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Anadolu Agency: News in English, 02-01-22Anadolu Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Anadolu Agency Home Page at <http://www.anadoluajansi.com.tr/>Anadolu AjansıANADOLU AJANSI HABERLER 22 January 2002 Tuesday Türkiye Dünya Parlamento Ekonomi Spor Sanat-Magazin Sağlık Türkiye CONTENTS
[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCANThese are some of the major headlines and their brief stories in Turkey's press on January 22, 2002. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.HURRIYET (LIBERAL)QUAKE SHAKES WESTERN TURKEYA quake measuring 4,7 on the Richter scale shook Turgutlu township of western Manisa province yesterday. The quake frightened people not only in Manisa, but in Izmir and the Aegean coast. Schools were evacuated. Construction worker Remzi Abdulhakim Eminoglu died after falling off a construction platform in Bornova during the earthquake. OPERATION STARTS AGAINST SATANISTS MILLIYET (LIBERAL)''KURDISTAN SCANDAL''Britain did what the terrorist organization PKK could not do by writing ''Kurdistan'' in birthday part of the passports of its citizens of Iraqi origin. The scandal came out when the passports of certain British citizens were examined at Habur border gate. Governors of border provinces were asked not to permit the entrance and exit of such persons to Turkey. INTERNAL DEBT STOCK REACHES 122 QUADRILLION LIRAS SABAH (LIBERAL)HERE IS ''UNITED STATES OF CYPRUS'' FORMULAThe formula of ''United States of Cyprus'' which is discussed by Rauf Denktas, the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides was leaked to the press. Here are the details of the plan: ''presidency will be rotatitonal and it will change every six months or two years. If the President is Greek Cypriot, the prime minister will be Turkish Cypriot, and the contrary will also be true. Territory will be given to Greek Cypriots by 5-9 percent. Maras will be given back to them. Turkey and Greece will withdraw 5,000 soldiers in every six months. There will totally be 4,000 soldiers (2,000 from both sides) left in Cyprus in the end. The official language will be English, Greek and Turkish.'' CUMHURIYET (LEFT)PRIME MINISTER ECEVIT WARNS SADDAMPrime Minister Bulent Ecevit warned Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein who does not allow U.N. inspectors to enter Iraq. ''Saddam Hussein has to give up this attitude. If Iraq continues to resist not to accept United Nations (U.N) inspectors in its territory, not only Iraq itself but also all the world particularly Turkey will face serious problems,'' Ecevit said. SEZER APPROVES PUBLIC PROCUREMENT LAW RADIKAL (LEFT)FINANCIAL TIMES PRAISES TURKEYEconomy newspaper Financial Times which is published in Britain said that Turkey has become a rising market. Last year the same paper had claimed that Turkey was the last country for foreign investors to make investment. Finincial Times said that the terrorist attacks in the U.S. on September 11 and the international fight started against terrorism have helped Turkey to regain attraction. ADJUSTMENT LAWS IMPEDED BY MHP TURKIYE (RIGHT)FOREIGN PATIENTS TO COME TO TURKEYHealth Minister Osman Durmus said that many patients from Britain, Germany, Tunisia and North African countries want to come to Turkey for medical treatment. Durmus said that Turkey's doctors and capacity of hospitals were appreciated abroad. U.S. OPENS THE DOORS ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)KUTAN SAYS CLOSURE OF FP IS AGAINST CONSTITUTIONFelicity Party (SP) leader Recai Kutan claimed that the Constitutional Court violated a total of 24 articles of the Constitution by deciding to shut down the Virtue Party (FP). During a meeting, Kutan said that the closure of the FP was against many articles of the Constitution, the Political Parties Law and the European Convention of Human Rights. Noting that some 17 political parties were closed down by the Constitutional Court in the last decade, Kutan said ''The Constitutional Court was almost determined to shut down the Virtue Party from the beginning.'' Upon a question, Kutan claimed that the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) would find the Turkish government guilty and correct the mistake. -PUBLIC PROCUREMENT LAW PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL GAZETTE The law covers regulations about state tenders in fields other than defense, security, and intelligence. The law will enter into force as of January 1, 2003. The new arrangement will be implemented on every kind of good or service purchases and construction works of all public organizations and institutions. Also construction works of state banks are included by the law. Purchases of equipment and ammunitions regarding defense, security and intelligence and purchase and hiring of immovables were not included by the law. The law determines the ''principles and rules of auctions that will be held by all state-run public institutions and organizations''. The law brings forth rules for state tenders within the framework of the European Union norms. Under this law, public administrations will be responsible of transparency, competition, equal treatment, confidentiality, public opinion control, supply of requirement on time and under appropriate conditions and productive use of sources in their auctions. Purchase of goods, purchase of services and construction works cannot be auctioned together if they are not linked to each other naturally. The auction authority will be a five-member ''auction commission'' to be formed within the public organization or institution which planned to hold an auction. There will be ''threshold prices'' for the estimated cost of purchase and construction works to be auctioned. The administration can freely take decisions and select domestic companies in the auctions for the works whose estimated cost is below the threshold price. The law also foresees formation of a ten-member Public Procurement Authority which will comprise chairman's office and service units. Under the Public Procurement Contracts Law, ''type contracts'' for goods or service purchases and construction works will be published in the Official Gazette in order to provide sameness in implementation of regulations for public auctions. -NATIONAL EDUCATION MINISTER BOSTANCIOGLU SAYS Responding to question of A.A about petitions submitted demanding ''education in Kurdish language,'' in elementary schools and universities, Bostancıoglu said that the official language of Turkey is Turkish. Bostancıoglu said that Article 42 of the Constitution says that ''No language other than Turkish shall be taught as a mother tongue to Turkish citizens at any institutions of training or education. Foreign languages to be taught in institutions of training and education and the rules to be followed by schools conducting training and education in a foreign language shall be determined by law. The provisions of international treaties are reserved.'' ''Therefore it is not possible for us to accept these petitions,'' he said. Recalling that the Interior Ministry issued a circular to take necessary measures about such petititions, Bostancıoglu said that ''if the petitions have political purpose, legal proceedings will also be undertaken.'' -JUSTICE MINISTER TURK SAYS WHOEVER ENTERS PRISON Speaking to reporters, Turk said that death fasts and hunger strikes continue in 14 prisons, the number of hunger strikers is one and that of death fasters is 129. Turk said that the influence of illegal organizations in prisons ended in F type prisons. Noting that the punishments of 196 convicts were suspended due to their health, Turk said that 74 inmates were released by court's decision and the President cancelled the remaining sentence of five inmates under Article 104 of the Constitution. Turk said that press members can have a tour in F type prisons if they wish. ''We wish to decrease the number of prisons in Turkey to 300,'' Turk said noting that they would set up regional prisons. ''Whoever enters a prison, whether he/she is a minister, director general, judge, prosecutor, deputy or lawyer, he/she will be searched by detectors, '' Turk said upon a question. Turk said that State Security Courts (DGMs) will turn into courts of expertise. He added that 36,496 persons benefitted from the Law of Conditional Release, noting that there are 55,609 inmates in prisons today. -INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON RECONSTRUCTION OF AFGHANISTAN ENDS ''The aid promised to be given to Afghanistan has to be put into practice as soon as possible,'' told Gaydalı to A.A correspondent after the final declaration was published. Noting that the conference was very successful, Gaydalı said that the participation of high ranking representatives in the conference showed the international importance attributed to Afghanistan. Gaydalı said that Hamid Karzai, the Afghan interim government leader told that Afghan young people demanded education more than food, adding that Afghan people have important problems like health, education, drug trafficking, weapon smuggling. Gaydalı called the states to help Afghanistan. Gaydalı said that he had the opportunity to voice the views of Turkey in the conference, adding that the promise of Turkey to give an aid 5 million dollars in five years to Afghanistan was covered by Japanese newspapers. ''Maybe this aid does not have very much importance when other aids to be given by richer countries are taken into consideration, but this shows the importance given to Turkey, as the latter was shown among the first five countries which will send aid to Afghanistan. Turkey and Afghanistan have historical ties, Turkey will do its best to help Afghan people,'' said Gaydalı. Assessing his meeting with Karzai, Gaydalı said that the expectations of the interim government from Turkey are very high. Gaydalı said Karzai told him that ''if Afghanistan had such a strong army like Turkey, this would not happen to Afghanistan,'' adding that ''Karzai considers Turks very friendly.'' Referring to the final declaration, Gaydalı said that the declaration had noted that the reconstruction had to embrace all the Afghan people.''Because all the countries thought that if any group is left outside, this could cause new clashes,'' he said. Gaydalı noted that the pledge of aid has to come true as soon as possible, adding that the aid will be supervised by the finance minister of Afghan interim government and the World Bank. -PRIME MINISTER ECEVIT RECEIVES DOSTUM The meeting in which National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Undersecretary Senkal Atasagun also participated lasted for an hour. No statement was released regarding the meeting. Dostum had been received by State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Devlet Bahceli before his meeting with Ecevit. MIT Undersecretary Atasagun was also in attendance at the meeting between Bahceli and Dostum. -STATE MINISTER BAL: ''ADJUSTMENT LAW IS IN LINE WITH Bal responded to the reporters' questions before the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Parliamentary Group Meeting on Tuesday. When asked whether or not MHP will renegotiate Article 159 and 312 of Turkish Penal Code (TCK), he said that there were certain claims telling that MHP had reservations on the issue, which were not true. Bal went on saying, ''the text which was submitted to the Parliament was suitable for both the EU norms and Turkey's facts and it was convenient to law technique legally. At this stage, the Parliament has the right of giving the proposal for the amendments but we think that it should not be differed from its essence.'' When asked, ''It is said that Motherland Party (ANAP) will also give a proposal. Is there a conflict among the partners of the government?'', Bal said, ''It was expected that ANAP should have given the proposal when it was a government draft. ANAP should have declared it when it was brought as a government draft.'' -CONSTITUTIONAL COURT GIVES ONE MONTH ADDITIONAL TIME Constitutional Court Deputy Chairman Hasim Kilic told reporters that Bozlak requested the court to postpone the day when he would make his verbal defense and the court decided to give additional one-month time to Bozlak to prepare his defense. Kilic said that Bozlak would make his verbal defense on March 1. Vural Savas, the Supreme Court Chief Prosecutor then, filed a lawsuit at the Constitutional Court asking for the closure of HADEP on January 29, 1999. The indictment claimed that HADEP had organic connection with the terrorist organization PKK. It noted that HADEP was totally under the control of the terrorist organization PKK like People's Labour Party (HEP) and Democracy Party (DEP) which had earlier been closed down. The indictment said that this organization staged activities in the direction of the orders and instructions of the Central Committee. It claimed that HADEP congresses were turned into grounds where demonstration in favour of Abdullah Ocalan, the head of the terrorist organization, was made. The indictment asked for the closure of HADEP under Article 68 of the Constitution which regulates the conditions ''for a party to become the focus of activities against the indivisable integrity of the state and nation'' on charges that the party acted against Article 78 of the Political Parties Law about ''laws on protection of democratic state order'', Article 79 of the Political Parties Law regulating ''the protection of independence'', Article 80 of the Political Parties Law foreseeing ''the principle of uniqueness of the state'', Article 81 covering ''prevention of creation of minority'', Article 82 foreseeing ''ban of racism and regionalism.'' -DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER YILMAZ: ''IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO PUT THE PETITIONS BEHAVE MORE MODERATELY'' But, Yilmaz said, it would be beneficial to behave more moderately towards them. Yilmaz left for Bulgaria to attend the Turkish-Bulgarian Joint Economic Commission (JEC) meeting. Responding to questions of reporters regarding the discussions about the education in Kurdish, Yilmaz said that it was not possible to put the petitions presented for education in Kurdish into process under the Constitution and the laws. ''But, it will be beneficial to behave more moderately towards them,'' Yilmaz added. -MHP LEADER BAHCELI SAYS CHANGE FORESEEN IN ARTICLE 312 OF TCK Addressing the MHP group meeting, Bahceli said that ''the amendment foreseen in Article 312 of TCK aims to punish activities which provoke ethnic, religious and race differences and which aim to disturb the public order.'' ''We think that propoganda of discrimination and provocation is not suitable for democratic and pluralist societies,'' Bahceli said. He added that Article 312 of TCK should not be totally abolished. Noting that the terrorist organization PKK tries to politicize the things it supports after chief terrorist Abdullah Ocalan was captured, Bahceli stressed that fight with separatist terrorist organizations won't end until these organizations totally dissolve. Bahceli pointed out that the terrorist organization PKK tries to politicize its goals by the support it gets from certain European countries and by certain circles in the country. ''Persons started to submit petitions demanding education in Kurdish in the name of a campaign called 'Education in Mother Tongue,' he said. Although it was noted in Article 42 of the Constitution that no other language than Turkish can be taught as mother tongue to Turkish students in schools, such an activity had been planned on purpose,'' Bahceli said. ''There is no doubt that this campaign is a part of a planned game, and it aims to put Turkey into a difficult position,'' said Bahceli. [02] FOREIGN MINISTER CEM SAYS HE TOOK UP RELATIONS WITH SYRIA DURING HIS MEETING WITH YALMANANKARA - Foreign Minister Ismail Cem said on Tuesday that he took up relations with Syria during his meeting with Gendarmerie General Commander Aytac Yalman.Responding to questions of reporters, Cem said, ''Yalman was in Syria. He had close relations with Syria and he knows Syria well. When he returned from that country, he visited us.'' Asked about the impressions of Yalman, Cem said, ''our relations, especially our economic and security relations with Syria are developing well.'' -SWEDISH DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER DUE IN ANKARA A statement of the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that Swedish Deputy Prime Minister and an accompanying delegation would visit Ankara between January 29 and 30. The statement noted that bilateral relations, Turkey-European Union (EU) relations and regional and international developments would be taken up during the contacts of Swedish Deputy Prime Minister. Hjelm-Wallen was expected to be received by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and meet with Yilmaz and Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Commission Chairman Kamran Inan. -PRIME MINISTER ECEVIT: ''DOSTUM AND I DEBATED WHAT WE CAN DO TO MEET AND ECONOMIC NEEDS OF AFGHAN PEOPLE'' Following his meeting with Dostum, Ecevit told reporters that General Dostum was one of the forthcoming leaders of Afghanistan and had an important effect on saving Afghan people from Taliban regime. Ecevit said, ''we have always had friendly relations with Dostum. We have debated what should be done to develop Afghanistan, take its independence under guarantee. We noted that establishing a national army and a police force was the prior need in Afghanistan. We also debated what we can do to meet social and economic needs of Afghan people. It was a very beneficial meeting. I have received beneficial information from him about what should be done in the region.'' Asked if there were some concrete demands from Turkey, Ecevit said, ''we have always made the necessary contributions and we continue to do so.'' When a reporter reminded him about the news that there was a clash between the forces of Rabbani and Dostum's forces, Ecevit said, ''I have not heard such thing.'' When a reporter told him about the claims that Dostum had some concerns about the new administration and asked if Dostum talked about these issues during their meeting, Ecevit said, ''it will not be right to detail our meeting. He is generally assuming a very constructive stance. He is exerting the utmost effort to reach success in the newly-established order.'' When a reporter said that an important meeting regarding Afghanistan was held in Tokyo and noted that a source of 10 billion U.S. dollars was being mentioned and asked if that source would be sufficient, ECevit said, ''I have to meet with State Minister Edip Safter Gaydali, who attended that meeting. To this end, I cannot detail the issue. We can give additional information when Gaydali returns. Turkey has promised to do its best.'' Dünya Parlamento Ekonomi Spor Sanat-Magazin Sağlık
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