ANKARA, 30 DECEMBER 1988
TURKISH D IG EST
88/53AIR MAIL
PAR AVION
Municipal and local council
elections on March 26
Ankara (A. A)- The Turkish electorate will go to the polls on Sunday March 26 to elect mayors, municipal council iftembers, provincial council members and village heads and aldermten.
Supreme Election Board President
President Evren to
visit India, Pakistan
and Malaysia
Ankara (A.A.)-President Evren will pay state visits to India, Pakistan and Malaysia in February.Foreign Ministry Spokesman inal Batu, in his weekly press conference said that the visit was expected to take place in the second half of February and the exact dates would be announced later.
Turkey’s second President İsmet İnönü ■
■ a a a a
Inonu
commemorated
Ankara (A.A.)-The second President of Turkey and Atatiirk’s comrade-in-arms, İsmet İnönü was commemorated on the 15th anniversary of his death with a ceremony at his grave at Anıtkabir (Ata- türk’s Mausoleum). C ontinued on Page 7—
V iew point
Turkey and Pakistan
Taking strength from the h isto ri cal ties dating hack to the time when Indian Moslems, who make up to day's Pakistan, extended support and a id to the N ational Struggle, a n d from the perfect friendship between the two nations, Turkey's relations with P a kistan are based on firm ground.In fact, the real source o f this m e a nin g fu l friendship, is, n o doubt, the •;
deep-rooted loyalty, appreciation and respect the Turkish a n d Pakistani p e ople feel fo r each other. This friend- ■
ship a n d brotherliness between the people m ade it easier fo r the states- j|
men o f the two countries to establish •:
a n d con tin ue very d o se re!a lions, cn - j
joyed rarely.
With these feelings a n d unders tanding, Turkey Is p ro u d to see a co untry which has progressed m arkedly ■:
since it gained independence 41 years ago a n d believes that Pakistan, now
C ontinued on P age 7 i
Muammer Elgin said at a news conference on Monday that government functionaries and military personnel who wish to run as candidates should make known their deci sion to leave their jobs by the evening of December 30. Their applications will be answered by their employers within 10 days.
According to the election timetable, lists of the voters in each polling district will be displayed from 0 to 15 February to be brought up to date. Those born in 1970, who will cast their votes for the first time, and those whose names are not included in the lists will add their names.
T im etab le
Some of the important dates in the elec tion calendar are:
January 1- Beginning of election process
January 9- The last date for political parties to advise the Supreme Election Board o f their candidates and consti tuencies.
February 12- Preliminary election and roll call for candidates
C ontinu ed on Page 7
-Foreign Minister
Yılmaz:-“ Turkey, an inseparable part of
Europe, is keen to take her rightful
place in European integration”
Ankara (A.A)-Foreign Minister Mesut Yılmaz said the Cyprus peace talks between the two peoples of the island which resum ed in September,after a three year lull,are “ not an abstract intellectual exercise,” but rather interlocutors exploring the possibili ty of creating a federal Cyprus state, bear ing in mind the island’s recent history, the political, legal and social realities and Turkish Cypriot security concerns.
Speaking at the parliamentary debate on the Foreign Ministry budget, Yılmaz said that the present situation of the island is the product of Greek Cypriot “ intransigence.” Fie said that in order to replace the present two-state situation on the island with a federal order, the change must be one preferred to the status quo by both states on the island.
Reiterating Ankara’s all-out support for Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktaş and his policies, Yılmaz said that -Turkey fully supports the intercommunal talks pro cess being conducted under the auspices of
Admiral Crowe:
“ I am a strong admirer of Atatürk because
he achieved so much with so little.”
Washington (A.A)-Chairman of theUS Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral William Crowe has said that Kemal Atatürk who was able to expel the Greeks from his country with the few resources available was the greatest military genius of the century.
Admiral Crowe gave his views in an in terview published in the December 26 issue of the weekly “ Time” magazine.
Asked by the reporter Bruce Van Voorst “ Who are your heroes?” Admiral Crowe replied:
“ General Robert E. Lee was great at recovering from his mistakes. The intrigu ing thing about war is how many mistakes are made. My conclusion from military history is that successful generals are wrong 95% of the time. For unsuccessful generals it’s 99%. In the fog of war, there’s so much uncertainty. I am a strong admirer of Kemal
Atatürk, because he achieved so much with so little. It’s one thing for generals to win when they are backed by tremendous
C ontinued on Page 7
Ankara celebrates
Atatürk’s arrival to
launch the National
Liberation Struggle
Ankara (DGPI)-The 69th anniversary of A tatürk’s coming to Ankara was celebrated on 26 and 27 December. Within the framework of the festivities programme, an exhibition was opened on “ Great Atatürk and Developing Turkey” at the Directorate of Public Works of Ankara Municipality.
C ontinu ed on P age 7
Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Kandemir in Moscow
Preparations for Soviet Foreign Minister
Shevardnadze’s visit to Ankara
Minister Eduard Shevardnadze’s visit to Turkey were discussed. They came together Ankara (A.A-DGPI)- Foreign Ministry
U ndersecretary A m b assad o r Nilzhet Kandemir visited the Soviet Union between December 26 and 28 as the guest of Soviet D eputy Foreign M inister A lexander Bessmernikh. At Esenboga Airport before departing for the Soviet Union, Niizhet Kandemir stated that preparations for the Soviet Foreign Affairs Minister Eduard Shevardnadze’s visit to Turkey would be discussed during the meetings.
Kandemir was welcomed by Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Bessmernikh at Moscow Airport and after that they had a meeting during which bilateral relations, in ternational and regional matters and preparations for the Soviet Foreign Affairs
once more in the afternoon.
Ambassador Niizhet Kandemir was later received by Soviet Foreign Affairs Minister Eduard Shevardnadze when they exchanged views on bilateral relations, regional and international matters.
Eduard Shevardnadze thanked Turkey for her interest and aid following the earthquake in Armenia.
During his talks with Foreign Ministry U ndersecretary A m bassad o r N üzhet Kandemir, Shevardnadze stressed the im portance attached by the Soviet administra tion to the improvement of relations and cooperation with Turkey.
Foreign Minister Mesut Yılmaz
the United Nations Secretary-General “ b u t,” he said, “ the negative and pro vocative attitude of the Greek Cypriot administration-which climaxed to an unac ceptable level with the murder of a Turkish Cypriot soldier, Hasan Kara, on December 11-and continued Greek Cypriot efforts to arm while holding talks on the need for in creasing trust on the island, make it difficult for Ankara to be optimistic about the out come of the present Cyprus talks.”
He added that the Greek Cypriot ad ministration must realize that it cannot both
C ontinu ed on P age 7
Premier Ôzal calls
on his Israeli
counterpart to
contribute to peace
efforts
Ankara (DGPI)-Prime Minister Turgut Ozal sent a message of congratulation to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Shamir on the establishment of a new government.
Prime Minister Ôzal pointed out the re cent positive developments in the Middle East and expressed his hope that the Israeli Government would contribute to the efforts of establishing fair and permanent peace in the region.
Foreign Minister Mesut Ytlmaz sent a similar message to his new Israeli counter part Moshe Arenz.
—
IN THIS ISSUE
• Declaration of Dr. Sadık Ahmet
in Western Thrace (Greece)
which led to his conviction ....
Page 2
• Provinces o f Turkey:
Istanbul ...
★ + ★• Art Museum in a village .
Pag« 4
—..
. . . IraKv o
________________
Page 2 30 D ecem ber t96S
r
Grievances and requests o f the Turkish-Moslem minority in Western Thrace
Declaration of Dr. Sadık Ahmet which led to his conviction
The conflicts and regional confrontations after World War I necessitated a com prehensive exchange of population between Turkey and Greece. In accordance with the treaty signed between the two states, the ethnic Turks in Greece and the ethnic Greeks in Turkey were subjected to an obligatory exchange of population and millions of people mutually changed places. An exception to this exchange was the Greek Orthodox minority in Istanbul and the Turkish Moslem minority in Western Thrace.
The rights of these two communities as “ minorities” are guaranteed under Section 111 of the Treaty of Lausanne, signed on Ju ly 24, 1923. According to the provisions of the treaty, the minorities should, de jure and de facto, enjoy the same treatment and the same guarantees as other citizens of their countries, and they should be entitled, in particular, to establish religious, charitable and social institutions, schools and other establishments for training and education at their own expense, to run and supervise them, and use their own languages freely in those institutions.
In the same treaty it is explicitly stated that Articles 38 through 44 of the section mentioned above should be recognized as fundamental laws, and that no law, regula tion, or official action should conflict or in terfere with these stipulations nor should any law, regulation, or official action prevail over them (Article 37).
Greece, by putting its signature to the Treaty of Lausanne pledged to recognize all the rights of this minority as envisaged in the said treaty (Article 45).
With a view to determining the number of people who could benefit from the special rights extended to the minorities, the Ninth Mixed Commission for the Exchange of Population issued an official document of “ établi” to every member of the minorities, which was jointly signed by the Turkish and Greek delegates.
By the foregoing we have explained the solid foundation upon which the Turkish Moslem minority, with its historical ex istence and legal status is based.
-Injustices toward the Turkish-Moslem minority in Western Thrace:
As members of this minority in Western Thrace and as citizens of the Greek state, they have serious complaints about the attitude of the Greek authorities. Because
of the deliberate policies of consecutive Greek governments we remain deprived not only of our special minority rights which stem from an international treaty, but also of the rights of normal citizens, even of basic human rights. In the mountainous regions (which are sealed on the pretext that they are militarily important border areas) the ethnic Turks are subject to a policy of assimilation. Their children are denied the right to go to the Turkish speaking secon dary schools, for example. And the ethnic Turks who live in the other parts of Western Thrace are confronted with a systematic policy of enforced emigration. All our representations to the biggest state and political organs and persons to stop these injustices have consistently come to nothing for the last 20 years. Most of our written applications have remained unanswered and the existence of injustices has been negated in all the official answers.
For these reasons we have decided to convey our grievances and requests to inter national organizations. They are brought to your attention in the following six articles:
1. Despite our well-known historical background, our religious beliefs, our Turkish origin, our mother tongue (Turkish) and our ethnic traditions, all of which are undeniable facts, several written and oral statements by Greek statesmen and high of ficials attempt to allege that we are not Turks but merely ‘Moslems.’ This shows their intention to reduce us to the status of a religious group by denying our ethnic en tity. (This also shows a striking resemblance to the attitude taken by the Bulgarian authorities toward ethnic Turks). As a vivid example of this official attitude a letter sent to one of our associations by Mr.Alevras, the Speaker of the Greek Parliament is presented herewith. The authorities in this area took this same attitude and prohibited the use of the adjective “ Turkish” in the titles and signboards of the “ Turkish Teachers’ Association,” the “ Komotini Turkish Youth Association” and the “ Xan- thi Turkish Association.” Even the Greek courts (courts of first and second instance) decided on the closure of these associations claiming that there were no Turks in western Thrace, and “ Turkish” only stood for “ citizenship of Turkey.” We are expecting the final verdict of the High Court. But the previous court decisions disrupted the ac tivities of our cultural associations.
Our ethnic identiiy and our religious
beliefs form an inseparable entity and we only request that this basic human right of preserving one’s own ethnic and religious identity should be respected.
2. Because of the arbitrary practices of the Greek authorities, education in the Turkish language has become totally inef fective, contrary to Article 40 of the Treaty of Lausanne:
a)The Greek government stopped giv ing employment to teachers who had
graduated from colleges in Turkey, thus depriving this minority o f teachers who know correct Turkish and are capable of in stilling in our children our traditional ethnic culture.
A special “ Academy” in Thessaloniki was established and recruits from the old style religious schools (medrese), which are deliberately financed by the Greek govern ment in spite of their outdated nature, are enrolled in this Academy and eventually become “ ersatz teachers’ in Turkish-speak ing schools.
As will be remembered, Turkey secularized all schools in the Republic of Turkey and closed all the medreses, in the 1920s. The Greek government intentional ly refused to go parallel with these reforms in order to create a schism between Turkey and the Turkish minority in Greece. And while the Turkish minority have been finan cing their schools, the Greek government chose to finance these outdated medreses for this special purpose.
Contrary to the wishes o f the Turkish community they provided scholarships to these ‘fundamentalist’ religious schools.On ly graduates from these anachronistic schools are accepted into the “ Academy” in Thessaloniki. There, after two years of “ training,” and knowing no correct Turkish, and having no contemporary culture, they are “ ready” as teachers for Turkish schools. The Turkish community reacted strongly to the plan, but its com plaints fell on deaf ears. The “ Academy” in Thessaloniki was established as a “ Tro jan horse” within the Turkish community, and not at all with good intentions.
Most of the money that Greek govern ment spokesmen claim they are spending on “ the education of the Moslem minority” is in fact appropriated to these “ medreses” and to the “ Academy” which the Turkish community loathes.
b) The government is establishing Greek secondary schools (gymnasiums) in the areas inhabited by the Moslem-Turks in the mountainous areas and forcing our children to attend these schools in which Greek is the only language.
On the other hand an entrance exam was introduced to the two minority secon dary schools (in Komotini and Xanthi) so that only a limited number of students are being accepted every year. Despite the clear provision of Article 16 of the Constitution requiring obligatory education for nine years, our children graduating from primary Turkish-speaking schools are forced to take the entrance examination to get enrolled in Turkish-speaking secondary schools. The same students, however, are accepted into Greek secondary schools without any ex amination.
c) For the secondary education of the entire Turkish minority, which has a population of between 100,000 and 120,000, there are only two secondary schools. Another intentional blow came from the Greek authorities when a special examina tion in the Greek language on the subjects studied in Turkish during the school year was introduced. In other words, in the minority school, the courses taken in Turkish during the year had to be passed in
the Greek language at the end. As a result of this practice there has been a dramatic drop in the number of students in the Turkish-speaking schools. As can be seen hereunder, the number of students in the Turkish lycée in Xanthi was 227 in the academic year 1983-1984, and in the Turkish lycée in Komotini 305. These numbers drop ped to 85 and 42,respectively during the academic year 1986-1987, thanks to the deliberate m easures o f the Greek authorities: Academic Year Number of Students 1983-84 1984-85 1985-86 1986-87 Xanthi 227 183 120 85 Komotini 305 174 84 42
In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights it is stated th at:“ The right to select the manner of education for their children belongs to the parents.” As can be seen we are completely deprived of this basic right in Western Thrace.
We demand the abolition of these un just and deliberate practices immediately.
3. We present for your information some regrettable injustices aimed at the economic collapse of the minority:
a) The purchase of real estate in our region is subject to permission from the Greek authorities. Nevertheless, this permis sion is required for no other citizens but Turkish Moslems with the exception of some, “ selected” people who conveniently cooperate with the authorities.
Although Article 17 o f the Greek Con stitution states that: “ The right to proper ty is under the protection of the State, no one shall be deprived of this right.” We, the members of this minority, are deprived of this right to buy any immovable property.
b) By the confiscations executed in our region the most valuable land which belongs to the minority is confiscated intentionally.
Should old title deeds (which have not been renewed by the Greek State) for the centuries-old immovable properties in herited from our ancestors, for some reason not be presented, our lands are taken away from us under the pretext that “ they belong to the State.”
d) Again under inconsistent pretexts, heavy fines are imposed on Turkish business owners, artisans, and even the teachers of Koranic courses-huge amounts ranging from five million to ten million drachmas, literally impossible to pay.
e) None of us are accepted into the public services. Our chemists are not
per-C onlinuéd on Page 6
WEEKLY DIGEST
PUBLISHER
Ahmet ERSOY
(On behalf o f the Directorate General o f Press and Inform ation)
Editor-in Chief: Responsible Editor:
Teoman FEHİM Metin ZAİMOGLU
The Directorate General o f Press and Inform ation
A tatü rk Blvd. 203 06 688 A nkara, Turkey Telephone: 167 11 80-89
(Published in English, French, German and Arabic)
Printed by
KURTULUŞ Yayıncılık Ticaret Ltd. Şti.
r
PTT F D C Türkiye Cumhuriyeti ^fşâriftlere ıMınuz.40.y;r '
Keti-A
•ff QEA\£40. YU
İSTANBUL FİLATELİSTLER DERNEĞİNİN 40. YİU
40th Anniversary of the Ph.iatelists Society İstanbul
-İSTANBUL, 15.12.1988
“ 40th Anniversary of the Philatelists’
Society of Istanbul”
Ankara (DGPI)-The “40th Anniversary o f the Philatelists’ Society o f Istanbul” first- day covers issued by the P TT General Direc torate were put on sale on December 15.
The TL 200 first-day covers will be on sale fo r three months.
For philately inquiries please write to the following address:
PTT Gene! Müdürlüğü Posta Dairesi Başkanlığı
Filateli Şubesi
30 Decem ber 19SS
Turkey opens
Erzurum airport and
Erzurum-Kars
railway for relief aid
to Soviet Armenia
Ankara (DGPI)-Turkey has permitted the use of Erzurum airport and the Erzurum-Kars railway for the transporta tion of relief aid sent by other countries to earthquake stricken regions o f the Arme nian Republic.Foreign Ministry Spokesman İnal Batu in answer to a question stated that a positive response had been made to a request for cooperation by officials of the Soviet Em bassy in Ankara.
Batu said:“ Officials in the Soviet Em bassy in Ankara requested the use of Er zurum airport and the Erzurum-Kars railway to transport relief aid sent to the quake stricken region in the Soviet Union from third countries.
A fter contacting the responsible Turkish authorities the Foreign Ministry in formed the Soviet Embassy of Turkey’s positive response. Soviet officials express ed their gratitude for Turkey’s coopera tion.”
Minority
endowments enjoy
new rights
Ankara (A.A.)-The Justice Committee o f the Grand National Assembly has ac cepted a draft bill allowing minority foun dations to possess immovable properties with the permission of the Council of Ministers.
According to the draft bill, immovables possessed by corporate foundations/ no mat ter how they were acquired between 1936 and January 1, 1987, will be added to the
Continued on Page 6
Turco-ltalian
cooperation in
exploration of
valuable ores
A nkara (A.A.)-Turkey and Italy will cooperate on the search, exploration and ex traction of valuable ores such as gold, silver and platinum, under a technical cooperation protocol signed by the contracting parties on D ecem ber 22. The deputy Undersecretary of the State Planning Organization Ünal Altınbaş and Italian Am bassador Giorgio Franchetti Pardo signed the protocol on behalf of Turkey and Italy respectively.The General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA) of Turkey and SNIA Techini of Italy are parties to the protocol which foresees cooperation on geological and mineral exploration and ex traction of valuable ores and rare elements in W estern A natolia using hydro- metallurgical methods.
TRNC commemorates victims o f Greek atrocities
TRNC President Denktaş: “ W e W a n t p e a c e
J 5Lefkoşe (A.A)-“ National Struggle and Heroes Week” in the Turkish Republic of N orthern Cyprus (TRNC) was com memorated on 21-25 December. During the week all those who fell in Greek Cypriot at tacks were remembered.
The attacks launched by Greek Cypriots on December 21, 1963 according to the “ Akritas Plan” , which aimed at ex terminating Turkish Cypriots and binding Cyprus to Greece,and the heroic resistance of the Turkish Cypriots is commemorated every year as National Struggle and Heroes Week.
The Greek Cypriot attack, recorded in history as “ Bloody Christmas” toppled the “ Cyprus Republic” which had been found ed as a partnership of the Turkish and Greek Cypriots in 1960. In these attacks which lasted until 1974, 103 Turkish villages were
razed to the ground, thousands o f Turkish Cypriots became immigrants in their own land and hundreds were murdered.
C erem o n ies
Ceremonies were organized at the Heroes Monument in Lefkoşe, the naval cemetery in Girne and the Heroes Monu ment in Gazi Magosa.
TRNC President Rauf Dentaş, Parlia ment Speaker Hakkı Atun, Prime Minister Derviş Eroğlu, Turkey’s Ambassador to Lefkoşe Ertuğrul Kumcuoğlu, Turkish Peace Force Commander General Eşref Bitlis, TRNC Security Forces Commander General Ali Yalçın, Ministers,and a large crowd attended the ceremony in Lefoşe.
Addressing the rally, Major Fikret Dor man of the Security Forces said the Greek Cypriots had revived Byzantine violence 25 years ago today, dreaming dreams of
Turkey’s expresses satisfaction
with final accord on Namibia
Ankara (A. A.)-It has been announced that Turkey is pleased at the signing of a U.S- mediated tripartite agreement with representatives of the South African Republic, Angola and Cuba for the in dependence of Namibia.
In the statement /Turkey expressed a sincere desire for the establishment of a just and lasting peace in southern Africa and for Namibia’s independence as soon as possi ble “ Turkey is pleased that the parties sign ed a final agreement on December 22, 1988 in New York at the end of negotiations bet ween the representatives of Angola, the South African Republic and Cuba with the
mediation of the USA, to bring comprehen sive peace to southern Africa and implement UN Security Council Resolution 435 leading to independence for Namibia.
Turkey who has actively participated in the efforts for the independence of Namibia at the UN, and was one of the founding members of the Namibian Council and one of the assistant chairmen, is pleased by the
peaceful and goodwill approach.
Turkey, sincerely desires Namibian in dependence and the establishment o f the just and lasting peace southern Africa has longed for a long tim e.”
VOA praises Turkey
Washington (A.A.)-The Voice o f America (VOA) has praised developments in Turkey in recent years.
A commentary “Our Subject is Turkey” was broadcast by the Voice o f America in 42 languages to various countries.
The commentator said, ‘ ‘By the proposal o f assistance fo r the devastating earthquake disaster in Soviet Armenia, Turkey has for the third time this year demonstrated friendship fo r an old adversary.
In January, Prime Minister Turgut Ozal and Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papan dreou reached agreement to take measures aimed at reducing tension between the two countries.
In September, Turkey accepted around 60 thousand refugees escaping from poison gas attacks in Iraq.
While following a policy o f opening up to the world, Turkey is striving to build a brighter future in the country.
By re-establishing a democratic regime in 1983, Turkey terminated military rule for the third time in 30 years.
Prime Minister Turgut Özal made a great effort during the initial years o f his power to open up the Turkish economy to the outside. He lifted foreign exchange controls, terminated
nearly all import quotas and reduced customs duties.
Building roads, auto-routes and dams the number o f which exceeds 75, a rapid public service programme was launched.
Before 1984, many villages o f Turkey lacked power and telephones. Today there are very few villages left in Turkey without these contemporary services.
Foreign investments are flowing into Turkey. The Government last year approved foreign investment applications worth over 500 million dollars. This amount is expected to go up by 50 percent and reach one billion dollars by next year.
The boom in foreign investments and the free market policies implemented by Ozal have resulted in one o f the highest rates o f growth in the world in Turkey.
With her army o f more than 500 thou sand, Turkey is an important member o f NATO contributing to joint defence. Turkey wishes to be integrated with the free countries o f Europe not only from the military but also from the economic aspect and made a bid last year fo r fu ll membership o f the European Community. This application is proof o f Turkey’s determination to give permanence to her ties with European democracies.
Turkish Embassy in Paris calls for reaction
to Bulgarian oppression
Paris (A.A-DGPI)- Turkey’s Embassy in Paris has called on democratic countries to renounce the policy o f oppression and atrocities pursued by the Bulgarian ad ministration against the Turkish minority living in Bulgaria.
In a statement marking the fourth an niversary of the Bulgarian atrocities, the Embassy said that the inhuman oppression and plight of Bulgaria’s 1.5 million Turks had gained a tragic dimension, and even the Bulgarian administration had finally had to
admit to incidents in areas where Turks are concentrated.
N ow adays, w hen the world is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the declaration of human rights, the statement went on, all democratic countries should re nounce such policies and make an effort to stop chauvinistic pressure revealed in even erasing Turkish names on gravestones.
M eetings in Ista n b u l
Meanwhile, it has been reported that Turks in Bulgaria are forced to watch films supporting the claim that Turks living on
Bulgarian territory are originally Slavs con verted to Islam during Ottoman rule.
During a meeting “ Turks in Bulgaria, Yesterday and Today” , organized by the Balkan T urk’s Solidarity and Culture Association on December 24, the par ticipants noted that Bulgarian television airs country-wide programmes to strengthen Bulgarian nationalism.
They also noted that the ban on speaking Turkish in several regions is still being implemented.
“enosis” . “ There are n o longer massacres in C yprus. There is ho n o u r and peace. We are prepared to give o u r lives for these values. We shall never allow these territories to be trampled under enem y boots.”
D enktaş
Meanwhile, TRNC President Rauf Dentaş in a message o n the occasion said they would never sign an y agreement which lacked the influential g uarantee of Turkey.
Indicating that th e Cyprus problem
arose ou t o f the dream o f “ enosis” of the
Greek Cypriots, Denktaş said that the Greek Cypriots wanted to exterminate all Turks in one night according to the “ Akritas Plan” and Greek Cyprus and Greece planned to achieve enosis after converting Cyprus into a Greek Cypriot island and they had followed this policy since 1925.
Denktaş added th a t unless the Greek Cypriots banned enosis an d as long as they rejected a bi-zonal existence there would be no agreement. “ We w ant peace. But this peace must protect the Turkish Cypriots, safeguard their future, not allow our children to suffer what we have suffered and not allow Cyprus to tu rn into a Greek island,” he said.
National Anthem
Poet Mehmet
Akif Ersoy
commemorated
Ankara (A.A)- M ehm et Akif Ersoy was commemorated o n the 52nd anniver sary o f his death with a ceremony at his house on Hacettepe University campus.Addressing the cerem ony, Minister o f N ational Education, Youth and Sports
H a s a n C elal Güzel p r a is e d Mehmet Ak i f as
the greatest national poet and said he was a m an of causes and em otions. Güzel noted that during the W ar o f Independence M ehmet Akif fought with the national forces and continued to write poems. His most famous poem is the words to the na tional anthem.
“ It is not possible to forget what he did. No other country on earth has a na tional anthem as beautiful as ours. All the m em bers of the assem bly, including A tatürk, listened to the words of the anthem
Continued on Page d
A newspaper in
South Korea
chooses
Süleymanoğlu as
the “The most
valuable Olympic
sportsman”
Ankara (A.A)- A newspaper in South Korea, where the 24th Olympic Games took place, chose world record-breaker, Olym pic champion w e ig h tlifter N aim Süleymanoğlu as the “ The most valuable Olympic sportsman” . The shield awarded by the paper was presented to Süleymanoğlu by Foreign Minister Mesut Yılmaz this week.
A t the ceremony, Mesut Yılmaz pointed out that it was very heartening for Süleymanoğlu to be deem ed worthy o f this title by the South Korean newspaper “ Dong A Ilbo” which had a circulation o f two million. Yılmaz went on to say “ This event is an additional source o f pride after N aim ’s great success at the Olympic games” .
Yılmaz stated th a t the shield was sent to the Turkish Embassy in South Korea because Naim left th e games earlier than
Page 4 30 D ecem ber tOSB
ISTANBUL: A unique province linking
two continents
# Considered the liveliest
centre for scientific and
-
2
-HISTORYIstanbul is one of the oldest cities in the world. Excavations at Kikirtepe, Kadıköy between 1952-54 revealed that Istanbul was a place of settlement even in the year 4 thou sand B.C. Further evidence dating back to
2 thousand B.C. was discovered in the vicinity of Sultanahmet in Çarşıkapı.
The first know population of Istanbul were the Thracians,who had emigrated here from the Balkans.
There are a variety of legends about the founding of Istanbul. The most popular of these describes a man named Byzas who along with immigrants from Megara goes to the Oracle of Delphi. The oracle tells him to settle opposite the land of the blind. The immgrants come to present day Saraybur- nu and are greatly impressed by the beauty of the area. Opposite the Bosphorus is Chalcedon (Kadıköy). They are amazed that the settlers are not aware of the beauty of the opposite hill. Thinking that they must be blind not to see this beauty, they realize that they have arrived in the land of the blind mentioned by the oracle. They called the city they founded Byzantium after the name of their leader, Bzas.
It is generally believed that the foun ding date of this city was between 660-659 B.C. The population of Byzantium helped Persian King Darius in his Scythian cam paign in 513 B.C. and established good rela tions with his people. However, when during the Ionian uprising in 499 B.C., the city population backed the insurgents, the Persians burned and destroyed the city. After the Persian wars, the city changed hands between the Spartans and Athenians and won its independence finally in the 4th century B.C.
Phillip o f Macedon laid siege to the ci ty once but was unable to capture it.
B yzantium rem ained under the domination of Alexander the Great and his cohorts for some time, but won its in dependence once more in the 3rd century B.C.
Roman Emperor Septimus Severus conquered the city in 196 A.D., after a long siege, and had its ramparts torn down. After some time the same emperor built larger ramparts around the city.
E m peror C onstantine the Great defeated Licinus, whom Byzantium sup ported, near Üsküdar in September, 324 A.D. and had the city ramparts demolished once more as a penalty. However, when the empire decided to move its capital here, he started to restore the city in 325 A.D. The inauguration of the new capital was held in May,330 A.D. and it was given a new name,
C onstantinople.
When the Roman Empire was divided into two in 395 A.D., Constantinopole re mained the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.
Meanwhile, the trek was in full swing. This had brought the Eastern Roman Em pire under the pressure of the Huns. The King of the Western Huns, Uldun, advanc ed as far as Thrace and began to oppress Byzantium. Emperor Theodosius II built the city ramparts, part of which are still standing, in defence of the city. With the addition of the second line of ramparts and a ditch, Constantinopole was able to withstand external pressures.
In 447 Attilla, the Emperor of the Western Huns, launched a campaign with a huge army on Byzantium. He advanced
city in Turkey, Istanbul is a
artistic activities.
as far as Büyük Çekmece (Athyra), where he met with the Byzantine ambassador and abandoned the seige of the city after all his conditions were accepted.
Two centuries after the Huns, a new danger emerged for Byzantium in the Balkans. The Avars, who established a great empire in Central Europe in the 6th century, appeared before Istanbul ramparts towards the end of the century. However, the siege laid by the Avars on July 31,626 AD end ed unsuccessfully on August 12, 626 AD.
The conquest of Istanbul was a holy mission also for the Moslems. The Prophet Muhammed had predicted, in one of His hadiths, “ Istanbul will be conquered. What a beautiful order is the order for its con quest; and what a good army it is that con quers I s ta n b u l.” This was a very encouraging communication of the Prophet.
Moslems laid siege to Istanbul for the first time between 668-669 A.D .. The army under the command of Yezid, the son of the Prophet Muaviye, included such prominent personages in Islam as Ebu Eyyup El- Ensari. The siege was unsuccessful and Ebu Eyyup died. His grave was later discovered by M ehm et the C o n q u e ro r’s tu to r Akşemseddin. A tomb and mosque were built pn the site of this holy place which is known today as Eyüp Sultan.
Five years later Moslems laid a siege to Istanbul once more. The army had come by sea, captured Kapıdağ Peninsula in the Mar mara Sea and reached the skirts of Istan bul. The siege which had been laid in 624 lasted until 680. Attacks from land and sea yielded no results. The Byzantines defend ed themselves by using a mixture of potassium nitrate and bitumen. This mixture, which the French later called “ the Greek fire” also burned in water.
Moslems laid siege to Istanbul for the third time during the reign of the Caliph Suleiman Abdelmelik.
Abdulmelik’s army came to Istanbul after crossing to Thrace over Çanakkale Strait (Dardanelles). His navy came as far as the mouth of Haliç (Golden Horn) where the siege started in August 716 A.D. Ho wever, the two-year siege yielded no results. During the Abbasids, a last attempt was made to seize Istanbul, when an army under the command of Kharoon al-Rashid, the son of the Caliph Mehdi arrived in Üsküdar (Scutari) m 781 A.D.. However, a treaty was signed with the Byzantine Emperor and the Abbasid military forces returned home.
In the years following the founding of the Seljuk Empire, attacks on Anatolia started. Turkish forces in small units began
to advance into Anatolia as far as the Mar mara and Aegean seas. After 20 years of such attacks, the invasions turned into a conquest after the Malazgirt victory in 1071. Anatolia had finally become Moslem ter ritory. The Anatolian Seljuk State, found ed with İznik as its capital, became the most dangerous enemy of Byzantium. In fact, in 1075,Kutaimisog!u Süleyman came as far as Üsküdar. At this time another dangerous enemy of Byzantium emerged, Izmir Amir Çaka Beg. Çaka Beg had founded a prin cipality in Izmir and had created a strong navy of 40 vessels. After defeating the Byzantine Empire in several naval battles, Çaka Beg declared his supremacy in the Aegean Sea. Landing at Gelibolu (Gallipoli) in the Dardanelles, Çaka Beg tried to cut off the Byzantines’ access to the Mediterranean. Since the Anatolian shores were also in the hands of the Seljuks, the Byzantine Empire had been cornered.
Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnene called for help from the Christian world in 1091. The Peceneks, with whom Çaka Beg had made an agreement, advanced as far as Edirne, pressuring the Byzantine Empire even more. Alexius Comnene saved himself from this difficult situation by signing a peace treaty with the Kumans, another Turkish tribe.
The Ottoman Empire showed great in terest in Istanbul from the year it was fo unded. In 1340, the Ottoman forces came up to the gates o f Istanbul and this forced the Byzantine Emperor to seek help from Aydın Bey.
In 1375, when Sultan M urat’s conquest of Istanbul appeared imminent, the Byzan tine Emperor sought help from Hungarian King Nagy Lajos.
The first siege of Istanbul was laid dur ing the Ottoman era by Yıldırım Bayezid. After reinforcing his sovereignty in the Balkans, following the Battle of Kosova, Beyazid did not miss the opportunity of the internal fights going on for the throne in the Byzantine Empire and led his forces from Edirne to Istanbul in 1390. Ioannes, whom Bayezid supported had come to Istanbul be fore him and seized the throne. He, howe ver closed the gates of the city to the Ottomans. Being at the city ramparts for some time, Bayezid went back after impo sing heavy taxes on Byzantium.
When Emperor Manuel II, who came to power after a short while rejected to com ply with various Ottoman conditions, the Ottoman army crossed to Thrace and an nexed all the land there to the Ottoman Empire in 1391. This time the siege lasted for seven months. Byzantium was saved from this difficult situation by the Hungarians, who crossed the Danube River and began to advance towards Sofia. When
Sultanahmet Mosque-Istanbul
Beylerbeyi Palace-lstanbul
the Ottoman Sultan withdrew his forces to meet the enemy forces in that area, the siege ended.
Never abandoning the idea of conquer ing Istanbul, Yıldırım Bayezid laid another siege to Istanbul in 1395. Emperor Manuel appealed to the Christian world for help once more. A new Crusade was organized against the Turks. After defeating the Crusaders in Nigbolu, Yıldırım Bayezid decided to seize Istanbul. He seized Şile on the Black Sea coast and built a citadel (Anadoluhisari) on the Asian side of the Bosphorus. The siege around Istanbul in tensified once more in 1397 and the Byzan tine Emperor again asked for help from the west.
However, the Byzantine Emperor decided to sign a treaty with the Ottomans in return for the lifting of the siege. Among the many conditions, the Emperor approv ed of the formation of a Moslem district in Istanbul, the building of mosques and the reading of the Koran in the name of the Ot toman Sultan. The last siege on Istanbul was laid during the reign of Yıldırım Beyazid in 1400. However, benefiting from the Sultan’s occupations in Anatolia, Emperor Manuel seized some citadels in the vicinity of Şile and İzmit.
Returning to Bursa, Bayezid attacked Istanbul once more. This time the siege ap peared to be stronger than any of the others. However, the occupation o f central Anatolia by Tamerlane’s forces interrupted
this siege.
After the fall of Ankara in 1402, the Byzantines played a role in the power strug gle in the Ottoman Empire. In the power struggle between Süleyman Çelebi and Musa Çelebi, Byzantium supported Süleyman Çelebi. After Musa Çelebi assumed the throne in Edirne, defeating his brother, he decided to follow the same policy of his father against Byzantium which had sup ported his rival. Planning to surround Istan bul from the land and sea, Musa Çelebi sent his navy to Istanbul. They were defeated by the Byzantine forces in front of the Princes’ Islands. Meanwhile, the siege laid by his land forces was also doomed because of Byzantine maneuvering (1411 A.D.).
The last siege before the conquest was laid by Sultan M urat II in the early days of his reign. However, Byzantium, as always supported Düzmece Mustafa, when he rose against the Sultan to weaken the Ottoman Empire. When Sultan Murat returned to Edirne, following the suppression o f the uprising, his first task was to resolve the Byzantium problem. A fter being well prepared,the Ottoman army came up to the Istanbul ramparts and positioned themsel ves on the land stretching from the Marmara Sea to Haliç. The Ottomans had also bro-
SO D ecem ber JOSS
ECONOMY
Page 5
National Defence Minister Yuralhan:
“ Our purpose is to create an
international-market-oriented defence industry
Istanbul (A.A.)-Minister of National Defence Ercan Vuralhan said that moder nisation requirements of the Turkish Arm ed Forces create an adequate market for the local defence industry. “ Our aim is to create, with the technological and financial support of the NATO countries, an industry which can survive in the international market according to the principles of a free market economy” , he said.
The prospects for the Turkish private sector to enter the European armaments market were discussed at the “ Defence In dustry” seminar organized by TÜSÎAD (Turkish Businessmen’s and Industrialists’ Association) in Istanbul.
Addressing the inaugural session, V uralhan n o ted th a t parallel to developments in the national economy, the Turkish defence industry had achieved a dynamic structure, adding that an average 500 million dollars accumulated annually in the Defence Industry Fund. Vuralhan said that the first project being implemented within the framework of the improved defence industry system was armoured com bat vehicles and multi-launch rockets and that significant developments had been achieved in shipbuilding, tank and ar moured vehicle maintenance and moder nisation, automotive, light and heavy
A new source of
foreign currency:
Flower exports
Antalya (A.A.)-Turkey has started ex porting flowers to the USA, Norway and Sweden following Greece and Kuwait.In recent years, flowers have been ex ported from A ntalya to the United Kingdom , H o llan d , Italy , Belgium, Austria and especially to the Federal Republic of Germany. After the demand for Turkish flowers increased in European markets, Greece, Kuwait, Norway and Sweden started importing.
Officials of the Union of Exports said 22,312,171 flowers were exported during the first 11 months of this year, and that $ 22.63 million worth of foreign exchange had been earned from these exports.
The officials noted that in the corres ponding period last year, foreign exchange
C on/w ued on P age 6
weapons and ammunition, rockets, missiles, electro-optic equipment and the aircraft in dustry.
A rm a m e n ts M ark et
Turkey was assisting in the preparation
of such projects as the large aircraft of the future, the production of “ Stinger” and “ Maverick” missiles, was prepared to assume leadership in the modernisation of
C ontinued on Page 6
Turco-Albanian Trade and Technological
Cooperation Protocol
Ankara (A.A)-State Minister Mehmet Yazar who went to Albania to take part in | the first term Joint Economic Commission
j
talks has returned home.i In a statement at Esenboga Airport, Minister Yazar said that they had discuss- I ed Turco-Albanian relations with their | economic, political and cultural aspects and | at the end of the talks signed a protocol ■ covering economic and trade relations and ^associated developments. Mehmet Yazar
Central Bank reserves expanding
stated that he had met the Albanian Prime M inister, and the Foreign, Foreign Economic Affairs and Planning Ministers during his visit and added that they had decided to exchange experts and technology in the production of cement, fertilizer, fur niture, mining, buses and railway carriages. They had also agreed on technological cooperation in the construction of facilities and updating industrial establishments on a turn-key basis.Ratio of international reserves and foreign exchange reserves to monthly average imports (Million $)
1985 1986 1987 Nov.’88 Gold 1.040 1.237 1.535 1.533 Foreign currency (1) 2.239 3.110 3.677 5.239 Central Bank 644 1.291 1.437 2.499 Commercial banks 1.595 1.819 2.240 2.740 Total 3.279 4.347 5.212 6.772
Monthly average import (2) 945 925 1.180 1.181
1/2 2.37 3.36 3.12 4.51
Ankara (ANKA)-Between September- November, the Central Bank raised its net foreign currency reserves by as much as $1,261 million. Total net foreign currency reserves thus doubled to $2,499 million. This unprecedented growth in reserves came as a great relief to the CB at a time of par ticularly intensified foreign debt servicing and of frequent interventions in the local market to avoid speculation in foreign currency.
Com pared to the $1,437-million volume of November 1987, the CB’s net foreign currency reserves increased by $1,062 million in one year. The CB’s foreign currency reserves maintained a low level in
Turco-lranian trade relations
progressing
Teheran (A .A .)-C om m ercial andEconomic cooperation and relations bet ween Turkey and Iran were discussed by Turkey’s Ambassador to Teheran Omer Akbel and the Iranian Minister of Finance, Muhammed Cevad Irevani.
Teheran’s Chief Trade Counsellor ihsan Feyzibeyoglu also attended the meeting. Ambassador Akbel indicated that Turkey and Iran are two countries which have had no trouble between them for cen turies and continued that economic coopera tion must be on a long-term basis.
Ambassador Akbel pointed out that he is enthusiastic about the long-term projects between Turkey and Iran for a joint natural gas pipe-line, and petrochemical and energy facilities.
Iran’s Finance and Economy Minister Irevani said that after the Iranian Revolu tion, trade between Iran and Turkey increas ed 15-fold as a result of new policies, but he also indicated that they expect Turkey to buy other goods besides crude oil. Irevani added that they had ordered the State pur chasing institutions to buy many basic goods
from Turkey.
Irevani also said that within the framework of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), between Turkey,
Pakistan and Iran, customs barriers among
the three countries will be eliminated.
the first half o f the year, falling to $1,238 million by the emd of August.
Between January-N ovem ber, the foreign currency reserves of commercial banks increased by $500 million to $2,740 million. This figure represents a 22.3 per cent growth over 1987, which compares with 73.9 percent in the case of the CB. The two combined, total foreign currency reserves in creased by 42.5 percent or $1,562 million to $5,239 million.
Including gold reserves, Turkey’s total international reserves increased to $6,772 million by the end of November.
Thanks especially to the rapid growth of the CB reserves, Turkey’s ratio of foreign currency reserves to monthly imports, an important international indicator of foreign balance, rose to a highly favorable level. The ratio stood at 4.51 at the end of November. In other words, Turkey’s foreign currency reserves can meet 4.5 months of imports. A
ratio o f 3.5-4 is generally accepted as a sign that the country involved is not faced with any major foreign currency problem. The figure in Turkey was 3.12 last year, 3.36 in 1986 and 2.37 in 1985.
DM 260 million of
German military aid
Bonn (A.A.)-Agreement for the seven teenth tranche of the NATO defence aid to Turkey from the Federal Republic of Ger many was signed on December 22, in Bonn. In accordance with the agreement sign ed by Ressat Arım Turkish Ambassador in Bonn and Jurgen Sudhoff, Federal German Foreign Ministry State Secretary, the Federal Republic of Germany will send DM 260 million worth of military aid to Turkey over the forthcoming three years.In a statement to the press after the signing ceremony, Turkish Ambassador Reşat Arım said that defence aid in the form of grants, started in 1964, has exceeded 1.8 billion Deutsche Marks.
Turkey’s technical
aid to Bangladesh
Ankara (A.A.)-Turkey has provided $ 900,000 worth of technical aid to Bangladesh, and in addition will extend 1 billion TL worth of food and cement.
The Turkey-Bangladesh first term Joint Economic Commission (JEC) protocol was signed in Ankara by Treasury and Foreign Trade Deputy Undersecretary Namık Kemal Kılıç on behalf of Turkey and Planning M inistry Foreign Sources O ffice Undersecretary Enam Ahmad Chowdhury on behalf o f Bangladesh.
According to the information furnish ed, Bangladesh will inform the Turkish government about the projects for which she will use Turkey’s aid envisaged by the protocol.
C ontinued on P age 6
Sudanese
Communications
Minister in Turkey
A n k ara (A .A )- The Sudanese Transport Minister Dr.Tajelsir Mustafa visited his Turkish counterpart Ekrem Pakdemirli on December 22.
It has been disclosed that the guest minister asked for State to State credits worth $ 10 million to invest in com munications.
This request for credit which will be us ed for the repair and expansion of the ex isting telephone and postal networks in Sudan is under consideration.
Before his visit, the guest minister had noted that they were following the developments in the field of communica tions in Turkey closely and expressed his wish to cooperate with Turkey in building railways, shipbuilding and locomotive pro duction.
Communications Minister Pakdemirli expressed similar sentiments on improving relations between the two friendly and brotherly nations.
Sudanese Transport Minister Mustafa departed from Turkey on December 23.
The share o f EC countries in Turkey’s exports o f the last ten m onths dropped from 49.6 percent last year’s figure, to 42.5 percent.
According to data o f the State Institute o f Statistics, exports worth 3.9 billion dollars were made to EC countries within the January-October period last year whereas exports for the same period this year totalled 3.87 million dollars.
Meanwhile, the share of exports to Islamic and Socialist countries have in creased. In respect to total exports, the share o f the Islamic countries rose from 27.8percent to 31.6percent and the share o f Socialist countries from 4.3 percent to 6.6 percent.
Exports to EC countries recorded as of the end o f October rose by 28 percent in comparison to the same period last year and reached a total 4.8 billion dollars. Last year’s total exports am ounted to 3.8 billion dollars. Within the same period imports from Islamic countries decreas ed by 9.7 percen t and those from Socialist countries increased by 5.5 percent.
A t the end o f ten months, imports from the Islamic countries and Socialist countries amounted to2.2 billion dollars and 895.7 million dollars, respectively.
★ ★ ★
A seminar "Developments in the Agricultural Economy o f Turkey and the World” and on “Turkey-EC Relations" organized jointly by Ankara University and the Office o f Soil Products, was held between December 19-23.
The General Director o f the Office o f Soil Products, A hm et Özgüneş during his talks at the panel announced that a TV documentary was being prepared to pro mote Turkey in Europe.
★ ★ ★
The 28th General Board Meeting o f the Cyprus Turkish Chamber o f Commerce has convened in Lefkoşe. The President o f the Chamber, Mustafa Yıldırım said that the economy o f the country was im proving with each year and that the Turkey-TRNC economic cooperation had begun bearing fruit.
Declaring that the support extended to the commercial sector had initiated rapid growth in the tourism sector, Yıldırım added that these developments automatically lead to progress in the agricultural and industrial fields.
