From: trh@jack.sns.com (Al Trh)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.turkish
Subject: News 23 January 1993
Date: 25 Jan 1993 03:21:01 -0600
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
Reply-To: Turkish Cultural Program List <TRKNWS-L%USCVM.BitNet@pucc.PRINCETON.EDU>
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu

1/23 Five Die In Coffeehouse Raid

   DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (AP) -- Gunmen raided a coffeehouse in
this southeastern city on Saturday and killed five people in
an apparent feud between Kurdish groups, local sources said.
   An explosion at a nearby house 10 minutes later left
three people dead and two injured, said a police official
who spoke on condition of anonymity.
   Four gunmen burst into the coffeehouse frequented by a
Muslim extremist Kurdish group at about 4 p.m. and opened
fire with automatic weapons. Six people also were wounded.
   Police said the later blast was believed to be the result
of an explosive carried inside the house by children who
found it near the coffeehouse, police said. The gunmen also
left behind a Russian-made Kalashnikov rifle and a hand
grenade near the site of the attack.
   Police suspected the gunmen of belonging to the leftist
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been fighting for
self-rule in the area since 1984. It also fights extremist
Muslim Kurdish groups.


1/23 Austrians March For Foreigners

   VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- Tens of thousands of marchers
holding candles formed a "sea of light" Saturday to show
support for foreigners under attack from a rising right-wing
politician.
   Groups ranging from the Roman Catholic church to trade
unions, the Jewish community and the medical profession
urged Austrians to join the protest, which was similar to
several staged in Germany in recent weeks.
   Austria has not experienced the same wave of attacks
against homes for asylum seekers, Jewish memorials and
foreign residences as in Germany.
   But the increasing popularity of Joerg Haider has raised
concerns. Haider has ridden anti-foreigner sentiment to
impressive gains in regional elections over the past year.
   He charges that foreigners are cheating natives of jobs
and apartments in Austria, where the global economic
recession is beginning to take effect.
   Haider is now staking his political reputation on a
petition calling for a national referendum on foreigners
that would, among other things, impose quotas on the number
of "foreign" children allowed in schools.
   His Freedom Party begins collecting signatures for the
petition on Monday. Under Austria's constitution, he needs
100,000 signatures to force parliament to consider the
motion on tightening Austria's generous asylum policy.
   Haider launched his petition drive with a rally of 3,000
supporters this month and a speech that shocked many in
Austria for its overt and implied attacks on the Roman
Catholic church, intellectuals, Jews and other opponents.
   Many priests have warned parishioners not to support
Haider's petition, and singers, artists and intellectuals
throughout Austria have united against it.
   Most animosity to foreigners is directed against asylum-
seekers and Turkish and Yugoslav guest workers.
   Leading industrial organizations have been at pains in
recent days to prove that Austria's economy could not
survive without foreign labor.
   Vienna's famed State Opera, with its stable of foreign
talent, was one rallying point for Saturday's demonstration.
   The protest, billed a "sea of light" march, ended with a
concert on the Heldenplatz, the vast square where Adolf
Hitler was cheered by hundreds of thousands after annexing
Austria in 1938.
   Leading Austrian entertainers joined political and social
leaders on the stage before a crowd estimated at up to
200,000 by police. Chancellor Franz Vranitzky and Foreign
Minister Alois Mock also took part in the march.
   One speaker was Paul Grosz, the head of Vienna's Jewish
community, which numbered more than 200,000 before World War
II and now stands at about 6,000. He warned of a "newly
sprouting neo-Nazi-tinged hate of foreigners... ."
   Church bells rang throughout the city at 5 p.m. to signal
the crowds to light candles and torches.
   "It's a matter of principle to be here, to show that
people have learned something since the Third Reich," said
Guenter Eisenbuttel, 19, one of a group of trainee hospital
assistants gathered at the square.


1/23 Yerevan Pipeline Is Blown Up

   YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) -- Saboteurs blew up a gas pipeline
in Georgia Saturday that knocked out electricity, telephone
service and public transportation in Armenia's already
beleaguered capital, the government said.
   The Armenian government, which is at war with Azerbaijan,
said "unknown persons" blew up the pipeline in an region of
neighboring Georgia populated by Azerbaijanis.
   Some news reports, however, said an accident caused the
explosion.
   The predawn explosion destroyed five pillars supporting
the pipeline, the government said. The gas pipeline fuels
Yerevan's power plant.
   After the blast, the subway and electric trolleys came to
a standstill in the city of 1.7 million people. The city's
radio station and most phones went dead. Blocks of apartment
buildings went dark.
   Authorities decided to open a dam to allow water from
Sevan Lake, a national treasure, to restart a hydroelectric
plant, said government spokesman Vladimir Manoian. The plant
will produce enough electricity to keep bakeries and
hospitals operating while the pipeline is fixed, officials
said.
   The Armenian government met late Saturday to consider
introducing a state of emergency, the Georgian news agency
Iprinda Ltd. reported.
   Armenia and Azerbaijan are fighting for control of
Nagorno-Karabakh, a predominantly Armenian enclave within
Azerbaijan.
   Azerbaijan's blockade of rail traffic and fuel deliveries
to Armenia, combined with wars in Georgia, have severely
disrupted Armenia's economy. There is no heat in the city
and power blackouts are common.
   All but three of Armenia's 360 industrial facilities are
closed and schools and universities have been shut down for
the winter.
   Sporadic fighting and artillery duels were reported
Friday and Saturday in Nagorno-Karabakh and some areas of
the border separating Armenia and Azerbaijan.
   Azerbaijan's defense ministry said the Armenians lost two
tanks and three armored vehicles in the clashes, the
Interfax news agency reported.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.turkish