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Turkish Press Review, 98-06-17
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
17.06.98
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] OECD POSITIVE ABOUT TURKEY
[02] IMF DELEGATION IN ANKARA
[03] ENCOURAGING DECISION FOR TURKEY
[04] NATASHA-1 SET FREE
[05] ONE YEAR IN PRISON FOR FRISULLO
[06] BOMB EXPLODES IN KARAKOY: 12 INJURED
[07] ALI COSKUN JOINS FP
[08] PKK ATTACK IN VAN
[09] HIGH MILITARY COUNCIL EXPELS 162 OFFICERS
[10] 2 MILLION ECU FOR TOURISM EDUCATION
[11] EARLY ELECTION PROTOCOL
[12] GREEK F-16S LAND IN GREEK CYPRUS
[13] LETTER FROM CLINTON TO DEMIREL
[14] STATE MINISTER TURK IN WASHINGTON
[15] TOURISM AWARD FOR TURKEY
[16] GERMAN PAPER CRITICIZES GERMAN POLICY TOWARD TURKEY
[17] FRENCH, GREEK MP's RAISE ALLEGED GENOCIDE ISSUE IN EURO-PARLIAMENT
[01] OECD POSITIVE ABOUT TURKEY
OECD Secretary-General Stephen Johnston, who sees developments in
the Turkish economy as positive, said yesterday that the Turkish
government had given the impression that it would not deviate from its
programme and was determined to reduce the rate of inflation. Johnston
and an accompanying delegation was received by President Suleyman
Demirel at the Presidential Palace yesterday.
OECD Countries' Director Stephen Potter said for his part that tax
and social security reforms, and privatization were in progress and that
he believed these developments would continue. /Sabah/
[02] IMF DELEGATION IN ANKARA
AN IMF delegation led by Head of the IMF-Turkey Desk Martin Hardy
arrived in Ankara yesterday evening to hold meetings regarding a special
agreement likely to be signed with Turkey. The delegation will begin
its contacts this morning by meeting high-level bureaucrats at the
Treasury Undersecretariat. /Sabah/
[03] ENCOURAGING DECISION FOR TURKEY
Decisions taken during the Cardiff summit are regarded as
"hope-inspiring" by Turkey. The decisions noted that Turkey would be
evaluated using the same criteria accorded to 11 other nominee countries
lined-up for full EU membership. Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem
delivered a speech at the General Council of the Turkish Parliament
yesterday and said: "My first impression is that Turkish-EU relations
are on the way to a relative improvement. Furthermore, there is an
intention to extend aid to Turkey which Greece could not block. These
are all positive developments". Cem pointed out that the EU will
prepare a report on each nominee country by the end of this year and it
was expected that a report would also be prepared for Turkey within this
framework.
A "Cardiff document" included an arrangement of economic relations
which constitute an important provision for Turkey from the EU. British
Prime Minister Tony Blair called upon the EU Commission for the
extension of financial aid to Turkey. The financial aid has long been
vetoed by Greece. However after US President Bill Clinton phoned Greek
Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, the EU countries are exerting efforts for
the extension of financial aid to Turkey although Simitis rejected
Clinton's proposals which included a more positive stance regarding
Turkey. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who
delivered a speech at the Appropriations Sub-Committee of the US Senate
yesterday, said that they supported Turkey's wish to be a part of
Europe. /Sabah/
[04] NATASHA-1 SET FREE
Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ambassador Necati Utkan said in
a statement regarding the vessel 'Natasha-1', which was stopped by
Turkey in the Dardanelles Straits, that the vessel was carrying a cargo
different from the one declared. Utkan added: "If there is a cargo
harmful to the environment, the vessel can be stopped". Utkan noted
that the vessel had been stopped within the framework of the Montreux
Agreement and notification systems. Utkan said: "Notification is a
system established to provide security along the straits. The vessels
should specify their cargo. In this case, there was a difference
between the real cargo and the notified cargo. If a similar situation
occurs in the future, the same regulations will be applied again".
Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry has pointed out that there
is no connection between the Natasha-1 cargo vessel and the contract
made with the Greek Cypriot Administration for the delivery of
Russian-made S-300 missiles. A Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman
stated that the vessel was registered in Malta and was carrying
Ukrainians, and that the vessel had no connection with Russia. /Sabah/
[05] ONE YEAR IN PRISON FOR FRISULLO
Italian Damiano Giovanni Frisullo, tried at the Diyarbakir State
Security Court for his provocative actions against the indivisible
integrity of the Turkish Republic during Nevruz celebrations in
Diyarbakir, has been sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of TL
6.1 billion. The court has however postponed the decision for five
years. /Sabah/
[06] BOMB EXPLODES IN KARAKOY: 12 INJURED
A bomb exploded yesterday in the Karakoy district of Istanbul
leaving 12 people injured. An anonymous person phoned the police and
assumed the responsibility of the attack on behalf of the illegal
fundamentalist and terrorist IBDA-C organization. /Sabah/
[07] ALI COSKUN JOINS FP
Ali Coskun, who entered the Turkish Parliament as Istanbul Deputy
for the Motherland Party (ANAP), but later resigned and went independent
last year, joined the Virtue Party (FP) yesterday. Thus the number of
FP deputies has risen to 145 and the number of independent deputies has
decreased to 12. /Sabah/
[08] PKK ATTACK IN VAN
Members of the PKK terrorist organization attacked the Baskale
district of Van yesterday. However when Turkish security forces
retaliated, the terrorists fled. Another group of terrorists who went
to nearby Cakirdogan village stopped a minibus and abducted 13
passengers, but later setting eleven of them free. /Sabah/
[09] HIGH MILITARY COUNCIL EXPELS 162 OFFICERS
The High Military Council, chaired by Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz
and attended by Defence Minister Ismet Sezgin and high level officers
and admirals, convened yesterday to discuss ways of halting the growth
of Islamic fundamentalism. The Council decided to expel 162 officers
from the Turkish Army including those who are involved in radical
Islamic movements. /Hurriyet/
[10] 2 MILLION ECU FOR TOURISM EDUCATION
The European Union (EU) will give 2 million ECU for the
construction of a tourism center in Antalya-Kemer. Tourism Ministry
will hold 'Professional Training Projects in Tourism' in line with the
financial agreement signed between Turkey and the EU. Within the
project framework it is aimed to establish an international tourism
training center in Kemer. It is estimated that the project will cost
2,445,000 ECU. The EU will provide 2 million ECU and the remainder will
be met by the Turkish government. /Milliyet/
[11] EARLY ELECTION PROTOCOL
According to the protocol signed by Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and
Chairman of the Republican Peoples' Party (CHP), Deniz Baykal, early
elections will be held on 18 or 25 April 1999; approval by Parliament
will be given before the summer recess; Yilmaz and Baykal cooperate in
the establishment of a new government but they will not take part in the
new government. Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz will resign by the end of
1998. /Milliyet/
[12] GREEK F-16S LAND IN GREEK CYPRUS
Four Greek F-16 fighter planes and a cargo plane landed at Baf
airbase in Greek Cyprus yesterday. This is the first time that military
aircraft belonging to Greece have used Baf Airbase. Greek Cyprus
Administration Defense Ministry spokesman, Andreas Harides, said that
the aircraft were using the airbase in line with the joint defense
doctrine between Greece and the Greek Cyprus Administration. He added
that they had checked whether the base was available prior to landing.
Turkey has since protested about the use of the base. In a
statement of from the Turkish Foreign Ministry yesterday, the landing
were described as a "provocative development" damaging security and
stability on the island. It was added that Turkey would take the
necessary measures in line with developments as a guarantor state.
/Milliyet/Cumhuriyet/
[13] LETTER FROM CLINTON TO DEMIREL
Foreign Ministry spokesman Necati Utkan said yesterday that US
president Bill Clinton had sent a reply to President Suleyman Demirel's
letter sent in late May about Turkey's support for the Middle East peace
process. In his reply, Clinton asked for Turkey's support on the Cyprus
issue. Saying that they shared Turkey's anxieties about the Middle East
issue, Clinton added in connection with the Cyprus issue that his
administartion hoped both sides would meet their responsibilities and
that Turkey would take steps towards solving the Cyprus issue.
It was reported that the letter also mentioned Turkish-American
relations, the peace process between the Arab world and Israel, and
human rights issues. /Milliyet/ Cumhuriyet/
[14] STATE MINISTER TURK IN WASHINGTON
State Minister responsible for human rights, Hikmet Sami Turk will
meet with Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright and Justice Minister,
Janet Reno tomorrow in Washington. Within the framework of the visit,
Turk yesterday met consultant of the US Civil Rights Organization, Steve
Block, and US Deputy Secretary of State, John Shattuck. /Cumhuriyet/
[15] TOURISM AWARD FOR TURKEY
A poster of Cappadocia, the photographs for which were taken by
Mehmet Hengirmen and prepared by the Turkish Tourism Ministry, has won a
first prize in Austria. Undersecretary of the Turkish Embassy in
Austria, Husnu Gumus was presented with the award during a ceremony at
which leading media representatives and travelling agencies were
presented. /Cumhuriyet/
[16] GERMAN PAPER CRITICIZES GERMAN POLICY TOWARD TURKEY
An editorial in "Suddeutsche Zeitung", a German daily, criticizes
Germany's policy towards Turkey by stating that Germany assumes a
hypocritical stance over human rights issues. Finding fault with German
Chancellor Helmut Kohl the paper claims he tries to block Turkey's full
EU membership on grounds of human rights violations simply because his
government cannot openly utter its fears that there would be a mass
exodus of Turkish people to Germany if Turkey becomes full member in the
European Union. /Hurriyet/
[17] FRENCH, GREEK MP's RAISE ALLEGED GENOCIDE ISSUE IN EURO-PARLIAMENT
A draft resolution about a so-called genocide of Armenians by
Turks, similar to a draft resolution recently presented to that of the
French Parliament, was submitted by Greek and French parliamentarians
yesterday to the General Assembly of the European Parliament. The MP's
proposed that the draft should be included on the agenda of "urgent
issues" but a Turkish diplomat's efforts persuaded the chairman to
refuse the proposal. The parliamentarians then demanded a vote for its
inclusion in today's agenda. /Hurriyet/
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