Turkish Press Review

[kurdeng at aps.nl]

                   WEDNESDAY AUGUST 2, 1995

Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press
this morning

MEETING OF SUPREME MILITARY COUNCIL

Under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Ciller, the Supreme
Military Council met yesterday in Ankara. The meeting will
continue until August 4 and is being attended by top level
military leaders including Chief of General Staff, Ismail
Hakki Karadayi, Land Forces Commander Hikmet Bayar, Admiral
Vural Beyazit, Air Force Commander Halis Burhan, Gendarmery
commanders and other officers responsible for security,
equipment, military education and training and Security Council
Secretary General Dogan Beyazit, together with Defence Minister
Mehmet Golhan.

Among the major issues on the agenda, retirements and promotions
are taking first places, followed by assessments of the military-
political situation in the region and Turkey.
/Cumhuriyet-Milliyet/

A FRIENDLY VOICE IN CONGRESS

Republican Party representative for Indiana, Dan Burton, has
been speaking up on behalf of Turkey, saying that there are
misunderstandings about relations between Turkey and its Kurdish
population.

Speaking during sessions of the US Congress, Burton said that
Ankara deserved more support as Turkey moved towards a more
democratic structure. Burton also condemned the PKK terrorism
in Turkey and elsewhere. He noted that a number of leading
Turkish figures, including former president Turgut Ozal and
Deputy Prime Minister Hikmet Cetin have Kurdish origins. Noting
these points in Turkey's favour, Burton stressed that military
aid to Turkey should not be cut.

Adding that in Iraq, while the Saddam regime tried to
exterminate the Kurds, Turkey had opened its doors to victims of
Iraqi poisonous gas attacks, Burton drew attention to the fact
that Turkey need financial and other support in its fight
against Marxist-Leninist PKK terror supported by Syria, Iraq and
Iran. /Cumhuriyet-Milliyet/

IRAN, TURKEY HOLD SECURITY MEETING

Turkey and Iran discussed their security concerns at a high-
level meeting in Ankara yesterday. Ali Rezak Berati, Iranian
Security Forces Chief, and Bekir Aksoy, Undersecretary of the
Interior Ministry, jointly chaired the 11th joint security
committee meeting, which focused on activities of the PKK
terrorist organization along the common Turkish-Iranian border.
The Iranian delegation was given a formal reception by Interior
Minister Nahit Mentese after the first round of talks. In his
speech, the minister said that there was no problem between
Turkey and Iran, "but we will remain sensitive against terrorism
because these terrorist activities in Turkey are also harmful
for Iran" he concluded. Mentese pointed out that there were some
infiltrations over the Iranian border, but, he said: "We will
discuss this issue with Iranian officials. The Turkish-Iranian
border, which was drawn in the Kasr-i Sirin agreement (1639),
will remain as the border of peace and friendship". Iranian
Security Chief Berati said that his country was among those
countries most damaged by terror activities in the last 10
years. He promised that the two countries would work together
to end the threat of terrorism, and announced that Iran was
ready to share its field experience in combatting terror. "We
captured three terrorists in the last couple of days. Iran
handed over a number of terrorists to Turkey in the past" he
said. The Iranian official is expected to leave Ankara for
Tehran on August 4. /Hurriyet-Cumhuriyet/

ARSON ATTACKS CONTINUE IN GERMANY

A Turkish home was firebombed on Monday night in the Bochum
province of Germany. After a molotov cocktail was thrown through
the window, the family immediately evacuated the house. No
serious casualties were reported, but two members of family
slightly injured and suffering from smoke inhalation were rushed
to hospital. The Bochum Prosecutors Office said an investigation
had been launched. /Hurriyet-Sabah/

PKK TERRORIST ORGANIZATION BURNS TURKISH FLAG

Some 7,000 PKK supporters gathered in Berlin yesterday
to mourn the death of a hunger-striker who died last week
after fasting for eight days in solidarity with jailed
PKK militants in Turkey. At the funeral ceremony where
there were pictures of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan and the
PKK flag, a Turkish flag was burned. Many PKK supporters
shouted slogans such as "Kanther is a terrorist" -a
reference to Interior Minister Manfred Kanther, who has
banned the PKK in Germany. /Sabah/

PKK ADMITS TIES WITH IRAN


Halil Atac, member of the Presidency Council of the Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK), has admitted that the PKK has good
relations with Iran and can easily move in and out of Iran.
Atac said that they were not much effected by Turkish military
operations in northern Iraq. He added: "The PKK has activities
in every region where there are Kurds. That is to say we have
activities from Europe to the Middle East. We have also a
dialogue with Iran." /Milliyet/

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 * Origin: APS Amsterdam (aps.nl), bbs +31-20-6842147 (16:31/2.0)