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

REVUE DE PRESSE~PRESS REVIEW~BERHEVOKAÇAPÊ~RNISTA
STAMPA.DENTRO DE LA PRENSA~BASIN ÖZETÎ
Turkish DailyNeivs .
SAnJRDAY.1UNE 24.1995
Turkey removes. .
Netherlands from'red
list' of arms suppliers
'Iinprovements in' cooperation
against terrorism' prompts. .
'Ankara's decision as 'Dutch
:àre keen' tosell frigatesand
marine aircraft to.Turkey
By Ümit Enginsoy
. 'TurlcishDailyNews . .... .
. ANKARA- Turkey said on F~dal thatit had remoyed
the Netherlands from a "red lIst .of arms supplymg
.countries from which Anka~a. h~4 pl~dged not to buy
.\tèäponf\ltie to rows' ôVe't the' Kurilishlssue. .. •
.. ,.1~)(éyi ànd' th.e.'Neth~rlands. h~Vël~ache~. lin~~oye~
'ments ln cooperation against terronsm, . a semor Türkish
'diplomatic source said.. . , . " . .
. . "Our decision (to take the Netherlands off the ~ ~st)
is. an outcomè.of these im'provements/' the.Turkish
'source said, without elabOrating. ..' .' "
'The announcement follows a senes of technical meet-.
:ings between TurkiSh and Dutch teams t~ increase coop;
eration in J!ghtin~theout!awedi:Kurd~staIl 'Yorkers '.
Party, or PKK.,which is.wagmg a.separatist war n,t southeäs~m::l~n.APrili6ii
wôùld stop all.new military
purchases from the Netherlands hi res,p!)nseto the Dutch.
government's po~cy towards 'aK~rdi.sh governinent-inexile
establishedln The ,Hague e.arher In t!te month. ..
. The Netherlands said at the time thaUts.legal system
did not provide any méài1Sofban~ingthe. meeting by
separatist Kurds as long as theydId not VIolate Dutch
laws.
'.
.. But analysts now suggest that the Netherlands, which
has apparently eaSed its stance in Turkey's favor, may
nave promised that such a Kurdish meeting would not
'take place in that COUntryagain. " . . .
Défense sourcessaid the Netherlands is keen to take
'part in Turkey's two major defense projects to acquire.
frigates and. marine aircraft for its navy. ''This situation
is'likely to have prompted the Dutchto mend ties with
~theTurks," one source said., . .' . .
". Turkey plans to buy eight frigates, a deal wQrth
between $2 billion and $3 billion, and the contenders
)nclude companies from the Netherlands, the United
:States, Germany, Britain, France. Canada and Spain. .
Ankara also plans to purchase at least five marine air:
craft and the Dutch Fokker wants to win the deal.
Turkey's April ban did not cover equipment.already
ordered from the Netherlands. The Dutch were supplying
Turkey with casings for grenades. and electronics for
radar, defense sources said.
. Turkey also boughtmilitarygoodsworth about $22
. inillion, mainly parts for tanks, from the Netherlands
between 1987-and 1994, according to Reuters. , '.
. Turkey's red list now includes Switzerland, Sweden,
Austria, South Africa and NATO-allies Norway and
Denmark, which all have banned arms exports to Ankara
in criticism of Turkish policies on the Kurdish issue. . .
Turkey DOwincludes the Netherlands on a "yellow.
list". of countries from which arms purchases are "nol
stable." These states are considered on a case-by-case
basis for participatipn in military ten.ders an~ procurements.
Other countries'on theyeIlowhst are Fmland and
NATO-allies Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg. .
Ankara also recalled its ambassador in The Ha~e in
an angry reaction to the Kurdish presence 10 the
Netherlands. But Turkish diplomatic sources said ambassador
Zeki Çelikkol' s return is now imminent in the light
of the positive developments.. .'. .,
.The TurkS and the Dutch have ties that go hack for ,
c~n~ries and they had be