Turkish Press Review, 97-12-19
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From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
[01] 19.12.97
[02] DEMIREL VISITS PAKISTAN
[03] YILMAZ MEETS CLINTON TODAY
[04] EU FUNDS TO TURKEY SUSPENDED AGAIN
[05] ISMAIL CEM MEETS HANS VAN DEN BROEK
[06] SUNGURLU IN PARIS
[07] STROKE TO PKK
[08] KARADAYI IN EGYPT
[09] EFFECTS OF BAD WEATHER
[10] PUNISHMENT FOR ADULTERY IS TWO YEARS' IMPRISONMENT
TURKISH PRESS REVIEW
DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION,OFFICE OF PRIME MINISTER
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
President Suleyman Demirel embarked on a two-day official visit to Pakistan yesterday. During his visit, Demirel is scheduled to attend a ceremony to lay the foundations of the $640 million Islamabad-Peshavar highway, which is to be built by a Turkish firm. Her will also sign a contract for the construction of the Pehur irrigation channel, which will also be built by a Turkish company.
Demirel is also expected to meet Pakistani leaders on Friday. During his visit, he will be accompanied by State Minister Rifat Serdaroglu, Trade Minister Yalim Erez and a large group of businessmen. /All papers/
Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz is meeting with US US President Bill Clinton in Washington today, where a number of critical subjects from Cyprus to energy will be highlighted. Yilmaz will also meet with Vice President Al Gore before having lunch with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
Yilmaz has already had meetings with Richard Holbrooke, the special presidential envoy for Cyprus, and members of the Turkish community in New York. Answering reporters' questions during a reception given in his honour by the Federation of Turkish-American Associations at the Turkevi in New York, Yilmaz said that Turkish people living abroad are a priority on the government's agenda.
Meanwhile, after his meeting with the Turkish prime minister, Holbrooke said that he had met with Yilmaz not to offer a new plan, but only to listen. He said that Clinton was sensitive to the improvement of Turkish-American relations, Turkish-Greek relations and the establishment of a bi-zonal and bi-communal federation in Cyprus.
Yilmaz also said that Israel's right to exist is being supported by Turkey. During the ceremony organized to celebrate his being given a "Superior Statesman" award by the Jewish Anti-Defamation League, Yilmaz emphasized the common points between the Turkish and Israeli peoples. /All papers/
The European Union (EU) has once more alloted funds to Turkey in its 1998 budget and these have once more been suspended. After voting yesterday in the European Parliament (EP), the budget put the EU's revenues as ECU 91 billion and its spending as ECU 89 billion, the Anatolia news agency reported. According to the European Commission's "special activity plan" for Turkey, ECU 375 million, previously awarded to Turkey, and ECU 53 million for the year 1998 has been suspended. The European Parliament has also decided that funds should be extended to Turkey from the Mediterranean Development and Cooperation Fund under certain conditions for certain projects.
The European Commission yesterday called for a "period of reflection" to smooth over a dispute with Turkey after the EU excluded Ankara from a formal list of future members. EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Hans van den Broek met Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem. Van den Broek told a news conference after the meeting that he believed that Turkey did not oppose the idea of a pause to reflect. "I think Turkey needs the EU, just as I feel the EU has a very clear interest in our relationship with Turkey becoming firmer and consolidated" Broek said during a 54-nation security conference in Denmark. Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem said, for his part, that EU membership should not be an "obsession" for Turkey.
The European Parliament urged Turkey yesterday to think again and accept an invitation to a special pan-European conference next March. The assembly also urged Ankara not to oppose EU entry for Cyprus, the Mediterranean island divided between Greek and Turkish communities. Meanwhile, EU term-president Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said yesterday that they do not want Turkey to withdraw its EU application. /All papers/
Justice Minister Oltan Sungurlu, in Paris for the signing of the OECD's convention on combatting bribery, said that Turkey was not waiting for a "concrete offer" from the EU after the Luxembourg summit. Sungurlu told Turkish journalists that, during the signing ceremony of the Convention on Combatting Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, he had a talk with Piergiorgio Mazzocchi, the permanent representative of the European Commission. "He told me that Turkey should continue to pursue the path of the EU. He said that he understood the dissatisfaction of Turkey, but the old wounds would be healed" Sungurlu said. He also added that Turkey was happy with the convention which was signed. /All papers/
The Turkish Armed Forces have completed operations in the Harkuk region in northern Iraq close to the Iranian border. During the operation conducted minus 35 degrees Celsius 50 PKK terrorists and one soldier were killed.
Commenting on the operations, Interior Minister Murat Basesgioglu said that the Turkish Armed Forces had brought the PKK to its knees. He added that the organization had once been known as ASALA and now it was called PKK. Basesgioglu stressed that nobody could now use the PKK against Turkey.
Meanwhile, at the end of operation "Orient Express", launched in Impelia in north-west Italy, against a gang with has PKK affiliations helping illegal immigrants from Turkey and northern Iraq to get into European countries the leader of the gang, Mehmet Tok, a PKK member, was seized at Nice Airport. It was later announced that five of the seventeen members of the gang are PKK members. /Milliyet/Sabah_
Chief of the General Staff, General Ismail Hakki Karadayi, has completed his official visit to Egypt. In a statement on his return to Turkey, Karadayi said that in his contacts with Egyptian officials he dwelt on Turco-Israeli cooperation and managed to convince Egyptian officials that Turco-Israeli rapprochement implied no threats for Arab countries. "We have agreed to exert efforts to improve further relations between Turkey and Egypt in all fields," General Karadayi pointed out. /Milliyet/
The effects of the bad weather which suddenly arrived on Wednesday are being felt nationwide. Flights to Erzurum, Kars and Erzincan have been cancelled and some roads in east Anatolia and Sakarya have been closed to traffic. Some schools in the region have also been closed for two days. Nearly 24 hours of snowfall paralyzed Istanbul yesterday, blocking roads and disrupting air and sea traffic. /All papers/
The Justice Commission of Parliament has agreed to legalize the punishment of men for adultery, in order to equalize the sexes under the law. According to the commission's final decision, a man can be imprisoned from between six months to two years for committing adultery. The draft has to be accepted by Parliament's General Assembly in order to become a law. /All papers/
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