Turkish Press Review

[kurdeng at aps.nl]

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           id VT19343; Sat, 23 Sep 1995 21:17:31 -0800


               THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 21, 1995
                   ---------------------------

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

COALITION COLLAPSES

Prime Minister Tansu Ciller yesterday put an end to four
years of cooperation between her center-right True Path
Party (DYP) and its social democrat partners, announcing her
government's resignation after failed talks with Deniz Baykal,
the newly-elected leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP)
on terms of extending the coalition. Emerging from a three-
hour bargaining on the terms for extending the partnership
for the remaining year, Baykal declared that "the coalition
is effectively finished, if not legally". After consulting
her party aides, Ciller submitted her resignation to President
Suleyman Demirel to give the legal dimension to the final
demise of the country's longest-surviving coalition. An
announcement from the President's office said Demirel
had accepted the resignation and had asked her to stay
on until the formation of the new government. Demirel is
now expected to consult with the leaders of political parties
before naming a new prime minister designate.
/Hurriyet-Cumhuriyet-Sabah/


EARLY REACTION TO CILLER'S RESIGNATION

Although there have been some warning noises from the European
Union (EU) countries, cautioning that an early election would
delay customs union between Turkey and the EU countries, the US
has noted that relations between Turkey and the US "could not be
better".

A number of EU representatives have already said that human
rights and democratization issues in Turkey will now get bogged
down in political developments. On the other hand, US State
Department Spokesman Nicholas Burns said that the US did not
want to get involved in speculation about the immediate political
future of Turkey. He said that this was a matter for the Turkish
public, and the US respected that. /Hurriyet/


TURKISH FM SHRUGS OFF PKK CALL

Turkish Foreign Minister Erdal Inonu, asked to respond to
the call for a cease-fire by PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan,
said he would not comment. "You know that I do not comment
on the statements of the PKK" he told journalists at a press
conference on Monday. "You know our stance against terrorism.
Our security forces are trying to combat it" Inonu said.



GERMANY LIFTS WEAPONS EMBARGO

The German parliament has officially announced that the weapons
embargo against Turkey has been lifted. The embargo, imposed
after the German government claimed that German-made weapons were
being used by Turkish armed forces during military incursions
into northern Iraq, drove a wedge between Turkey and Germany for
many months.

The Federal Defence Ministry has already begun to get
outstanding military equipment off to Turkey. Groups on both
sides are working on lists of military needs and are comparing
notes on what Germany has yet to supply according to previous
agreements. /Hurriyet/


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