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Turkish Press Review, 98-12-11Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>11.12.98Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morningCONTENTS
[01] ECEVIT TO GIVE FINAL DECISION NEXT WEEKBulent Ecevit, Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader, who is responsible for forming the new government, announced that he is not very hopeful regarding the formation of a minority government but that he will not surrender optimism entirely. Ecevit met Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz on Wednesday. Ecevit will resume his efforts to form the new government next week. After meeting Yilmaz, Ecevit explained: "Yilmaz is supporting my minority government proposal. Since we had already agreed on this issue, there was no need to discuss details".ANAP leader Yilmaz stated that he told the DSP leader that ANAP wants Ecevit to evaluate all available alternatives. "I want Ecevit to reassess the possibilities if he cannot get any results from the DSP minority government model". Yilmaz added that if Ecevit brings a new proposal to the table, they will give it equal consideration. Yilmaz called on all parties to put aside their disagreements in the interest of reaching a consensus. Meanwhile, President Suleyman Demirel stated that the current government will remain in power until a new government is founded and can assume authority. In a speech to the Istanbul Industrial Chamber (ISO), Demirel said: "We have to prove that we can achieve democracy". Minister of Justice Hasan Denizkurdu said that he supports Ecevit's efforts to establish a minority government. /All papers/ [02] AZERI-TURKISH MEETINGMeetings are on-going between the Turkish-Azeri delegation concerning the Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline for the transportation of Caspian oil. The AIOC, the international consortium operating company, officials stated that the details of the inter-governmental agreement concerning the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline would be discussed in these meetings. Stating that Turkey fully guaranteed that Caspian oil would be exported safely, Azeri government officials noted that they agreeed upon all the articles concerning this issue. The Azer-Press News Agency reported that Baku requested the price of carrying the oil through Turkey not to exceed $14 per ton, the Anatolia news agency reports.[03] TRNC REPRESENTATIVE TO LONDON ON SKY TVThe Representative of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) to London, Ambassador Hakki Muftuzade pointed out that Greek Cypriots, who were talking about peace on the island, were continuing their efforts to deploy Russian-made S-300 missiles in Southern Cyprus and said that this was contradictory. Delivering a live speech on Sky TV, Muftuzade noted that the TRNC would not accept the deployment of the missiles on Cyprus. He also opposed the deployment of these missiles on Crete, the Anatolia news agency reports. Muftuzade stressed that initiatives by Southern Cyprus to start negotiations for full EU membership were against all UN rules and international law and agreements. He added that political equality on the island should be accepted.[04] GERMAN JUSTICE MINISTER'S STATEMENT ON STERNGerman Minister of Justice Herta Daeubler-Gmelin described the trial of the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in Germany as a second degree solution. Daeubler-Gmelin made a statement to a weekly German magazine, Stern, and noted that it would be more 'rational' to hold this trial at an international or a European court. Daeubler-Gmelin pointed out that there were many models to try the PKK leader and said: "This trial could also be possible at a war criminals tribunal established by a resolution of the UN Security Council in The Hague" for Yugoslavia, the Anatolia news agency reports.[05] FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES UPCentral Bank foreign exchange reserves increased by $716 million during the first week of December and exceeded $20 billion. According to Central Bank data, foreign exchange reserves in the Central Bank amounted to $20.417 billion. Meanwhile, Turkey repaid $113.7 million in foreign debts on December 1-9.Turkish Airlines (THY) obtained TL 3.767 trillion in profits during the first nine months of this year, according to a written statement issued by the THY. /Sabah/ [06] ITALY LOSES THE TENDERThe Italian firm, Agusta, lost its chance in a contract put out to tender by the Turkish Defense Industry Undersecretariat for 145 fighter helicopters worth $3.5 billion. Thus, Italy lost nearly TL 1 quadrillion. The K-50 fighter helicopters, to be jointly produced by the Kamov firm of Russia and Israel, the King Cobra of the American Bell Textron firm and the Apache Long Bow firm of Boeing entered the bidding.Meanwhile, Italian Industry Minister Luici Bersani will arrive in Turkey on Dcember 17 to meet Turkish Industry and Trade Minister Yalim Erez. During the Erez-Bersani meeting, it is expected that the recovery of Turkish-Italian relations which have deteriorated following the Ocalan crisis will be discussed. Bersani is also expected to want the Turkish boycott against Italian goods to be removed. /Sabah/ [07] WINTER HITS TURKEYHeavy snow falls have resulted in the closure of schools in Ankara, Bursa, Edirne, Kirklareli and Tekirdag and two people froze to death in Edirne and Istanbul. Roads have been blocked and several traffic accidents are being blamed on roads made slippery from the snow, the Anatolia news agency reports. In Ankara, a Turkish Airlines (THY) Ankara-Sivas flight was cancelled and local municipalities have put their emergency services on alert. According to the State Meteorology General Directorate, the temperatures will increase over the weekend. Snow falls are continuing in the Central Aegean and Western Black Sea regions.[08] KAYHAN CALLS FOR REFORM GOVERNMENTThe Chairman of the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD) Muharrem Kayhan said: "A government which will spend the next four months preparing the country for elections will be an extravagant expense for Turkey". Kayhan was speaking at the opening of the TUSIAD's Supreme Board of Consultation meeting on relations between Turkey and the European Union (EU), the tension between Turkey and Italy, the death penalty and human rights. He said that the latest crisis had started with Syria and that foreign relations crises had become the norm in recent times.He noted that if consensus in the political realm is achieved within the framework of concrete legal and political reforms, then politicians would be able to solve many problems both abroad and in Turkey. Laws and measures concerning banks and the financial sector must be enacted as soon as possible and relations with the IMF must be given importance, Kayhan said. While Kayhan criticized the European Parliament for not understanding Turkey's problems, he stressed that Turkey is a part of Europe and problems can only be solved through dialogue. /All papers/ [09] DEMIREL HONOURS EXPORTERSPresident Suleyman Demirel yesterday delivered a speech at an awards ceremony in Istanbul for the city's leading industrial exporters and corporate tax payers and reaffirmed the State's plan to withdraw from the country's industrial and commercial life. Demirel also pledged to minimize the effects of the present political crisis on Turkey's industry and trade. The State, he said, must stick to its main duties; providing law and order, education, health and welfare, protecting the environment and giving its senior citizens a social security net.Demirel presented awards to the top industrial exporters and taxpayers of Istanbul in 1997, in ceremonies organized by the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO). Demirel gave gold, silver, and bronze medals and plaques to the top corporate tax paying and exporting members of the ISO. /All papers/ [10] RICHARDSON: HURDLES TO BE OVERCOMEAddressing a conference on Caspian oil potential, the US Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson admitted there are 'clearly hurdles to overcome' in getting a consortium of international oil companies to build the 1,400 mile-pipeline. But he said that this is the most sensible option to getting oil from the potentially rich Caspian fields to Western markets. It is no longer 'if' we will have a pipeline from Baku-Ceyhan, but 'when' he said in remarks to the Caspian oil conference held by Cambridge Energy Research Associates. Richardson noted that he signed an agreement on Wednesday to finance a feasibility study for the possible construction of a trans-Caspian pipeline that would bring Kazakh oil and gas to Baku, from which point it could be transported via the proposed Baku-Ceyhan line. /All papers/[11] KOC INVESTMENTS IN EDUCATIONTurkey's greatest conglomorate, Koc Holding, is making investments worth $15 million in Turkish education. Koc Holding is constructing 15 primary schools. Four of these schools will be in Eastern Anatolia, two in the Central and nine in the Western Anatolian regions. /Turkiye/[12] DIPLOMATIC TOUR FOR CYPRUSThe US administration strongly supports the shuttle diplomacy being carried out by Special Deputy Envoy of the UN Secretary-General to Cyprus, Ann Hercus, between the two sides on the island. The Cyprus Special Coordinator for the US State Department, Thomas Miller, who arrived in Cyprus yesterday, met Hercus and said that the US supports her shuttle diplomacy. Miller will be in Istanbul on December 12-13. Miller will attend a meeting of businessmen from the two sides on the island called "The Brussels Group" together with the US President's Special Envoy to Cyprus, Richard Holbrooke. /Turkiye/[13] IMPORTANT FIGURES OF THE LAST MILLENNIUMAccording to a survey made by Life magazine, political, social, economic and technological developments which have affected people's lives during the last millennium have been examined and the most important 100 people have been elected. Suleyman the Magnificent and Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi were among the 100 people. According to the Life survey, the conquest of Istanbul was one of the most important events in the last millennium which imprinted its mark on history. While Suleyman the Magnificent ranked 38th, Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi came 73rd. /Turkiye/[14] BONN: "TURKEY IS THE 12TH CADIDATE"The German Minister of Foreign Affairs Joschka Fisher reported last week that the German government evaluated Turkey as the 12th candidate to the European Union (EU). During meetings held in Brussels last week, despite Greek objections, Germany, France and the Netherlands supported Turkey's being granted the candidate status. Within this framework, the German Minister of Foreign Affairs, held a press conference saying that they evaluated Turkey as the 12th candidate to the EU. /Milliyet/[15] TURKEY-EU RELATIONS TO BE DISCUSSED IN VIENNAThe Summit of the Presidents and Prime Ministers of the European Union will begin today in Vienna. The Summit will be an important way of evaluating EU-Turkey relations. Ankara hopes that at the end of the Summit concrete steps will be taken in Turkey's candidacy status and financial cooperation. /Milliyet/[16] TURKISH FILMS IN STRASBOURGWithin the framework of Turkish "Cinema Days", 14 Turkish films were on show at the Odysee cinema in Strasbourg. French people showed great interest in Turkish films and Turkish cinematic artists who were in France in attend the week. The Turkish Ambassador to Strasbourg, Alev Kilic, gave a banquet to cinema lovers. French Ambassador Worin, the General Secretary of the Council of Europe, Daniel Torchys, and the Head of Euroimages, Gaetano Adinolji, attended the dinner.Meanwhile, Turkish singers Leyla Colakoglu, Zuhal Olcay and Yildiz Ibrahimove gave concerts as part of "Turkish Cinema Days" week. /Milliyet/ [17] EROGLU CRITICIZES EUThe Prime Minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and leader of the National Unity Party (UBP) said that they were not in favour of a "confederal" or "federal" solution, criticizing the European Union (EU) for forcing the TRNC to unite with Turkey. /Cumhuriyet/[18] "ECONOMIC COUNCIL SHOULD BE GATHERED"Turk-Is Chairman, Bayram Meral, held a press meeting yesterday in Ankara. He said that the Economic and Social Council should be immediately gathered to discuss the recent economic crisis. Meral added that employers had not taken any measures against global and domestic negative developments but they fired workers. He attracted the attention of employees' saying that problems could only be increased and a social chaos would be start by firing workers. Meral finally wanted the goverment and the Turkish private sector to meet to discuss and take concrete measures against these economic problems. /Cumhuriyet/[19] TURKISH ATHLETES TO ITALYThe National Athletic Team will go to Ferrara, Italy today to attend the European Cross Championships. The national team will attend the championship; the team consists of four female and four male athletes. The Chairman of the Athletic Federation, Fikret Cetinkaya, said that they had worked hard for a long time and they aimed to be in the five. /Cumhuriyet/[20] TURKISH FRONT AT THE EUThe Greek Press wrote that Athens will have to confront a strengthening Turkish front at the EU. The newspapers noted that there was pressure on Athens by Germany, Holland, Italy, and France to accept Turkey as the 12th candidate member and recently Britain was added to the group. Greek Press noted that Turkey had adopted a stubborn stance and threatened to cut political dialogue with the EU unless it was accepted as a candidate member. The newspapers interpreted this as 'blackmail'. /Aksam/[21] S-300 MISSILES TO BE DEPLOYED IN CRETEIt was learned that the Greek Cypriot Administration would accept the deployment of the S-300 missiles in Crete temporarily if some of its conditions on security were met. The official Greek Cypriot radio CBC, stated that the Administration indicated its conditional approval on the deployment of the missiles in Crete following pressure by Italy, France, Germany and England. A Greek high-level diplomat stated that Greece had applied pressure to the Greek Cypriot leader Klerides. However, a leading Russian defence reporter, Pavel Felgenhauer, in the Moscow Times said that according to a high-level diplomat Klerides was still resisting the idea but would accept it in the end./Aksam/[22] BRITISH WILL ADVERTISE TURKS TO THE WORLD"Emerging Turkey", a new magazine which aims to advertise Turkey to the world, has begun to be published. It was reported that the magazine is owned by the Oxford Business Group and many British people are employed on the editorial staff. "Emerging Turkey" will have a total circulation of 35,000, a great portion of which will be distributed in Europe and the US. /Hurriyet/[23] 10-YEAR FOREIGN DEBT ADJUDICATION FROM TREASURYFollowing the 800-million-dollar Eurobond export in April, the Treasury made a 200-million-dollar export, on a %12 interest rate and for a 10-year term, yesterday. /Hurriyet/[24] DINI: "OCALAN IS LEFT OVER"Criticizing Germany with "disloyalty to the spirit of Schengen" as it resisted demanding the extradition of Ocalan, the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lamberto Dini, stated that they had been put in a tight spot and said: "If we try Ocalan in our own country, we might be the target of some serious actions by the organization." Dini added the possibility of trying Ocalan in a third country was gradually weakening and implied that the issue of an international court would no longer be on the agenda from then on. After meeting with his Danish, Swedish and Norwegian counterparts, Dini said: "Ocalan is left over and we have to act in conformity with the law."Meanwhile, it was reported that Ocalan would be cross-examined by two Italian prosecuters today, in particular concerning his illegal entrance into the country and for Ramon Mantovani,the Communist MP who arranged his coming to Italy. Ocalan will also answer questions concerning his claims about the assassination of the Pope. Also, the proposal by the Italian opposition which is demanding the deportion of Ocalan will be negotiated and voted on in Parliament today. In spite of the fact that this proposal will not be binding for the final decision, the Green and Communist MPs are alarmed since it will reflect the viewpoint of the Parliament. /Hurriyet/ [25] ANNAN WARNS GREEK CYPRIOTSIn the annual Cyprus Report issued yesterday, Kofi Annan, the General Secretary of the UN, criticized Greek Cypriots for attempting to change the military status quo in the island through intensifying their military infrastructure and improving the quality of their military equipment. /Hurriyet/Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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