Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

REVUE DE PRESSE~PRESS REVIEW~BERHEVOKAÇAPÊ~RIVISTA STAMPA~DENTRO DE LA PRENSA~BASIN ÖZETi
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Turkish Probe June 16,1995
Diplomatic Briefcase
FM Inönü: Terrorism
Ras Delayed Reforms
Foreign Minister Erdal Inönü was quoted last
week as saying that separatist terrorism against the
Turkish state has caused a delay in governmentplanned
democratization reforms. In an interview
with the Brussels-based daily France. Soir, Inönü
said Turkey was determined nevertheless to realize
the reforms, adding he believed major steps would
be taken before the end of June. Turkey and the
European Union agreed in princ:iple in March for
Ankara's planned customs union with the EU next
year. But the European Parliament, the body which
will make a final decision on the issue, urges
Turkey to democratize its regime first. Inönü also
said Turkey was using military methods only
against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or
PKK, and not targeting civilians in the country's
troubled Southeast where the PKK has been wag-
.ing a separatist war.
Armeniato Open
Damaged Nuclear
Plant
Risking a major human and environmental disaster,
according to experts, Armenia is said to be
going ahead with plans to open the Metsamor
nuclear power plant, which was seriously damaged
in an earthquake in 1988 and which is near that
country's border with Turkey. Reporting from
Moscow on Tuesday, the Anatolia news agency
said that Russian Prime Minister Viktor
Chernomyrdin would attend the opening ceremony
planned for June 19. Turkey has opposed the opening
of the plant, saying it is a safety hazard.
Ankara's position was conveyed to Armenian
Foreign Minister Vahan Papazyan two months ago
in Athens by Foreign Minister Erdal Inönü during a
Black Sea Economic Cooperation summit. Inönü, a
nuclear physicist, told reporters in Athens that
Yerevan could not operate the nuclear power plant
without the permission of the Vienna-based
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The
plant itself lies on a fault line and is only 10 kilometers
from Turkey. The 1988 earthquake, which seriously
damaged the plant, also killed an estimated
55,000 people in Armenia. Western countries
approached by Yerevan for help to reopen the plant
have refused all assistance.
Greek Cyprus Said To
Be 'On Course' for EU'
Greek Cyprus and Malta signed agreements on
Monday to help them prepare to be in the next
batch of countries to join the European Union when
it next opens its doors to new members.
Negotiations are set to start six months after the
end of a review of EU treaties, which is due to
begin next year, but could last for several months,
Reuters said. Greek Cypriot Foreign Affairs Minister
Alecos Michaelides and his Maltese counterpart
Professor Guido de Marco signed accords for 74
million European currency units (ECUS) ($96 million)
and 45 million ECUS ($58.5 million), respectively,
in loans and grants. The two ministers hailed
the commitment to a firm date for the start of talks
- even if the division of Cyprus into Turkish and
Greek Cypriot sectors has not been resolved.
"Today's agreements are a milestone in efforts for
Cyprus joining the community," Michaelides told a
news conference. Turkish Cypriot officials say the
Greek Cypriot application to join the EU cannot be
on behalf of the island and therefore reject the
application. They say they are also opposed to
Cyprus joining the EU before Turkey does .
Michaelides said he hoped the decision would give
impetus to finding a solution to the Cyprus issue.
"Our responsibility is not to analyze the past, but to
build the future... We are thrilled, excited and committed
to this process," Michaelides added.
Deported Amnesty Official
CIJII;msHe Was Denied Bights
Amnesty International representative Helmut
Oberdiek, who was deported from Turkey last week
under an order issued by the Interior Ministry,
claimed once back in Germany that he was denied
a lawyer and the right to make a telephone call during
his detention in Adana. Talking to the Turkish
Daily News from Germany by telephone, Oberdiek
said he was taken away by three plainclothes
policemen from his hotel room in Adana to be interrogated
.."They did not say I was being detained.
(They just said 'you have to come with us.' Then
they took me to the police department dealing with
aliens," Oberdiek said. "There they told me that it
was illegal for me to enter Turkey and I asked them
which authority had made this decision. They did
not want to tell me at first but later said it was the
Ministry of the Interior," he added. "I was just made
to wait in a room and was later taken to the department
dealing with terrorism. For eight hours we
argued with the policemen there. In other words. it
was not like being questioned. But they held me
responsible for all the mistakes made by European
governments," Oberdiek said. He added that his
personal belongings had been gone through separately
by every policeman there, saying these
included his notes. "My real concern is that those
whose names are in my notes may be in some way
threatened," he said.
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