Anadolu Agency: News in English, 00-12-28

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ANADOLU AGENCY

NEWS

28 DECEMBER 2000

Thursday

CONTENTS

[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCAN

[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCAN

HURRIYET (LIBERAL)

MILITARY VEHICLE FALLS TO SHOULDER OF ROAD, INJURING 14 SOLDIERS
A military vehicle fell to the shoulder of the road due to icy road, injuring 14 soldiers in southeastern Hakkari province. The vehicle carying soldiers who were on leave due to the Eid al-Fitr, fell to the shoulder of the road because the road was icy. The injured soldiers were taken under medical treatment in Hakkari Military Hospital.

MILLIYET (LIBERAL)

2.8 BILLION U.S. DOLLAR IMF LOAN IN TREASURY TODAY
The supplemental reserve facility credit provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to Turkey will be deposited in the account of the Treasury on Thursday. The total of the supplemental reserve facility credit will be provided to Turkey in portions within a year. Within this framework, two portions worth of SDR 867.6 million (about US$1.1 billion) will be extended on January 20 and February 20, and four portions worth of SDR 578.4 billion (about US$ 750 million) will be granted on March 15, May 15, August 15 and November 15. Despite these, Turkey can withdraw almost 280 million U.S. dollars every three months within the scope of the Stand-By agreement.

SABAH (LIBERAL)

TURK: ''THERE IS NOT ANY INEQUALITY IN AMNESTY''
Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said that there was not any inequality in the amnesty law. Responding to a question, Turk said that they think of changing the whole of Turkish Penal Code (TCK), adding that experts completed their works regarding this issue and that the draft will be given its final shape within three months and be submitted to the Council of Ministers. Turk noted that if the Council of Ministers finds it appropriate, the law will be submitted to the parliament and it will be renewed.

CUMHURIYET (LEFT)

BALANCE SHEET OF FIRST DAY OF EID AL-FITR
Ten people died and 46 people were injured in the traffic accidents happened on the first day of the Eid al-Fitr. The roads were closed to traffic in Eastern Anatolia Region due to heavy snowfall while the western part of Turkey was sunny.

RADIKAL (LEFT)

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS EVERYWHERE
A total of 12,921 illegal immigrants were captured in Istanbul in the first ten months of 2000. Most of the illegal immigrants were from Iran and Iraq. Almost 250 illegal immigrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Northern Iraq came to Istanbul by ship yesterday. Some of the illegal immigrants were captured while some of them took on taxi and escaped from the police.

YENI BINYIL (LIBERAL)

BOLAYIRLI SAYS THY'S MISSION NOT TO CHANGE
Yusuf Bolayirli, the Director General of Turkish Airlines (THY), said that despite all the giant leap forwards, the loss of Turkish Airlines (THY) in the first nine months of 2000, was around 14.6 trillion Turkish liras (TL). Bolayirli noted that despite the negative developments, the THY carried 1.5 million more passengers in 2000 when compared with the targets for 2000. Bolayirli stated that the most important development for the THY in 2000 was the launching of privatization initiatives and that results are expected to be gained in privatization initiatives until March 2001. Stating that 12,532 people are working in the THY, Bolayirli said that they will not dismiss employees from the THY within the framework of the privatization initiatives.

TURKIYE (RIGHT)

INMATES CONTINUE TO BE RELEASED
Inmates who benefit from the law on conditional release and suspension of punishments, continued to be released from the prisons on the first day of the Eid al-Fitr. Forty inmates from Van prison and 32 inmates from the prisons in the townships of Van were released.

ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)

-JUSTICE MINISTRY SAYS PEOPLE WHO WANT TO MEET
WITH WITH INMATES IN F TYPE PRISONS WHO ARE NOT
GIVEN ANY DISCIPLINE PUNISHMENT ARE NOT PREVENTED
ANKARA - The Justice Ministry said late on Wednesday that the people who want to meet with the inmates in the F type prisons who were not given any discipline punishment, are not prevented.

A statement of the Justice Ministry said that some newspapers wrote that those who led to protests in the prisons would not be permitted to meet with their relatives, that the death fasts and hunger strikes were not ended and that there were some problems resulting from not implementing the rules.

The statement noted that the people are permitted to visit their relatives in the prisons due to the Eid-al Fitr and new year but that those who were given discipline punishments, are not permitted to meet with their relatives.

A total of 1,024 inmates were transferred to the Sincan, Edirne and Kocaeli F type prisons in the end of the operations, the statement pointed out.

The statement continued, ''the discipline investigations which were launched due to the protest of the inmates have not been concluded because the inmates have not defended themselves yet. Under the by-laws, an inmate is not given a discipline punishment without making his defense. To this end, the inmates who do not have any discipline punishment, are not prevented from meeting with their relatives. Five inmates who behaved in a way which required discipline punishment after they had been transferred to the F type prisons, were given punishment and were not permitted to meet with their relatives.''

''The Ministry is implementing the provisions of a circular regarding the inmates who continue hunger strikes and death fasts in the F type prisons. The inmates who continue hunger strikes and death fasts, are put to different places. Those whose health condition is serious are sent to the hospitals. New doctors have been appointed to the three F type prisons and the number of doctors working in these prisons have been increased,'' the statement added.

-JUSTICE MINISTER TURK:
-''CONDITIONAL RELEASE AND OPERATIONS IN PRISONS
WERE IMPORTANT OPPORTUNITIES FOR F TYPE PRISON IMPLEMENTATION''
ORDU/TRABZON - Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said on Wednesday that the law on conditional release and the operations in the prisons were important opportunities for the F type prison implementation.

Turk told reporters that the ward system in all the prisons will be removed and all the prisons will be turned into cell-type prisons.

''We consider the conditional release as an important opportunity for the betterment and rehabilitation of the physical structures of the prisons. The ward system in which many inmates live together still prevails in Turkey. We showed that some terrorists ruled the wards in the ward system. We are determined to end the ward system,'' Turk said.

Turk continued, ''but, the F type prisons are based on a special project. There are 556 prisons in Turkey except the F type prisons. We are determined to convert all these prisons into cell-type prisons. We have prepared projects to this end. But, we could not implement these projects until today because the prisons were overcrowded. The conditional release and the operations in the prisons were important opportunities for the F type prison implementation.''

Touching on the law on conditional release, Turk said, ''there is not any inequality in execution. Because, the articles of the Constitution says that discrimination can be made between crimes. To this end, it is not possible to say that the inmates are equal when the execution starts. Moreover, when this issue is brought to the Constitutional Court, the Court will give its decision.''

Turk later proceeded to northeastern Trabzon province.

Addressing the reporters in Trabzon, Turk said that the number of the inmates who have been released from the prisons reached almost 20,000.

Turk said that the coalition parties kept their promises and that the inmates started to be released from the prisons before the Eid al-Fitr.

Touching on the operations in prisons, Turk noted that they held several initiatives not to start the operations but that the operations were inevitable since their initiatives did not bear fruit.

Pointing out that some people lost their lives during the operations, Turk said, ''most of those who died during the operations died because of burning themselves. Our youngsters are so influenced by the terrorist organizations that they can die for some ideologies. We have to re-gain these youngsters and we have to save them from the influence of the terrorist organizations.''

-MUSLIM, CHRISTIAN AND JEWISH CHILDREN CONVENE IN SANTA CLAUS CHURCH
DEMRE - Muslim, Christian and Jewish children convened on Wednesday in the Santa Claus Church in Demre township of southern Antalya province.

The Muslim, Christian and Jewish children celebrated the Eid al-Fitr, Christmas and Hanukkah, which coincide in every 37 years.

Ishak Aleva, the chief rabbi in Turkey; Mohammed Fatih Al Shaxly, the Egyptian Ambassador to Turkey; Illa Milanov, the representative of the Evangalis Church in Bulgaria; Lutfu Dogan, the former Chairman of the Religious Affairs; and Antalya Mufti Kadir Cetin attended the ceremony in the Santa Claus Church held within the framework of the 18th International Santa Claus World Peace Call Activities.

The children performed the folk dances of their countries.

-WIFE OF TURKISH AMBASSADOR CHOSEN AS AMBASSADRESS OF 2000
BRUSSELS - Cag Akyol, the wife of Nihat Akyol, the Turkish Permanent Representative to the European Union (EU), was chosen as ''the Ambassadress of 2000.''

The ''Diplomatic News'', a diplomacy magazine in Europe, chosen Cag Akyol as ''the Ambassadress of 2000.''

Julia Cabrera, the editor of the magazine, presented Akyol a plaquette writing that Cag Akyol was chosen as the ambassadress of the year due to her representation talent and success in introducing the culture of her country.

The jury said that when giving its decision, it took into consideration the aid campaigns launched by Cag Akyol following the devastating earthquakes in Turkey, the introduction campaings she carried out with her husband after Turkey's candidacy was announced in the Helsinki Summit, and her contributions to the integration with the European Union (EU).

Cag Akyol said that she targets at helping her husband and that she believes that she continues a tradition in the Turkish Foreign Ministry like all the other ambassadresses.

She sincerely believes in Turkey's target of becoming a full member of the EU, Cag Akyol noted.

Cag Akyol stated that besides the political and institutional efforts, the cultural introduction is also important in reaching the target.

Being an arts historian, Cag Akyol gave conferences on Turkish china arts within the framework of the 700th anniversary of the establishment of the Ottoman Empire.

Also being an active member of the aid organization named ''European Women'' which is run by the wife of Romano Prodi, the President of EU Commission, Cag Akyol pioneered the efforts to help the Turkish people who were affected by the earthquake.

The association extended aid collected by a concert given by Idil Biret to the construction of a nursery in quake-hit Adapazari province.

Cag Akyol, who speaks fluent Japanese and is a member of the Belgian- Japanese Friendship Associaton, said that such friendships form an important bridge for the improvement of relations.

-SUPPLEMENTAL RESERVE FACILITY CREDIT OF IMF
DEPOSITED IN ACCOUNT OF TREASURY
ANKARA - The supplemental reserve facility credit provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to Turkey was deposited in the account of the Treasury on Thursday.

A total of 2.8 billion U.S. dollars of 10.4 billion U.S. dollar loan was extended to Turkey on Thursday.

The total of the supplemental reserve facility credit will be provided to Turkey in portions within a year. Within this framework, two portions worth of SDR 867.6 million (about US$1.1 billion) will be extended on January 20 and February 20, and four portions worth of SDR 578.4 billion (about US$ 750 million) will be granted on March 15, May 15, August 15 and November 15.

Despite these, Turkey can withdraw almost 280 million U.S. dollars every three months within the scope of the Stand-By agreement.

The repayments of the credits provided by supplemental reserve facility credit are foreseen to be paid within one and a half years after each portion is released.

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved on December 21 the third and fourth reviews of Turkey's economic program, which is supported by an IMF stand-by credit. The Board said that the decision would enable Turkey to draw an amount equivalent to SDR 443.4 million (about US$577 million) immediately under the credit as originally approved on December 20, 1999.

The Board had also decided to provide additional resources under the stand- by credit available under the Supplemental Reserve Facility (SRF) in the amount of SDR 5.8 billion (about US$7.5 billion), or 600 percent of Turkey's quota1 in the IMF, to alleviate balance of payments difficulties stemming from the recent financial crisis.

-PRESIDENT SEZER CELEBRATES EID AL-FITR OF HIS AZERBAIJANI,
KAZAKH, KYRGYZ, TURKMEN, UZBEK AND TRNC COUNTERPARTS
ANKARA - President Ahmet Necdet Sezer called on Thursday his Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, Uzbek and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) counterparts on the phone to mark their Eid al-Fitr.

The Presidential Press Center said that President Sezer phoned Azerbaijani President Haydar Aliyev, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev, Turkmen President Saparmurat Turkmenbasi and TRNC President Rauf Denktas to celebrate their Eid al-Fitr and new year.

Sezer conveyed his and Turkish nation's best wishes to the people of these friendly sister countries, the Presidential Press Center noted.

The Presidential Press Center said that Sezer exchanged views about bilateral and multilateral issues during his phone calls.

-JUSTICE MINISTER TURK:
-''THERE ARE NOT ANYBODY IN THE PRISONS WHO WE CAN DEFINE AS
PEOPLE CONVICTED OF INTELLECTUAL CRIMES''
VAKFIKEBIR - Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said on Thursday that there are not anybody in the prisons for the time being who they can define as the people convicted of intellectual crimes.

Turk told reporters that almost 10 thousand inmates in prisons were convicted of terrorist crimes.

''Some of these inmates directly staged terrorist attacks while there are some youngsters who are in prisons on charges of some simple activities like hanging a poster on the wall. The conditions of these youngsters cause sorrow because these youngsters are being sent to prison as the sympathizers of an ideology. But, they are trained by the members of the terrorist organizations in the prisons in such a way that they become militants. The condition of these people is an issue that should be carefully taken up in the new draft law on penal code,'' Turk said.

Turk continued, ''we have to save our youngsters from the influence of the terrorist organizations. The young people are the future of our country. Every youngster who is influenced by the terrorist organizations is a loss for our country. We have to save them. But, there are not anybody then these people in the prisons for the time being who we can define as people convicted of intellectual crimes.''

Upon a question on writer Esber Yagmurdereli, Turk said that Yagmurdereli had earlier been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Turk said, ''a law which was similar to the law on conditional release was passed in 1991. Yagmurdereli benefitted from this law and was released. That law was also conditional. That is, the law said that an inmate who was released shoud not commit a crime until the day of his punishment expired. Yagmurdereli was later sentenced to eight-month imprisonment under the Article 8 of the Anti-Terrorism Law and to this end, he is serving the remaining part of his former sentence. That is, he is in prison because of the former sentence. His sentence is not related with the freedom of thought.''

Reminding the reporters that some inmates still continue death fasts, Turk said, ''some people support the inmates who continue death fasts. Turkey is a democratic country. Every view is freely expressed. But, leading people to death fasts by ignoring the lives of these people is unacceptable and an inhumane action. This means forcing people to commit suicide. To this end, these protests should be ended.''

-TWENTY FOREIGN TELEVISION CHANNELS SHOOT DOCUMENTARY FILM IN CAPPADOCIA
NEVSEHIR - Twenty television channels from ten countries shot documentary films in Cappadocia in 2000.

Hasil Yenipinar, the Curator of the Nevsehir Museum, told A.A correspondent on Thursday that seven television channels from Japan, two each from Germany, the U.S., Italy and France, and one each from South Korea, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Poland, Australia, and New Zealand made documentary films in Cappadocia, which is one of the most important culture centers of Turkey.

Yenipinar said that the foreign television channels shot their documentary films in historical and touristic sites like Goreme, Urgup, Avanos, Mustafapasa, Uchisar, Zelve, Pasabaglari, Ozkonak, Derinkuyu, Kaymakli, Ortahisar and Cavusin.

Thirteen Turkish producers in Turkey also prefer Cappadocia for their films, Yenipinar added.

-TOTAL OF 54 PERCENT OF WORLD FIG PRODUCTION MADE IN TURKEY
AYDIN - A total of 54 percent of the world fig production is made in Turkey.

Professor Ergun Simsek of Adnan Menderes University's Economic and Administrative Sciences Faculty told A.A correspondent on Thursday that Turkey is the most important fig producer country in the world.

Simsek said that almost 250,000 people earn their living by fig production and that Turkey products 54 percent of total fig produced in the world.

More than 300 thousand tons of fig is produced in Turkey annually, Simsek noted.

Simsek said that Turkey produces 255 thousand tons of fresh fig and 51 thousand tons of dried fig a year.

He thinks that Turkey can produce 60 thousand tons of dried fig in 2010, Simsek stated.

Simsek said that Turkey's share in the world fig market is 59 percent, adding that this share will increase by good exportation policies.

-CEYLANPINAR HEAD OFFICIAL UMIT SAYS 3,382 PEOPLE FROM SYRIA WILL
STAY BESIDE THEIR RELATIVES IN CEYLANPINAR FOR TWO DAYS
CEYLANPINAR - Ahmet Umit, the Ceylanpinar Head Official, said on Thursday that 3,382 people in other words 1,362 families will stay beside their relatives in Ceylanpinar township of southeastern Sanliurfa province, for two days due to the Eid al-Fitr.

The Sanliurfa Governorship and Al Hasakah governorship of Syria signed an agreement to eliminate the borders during the Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.

Under another protocol signed between Ceylanpinar head office and Ras Al Ayn region directorate, the implementation became valid also for this year.

People who were living in Syria started to enter into Turkey for the Eid al- Fitr as of 8.30 a.m. on Thursday to exchange bairam greeting with their relatives in Turkey.

Umit told A.A correspondent that the families in Turkey will go to Syria during the Eid al-Adha.

They set up an information center composed of 16 computers and 150 personnel to give modern and efficient service, Umit said.

Umit added that the Syrian citizens will return to their country on December 30 and 31.

-TOTAL OF 19,731 INMATES HAVE BENEFITTED FROM CONDITIONAL RELEASE
ANKARA - A total of 19,731 inmates have benefitted from the law on conditional release and suspension of punishments so far.

Officials told A.A correspondent that 19,731 people have been released so far.

The officials said that almost 35,000 people are expected to benefit from the law, adding that the inmates will continue to be released in the following days.

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