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Turkish Press Review, 98-04-20
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
20.04.98
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] PM MESUT YILMAZ'S PRESS CONFERENCE
[02] FRENCH DC-10 SKIDS OFF ATATURK AIRPORT'S RUNWAY
[03] PM INQUIRY TO BE DISCUSSED ON WEDNESDAY
[04] 88 PKK MILTANTS KILLED
[05] KINKEL IS IN FAVOUR OF SOFTENING BILATERAL RELATIONS
[06] REPORT: ARMS SHIPPED TO EUROPE END UP IN HOT SPOTS
[07] DENKTAS IN MALATYA
[08] KILIC IN PAKISTAN
[09] MARK PARRIS PRAISES TURKEY
[10] GARIH NAMED MOST SUCCESSFUL YOUNG BUSINESSMEN
[11] BASESGIOGLU DECISIVE ABOUT ENDING TERROR
[12] SECURITY FORCES SOLVE HIZBULLAH PUZZLE
[13] FAO CAMPAIGN FOR POOR FARMERS
[14] ERSUMER VISITS AZERBAIJAN
[15] STATE MONOPOLIES INCREASE EXPORT CAPACITY
[16] ANKARA MUSIC FESTIVAL
[01] PM MESUT YILMAZ'S PRESS CONFERENCE
Turkish 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the Repentance Law and said that the Repentance Law had been repealed in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 RUNWAY
A 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 WEDNESDAY
An 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 KILLED
During 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 RELATIONS
German 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 SPOTS
Despite 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 MALATYA
President 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 PAKISTAN
Commander 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 TURKEY
U.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 BUSINESSMEN
Alarko 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 TERROR
Interior 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 PUZZLE
In 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 FARMERS
The 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 AZERBAIJAN
Minister 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 CAPACITY
The 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 FESTIVAL
The 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/
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