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

REVUE DE PRESSE-PRESS REVIEW-BERHEVOKAÇAPÊ-RwISTA
turkish daily news, January 10, 1994
STAMPA-DENTRO DE LA PRENSA-BASlN ÖZETi
r----------
According to PM, Anny launched operation into Syria and it did not
Military discharges frozen just this once but may befrozen again
Terrorism to end both in summer and fall of 1994
ruary, and March, terrorist activity decreases
(thanks to winter) only to escalate
later on. This vicious circle shall not be
repeated this year. That's why we made
the decision. They told me at the MGK
meeting. Then I realized that we needed
experienced personnel to defeat terrorism
and that therefore we had to extend military,
service. .
'Our sons will serve for three more
months. What counts is that we should
finish terrorism off in 1994. We will never
let the PKK (outlawed Kurdistan
Workers' Party~ pull itself too,ether. A
three-month declSlon to freeze dlschan!es
was taken during the Motherland Pa~rty
(ANAP) government as well when no determined
struggle against terrorism was
waged. This decision is not somethino extraordinary,
but there is a very important
reason for its implementation. We did this
to defeat terrorism," she argued.
Answering a reporter's question on
whether the decision would be extended
for another term, Çiller said: "Extensive
studies are under way at the MGK and
the Defense Ministry. But I think we will
manage to deal with (terrorism) with this
single one. (The decision) will not be extended
a~ain."
Refemng to dates when terrorist activity
will end, Çiller uttered statements confli~ting
wi~h those made by other state of"'
ficIals. ChIef of Staff Gen. Dogan Güre~
and Defense Minister Mehmet Gölhan
haveboth claimed that PKK terrorism
will be finished at the end of winter at the .
latest whereas Çiller said it would end
both in the summer and in the fall of
1994. "The public demands that we wipe
out ~errorism. Take ~ha~ever you want,
soldIers, taxes, but finIsh Il, they say. This
has been a vicious circle for the past decade.
In the summer and fall of 1994 we
will eradicate the problem of terrorism
from Tu~key's agenda," the prime ministerprorrused.
She further claimed that inflation and
unemployment were two other problems
that would be wiped out in 1994.
Aydlnllk, Gündem.'
Çiller makes confusing Soldiers ~isturbed .
statements on terrorism
By Kemal Bale.
Turkish Daily News
ANKARA- The latest statement made
.by Prime Minister Tansu Çiller on terrorism
an~ security have once again confused
rrunds. t\ccording to the prime min-
Ister, the TurkIsh armed forces has indeed
launched a cross-border operation into
Syrian territory. but it would be wrong to
qualify it as a cross-border operation. She
says the governmental deciSIOn to freeze
all Army discharges was taken just for
this once but adds that the efforts are currently
~nder way at the National Security
CouncIl (MGK) and Defense Ministry to
extend it if need be. Furthermore, according
to Çiller, terrorist activity in the
~outheast will cease to be a problem ,both
m the summer of 1994 and the fall. Previous
statements, however, said terrorism
would be eradicated in the winter at the
latest.
Statements made by Çiller to rel'0rters
Saturday on a plane bound for the Southern
province of Adana, where Çiller was
to attend a mass rally, clashed with those
made by other state officials.
Answering reporters' questions about
whether press reports that a cross-border
operation had been launched into Syria
were true, Çiller said "Some slipping mto
. other territory mioht occur." Yet she was
. prompt to add, "this should not be exaggerated
as an operation into Syria."
Her statement only added to the uncertainty
over whether such an operation had
been started.
Answering another question on whether
the governmental decision to freeze all
Army discharges would be extended
Ç,iller maintained her ambiguous attitude:
'Originally, 554,000 soldiers were needed.
We were 110,000 short of that number.
(With the decision) We have 97 perce.nt
of what we. ordinarily need. Why did
thIS happen? FIrSt, compulsory military
service was decreased from 18 months to
15. Yet the fight against terrorism in the
Southeast is continuing at full speed,"
Çiller said, "Every year, in January, Feb-
48
over service extensIOn
Mainstream press reacts mildly
to military service extension
Turkish Daily News
A~KARA- The government's surprise announcement
freezmg all a~y dlscha!$,es has met with varied reaction
from the Turlmh press. while big-sellino dailies have on
:he ..yhole, stuck t~ their ~n-of-the ~II, c~utious style of re-
Jortmg, left-Ieanmg daIlIes have dIrected harsh criticism
19airislthe decision ..
Prodd~d~by the military, the Turkish government on
fhursday froze all army discharges for three to fivé months
Jecause the fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers'
Party .(PKK) is expected to escalate in southeastern Turkey
lß spnng. .
Nearly 200,000 troops, paramilitary police, commandos
md village militiamen are engaged in the fight against the
.terrorists. The Cabinet decision covers privates and reserve
Jfficers. with retirements also halted.
. Prime Minister Tansu Çiller on Friday admitted the deci-
SIOn was taken following an "absolute demand" by military
circles. She came under severe criticism from the senior
members of her own True Path Party (DYP) for failing to
consultwith Parliament's National Defense Commission
(MSK) before the decision was reached by the cabinet.
Press reaction to the decision
All Turkish dailies on Friday came out with front page
bariners, disclosing that all army discharges had been frozen
by the government.
"The decision was kept secret," mass circulation Hürriyet
said. "The Cabinet decIsion was taken as far back as Dec.
20, 1993. Howe~'er it ~as classified top sec~et. It was approved
at summIt meetmgs at the }>resldenl1al Palace and
the Chief of Staffs Headquarters on Tuesday."
Sabah, another mass CIrculation paper, said the decision
\Vas the most vital part of a package of measures to ensure
voters' security in the Southeast in the upcoming nationwide
]ocal eJections of March 27. .
"Another factor was the latest developments in Russia
and Greece," it said. "The inimical foreign policy of Greece
towards Turkey has definitely played a role."
Curnhuriyet said the Cabinet decision dated Dec. 20 had
not been made public, in an attempt to prevent "panic" in
the Turkish military.
Leftist daily Aydmhk's banner read "Greatest operation of
the decade." .
"The military is on the verge of a major operation in the
Southeast. Sources close to the Chief of Staffs headquarters
say a gigantic pincer movement is in the offing. Military
.equipment is being sent to the region on an unprecedented
scale," it said. .
On Saturday, mainstream Turkish papers opted for a subdued
tone on the governmental decision.
Hürriyet quoted Prime Minister ÇilIer as saying that another
decision to further freeze discharges would not be taken,
and that the Cabinet had decided on the measure following
demands by the National Security Council and the Chief
of Staffs headquarters. .