Anadolu Agency: News in English, 02-01-20

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From: The Anadolu Agency Home Page at <http://www.anadoluajansi.com.tr/>

ANADOLU AJANSI

HABERLER

20 January 2002

Sunday

Türkiye

Dünya

Parlamento

Ekonomi

Spor

Sanat-Magazin

Sağlık

T

urkey

-TURKEY-PRESS SCAN

These are some of the major headlines and their brief stories in Turkey's press on January 20, 2002. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

HURRIYET (LIBERAL)

Galleria Atakoy General Director Ali Kemal Ozcan announced that American and U.S. entrepreneurs were interested in Turkiey's first modern shopping center Galleria which will be put out for a tender by the Privatization Administration Board in 2002. Ozcan said that ten shops went under but ten new ones opened in Galleria. ''We are being very choosy because it's important to gain back the old customer profile,'' he said.

LET'S GROW THE ECONOMY BY KOBI'S

Disbank Deputy General Director Bulent Nur Ozkan has said that small and medium scale enterprises (KOBIs)were very important for the economy's growth and also in the banking sector. He added that the banking sector would have a growing interest in the KOBIs in 2002.

MILLIYET (LIBERAL)

Three boys who were 16 and 17 years old were caught soon after they stole choloate spread (Cokokrem), cookies and chocolate by breaking into a storage in Istanbul's Beyoglu district 45 days ago. During their interrogation at the police station the boys said they didn't have any money therefore they decided to steal the cookies and chocolate bars. The suspects have been kept in jail for the last 45 days. Tomorrow the members of the ''Cokokrem gang'' will be tried for eight years in prison. The owner of the storage told the police to release them since the boys were involved in such a crime for the first time. Even the police are suprised by the possible eight years of jail term and they say people who commit much more serious crimes are released.

ZIRAAT BANK NO LONGER TO GIVE BIG CREDITS

Ziraat Bank which decreased commercial interest rates from 125 to 75 percent is doubling credit limits. Bank General Director Niyazi Erdogan said his bank would revise interest rates every month. ''We'll double the credit limits. But we won't give credits more than 20 million U.S. dollars any more,'' he said.

SABAH (LIBERAL)

Bernard Johnson who risked his life to save Ecevit from being assasinated in 1976 met Ecevit 26 years later during the prime minister's visit to the United States. ''It was a great pleasure to see Ecevit years later. He looks very good,'' Johnson said.

TWO YEARS IN JAIL FOR PRONOUNCING THE WORD ''RED NECK''

A new crime will be included in the Turkish Penal Code which is taken from the European Union:to insult some parts of the society. Under the law, it will be a crime to call a certain social class, people of a certain profession or homosexuals. The person who calls another with one of these insulting words would be given two years of jail sentence. If he commits this crime through media, the punishment will be doubled.

CUMHURIYET (LEFT)

Foreign Minister Ismail Cem sent a letter to his Iraqi counterpart Naci Sabri on Jan.4, 2002 and asked Iraa to obey UN decisions and allow UN gun inspectors to enter the country. But Sabri's response was negative. Sabri said ''The inspectors' aim is to create U.S. pressure on Iraq. Iraq already obeys UN decisions.

YILMAZ:''EU MEMBERSHIP IS TURKEY'S ONLY CHOICE''

Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz has said that Turkey had no choice other than joining the European Union. Yilmaz stated that 2002 was a critical threshold in many areas for Turkey. ''The first condition to start membership negotiations is to implement Copenhagen criteria fully,'' Yilmaz said.

RADIKAL (LEFT)

Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit confirmed the secret meetings between Foreign Minister Ismail Cem and Greek Foreign Minister Papandreou. He also said that Turkey had an initiative to make Iraq obey UN decisions but Iraq refused to. Ecevit said Cem and Papandreou had discussed certain issues regarding the Aegean but underlined that these were not bargainings.

TURKIYE (RIGHT)

The bureucratic obstacles which the foreign investors complained about were listed by the law. The Industry Regions law which lifts these obstacles took effect yesterday. The law not only encourages investments but it also allows the savings of Turkish people who live abroad to turn into investments in Turkey.

ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)

A Turkish worker in Belgium, Ozan Selamet killed his five children and another man to punish his estranged wife and later he surrendered to the police early Saturday morning. Selamet, who didn't kill his wife, said ''I'm not killing you so that you would suffer for the rest of your life.''

-GAYDALI GOES TO JAPAN ''TURKEY WILL DO ITS SHARE IN REBUILDING AFGHANISTAN''

ISTANBUL - State Minister Edip Safder Gaydali has stated that a total of 16.6 billion U.S. dollars was need to rebuild Afghanistan and added that Turkey would fulfill its responsibilities in this process including sending humanitarian aid.

Gaydali went to Japan to attend an international meeting that will be held in Tokyo on January 21-22 on Saturday afternoon.

Speaking to reporters at Ankara's Esenboga Airport, Gaydali said some 50 countries would be represented at the two day conference.

Gaydali will be accompanied by Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Ali Tuygan and Foreign Ministry Bilateral Economic Relations General Director Sakir Bakili. The participants of the meeting will discuss reports of the World Bank, UN Development Program and Asian Development Bank.

''These reports indicate that 16.6 billion U.S. dollars is needed to rebuild Afghanistan. We need five billion U.S. dollars in the first two and a half years. Turkey provided about 2 million U.S. dollars to Afghanistan in the last one and a half years. Humanitarian aid will continue,'' he said.

-CAKMAKOGLU:''DISCUSSIONS ABOUT EDUCATION IN KURDISH LANGUAGE ARE POINTLESS'

'

NEVSEHIR - National Defense Minister Sabahattin Cakmakoglu has said ''We should defend Turkey's unity in all fields, not only our territorial integrity.''

Cakmakgolu told the A.A that discussions about education in Kurdish language was against the Constitution and Tukrey's social structure.

''There are certain views which we defend for Turkey's unity. We think that those who defend education in Kurdish language aren't aware of Turkey's realities,'' he commented.

Cakmakoglu said discussions about education in Kurdish language were pointless and continued:

''We need to defend our unity in all ways, not only our territorial integrity. Countries which try to impose education in Kurdish language don't have such problems.''

-HADEP CHAIRMAN:''WE ALSO SUPPORT TURKEY'S UNITY''

DIYARBAKIR - People's Democracy Party (HADEP) Chairman Murat Bozlak has said that his party also supported Turkey's unity and integrity and added that he believed the Constitutional Court would reject the demands to close the HADEP.

''We'll go to the Constitutional Court on Jan. 30 and say our final words. We also support Turkey's unity. We're also working to make it a powerful country in the Middle East, Caucasia and all over the world,'' he said.

Pointing to the activities which make party closures difficult in Turkey, Bozlak said shutting down political parties would do no good to Turkey.

-FIVE PKK MEMBERS AND THEIR FIVE COLLABORATORS CAUGHT IN ISTANBUL

ISTANBUL - Five members of the terrorist organization PKK and five other who were offering shelter and help to the terrorists were caught in Istanbul on Sunday.

It was reported that four PKK members, who were caught, were given political and military training outside Turkey and they were later sent to Turkey to encourage masses to terrorist activities.

Police found one gun, six cellular phones, three fake identity cards and a large amount of organizational document after searching the places where the suspects lived.

During their interrogations, the suspects confessed that they were trained by the PKK according to the strategy formed following the capture of PKK chief terrorist Abdullah Ocalan.

Ten suspects will be sent to Istanbul State Security Court (DGM) after their interrogation is completed.

-BAHCELI SAYS TURKEY WOULD CONTINUE ITS FIGHT AGAINST ALL SEPARATIST ELEMENTS

NEVSEHIR - Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader and Deputy Prime Minister Devlet Bahceli has said ''Regardless of its outcome, Turkey would continue its fight against all separatist elements.''

Bahceli attended a meeting of MHP mayors in Nevsehir on Sunday. Speaking to reporters at the meeting, Bahceli said that 2001 was a difficult year both for Turkey and for the world and Sept. 11 attacks showed to the world that terrorism was a big threat for the future of the humanity.

Bahceli stated that Ecevit, during his visit to the United States, had the chance to announce to the world that Turkey gave great importance to international cooperation in the fight against terrorism. He also drew attention to Turkey's difficulties in its fight against terrorism and inconsistency in the attitudes of certain countries towards terrorism.

''Regardless of the outcome, Turkey would continue to fight against all separatist elements,'' he continued. ''It's clear that these separatist elements are developing new strategies and they're trying to reach their goals from an indirect way. However, these destructive forces cannot reach their goals by using such ways. The Turkish nation will eliminate any planned actions that target its unity.''

-TURK DENIES ALLEGATIONS OF ISOLATION AT F TYPE PRISONS

IZMIR - Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk who visited an F type prison in Buca's Kiriklar village on Saturday, said that an inmate would be put in a room on his own or with two other inmates depending on the nature of his crime.

''In the future, we need to separate smokers from non-smokers. There are hairdressers, tailors, a library, a small mosque, a room for meeting with lawyers, sports halls and medical units at F type prisons. F type prisons are saving prisoners from the dominance of terrorist organizations. Inmates here also have the chance to deal with handcrafts and art at work ateliers, '' he explained.

Turk said that his ministry's goal was to offer rehabilitation and training to inmates at F type prisons and he denied that the prisoners were isolated at F type prisons.

''We decreased the number of prisons from 562 to 533 across the nation. We have a project to close down small prisons in the cities and turn them to L type prisons for 400-500 inmates. A prisoner who will spend the night on his own will be with seven others during the day. Prisons will function like schools,'' he said.

Turk stated that there were currently six F type prisons in Turkey and five others were under construction.

-INTERIOR MINISTER YUCELEN INSTRUCTS GOVERNORS TO TAKE MEASURES

TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC IN THEIR CITIES

ANKARA - Interior Minister Rustu Kazim Yucelen sent a circular to governors' offices and asked them to take a number of measures to make people obey traffic rules.

Yucelen, in his circular, indicated that traffic policemen also sometimes violate traffic rules.

He said that pedestrian caused traffic accidents constituted 2.49 percent of the traffic accidents in 2000 and only 0.23 percent of the pedestrians were fined for violating rules in the same year.

Yucelen wrote to governors' offices:

''-Contact private, media and non-governmental organizations in your cities and inform all citizens about traffic rules and the dangers of violating these rules.

-The missing lines separating lanes on the roads will be completed. Pedestrians will be asked to use underground passages when they cross roads. They will obey traffic lights and those who don't will be fined.

-Speed limits around schools, hospitals and shopping malls will be revised and signs will be put on these areas.

-The usage of safety belts will be increased over 90 percent.

-A majority of traffic accidents occur at crossroads and unfortunately it has been observed that policemen sometimes don't interfere when drivers violate rules.

-Sudden traffic controls will be carried out on the roads to prevent driving under the influence of alcohol.

-Empty spaces should be turned into parking lots to bring a solution to parking problem in the cities.

-ATATURK AIRPORT TO REMAIN INSUFFICIENT FOR TRAVELLERS IN 2010

ISTANBUL - Ataturk Airport Foreign Lines Terminal serving to 14 million passengers and Sabiha Gokcen Airport Foreign Lines which has the capacity of 3 million passengers are expected to remain insufficient in 2010 when the number of the passengers exceed 28 million.

A book, prepared by Tepe Akfen Vie (TAV) Consortium operating Ataturk Airport foreign lines, namely ''Beyond Construction'', covers the current situation and the comparative evaluation conclusions with the previous terms of the airport. There are some predictions related to the coming years in the book.

The book said that the old foreign lines terminal had the capacity of 5 million passengers in 1970 and that the foreign lines had been inadequate because of the revival in the tourism in 1980.

According to the book, the number of the passengers was about 4 million in 1990, 5 million in 1992, 6 million in 1994, 9 million in 1996, 10 million in 2000 and 11 million in 2001.

The number of the passengers is expected to be around 12 million in 2002, 14 million in 2003 and it will exceed 15 million in 2004.

The book also said that the number of passengers was expected to exceed 28 million in 2010 and added that the airport would be insufficient despite the additional facilities which are to be built in the coming years.

-OZTURK: ''KOBIs SHOULD BE SUPPORTED FOR THE GROWTH OF TURKISH ECONOMY''

ADAPAZARI - Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (KOBI) should be supported by loans to help Turkey to pull itself from the economic crisis, Erol Ozturk, Turkey Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) Commerce Chambers council chairman told the A.A.

Ozturk said that the economic recession would be felt in the first half of this year.

Ozturk said that the KOBIs should be offered support to open the way of Turkish economy.

He pointed out that 10 billion U.S. dollars loan which International Monetary Fund (IMF) would offer to Turkey had to be used at the right time.

He added that increasing export was another way for rapid economic growth.

-DENKTAS AND CLERIDES TO MEET AGAIN TOMORROW

LEFKOSA - Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas and Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides will meet again on Monday to bring a solution to the Cyprus problem.

After the meeting on Jan.16, Wednesday which was also participated by UN Secretary General Annan's Special Cyprus Representative Alvaro De Soto, it was announced that Denktas and Clerides would meet three times a week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5 p.m.

The meeting will take place at a one-storey building called Lefkosa Conference Hall near Lefkosa Airport controlled by the UN. The two leaders will be accompanied by their teams during the meeting which will be closed to the press.

Denktas had earlier declared that they would revise the points they discussed during the first meeting and they would determine the areas of disagreement during Monday's meeting.

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