Turkish Press Review

[kurdeng at aps.nl]

                     TURKISH  PRESS  REVIEW
                         AUGUST 01, 1995


CILLER ASSESSES CONSTITUTIONAL PACKAGE IN DER SPIEGEL

Prime Minister Tansu Ciller said in a interview with Der Spiegel
that  it  is  the first time in Turkey for nearly a century that
civilians have achieved constitutional amendments.  Thus, Ciller
said,  the democratization process had been triggered.  In reply
to a question that some  deputies  at  the  European  Parliament
found  the constitutional changes insufficient and that Turkey's
entrance to the Customs Union depended  on  the  realization  of
other  reforms,  Ciller  said she had found such a debate wrong,
noting that she and her colleagues would continue  reforms  with
determination.


PKK A GROWING PROBLEM FOR GERMANY

According to reports from security units in Germany, the illegal
Kurdistan  Workers'  Party (PKK) terrorist organization plans to
target German police officials in a new  terror  campaign.   The
reports add that PKK terrorists will not hesitate to use weapons
in confrontations with the police.  In the meantime PKK violence
against the Turkish community in Germany continues unabated with
an increasing  number  of  cases  involving  arson  and  attacks
against individuals.  German officials have now said openly that
the matter has gone far enough.  Having come to realize that the
PKK   is   nothing  more  than  a  terrorist  organization,  the
government is going to step up measures against PKK activity  in
Germany.   Already  Germany's  famous  GSG-9  unit  of specially
trained sharpshooters  has  been  brought  into  action  against
possible  PKK  threats.  Condemning the violence, German Foreign
Minister Klaus Kinkel said that the full weight  of  the  German
legal  system would be brought to bear against the PKK.  "We can
no longer tolerate this degree of violence in Germany"  stressed
Kinkel.   Other German officials note that Germany is in a state
of alarm over PKK terrorism,  with  politicians  demanding  that
more  action  against  the PKK must be taken.  Turkish officials
have reinforced the attitude of the Germans:  Turkish Ambassador
to Bonn, Volkan Vural, has also said that the Germans must exert
every effort to bring down the PKK.  This especially  as  Turkey
has  no  conflict of interest with the Kurds.  The PKK issue has
grown to such proportions in Germany that every day  the  German
press  is  full  of  news  and  commentary about the PKK menace.
Leading national dailies and weeklies are full of reports  about
the  problem  and condemnation of the violence, describing it as
"remote control terror" from origins beyond the German  borders.
/Milliyet-Cumhuriyet-Hurriyet/


PRIME MINISTER:  "OUR TARGET IS ARTICLE 8"

In  a  statement  to  the  Belgian  daily  newpaper  'La   Libre
Belgique', Prime Minister Tansu Ciller said that democratization
reforms  would  be  continued  and  that  the   government   was
determined  to  change Article 8 of the Terrorism Law.  Ciller's
statement was reported on the front page of the newspaper  under
the   headline  "Democratization  will  continue  in  Autumn  in
Turkey".  In her statement, Ciller noted that it was  the  first
time  that a Turkish civilian government had made changes in the
constitution since 1876,  and  added  that  democratization  was
being  strengthened  in  Turkey.   Prime  Minister  Ciller said:
"Article 8 of the Anti-terrorism Law is  preventing  freedom  of
expression.   The  article  causes journalists and writers to be
punished - something which cannot be  tolarated  in  democracy."
/Hurriyet/


ITALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER:  "I APPRECIATE CILLER"

Italian Foreign Minister Susanna Agnelli said that she "admired"
Turkish  Prime Minister Tansu Ciller.  Agnelli, who attended the
Mediterranean Forum Meeting in Tunisia, evaluted  constitutional
amendments in Turkey as a "success" for Ciller.  Italian Foreign
Minister Susanna Agnelli said:  "I believe that  Ciller  can  be
successful  in clinching customs union.  She is very determined.
Turkey is very lucky to have a woman prime minister." /Hurriyet/

TWO CHILDREN DIE IN TERRORIST ASSAULT

A group of  terrorists  launched  an  attack  on  the  Uzumkiran
settlement  camp  near  the  southeastern province of Hakkari on
Sunday night, killing two children and wounding  one.   Security
officials  said  that the clashes between the terrorists and the
village  guards  lasted  almost  an  hour.   Meanwhile,   eleven
terrorists  were  killed in a security operation in five Eastern
cities -Hakkari, Bitlis,  Bingol,  Batman  and  Tunceli.   In  a
separate  operation,  two  terrorists were captured alive in the
cities of  Siirt  and  Van.   Another  11  terrorists  who  were
captured  in  Bitlis  and  Mus were detained by the authorities.
/Hurriyet/


TOURISM UP 59 % IN ANTALYA

Saim Cotur, governor of the Mediterranean city of  Antalya,  has
said  that  the city is having a very successful tourist season.
He said that 886,000 tourists had  arrived  at  Antalya  airport
since  the  start  of 1995, a 59 % increase over 1994.  Russians
tourists make up the majority of  the  newcomers,  according  to
Cotur.  /All papers/



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