Anadolu Agency: News in English, 00-12-27

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ANADOLU AGENCY

NEWS

27 DECEMBER 2000 Wednesday

CONTENTS

[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCAN

[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCAN

HURRIYET (LIBERAL)

TURKISH SOLDIERS DUE TO MIDDLE EAST
The Turkish soldiers who undertook important missions in Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo is now expected to intervene in the Middle East, which is the ''bleeding wound.''

EID AL-FITR PRESENT TO PINAR SELEK
Pinar Selek, who was being tried on charges of being a suspect of the bomb attack on the Misir Shopping Mall in Istanbul in which seven people had died and who was in prison for two and a half years, was released from the prison upon a report which said that the explosion in the shopping mall resulted from a LPG canister. Selek was released from the prison at 5.30 p.m. on Tuesday.

MILLIYET (LIBERAL)

LAST TACTIC OF OCALAN
Abdullah Ocalan, the head of the terrorist organization, changed his tactics due to the sensitivity of the public. The lawyers of Ocalan will file lawsuits to oppose to the trials of the members of the terrorist organization PKK who are being tried on charges of traechery. If the decision of the lawsuits are positive, the head terrorist will also benefit from it.

SABAH (LIBERAL)

ALSO, EROL EVCIL BENEFITS FROM AMNESTY
Erol Evcil, who was claimed to be the man behind the Nesim Malki assassination and who was in Kartal prison, also benefitted from the law on conditional release and suspension of punishments. The case in which Evcil was being tried on charges of making uncorrect statements, was suspended for five years.

CUMHURIYET (LEFT)

TELEPHONE DIPLOMACY OF CEM
Turkey continues the diplomatic efforts it has launched to accomplish the Middle East peace process. Foreign Minister Ismail Cem talked with the officials of Palestine, Israel, the U.S. and Egypt on the phone and said that the sides should exert a special effort to reach a compromise. Cem underlined that the sacred places will be among the priorities of Turkey in an agreement reached in the region.

RADIKAL (LEFT)

CAR FALLS ON A LAKE, KILLING THREE
A car overturned and fell on a lake in Akcaabat township of northeastern Trabzon province, killing three people while 18 people were injured in a traffic accident in Tortum township of eastern Erzurum province.

ORTHODOX PEOPLE CONVENE IN IZNIK
The leaders and the representatives of the World Independent Orthodox Churches held Christmas ritual in the Hagia Sophia Church in Iznik township of Bursa province. Three representatives from 15 independent churches and 12 patriarchs attended the ceremony. Bartholomeos, the Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarch, prayed in Turkish and Greek language in the religious ceremony and celebrated the Eid al-Fitr of the Muslims.

YENI BINYIL (LIBERAL)

HOT WATER, CENTRAL HEATING SYSTEM AND ELECTRICITY PRESENT IN F TYPE
The Justice Ministry said that the problems faced in the heating of the F type prisons were overcome, adding that the news saying that the electricity was cut in these prisons did not reflect the truth. A statement of the Justice Ministry said that 348 inmates had been transferred to Edirne F type prison, 339 to Kocaeli F type prison, and 338 to Sincan F type prison so far.

TURKIYE (RIGHT)

ERBAKAN APPLIES FOR SUSPENSION OF EXECUTION OF HIS SENTENCE
Necmettin Erbakan, the last leader of the banned Welfare Party (RP), applied through his lawyers for the suspension of the execution of his imprisonment. Mehmet Ener, the lawyer of Erbakan, went to the Ankara Court Hall on Tuesday and applied to the prosecutor's office for the suspension of the execution of the one-year imprisonment of Erbakan.

ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)

-TEXTILE EXPORTS FROM SOUTHEAST INCREASE 34.1 PRECENT
GAZIANTEP - The textile exports from the Southeastern Anatolia Region increased 34.1 percent to 149 million 695 thousand U.S. dollars in the first eleven months of 2000.

The region exported 111 million 558 thousand U.S. dollar textile in the same period last year.

Adil Konukoglu, the Chairman of the Southeastern Anatolia Textile and Raw Materials Exporters' Union, told A.A correspondent on Wednesday that 78 million 332 thousand U.S. dollar machine-made carpet, 59 million 813 thousand cotton, synthetic and knitted textile, 1 million 831 thousand towels, and 9 million 719 thousand U.S. dollar plastic bags were exported from the region between January and November 2000.

Konukoglu said that the region mainly exported its textile products to Kazakhstan, Romania, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Italy, Belgium, Greece, France, Algeria, Russia, Israel, Azerbaijan, the U.S., Germany, Portugal, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Australia and Sweden.

-INTERNATIONAL SABIHA GOKCEN AIRPORT TO BE INAUGURATED
ISTANBUL/KADIKOY - The International Sabiha Gokcen Airport will be inaugurated in January 2001.

Officials of the Airport Management and Aviation Industries Inc. told A.A correspondent on Wednesday that three flights to Ankara are planned to be held every day after the airport starts operation and that almost ten flights to Antalya, Bodrum, Dalaman and Izmir are planned to be held every day in summer.

The officials said that the airport will be opened to air traffic in the new year.

Stating that a total of 15 shops will be opened in the airport, the officials noted that the tenders for the ten shops in the international flights terminal and five in the domestic flights terminal were concluded.

The officials said that a souvenir shop, a market, a bank, a boutique, a cell phone shop, a rent a car office, a newsagent's shop, and a cell phone rent office will be opened in the international flights terminal of the Sabiha Gokcen Airport.

The tenders for six restaurants in the airport will be concluded in the following week, the officials added.

The airport is built on 655 hectares of land. The international flights terminal can provide services to 3 million passengers while 500,000 passengers can utilize the domestic flights terminal a year.

The airport is equipped with advanced security systems.

A total of 400 policemen will work in the airport which is the second international airport of Istanbul and 19th of Turkey.

-SUPPLEMENTAL RESERVE FACILITY CREDIT OF IMF TO BE
DEPOSITED IN ACCOUNT OF TREASURY ON THURSDAY
ANKARA - The supplemental reserve facility credit provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to Turkey will be deposited in the account of the Treasury on Thursday.

A total of 2.8 billion U.S. dollars of 10.4 billion U.S. dollar loan will be extended to Turkey on Thursday.

The total of the supplemental reserve facility credit will be provided to Turkey in portions within a year. Within this framework, two portions worth of SDR 867.6 million (about US$1.1 billion) will be extended on January 20 and February 20, and four portions worth of SDR 578.4 billion (about US$ 750 million) will be granted on March 15, May 15, August 15 and November 15.

Despite these, Turkey can withdraw almost 280 million U.S. dollars every three months within the scope of the Stand-By agreement.

The repayments of the credits provided by supplemental reserve facility credit are foreseen to be paid within one and a half years after each portion is released.

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved on December 21 the third and fourth reviews of Turkey's economic program, which is supported by an IMF stand-by credit. The Board said that the decision would enable Turkey to draw an amount equivalent to SDR 443.4 million (about US$577 million) immediately under the credit as originally approved on December 20, 1999.

The Board had also decided to provide additional resources under the stand- by credit available under the Supplemental Reserve Facility (SRF) in the amount of SDR 5.8 billion (about US$7.5 billion), or 600 percent of Turkey's quota1 in the IMF, to alleviate balance of payments difficulties stemming from the recent financial crisis.

-TAJ MAHAL, GREAT WALL OF CHINA AND CHITCHEN ITZA ARE TOP
THREE CANDIDATES IN NEW SEVEN WONDERS OF WORLD VOTING
ANKARA - The Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China and Chitchen Itza are the top three candidates in the new seven wonders of the world voting.

Although Turkey ranked the first in the voting breakdown by country with 31.5 percent, the Hagia Sophia is not among the top three candidates.

The Hagia Sophia is ranked among the 23 candidates chosen in the voting organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in the web-site ''www.new7wonders.com''

India with 14 percent followed Turkey in the voting breakdown by country. Mexico was the third in this list with 12.3 percent.

The Taj Mahal came the first among the seven wonders of the world with 10.5 percent while the Great Wall of China ranked the second with 9.5 percent. The Chitchen Itza came the third with 9.0 percent.

The new seven wonders of the world will become definite in the end of the year.

The candidates in the voting are the Great Wall of China (China), Taj Mahal (India), the Potala Palace (Lhasa), the Old City of Sana'a, Tibuktu (Mali), the Hagia Sophia (Turkey), the Roman Colosseum (Italy), the Aachen Cathedral (Germany), the Eiffel Tower (France), the Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italy), the Doges Palace (Italy), the Statue of Liberty (the U.S.), Alhambra (Spain), the Versailles Palace and Park (France), Statues of Easter Island (Chili), the Kremlin and Red Square (Russia), the Pyramids at Chitchen Itza (Mexico), the Church of La Familia Sagrada (Spain), Sydney Opera House (Australia), the Golden Gate Bridge (the U.S.), the Empire State Building (the U.S.), Machu Picchu (Peru), Angkor Wat (Cambodia).

The former seven wonders of the world were the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria.

-BLUE STREAM PROJECT
ANKARA - The 501-kilometre long pipeline which has been constructed as the Turkey part of the Blue Stream Project was welded.

The pipeline between Samsun and Ankara built within the framework of the Blue Stream project which will transport natural gas from Russia to Turkey, was welded.

Sources said on Wednesday that the the ongoing hydrostatic test in the 300 kilometre long Corum-Ankara part of the pipeline is expected to be completed on January 15 while the construction of the pipeline between Corum and Samsun will continue.

The 501 kilometre long pipeline in Turkey is targetted to be constructed until April 2001, the sources noted.

The sources stated that the construction of the gas station which is foreseen to be built in Samsun province of the Black Sea Region which is the first place that the natural gas will arrive, is expected to continue until August 2001.

The pipeline which will be 1,200 kilometres long is expected to cost 3.4 billion U.S. dollars. A total of 376 kilometres of the pipeline will be constructed under the Black Sea.

The Italian SAIPEM will undertake the construction of the pipeline under the Black Sea. The company has already produced 30 percent of the pipelines that will be used beneath the sea.

A total of seven kilometres of pipeline are expected to built beneath the sea a day.

The natural gas in Russia will be transported to Samsum by the pipelines constructed under the Black Sea. The natural gas which will reach Samsun harbour will be transferred to Ankara.

Under the Natural Gas Purchase and Sale Agreement signed between Turkey and Russia, 500 million cubic metres of natural gas will be transported to Turkey at the beginning. This amount will be increased to 16 billion cubic metres in 2007.

The project is foreseen to be completed on September 30, 2001.

-A TOTAL OF 49 MILLION FISH PRODUCED IN A FISH FARM IN ELAZIG
DIYARBAKIR - A total of 46 million fish was produced in a fish farm in Keban township of eastern Elazig province in a decade.

Yasin Celayir, the State Water Works (DSI) Acquacultural Products Deputy Director and Acquacultural Products Engineer, told A.A correspondent on Wednesday that the biggest fish farm of the Middle East and the Balkans is situated in Keban township.

Celayir said that 8 million 182 thousand fish was produced in 20 pools in the fish farm in 2000.

A total of 46 million 98 thousand fish has been produced in the farm since 1990, Celayir noted.

Celayir added that the fish produced in the farm are released to the dams, lakes, ponds, rivers and brooks in the regions to contribute to the economy and to prevent the fish reserves from extinction.

-THY DIRECTOR GENERAL BOLAYIRLI:
-''DESPITE ALL GIANT LEAP FORWARDS, THY'S LOSS
IN NINE MONTHS WAS AROUND 14.6 TRILLION TL''
ISTANBUL - Yusuf Bolayirli, the Director General of Turkish Airlines (THY), said on Wednesday that despite all the giant leap forwards, the loss of Turkish Airlines (THY) in the first nine months of 2000, was around 14.6 trillion Turkish liras (TL).

Bolayirli told A.A correspondent that despite the negative developments, the THY carried 1.5 million more passengers in 2000 when compared with the targets for 2000.

The most important factor which affected the THY was the increase in oil prices, Bolayirli said.

Bolayirli noted that the most important development for the THY in 2000 was the launching of privatization initiatives and that results are expected to be gained in privatization initiatives until March 2001.

Stating that 12,532 people are working in the THY, Bolayirli said that they will not dismiss employees from the THY within the framework of the privatization initiatives.

Bolayirli pointed out that they plan to serve 13 million passengers in 2001.

Noting that the THY has 73 aircrafts, Bolayirli said that two Boeing 737- 800 type planes will be added to the fleet of THY.

Bolayirli noted that they plan to fly also from the International Sabiha Gokcen Airport but that they can arrange direct flights from this airport at the first stage.

-PREMIER ECEVIT:
-''THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO CLAIM THAT EVERYBODY SHOULD BE RELEASED
FROM THE PRISONS. BUT, I DO NOT THINK SO''
ANKARA - Premier Bulent Ecevit said on Wednesday that there are people who claim that everybody should be released from the prisons but he does not think so.

Touching on the discussions that the Constitutional Court may broaden the scope of the law on conditional release, Ecevit told reporters that the equality is not a mechanical process.

When asked what Turkey's place in the foreign policy and economy in 2001 is, Ecevit said, ''Turkey's importance in the world gradually increases. A very important foreign assistance was extended to Turkey following the last economic crisis. Turkey has an inflation problem, imbalance in the wages. We will try to solve these problems. We will try to overcome the imbalance in the wages by the law we passed from the parliament before the holiday if we can find resources. Increase in wages is our prior duty.''

Ecevit continued, ''besides this, we have some internal problems. But, we are dealing with these problems. My target for 2001 is broadening of village-sites. A delegation from Mesudiye visited me in recent days. They informed me about what has been done in Mesudiye. I hope the village-site will be constructed in spring or no later than the summer. That village- site will be an example for other villages and be beneficial to the development of Turkey.''

When asked about the discussions that Abdullah Ocalan, the head of the terrorist organization will apply for benefitting from the law on conditional release, Ecevit said, ''the equality concept was brought to the agenda. There are people who claim that everybody should be released. But, I do not think so. Equality is not a mechanic process. A view that all the inmates are equal cannot be a concept. There are amnesties which can and cannot be accepted by the public. I hope that if applications are made to the Constitutional Court, the members of the Court will take this reality into consideration.''

Responding to another question, Ecevit said that more than 200 laws, most of which were reforms, were passed from the parliament in eleven months.

When reminded about the rumours saying that somebody pushed the button, Ecevit said, ''I did not say that. One among you asked whether or not somebody pushed the button and I said maybe. I did not have any other information.''

-JUSTICE MINISTER TURK:
-''WE THINK OF CHANGING WHOLE OF TCK''
BAFRA - Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said on Wednesday that they think of changing whole of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).

Turk told reporters that the experts of the Justice Ministry concluded their works regarding the amendment to the TCK and that the draft law was submitted to all the ministries, judicial organs, universities and the Turkish Bars Union.

After these organs express their views regarding the draft law, the draft law will be given its final shape and be submitted to the Council of Ministers, Turk said.

Turk noted that if the Council of Ministers approves the draft law, the draft law will be submitted to the parliament and the whole of the TCK will be rectified.

When asked whether or not the scope of the amnesty will be broadened, Turk said, ''application was made to the Constitutional Court in 1991 regarding the temporary articles of the Anti-Terrorism Law and these articles were cancelled. Of course, when the articles were cancelled, those who applied to the Court and those who were within the scope of the articles benefitted from the law. But, the Constitutional Court took some other decisions. The equality principle cannot be applied when a different situation regarding the importance and quality of the crime occurs and that the equality is valid for those who are in the same situation. The legislative branch can make different implementations regarding those who are in different situations.''

Touching on the Article 125 of the TCK, Turk said, ''by touching on the Article 125, the opposition parties are exploiting the feelings of the mothers of the martyrs. As it is known, Abdullah Ocalan, the head of the terrorist organization, was sentenced to capital punishment under this article. This article sentences people who try to separate a part of the territory of the country to establish another country to punishment. The Constitutional Court took a decision in 1992 and said that the crime mentioned in this article was different and to this end, the legislative organ could make a different implementation. The last law passed from the parliament excluded those who were convicted under the Article 125 from the scope of the amnesty.''

Turk continued, ''the Constitutional Court will take the former practices into account when giving a decision. Equality principle is not valid in the execution. Because the punishments given for the crimes are different and the execution of the crimes are different.''

''For example, fine is considered as sufficient for some crimes while imprisonment, heavy imprisonment, life imprisonment and capital punishment are foreseen for some other crimes. The execution of these crimes are also different from each other. To this end, the principle of equality is not valid in execution. The issue should be evaluated as a whole. The Constitutional Court will give its decision when an opposition to the law is brought into its agenda,'' Turk added.

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