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TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (May 3, 1996)
From: TRKNWS-L <trh@aimnet.com>
CONTENTS
[01] DEMIREL TO VISIT IRAN
[02] FIRST GUEST OF PM YILMAZ
[03] EGYPT FM IN ANKARA
[04] JAPANESE FM VISITS TURKEY
[05] CLINTON EXPRESSES 'OPTIMISM' FOR CYPRUS ACCORD IN 1996
[06] PKK CONFIRMS XULAM IS A 'PKK FRIEND'
[07] IMF COMMITTEE ON THE WAY
[08] FEWER ACCIDENTS IN THE BOSPHORUS
[09] PKK GETTING RICH FROM DRUG SMUGGLING
[10] TURKISH PROJECTS IN BOSNIA LIFTING OFF
[11] CALL FOR MORE US INVESTMENT IN TURKEY
TURKISH PRESS REVIEW
FRIDAY MAY 3, 1996
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
[01] DEMIREL TO VISIT IRAN
Turkish President Suleyman Demirel will visit Uzbekistan between May 7-9.
It is reported that Demirel will go to Meshed, Iran before he goes to
Uzbekistan. Demirel has accepted the invitation of Iranian President Hasimi
Rafsancani. Meanwhile, Imamali Rakhmanov, president of Tajikistan, will pay
an official visit to Turkey as President Suleyman Demirel's guest on May
5-8. A statement from the Foreign Ministry indicated that improvements in
bilateral relations since Demirel's visit to Tajikistan last September
would be reviewed. New opportunities of cooperation will be sought and
regional and international issues will be evaluated. In its statement, the
Foreign Ministry noted that with Demirel's visit last September the two
countries made negotiations at the presidential level for the first time
since Tajikistan gained its independence. /Cumhuriyet/
[02] FIRST GUEST OF PM YILMAZ
The first guest of Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz will arrive in Turkey next
week. South Korean Prime Minister Lee Soo Sung will come to Turkey for an
official visit between May 9-12. During the visit, views will be exchanged
on international problems which interest the two countries and
opportunities to develop economic relations will be examined. /Hurriyet/
[03] EGYPT FM IN ANKARA
Egyptian displeasure over the signing of a Turco-Israeli military training
accord ended during the visit of Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa on
Thursday. Moussa, who held a press conference after his talks with Turkish
President Suleyman Demirel and Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay, said that he
was satisfied by Turkey's assurances that the accord was "not a military or
a strategic pact" that would upset the balances in the volatile Middle
East. "(We were told that) it was an agreement like any other military
training agreement Turkey has signed with other countries" Amr Moussa told
journalists. The Egyptian minister admitted that there had been "some
misunderstandings" in the way the accord had been explained to Cairo.
Demirel noted that many Arab countries, especially Egypt, Jordan and
Palestine, had close relations and made agreements with Israel and pointed
out that Turkey had no policy that would harm its neighbours. A message
from Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was delivered to President Suleyman
Demirel by Moussa. Moussa said that the message was a detailed one which
took up bilateral and regional issues, as well as making a reference to
Mediterranean cooperation.
The Egyptian foreign minister was received at the airport by his Turkish
counterpart, Emre Gonensay, and Egyptian Ambassador to Turkey, Mahdi
Fathullah. The Turkish and Egyptian foreign ministers agreed that it was
important to have a common approach to regional problems at a time when
important developments were happening in the region. The two ministers
evidently were referring to the Israeli operation "Grapes of Wrath" against
the Hizbollah bases in south Lebanon last week and the establishment of a
cease-fire over the weekend. /Milliyet/
[04] JAPANESE FM VISITS TURKEY
Accompanied by a 23-member delegation, Japanese Foreign Minister Yukihiko
Ikeda arrived in Istanbul yesterday on a two-day official visit aimed at
expanding Turkish-Japanese economic ties. "Turkey plays a key role in the
changing world order and Japan aims to assume not only an economic role but
also a political role in the new world order" Ikeda, in Turkey as the guest
of Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay, declared in an arrival statement. In
addition to holding bilateral talks with his Turkish counterpart, Ikeda is
expected to have an audience with President Suleyman Demirel, visit Prime
Minister Mesut Yilmaz and Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay. Speaking on the
same occasion, Sarik Tara, president of the Turkish-Japanese Friendship
Council and chairman of the construction company Enka, said the visit would
help foster closer ties between the two countries. The Japanese government
is providing a $350 million loan to help finance a thermal energy plant in
Bursa. The power plant will be constructed within three years. Ikeda will
go to Ankara today for official meetings. Furthermore, a credit agreement
is expected to be signed between the two countries. Ikeda will leave Turkey
on May 4. /Hurriyet/
[05] CLINTON EXPRESSES 'OPTIMISM' FOR CYPRUS ACCORD IN 1996
President Bill Clinton expressed optimism in a report to Congress that a
settlement could be reached in Cyprus in 1996. Stressing that his
administration hopes "to be able to launch" a new Cyprus initiative this
summer, Clinton said: "If the two communities possess sufficient political
will to make the tradeoffs required for an intercommunal agreement, we
believe it should be possible to arrive at a fair and just solution". The
American president said attaining a settlement in Cyprus "requires the
active support of Turkey and Greece". Clinton noted that the planned
American initiative on Cyprus was delayed because of "unavoidable events".
The American initiative was originally expected to be launched last
February by former Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke. But
Holbrooke and his "big push" for reunification of the island were
sidetracked earlier in the year when Greece and Turkey nearly came to blows
over the ownership of a rocky islet -"Kardak" in Turkish, "Imia" in Greek-
in the Aegean. Clinton said the groundwork for a new Cyprus initiative by
his administration was complete. "In this respect, in March I had a useful
session on Cyprus with Turkish President Demirel who expressed his
government's desire to be helpful" he said. Clinton stated that US
Ambassador to Nicosia, Richard Boucher, met with Greek Cypriot leader
Glafkos Klerides on February 5. The report also noted that Turkish Cypriot
President Rauf Denktas was ready for direct talks with Klerides. Klerides
will be visiting Athens on Monday for talks on Cyprus with Greek President
Kostis Stephanopoulos before the two officials make separate trips to the
US. Stephanopoulos flies to Washington on Tuesday for talks with US
President Bill Clinton on Greek-Turkish relations and Cyprus. Klerides is
expected to meet Clinton in Washington in June. /Cumhuriyet-Milliyet/
[06] PKK CONFIRMS XULAM IS A 'PKK FRIEND'
Abdullah Ocalan, leader of the PKK terrorist organization has admitted that
Kani Xulam, a Kurdish activist arrested in Washington on April 13 on
passport fraud charges, is a friend of the PKK. Xulam, who worked for the
American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN), was arrested for adopting
three false identities since 1986 and posing as a US citizen to obtain a US
passport. During a MED TV broadcast on April 26 which Ocalan made by
telephone from an unidentified location, he said Xulam was "a PKK friend
who has been residing in the US for 25 years, and has always held a false
passport given to him by the US" -according to the text of the broadcast
translated into English by the US Foreign Broadcast Information Services
(FBIS). Court records claim that Xulam took up residence in the US in 1986,
not in 1971 as suggested by Ocalan. Ocalan claimed that Xulam's arrest was
"as significant to us as cutting off a single strand of hair. The Turkish
state, however, regards it as a great blow to the PKK". /Sabah/
[07] IMF COMMITTEE ON THE WAY
A committee from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will arrive in
Turkey on the fifteenth of this month. The government is now readying the
package it will present to the committee. The draft bill has to be
presented to the Council of Ministers within ten days.
The package will include a number of measures that first of all will affect
consumers. Valued added tax (VAT) will go up, as will tax on other vital
consumer goods including fuel, drinks and tobacco. Goods produced and sold
by the state-run Economic Enterprises (SEEs) will also be subject to
increases.
Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz is expected to make a statement to the public
about the package proposals on Monday, May 6. /Cumhuriyet/
[08] FEWER ACCIDENTS IN THE BOSPHORUS
The new set of rules brought into operation on July 1, 1994, for vessels
navigating the Bosphorus Straits, has made the vital but dangerous waterway
a safer place. The "Straits Charter" -controversial when first brought into
effect- has proved its value by reducing the number of collisions and
accidents involving vessels of all sizes using the straits.
The new rules for the straits were particularly criticised by the Russians
who for centuries have looked longingly at the straits as the perfect
connection with warmer warmer waters so vital to Russian economic
interests. Turkey has however, confirmed that it is determined to keep the
new charter in full effect to protect the straits and maintain the higher
levels of safety outlined in the charter. /Cumhuriyet/
[09] PKK GETTING RICH FROM DRUG SMUGGLING
According to the claims in the 109 page "White Book" issued by the Defence
Ministry, the terrorist PKK organization has grown rich on the proceeds of
its drug smuggling operations. The White Book actually outlines the
progress of the modernization of the Turkish Armed Forces, but also
includes details on ties with European allies, PKK developments and related
subjects. According to the White Book report, the PKK profits by something
like five billion DM a year from its drug operations. /Cumhuriyet/
[10] TURKISH PROJECTS IN BOSNIA LIFTING OFF
Turkey-US initiatives in Bosnia have started to get going in the areas of
military training and development especially among the Bosnian moslem
forces. Training programmes will start coming into full effect in June with
more equipment and facilities. Although there is reportedly some delay in
the provision of heavy equipment, this is not going to negatively affect
training programmes. /Milliyet/
[11] CALL FOR MORE US INVESTMENT IN TURKEY
Turkish Ambassador to Washington, Nuzhet Kandemir, has sent out a call to
US businessmen to make more investment in Turkey. During a speech he made
at Utah State University, Kandemir said that Turkey was the key to
stability and prosperity in the region around Turkey and that Turkey itself
was ripe for more US investment. /Milliyet/
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