Anadolu Agency: News in English, 99-08-03

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AA Daily

03 August 1999 Tuesday

CONTENTS

[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCAN

[02] BAKU-CEYHAN PIPELINE PROJECT - TURKISH AND AZERBAIJANI WORKING GROUPS TO COME TOGETHER IN ANKARA ON WEDNESDAY

[03] OIL PRODUCTION IN ADIYAMAN

[04] SHOOTING OF ''FORGOTTEN HOLY LANDS'' TO START SOON IN TURKEY

[05] KKTCELL STARTS GIVING SERVICE IN TRNC

[06] PRESS MEETING OF FINANCE MINISTER SUMER ORAL

[07] IRANIAN AMBASSADOR LAVASANI HAS MEETING WITH AMBASSADOR TURKEKUL KURTTEKIN, HEAD OF MIDDLE EAST DEPARTMENT, AT FOREIGN MINISTRY

[08] PRESS MEETING OF FINANCE MINISTER SUMER ORAL

[09] TURKISH ASSOCIATIONS SEND A LETTER TO U.S. PRESIDENT

[10] SOMUNCUOGLU, STATE MINISTER LEAVES FOR ALBANIA

[11] ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS IN DOMUZTEPE TUMULUS - SEVERAL HUMAN SKELETONS FOUND

[12] CULTURE MINISTER OF BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA ARRIVES IN TRNC

[13] PROFILE OF EXPORTS FROM GAP REGION - IN FIRST SIX MONTHS, 267.2 MILLION U.S. DOLLARS OF AGRICULTURAL AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS EXPORTED

[14] SEVEN FAIRS TO BE OPENED IN SANLIURFA BETWEEN OCTOBER 4-10

[15] EXPORTS DECREASE 5.1 PERCENT IN FIRST SEVEN MONTHS OF 1999

[16] DRAFT LAW ON TAXATION TO BE DISCUSSED AT PARLIAMENTARY PLANNING AND BUDGET COMMISSION ON THURSDAY

[17] SOCIAL SECURITY DRAFT LAW - NINE LABOUR UNIONS RELEASE JOINT STATEMENT - LABOUR UNIONS DETERMINED NOT TO STEP BACK FROM RETIREMENT AGE AS 50 FOR WOMEN, 55 FOR MEN

[18] PREMIER ECEVIT RECEIVES YUCAOGLU, CHAIRMAN OF TUSIAD, ERIS, CHAIRMAN OF IKV, AND TARA, MEMBER OF DEIK

[19] TRANSPORTATION MINISTER OKSUZ SAYS THEY CANNOT APPROVE A REPENTANCE LAW WHICH DOES NOT HAVE PUBLIC SUPPORT

[20] SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF NATURAL GAS FOUND IN SHAH SEA PROJECT PARTICIPATED BY TPAO

[21] ''END THE ARMED STRUGGLE'' CALL FROM OCALAN, HEAD OF TERRORIST ORGANIZATION - OCALAN: ''I CALL THE PKK TO END ITS ARMED STRUGGLE AND TO WITHDRAW ITS FORCES OUTSIDE THE BORDERS OF TURKEY FOR THE SAKE OF PEACE BY SEPTEMBER 1, 1999 ''

[22] PRIME MINISTER ECEVIT WANTS TO PASS REPENTANCE LAW BEFORE PARLIAMENT RECESSES

[23] PREMIER ECEVIT: ''I HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY INFORMATION AT THIS STAGE''

[24] BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA EDUCATION AND CULTURE MINISTER RIZANBEGOVIC VISITS TRNC

[25] LAVASANI, IRANIAN AMBASSADOR TO ANKARA, IN FOREIGN MINISTRY

[26] STATE MINISTER SOMUNCUOGLU LAYS FOUNDATION OF RROGOZINA-ELBASAN HIGHWAY WHICH WILL BE CONSTRUCTED BY TURKISH FIRM

[27] SUCESS OF TURKISH COMPANY IN ALBANIA - FOUNDATION OF RROGOZINA-ELBASAN HIGHWAY LAID IN A CEREMONY PARTICIPATED BY SOMUNCUOGLU, MINISTER OF STATE

[28] CAY, STATE MINISTER, RECEIVES ZAGANOVA, CHAIRMAN OF KAZAKH IMMIGRATION AND DEMOGRAPHY AGENCY

[29] CONTACTS OF KOH, THE U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE - STATEMENTS OF KOH CREATE UNEASINESS IN FOREIGN MINISTRY

[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCAN

HURRIYET (LIBERAL)

SOLDIER CRISIS WITH IRAN
Turkey warned Iran which does not release the two Turkish soldiers. Huseyin Lavasani, the Iranian Ambasador to Turkey was summoned for the third time to the Foreign Ministry after the eruption of the crisis between the two countries.

MILLIYET (LIBERAL)

GOVERNMENT NEEDS VOTES
The government delayed the voting that would take place in the parliament regarding the bill foreseeing constitutional change about international arbitration. To reach the majority needed to pass a constitutional change, the government needs to attract votes from the opposition. There were doubts the government could gain the necessary majority, thus it delayed the voting for Tuesday.

SABAH (LIBERAL)

''AMNESTY TO BE ADOPTED THIS MONTH''
Mesut Yılmaz, the leader of the Motherland Party (ANAP) said that ''Prime Minister requested the adoption of the amnesty law before the parliament recess and I accepted that.'' Yılmaz said that the draft law prepared by Hikmet Sami Turk, the Minister of Justice will be discussed by the ANAP group today.

CUMHURIYET (LEFT)

The circular said the 57th government considers improvement of human rights on the eve of the 21st century as one of its essential duties. Prime Minister Ecevit asked the Ministries of Justice, Interior and National Education and other concerned institutions to show the necessary care to reach the targets.

DECISION FOR DISSUASIVE DEMONSTRATION
The Labour Platform's determination in holding demonstrations to force the government to take a backward step continues. Siyami Erdem, the Chairman of the KESK, said most of the non-governmental organizations did not accept the consensus reached between the Turk-Is and the government. Semsi Denizer, the Secretary General of the Turk-Is, said they will back the demonstration and take part in that initiative.

RADIKAL (LEFT)

A TURKISH HOSPITAL BECOMES MEMBER OF THE AHA
The Alkan Hospital became the first Turkish hospital which was accepted as a member of the American Hospitals Association (AHA). The Alkan Hospital serves especially in the cardiology field. More than one thousand open- heart operations were held in the Alkan Hospital in the last year.

TÜRKİYE (RIGHT)

OPERATIONS AGAINST DRUG SMUGGLING IN BOLU
Security forces seized a total of 5 kg of heroin having a market value of nearly 800 billion Turkish Liras in an automobile which was on its way from Van to Istanbul, in Bolu province. Five people were taken into custody.

TREASURY TO ARRANGE 12-MONTH BOND TENDER
The Treasury will arrange a 12-month bond tender on August 3, 1999. The value date of the bonds will be August 4, 1999 and the maturity will be August 23, 2000. The Treasury aims at having a sale between 15 and 250 trillion Turkish liras.

AGREEMENTS SIGNED FOR WORLD BANK'S CREDITS TO TURKEY
Agreements on the World Bank's credits worth of totally 407.5 million dollars to Turkey regarding projects of financing exportation and industrial technology were signed in Ankara. Ajay Chibber, the World Bank's Turkey Director and Aydın Karaoz, the Director General of Foreign Economic Relations signed the agreements. The project of Financing Exportation costs nearly 252,53 million dollars.

ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)

The most important reason for suspension of international arbitration was the coalition government's failure in receiving full-support of the opposition, and the criticism came from the Democratic Left Party (DSP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) deputies. A deputy of DSP said, ''the government wants this bill be passed through the parliament without discussion. This is wrong. If the necessary arrangements are not made, I won't back this bill although I sign it.'' The withdrawal of the proposal will be provided with the prevention of the government. The government and the comission will not take their parts when the proposal is brought to the Parliamentary General Council.

[02] BAKU-CEYHAN PIPELINE PROJECT - TURKISH AND AZERBAIJANI WORKING GROUPS TO COME TOGETHER IN ANKARA ON WEDNESDAY

High ranking officials of the AIOC, the consortium operation firm will also participate in the meetings of the working groups.

The Azerbaijani working group and members of the consortium left Turkey following the meetings in Ankara at the end of July to meet with institutions which will provide finance in line with the proposals of the Turkish working group.

The working groups are expected to reach a consensus about Turkey's guarantorship regarding the cost of the pipeline and also determine the place and date for a comprehensive agreement during the meetings in Ankara.

[03] OIL PRODUCTION IN ADIYAMAN

The TPAO Regional Directorate officials told the A.A correspondent that the TPAO, which meets 57 percent of total oil production in Turkey, produces 26 thousand barrels of high-gravity oil a day from the 160 wells in 18 beds in Adiyaman.

The TPAO also carries out oil exploration etudes in southeastern Gaziantep and Hatay provinces, and test production in southeastern Kilis and Sanliurfa provinces.

[04] SHOOTING OF ''FORGOTTEN HOLY LANDS'' TO START SOON IN TURKEY

Victoria Barrett, the old movie star who is the producer of ''Forgotten Holy Lands'' gave information about the documentary in Istanbul.

When Barrett first came to Turkey, she couldn't find sufficient sources about history, she said and added that she decided to produce this documentary to give the world more imformation about Turkey. ''Turkey is an open air museum and we want to revive the pages of history in this museum, '' she said.

The old movie star pointed out that only negative things about Turkey are reflected abroad and they would aim to reach as many people as they could through this documentary.

The documentary which tells about the history of Christianity in Anatolia and will be shot in Ephesus, Iznik, Demre, East Beyazit, and Cappadocia. The documentary is expected to cost 500,000 U.S. dollars and will include some parts of the Bible. The shooting of ''Forgotten Holy Lands'' will start in the coming days.

Prime Ministry Promotion Fund, Ministry of Culture, and Turkish Airlines are among the sponsors.

[05] KKTCELL STARTS GIVING SERVICE IN TRNC

Denktas who spoke at the ceremony held at TRNC Turkcell's (KKTCELL) opening, said Turkish Cypriots wanted investment and tourism.

The progress of TRNC can be seen by looking at the developments in the communication field, Denktas said. ''The economy will become stronger if investments are made, and the welfare of people will rise despite sanctions. I believe that our brothers will give us support,'' the TRNC President continued.

Transportation Minister Enis Oksuz who went to TRNC to attend KKTCELL's opening promised that his ministry would support TRNC and added that they would modernize Ercan Airport.

Dr. Salih Miroglu, the TRNC Minister of Public Works and Transportation, on the other hand, said several TRNC developed considerably after the Peace Operation in 1974, and today it had telecommunication services which enabled it to communicate with the whole world. ''Those who want to destroy us with cruel sanctions will one day not be able to explain this to their children. Turkcell made a very big investment in TRNC. We thank them for this,'' he stated.

Turkcell General Manager Cuneyt Turktan noted that they would give service with 70 base stations and a central with a capacity of 100,000 subscribers. Turktan also said they made this investment in a short period like three months.

KKTCELL will have a total of 55 personnel in its offices in Lefkosa, Girne, and Gazimagusa. KKTCELL will also have answering machine and short message service (SMS) services.

[06] PRESS MEETING OF FINANCE MINISTER SUMER ORAL

Below are some points the draft law covers:

Regulations on Financial Zero year and definition of income by law no.4369 will not be implemented between 1999 and 2002.

The old system will be used in income definition and it will be determined by adding all the incomes a person possesses. Because of Financial Zero year application of September 13, 1998, the legal assurance not to open an investigation about past accounts will continue and it will be strengthened.

NOT DECLARING MOVABLE CAPITAL INCOMES: Some movable capital incomes, deposit interest and repo incomes that are gained between 1999 and 2000 will not be declared. The stoppage made on movable capital incomes will be the final taxation.

TEMPORARY TAX: Considering the inconvenience of preparing balance sheets every three months by small and medium scale managements, the temporary tax terms will be increased from three to six months. Declaration and payment will be made in the one and a half month which follows the six month period.

REAL ESTATE DECLARATION:To recover the unbalanced situation in real estate tax system, the taxpayers who wish can redeclare in November and December of 1999.

ENVIRONMENT TAX: Environment tax will be paid at the same time with real estate tax.

[07] IRANIAN AMBASSADOR LAVASANI HAS MEETING WITH AMBASSADOR TURKEKUL KURTTEKIN, HEAD OF MIDDLE EAST DEPARTMENT, AT FOREIGN MINISTRY

Ambassador Lavasani had a nearly two hour meeting with Ambassador Turkekul Kurttekin, the head of the Middle East Department.

Following the meeting, Lavasani told reporters that there was no ''crisis'' between the two countries.

Iranian Foreign Minister Kemal Harrazi promised to do his best for the release of the soldiers, Lavasani stated and also added that ''the two sides understood each other'' during his meeting with Kurttekin.

Kurttekin and Lavasani focused on the Higher Security Committee meeting which will be held soon between Turkey and Iran and also on the two Turkish soldiers who are kept in Iran.

Hamid Riza Asefi, the Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman on Sunday claimed that ''Turkey was putting forward wrong claims in order to avoid the consequences of its violation of Iranian territory''.

Tension between Turkey and Iran escalated after Iran accused Turkey of bombing its territory and not released the two Turkish soldiers who are still under arrest in Iran. A delegation went to Iran last week from Turkey to find out how true these claims were.

The Foreign Ministry later announced that the delegation carried out researches in three different points pointed by Iran. ''The first point is in Northern Iraq, outside the Iranian territory, it was found out after technical researches,'' the Foreign Ministry said.

Meanwhile, President Suleyman Demirel had said he would personally call the Iranian President if the two Turkish soldiers are not released, during his visit in Sarajevo where he went to attend the Stability Pact.

Foreign Minister, Ismail Cem, on the other hand talked with his Iranian counterpart Kemal Harrazi who promised him to ''do his best'' for the release of the soldiers.

[08] PRESS MEETING OF FINANCE MINISTER SUMER ORAL

Responding to the questions of reporters about the Financial Zero Year, Oral said the tax payers were given assurance that there will not be any investigations related to their declarations. The temporary tax term was increased to six months to help Turkey to overcome the present situation, he also added.

''Taxes must adapt to the economy. Tax administration is not losing anything from its inspection power and effectiveness. Tax administration will be made stronger and we will work to cover economy which was not taxed. We aim to create a psychological relief in the society and remove the obstacles in front of the economy,'' Oral stated.

The Finance Minister also mentioned the importance of tax administration and said laws will not be useful if the administration does not reach a certain point.

Oral also pointed out that the tax regulations were only pre-measures and it would not help Turkey to overcome its troubles immediately. Other measures related to banks, export, and privatization will follow the tax law, he explained.

''Turkey looked for stability for years and here is a stable government,'' Oral concluded.

[09] TURKISH ASSOCIATIONS SEND A LETTER TO U.S. PRESIDENT

The letter which was sent by Tolga Cubukcu, the Chairman of the Washington D.C.-based Assembly of Turkish-American Associations (ATAA); and Ata Erim, the Chairman of the New York-based federation of Turkish-American Associations (FTAA), explained in detail the genocide policy that the Greek Cypriot side assumed against the Turkish Cypriots between 1963 and 1974.

Stressing that the target of the Greek Cypriot side was still to annihilate the Turkish existence on the island, the letter emphasized that Greeks and Greek Cypriots were taking every kind of steps through their Western supporters to leave Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots in difficult position in the international level.

Noting that the Greek Cypriot side continues to deploy high-technology weapons, and construct air and naval bases on Cyprus, and openly support the terrorist PKK organization, the letter said that the diplomatic solution on Cyprus can be reached if the political equality of the Turkish Cypriots is accepted.

The letter stressed the realities about Cyprus during a period in which the Greek and Greek Cypriots lobbies in the U.S. intensified their activities against Turkey.

[10] SOMUNCUOGLU, STATE MINISTER LEAVES FOR ALBANIA

Speaking before his departure at Esenboga Airport, Somuncuoglu said that he will have the opportunity to discuss certain issues that concern the two states and the Balkans with Albanian statesmen.

''The Balkans is composed of many countries which are our natural allies in respect of history, geography, and culture,'' said Somuncuoglu, adding that particularly Macedonia, Bosnia, and Albania have special meaning for Turkey.

Somuncuoglu stressed that the re-installation of peace, stability, and security in the region after bloody clashes, genocide, and massacre depends on formation of a strong structure.

Noting that Turkey has some obligations towards the Balkans, Somuncuoglu pointed out that ''the highway which will be constructed by DHS, a Turkish company is important for us regarding our relations with Albania and the Balkans. There are other tenders of highways, dams, power stations that will be carried out in Albania.''

Pointing out that Turkish companies are closely interested in the region, Somuncuoglu said that the government will extend all kinds of support to businessmen.

Somuncuoglu added that the Balkans needs the support of countries which attribute importance to peace, stability, and security and added that Turkey has good relations with the Balkans particularly with Bulgaria, Macedonia, Bosnia, and Albania.

[11] ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS IN DOMUZTEPE TUMULUS - SEVERAL HUMAN SKELETONS FOUND

British and American scientists are expected to participate in this year's excavations which started on July 15 under chairmanship of Prof. Dr. Elizabeth Carter from the California University.

Anthropologists have begun to examine 20 skulls and many bones which were thought to be 7 or 8 thousand years old.

This year's excavations are expected to continue till October in the hill and southeastern slope of the tumulus.

Prof. Dr. Carter and the Manchester University covers the expenses of the excavation.

Domuztepe tumulus which is 30 km far away from Pazarcik county of Kahramanmaras, is being considered as one of the biggest tumuluses of the world.

The first archaeological excavations in the tumulus began in 1995.

During the last year's excavations, many painted pots, seals, beads, and remains of several buildings were unearthed.

[12] CULTURE MINISTER OF BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA ARRIVES IN TRNC

The guest minister will be received by Dervis Eroglu, the Prime Minister of the TRNC; and Mustafa Akinci, the Minister of State and the Deputy Prime Minister of the TRNC.

Rizanbegovic who will visit universities, historical and touristic sites, will hold contacts for the improvement of cooperation between the TRNC and Bosnia-Herzegovina in the fields of education, sports, and culture.

[13] PROFILE OF EXPORTS FROM GAP REGION - IN FIRST SIX MONTHS, 267.2 MILLION U.S. DOLLARS OF AGRICULTURAL AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS EXPORTED

In the same period last year, the region exported 279 million 577 thousand U.S. dollars of agricultural, animal, and industrial products to 70 countries.

In the January-June 1999 period, Turkey entered into new markets like Norway, Malta, Bahrain, Yemen, Moldova, Lithuania, Slovakia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Benin, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ivory Coasts, Guinea, the Gambia, Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierre Leone, Sudan, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Colombia, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia while she lost the Palestinian, Slovenian, Senegalese, Nambian, Brazilian and Bangladeshi markets.

Officials at the Southeastern Anatolia Exporters' Union told the A.A correspondent that in the first six months of the year, they exported 140 million 90 thousand U.S. dollars in textiles; 48 million 720 thousand U.S. dollars in grain-cereals; 23 million 396 thousand U.S. dollars in dried fruits; 10 million 464 thousand U.S. dollars in livestock; and 44 million 581 thousand U.S dollars in industrial products.

''The majority of the goods were exported to Iraq, Syria, and Italy, and the Turkish goods in greatest demand were carpets, synthetic thread, and cotton thread,'' they said.

The region realized 79.6 million U.S. dollars to Europe in exports; 91.8 million U.S. dollars in exports to the Middle East; 18.7 million U.S. dollars in exports to the Turkish Republics; 3.08 million U.S. dollars in exports to the Commonwealth of Independent States; 6.1 million U.S. dollars to Africa; 15.5 million U.S. dollars to the American continent; 3.2 million U.S. dollars to Asia, and 48.8 million U.S. dollars in exports to other countries in the first six months of 1999.

[14] SEVEN FAIRS TO BE OPENED IN SANLIURFA BETWEEN OCTOBER 4-10

The Ayintap Fair Organization issued a statement and said that a festival on the Ottoman cultural heritage will also be organized upon the 700th anniversary of the foundation of the Ottoman Empire within the scope of the GAP'99 fairs.

The statement said several scientific and social activities reflecting the folklore of the region will also be organized within the scope of the fairs.

The fields of the fairs will be as follows:

''Agricultural and Stock-Breeding Industry, Food Industry'', ''Plastic Packaging Industry (General Machinery Technologies)'', ''Textiles Industry and Ready-to-Wear Sector'', ''Durable Consumer Goods (Automotive, House Textiles, Furniture), ''Electronics-Computer-Hi Tech Telecommunications- Automation Technologies'' and ''Tourism Industry-Servicing Sector (Banking- Leasing-Insurance-Advertising Agencies)''.

[15] EXPORTS DECREASE 5.1 PERCENT IN FIRST SEVEN MONTHS OF 1999

The statistics show that the exports in July 1999 totalled 2 billion 230 million U.S. dollars.

The name of products, the amount of exports in the first seven months of 1998 and 1999 and their deifferences according to the Exporters' Unions data are as follows:

1998 1999 Difference

Name of Product (Million U.S. Dollars) (percent)

----------------------- -------------- -------------- -------
Ready-to-Wear 4.428 4.148 -6.3

Textiles &amp; Raw Materials 1.782 1.742 -2.2

Iron &amp; Non-Iron Metals 1.969 1.722 -12.5

Machines 1.464 1.374 -6.2

Automotive 1.018 1.490 46.4

Chemicals 1.068 987 -7.5

Grain-Cerelas-Seeds 951 766 -19.5

Tobacco 462 367 -20.6

Fresh Vegetables-Fruits 395 392 -0.7

Cement &amp; Earthenware 485 474 -2.2

Hazelnut 427 283 -33.7

Mines 324 314 -3.1

Leather 382 251 -34.3

Wooden Products 210 198 -5.7

Dried Fruits 182 176 -3.4

Livestock-Aquaculture 166 128 -22.7

Carpet 131 108 -17.6

Vegetables-Fruits 65 81 25.2

Olive &amp; Olive Oil 41 140 245.3

-------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL 15.951 15.143 -5.1</PRE>

[16] DRAFT LAW ON TAXATION TO BE DISCUSSED AT PARLIAMENTARY PLANNING AND BUDGET COMMISSION ON THURSDAY

The draft law on taxation which postpones the financial research investigation to 2002 and which defines the financial zero year, is submitted to the Parliament Speaker's Office today.

The draft covers some below mentioned arrangements:

-The obligation of declaration of the deposits and incomes from the repos will be lifted and the stoppage application will start.

-The temporary tax terms will be increased from three to six months. The rate of temporary tax will be increased from 20 percent to 25 percent and the declaration and the payment will be made in the one and a half month. The draft law also authorize the Council of Minister to decrease or increase the 20 percent rate by five points and the decrease of the 6-month term to three months. The income tax excluding the wages will be increased by five percent.

-If the companies sell their securities which were registered in their actives and the shares and add these revenues to their principal money, they will not pay Corporate Tax for these revenues until the end of 2002.

-The state will not take stoppage from the income tax until 2002 from the revenues of the securities of the widely-held companies which are sold in the stock market.

-The declaration application and seven-billion Turkish lira limit will be lifted in the copy-right revenues. A total of 10 percent tax will be taken from the copy-right revenues by stoppage. Those who gain from copy-right do not have to give declaration in 1999.

-Those who registered the value of their houses or lands at a high price can make a declaration in November and December again and decrease the amount they appreciated for their estates.

-Environment Tax will be paid every January and July with the Property Tax starting from January 1, 2000.

-The bill arrangement limit will be increased from 30 million Turkish liras to 50 million Turkish liras.

-The tax fines excluding the tax evasion is included within the framework of compromise.

[17] SOCIAL SECURITY DRAFT LAW - NINE LABOUR UNIONS RELEASE JOINT STATEMENT - LABOUR UNIONS DETERMINED NOT TO STEP BACK FROM RETIREMENT AGE AS 50 FOR WOMEN, 55 FOR MEN

Petrol-Is, T.Harb-Is, Kristal-Is, Hava-Is, Tez Koop-Is, Liman-Is, Deri-Is, Tumtis and Basin-Is issued a joint statement and stressed that the agreement reached between the government and Turk-Is administration council was not acceptable from their point of view.

Some improvements on the transition period and a symbolic reduction in the number of premium payment days did not meet their expectations, they noted and continued:

''The draft law is far from resolving the problems of social security. It also disregards the agreement reached between employers and workers. And the government wants to make a fait accompli and pass this law. The counterpart in this agreement is not only Turk-Is but the Labour Platform. We can not step back from the retirement age as 50 for women and 55 for men. 'Retirement in the grave' must not come true. The government must quit the constitutional change for the international arbitration. The wages of public workers and retirement pensions must be improved. The five million unregistered workers must be covered by social security. Job security must be passed according to the ILO Agreement,'' they explained.

The statement also criticized Turk-Is' yielding and said ''behaviour which damages the Labour Platform would be punished by the workers and the public opinion.''

[18] PREMIER ECEVIT RECEIVES YUCAOGLU, CHAIRMAN OF TUSIAD, ERIS, CHAIRMAN OF IKV, AND TARA, MEMBER OF DEIK

Yucaoglu and Eris responded the questions of the journalists following the meeting.

Responding a question on the arbitration, Yucaoglu said that they support the law on arbitration.

When asked whether or not they have submitted a report to Ecevit or Husamettin Ozkan, Deputy Prime Minister; Yucaoglu noted that they did not submit any written report, but that they informed Ecevit about their visit to Germany and the visit of Tara to Finland.

When asked a question about the economic measures package, Yucaoglu stated that they earlier announced their ideas about this issue and that they did not discuss the package in the meeting.

Yucaoglu said, ''we think that the economic measures taken by the government are very positive. The parliament should discuss some of the measures before implementing them. However, we can say that all the measures gave a sign of revival in the economy.''

When asked what kind of policy should be pursued to normalize Turkey- European Union (EU) relations; Eris said, ''I think that there is nothing that the government should do at this stage. Because the government carried out the necessary efforts. Ecevit wrote a letter to Schroder prior to the Cologne summit in which he mentioned about the point of view and the position of Turkey. We think that carrying out another initiative other than this is not necesary. Of course, we discussed the Turkey-EU relations in our meeting.''

[19] TRANSPORTATION MINISTER OKSUZ SAYS THEY CANNOT APPROVE A REPENTANCE LAW WHICH DOES NOT HAVE PUBLIC SUPPORT

Oksuz, prior to the group meeting of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), stated that the repentance law they are planning to pass must not offend people and terrorism victims.

''We always told that we do not support a repentance law that would hurt our people. We cannot approve a repentance law which is not approved by the people,'' Oksuz stated.

Speaking in favour of the international arbitration law, Oksuz pointed out that Turkey needed arbitration. If a conflict arises between Turkey and foreigners, there will be a judge and the decisions taken here are definitely not binding, the Minister stressed. The criticisms about arbitration are rooted because of unsufficient knowledge of the law and misunderstandings, he added.

''Even if a decision is taken there, it will not be valid unless it is approved by Turkish courts. Who can possibly think that a government with MHP can pass a law which would do harm to Turkey?,'' Oksuz said.

''We must be more open minded, we must do whatever is necessary to bring foreign capital to Turkey,'' Oksuz concluded.

[20] SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF NATURAL GAS FOUND IN SHAH SEA PROJECT PARTICIPATED BY TPAO

Osman Demirag, the Acting General Manager of TPAO said the results obtained from the first well showed that significant amounts of natural gas reserves are present. A second well is now being drilled and more information will be available about the size of the reserves once they obtain results from the second well, Demirag explained. The drilling of the second well will be completed in October 1999.

The Sah Sea Oil-Natural Gas Search project run by British Petrolium (BP)- Amoco at 70 kilometers south of Baku in Azerbaijan's Caspian Sea. It has a licence area of 860 kilometers.

TPAO has 9 percent, BP-Amoco (Britain) has 25.5 percent, Statoil (Norway) has 25.5 percent, SOCAR (Azerbaijan), Elf (France), LukAgip (Russia-Italia), and Iran Petrol firm have 10 percent of shares in the consortium.

In addition to its 9 percent share in Sah Sea, TPAO currently has a share of 6.75 percent in Gunesli-Cirali-Azeri project, 5 percent in Kurdasi and 10 percent in Araz-Alov-Sark projects.

[21] ''END THE ARMED STRUGGLE'' CALL FROM OCALAN, HEAD OF TERRORIST ORGANIZATION - OCALAN: ''I CALL THE PKK TO END ITS ARMED STRUGGLE AND TO WITHDRAW ITS FORCES OUTSIDE THE BORDERS OF TURKEY FOR THE SAKE OF PEACE BY SEPTEMBER 1, 1999 ''

Mahmut Sakar, Dogan Erbas, Irfan Dundar, and Ahmet Avsar, four lawyers of Ocalan, staged a press conference and read out the statement of their client.

Ocalan said in his statement that the conflicts and violence prevents the improvement of human rights and democracy in Turkey and that it is necessary to end the violence to overcome the deadlock and to solve the problems.

Ocalan said, ''I call the PKK to end its armed struggle and to withdraw its forces outside the borders of Turkey for the sake of peace as of September 1, 1999. Thus, I believe a new dialogue and compromise stage will occur for a democratic solution.''

''Besides, I call all the officials of the public and non-governmental organizations to be sensitive and to support this peaceful and friendly process. I also call the national and international governments and the institutions to have cooperation in this positive basis,'' Ocalan added.

[22] PRIME MINISTER ECEVIT WANTS TO PASS REPENTANCE LAW BEFORE PARLIAMENT RECESSES

Asked to comment on the head of the terrorist organization, Ocalan's message to put down arms, the Prime Minister said he did not have information about this matter.

A reporter asked Ecevit if the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) has some hesitations about the repentance law, Ecevit denied it and said the draft law was approved by Devlet Bahceli, the Deputy Prime Minister and the MHP leader.

''I see great benefit in passing the repentance law before the Parliament recesses. Because keeping the repentance law on the agenda for too long might cause some problems. The Parliament is working very fast and people appreciate it. I hope that the law passes before the recession,'' Ecevit said.

Speaking about the U.S. Deputy Foreign Minister Harold Koh's visit, Ecevit stressed that the U.S. was Turkey's ally. ''Turkey's southeast region is a very important region. He apparently wanted to visit it. He will meet me too,'' Ecevit told reporters.

[23] PREMIER ECEVIT: ''I HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY INFORMATION AT THIS STAGE''

Responding the questions of the journalists when he arrived at the Prime Ministry, Ecevit noted that Kamal Kharrazi, Iranian Foreign Minister, told Foreign Minister Ismail Cem that he will closely deal with this issue.

Ecevit said, ''however, we have not received any positive news from Iran at the moment. We feel very sad about this. In fact, that these two soldiers did not have any fault became definite. There can be involuntary violations of border in the border regions from time to time. These problems are discussed by the commanders of the two sides and be solved. It is very saddening that Iran dragges out this issue.''

Responding another question, Ecevit stated that he also heard the news saying that the S-300 missiles which were earlier deployed on Crete are ready to be used and that he has no further information about this issue.

When asked how this situation will affect the relations with Greece, Ecevit said, ''I hope it will not negatively affect the relations. Of course, it is a good thing that these missiles were not deployed on Cyprus. In fact, I think that two friendly and NATO ally countries should not need the necessity of taking such precautions. The most important thing is to live in peace as two ally countries and to solve the problems with dialogue.''

[24] BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA EDUCATION AND CULTURE MINISTER RIZANBEGOVIC VISITS TRNC

Rizanbegovic proposed Altinay to sign a protocol agreement between the universities of the two countries. Altinay received the proposal positively and said such a protocol, and student and lecturer exchange programmes would help to develop relations between TRNC and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Altinay also reminded that the East Mediterranean University (DAU) increased the number of grants for students from Bosnia-Herzegovina from 3 to 13.

TRNC Prime Minister Dervis Eroglu, during his meeting with Rizanbegovic, stressed that they consider Bosnian people their brothers. ''Bosnia's problems are our problems,'' Eroglu said. Eroglu added that Turkish Cypriots went through the same pains that Bosnia-Herzegovina experienced recently.

TRNC Deputy Prime Minister Mustafa Akinci, on the other hand, invited the Bosnia-Herzegovina Tourism Minister to TRNC through Rizanbegovic.

During his meetings, Rizanbegovic stressed that Bosnia's most valuable source was intellectual people and said education was very important for them. Because of sharing similar experiences, Turkish Cypriots understand their situation better, he noted. Rizanbegovic also said they wanted to develop culture and sports relations between TRNC and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

[25] LAVASANI, IRANIAN AMBASSADOR TO ANKARA, IN FOREIGN MINISTRY

Lavasani came to the Foreign Ministry at 11.00 a.m. this morning and had a meeting with Ugur Ziyal, Deputy Undersecretary.

The Iranian Embassy in Ankara statement said that Turkey emphasized that the good neighbourly relations between the two countries should be protected and improved.

The statement added, ''Turkey also said that she does not have any enmity against Iran, she is respectful to the territorial integrity of Iran, and that she does not think of violating the Iranian air space and bombing Iranian territory.''

Stressing that the two sides want to inform the other side about the bilateral issues through the diplomatic canals, the statement noted that the two sides underlined that the mutual dialogue and exchange of views are the best way to overcome the problems in the bilateral relations during the meeting.

Emphasizing that Lavasani said that Iran pursues a policy of not intervening the internal affairs of any country, the statement said, ''Lavasani said in the meeting that he does not find the accusations saying that Iran supports PKK correct by underlining the importance Iran attaches to the security of the neighbouring countries and the efforts of Iran during the contacts between Turkey and Syria in the solution of PKK issue.''

The statement said that Lavasani and Foreign Ministry officials discussed the violation of border issue during their meeting.

Expressing his opinion about two Turkish soldiers detained by his country, Lavasani said, ''Kamal Kharrazi, Iranian Foreign Minister, will carry out efforts to solve this problem. It is necessary to have a suitable position for the Iranian authorities to deal with this issue.''

The statement noted that the two sides are expecting the solution of this problem as soon as possible by the good will of the sides.

Meanwhile, the diplomatic sources told A.A correspondent that Turkey reiterated her ideas about the tension which occured between the two countries recently and emphasized Turkey is respectful to the territorial integrity of Iran.

[26] STATE MINISTER SOMUNCUOGLU LAYS FOUNDATION OF RROGOZINA-ELBASAN HIGHWAY WHICH WILL BE CONSTRUCTED BY TURKISH FIRM

Somuncuoglu said they targeted to raise cultural and economic relations to the desired level between Turkey and Albania and added that the highway would bring the two countries closer to each other in economic and cultural fields.

The 36 kilometer Rrogozina-Elbasan highway will be constructed by Be-Ha-Se Firm of Turkish Steel Group. The highway is expected to cost 22 million U.S. dollars and will be completed in 24 months.

Albanian President Recep Meydani also attended the opening ceremony of the highway.

[27] SUCESS OF TURKISH COMPANY IN ALBANIA - FOUNDATION OF RROGOZINA-ELBASAN HIGHWAY LAID IN A CEREMONY PARTICIPATED BY SOMUNCUOGLU, MINISTER OF STATE

Addressing the ceremony Meidani said they wanted the construction of the highway to be quick and of good quality, and wanted regional people to participate in the completion of the construction. He said this will help the development of Albania.

Meanwhile, Sadi Somuncuoglu, Minister of State, said relations between Turkey and Albania were based on historical and cultural basis.

Pointing out that trade volume between Turkey and Albania was 45 million U.S. dollars as of the end of 1997, Somuncuoglu said Turkey targets increasing this figure.

Somuncuoglu said ''East-West Corridor'' was one of the projects which Turkey envisaged to complete in the Balkans and which closely concerned Albania. Somuncuoglu said the motorway project in question which will extend to Istanbul through TEM motorway will make the relations between the two countries more closer.

Somuncuoglu recalled that aggressive ethnical nationalism claimed many lives in Bosnia-Herzegovina and in Kosovo despite the warnings and efforts of Turkey.

Stressing that Turkey did its best to heal the wounds, Somuncuoglu said ''We are proud to participate in the re-construction of the countries of our brothers in the Balkans.''

Be-Ha-Se company undertook the construction of 36km Rrogozina-Elbasan highway which will have double lines and 11 meters width.

The total cost estimation is determined as 22 million ECU. Construction of the road will be completed within 24 months.

[28] CAY, STATE MINISTER, RECEIVES ZAGANOVA, CHAIRMAN OF KAZAKH IMMIGRATION AND DEMOGRAPHY AGENCY

Cay and Zaganova discussed the situation of Kazakh Turks living in Turkey and the improvement of the cooperation between the two countries.

Cay said that he returned from Kazakhstan three days ago and that he carried out observations in Kazakhstan about the restoration of the historical works conducted by a Turkish team and the activities of the Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) there.

Drawing the attention that Turkey is also the homeland of the Kazakhs living in Turkey's territory, Cay noted that they are the citizens of Turkey and that they do not want that these people return to Kazakhstan.

Zaganova said that the Kazakhs living in Turkey are well treated and that all the Kazakhs are pleased about the friendly Turkish people.

Stressing that nearly 100 Kazakh families living in Turkey want to return to Kazakhstan, Zaganova noted that the Kazakh government took the necessary measures for these people.

[29] CONTACTS OF KOH, THE U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE - STATEMENTS OF KOH CREATE UNEASINESS IN FOREIGN MINISTRY

Foreign Ministry officials said statements of Koh, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State responsible for human rights, which said that ''the state of human rights in Turkey was not well'' created uneasiness in Ankara.

Foreign Ministy who started working upon several words of Koh during his contacts in Southeastern Anatolia, contacted with the officials of the U.S. Embassy and conveyed that it was not pleased with the statements of Koh and stressed that foreign guests who come to Turkey should have more careful statements on a sensitive issue like human rights.

Koh who visited Istanbul and several provinces in the Southeast following his contacts in Ankara is expected to return to Ankara again and evaulate his contacts in a press conference.

A.A

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