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Turkish Press Review, 96-06-21
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
CONTENTS
[01] S.KAMIL YUCEORAL APPOINTED TO DGPI
[02] ISRAELI PRESS: EGYPT IGNORES PKK
[03] REGIONAL TENSIONS INCREASE
[04] VETO BATTLES IN EU SUMMIT
[05] LEADING ROLE FOR WOMEN IN TURKISH ACADEMIC CIRCLES
[06] NEW FRONT: IRAN-SYRIA
[07] FOREX RESERVES RISE TO $15.9 BILLION
[08] TURKEY'S TEXTILE EXPORTS TO US JUMP 200 % SINCE 1992
[09] PKK MILITANTS EXECUTE VILLAGE CHIEF IN TURKEY
[10] WASHINGTON THINK-TANK ANALYSES
[11] APPOINTMENTS TO MINISTRIES
[12] TOROS-1/96 MANEUVERS
[13] AMERICA: "ARABS ARE UNJUST"
[14] CHECHENS TO START PEACE MARCH FROM SAMSUN
[15] CROSS-BORDER OPERATION OVER
[16] TURKEY ON INTERNET
[17] ATATURK SCULPTURE FOR TURKISH CULTURE CITY IN JAPAN
TURKISH PRESS REVIEW
FRIDAY JUNE 21, 1996
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
[01] S.KAMIL YUCEORAL APPOINTED TO DGPI
Kamil Yuceoral has been appointed to the Directorate General of
Press and Information (DGPI). Yuceoral has served as
undersecretary and general director in many public institutions.
Senior adviser to the Prime Minister for the economic and
political coordination of the Turkish-Speaking Republics, and for
Turkey's promotion abroad, Kamil Yuceoral is also Turkish
commissioner of the EXPO '98 World Fair. /Hurriyet/
[02] ISRAELI PRESS: EGYPT IGNORES PKK
The Israeli press has noted Egypt's opposition to the 23 February
Turkish-Israeli military training agreement, and reports that
Cairo "ignores ongoing PKK tension" between Damascus and Ankara.
In a comment in Israel's Ha`retz newspaper, it says that Egypt
opposes the military agreement mainly because of military
concerns. /Cumhuriyet/
[03] REGIONAL TENSIONS INCREASE
Despite Turkish policy directed towards dialogue and peaceful
settlement of issues, neighbour countries continue to exert
pressure from a number of directions. Foreign Minister Emre
Gonensay, commenting on developments involving the Arab League
said yesterday that Turkey was not concerned about a planned
declaration against Turkey. "We are not bothered about the
upcoming Arab summit in Cairo. Rather, the Arab League itself
should be more concerned about the outcome of its actions.
Gonensay also noted that Syria should be more concerned about
cutting its ties with terrorism, rather than trying to create
so-called water problems with Turkey.
Greece too has come in line for Turkish condemnation of its
continuing aggressive policy. An all party condemnation of Greek
provocation yesterday also notes that Turkey still wants dialogue
rather than resorting to force to resolve mounting tension
between Turkey and Greece. /Hurriyet/
[04] VETO BATTLES IN EU SUMMIT
The Florence European Union (EU) summit meeting of state
ministers from member countries looks like being an anti-veto
battleground of opposing opinions. Britain will be the major
target as it defends its policy in the sensitive "mad cow"
disease issue. Britain has so far managed to stop virtually all
EC business by blocking and vetoing proposals.
Turkey wants to bring up its own veto problems with Greece which
is obstinate in blocking EU aid to Turkey through customs union
agreements. Turkey has been invited to attend the summit
primarily through the good offices of EU term president country
Italy, with strong support from France. President Chirac of
France yesterday spoke for twenty minutes on the phone with
President Suleyman Demirel about Turkey's ties with the EU, and
again voiced French support for Turkey. /All papers/
[05] LEADING ROLE FOR WOMEN IN TURKISH ACADEMIC CIRCLES
Professional women play a leading role in Turkish academic
circles with a 31% share of teaching positions. In a new report
on the role women in Turkey play in the teaching and academic
professions, it says that 20% of all the professors in Turkey are
women. The report also notes that these figures are better than
those of most European countries.
According to research, most Turkish women in the academic
professions ascribe their success to the reforms of Kemal Ataturk
who founded the Republic and opened the way for women to share
more fully in public life. /Cumhuriyet/
[06] NEW FRONT: IRAN-SYRIA
Iran has offered a military pact with Syria to counter an
Israeli-Turkish military agreement, the London-based al-Hayat
newspaper said yesterday. "Iran has offered a military pact with
Syria similar to that of a Turkish-Israeli agreement" the daily,
quoting foreign diplomatic sources in Damascus, said. "Tehran's
announcement that it stands by Syria against Turkey is an
important development on the basis that Iran's security is part
of Syria's security" Hayat said. /Milliyet-Hurriyet/
[07] FOREX RESERVES RISE TO $15.9 BILLION
The Turkish Central Bank said its foreign currency reserves rose
$574 million last week to $15.908 billion on June 14. It said
gold reserves remained unchanged at $1.383 billion. Gross
international reserves, including commercial bank holdings, rose
$221 million to $25.77 billion in the week ending May 31, the
bank said. /All papers/
[08] TURKEY'S TEXTILE EXPORTS TO US JUMP 200 % SINCE 1992
Turkey's textile exports to the US climbed almost 200 % to $805
million last year from $418 million in 1992, industry officials
have said. Ziya Sukun, managing director at the Istanbul Textile
and Apparel Exporters' Union (ITKIB), based in the fashion
district, New York, said that Turkish companies were aiming to
report $1 billion worth of exports to the US this year, the
Anatolia news agency said. Sukun also detailed the programme of
the Istanbul Textile and Apparel Exporters' Union and added that
about 500 Turkish exporters had entered the US market with the
help of the union. Sukun also noted that Turkey was able to
compete with textile giants like China, India, Pakistan and Sri
Lanka in the US market.
[09] PKK MILITANTS EXECUTE VILLAGE CHIEF IN TURKEY
Militants of the PKK terrorist organization shot dead a
60-year-old Kurdish village headman in front of his family in an
execution-style killing in eastern Turkey, his relatives said
yesterday. PKK militants killed Hidir Mut, chief of Yenikoy
village in the mountainous Tunceli province, in his home on
Wednesday night because his daughter was living with an army
non-commissioned officer, they said. "We have warned you before
about this but you didn't listen. You are now going to be
punished" a relative quoted the rebels as saying before shooting
Mut in the head.
Meanwhile, a group of PKK militants set fire on many buildings in
the Genc district of Bingol and kidnapped a villager yesterday.
/Sabah/
[10] WASHINGTON THINK-TANK ANALYSES
As the specter of a new coalition government that includes the
pro-Islamic Welfare Party (RP) is entertained in Washington these
days with visible discomfort, future scenarios are also being
generated that aim to circumvent that possibility. Alan Makovsky,
senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy
and an expert on Turkish-US relations, as just written a
Policywatch paper that analyses such possibilities. He pointed
out two "procedural possibilities" -either a new government by
July 22, or new elections. Yet there are other "plausible if
somewhat remote possibilities" as well, Makovsky noted. "For
example, Demirel can ask any parliamentarian -not necessarily a
party leader- to try to form a government. If an all-secular
government is to be formed without elections, just such a
non-party-leader approach will be necessary" Makovsky said.
"Another possibility is that Demirel can assemble an all-party
"provisional government" in advance of new elections" he said.
"Such a government could remain in power a long time; the
constitution does not require that the subsequent election be
held in a specified period of time". /Sabah/
[11] APPOINTMENTS TO MINISTRIES
The Official Gazette has published decrees related to
appointments to the Prime Ministry, the Interior, Foreign,
Finance, Public Works and Housing, Labour and Social Security,
Culture, Tourism and Environment Ministries yesterday, the
Anatolia news agency reported. Ministry advisor Ambassador Emin
Murat Sungar is appointed Foreign Ministry Deputy Counsellor.
Prime Ministry Advisor Erol Ozdemir becomes Council of Ministers'
Secretary.
[12] TOROS-1/96 MANEUVERS
The Toros-1/96 maneuvers involving the Turkish Naval, Air and
Ground forces of the Turkish Peace Force in Cyprus are
successfully continuing. The maneuvers aim to ensure coordination
and cooperation between air and land forces. /Cumhuriyet/
[13] AMERICA: "ARABS ARE UNJUST"
Answering a question regarding the reactions of the Arab
countries to new developments in Turco-Israeli relations,
spokesman for the State Department, Nicholas Burns said that
those countries did not have the right to criticise Turkey, and
recalled that Oman, Tunisia, Mauritania, Morocco, Egypt, Jordan,
the United Arab Emirates and Syria had also improved their
relations with Israel when compared with the position five years
ago. /Sabah/
[14] CHECHENS TO START PEACE MARCH FROM SAMSUN
Chechen Human Rights and Transportation Minister Said Emin
Ibrahimov has met up with his son Said, who escaped from a
Russian prison camp and later took refuge in Izmir, Turkey.
Ibrahimov, a member of the Sweden Democracy Institution, said
that they would start a "Peace March" to end the fighting going
on in Caucasia from Samsun, where Ataturk also began his national
struggle. /Hurriyet/
[15] CROSS-BORDER OPERATION OVER
During a recent cross-border operation in northern Iraq, 165 PKK
terrorists and nine Turkish soldiers were killed. The
seven-day-long operation was a heavy blow against the terrorist
organization. Many PKK strongholds were destroyed and a great
number of weapons were seized. /Hurriyet/
[16] TURKEY ON INTERNET
Tourism Minister Isilay Saygin noted that her ministry, jointly
with the Foreign Ministry had undertaken a project aiming to
promote Turkish tourism on Internet. In a statement, Minister
Saygin said that full use should be made of the opportunities
offered by modern technology to ensure improvement in tourism.
"Via Internet we will be able to make the whole world familiar
with the natural beauties special to Turkey," Saygin pointed out.
/Cumhuriyet/
[17] ATATURK SCULPTURE FOR TURKISH CULTURE CITY IN JAPAN
Japan has extended TL 3.5 billion to finance the creation of an
Ataturk sculpture for the Turkish Culture City established near
Tokyo. Another TL 3.7 billion has been given by the Turkish
Culture Ministry. The bronze sculpture to be made by Metin
Yurdanur will weigh 8.5 tons. /Hurriyet/
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