Anadolu Agency: News in English, 01-02-11

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ANADOLU AGENCY

NEWS

11 FEBRUARY

2001 Sunday

CONTENTS

[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCAN

[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCAN

HURRIYET (LIBERAL)

EARTHQUAKE IN TOKAT
A minor earthquake jolted Tokat province in the Black Sea Region on Saturday. Officials of Bogazici University Kandilli Observatory Center and Seismology Institute said that an earthquake measuring 3.7 on the Richter scale was recorded in Erbaa township of Tokat on Saturday morning.

MILLIYET (LIBERAL)

ECEVIT: ''IT IS NOTHING TO TAKE AS SERIOUS''
When departing from the Prime Ministry, Premier Bulent Ecevit said that allegations that genocide was made on the Orthodox Greek people during the War of Independence were brought to the agenda in recent days. Mentioning the Greek decree regarded with announcing September 14 as genocide day, Ecevit said, ''a sensible person does not take this as serious. That the Greeks oppressed the people during their occupation of Anatolia is a reality known by everybody. It is nothing to take as serious.''

SABAH (LIBERAL)

PEOPLE FEARED OF EARTHQUAKE IN VAN
An earthquake measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale jolted Ercis township of eastern Van province on Saturday night. The earthquake which was felt in Ercis, Van and the surrounding townships caused panic among citizens. People rushed into streets following the earthquake. There were no reports of casulties in the earthquake.

CUMHURIYET (LEFT)

POLICE TAKES 10 PEOPLE INTO CUSTODY PROTESTING F-TYPE PRISONS
Police took 10 people into custody on Saturday as they were protesting F- type prisons in front of Galatasary High School in Istanbul. The relatives of the inmates, who gathered in front of the High School at 12:00 local time, wanted to make press release. Police teams intervened the group and detained 10 people.

RADIKAL (LEFT)

FARMERS WAIT FOR RAIN
Officials said the meadows and pastures would be negatively effected if it did not rain till April throughout Turkey. The officials also said there was not risk for the vegetables and the fruits at the time being.

TURKIYE (RIGHT)

94 KG GUNPOWDER SEIZED IN KAPIKULE
A total of 94.3 kilograms of gunpowder was seized in Kapikule Border Gate. A statement said on Saturday that the customs officials searched a vehicle driven by a Bulgarian citizen who wanted to enter from Bulgaria to Turkey through the Kapikule Border Gate on Friday afternoon.

The statement noted that the customs officials found gunpowder hidden in the vehicle.

ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)

Ertugrul Yalcinbayir, the Parliamentary Textile Commission Chairman, said, ''we want to take concrete steps in this respect. We will also meet with the textile businessmen in Adana and Kahramanmaras following our meetings in Bursa.''

DANGER OF DROUGHT
The little quantity of precipitation thoughout Turkey this year is expected to affect agricultural production this year. However, the precipitation, which is expected to take place in February and April, are expected to lessen the negative influence of drought.

Officials of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said the average precipitation in October 1 and November 30, 2000 are below the yearly average. As the precipitation is below the seasonal averages, it is expected to effect the productivity of grains and cereals.

Officials said there was not a risk at the moment for the production of vegetables and fruits.

-EARTHQUAKE IN ERCIS
ISTANBUL - An earthquake measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale jolted Ercis township of eastern Van province late on Saturday.

Officials of Bogazici University Kandilli Observatory Center and Seismology Institute said that the earthquake was recorded in Ercis at 10.42 p.m. on Saturday.

-MHP DEPUTY LEADER YAHNICI:
-''A PARLIAMENT CANNOT ADOPT GENOCIDE. THERE IS A LEGAL
MISTAKE RATHER THAN A HISTORICAL ONE IN THE FRENCH RESOLUTION''
ANKARA - Bulent Yahnici, the deputy leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), said on Saturday that a parliament cannot adopt a resolution on the so-called genocide on the Armenians.

Speaking at a panel discussion on so-called genocide on the Armenians and the French oppression, Yahnici said that genocide is an international word.

Yahnici continued, ''only the United Nations (U.N.) Security Council or the World High Court can adopt genocide. A parliament cannot adopt genocide. There is a legal mistake rather than a historical one in the French resolution. The issue is in fact a legal issue.''

''When we cannot explain Tasnak and Hincak to the international community how can we explain the Armenian issue to Europe? This is our deficiency. We have been under the information blockade of the western countries for 200 years. We will establish Armenian Institutes if necessary. We have to reveal the documents about the Armenian history in this way,'' Yahnici said.

Yahnici went on saying, ''this is not genocide. People had died in an ongoing war. This is the real incident. There was deportation. We will not deny this. How did the Ottomans treat the Armenians during the deportation? Who did the Ottomans send with the Armenians as escorts to prevent any damage or harm during the deportation? We have to explain these. We have to explain how many Armenians had been killed by the militants of Armenian gangs like Hincak and Tasnak.''

If the documents are announced, it can be proved that the Ottomans were in a war those days, Yahnici said.

Yahnici noted that it was a wartime, adding, ''we can say that there was not any genocide since it was a wartime.''

Agah Oktay Guner, a deputy of the Motherland Party (ANAP), said that the French are closely interested in the Caucasus because a country which wants to become a world country cannot ignore the Caucasus.

Guner noted that ten times more Armenians are living in Turkey when compared to France today.

''There are eight Armenian churches in France while there are 40 Armenian churches in Turkey,'' Guner added.

A retired general Hasan Kundakci said that Russia had used the Armenians to open to the Mediterranean during the history.

Kundakci noted that the Armenian issue was brought to the international agenda following the 1877-78 Russian War.

''The Armenian issue was brought to the international platform by the Berlin Agreement. After this, the Armenians started to get organized in Anatolia. The Tasnaks and Hincaks started to get armed rapidly. There were rebellions everwhere. They started to kill mass amounts of Turks. They made the real genocide. The genocide has to be planned. There was not any plan in the Ottoman Empire,'' Kundakci said.

Responding to questions of reporters about the so-called genocide allegations of Greece, Yahnici said, ''Turkish nation has never made any genocide. Genocide is an issue which is accepted by the U.N. Constitution and U.N. Convention in 1948. If we have to evaluate the incidents in accordance with the U.N. documents, we consider the incidents which were made against the Turks in Cyprus as a chain of incidents which can be named by a legal genocide term. But, the Turks staged a peace operation on Cyrus and there was a military battle there. War does not mean genocide. The conditions of genocide is defined internationally by the U.N. Convention. The only genocide accepted by the world is the one in Rwanda. The court sessions of this still continues.''

''If there are any Armenians or Orthodox Greeks who own a document on so- called genocide made by the Turks, they should apply to the organs which can accept genocide with their documents without losing any time. These places are the U.N. General Board, Security Council and the Court of Justice.''

-BRSB LIFTS OPERATION PERMIT OF IHLAS FINANS
-DECISION OF BDDK ISSUED IN TODAY'S OFFICIAL GAZETTE
ANKARA -Banking Regulatory and Supervisory Board (BRSB) on Saturday lifted the operation permit of the Ihlas Finans Organization Corp. which could not fulfil its commitments and could not solve its liquidity problem despite the measures that have been taken. The decision of the Authority was published in today's official gazette.

The decision of the BRSB said Ihlas Finans contradicted with the regulations it was subjected to, and transferred its assets to the group companies of its financiers.

The written statement said, ''the operation permit of the Ihlas Finans Organization Corp. has been lifted under the sixth paragraph of the Article 20 of the Banking Law as it could not solve its liquidity problem, and as it could not fulfil its obligations.

The statement said, ''under the law, as the conditions that were pointed out in the law were formed, when the operation permit of the private finance organizations were lifted, these organizations could not be transferred to the Savings Deposits Insurance Fund, and that they are closed down according to the general provisions.''

It was reported that the Ihlas Finans Organization Corp. had taken a series of decisions in the recent months to overcome the crisis experienced in the organization.

Ihlas Finans, which has been negatively influenced by the financial fluctuations experienced last November, issued a statement on January 23 and said it cancelled the business contracts of its 425 workers. The Organization said it also cancelled the contracts of its five deputy general directors on February 6.

Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB) Executive Board, on January 23, 2001, decided that the Ihlas Finans Organization Corp should announce its monthly financial data starting as of December 2000 through the Stock Exchange Chairmanship.

-PUBLIC WORKS AND HOUSING MINISTER AYDIN EXAMINES WOODEN HOUSES
ATLANTA - Public Works and Housing Minister Koray Aydin examined on Saturday the wooden houses which are planned to be built in Turkey.

Aydin, and Prime Ministry Chief Adviser Ahmet Vefik Alp attended a meeting in which the wooden houses were introduced.

Public Works Minister Aydin said that initiatives are intensified to prepare a project about the 1 billion U.S. dollar loan extended by the U.S. Eximbank to Turkey following the earthquake.

Within this framework, the wooden houses which are resistant to earthquake, fire and insects, are planned to be built in Turkey.

The U.S. Agriculture Department, American First Renaissance Ventures, Wickes International, and APA-The Engineered Wood Association support the project which aims at overcoming the dwelling deficit in Turkey.

The U.S. Agriculture Department and Aydin are expected to sign an agreement on a training program to introduce the whooden houses to the Turkish engineers and architects.

-SALE PROCESS OF ETIBANK INC. STARTS
ANKARA - The sale process of the Etibank Inc. which had been transfered to the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF), started on Saturday.

A statement of the Banking Regulatory and Supervisory Board (BRSB) said that the investors who are interested in the sale of Etibank can apply to the board until February 26.

The statement noted that the board will choose the investors who comply with the conditions required by the board until March 2.

The investors who are chosen to take part in the tender will be given time to prepare and submit their proposals until March 16.

The board will issue the tender specifications until March 30 by taking into consideration these proposals.

The investors will re-submit their bids in accordance with the specifications within five weeks.

The tender will be finalized within a week after the bids are re-submitted.

-MEDITERRANEAN SEAL OBSERVERS IN KARABURUN
KARABURUN - Volunteers from universities in Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir observed the Mediterranean seals in Karaburun for one week.

The Underwater Researches Association's Mediterranean Seal Research Group (SAD/AFAG) had earlier called on the university students to observe the Mediterranean seals living in the coasts of Karaburun.

Yalcin Savas and Ozan Veryeri, the Mediterranean seal researchers, informed the volunteers about the Mediterranean seals.

The volunteers observed the environment where the Mediterranean seals are living with technological deviced.

Students said that the environment of the Mediterranean seals which are under extinction danger, should be protected.

The Mediterranean seals scientifically known as Monachus monachus are a sea mammal living only in the costs of Turkey and Greece.

The total number of Mediterranean seals living in these coasts are almost 100.

The seals are under the threat of extinction due to unconscious fishing and the pollution in the sea.

The Mediterranean seals are living in the coasts of Foca, Karaburun and Bodrum-Yalikavak and around some Greek islands in the Aegean Sea.

-INADEQUATE QUANTITY OF WATER BRINGS THE DAMS
TO CRITICAL LEVEL
-FARMERS WAIT FOR RAIN IN FEBRUARY
ANKARA - As the precipitation is below the seasonal averages in the past three months, and as the temperatures are above the seasonal averages, the dams throughout Turkey reduced to the critical level. The farmers have the concern that drought will continue.

Officials of State Waters Works (DSI), the Meteorology officials, and other related non-governmental organizations said water level in dams reduced to the critical level, and noted that problems may appear in energy and potable waters in case temperatures continue the same in the coming days.

Officials said there would not be any problem in Istanbul due to potable water this year. They said approximately 50 million cubic meters water were given to the city from the dams in Istanbul every month.

However, the officials noted, Bursa province was not as lucky as Istanbul, adding that the water in Doganci Dam can only meet the water need of Bursa for one month. Officials said they expected precipitation next mont.

Fuat Sari, the Chairman of Bursa Chamber of Agriculture, pointed out that they were concerned over the danger of ''drought,'' noting that the farmers who produce vegetables and fruits in Bursa region would have difficulty if temperatures continue the same. Sari also said alternative agriculture could not be done in their region if drought is experienced.

The farmers in the Mediterranean, Eastern and Southereastern regions also have difficulty as the precipitation is in the lowest level this year.

Meteorology officials said Adana experiences the severest drought of the past 70 years. The precipitation which has fallen to the per square meters in the recent three months is lower than the past years' average.

-ANTALYA PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE FILES SUIT
RELATED WITH THE SHIP ACCIDENT IN KEMER
ANTALYA - Antalya Prosecutor's Office filed a suit against the ship accident which happened offshore Kiris region in Kemer township of southern Antalya province. The Georgian flagged cargo ship ''Pati,'' sank after slamming into the rocks and many people were killed.

Yusuf Hakki Dogan, the Antalya Prosecutor, prepared his indictment related with the ship accident.

The indictment called on up to five years imprisonment terms for Galanis Polizois, the Greek captain of the ship, Alexander Leontie, the second captain of the ship, and other crew members Kontis Athanasios, Belendi Lika, Ervin Zahaj Besnik Zahaj, under Article 381/1 ve 383/2 of the Turkish Penal Code on grounds that they ''caused deaths by endangering security of life and property in the sea.''

Besnik Zahaj, one of the suspects, is tried without detention, and other five suspects are in Antalya Prison.

The indictment said the ship sailed off from the Ashdod Harbour of Israel on December 12, 2000, and that it got 14 refugees to the ship from there. The indictment said the ship later got five Pakistanis to the ship from Limasol Harbour.

It said the ship ''Pati,'' came to the Antalya Free Zone Harbour on December 27, and that 58 Pakistani refugees were illegally taken to the ship.

The indictment said some techical failures were found in the ship before the ship sailed off, however the captain refused to stay and sailed off on December 31 around 23:00 local time. It said the ship slammed into the rocks at around 05:03 local time in the morning on January 1, and sank.

The indictment said officials of the harbour warned the Captain of the ship that it would be dangerous to sail off in bad weather conditions, however the captain did not consider the warnings. It said the Greek captain was the main responsible person and he endangered the lives of the people in the ship.

The indictment said other crew members helped the captain in taking the refugees to the ship illegally and did not fulfil their legal responsibilities.

The first hearing of the case will take place next month.

-GREEK CULTURE MINISTRY INVITES VIRTUOSO
BUKE TO INTERNATIONAL PIANO FESTIVAL
IZMIR - The Greek Culture Ministry invited virtuoso Burcin Buke to the International Piano Festival which will be held in Salonica between March 8 and 11.

Buke will take the stage together with the famous Greek, Italian, German, Bulgarian and Russian virtuosos in the festival.

The festival will be organized by the Synchrono Conservatory of Salonica and is planned to be made a traditional festival.

Buke completed 11-year education of Hacettepe University State Conservatory in five and a five years and was granted the right to become a lecturer at the age of 17.

Burcin Buke, who graduated from the Hannover Music Hochschule by ranking the first, won several awards in international competitions held in Italy, Britain and Spain.

Buke, who is 34 years old, is the soloist of the Izmir State Symphony Orchestra.

-EXPORTS OF AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR INCREASE 30.8 PERCENT IN JANUARY
ANKARA - Exports of automotive sector increased 30.8 percent to 230 million 919 thousand U.S. dollars in January 2001 when compared with January 2000.

The automotive exportation was 176 million 494 thousand U.S. dollars in January 2000.

The number of automobiles exported from Turkey increased 46.9 percent to 9, 395 in January 2001 when compared with January 2000.

Tofas exported 3,666 vehicles while Oyak Renault exported 5,729.

The by-industry exportation which was 82 million 845 thousand U.S. dollars in January 2000, climbed 73.1 percent to 143 million 457 thousand U.S. dollars in January 2001.

-ATATURK UNIVERSITY TURKISH-ARMENIAN RELATIONS RESEARCH
CENTER TO SET UP ''GENOCIDE DESK AND LIBRARY''
IN YESILYAYLA AND ALACA VILLAGES
ERZURUM - The Ataturk University Turkish-Armenian Relations Research Center will set up ''genocide desk and library'' in Yesilyayla and Alaca villages where the Armenian gangs made massacre.

Associate Professor Erol Kurkcuoglu, the Director of the Ataturk University Turkish-Armenian Relations Research Center, told A.A correspondent on Sunday that 500 thousand Muslim Turks were killed by the Armenian gangs in the Eastern Anatolia Region, particularly in Erzurum, between 1915 and 1918.

Kurkcuoglu said that they will set up a genocide desk and library in Alaca and Yesilyayla villages of Erzurum to explain the massacres made on the defenseless and innocent people.

The library and the desk will be opened on March 10 within the framework of the ceremonies that will be marked to commomerate the 83th anniversary of the massacre, Kurkcuoglu noted.

Kurkcuoglu added, ''historical documents, sources, books and pictures belonging to the Muslim Turks who were killed by the Armenian gangs will be available in the library. I think these will be important sources for the researchers. The existence of real documents together with the living witnesses of the massacre will be important for those who are interested in this issue.''

-STATE MINISTRY:
-''BLOOD, BLOOD SAMPLES AND FOODSTUFF ARE WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK
OF GOODS BOUND TO IMPORT PRE-PERMIT''
ANKARA - The State Ministry said on Sunday that the blood, blood samples and foodstuff are within the framework of goods bound to the import pre- permit.

The State Ministry issued a statement about the news reports that blood, blood samples and animal products which led to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) publicly known as the mad cow disease, were permitted to enter into Turkey through the customs gates without any controls.

The statement said that the imported fodder is controlled by the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Ministry while the Health Ministry is authorized and responsible for the control of the imported blood samples and drugs.

The Agriculture and Rural Affairs Ministry determine from which customs gates the live animals, animal products, and vegetables will be imported by taking into consideration the infrastructure and possibilities of its own rural institutions, the statement noted.

The statement pointed out that a this issue was notified to the concerned people.

In accordance with the current legal arrangements, if the importers who get the necessary pre-permits after the Health and Agriculture and Rural Affairs ministry make all the examinations about hepatite, HIV, and mad cow diseases and who show the necessary documents to the customs officials, it is impossible for the customs officials to prevent the import of the goods.

BSE, that is bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as the mad cow disease, is a progressive, lethal central nervous system disease of cattle. It is characterized by the appearance in neurons in the brain of affected cattle of vacuoles, clear holes, that give the brain the appearance of a sponge -- this is where the term spongiform came from.

-AFLATOXIN COMMITMENT FROM TURKEY TO EU
ANKARA - As the European Union (EU) started to implement ''rapid alarm system in food,'' in order to protect the consumers, control of aflatoxin became obligatory in nut and fig exportation.

Germany and Spain warned Turkey last year as level of aflatoxin found in nuts and figs, exported from Turkey, was high. Also, a delegation coming from the EU in connection with the issue, talked with the Turkish nut and fig exporters and producers.

Following meetings with the EU officials, Turkey committed to the EU that it would abide by the aflatoxin limits in nuts and figs that were exported. Within this scope, aflatoxin analysis became obligatory in nut and fig exportation starting as of the new year.

Despite the complaints of the exporters that there were not sufficient laboratories, and that exportation proceedings were slowed down as the analysis lasted long, officials of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Ministry pointed out that all the provincial laboratories were able to make this analysis.

The officials said the EU started to implement ''rapid alarm system in food, '' pointing out that, ''if there is a problem in a product in a country, this is announced very quickly. Thus, if there is problem only in nuts and figs that are exported to Spain and Germany, exportation to other countries which are the members of the union, are risked. The EU wanted aflatoxin analysis from us in order to prevent this. We have made commitments in order to prevent any risks in exportation. This is obligatory for the maintenance of exportation and not to damage the image of the Turkish products.''

Officials stressed that Turkey was the biggest country exporting dried figs and nuts adding that, ''the EU is dependent on Turkey on these two products. If it could make exportation from other countries, it would directly put ban on them as it did in aquacultural products. It brought strict rules instead of imposing bans. They said the quality of the products should be bettered, and that technical and hygenic conditions should be fulfiled in order to prevent problems in exportation.''

Officials pointed out that aflatoxin was a risk not only for exportation but also for all the consumers, adding that local controls were also intensified to minimize the rate of aflatoxin in food.

Aflatoxin is any of various related mycotoxins produced by a species of Aspergillus found as a contaminant in moldy grains and meals, as in rice and peanut meal, and suspected of causing liver cancer in humans and other animals.

-WORLD TOURISM CONTINUES TO RISE
ANKARA - The world tourism sector grew 7.4 percent last year to 695 million tourists, while total tourism revenues increased 4.5 percent to 476 billion U.S. dollars. At the same time, the number of tourists visiting Turkey last year increased by 39.6 percent, the World Tourism Organization (WTO) reported.

Turkey is the fourteenth on the list of the world's favorite tourist destinations. Last year, 9.623 million tourists visited Turkey, the WTO estimated. However, Turkish Tourism Ministry figures show that the number of tourists arriving in Turkey last year was 10.41 million.

The chart below shows the figures for the top 15 international tourist destinations.

Country Number of tourists Change (percent)

France 74,500,000 2.0

Spain 48,500,000 3.7

Italy 41,182,000 12.8

Britain 24,900,000 -1.9

Russia 22,783,000 23.2

Germany 18,916,000 10.5

Poland 18,183,000 1.3

Austria 17,818,000 2.0

Hungary 15,571,000 8.1

Greece 12,000,000 2.8

Portugal 12,000,000 3,2

Sweden 11,400,000 6.5

The Netherlands 10,200,000 3.2

Turkey 9,623,000 39.6

Ireland 6,720,000 5.0

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