Anadolu Agency: News in English, 01-09-15

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ANADOLU AGENCY

NEWS

15 SEPTEMBER 2001

Saturday

CONTENTS

[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCAN

[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCAN

HURRIYET (LIBERAL)

ECEVIT:''EUROPE SHOULD STOP HARBORING TERRORISTS IN TURKEY''
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said Turkey would do whatever is necessary to combat terrorism. Drawing attention to Turkey's increasing importance after the attacks in the United States, Ecevit said said Europe should stop supporting terrorists in Turkey. ''Many terrorist acts in Turkey are being planned in European countries, maybe not by the governments of those countries, but by the terrorist organizations there,'' Ecevit said.

MILLIYET (LIBERAL)

TURKEY'S CHANCES TO ENTER THE EU INCREASES
EU's former ambassador to Turkey, Michael Lake has said that the attacks in the United States increased reactions against the Muslim communities in this country and also in Europe. Lake indicated that Turkey's importance has increased after the attacks. ''Turkey's joining to the EU has become almost an obligation now,'' Lake said.

SABAH (LIBERAL)

CUMHURIYET (LEFT)

LOGISTIC PREPARATIONS CONTINUE IN TURKEY
Logistic preparations are continuing for the usage of the U.S. base in Incirlik if the United States decides to attack Iraq or Lebanon-Bekaa valley. The Turkish Red Crescent (Kizilay) started setting up tent cities against a possible migration from northern Iraq. The government decided to increase security measures against massive terrorism and to protect its diplomats in other countries.

RADIKAL (LEFT)

TURKEY IN HIGH ALERT
Ankara has been in high alert after NATO decided to implement the 5th article. All vacations in the Turkish army has been cancelled and measures have been taken against a massive immigration to Turkey. The Transportation Ministry completed activities to open an air corridor in case of a war situation.

TURKIYE (RIGHT)

ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)

-NO SIGNIFICANT CANCELLATIONS TAKE PLACE IN TURKISH HOTELS
ANTALYA - Mediterranean Hotel Managers' Association (AKTOB) Chairman Ahmet Barut has said that the terrorist attacks in the United States have not negatively affected tourism in Mediterranean countries.

He indicated that people, who announce that tourists are cancelling reservations in Turkey, are hurting the Turkish tourism. ''Right now, there are no mass reservation cancellations in the Mediterranean countries. Some tourists who were scared cancelled their reservations but there is no reason to worry,'' he said.

''Some people are talking as if the terrorist attacks took place in Turkey. Such statements only hurt tourism. We have to be calm and wait for the developments. European tour operators are confused now and reservations for the coming months have stopped but this is very normal. Everything will return to normal once the first shock is overcome. The reservations will start as of Monday,'' he commented.

Barut said that Israeli tourists, the ones who have the most reasons to be scared, have not even cancelled their reservations in Turkey. ''All the hotels in Antalya region are booked up. We are living a very good tourism season,'' he stressed.

-BAYDUR:''THE ATTACKS IN THE U.S. WILL WAKE SOME OF
OUR EUROPEAN FRIENDS UP FROM THEIR UNAWARENESS''
BURSA - Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions (TISK) Chairman Refik Baydur said on Saturday that the terrorist attacks in the United States ''would wake some of Turkey's European friends up from a sleep of unawareness.''

Baydur told the A.A that the attack was very unfortunate and saddening and caused great material loss but he added that he didn't believe it would cause a crisis on global scale.

He indicated that Turkey suffered a lot from terrorism but the world had not understand this reality so far. The Belgium government's changing its attitude regarding suspect of the Sabanci assasination, Fehriye Erdal proves that a new term has started also for Turkey, he said. Baydur stated that Turkey's relations with EU countries would now involve ''more mutual understanding and cooperation.''

''European countries always adopted a double standard regarding terrorism which Turkey did not deserve. Now, Europe will understand Turkey better. Unfortunately, this was understood after such a bitter experience,'' he said.

-27 FOREIGNERS CAUGHT IN EDIRNE
EDIRNE - A total of 27 foreigners were caught in Edirne's Ipsala and Enez townships who were attempting to enter Greece illegally on Saturday.

Security forces who were patroling the area caught 14 Iraqis, seven Palestinians, two Afghans, two Turks and two Iranians who wanted to pass the Turkish border to Greece illegally.

During their interrogations, the foreigners said that they wanted to go to European countries to lead a more prosperous life tehre.

The two Turkish citizens were sent to the court while the foreigners were brought to the Security Directorate's Foreigners Department.

-DERVIS TO LEAVE FOR LONDON ON SUNDAY
LONDON - State Minister Kemal Dervis will start his visit to London on Sunday, which he had to postpone twice due to last minute developments.

Dervis will start his official contacts on early Monday. His first meeting will be with the correspondents and writers from the Financial Times which gave coverage to inverviews with him. The meeting is expected to last for one hour.

Later, Dervis will meet with British Trade Minister Barones Symons and discuss with him increasing the trade volume between Britain and Turkey.

His next stop will be the center of Standard and Poors, although this meeting still remains uncertain.

Dervis will attend a dinner given by the Foreign Economic Relations Council (DEIK) in London.

On the second day of his visit, on Tuesday, Dervis will brief international finance circles at a conference about the important developments in the Turkish economy.

Treasury Deputy Undersecretary Hakan Ozyildiz, Central Bank Deputy Governor Fatih Ozatay, State Banks Joint Executive Council Chairman Vural Akisik, IMKB Chairman Osman Birsen, Banking Regulation and Inspection Council (BDDK) Deputy Chairman Ceyla Pazarbasioglu will also attend the conference.

After the conference which will be organized by DEIK, Dervis is expected to meet British Industrialists' and Businessmen's Confederation Chairman Digby Jones.

At the end of two busy days, Dervis will get together with a group of British journalists at the Turkish Embassy as well as Finance Ministry Undersecretary Gas O'Donnel.

After attending a reception given to his honor by Turkish Ambassador in London Korkmaz Haktanir, Dervis will leave Britain on Sept. 19, Wednesday.

-PET MEDICAL CENTER OPENING IN ANKARA'S KURTULUS PARK
ANKARA - Ankara Municipality is opening a Pet Medical Center in Kurtulus Park in Ankara's Kolej district, it was reported on Saturday.

Ankara Municipality Health Department Chief Fatih Hatipoglu told the A.A that the pet center will open on Oct. 4, 2001 on the World Animal Rights day.

The old Pet Medical Center in the park was burnt in a fire three years ago and the new one will cover an area of 320 square meters which is 2.5 times as big as the old one. Ten personnel will be working in the center.

The new pet center will have a fully equipped surgery room and it will give all kinds of medical services.

The pet center will neuter street animals which are brought there for free. A reasonable fee will be charged for other services.

-SECURITY FORECES REVEALS NETWORK WHICH SMUGGLES PEOPLE TO
ISRAEL

ANKARA - A network which smuggles people to Israel using fake passports was caught on Saturday.

Ankara Security Directorate's Smuggling and Organized Crime Directorate carried out an organization against a gang and detained five men who were sending people to Israel illegally by using fake passports. The gang was charging between 1,500 and 2,000 U.S. dollars from each person.

An larger investigation is underway regarding the incident.

-TASAR:''TOURISM IS TURKEY'S FUTURE''
CESME - Tourims Minister Mustafa Tasar has said that tourism would play a bigger role in Turkey's future than it does today, therefore it needed to be given more attention.

Speaking at a meeting with the representatives of the tourism sector, Tasar said short term policies in this sector were causing stagnations.

He indicated that many sectors in Turkey were under the strict control of the government. Instead of waiting for government support, Tasar said the private sector should take the control in tourism.

The tourism minister also stated that Turkey could overcome the economic crisis by tourism. ''This is why we have been holding meetings with the representatives of the tourism sector since I have become the tourism minister. We had requests from journalists, NGOs, and deputies,'' he said.

Izmir Governor Alaaddin Yuksel, who also spoke at the meeting, said the number of tourists visiting Izmir was low despite the city's 5,000 year old history. He said that overemphasizing Antalya was injustice to Pamukkale, Ephesus, the House of Virgin Mary, Marmaris, Bodrum, Gocek and the Black Sea. ''Izmir, with its potential to have five million tourists, is being visited by only 500,000 tourists a year. This should change,'' he said.

-GOKALP:''ADJUSTMENT TO EU'S AGRICULTURE POLICY IS A MUST''
ISTANBUL - Agriculture and Rural Affairs Minister Husnu Yusuf Gokalp has said that Turkey's adjustment to EU's Common Agriculture Policy was the biggest factor in Turkey's relations with the EU.

Speaking at the opening of the Balkan Countries Agriculture Ministers' meeting in Istanbul, Gokalp said that the Balkan countries agreed to have regular annual meetings after the first meeting in Greece in order to develop agricultural relations in the Balkans.

The agreement draft formed on Dec. 15-16, 2000 in Athens laid out the fields of cooperation and assigned responsibilities to the Agriculture Ministers Council and other assisting organs.

He said that Greece, among the Balkan countries, was an EU member while Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania were candidate countries.

''The most important factor in relations with the EU is adjustment to EU's Common Agriculture POlicy. Therefore candidate countries should cooperate in this field and they should benefit from Greece's experience,'' he commented.

Speaking about poverty and hunger, Gokalp said that hunger and poverty continue to be the world's biggest problem. He said no progress was made so far although at the World Food Summit in 1996, the participants targetted to decrease the 800 million poeple who are suffering from hunger by half by 2015.

He stated that the presidents and agriculture ministers of many countries would come together in November at hte UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) meeting and look for new solutions to overcome poverty and hunger.

Gokalp indicated that agriculture sector still holds an important place in Turkish economy despite the developments in industry and services sector. ''Today Turkey is employing the most advanced technologies in agriculture. We have many experienced experts who are carrying our reserches internationally,'' he said.

-ANCIENT MYRA THEATER IN ANTALYA TAKEN UNDER RESTORATION
ANTALYA - The Ancient Myra Theater in Antalya's Kale township is being restored after 35 years.

Demre Mayor Adnan Genc said that the ancient theater was first restored in A.C. 141 and later in 1966. ''The Myra Theater will be restored for the third time under the supervision of Antalya Museum archeologist Edip Ozgur, '' he announced.

A total of 360 billion TL will be spent for the theater's restoration from the budget of the Culture Ministry.

Some 1,500 people visit the theater every day.

-OZOK:''TERRORISM CANNOT BE TOLERATED REGARDLESS OF WHOM
IT TARGETS''
ANKARA - Turkey Bars Association Chairman Ozdemir Ozok has said terrorism cannot be tolerated regarless of where it comes from or whom it targets. ''Terrorism cannot have a religion, nationality or ideology,'' he asserted.

Ozok, in a written statement he released on Saturday, said that the United States experienced the biggest terrorist attack of the modern age which killed ten thousands of people.

''Those who remained quiet against Turkey's cries for cooperation today are facing the same reality,'' he said. ''Terrorism cannot be justified or tolerated regardless of where it comes from or whom it targets. It targets people and it's a crime of humanity.''

''The gap between the poor and the rich has been widened as a result of globalization. International capital is triggering ethnic and religious conflicts and it benefits from these conflicts. It is very difficult to maintain peace in a world where poverty is on the increase. Therefore the developments should be followed carefully and the responsibles should be found. The United States will retaliate to these attacks in the strongest way possible. Innocent people should not be harmed during this retaliation, '' he said.

-AMERICANS ALLOWED TO LEAVE INCIRLIK BASE
ADANA - Americans living in the U.S. base in Incirlik were allowed to leave the base on Saturday where the security measures have been maximized.

U.S. officials said they were satisfied with the security measures taken by the Turkish security units around the base. A test warning was given on Friday at the base and U.S. officials said the security measures of the Turkish units were relieving for them.

Only one cargo plane took off from the base since Saturday morning.

-ECEVIT:''I CANNOT SAY MUCH ABOUT POSSIBILITIES''
ANKARA - Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit has said that no request so far came from the United States to use the military base in Incirlik. ''I cannot say much about the speculations and possibilities,'' he said.

Upon leaving the Democratic Left Party (DSP) headquarters, Ecevit responded to reporters' questions.

Ecevit said he had not spoken with U.S. President George Bush yeet but he had been in continious contact with the U.S. Embassy officials in Ankara. When asked how Turkey would react if the United States bomb Turkey's neigbors, Ecevit said ''I cannot comment on possibilities.''

When a reporter asked if Turkish army would go to war since the NATO decided to implement its article 5, Ecevit said there was no such possibility yet.

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