22.01.98
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENT
CEM LIKELY TO MEET KINKEL
SECURITY FORCES KILL 45 SEPARATISTS
NSC TO MEET TODAY
CONSTITUTIONAL COURT APPROVES BAN ON CASINOS
TURKEY, BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA BOOST BILATERAL COOPERATION
HANNAY TO RELAY BLAIR'S EU MESSAGE TO TURKEY
DALEY VISITS ISTANBUL HOUSING PROJECT
IMF AND WORLD BANK OFFICIALS IN TURKEY
THY, US EXIMBANK SIGN $2.5 BILLION CREDIT AGREEMENT
ANKARA PROTESTS BRITISH VISA RESTRICTIONS ON TURKISH CYPRIOTS
TURKEY'S BORDERS WIDE OPEN
TURKISH GLOBAL TO PRIVATIZE KAZAKH SEEs
IRAN APPOINTS NEW AMBASSADOR TO ANKARA
JOINT CONSULTATION COMMITTEE ASSEMBLED
GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER's ASSERTION
Foreign Minister Ismail Cem will meet numerous Turkish counsellors in
Bonn to discuss the problems that Turks living in Germany and other
surrounding European countries face, the Anatolian news agency
reported. Cem will be meeting Turkish counsellors on January 26-27 in
Bonn, where he is also likely to meet his German counterpart, Klaus
Kinkel, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Necati Utkan told a press
conference.
Turkish security forces have killed 45 militants from the PKK
terrorist organization during several clashes in the southeastern part
of the country. The Anatolian news agency reported that eight
soldiers also lost their lives in the clashes in the southeastern
provinces of Sirnak, Batman and Diyarbakir.
The National Security Council (NSC) chaired by President Suleyman
Demirel is to meet on Thursday to discuss recent developments, both at
home and abroad. Among the most important items on the Council's
agenda are possible measures to be taken by the security forces to
prevent provocations following the Welfare Party (RP)'s closure by the
Constitutional Court last week. Other critical issues to be discussed
include the Aegean, Greece and Iraq. /Milliyet-All paperes/
The Constitutional Court rejected yesterday an appeal for the
cancellation of the law ordering the closure of casinos by February
11, 1998. The high court rejected the applications, filed by certain
civil courts in Ankara, Antalya and Silivri, for the annulment of an
article in law No:4320, amending the Law on Encouragement of Tourism.
In a statement following the court session, Judge Guven Dincer said
that the unconstitutionally claim had been rejected nine to two. /All
papers/
Turkey and Bosnia-Herzegovina signed yesterday two cooperation
agreements in Ankara and vowed to make further efforts to increase
cooperation between the two countries. Visiting co-premiers Haris
Sladzic and Boro Bosic and Deputy Co-Premier Neven Tomic held talks
with Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz. The two parties signed agreements
related to mutual protection and promotion of investments as well as
international road transportation. Yilmaz and Sladzic reportedly
discussed the procedures related to the $80 million which Turkey has
pledged to grant to Bosnia-Herzegovina in the form of donations and
loans. The donations constitute 25 % of the sum -$20 million- of
which $10 million has been given out to date. The remaining $60
million will be given in the form of Eximbank loans during the next
four to five years and will be utilized in the reconstruction of the
war-torn country.
Earlier in the day, the Bosnian delegation visited Anitkabir,
Ataturk's Mausoleum, and held talks with President Suleyman Demirel,
Deputy Parliament Speaker Hasan Korkmazcan, Deputy Prime Minister
Bulent Ecevit and Foreign Minister Ismail Cem. Speaking after the
meeting, Cem said that the two parties had decided to prepare mutual
working plans and determine what could be done for the well-being of
Bosnia by combining these plans. The meetings of the Bosnian
delegation will continue today in Istanbul. /Cumhuriyet/
Britain's envoy to Cyprus, Sir David Hannay, will meet Prime Minister
Mesut Yilmaz on Thursday as British Prime Minister Tony Blair's
"special envoy" to deliver a message, possibly on the country's
troubled relations with the EU. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Necati
Utkan underlined that the visit had nothing to do with Cyprus and that
Hannay is only expected to meet Yilmaz, and not other Turkish
officials. /Hurriyet-Cumhuriyet/
US Secretary of Commerce William Daley, on an official visit to
Turkey, visited a suburban housing development project in Istanbul
yesterday. Daley accompanied by a 64-member delegation visited the
Esenkent housing project, 40 km west of the city. A 180 MW
cogeneration power plant that will provide electricity and heating for
the sururb is being constructed by Edison Mission Energy of the US and
Doga Company of Turkey. The US government Overseas Private Investment
Corp. (PIC) is financing the $180 million power plant.
Daley attended a banquet given by the Turkish Industrialists' and
Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD) yesterday and said that they
supported the Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline. However, Iran should not take
advantage of this project. Daley also noted that the Trademark and
Patent Law should be made more effective and said: "The issue has
both economic and political dimensions. Actually, the quotas will be
removed after seven years due to the General Agreement of Tariffs and
Trade". /Hurriyet-Cumhuriyet/
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank delegations held
talks yesterday with Turkish officials on the country's anti-inflation
programme, officials said. The two organizations are holding talks in
parallel after the World Bank said it may increase its pledged $1.5
billion support for Turkey by $3 billion if Ankara wins IMF support.
The World Bank officials were to be joined later on Wednesday by the
bank's Turkey director Ajay Chibber. Officials from the prime
minister's office said discussions covered budget plans for 1998,
structural reforms, central bank data and Turkey's privatization
programme. /Sabah/
Turkish Airlines (THY) signed a $2.5 million credit agreement with the
US Eximbank and the Boeing Aircraft Corp. in Istanbul yesterday to
acquire 26 Boeing 737-800 jetliners by the year 2002, the Turkish
national carrier reported. Under the agreement, Turkey will have an
option to acquire an additional 23 aircraft. The plan foresees THY's
phasing out its Boeing 737-400 and 500s and its RJ-100 jetliners,
rented from other carriers, over the next five years. Boeing will
make the first aircraft deliveries in July. /Hurriyet/
Ankara backs Turkish Cypriot criticism that Britain's moves to end
visa-free entry are unjust, summoning the British ambassador to Turkey
in order to explain Turkey's reaction to the visa discussion.
"Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) officials have asserted
their reaction and we fully support their stance, but maybe one of the
most regrettable things of all is that Turkish Cypriots are obliged to
pay in Greek Cypriot currency, which is not valid in the TRNC" Foreign
Ministry Spokesman Necati Utkan told reporters in a weekly press
conference yesterday. Britain yesterday rejected criticism by TRNC
President Rauf Denktas that moves to end visa-free entry to Turkish
Cypriots were politically motivated. /All papers/
Crossing illegally into Turkey from surrounding neighbour countries is
no longer the difficult task it once was, according to reports
stemming from the recent refugee problems with Italy.
New reports show that illegal immigrants can cross into Turkey by
using 56 different border crossing points. A twelve page report by
the Aliens Department of the Security Police lists all the different
places where illegal entry can be made and notes too, that terror
organizations like the PKK have not been slow to use the border
crossing places for illegal purposes. The report dwells on the matter
of illegal transport of immigrants and notes the numbers of people
passing through Turkey on their way to countries where they hope they
can find a better way of life. Illegal immigrants find their way to
Turkey from as far away as Ruanda, Pakistan, Bangladesh and from
closer regional countries. /Milliyet/
Turkish Global Securities will privatize three companies in Kazakhstan
and one in Romania. Global Securities will privatize three of the
five most important state enterprises including oil producer
Aktobemunaigaz, titanium producer Ust-Kamenogorsk and oil producer
Mangistaumunaigaz.
Global securities which has intense activities in Kazakhstan is also
in partnership with Kazakommerts Bank.
Romania's only synthetic fibres producer SC Melana will also be
privatized by Global securities. /Sabah/
According to the official Iranian news agency IRNA, Iran has appointed
Seyid Muhammed Huseyin Lavasani as the new ambassador to Ankara.
Lavasani, former Iranian Ambassador to Canada, has recently been
working as a consultant to Iranian Foreign Minister Kemal Harrazi.
As a result of a diplomatic crisis Turkey and Iran mutually withdrew
their ambassadors last February. /Milliyet/
The Joint Consultation Committee (JCC) of Turkey and the EU, comprised
of representatives of employees and employers and including civil
institutions of society, is meeting in Brussels. It was noticed that
both of the representatives of Turkish and the EU sides severely
criticised the decisions concerning Turkey, taken at the Luxembourg
summit of the European Union. /Cumhuriyet/
Greek Foreign Minister, Teodoros Pangolos again asserted yesterday
that Greek air space was 10 miles and added if Turkey had any doubt
about this, it could consult The Hague International Court of Justice.
Pangolos stated that Greek air space was confirmed by international
laws, in a press conference when he claimed that Turkey was wrong to
suggest that Greece would oppose Turkey's application to The Hague
International Court of Justice. He also said that even if there was
not a country like Greece blocking Turkey's full membership in the EU,
Turkey would still not be a member of the European Union because it
did not conform to membership conditions. /Cumhuriyet/