From: trh@jack.sns.com (Al Trh)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.turkish
Subject: haberler / news--Part 2
Date: 22 Aug 92 03:19:00 GMT
Reply-To: Turkish Cultural Program List <TRKNWS-L%USCVM.BITNET@forsythe.Stanford.EDU>


 said, so officials are focusing on ways to attract 
 foreign capital to restore output, strengthen the 
 energy industry and regain lost oil export 
 markets.
 Officials said they understand that foreign 
 investors feel constrained by the unconvertible 
 ruble and the old legal regime governing property 
 and investment.
 ''We understand that the problem of the 
 convertibility of the ruble has not yet been 
 resolved,'' Konoplyanik said, but he noted that 
 when it comes to oil ''foreign investors are much 
 more interested in obtaining compensation for 
 their services not in rubles but in 
 kind...particularly in oil, which is our main 
 convertible commodity today.''
 He said Russia has 25,000 idle wells 
 representing a loss of 30 million tons of oil, 
 part of a 15 percent yearly drop in production, 
 which is now pegged at 400 million tons annually 
 and dropping.
 Production from the Soviet Union, the world's 
 biggest producer, peaked at about 628 million tons 
 in 1988, Konoplyanik said. Most of that crude was 
 Russian, but Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan also have 
 significant oil.
 ''We will try to attract sources of foreign 
 financing...to purchase some kinds of equipment 
 that could be used to rehabilitate this stock of 
 wells and reduce the downfall of production we are 
 now witnessing,'' Konoplyanik said, adding that 
 these short- and medium-term projects should yield 
 results in three to five years.
 A longer term project of eight to 10 years is 
 designed to attract ''foreign companies in the 
 exploration...and then development of new possible 
 deposits '' he said. ''Only then will we be able 
 to reverse the negative trend in this country.''
 ''We are preparing a number of fields for 
 international auction,'' said Nikolai Lisovsky, an 
 energy official in charge of exploration and 
 development.
 Russia may not restore oil production to peak 
 levels, but these efforts - combined with 
 increased energy efficiency and improved refining 
 capacity - may serve to revitalize the industry 
 enough to make up for lost production, Konoplyanik 
 said in an interview.
 Russia also is seeking new technology to get at 
 known deposits of heavy oil that remain in the 
 ground, said Iskander Yusupov, a Tatarstan 
 official working with the Russian government and 
 German organizers of a major oil and gas 
 exploration trade fair slated for the Tatarstan 
 region capital, Kazan, east of Moscow in late 
 October and early November.
 ''This is the first major oil show in the heart 
 of the oil region,'' said Jens Schuemann, who 
 represents the German organizers and predicted 
 that some 200 companies would take part, nearly 
 half from North America, to establish contacts 
 with eager energy officials in Russia.
 
   BUS ACCIDENT IN WESTERN TURKEY KILLS 13 
 PEOPLE
 ANKARA (AUG. 17) - Thirteen people were 
 killed and four injured when a mini-bus and a 
 truck crashed between the cities of Afyon and Usak 
 Monday, the Anadolu news agency said.
 One of the vehicles was travelling too fast and 
 overtook incorrectly, the agency said.
 
   TURKISH GOVERNMENT TO SEND PEACE DELEGATION 
 TO ARMENIA
 ANKARA (AUG. 18) - Turkey is to start a new 
 peace initiative between Armenia and Azerbaijan 
 and a fresh attempt at improving its own relations 
 with Armenia by sending a delegation to Yerevan, 
 the foreign ministry said Tuesday confirming a 
 press report.
 The daily Hurriyet said a delegation from 
 Ankara headed by the foreign ministry's Deputy 
 Secretary of State Bilgin Unan would go to the 
 Armenian capital Saturday and Sunday.
 An official in Ankara said the government 
 wanted to ''take a look at Turkish-Armenian 
 relations and the Caucasian conflict from the 
 Yerevan side''.
 The Turkish delegation would seek to convince 
 Armenia that ''true detente'' between Ankara and 
 Yerevan could only develop if Armenian militias 
 withdrew from ''occupied territories'' in 
 Azerbaijan and friendly relations between the two 
 republic were established, the semiofficial news 
 agency Anadolu reported.
 
   AZERBAIJAN SAYS ARMENIA POISED FOR LARGE-
 SCALE WAR
 BAKU (AUG. 18) - THE PRESS 
 SERVICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN AND THE 
 INFORMATION-AND-ANALYSIS CENTRE OF THE REPUBLIC'S 
 DEFENCE MINISTRY TONIGHT RELEASED A JOINT 
 STATEMENT WHICH CITED THE DEFENCE MINISTRY'S 
 OPERATIONAL SOURCES AS SAYING THAT ARMENIAN ARMED 
 FORCES ARE PREPARING A LARGE-SCALE OFFENSIVE 
 AGAINST AZERBAIJAN.
 THE STATEMENT DELIVERED TO AZERINFORM A FEW 
 MINUTES AGO POINTS OUT THE LINES OF ASSAULT AND 
 BREAKTHROUGH PLANNED BY ARMENIANS ON THE AZERI 
 TERRITORY. THE OFFENSIVE IS EXPECTED TO BE 
 LAUNCHED ON THE BORDERS OF THE KAZAKH, TAUZ, 
 KEDABEK. KELBADJAR AND KUBATLI DISTRICTS. 
 SIMULTANEOUSLY THE ARMENIAN EXPEDITIONARY CORPS IS 
 GOING TO COUNTERATTACK IN THE AGERDI AND FIZULI 
 DISTRICTS OF AZERBAIJAN.
 THE STATEMENT SAYS THAT A LARGE-SCALE OFFENSIVE 
 BY ARMENIAN ARMED FORCES WOULD MARK THE BEGINNING 
 OF LARGE-SCALE WARFARE BY ARMENIA AGAINST 
 AZERBAIJAN.
 
   STRONG QUAKE MEASURING 7.5 ON THE RICHTER 
 HITS KIRGHIZIA REPUBLIC
 WASHINGTON (AUG. 19) - The U.S. Geological 
 Survey reported a strong earthquake early 
 Wednesday in the former Soviet republic of 
 Kyrgyzstan.
 Seismologists said a temblor measuring 7.5 of 
 the Richter Scale hit the central Asian republic 
 at 8:05 a.m. local time (10:05 p.m. EDT Tuesday 
 night).
 The quake was centered some 1,800 miles 
 southeast of Moscow, or 235 miles northeast of 
 Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
 Two aftershocks measuring about 6.0 on the 
 Richter Scale also hit the area.
 There was no early word on casualties or 
 damage.
 
   KURDISH REBELS USE ROCKETS, MORTARS IN ATTACK 
 ON SIRNAK, NEAR IRAQI BORDER
 ANKARA, TURKEY (AUG. 19) - Kurdish 
 separatist guerrillas used rockets and mortar fire 
 in an attack on Sirnak, near the Iraqi border, and 
 the authorities imposed a curfew on the town early 
 Wednesday, the state radio said.
 The attack on Sirnak, about 560 miles southeast 
 of Ankara, began late Tuesday when gunmen believed 
 to be linked to the Kurdish Workers Party, or PKK, 
 used rockets and mortar fire to hit a power plant, 
 plunging the town into darkness.
 The state radio quoted regional Gov. Unal Erkan 
 as saying four people were killed and 13 injured 
 in the attack when the rebels also hit 
 headquarters of an army brigade and of the 
 paramilitary rural police.
 Erkan, responsible for applying emergency laws 
 in 11 provinces where Kurdish separatists have 
 been active since 1984, said security forces 
 battled the rebels all night, and gunfire could 
 still be heard in the vicinity at 11 a.m. 
 Wednesday.
 He said curfew was imposed on Sirnak at 6 a.m., 
 because some of the rebels were believed to have 
 infiltrated the town and were hiding there.
 Turkish security forces have surrounded Sicnak, 
 he said. The local people were asked not to 
 provide shelter to the rebels and to inform the 
 authorities of any suspicious movements they may 
 witness.
 The governor, who usually works out of his 
 office in Diyarbakir, said he was not sure how 
 many separatist guerrillas were involved in the 
 attack on Sirnak, but that some of the mortars 
 used were heavy and had blown off the roof of the 
 police headquarters.
 Sirnak was the scene of a similar battle 
 between Kurdish rebels and security forces in 
 March, after demonstrators clashed with police in 
 the area during celebrations to mark Now Ruz, the 
 traditional Kurdish New Year festival.
 The PKK, a Marxist-Leninist group, has attacked 
 security forces and civilians in southeastern 
 Turkey repeatedly over the past eight years, after 
 saying they would set up an independent state for 
 Turkey's estimated 10 million Kurds.
 The government of Prime Minister Sulayman 
 Demirel boosted the number of troops in hxhe area 
 last year, amid reports the rebels had received 
 massive supplies of arms and ammunition from Iraqi 
 President Saddam Hussein.
 Recent reports from northern Iraq said the PKK 
 was attempting to halt the supply of food and 
 other relief material to Iraqi Kurds, passing 
 through Turkish territory. Sirnak is close to 
 Zakho, a northern Iraqi town through which much of 
 the relief passes.
 
   ARMENIA PULLS FORCES TO BORDER WITH 
 AZERBAIJAN
 BAKU (AUG. 19) - ARMENIAN RESERVIST UNITS 
 HAVE MOVED CLOSE TO THE BORDER WITH AZERBAIJAN ON 
 WEDNESDAY.
 THE UNITS ARMED WITH MODERN T-80 TANKS AND 
 SELF-PROPELLED ARTILLERY ARE HEADING FOR THE 
 KEDABEK DISTRICT OF AZERBAIJAN, ACCORDING TO 
 AZERBAIJANI DEFENCE MINISTRY INTELLIGENCE REPORTS.
 
   UPDATE: EIGHTY SLAIN IN CLASH BETWEEN TURKISH 
 COMMANDOS, KURDISH REBELS
 ANKARA, TURKEY (AUG. 19) - Fierce fighting 
 between Turkish commandos and Kurdish guerrillas 
 killed more than 80 people Wednesday after rebels 
 firing mortars and rockets attacked and occupied 
 part of a town near the Iraqi border in 
 southeastern Turkey, military sources said.
 The battle for Sirnak, 560 miles southeast of 
 Ankara, erupted when guerrillas from the Kurdish 
 Workers Party, or PKK, attacked the town late 
 Tuesday firing mortars and rockets, hitting a 
 power station and plunging the area into darkness. 
 Authorities then sent commandos to confront the 
 guerrillas.
 The ensuing battle was described as the worst 
 between the Turkish military and guerrillas of the 
 PKK since the Marxist-Leninist rebel group first 
 surfaced in 1984 and began a campaign to create an 
 independent state for the country's 10 million 
 Kurds.
 Commandos destroyed 22 houses in Sirnak after 
 determining the guerrillas had occupied the 
 structures and were using them as bases from which 
 to fire upon troops. The death toll in the 
 fighting was estimated at more than 80 by 
 Wednesday and was expected to rise further, 
 military sources said.
 Interior Minister Ismet Sezgin told reporters 
 armored vehicles entered the town Wednesday after 
 an all-night battle, and were roving the streets 
 to flush out the separatists.
 The Turkish state radio quoted regional 
 governor Unal Erkan Mak as saying a curfew was 
 imposed on the town at 6 a.m. Wednesday after the 
 rebels infiltrated during the night.
 By late afternoon Wednesday, sporadic shooting 
 was still going on in the town, and armored 
 vehicles were in the streets, Sezgin said. He said 
 the troops sealed off the town and no one was 
 allowed to leave or enter.
 Erkan told the state radio one policeman and 
 three soldiers were killed and 13 wounded in the 
 night attack, when the rebels also attacked the 
 headquarters of an army brigade and the local 
 gendarmerie, or paramilitary rural police.
 The governor said some of the mortars were 
 heavy and had blown off the roof of the 
 gendarmerie building. Erkan is responsible for 
 applying emergency laws in 11 provinces where 
 Kurdish separatists have been active since 1984.
 Turkish security forces had Sirnak surrounded 
 by early morning Wednesday and the local people 
 were asked not to give shelter to the rebels.
 Sirnak was the scene of a similar battle 
 between Kurdish rebels and security forces in 
 March, after demonstrators clashed with police in 
 several towns in the area during celebrations to 
 mark Now Ruz, the traditional Kurdish New Year's 
 festival.
 The PKK has attacked security forces and 
 civilians in southeastern Turkey repeatedly over 
 the past eight years after saying they would set 
 up an independent state for the country's 
 estimated 10 million Kurds.
 The government of Prime Minister Sulayman 
 Demirel boosted the number of troops in the area 
 last year after the rebels reportedly received 
 massive supplies of arms and ammunition from Iraqi 
 President Saddam Hussein.
 Recent reports from northern Iraq said the PKK 
 was attempting to halt the supply of food and 
 other relief material to Iraqi Kurds passing 
 through Turkish territory. Sirnak is close to 
 Zakho, a northern Iraqi border town through which 
 much of the relief passes.
 
   TURKEY PRESSES AHEAD WITH MAJOR RAILWAY 
 PROJECT
 ANKARA (AUG. 19) - TURKEY IS PRESSING 
 AHEAD WITH A DELAYED 4.2-BILLION-DOLLAR RAIL 
 PROJECT THAT WILL EVENTUALLY REDUCE THE TRAVEL 
 TIME BETWEEN ANKARA AND ISTANBUL TO TWO HOURS AND 
 LINK ANATOLIA WITH EUROPE.
 STATE PLANNING ORGANIZATION OFFICIALS SAID THAT 
 THE GRAND HIGH- SPEED TRAIN PROJECT  WILL BE 
 INCLUDED IN THE 1993 INVESTMENT PROGRAM AND IS 
 SCHEDULED TO COMPLETE  IN 1998.
 THE PROJECT REPRESENTS THE FIRST MAJOR 
 INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM INITIATED BY SULEYMAN 
 DEMIREL'S EIGHT-MONTH-OLD GOVERNMENT, WHICH HAS 
 SET A DEADLINE  OF SEPTEMBER 15 FOR FIRMS TO 
 SUBMIT BIDS AND FINANCING PROPOSALS.
 THE PROJECT  INCLUDES SIGNALIZATION, 
 ELECTRIFICATION AND CONSTRUCTION OF A 430-
 KILOMETER DOUBLE TRACK AS WELL AS CONSULTANCY, 
 ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT SERVICES.
 WORK ON AN 85-KILOMETER TWO-TRACK RAIL SECTION 
 BEGAN IN 1979 BUT WAS HELD UP BY LACK OF FUNDS.
 TURKISH CONTRACTORS ARE EXPECTED TO TEAM UP 
 WITH EUROPEAN OR JAPANESE FIRMS EXPERIENCED IN 
 HIGH-SPEED TRAIN SYSTEMS.
 IT IS ALSO POSSIBLE THAT SHARES IN STATE FIRMS 
 MANUFACTURING RAILWAY COACHES AND ENGINES WILL BE 
 OFFERED TO FOREIGN COMPANIES IN A BID TO SUPPLY 
 ROLLING STOCK.
 
   IRAQI AND TURKISH KURDS SUFFER FROM REBEL-
 CONTROLLED ECONOMIC EMBARGOES
 ISTANBUL (AUG. 19) - Caught in the middle 
 of a Kurdish guerrilla economic embargo, the 
 mainly Kurdish populations of northern Iraq and 
 south-eastern Turkey are struggling to make ends 
 meet.
 Five weeks ago, the Kurdistan Workers Party 
 (PKK) declared an embargo on all Turkish trade 
 with northern Iraq, and ever since then traffic at 
 the Habur border has come to a virtual standstill, 
 stopping imports of medical and food supplies to 
 northern Iraq, while ruining businesses in the 
 bordering Turkish towns.
 The reasons behind the move are two-fold. 
 Firstly, the Turkish guerrilla group  now looking 
 for a new home after being flushed from their 
 previous base in the Syrian-controlled Bikaa 
 Valley, wants to stamp its authority on the 
 region.
 Secondly, it's also in part a show of muscle to 
 the political parties in the region who may be 
 thinking of turning to the Turkish authorities for 
 help.
 What makes the situation even more acute for 
 the Iraqi Kurds is that they are already reeling 
 from the effects of two embargoes - one directly 
 targeted at them by the Iraqi government, and the 
 other an indirect consequence of the United 
 Nations sanctions against Iraq following the 
 Kuwaiti invasion in August  199  The two 
 main political parties in the Kurdistan region in 
 northern Iraq, have both spoken out against the 
 PKK embargo, which they say is threatening to wipe 
 them out.
 According to Mouhsin Dzai of the Mesoud 
 Barzani-led Kurdistan democratic party  the PKK 
 embargo is more "harmful than the ones imposed by 
 the U.N. or Saddam Hussein."
 Recognizing that the embargo was in part aimed 
 at showing the KDP and the other main Kurdistan 
 party Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) how 
 powerful the 10,000 strong rebel group really is, 
 Dzai stressed that it was not only the political 
 parties that were being hurt.
"But whole populations like the Kurds, 
 Assyrians, Turcomans and Arabs on both sides of 
 the border," are being hurt, he said.
 Iraq, which imports food and medical supplies 
 from Turkey and Jordan is also feeling the effects 
 of the PKK embargo, admits Medi Salih, Iraq's 
 minister of commerce.
 Customs officers at Habur, who normally work 
 around the clock, have in the meanwhile been idle 
 for the past five weeks. Business is also slow for 
 shops and banks.
 Prior to the embargo, trucks carrying food and 
 medicine from Turkey crossed through the Habur 
 border gate daily, returning later with supplies 
 of diesel fuel for use in Turkey.
 This exchange has been key in propping up the 
 economies of the Turkish towns of Sirnak, 
 Diyarbakir, Mardin and Gaziantep, the latter being 
 the commercial center of the region.
 Turkish exports to Iraq are crucial to this 
 region explains Ali Sahindal, chairperson of the 
 Southeastern Anatolian Exporters Association, who 
 said that between January and June exports to Iraq 
 were worth nearly $30 million - just about half of 
 the region's total exports.
 "This embargo has ruined the local people, but 
 nobody wants to talk about it," said a Sirnak 
 exporter, who added that in the last four days he 
 has done about $60 worth of business.
 Sakih Isikci, the vice-mayor of Cizre, noted 
 that ever since the Gulf crisis, the region has 
 been suffering economic problems. "The Cizre 
 region is dependent upon this road for economic 
 survival. Unemployment has caused people to begin 
 to emigrate one by one.
 "Cizre has been reduced to a ghost town. The 
 Habur border gate is completely shut down, not 
 even taxis can cross. There are trucks which have 
 been waiting here for weeks with nowhere to sell 
 their goods; the flour is starting to turn to 
 stone."
Newsgroups: soc.culture.turkish