Anadolu Agency: News in English, 00-06-26

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NEWS

26 JUNE 2000 Monday

CONTENTS

[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCAN

[02] ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES MINISTER ERSUMER: -''TURKEY WILL HAVE ITS FIRST ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY THERMIC STATION THREE YEARS LATER''

[03] TOURISM MINISTER MUMCU: -''WHOLE WORLD WILL RECOGNIZE NEMRUT SOON''

[04] IN FIRST FIVE MONTHS, 54.2 MILLION U.S. DOLLARS OF THREAD EXPORTED FROM GAP REGION

[05] TEAS GENERAL DIRECTOR SELVI: -''THE ENERGY PRODUCTION OF ONE COUNTRY IS THE INDICATOR OF THE DEVELOPMENT LEVEL OF THAT COUNTRY''

[06] ''UFO AND NEW AGE'' CONGRESS ENDS

[07] NSC CONVENES

[08] ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES MINISTER ERSUMER: -''PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS SHOULD COOPERATE IN CONSTRUCTION OF WIND ENERGY STATIONS''

[09] U.S. PRESIDENT CLINTON: -''IF OUR ALLIES SUCH AS TURKEY HAD NOT HELPED US, WORLD WAR III WOULD HAVE DETONATED''

[10] POLICE CAPTURE 51 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN MARMARIS

[11] NSC MEETING ENDS -NSC STATEMENT: ''NSC HAS DECIDED TO PROPOSE THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS TO LIFT EMERGENCY RULE IN EASTERN VAN PROVINCE AS OF JULY 30, 2000''

[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCAN

HURRIYET (LIBERAL)

BULENT ECZACIBASI TO ADRESS FORUM 2000 IN OECD
Bulent Eczacibasi, the President of the Executive Board of Eczacibasi Holding, will address FORUM 2000 which will be organized in parallel with the council of ministers meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Eczacibasi will speak about the ''Role of Private Sector in Efforts of Developing Countries to be in Harmony with Globalization'' in the session titled ''Globalization and Economic Development.''

MILLIYET (LIBERAL)

MINIMUM WAGE TO INCREASE 8 PERCENT
Minimum wage which is currently 80 million 550 thousand Turkish liras (TL) will increase 8 percent to 86 million 922 thousand TL as of July 1. The gross mimimum wage will increase from 109 million 800 thousand TL to 118 million 800 thousand TL. The increase will be 8.2 percent in gross wage, and 7.91 percent in net wage. Meanwhile, the Turkish Confederation of Labour Unions (Turk-Is), said the 6 million TL increase is only enough to buy three kilos of white cheese or three kilos of olives. Turk-Is also stated that a family with four members needs a minimum of 450 million TL to meet their most basic needs and noted that the minimum wage only meets one fifth of this need.

11 TERRORISTS KILLED IN HAKKARI
A total of 11 members of the terrorist organization PKK were killed in an operation in eastern Hakkari province. One security official died while another one was injured. Officials at Emergency Rule Region Governor's Office said that 11 terrorists were killed in a clash that erupted between security forces and a group of PKK terrorists in Ikiyaka Lakes region of Semdinli township.

SABAH (LIBERAL)

DEPUTY DIRECTOR RUNS AWAY
Adnan Cicek, the inciter of the Tevfik Agansoy assassination and one of the best men of mafia boss Alaattin Cakici, asked for the killing of the deputy director of Eskisehir Prison. This order was recorded to a cassette. When the deputy director of the prison listened to the cassette, he applied to the Justice Ministry and Eskisehir Republican Chief Prosecutor's Office and requested that his life security should be provided. The authorities provided two bodyguards for the deputy director. But, the director who thought this protection was not sufficient, departed from Eskisehir province.

CUMHURIYET (LEFT)

ADMIRAL ERKAYA TO BE LAID TO REST
Retired Admiral Guven Erkaya, former Commander of Naval Forces and one of the chief consultants of Prime Ministry, will be laid to rest in the Zincirlikuyu Graveyard in Istanbul. Erkaya, 62, died on Saturday from colon cancer.

UFO CONGRESS ENDS
The three-day ''Second International UFO and New Age Symposium of Europe, Balkans and Middle East'' organized by the Sirius UFO Space Sciences Research Center ended at the Lutfi Kirdar Congress and Exhibition Hall in Istanbul. UFO researchers and contactees from several countries attended the congress. At the congress, it was underlined that we were not alone in the universe.

TURKEY WINS 11 MEDALS
Turkey won three gold, three silver and five bronze medals in the 9th International Rythmic Gymnastics Tournament held in Izmir.

RADIKAL (LEFT)

GREEN LIGHT FROM BAHCELI
Devlet Bahceli, the Deputy Prime Minister and the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), said that the votings on the reports of the Parliamentary Investigation Commission will not affect the government. Bahceli also said that he is not against Mesut Yilmaz's, the leader of the Motherland Party (ANAP), participating in the cabinet.

ONE MORE PICASSO
A painting of world-famous painter Picasso was confiscated in western Izmir province. The police, acting as buyers, seized Picasso's painting named ''Dora Maar.'' The police captured two members of the gang who wanted to sell the painting at 15 million U.S. dollars.

YENİ BİNYIL (LIBERAL)

TREASURY TO GAIN 19 MILLION U.S. DOLLARS
State Minister Ramazan Mirzaoglu said that the dropping interest rates will make the Treasury gain 19 billion U.S. dollars within three years. Mirzaoglu stated that the interest rates rose up to 150 percent in the recent years due to wrong economy policies and said now they are down to 35 percent through the government's stability programme.

639TH TRADITIONAL KIRKPINAL OIL WRESTLING COMPETITION TO START
The 639th Historical Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling and Cultural Activities Week will start on Monday with a ceremony. The festival will last for one week. The festival will start at 06:00 p.m. and there will be an opening ceremony at the November 25 Stadium. Turkish and foreign folkloric dance groups will perform on Monday night. There will be exhibitions, puppet shows, Thrace region food competition, Kirkpinar beauty contest and concerts throughout the week. The wrestling will start on June 30 at 03:00 p.m at Er Meydani and the contest will last for three days.

TURKIYE (RIGHT)

11 TERRORISTS KILLED
A total of 11 terrorists were killed during operations in Semdinli township of southeastern Hakkari province. One soldier died and one soldier was injured during the operations.

NSC TO CONVENE
The National Security Council (NSC) will convene today under the chairmanship of President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. The meeting will start at 09.30 a.m. at the Cankaya Presidential Palace.

ERKAYA TO BE LAID TO REST TODAY
Retired admiral Guven Erkaya, one of the chief consultants of the Prime Ministry and former Naval Forces Commander, will laid to rest in Istanbul today. Erkaya died on Saturday.

ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)

FOUR POWER STATIONS IN TWO DAYS
Cumhur Ersumer, the Energy and Natural Resources Minister, opened two hydroelectrical power station and laid the foundation of a wind energy station in two days. Ersumer opened Yenice and Beykoy hydroelectrical power stations on Saturday. Ersumer participated in the laying foundation ceremony of the Can Thermic Station in Cannakke province on Sunday. Cumhur Ersumer also opened the wind energy power station in Bozcaada.

[02] ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES MINISTER ERSUMER: -''TURKEY WILL HAVE ITS FIRST ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY THERMIC STATION THREE YEARS LATER''

Ersumer joined the laying foundation ceremony of the Can Thermic Power Station in western Canakkale province.

Speaking in the ceremony, Ersumer noted that the power station will be constructed by the foreign loan and cost 400 million U.S. dollars.

Ersumer stated that the station will be constructed by fluid bed technology.

Power stations lacking desulfurization system, will not be constructed, and the operation of such power stations which had earlier been constructed, will not be permitted, Ersumer stressed.

Ersumer continued, ''we are exerting efforts to overcome energy crisis. We are to start operation of Ceyhan Third Power Station. The construction of Afsin-Elbistan Power Station continues. We are evaluating the proposals for the thermic power stations planned to be constructed in Tufanbeyli township of Adana, Ilgin township of Konya, Golbasi township of Ankara, and Cankiri.''

As the Can Thermic Station starts operation 34 months later, it will produce 2.5 billion kilowatts per hour (kwh) electricity a year, Ersumer emphasized.

Ersumer added that Turkey's energy bottleneck will be overcome by the new investments made until 2020.

Bernard Garcia, the French Ambassador to Turkey, and Jesus Atianza, the Spanish Ambassador to Turkey, also joined the laying foundation ceremony.

[03] TOURISM MINISTER MUMCU: -''WHOLE WORLD WILL RECOGNIZE NEMRUT SOON''

Mumcu participated in the opening ceremony of the Eight International Kahta Kommagene Festival.

Mumcu said that they based Turkey's introduction on Nemrut in the EXPO 2000 fair which was held in Hannover and that they target at introducing Nemrut to whole world.

''When yo look at the statues on the Nemrut hill carefully, you will witness that a god and human shake hands for the first time. You will be astonished by the knowledge that those people had on cosmic structure those days,'' Mumcu said.

Mumcu noted that Adiyaman is equipped with everything necessary to become a tourism destination and that it is important to use this potential.

There is a significant increase in Adiyaman's tourism, Mumcu stated.

Mumcu continued, ''but, there is not an infrastructure which will turn into economic efficiency. We are exerting serious initiatives with the Adiyaman Governorsihp to create this infrastructure. Tourism will become the means of development for the southeast soon.''

Mumcu said that the cultural heritage on Nemrut Mountain is more attractive than the Pyramids in Egypt but that there are problems resulting from introduction. He added that their target is overcoming this problem.

Nemrut has the potential to host one million tourists while it can host four million tourists with a joint program held by Adiyaman and Urfa, Mumcu noted.

Mumcu called on the private sector to invest in this region and said that his ministry will support the rehabilitation of the infrastructure.

Mumcu added that 200 billion Turkish liras was allocated to the Adiyaman Governorship for the rehabilitation of Arsemia Path to Nemrut Mountain and that they plan to develop the tourism area in Kahta.

Many Turkish and foreign journalists, and the representatives of the Chinese, Croatian, Hungarian, Albanian, Romanian, Philippine, and Kyrgyz embassies attended the festival.

The festival will end on Monday.

[04] IN FIRST FIVE MONTHS, 54.2 MILLION U.S. DOLLARS OF THREAD EXPORTED FROM GAP REGION

In the same period last year, the region exported 69 million 479 thousand U.S. dollars of thread.

Officials at the Southeastern Anatolia Exporters' Union, told the A.A correspondent on Monday that in the first five months of the year, they exported 20 million 257 thousand U.S. dollars in cotton thread, and 34 million 19 thousand U.S. dollars in synthetic thread.

The majority of the goods were exported to the U.S., Belgium, Syria, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Spain, Germany, Romania, Britain, France and Greece.

[05] TEAS GENERAL DIRECTOR SELVI: -''THE ENERGY PRODUCTION OF ONE COUNTRY IS THE INDICATOR OF THE DEVELOPMENT LEVEL OF THAT COUNTRY''

Speaking in the laying foundation ceremony of the Can Thermic Station, Selvi noted that they accelerate the energy investments to support Turkey's development and the Can Thermic Station is first station in which new technologies were used.

Selvi stated that the Can Thermic Station is composed of two units and is planned to be finished in three years.

The station will cost 379 million U.S. dollars, Selvi said.

Selvi stressed that the first unit of the station will start operation 32 months later and the second unit will start operation 34 months later.

As all the units start operation, 2.4 billion kilowatts per hour (kwh) energy will be constructed in 2003, Selvi emphasized.

Selvi added that the Can Thermic Station will be an environment friendly station.

[06] ''UFO AND NEW AGE'' CONGRESS ENDS

Addressing the congress, Haktan Akdogan, the Chairman of Sirius UFO Space Sciences Research Center, said, ''UFOs and extraterrestrial beings were seen in every period of the written history of humanity. Extraterrestial civilizations visited the world in order to search the other systems in the universe.''

''No one has the right to restrict such a universal knowledge. UFOs and flying objects were not reflected directly to the people. We have reached our target. We are not trying to persuade people, but we are trying to inform them. We have to be unprejudiced against the UFOs. There are important evidences about them,'' Akdogan added.

Retired Lieutenant Colonel Donald Ware, the Director of International UFO Assembly, said that he saw UFOs for eight times.

Ware noted that the UFOs had given him faith telepathically.

Pointing out that extraterrestrial beings considered humans as creatures trying to kill themselves, Ware said that extraterrestrial beings wanted humans to destroy nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction, and to purify water, land and air.

Robert O. Dean who had retired from the U.S. Air Forces, noted that humans were not alone in the universe.

Noting that he had read a secret report in 1964 when he was working in the NATO, Dean said that he had learnt that the existence of UFOs were true.

Dean claimed that powerful governments including the U.S., did not explain the reality of UFOs to people.

Budd Hopkins, a researcher and writer, said that he had held talks with more than 700 children who were abducted by the extraterrestrials.

Hopkins said that the children could recall their experiences with extraterrestrial beings.

Sheldan Nidle, the writer of ''Galactic Human'', said that the universe was a living being.

Nidle added that the universe was changing in accordance with a heavenly program.

[07] NSC CONVENES

The meeting started at 09.30 a.m. at the Cankaya Presidential Palace.

Premier Bulent Ecevit; General Huseyin Kivrikoglu, the Chief of General Staff; State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Devlet Bahceli; State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Husamettin Ozkan; Energy and Natural Resources Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Cumhur Ersumer; Interior Minister Saadettin Tantan; Air Forces Commander Atilla Ates; Naval Forces Commander Ilhami Erdil; Air Forces Commander Ergin Celasin; and Gendarme General Commander Rasim Betir participated in the meeting.

National Defense Minister Sabahattin Cakmakoglu and Foreign Minister Ismail Cem did not participate in the meeting since they are paying official visits to foreign countries.

Cumhur Asparuk, the NSC General Secretary; Senkal Atasagun, the National Intelligence Organization Undersecretary; Faruk Logoglu, the Foreign Ministry Undersecretary; Turan Genc, the Director General of Security; and Gokhan Aydiner, the Emergency Rule Regional Governor also attended the meeting.

[08] ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES MINISTER ERSUMER: -''PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS SHOULD COOPERATE IN CONSTRUCTION OF WIND ENERGY STATIONS''

Speaking in the inauguration of the ''Bores Bozcaada Wind Energy Station'', Ersumer said that significant amount of electricity can be produced from wind and that they have the opportunity to produce 60 percent of the electricity consumed in western Canakkale province, from wind.

Turkey has 10,000 megawatts of wind power, Ersumer noted.

Ersumer added that 105 companies applied for the construction of wind energy stations in Turkey.

Sources said that the wind energy station which was constructed jointly by the German Enercon company, costed 13 million U.S. dollars.

The stations will produce 30 million kwh energy a year and meet the energy demand of Canakkale.

The station, which was constructed in build-operate-transfer model, will be transferred to the state in 2020.

[09] U.S. PRESIDENT CLINTON: -''IF OUR ALLIES SUCH AS TURKEY HAD NOT HELPED US, WORLD WAR III WOULD HAVE DETONATED''

Addressing commemoration ceremonies to mark the 50th anniversary of beginning of the Korean War, Clinton said that if the U.S. together with its allies such as Turkey and Australia had not rushed to assistance of South Korea, the World would have faced the World War III as President Harry Truman had predicted.

Clinton noted, ''for all the talk about Korea being a forgotten war, for some, Korea is alive every single day. It was a war, a hard brutal war, and the men and women who fought it were heroes. The presence of American and allied forces in Korea altered the course of the Cold War.''

Baki Ilkin, the Turkish Ambassador to the U.S., and General Ziya Guler, the Turkish Military Attache to the U.S., represented Turkey at the commemoration ceremonies.

The Korean War started on June 25, 1950, when 90,000 Communist North Korean troops launched a surprise attack across the 38th parallel into South Korea. The U.S. and other forces operating under United Nations authorization battled Chinese-backed North Korean forces until a 1953 armed truce brought an end to the fighting.

[10] POLICE CAPTURE 51 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN MARMARIS

Sources said that the police, acting on a tip-off, captured 51 illegal immigrants, including eight Pakistani, 29 Indian, two Bangladeshi, one Sri Lankan, and 11 African, in Bozburun Serce Bay of Marmaris.

The sources quoted the illegal immigrants as saying that they had a deal with two Turks, whose names they did not know, to be illegally brought to Greece in return of money.

The sources added that the illegal immigrants were sent to western Izmir province to be handed over to the Police Organization's Foreigners Department.

[11] NSC MEETING ENDS -NSC STATEMENT: ''NSC HAS DECIDED TO PROPOSE THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS TO LIFT EMERGENCY RULE IN EASTERN VAN PROVINCE AS OF JULY 30, 2000''

The NSC Secretariat General issued a statement recalling that the NSC had held its regular monthly meeting under the chairmanship of President Ahmet Necdet Sezer at the Presidential Palace in Cankaya, Ankara.

The statement said the Prime Minister, Chief of General Staff, NSC member ministers, commanders of Turkish Land, Air and Naval Forces, Commander of Gendarmerie, NSC Secretary General, Deputy Prime Ministers had attended the meeting.

The statement said last one-month internal and external developments regarding security of Turkey had been reviewed in the meeting.

''The NSC has decided to continue the struggle against illegal fundamentalist, separatist and destructive activities and organized crime organizations which targeted at the Turkish state's unseperable integrity with its country and nation, democratic, secular and social legal order, peace and security of Turkish people and national and moral values. The NSC has decided to support this struggle with economic, social, legal and administrative measures,'' it said.

''Within this framework, the emergency rule in five provinces has been evaluated, and the NSC has decided to propose the Council of Ministers to lift emergency rule in eastern Van province as of July 30, 2000, and to extend it by four months in Diyarbakir, Hakkari, Sirnak and Tunceli provinces. Besides, the NSC has decided to take necessary measures to revive and recover the economic life and border trade in the region,'' the statement said.

Noting that external political developments that closely concerned security of Turkey had been reviewed in the meeting, the statement said, ''with this respect, the NSC has taken up the recent developments regarding the issues of Cyprus, Middle East, Caucasus and European Security and Defense Identity (ESDI).''
''Turkey will continue to closely follow the decisions taken at the EU Summit in Feria regarding the ESDI policy, and their reflections in the NATO. Each of EU's demands from NATO will be evaluated within framework of national interests. This evaluation will be appropriate to NATO resolutions. Turkey will take into consideration equality between its contribution and participation,'' it said.

The statement said, ''Turkey's position will be concordant with the reality of NATO's being a primary collective defense organization, indivisibility of defense, principles to protect the Transatlantic tie and resposibilities of a EU candidate country. Turkey will continue its determined approach toward ESDI issue, and continue to request the EU to recover its insufficient policy.''

The statement said Turkey considered that U.N. Security Council's decision about the Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus contradicted with the equality between the Turkish and Greek Cypriots, and Turkey evaluated that the decision in question was a development hampering the proximity talks of which third round would start soon.

The statement added that Turkey would continue to support the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus's (TRNC) position regarding this issue.

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