
conditions attached. Republican People's Party Deputy Murat Karayalcin,
who chaired Tuesday's commission meeting, said in a written statement
that the commission had added an appendix to the draft resolution "which
is to be taken into consideration" by the governments of NATO countries
during the enlargement process.
The appendix added to an article concerning the resolution's
implementation by the Cabinet, calls for the fulfillment of a number of
other Turkish expectations. Among these expectations are the speeding
up of efforts to admit Turkey into the Western European Union (WEU) and
the inclusion of the Balkan countries, particularly Bulgaria and
Romania, in NATO. /All papers/
[09] ANKARA CONDEMNS GREEK REMARKS
Turkey harshly condemned yesterday remarks by Greek Foreign
Minister Theodoros Pangalos that the Turkish Consulate in Gumulcine
(Komotini), Western Thrace, was acting against Greek national interests,
and hinted at retaliation if the mission of the consulate were
obstructed. "We are concerned by Mr.Pangalos' remarks and we strongly
condemn them. Undoutedly, if the Greek government tries to obstruct the
mission of the Turkish Consulate in Gumulcine on such subjective
grounds, it will be given an immediate and reciprocal response" a
Foreign Ministry statement said. The statement underlined that foreign
missions carry out their duties under the protection of international
agreements and that there was no place in international relations for
threats and arbitrary position taking. /All papers/
[10] TURKEY AND ROMANIA REITERATE SUPPORT FOR BALKAN PEACE FORCE
Turkey and Romania again asserted yesterday their support for the
formation of a Balkan multinational peace force, which will take
immediate action in case of crisis situations in the volatile region.
Turkish President Suleyman Demirel received yesterday his Romanian
counterpart Emil Constantinescu as a part of a bilateral consultation
mechanism, which envisages meetings between Turkish and Romanian
presidents at least twice a year. Speaking after the talks, the two
leaders expressed their determination for the establishment of the
Balkan force, about which preliminary meetings have been going on for
several months.
At the end of the talks between the two delegations, foreign
ministers Ismail Cem and Andrei Plesu of Romania signed a protocol
outlining a cooperation strategy between the two foreign ministers
between 1998 and 2000. Commenting on the countries' joint efforts to
combat terrorism, drug-trafficking and organized crime, Constantinescu
stated that the related authorities of the two countries were involved
in a very intensive and efficient cooperation. /All papers/
[11] SWITZERLAND PLAYS DOWN TURKISH CRITICISM
Switzerland has played down Ankara's criticism of a pro-PKK
terrorist organization conference held on July 24 in the Swiss city of
Lausanne. A spokesman for the Federal Foreign Ministry said that the
conference has been completely private and so it had not been necessary
for the organizers to request permission. /All papers/
[12] HOSPITAL EXPLOSION
An explosion which happened yesterday midnight in the Sea and
Underwater Medical Sciences Department of Istanbul Medical University
resulted in the deaths of a doctor and two patients. Department
officials announced later that the cause of the explosion was not
understood still unknown. /Cumhuriyet/
[13] PKK KILLS CHILDREN
A group of PKK terrorists launched a raid yesterday in the Mazidagi
region, Mardin, killing two children. Security forces have begun an
operation to find the terrorists.
Meanwhile, it is reported that PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan has
congratulated PKK terrorists for activities during which they massacred
over 3,000 animals in Van two days ago. /Cumhuriyet/
[14] KURDISH FORUM IN US
The Washington Kurdish Institution has held a "Forum to Solve the
Kurdish Issue". During the two-day forum held in at the Carnegie
International Peace Foundation Centre, the status of the Kurdish
populations living in Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria was discussed.
/Cumhuriyet/
[15] TURKISH ENERGY DELEGATION IN US
Turkish-US Energy Working Group meetings started yesterday in
Washington. The groups discussed the most advantageous route to
transfer Caspian Sea oil and natural gas to the West. Yigitguden
Yurdakul, Undersecretary of the Energy Ministry chaired the Turkish
delegation at the meetings. /Cumhuriyet/
[16] TURKEY TO SELL EURO-DOLLARS
A Salomon Smith Barney financing group representative said that
Turkey was in a position to sell mid-term Euro-dollar security bonds on
the American market. The representative also initiated that Turkey was
now better placed to seek long-term loans. /Cumhuriyet/
[17] LE MONDE COMMENTS ON EU-TURKEY RELATIONS
An article in Le Monde newspaper comments that problems in
relations between the European Union and Turkey seem to be easing.
Mentioning a report by Turkish officials, recently presented to Austria
which holds the rotating presidency of the EU, Le Monde notes Turkish
reaction to the EU exclusion of Turkey from its list of candidates for
full-membership. Turkey's own reports could be a base for normalizing
and enhancing relations, says the article. The article also states that
the EU's tactlessness and unrealistic statements by Turkish politicians
led to the current bottleneck in relations. /Hurriyet/
[18] SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE ENTREPRENEURS MEET IN SPAIN
Within the framework of the Europartenariat programme,
representatives of 3,000 small and medium-scale enterprises from 83
different countries will come together in the Spanish city of Valencia
on November 12-13. A statement by the Economic Development Foundation,
which is organizing the programme in Turkey, says that the meeting will
open-up world-wide cooperation opportunities for Turkish firms.
/Hurriyet/
[19] PRIVATIZATION ACCELERATES IN FIRST HALF OF 1998
Reports show that the privatization programme which began in 1993,
reached its highest point in the first six months of 1998. A total of
three billion 184 million dollars worth of income from privatization has
so far been realized this year. This amount is approximately equal to
the whole result of privatization efforts over the last 12 years.
Another important privatization project, is that the transfer of energy
distribution networks to the private sector, will now be possible. The
Constitutional Court has sent a brief summary of its decision to the
Council of State permitting the transfer of energy distribution networks
to the private sector. The Council of State is expected to reply
soon./Sabah/
[20] REACTION TO NATO
Turkey's Permanent Representative to NATO, Ambassador Onur Oymen,
yesterday said that the Cyprus problem was not on the NATO agenda, and
that sending a NATO force to the island was not under discussion. Oymen
said yesterday, "NATO is not the organization to find a solution to the
problem, and it never has been considered as such. Turkey is closely
following the matter. Cyprus is not the problem of NATO" /Sabah/
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