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TRKNWS-L Turkish Press Review (August 25, 1995)From: hristu@arcadia.harvard.eduTurkish News DirectoryCONTENTS[01] NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL MEETS[02] SECOND AZERI OIL PROJECT TO BE LAUNCHED SOON[03] TURKEY-US COMMERCE TALKS TO BE HELD NEXT WEEK[04] DEMIREL SENDS MESSAGE OF CONGRATULATIONS TO UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT[05] CROATIA RECEIVES TURKISH AID FOR REFUGEES[06] MILITARY RESCUE THREE HELD BY PKK[07] TRNC TOURISM MINISTER VISITS TURKEY[08] EXCHANGE AND GOLD RESERVES AT RECORD LEVEL[09] TURKEY GAINS POINTS[10] SUPPORT TO BOSNIA[11] ANKARA UNEASY OVER THE PLIGHT OF TURKMENSTURKISH PRESS REVIEWFRIDAY AUGUST 25, 1995Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish pressthis morning[01] NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL MEETSThe National Security Council, the highest advisory body of the country, convened yesterday for a first meeting with its new members, the new armed forces commanders. President Suleyman Demirel chaired the meeting in which major internal and external developments were discussed. "The general security situation within the country and effects of domestic and external developments on this situation were reviewed, and it was found out that the security forces have been continuing their fight (against terrorism) successfully and with determination" the statement from the council's general secreteriat said. "Foreign political events have also been discussed" it added. Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, Chief of the General Staff Gen.Ismail Hakki Karadayi and other top civilian and military officials attended the meeting. The National Security Council's new permanent members include Air Force Commander Gen.Ahmet Corekci, Navy Commander Adm.Guven Erkaya, Gendarmerie Commander Gen.Teoman Koman and the council's Secretary-General Gen.Ilhan Kilic, who all formally take over their posts on August 30. /Sabah/
[02] SECOND AZERI OIL PROJECT TO BE LAUNCHED SOONAzerbaijan and an international oil consortium have reached an agreement to develop oil fields in the region of Shahdeniz, beneath the southern Caspian Sea. The agreement reached between the Azeri State Oil Corporation (SOCAR) and a consortium made up of British Petroleum, Norway's Statoil and Turkish Petroleum (TPAO) will be officially announced by a decree from Azeri President Haydar Aliyev in the next few days. The production of the oil from the new fields in the region will be shared between Azerbaijan and the consortium in a ratio of 40 to 60 %. TPAO will have a 9 % share in the estimated total recoverable reserves of 2 billion barrels. The TPAO share is valued at around $2.97 billion. Azerbaijan has already signed a $8 billion agreement with other international consortium to develop three vast oil fields in the north of the Caspian. TPAO is also represented in this consortium with a 6.75 % stake.
[03] TURKEY-US COMMERCE TALKS TO BE HELD NEXT WEEKUS Undersecretary of Commerce Jeffrey Garten will be visiting Turkey next week for a series of meetings with Turkish officials and businessmen. Garten, during his interview with a group of Turkish journalists in Washington, said the US has given priority to Turkey's full membership to EU, among its foreign policy targets. Garten said Turkey was chosen as one of the 10 "newly emerging big markets of the world" by the US Department of Commerce and that Washington wants to improve mutual trade relations. "Turkey's importance is improving as a strategic trade partner for the US" he said. "We give priority to investments in fields such as energy, telecommunications, environment technology and infrastructure of transport, and we are interested in joint projects". Garten also said US Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown will be visiting Turkey by the end of this year or in 1996.
[04] DEMIREL SENDS MESSAGE OF CONGRATULATIONS TO UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTPresident Suleyman Demirel sent a congratulatory message yesterday to Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma on the occasion of Ukraine's 4th National Day. Demirel, in his message, said that he had full faith in friendship and cooperation between Turkey and Ukraine. Ukrainian Ambassador to Ankara, Igor Turyanskiy, at a press conference yesterday, stated that as his country was in a "transition period", they had some economic problems and pointed out that two great Black Sea countries, Turkey and Ukraine, should cooperate more. Noting that Turkey was one of the countries to recognize Ukraine's independence first, Turyanskiy said: "Both countries are at a geo-strategic location and members of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), and they are both bridges between Europe and Asia".While Ukraine does have a coast on the sea, it faces the same problem the Black Sea countries have faced for centuries, namely the lack of a route to the warmer waters of the Mediterranean. The Turkish straits are thus of vital importance for Ukraine, which boasts a huge merchant fleet. "As a successor of the ex-Soviet Union, we have inherited the right to use the straits in accordance with the Montreux Convention" Turyanskiy said. The major problem in Turkish-Ukrainian relations is that the peoples do not know each other, the ambassador said, both countries should exert efforts to increase knowledge in each other's geography, language, political and economic situation. /Cumhuriyet/
[05] CROATIA RECEIVES TURKISH AID FOR REFUGEESCroatia yesterday received 400 metric tons of wheat flour sent by the Turkish Red Crescent in an effort to relieve thousands of Bosnian refugees fleeing to Croatia to avoid Serb aggression, diplomatic sources said. They said this was the biggest single shipment of humanitarian aid Croatia has received. The Croatian media has expressed gratitude for the aid sent to the refugees.
[06] MILITARY RESCUE THREE HELD BY PKKSecurity forces rescued three people, including the nephew of Sinan Yerlikaya, Tunceli deputy of the Republican People's Party (CHP), who had been kidnapped by militants of the PKK terrorist organization in Tunceli's Ovacik district on Wednesday. The other two were a nurse and the head teacher of a secondary school. The three were kidnapped while helping three children injured in a bomb explosion.Meanwhile, four PKK militants were killed during a clash with security forces on Tendurek mountain in Agri province. Security officials said that the weapons of the four militants had been seized and that military operations are still continuing to capture PKK militants in the region. /All papers/
[07] TRNC TOURISM MINISTER VISITS TURKEYOzker Ozgur, tourism minister and deputy prime minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) visited Turkey's tourism minister Irfan Gurpinar yesterday. Gurpinar said he believes that tourism in the TRNC will develop positively. "Turkey knows well the problems of tourism in the TRNC" Ozgur said. Ozgur added that the problems can be solved with Turkey's support.
[08] EXCHANGE AND GOLD RESERVES AT RECORD LEVELThe gross reserves of foreign currency and gold have reached a total of $25.7 billlion as of August 4th, in the Central Bank of Turkey. Of this amount, $9.5 billion lie in reserves at commercial banks. /Milliyet/
[09] TURKEY GAINS POINTSRepercussions on Prime Minister Tansu Ciller's visit to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan in Central Asia, still continue in Moscow. In its article on the visit, the weekly Moscovski Novosti paper writes that Turkey is gaining points and is making itself felt on the international arena. This contributes to Turkey's entry into the EU". /Cumhuriyet/
[10] SUPPORT TO BOSNIAA 74-member group of Turkish intellectuals within the framework of "Humanitarian Initiatives for Bosnia" has had the chance to witness the real face of Bosnia. After visiting Zenica, Mostar, and Travnik the group went to Sarajevo. The main aim of the group is to get to know the region and its people. Following a raugh voyage through Igman mountain the group reached Sarajevo and then first visited Turkish Ambassador Sukru Tufan. They held a press conference during which there were demonstrations against the massacres going on in Bosnia-Herzegovina. On the other hand, Muhammed Sakirbey, Foreign Minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina, said in his press conference in Washington that they wanted Turkish troops to stay in Bosnia even if the United Nations Peace Force (UNPROFOR) would leave the region and added that Turkish troops were of vital importance for Bosnia. Sakirbey pointed out that they had not asked the United Nations to increase the number of troops but they had asked to increase the efficiency of the troops still deployed in the region. Answering a question Muhammed Sakirbey stressed that they belived that Turkish troops would continue to play a positive and supportive role for ensuring peace either within the framework of UNPROFOR or otherwise. In the interim Head of State, Suherto had convinced the three leader of the former Yugoslavia to meet. /Hurriyet-Cumhuriyet/
[11] ANKARA UNEASY OVER THE PLIGHT OF TURKMENSOnur Oymen, Ambassador and Deputy of the Foreign Ministry, said that the decision during the Dublis meeting to label Northern Iraq as a "Kurdish zone" has made within the initiative of Turkey and disclosed Ankara uneasy in view of the northern Iraq, where there were two million Turkmens living, in the region. Oymen said: "Turkey attaches great importance to the territorial integrity of Iraq and she is against a territorial division in the region. This is why we attended the Dublin meeting. It is incorrect to call the region a "Kurdish zone" because there are Arabs, Christians, and Turkmens living there. Northern Iraq has been identified as a "Kurdish zone". However, other people in the region also have rights. It should be asked why human right organizations have not said anything about the rights of these people." /Cumhuriyet/END |
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