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Anadolu Agency: News in English, 01-06-29Anadolu Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Anadolu Agency Home Page at <http://www.anadoluajansi.com.tr/>Anadolu AgencyANADOLU AGENCY NEWS 29 JUNE 2001 Friday CONTENTS
[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCANThese are some of the major headlines and their brief stories in Turkey's press on June 29, 2000. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their occuracy.HURRIYET (LIBERAL)GERMAN INTELLIGENCE: ''FP IS A DANGEROUS RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION''German Federal Intelligence which is charged with Germany's foreign and domestic security gave wide coverage to the outlawed Virtue Party (FP) and the Islamist Community National view (AMGT) organization in Europe in its report on 2000. The report indicated that the FP was a continuation of the outlawed Welfare Party (RP) and said the FP ''rejected Western understanding of democracy and other values, and it is based on a national and religious ideology shaped by anti-semitism.'' The report said that the FP's slogan of ''Fair Social System'' contradicted with democracy and freedom and aimed to set up a political, economic and social system based on Islamist law. A LIBRARY FOR EVERY POLICE STATION MILLIYET (LIBERAL)LETTER ENDS TELEKOM CRISISThe Telekom crisis which made the money markets nervous for 26 hours was solved after the correspondence between Deputy Prime Minister Husamettin Ozkan and State Minister Kemal Dervis. Transportation Minister Enis Oksuz and Dervis had a meeting at 7.30 a.m. but failed to reach an agreement about Turk Telekom's executive. Later, Ozkan asked Dervis to send a letter to Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit about the seventh name of the executive board, Dr. Murat Sezginer who was causing the conflict. Ecevit approved the appointment of Sezginer and the crisis was resolved. GOVERNMENT TRYING TO BRING TURKS' SAVINGS IN FOREING BANKS TO TURKEY The bill also includes measures to bring the savings of Turkish workers to Turkish banks. SABAH (LIBERAL)KUTAN: ''IF ERBAKAN WANTS ME TO STAY, I WOULD STAY''Leader of the outlawed Virtue Party (FP) Recai Kutan said ''If Erbakan wants me to stay, I would stay. If he wants me to go, I would go,'' at a meeting at Bilkent Hotel on Thursday. In his opening speech, Kutan said, ''We wouldn't be intimidated by party closures, we'll continue on our path. We should keep our unity within the party, this is what everybody wants.'' Former Hakkari Chairman who was dismissed from his post and who is a reformist was not allowed to enter the meeting hall. Biner said ''This is a big shame and shows how insincere they are when they call for unity.'' Nazli Ilicak who was one of the people who caused the FP's closure also attended the meeting. GERMAN INVESTMENT BANK GIVES SABANCI 167 MILLION EURO CREDIT CUMHURIYET (LEFT)FOREST ENGINEERS' CHAMBER REACT AGAINST BILL WHICH PROPOSES TO SELLTREASURY LAND Forest Engineers' Chamber and Construction Engineers' Chamber said that the bill which proposes to sell Treasury land would legalize the mafia and it would also cause the destruction of urban areas. Finance Minister Sumer Oral also agreed with these views. Forst Engineers' Chamber Chairman Salih Sonmezisik accused the bill for categorizing ''the most beautiful chesnut trees as non-forest areas'' which will cause the destruction of these forest areas. Forests are the future of all of us in a country like Turkey which is becoming a desert and they cannot be used to pay the debts of money syphoners.'' BAHCELI:''DERVIS' RESIGNATION WOULD BE FOR THE BENEFIT OF TURKEY'' RADIKAL (LEFT)BITTER REPORT FROM EUROPEParliamentarians Board of the Council of Europe, in a report it approved in Strasbourg on Thursday, decided to continue Turkey's ''monitoring process'' for a certain period of time. According to the report Turkey is not fulfilling its commitments on the human rights issue. The report also said the closure of the Virtue Party (FP) was upsetting and that Turkey should complete its prison reforms soon. TURK TELEKOM IN THE SAFE HANDS OF THE MILITARY TURKIYE (RIGHT)YILDIRIM JOINS MHPIndependent deputy from Ordu, Yener Yildirim joined the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) increasing the number of MHP seats in Parliament to 127. Yildirim had resigned from the True Path Party (DYP) on April 26, 2001. The DYP has 11 seats. INVESTIGATION TO OPEN AGAINST YENER DINCMEN ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)ECEVIT WARNS DERVISPrime Minister Bulent Ecevit warned Deputy Prime Minister Kemal Dervis about his conflict with Transportation Minister Enis Oksuz during the discussions about Turk Telekom's executive board. Without pronouncing Dervis' name, Ecevit said ''There are those who want to wear out the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and hurt the government. I hope the MHP would not fall into this trap.'' Ecevit underlined that harmony beween coalition members was essential and he thanked MHP leader Devlet Bahceli for doing his best not to hurt the harmony in the government. [02] AMERICAN PROFESSOR TO BE GIVEN AWARD OF TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRYNEW YORK, June 29 (A.A) - Prof. Pierre Oberling, an American citizen will be given the Turkish Foreign Ministry's plaque for his extraordinary contributions to Turkey and Turkish Cypriots at a ceremony that will be held in News York on Friday.Turkey's Permanent Representative Umit Pamir will present Oberling his plaque at 3 p.m. at Turkevi building in New York. Oberling carried out valuable studies to explain the rightful cause of the Turkish Cypriots to the world public opinion and he has a number of books and articles published on this subject. Oberling who was born in Strasbourg in 1929 was given awards before by New York Hunter College, Eastern Mediterranean University in Gazimagusa and Assembly of Turkish-American Associations (ATAA). Oberling is currently working on three books on the history and culture of the Turkish Cypriots. [03] CONSTITUTIONAL COURT TO DISCUSS CANCELLATION OF CERTAIN ARTICLES IN CONDITIONAL RELEASE LAW ON JULY 10ANKARA - The Constitutional Court will start debating the applications of a number of local courts to cancel certain articles of the Conditional Release and Postponement of Punishments Law on July 10, Tuesday.A report of 200 pages which has been prepared by three rapporteurs will be discussed during the hearing. The applications of Sandikli, Cankiri and Turgutlu civil courts will be debated first. [04] BELGIAN FOREIGN MINISTER MICHEL TO VISIT TURKEYANKARA - Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel will visit Turkey on July 2- 3 to have a series of contacts with Turkish government officials.Belgium will take over EU Term Presidency from Sweden on July 1. Therefore, Michel is expected to focus on matters concerning Turkey-EU relations during his contacts in Ankara. He will also tackle bilateral relations, regional and international issues during the meetings with Turkish officials. [05] BAR-NER:''I'M LEAVING TURKEY ONLY AS AN AMBASSADOR''ANKARA- Israeli Ambassador to Turkey Uri Bar-Ner who recently completed his post in Ankara which lasted for three and a half years has said that there was a lot to do to advance Turkish-Israeli relations and added that he would advise the new ambassador to work very hard.In an exclusive interview with the A.A prior to his departure from Turkey, Bar-Ner said he was ''leaving Turkey only as an ambassador''. He indicated that he had preferred to be appointed to Turkey when he had the chance to work in a European country since Ankara was an important capital and was a very good experience for foreign diplomats. The Israeli ambassador said he made several friends during his post in Turkey and he tried to help the earthquake survivors after the Marmara earthquake. Drawing attention to Turkey's secular government structure, Bar-Ner said that this was a very important quality of Turkey. ''I think the example in Turkey is the greatest reform of the 20th century. You are the only country which managed to live Islam and secularism at the same time,'' he said. When asked what he would advise to the new ambassador, Bar-ner said he would tell him to work very hard since there was a great potential between Turkey and Israel. He also pointed out that he had no diplomatic problems during his post in Ankara because of ''excellent'' relations with his country. Speaking about art and culture, Bar-Ner said he was very much impressed by the performance of ''Sultans of The Dance'' and noted that he thought the group was better than similar dance groups he had watched in Broadway. ''The performance tells about Turkey's history, folklore and people,'' Bar- Ner said and indicated that he was working on an organization to have the group perform in Israel. The next Isreali ambassador David Sultan will start his post next week. Sultan who was born in Egypt in 1938. After immigrating to Israel in 1949, he worked at Israeli Armed Forces like many Israelis. He served as the Israeli Ambassador in Egypt and Canada for four years in each country. Sultan speaks very fluent English, French, Arabic and Italian. He also speaks some Turkish and Dutch. The new Israeli ambassador will present his credentials to President Ahmet Necdet Sezer on July 6, Friday. [06] ANKARA DGM STARTS TRYING 24 SUSPECTS OF HOPE OPERATIONANKARA- Ankara State Security Court (DGM) Friday started trying 24 suspects who were involved in 22 violent incidents including the killings of Prof. Ahmet Taner Kislali, Prof. Muammer Aksoy and Dr. Bahriye Ucok. The suspects were caught during the ''Hope Operation'' which was started after the assasination of journalist writer Ugur Mumcu.Fourteen suspects, their lawyers, and Ankara Bar Chairman Sadik Erdogan attended Friday's hearing. Police took tight security measures before the hearing which was also watched by the relatives of the suspects. The indictment is proposing death penalty for suspects Ferhan Ozmen, Necdet Yuksel, Rustu Aytufan, Hakki Selcuk Sanli, Yusuf Karakus, Muzaffer Dagdeviren, Abdulhamit Celik, Fatih Aydin, Hasan Kilic, Abdullah Argun Cetin and Mehmet Sahin under Turkish Penal Code's Article 146. Other 13 suspects are facing prison sentence between four to 22 years. [07] SOUTH EAST ANATOLIA'S EXPORT TO TURKISH REPUBLICS DECREASESGAZIANTEP- South East Anatolia region exported 15 million 450,000 U.S. dollars worth of agricultural and industrial products to Turkish republics in the fist five months of this year with a 24.8 percent drop from last year's same period.The export revenues of Jan-May period of last year was 15 million 450,000 U.S. dollars. South East Anatolia Exporters Association's data shows that Turkey's export to Uzbekistan was the highest with five million 234,000 U.S. dollars. Machine woven rugs, cookies, cakes, chocolate bars, confectionary and flour were the most widely exported items. [08] PALANDUZ:''TOURISM POTENTIAL OF IZMIR IS NOT FULLY USED''IZMIR - Turkey Travel Agencies Association's (TURSAB) Izmir representative Haldun Palanduz has said that the faith tourism in Izmir which is rich in Christian, Jewish and Islamic values was not promoted sufficiently.Palanduz told the A.A that there were several churches, synagogues and mosques in Izmir and this city could reach the level of Antalya's tourism activity if these places were used for touristic purposes. Palanduz said the TURSAB was planning to ask for the Jewish community's support for the restoration of nine synagogues in Izmir. A report which is currenty being prepared will reveal the estimated cost of the restorations. He stressed that they also need financial support from the state since restoration works would have a high cost. ''We are in contact with religious communities. Both Christians and Jews are supporting our projects,'' he added. He claimed that there would be a jump in the tourism revenues of Izmir if the synagogs in the city were restored. ''There are 22 million Jews in the world. There would be a big flow of Jewish tourists to Izmir if we could restore these synagogues. Our contacts with the Jewish community show that at least 500,000 Jews would visit Izmir,'' he said. [09] OMANI FOREIGN MINISTER ABDULLAH TO VISIT TURKEYANKARA - Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs of Oman, will visit Turkey on July 1-3.The Foreign Ministry said that Turkish-Omani relations would be debated during the Omani minister's visit to Ankara. Abdullah will also discuss the current situation in the Middle East, regional and international issues with Turkish government officials. [10] TURKEY'S CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT FALLS TO 44 MILLION U.S. DOLLARS IN JAN-APRIL PERIODANKARA- Turkey's current account deficit from January to April fell to 44 million U.S. dollars, the Central Bank announced on Friday.The foreign trade deficit decreased 61.6 percent compared to the same period of last year and became two billion 88 million U.S. dollars. ''The principal reasons behind this development are a 7.7 percent increase in exports, a 20.7 percent increase in 'suitcase trade' (foreign tourists buying Turkish goods) and a 14.1 percent decrease in imports,'' the Central Bank said. The net revenues obtained from goods and services in Jan-April 2001 period increased nine percent to two billion 44 million U.S. dollars. Turkey's current trade deficit was three billion 186 million U.S. dollars in Jan-April period of 2000. [11] THERE ARE 59,500 TURKISH ENTERPRISES IN GERMANYBERLIN- Turkish Researches Center (TAM), based in Essen city of Germany, said on Friday that there were 59,500 Turkish enterprises in Germany as of the end of 2000.Yunus Ulusoy, the TAM Connection Offices Coordinator, who announced the results of a research that was made regarded with the Turkish enterpreneurs acting in Germany and other EU countries, pointed out that number of Turkish enterprises in Germany increased from 22,000 to 59,500 between 1985 and 2000. Ulusoy said average endorsement for each enterprise in Germany was 936,000 German marks, and that the annual total endorsement amount reached 55.700 billion German marks. He said the Turkish enterpreneurs provided employment to 327,000 people in Germany, and stressed that total investment amount by the end of 2000 reached 13.600 million German marks. Ulusoy said Turkish citizens, when compared with the EU citizens, have a higher consumption potential due to their young population structure. Ulusoy also said 1.998.534 Turkish citizens were living in Germany as of December 31, 2000. [12] STATE MINISTER DERVIS DUE TO SWITZERLAND, U.S. AND BRITAINANKARA- State Minister Kemal Dervis for Economy will attend the World Economic Forum in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, between June 30 and July 2, 2001.Releasing a statement, the State Ministry said on Friday that State Minister Dervis would hold contacts with Swiss Economy Minister, Tunisian Prime Minister, Moroccan Economy Minister, Romanian President and representatives of private sector during the forum which was expected to focus on new economic developments and approaches in the world. Dervis' contacts will focus on Turkey's new economic reform program and regional cooperation in Mediterranean. After wrapping up his contacts in Switzerland, Dervis will proceed to the U.S. on July 3. Dervis will sign Financial and Public Sector Adjustment Loan of 1.1 billion U.S. dollars, and Agriculture Sector Adjustment Loan of 600 million U.S. dollars with the World Bank. During his visit to the U.S., State Minister Dervis will hold meetings with International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and U.S. Treasury Department officials on the issue of foreign trade. After wrapping up his contacts in the U.S. on July 7, State Minister Dervis will pay a visit to British capital London between July 8 and 9. He will hold contacts with international finance institutions and investment banks, and inform them on Turkey's new economic program. Meanwhile, State Minister's scheduled visit to Salzburg, Austria, to attend the European Economy Summit Meeting between July 1 and 3, 2001; and to Brussels to meet with European Union (EU) Commission members did not take place in his new program. [13] TWO PEOPLE STEAL HISTORICAL WORKS FROM IZMIT MUSEUMIZMIT- Unidentified two people stole some historical works from the Ethnography Museum in northwestern province of Izmit on Friday.Sources told A.A correspondent that two unidentified people came to the museum at about 11:30 a.m., and rendered ineffective security official in the museum with their guns. They stole some historical works, and fled from the museum. A full investigation into the robbery is under way. [14] BALANCE OF PAYMENTS DEVELOPMENTS IN JANUARY-APRIL 2001 (1)ANKARA- The Central Bank issued a statement on balance of payments developments in January-April 2001 on Friday.The main points related to the balance of payments developments in January- April 2001 are summarized below: ''A-CURRENT ACCOUNT - the increase of export revenues by 7.7 percent, - the increase of shuttle trade by 20.7 percent, against - the decrease of import (CIF) expenditures by 14.1 percent. On the other hand, net revenues from other goods and services, as well as unrequited transfers, increased by 9 percent, amounting to 2,044 million U.S. dollars. As a result, the current account deficit decreased to 44 million U.S. dollars in January-April 2001, from a deficit of 3,186 million U.S. dollars in January-April 2000. 1-Foreign Trade Export (FOB) revenues, which had realized as 10,378 million U.S. dollars with the inclusion of shuttle trade amounting to 893 million U.S. dollars in January-April 2000, increased to 11,062 million U.S. dollars, with the contribution of shuttle trade of 1,078 million U.S. dollars in January- April 2001. Import (FOB) expenditures, including gold imports of 613 million U.S. dollars, had realized as 15,808 million U.S. dollars in January-April 2000. As for January-April 2001, the same item decreased to 13,150 million U.S. dollars, of which 250 million U.S. dollars was gold imports. Consequently, the foreign trade balance resulted in a deficit of 2,088 million U.S. dollars in January-April 2001, decreasing by 61.6 percent compared to a deficit of 5,430 million U.S. dollars in January-April 2000. . Jan-April . (million U.S. dollars) Change 2000 2001 (percent)Exports FOB 10.378 11.062 6,6Shuttle trade 893 1.078 20,7 Imports FOB -15.808 -13.150 - 16,8 Gold imports -613 -250 - 59,2 Foreign trade deficit -5.430 -2.088 -61,6 [15] BALANCE OF PAYMENTS DEVELOPMENTS IN JANUARY-APRIL 2001 (2)ANKARA - The Central Bank issued a statement on balance of payments developments in January-April 2001 on Friday.The main points related to the balance of payments developments in January- April 2001 are summarized below: ''2-Other Goods and Services Income, Expenditures and Unrequited Transfers: In January-April 2001, tourism revenues increased by 3 compared to January- April 2000, realizing as 1,192 U.S. dollars. Interest income increased by 27 percent compared to January-April 2000, realizing as 1,105 million U.S. dollars, while other goods and services income reached 2,811 million U.S. dollars, decreasing by 17.5 percent. As for the expenditure side of the above-mentioned items; it is observed that interest expenditures increased by 36 percent, while the tourism and other services expenditures decreased by 19 percent and 35.3 percent respectively. As a result, the realizations in these items in January-April 2001 were recorded as 2,358, 501, and 1,585 million U.S. dollars, respectively. During the same period, workers' remittances under the heading unrequited transfers materialized as 1,126 million U.S. dollars, decreasing by 23 percent. B-CAPITAL MOVEMENTS Regarding direct investments, in comparison with the same period of the last year, non-residents' net direct investments in Turkey increased by 1, 393 million U.S. dollars in January-April 2001, amounting to 1,912 million U.S. dollars, while residents' net direct investments abroad decreased by 248 million U.S. dollars, realizing as 292 million U.S. dollars. As a result, direct investments showed a net inflow of 1,620 million U.S. dollars. Borrowings through bond issues in international capital markets under portfolio investments recorded net borrowings of 2,787 million U.S. dollars in January-April 2000 and net repayments of 169 million U.S. dollars in January-April 2001. On the other hand, residents' security transactions abroad classified under security investments that had shown net sales of 50 million U.S. dollars in January-April 2000, have also resulted in net sales of 358 million U.S. dollars in January-April 2001. As for non-residents' security transactions, net sales of 124 million U.S. dollars and 3,218 million U.S. dollars were recorded in January-April 2000 and January-April 2001, respectively. Consequently, portfolio investments recorded a net inflow of 2,713 million U.S. dollars in January-April 2000 and a net outflow of 3,029 million U.S. dollars in January-April 2001. Long-term capital movements resulted in a net inflow of 482 million U.S. dollars in January-April 2000 and in a net outflow of 1,082 million U.S. dollars in January-April 2001. As for the sub-categories of this caption; long-term foreign exchange credit disbursements decreased to 3,329 million U.S. dollars, from 4,422 million U.S. dollars mainly due to the decrease of 799 million U.S. dollars in borrowings of the other sector. Repayments increased to 4,411 million U.S. dollars, from 4,163 million U.S. dollars, in January-April 2001. The last principal item under long-term capital movements, deposits with the Central Bank, which had increased in the amount of 223 million U.S. dollars in January-April 2000, has not changed in January-April 2001. As for the assets side of short-term capital movements, loans extended realized as 22 million U.S. dollars and 234 million U.S. dollars in January- April 2000 and in January-April 2001, respectively. Banks' foreign exchange holdings with foreign correspondents, which had decreased by 691 million U.S. dollars in January-April 2000, decreased by 2,033 million U.S. dollars in January-April 2001. As for the liability side of short-term capital movements, in January-April 2000, an increase was observed in the amount of 1,621 million U.S. dollars while 2,222 million U.S. dollars of decrease was recorded in January-April 2001. One of the principal items in this category, loans received by banks, which had shown a net disbursement of 481 million U.S. dollars in January- April 2000, recorded a net repayment of 923 million U.S. dollars in January- April 2001. In addition, in trade credits, which is under the other sectors, a net disbursement of 611 million U.S. dollars was observed in January-April 2000 while 788 million U.S. dollars of net repayment was realized in January- April 2001. As for the foreign exchange credits, which is also under the other sectors, net repayments of 266 million U.S. dollars and net disbursement of 238 million U.S. dollars were recorded in January-April 2000 and January-April 2001, respectively. As a result, in the periods indicated, loans received under the short-term capital movements- liabilities recorded a net inflow of 836 million U.S. dollars and a net outflow 1,463 million U.S. dollars, respectively. FX deposit accounts, which had shown an increase of 785 million U.S. dollars in January-April 2000, recorded a decrease in the amount of 759 million U.S. dollars in January-April 2001, mostly owing to the decrease in non-resident banks' deposit accounts opened with the resident banks. C-RESERVE MOVEMENTS [16] BANK EKPRES TRANSFERRED TO TEKFEN HOLDINGANKARA - The Banking Regulatory and Supervisory Board (BRSB) decided on Friday to transfer the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund's (SDIF) 99.46 percent of shares in Bank Ekspres to Tekfen Holding, a construction group with an investment bank, as of June 30, 2001.Releasing a statement, the BRSB said, ''the SDIF will transfer 99.46 percent of shares in Bank Ekspres on June 30, 2001 to Tekfen Holding. Bank Ekspres will be effectively merged with Tekfenbank.'' ''The buyer will merge the balance sheets of Ekspres and Tekfen banks in the short possible period after the transfer. No extra capital is expected to be transferred to the bank by the buyer. Etibank would take over the remaining Bank Ekspres shares. The buyer may not close branches or reduce staff numbers,'' it said. The statement added that Tekfen would have to pay 141 trillion lira (nearly 112,8 million U.S. dollars) in three installments until July 1, 2004 in payment against Bank Ekspres accounts with the fund. The BDDK took Bank Ekspres, Turkey's 49th-largest bank at the end of 2000, into receivership in October 1998. [17] TURKEY AND INDIA SIGN AGREEMENT REGARDING EXTRADITION OF CRIMINALSANKARA- Turkey and India on Friday signed an agreement foreseeing extradition of criminals.Indian Interior Minister Lal Krishna Advani and Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk signed the agreement. Justice Minister Turk, who spoke following the signing ceremony, pointed out that with the agreement, cooperation between the two countries would be further improved between the two countries. Turk said the agreement, signed between Turkey and India, gave facilities to the extradition of criminals, and noted that fight against crime could only be successful with international cooperation. Pointing out that there were ties between Turkey and India stemming from the history despite the geographical distance, Turk said Indian people supported the Liberation War which was started under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of Modern Turkish Republic. Turk said two agreements, which were earlier signed between the two countries, foreseeing judicial aid, continued without any problems. ''We hope that this agreement will take effect soon. It is clear that close cooperation between the two countries would be further improved with this agreement. We believe that this agreement will contribute to the development of bilateral relations and cooperation in fight against crime, '' Turk said. [18] 32ND INTERNATIONAL PHYSICS OLYMPIAD -308 STUDENTS FROM 65 COUNTRIES PARTICIPATE IN OLYMPIAD IN BELEKBELEK- The 32nd International Physics Olympiad started on Friday in Belek township of southern province of Antalya.A total of 308 students from 65 countries are participating in the olympiad organized by the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) in cooperation with the Middle East Technical University's (ODTU) Physics Department. The olympiad will last till July 6. Guest students will visit museums, historical and touristis places in Antalya. [19] NSC MEETING ENDSANKARA - At the monthly meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) on Friday, extension of Emergencey Rule (OHAL) in four provinces for four more months was considered appropriate.The statement released at the end of the meeting, said, ''the recent developments both in Turkey and abroad were taken up at the meeting. Extension of OHAL in in southeastern provinces of Diyarbakir and Sirnak and eastern provinces of Hakkari and Tunceli for four more months as of 05:00 p.m. on July 30, 2001, was considered appropriate. The NSC decided to notify the Council of Ministers about its opinion.'' ''The NSC was informed on the establishment of the Black Sea Naval Cooperation Task Group (BLACKSEAFOR) to develop cooperation among naval forces of Black Sea littoraly countries,'' it said. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit; General Huseyin Kivrikoglu, the Chief of General Staff; State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Devlet Bahceli; State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz; miniters who are members of the NSC; commanders of land, air, naval and gerdarmerie forces; and the Secretary General of NSC were in attendance at the meeting held under the chairmanship of President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. [20] PUBLISHERS OF ''FREEDOM TO THOUGHT 2001'' BOOK TRIEDANKARA - General Staff Military Court continued Friday to try 16 people including unionists, writers and actresses who published the book ''Freedom to Thought 2001'' for charges of turning people away from military service.Yavuz Onen, Sanar Yurdatapan, Salim Uslu, Yilmaz Ensaroglu, Lale Mansur, Atilla Maras and their lawyers attended Friday's hearing. Mansur, Uslu and Ensaroglu made their defenses at the beginning of the trial. All three suspects said military courts cannot be objective therefore declined to speak about the basics of the case. The indictment was prepared by the General Staff Military Prosecutorship against Sanar Yurdatapan, Zuhal Olcay, Prof. Huseyin Ali Nesin, Vahdettin Karabay, Cengiz Bektas, Siyami Erdem, Salim Uslu, Yilmaz Ensaroglu, Atilla Maras, Yavuz Onen, Husnu Ondul, Sadik Tasdoven, Etiyen Mahcupyan, Lale Mansur, Ibrahim Omer Madra and Erdal Oz. The suspects are facing two months to two years of prison sentence under Turkish Penal Code's Article 155. [21] PARLIAMENTARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO WORK TILL THEY COMPLETE THE DRAFT RESOLUTIONS ON THE AGENDAANKARA - Parliamentary General Assembly will enter an intense working before they recess, and they will complete the draft resolutions which are on the agenda. Group proposals of the coalition partners pertaining to the agenda was accepted in General Assembly. The parliament, if necessary, will work on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday till the draft resolutions on the agenda are completed.Turhan Guven, the True Path Party (DYP) Acting Group Chairman, who spoke after the proposals of the ruling groups for the working of the parliament, pointed out that the draft resolutions, which are brought to the General Assembly, became legalized quickly, claiming that most of those laws were wrong. Claiming that the laws were not issued for the people, Guven said, ''the laws you have issued return to the Parliament again, or rejected by the president after three months as they are not right.'' Recalling that there were laws foreseeing collecting new taxes, Guven said according to the additional letter of intent that was presented the the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the deficits would be overcome with the price increases that would be made to the public services. Guven said, ''we will leave you alone in your draft resolutions because your drafts don't include the nation. We will take a decision after thinking, and we will leave you alone.'' Proposal of the ruling groups was later accepted. According to this, the General Assembly would work between 14:00-24:00 local time. Here are the arrangements that were decided to be completed before the parliament recesses: -Prime Ministry not regarding extension of the Emergency Rule, -The draft resolution regarded with preparation of technical regulations pertaining to products, and its implementation, -The draft resolution foreseeing amendment to law regarding banning smuggling, -Two separate drafts regarded with the Treasury immoveables and sale of the agriculture areas belonging to the Treasury, -Construction Inspection Law Draft. [22] TOWARDS SEVENTH REGULAR CONGRESS OF ANAP -DINCERLER SAYS THAT HE WOULD RUN HIS CANDIDACY FOR LEADERSHIPANKARA - Vehbi Dincerler, a former deputy and a member of the Motherland Party (ANAP) Central Executive Board, said on Friday that he would run his candidacy for leadership at the Seventh Regular Congress of the ANAP.The congress will be held between August 4 and 5, 2001. [23] EMERGENCY RULE IN FOUR PROVINCES EXTENDED FOR FOUR MORE MONTHSANKARA - The Parliamentary General Assembly adopted the Prime Ministry note about extension of the Emergency Rule (OHAL) in four provinces for four more months for the 43rd time, on Friday.The OHAL in southeastern provinces of Diyarbakir and Sirnak and eastern provinces of Hakkari and Tunceli will be extended for four more months as of 05:00 p.m. on July 30, 2001. Speaking at the General Assembly, Interior Minister Rustu Kazim Yucelen said, ''OHAL has been implemented since 1987 in order to struggle against separatist terrorist activities which escalated in 1984. As a result of effective measures and security forces' successful operations, separatist terrorist organization which was supported by some internal and external circles, lost its influence in the region. But it still exist as a threathening and distressing factor.'' ''Abdullah Ocalan, the head of terrorist organization started a new tacticts under the title of ''call for peace'' after loosing his armed struggle. The terrorist organization aims at becoming politicized. Its real goal is to form legal grounds for its activities, and to gain time to provide logistic and political support,'' he emphasized. Yucelen said, ''a total of 66 incidents occurred in emergency rule region in the first five months of the year. 152 terrorists were rendered ineffective. 71 of them were killed. 17 security officials lost their lives during the operations. 1,075 people were detained and 297 of them were arrested. All these developments reveal that it was early to say that threat of terrorism came to an end in the region.'' ''As security forces have been struggling against terrorists, we have been carrying out works to accelerate social and economic development in Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia Regions,'' he added. Meanwhile, speaking at the General Assembly on behalf of the True Path Party, Hayri Kozakcioglu said, ''it is time to lift Emergency Rule. Many people suffered terrorist activities of the PKK. Our people understood the fact that no one could reach anything with armed struggle.''
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