Anadolu Agency: News in English, 00-08-16

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ANADOLU AGENCY

NEWS

16 AUGUST 2000

Wednesday

CONTENTS

[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCAN

[02] FIRE BREAKS OUT IN A CHEMICAL PLANT IN IZMIT

[03] TURKEY-LIBYA FRIENDSHIP GROUP'S CONTACTS

[04] FIRE IN A CHEMICAL PLANT IN IZMIT TAKEN UNDER CONTROL

[05] IN FIRST SEVEN MONTHS, 178.5 MILLION U.S. DOLLARS OF TEXTILE PRODUCTS EXPORTED FROM GAP REGION

[06] FEHRIYE ERDAL TO BE RELEASED

[07] FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF DEVASTATING EARTHQUAKE -PRESIDENT SEZER TO VISIT QUAKE-STRICKEN AREA

[08] SECURITY FORCES CAPTURE 104 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

[09] OFFICIAL BALANCE SHEET OF MASSIVE EARTHQUAKES ON AUGUST 17 AND NOVEMBER 12, 1999

[10] TWO MILLION PEOPLE MAKE DONATIONS FOR QUAKE SURVIVORS IN TURKEY AND ABROAD IN ONE YEAR FOLLOWING DISASTER

[11] CONDITIONAL RELEASE OF FEHRIYE ERDAL

[12] INTERNATIONAL NEMRUT FOUNDATION CHAIRMAN CRIJNS SAYS THEY ARE WAITING ORDER FROM CULTURE MINISTRY TO START WORKS TO RESCUE NEMRUT

[13] PRIME MINISTER ECEVIT:''MR. PRESIDENT HAS JUST COMPLETED ITS EXAMINATION ABOUT THE INFORMATION NOTE WE SUBMITTED TO HIM ABOUT KHK ON CIVIL SERVANTS''

[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCAN

HURRIYET (LIBERAL)

DALLARA:''YOU ENTERED CRITICAL STAGE IN INFLATION''
International Institute of Finance Chairman Charles Dallara said that Turkey took a critical turn in inflation and added that if ''the government, businessmen, the Central Bank and people work together, Turkey would defeat inflation.'' ''Turkey is one of the world's biggest economies. It is also a part of the western world. We are carefully monitoring Turkey and support the government's stability programme,'' he said.

MILLIYET (LIBERAL)

DEBATE ON KURDISH BROADCAST
Foreign Ministry stated that the Ministry does not have an understanding of encouraging others to ignore the existing laws. Huseyin Dirioz, the Deputy Spokesman of the Foreign Ministry reminded about the news titled ''Act Tolerantly for Kurdish Broadcast Told to 28 Governors in a Briefing on EU'' published in a newspaper. Noting that the news claimed that a Foreign Ministry official suggested the governors to be tolerant for Kurdish broadcast in a special briefing held by the Ministry of Interior for its own personnel, Dirioz said that the issue is being examined by the Foreign Ministry.

PRESIDENT SEZER TO RECEIVE PRIME MINISTER ECEVIT
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer will receive Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit at 11:30 a.m. Prime Minister Ecevit said, ''I believe that we would solve the problem. A sample of admirable reconciliation among three different political parties which formed the coalition government, can also be displayed between the President and the government.''

SABAH (LIBERAL)

CHANGE OF MILLENNIUM
After Sabanci declared that he will either close or sell some of his companies, other holdings also decided to restructure themselves. Koc, Dogus, Yasar and Eczacibasi announced that they will withdraw from certain sectors and focus on energy, telecommunication and internet fields.

CUMHURIYET (LEFT)

SECURITY FORCES IMPOUND 300 LITRES OF ACID ANHYDRIDE
Security forces impounded 300 litres of acid anhydride, one of the raw materials of heroin, in Silivri township of Istanbul. Security forces raided a house which was being used to produce illicit drugs in Kavakli village. In the house, 300 litres of acid anhydride was confiscated. Security forces launched a series of operations to capture owner of the house. Ali Riza Sen, 27, was taken into custody in the operations. Interrogation of Sen is underway.

CASE ON ''ISLAMIC JIHAD ORGANIZATION'' CONTINUES
The trial of 15 suspects within the framework of the case on ''Islamic Jihad Organization'' continued at the Ankara State Security Court (DGM) no: 1. The 15 suspects and their lawyers attended the court session. The lawyers of the suspects claimed that his clients came together for fishing, they were not members of any illegal organization and he requested their release. The court decided the continuation of the suspects' detention and adjourned the case hearing.

FIRE IN FERRY BOAT
A fire broke out in the ''Saraylar Postasi'' ferry which carries passengers and motor vehicles between northwestern Tekirdag province and Saraylar hamlet of Marmara Adasi township of Balikesir province in Marmara region while it was approaching the port. There were no immediate report of casualties in the fire but four lorries and two cars were totally destroyed.

RADIKAL (LEFT)

PEACE SUMMIT IN EPHESUS
Turkey will host the ''Peace Summit'' within framework of the ''Year 2000: The Year of Peace Culture and Anti-Violence''. The summit organized by the European Students Forum, will start later today in the ancient city of Ephesus, and continue till August 27 with the participation of academicians and journalists from all over the world.

YENİ BİNYIL (LIBERAL)

STATE MINISTER YILMAZ GIVES HOPE FOR ZEUGMA
State Minister Mustafa Y ilmaz said they will start the most comprehensive rescue operation ever carried out in Turkey to save Zeugma ancient city. He said they will set up a magnificent open air museum formed by the mosaics pulled out from the ancient city once the rescue excavations are finished.

TURKIYE (RIGHT)

SIX-MONTH PERFORMANCE OF IS BANKASI
First half net profits of Is Bankası, a leading commercial bank in Turkey, increased 55 percent to 211 trillion Turkish lira (TL) or 328 million U.S. dollars when compared to the same period of 1999. The bank said in a statement that its gross profits became 307 trillion TL and it allocated 68 trillion TL for tax reserves and 28 trillion TL for other reserves. The equity of the bank rose 283 percent to 1 quadrillion 451 billion TL and total assets increased 120 percent to 6 quadrillion 569 billion TL while deposits firmed 105 percent to 4 quadrillion TL.

ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)

RELATIONS WITH TURKISH REPUBLICS TO BE DISCUSSED
Turkey's economic relations with Turkish Republics which almost came to a stagnation point will be discussed at the 2nd Turkish Republics Businessmen's Congress. Attenders will discuss and will try to bring solutions to the shrinking economic relations with these republics as well as the problems faced by Turkish enterpreneurs in these countries.

[02] FIRE BREAKS OUT IN A CHEMICAL PLANT IN IZMIT

Fire-brigades are spraying foam on the fire at the plaster production unit of the factory.

Witnesses said they heard sounds like explosion inside the factory while fire-brigades are concerned about spread of flames to the paint tanks 15-20 meters from the factory.

[03] TURKEY-LIBYA FRIENDSHIP GROUP'S CONTACTS

Turkey-Libyan Friendship Group is continuing its contacts in Libya. During Tuesday night's meetings, Cem was invited to Libya and the two ministers agreed to meet in New York in September.

Shalgham, during the talks, noted that Libyan people have a special symphathy for Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit who has Libyan blood from his mother's side.

Noting that a power vacuum appeared in the Central Asian countries after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Shalgham said this led to the strengthening of some radical and fundamentalist trends. ''Only a secular Turkey can prevent these trends from getting more powerful,'' he said.

Stressing the importance of Turkey-Libyan relations, Shalgham said there could be some problems ''within the family'' but they could be overcome.

On the last day of their stay in Libya, Turkey-Libyan Friendship Group members will issue a joint decleration aimed to strengthen cooperation with their Libyan colleagues.

[04] FIRE IN A CHEMICAL PLANT IN IZMIT TAKEN UNDER CONTROL

Fire-fighting teams sprayed foam on the fire at the plaster production unit of the factory, and expended great effort to prevent the fire from spreading to the paint tanks in the Ser Chemical Plant.

Meanwhile, two workers who were poisoned by the smoke, were taken to hospital for medical treatment.

The D-100 motorway was re-opened to traffic after the fire was taken under control.

[05] IN FIRST SEVEN MONTHS, 178.5 MILLION U.S. DOLLARS OF TEXTILE PRODUCTS EXPORTED FROM GAP REGION

Officials at the Southeastern Anatolia Exporters' Union, told the A.A correspondent on Wednesday that in the first seven months of the year, they exported 77 million 534 thousand U.S. dollars in thread; 91 million 325 thousand U.S. dollars in cotton fabric; and 9 million 679 thousand U.S. dollars in various textile products.

The majority of the goods were exported to Syria, Belgium, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Jordan, Spain, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, the U.S., Romania, Israel, Portugal, Greece, France, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Azerbaijan, Russia, Germany and Sweden.

[06] FEHRIYE ERDAL TO BE RELEASED

The Belgian Interior Ministry said that it decided to release Erdal who had been on hunger strike for 24 days, due to health reasons.

Koen Dasse, the Spokesman of Belgian Interior Ministry, stated that the Ministry's decision to release her conditionally, was a temporary decision.

Dasse noted that works were underway to send Erdal to a third country.

He added that Erdal would be obliged to give a residence address in Belgium and to be under permanent surveillance of the Interior Ministry.

[07] FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF DEVASTATING EARTHQUAKE -PRESIDENT SEZER TO VISIT QUAKE-STRICKEN AREA

Later, President Sezer will attend inauguration of ''Kayseri District'' which will be constructed by Kayseri Municipality.

He will proceed to Yalova province after wrapping up his visit to Sakarya to visit ''Contemporary Life Prefabricated Huts Region''.

Later, President Sezer is expected to left Yalova for Golcuk, and pay a visit to the Fleet Commandership.

Sezer will be briefed by the Disaster Coordination Center officials in Kocaeli province.

He will also visit tent-cities in the quake-stricken area.

President Sezer is expected to return to Ankara later in the same day.

[08] SECURITY FORCES CAPTURE 104 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Iraqi people in Nurdagi township of southeastern Gaziantep province who had entered Turkey illegally.

The immigrants were taken into custody for violating the Turkish borders and the passport law.

Officials told the A.A correspondent that the illegal immigrants would be deported once the legal proceedings were completed.

[09] OFFICIAL BALANCE SHEET OF MASSIVE EARTHQUAKES ON AUGUST 17 AND NOVEMBER 12, 1999

Provinces Death Toll

--------- ---------
Duzce 270

Bursa 268

Eskisehir 86

Istanbul 981

Kocaeli 4,093

Golcuk 5,384

Sakarya 3,891

Yalova 2,504

Zonguldak 3

A total of 43,953 people were injured in the quake disaster.

The death toll, number of injured people and provinces affected by the 7.2- magnitude quake on November 12 are as follows:

Number of

Provinces Death Toll injured people

--------- ---------- -------------
Bolu 47 354

Akcakoca 2 96

Beykoy 9 120

Cumayeri - 39

Duzce 478 2,800

Konuralp 34 408

Golyaka 1 68

Gumusova - 34

Cilimli -

Kaynasli 314 544

Yigilca - 42

Zonguldak 3 189

Eskisehir 1

Adapazari 4 168

Kocaeli - 27

Golcuk - 34

Yalova 1 25

Death toll and number of injured people in the both disasters are as follows:

Number of

Death Toll injured people

---------- -------------
August 17 17,840 43,953

November 12 894 4,948

A number of dwellings and business places were damaged in the quake disasters.

According to the data, 285,211 dwellings and 42,902 business places suffered damages in the quake.

A total of 29 tent-cities erected in the wake of the disasters. 26,729 quake survivors benefited from the tent-cities.

A total of 42,616 prefabricated huts were assembled in Kocaeli, Sakarya, Bolu, Duzce and Yalova provinces in order to provide shelters for the quake survivors till construction of permanent dwellings is finalized.

Meanwhile, 1,071 earthquakes ranging from 2.5 to 5.9 on the Richter scale were recorded in the first six months of 2000. A total of 3,470 earthquakes occurred in 1999.

[10] TWO MILLION PEOPLE MAKE DONATIONS FOR QUAKE SURVIVORS IN TURKEY AND ABROAD IN ONE YEAR FOLLOWING DISASTER

A commission formed by inspectors was appointed to inspect the expenses. Commission members who started working in last September completed a big part of their research and they published two separate reports in the Official Gazette about their activities.

During this time, the commission scanned all donation accounts one by one. They found about 1,000 accounts at Ziraat Bankasi which were not transferred to the central account. In some cases, even the bank directors were not aware of these accounts.

More than 2 million people and institutions deposited around 152 trillion TL at 2,383 accounts in Turkey and 576 accounts abroad. This amount increased to 159 trillion TL with the interest.

Iller Bankasi took 1 trillion 925 billion TL part of this money in return of counseling services which caused reactions by the commission.

Iller Bankasi General Director Irfan Onal told A.A correspondent that the commission they took was completely in line with the legal regulations. ''The bank is an institution with a private budget,'' Onal explained. ''It meets its expenses without taking money from the Treasury. Our bank undertook to build all the infrastructure in the quake hit region. It is not possible to do this from our budget. We are taking a share in return of controlling and counselling services. This is a legal situation. Iller Bankasi sent its teams to the earthquake area immediately after the disaster and we spent much more than the commission we took.''

After the earthquake, many donation accounts were opened under the supervision of Turkish embassies in 87 countries. These banks sent 8 trillion 242 billion TL, 18 million 434,000 U.S. dollars, 3 million 947,000 German marks, 16 million 752,000 Belgian francs, 992 million 600,000 Japanese yens to the central account at Ziraat Bankasi. Donations which were collected in other countries were also sent to the central account through the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

Below are the countries which sent donations for quake survivors in Turkey: Germany, the United States, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Belarus, the United Arab Emirates, Bosnia- Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Algeria, Czech Republic, the People's Republic of China, Denmark, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Morocco, the Phillipines, Finland, France, South Africa, Georgia, Croatia, India, the Netherlands, Iraq, Britain, Iran, Ireland, Spain, Israel, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Japan, Canada, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Cuba, Libya, Lithuania, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Hungary, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Egypt, Mongolia, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Senegal, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sudan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Chili, Tailand, Tunusia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Jordan, Vatican, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, New Zealand, Yugoslavia and Greece.

[11] CONDITIONAL RELEASE OF FEHRIYE ERDAL

Lieven Vanmele, the Press Spokesman of Belgian Interior Ministry, said on Wednesday that Erdal would be released from the prison and kept under custody in a secret house.

Noting that they were seeking for a third country through the Foreign Ministry, Vanmele said that if they could find such a country, they would sent Erdal immediately.

Stressing that the third country would not be a member state to the European Union, Vanmele told reporters that negotiations were continuing with African countries and countries which had not signed extradition agreement with Turkey.

[12] INTERNATIONAL NEMRUT FOUNDATION CHAIRMAN CRIJNS SAYS THEY ARE WAITING ORDER FROM CULTURE MINISTRY TO START WORKS TO RESCUE NEMRUT

Crijns said they made important progress towards the implementation of a project which aims to save the big god sculptures which belong to Commagene Kingdom on top of the Nemrut Mountain.

The Nemrut Mountain is known as the place where the sunrise and sunset can be best watched in the world and UNESCO has added the mountain to its list of World Cultural Heritage. Crijns said they are waiting to be given a task to rescue this unique historical heritage.

Together with Crijns, German Archeology Institute Director and International Nemrut Foundation Restoration Project Archeology Department Chairman Prof. Herals Hauptman also attended the meeting in Ankara.

Crijns said after struggling for three years, they have come to a very important point to save Nemrut. Noting that there are hundreds of people visiting Nemrut to watch the sunrise and sunset, Crijns said they are waiting for the order of the Culture Ministry to start the project which will help to leave the Nemrut to next generations.

''As the International Nemrut Foundation, we are determined to save the Nemrut with financial support and scientific data. We were pleased to see the supportive attitude of the Culture Ministry in this field. We are resolved to save, restore and leave these objects to next generations,'' Crijns said.

Crijns said the equipments that are needed are available in Athens and added that they could start their works this year as soon as the legal procedures are completed. The rescue works are expected to last for a decade.

[13] PRIME MINISTER ECEVIT:''MR. PRESIDENT HAS JUST COMPLETED ITS EXAMINATION ABOUT THE INFORMATION NOTE WE SUBMITTED TO HIM ABOUT KHK ON CIVIL SERVANTS''

Ecevit pointed out that Sezer will go to the quake region tomorrow and make observations there as it is the first anniversary of the Marmara quake, adding ''I can't say anyhing for the issue regarding the KHK for the moment.''

Prime Minister Ecevit pointed out that when the President completes his examination, he will act according to his own appreciation.

When asked whether or not he repeated the reasons verbally to the President regarding the submission of the decree to the Presidential office for the second time, Ecevit said ''yes we did that in a degree, but we didn't enter into the details.''

''Did the President explain you his reservations?'' asked a journalist to Ecevit, who said that ''please don't insist on the details.''

''We didn't discuss the time. Certainly Mr. President will complete his studies and announce it to the public when he reaches a certain result. He will also inform the cabinet about it.''

''Mr. Sezer told me that he can meet with me anytime. I told him that I didn't focus on that. I briefly stressed the urgency of the situation regarding the KHK,'' Ecevit said.

When asked whether or not the Council of Ministers meeting will be open to the press or not, Ecevit said that ''a detailed information will be given in the opening of the cabinet meeting. Besides a comprehensive book was prepared. It will be submitted to you, too. Later the cabinet will hold its regular meeting. The agenda of this meeting will be the quake.''

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