French Minister responsible for European Affairs, Pierre Moscovici said in his speech at the French Parliamant that Turkey should attend the European Conference in March without any preconditions. He added, "Turkey is important both for its regional location and for being an ally." Moscovici stressed that Turkey's membership should be evaluated in line with the same criteria applied to other candidate countries. /Sabah and all papers/
A Turkish boat, Tamer Kaptan, was fired on yesterday evening by coast guards because of fishing in the economic region outside the territorial waters off Ukranie in the Black Sea. It is reported that the boat sank and that two seamen are still missing. According to information from Ukranian officials, the Turkish Ambassador in Kiev, Alp Karaosmanoglu, said that the incident was "regrettable". /Milliyet/
Istanbul Narcotic Directorate officials seized 45 kg of heroin worth TL 2.5 trillion. Police followed a TIR truck driven by Ion Stoishin and Ilie Priescu entering Turkey from Iran which later stopped and searched. Officials reported later that 45 kg of heroin had been found and seized. The drivers are being questioned. /Milliyet/
After the US administration stated that it did not recognize Athens' claims to 10 miles of airspace, Lee McLenny from the US Department of State, said: "The Flight Information Region (FIR) is determined to stick to the rules of international civil aviation. The borders of national airspace has nothing to do with the FIR". /Milliyet/
According to the AFP news agency, Turkish military officials will begin initiatives to purchase corvettes, which are produced with the latest state-of-the-art technology, from Israel. It is reported that if an agreement is reached, Saar-5 class corvettes will also be produced in Turkey. /Milliyet/
In a recommendatory decision regarding the flow of Asian and Far East refugees through Turkey to Europe, the European Parliament said that the refugees could be stopped only when a political solution brought an end to clashes in Northern Iraq and instability in southeastern Turkey. The European Parliament urged the EU to begin international initiatives for finding a political solution to the growing refugee problem. /Hurriyet/
US Special Cyprus Envoy Richard Holbrooke's assistant Tom Miller arrives today in Ankara to hold official contacts. Observers say that the visit aimed at discussing integration moves by Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). /Cumhuriyet/
A Parliamentary Investigation Commission established to look into migration from eastern and southeastern Anatolia and to determine necessary measures has completed its report. The report will be presented tomorrow to Parliamentary Speaker Hikmet Cetin. In the report it states that one reason for the forcible evacuation of villages in eastern and southeastern Anatolia is public security. Another reason for forced migration is the conflict between the security forces and the separatist organization and the social, economic, cultural and psychological disorders that are resulting from this conflict. /All papers/
The Turkish side of the Turkey-European Union Joint Parliamentary Commission (JPC) has decided to participate in the meeting of the commission in February in Brussels, JPC co-chairman Bulent Akarcali said yesterday. The commission will discuss the results of the EU decisions made at the Luxembourg summit on December 12-13, 1997, and the latest Customs Union developments regarding relations between the Union and Turkey, Akarcali said, according to the Anatolian news agency.
German Foreign Affairs Minister Klaus Kinkel declared yesterday that Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the PKK terrorist organization, could not be accepted by Germany. "If the PKK announces that it will not continue with acts of terrorism and prove the genuineness of their announcement, Germany could consider meeting their leader, "Apo", in order to discuss the Kurdish problem" said Kinkel. /Hurriyet/
As from today, England will apply visa restrictions on Turkish Cypriots who want to enter England. The British Government has so far only applied visa restrictions to gipsies living in Cyprus. The British Interior Ministry has announced that this decision had been taken because of the demands of the number of Turkish Cypriots demanding refugee status in the UK. /Hurriyet/
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