TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (July 28, 1995)

From: hristu@arcadia.harvard.edu (Dimitrios Hristu)

Subject: TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (July 28, 1995)

CONTENTS

  • [01] TURKEY PRAISES US SENATE DECISION ON ARMS EMBARGO

  • [02] DEMIREL SENDS MESSAGE TO CHIRAC

  • [03] BRITISH FOREIGN MINISTRY WELCOMES CONSTITUTIONALAMENDMENTS

  • [04] EUROPE WAKING UP AT LAST

  • [05] PRO-ARMENIAN SENATOR PRAISES TURKEY

  • [06] CETIN: "WE ARE LIKE A BIG FAMILY"

  • [07] ROME "EUROPE-MEDITERRANEAN DIALOGUE" MEETING ENDS

  • [08] UZBEK INTERIOR MINISTER IN ANKARA

  • [09] ARSON ATTACKS CONTINUE AGAINST TURKISH INTERESTS INGERMANY

  • [10] 33 PKK MILITANTS, TWO SOLDIERS KILLED

  • [11] TOURISTS POURING INTO TURKEY

  • [12] TURKEY AND RUSSIA BOOST LOCAL SECURITY COOPERATION

  • [13] TURKISH INTELLECTUALS WILL GO TO BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

  • [14] RECORD IN FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES

  • [15] SADIK AHMET LAID TO REST

  • [16] RUSSIA AND TURKEY COMPETE FOR PIPELINE

    •

    TURKISH PRESS REVIEW

    FRIDAY JULY 28, 1995

    Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press

    this morning

    [01] TURKEY PRAISES US SENATE DECISION ON ARMS EMBARGO

    Turkey yesterday welcomed a US Senate vote to lift the arms embargo on the Bosnian government as a positive move that has long been supported by Ankara. "The move is in line with what we have been saying for a long time; the Bosnians must be given a chance to defend themselves properly" Foreign Minister spokesman Omer Akbel told reporters, "The Senate move is positive". Asked to comment on a press report yesterday suggesting that Turkey was also preparing for a unilateral move to break the arms enbargo on Bosnia, Akbel said he could not confirm the report by the Istanbul-based Hurriyet daily which based its story on statements by an unidentified diplomatic source. Akbel said Turkey also welcomed a move by UN Secretary- General Boutros Ghali to relinquish his veto power over air strikes in Bosnia, delegating it to French and British UN commanders as NATO had wanted. "We will be only happy to see moves that make the UN forces more effective and act more swiftly" he said. /All papers/

    [02] DEMIREL SENDS MESSAGE TO CHIRAC

    President Suleyman Demirel on Wednesday sent a message to French President Jacques Chirac expressing sorrow over a blast in Saint-Michel subway station. Premiership Press Centre quoted Demirel as saying "I have learned the explosion in the Saint-Michel subway station. This explosion which caused the lives of many people deeply effected Turkish people". "In my name and the Turkish people, I would like to convey to the French people all his condolences and wishes for speedy recovery to the wounded" the message said.

    [03] BRITISH FOREIGN MINISTRY WELCOMES CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

    British Foreign Ministry on Wednesday extended support to constitutional amendments which were accepted by the Parliament earlier. British spokesman told the Anatolia news agency that his country welcomed these changes and called it "The meaningful success of Turkish government". He said the European Parliament should take these changes into consideration before the ratification of customs union between Turkey and the EU.

    [04] EUROPE WAKING UP AT LAST

    The Europeans are slowly waking up to the fact that the PKK is in every reality a terrorist organization committed to damaging Turkey as much as possible.

    One of Germany's most influential newspapers "Die Welt" has again confirmed that the PKK in many ways resembles the neo-nazi movement in an article about the "fight against PKK terror".

    The high circulation Belgian newspaper "La Libre Belgique" also notes that PKK terrorism has been unable to stop the positive development of Turkey. The European press has also noted the recent developments in parliament, and the moves to develop democracy even further.

    Die Welt stresses that in Germany at least, the fight against the PKK needs to be stepped up especially in view of increased PKK activity in Germany. /Hurriyet/

    [05] PRO-ARMENIAN SENATOR PRAISES TURKEY

    Chris Smith, a member of the House of Representatives, who is known for his pro-Armenian attitudes, commented with admiration on the constitutional amendments in Turkey. In a speech at the General Assembly of the House of Representatives, Smith said that the Turkish Parliament and Prime Minister Tansu Ciller have taken a very important step towards the strengthening of democracy. He added that a stable and democratic Turkey was vital for American interests and stressed that constitutional amendments as well as other attempts for improving the democratic record of Turkey would contribute to the strengthening of relations with the US. Smith pointed out that everybody giving importance to human rights and regional stability would support the initiative of the Turkish government and parliament. /Sabah/

    [06] CETIN: "WE ARE LIKE A BIG FAMILY"

    Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman, State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Hikmet Cetin went yesterday to Kars to lay the foundation of the Bayburt Dam within the framework of the Kars-Selim project. In a speech at the opening ceremony, Cetin said that terror was one of the greatest national problems. He added that the security forces have achieved a remarkable success in the struggle against terrorism and called upon the terrorists to surrender.

    Cetin stressed that all the people living in Turkey were like a big family and noted that they will give no room to separations and disintegrations. The Deputy Prime Minister pointed out that during the current year TL 7-8 trillion will be spent within the framework of the GAP project for developing the region, and added that the government will provide low interest rate credits, and that additional expenditures would be provided to support investments in Kars and encourage people to return to the villages they had left. /Sabah/

    [07] ROME "EUROPE-MEDITERRANEAN DIALOGUE" MEETING ENDS

    The international meeting organized by the US-based ASPEN Institute and held to discuss relations between Mediterranean countries and Europe ended in Rome yesterday. Culture Minister Ismail Cem, who attended the meeting, said that the participants discussed possible ways of developing cooperation among Mediterranean countries. Cem said that they agreed that rapid population growth in Mediterranean countries had a negative effect on their economies. Culture Ministry Undersecretary Emre Kongar, who also spoke at the meeting, demanded more joint efforts to ensure the environmental protection of the Mediterranean. /All papers/

    [08] UZBEK INTERIOR MINISTER IN ANKARA

    Zahircan Almatov, Uzbek Interior Minister, arrived in Ankara yesterday morning after his visit to Istanbul on an official visit as the guest of his Turkish counterpart Nahit Mentese. Almatov said in a press conference at Ankara-Esenboga Airport that he brought the greetings of President Islam Kerimov to Turkey. Almatov said Uzbekistan and Turkey were brothers and they wanted to benefit from Turkey's experience in many fields. Bekir Aksoy, undersecretary at the interior ministry met Almatov at the airport. Almatov and his delegation are expected to leave Ankara on August 1. /All papers/

    [09] ARSON ATTACKS CONTINUE AGAINST TURKISH INTERESTS IN GERMANY

    Two people were hurt in the third consecutive night of firebomb attacks against Turkish interests in Germany which police suspect are the work of Kurdish separatist PKK militants. The targets on Wednesday night were a food shop near Freiburg, two restaurants and a cultural centre in Hamburg, an association near Aachen and four Turkish travel agencies in other towns. Two people overcome by smoke fumes were taken to hospital in Hamburg. As on previous nights, firebombs were thrown at the targets, causing only limited damage because of the homemade quality of the incendiary devices. The attacks on Monday and Tuesday night were mostly concentrated in the Stuttgart region in southwest Germany. The Turkish Embassy in Bonn condemned the attacks. Officials from the embassy said that there had been 166 attacks against Turkish targets since January 1995. /Cumhuriyet-Milliyet/

    [10] 33 PKK MILITANTS, TWO SOLDIERS KILLED

    Thirty three militants of the PKK terrorist organization were killed during military operations, two soldiers were killed in action, six soldiers were injured and ten PKK militants were captured in the Southeast. /All papers/

    [11] TOURISTS POURING INTO TURKEY

    Officials of the Tourism Ministry reported that the number of tourists coming to Turkey in June, about 810,400-an increase of 21 % over the same month of last year. An increase of 10 % was reported over the first six months of this year compared to last year. Germany sent the most tourists to Turkey, followed by Belgium, Sweden and Australia. Increases were also seen in the number of tourists from Africa, up 60 %, and from Asia, up 44 %, when compared to the first six months of last year. Tourism Minister Irfan Gurpinar said that Turkey will benefit economically a great deal from the increase in tourism and concluded that tourists will keep on visiting Turkey whenever possible beacuse they love it. /All papers/

    [12] TURKEY AND RUSSIA BOOST LOCAL SECURITY COOPERATION

    Russian and Turkish representatives are making efforts to further develop relations within the framework of a security cooperation treaty signed by the two countries in 1992. A Russian delegation of security officials which arrived in the Black Sea port of Trabzon, met with Provincial Security Director Aydin Genc in his office. It was agreed that increased security measures should be applied in Trabzon and the Russian city of Sochi which have considerable numbers of visitors from both countries for tourism and business. /All papers/

    [13] TURKISH INTELLECTUALS WILL GO TO BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

    A group of Turkish intellectuals including writers, politicians, doctors, academics and trade unionists will go to Mostar on August 9 in order to condemn the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia- Herzegovina. Ertugrul Gunay, a politician, who briefed journalists about the "Humanitarian Initiative for Bosnia- Herzegovina" wanted all intellectuals to participate in the initiative. Otherwise, Gunay noted, he and his colleagues might face a question in the future about why they had remained indifferent in the face of events. /Hurriyet/

    [14] RECORD IN FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES

    Foreign exchange reserves in the Central Bank (CB) reached a record level of $13.6 billion on 21 July. According to details from the CB, foreign exchange reserves of the Bank increased by $432 million between 14-21 July. The CB foreign exchange reserves surpassed $13.5 billion on 7 July for the first time. According to data dated 7 July, Turkey's total gross reserves rose to $23.6 billion. Gold reserves were $1.4 billion and foreign exchange reserves in commercial banks were $8.8 billion on 7 July. /Hurriyet/

    [15] SADIK AHMET LAID TO REST

    The body of Sadik Ahmet, the leader of the Turkish minority in Greece who died in a car crash earlier this week, was due to be laid to rest in the West Thracian town of Gumulcine (Komotini) after a Muslim funeral yesterday. State Minister Necmettin Cevheri, representing Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, State Minister Algan Hacaloglu, representing the government, Ali Naci Tuncer, Prime Ministry Undersecretary, Mesut Yilmaz, leader of the main opposition Motherland Party (ANAP) and several deputies represented Turkey at the funeral. Representing the Greek Assembly, PASOK deputies Dimitrios Cetines and Haralambos Damianidis, and Pashalis Konstantinidis from the New Democracy Party were present at the funeral where Greek Assembly Speaker Apostolos Kaklamanis sent a wreath. Komotini Governor Stelyos Stavropulos and Mayor Yorgos Papadrielis also attended the funeral. /Hurriyet/

    [16] RUSSIA AND TURKEY COMPETE FOR PIPELINE

    Turkish and Russian proposals to carry oil from rich Azeri and Kazakh petrol fields to the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, respectively, through their territory are in fierce competition. Russia proposes to carry oil via old pipelines from Azerbaijan to Grozni and Novorossyk. The cost of this project is $450 million. Moscow offers to pay $400 million of this amount. If the Russian proposal is accepted, Russia will restore this pipeline. The Turkish proposal: Petrol which will be carried via railway from Azerbaijan to Tbilisi, will arrive in Batum or Supska following the restoration of old pipelines. The cost of this project is $250 million. Turkey prefers the Batum route. /Hurriyet/

    END

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