Anadolu Agency: News in English, 01-08-08

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ANADOLU AGENCY

NEWS

08 AUGUST 2001 Thursday

-TURKEY-PRESS SCAN

These are some of the major headlines and their brief stories in Turkey's press on August 8, 2001. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

HURRIYET (LIBERAL)

The Office of Chief of General Staff evaluated the initiative of Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz to open the concept of ''national security'' into discussion as a dishonourable behaviour. ''It is not possible to consider discussion of this matter as a complaint to the world instead of debating it at related legal platforms as a graceful behavior,'' the statement said.

TURKISH JET'S CONFRONTATION WITH UFO

Pilot of a T-37 type military plane which was making a training flight over Candarli Gulf near western Izmir province the previous day reported to the base that he saw a UFO and thus, the incident was included in the official report. Officials said that an investigation is under way and that international organizations, particularly NASA, will be informed about the incident in coming days.

MILLIYET (LIBERAL)

Central Bank will be in an effort to provide social compromise to reach inflation target.

Sukru Binay, the Central Bank Deputy Governor, pointed out that the required condition of providing a successful inflation target was to reach a social compromise.

Binay said they would be obliged to announce inflation target before the budget is submitted to the Parliament in October.

AYCELL TO START GIVING SERVICE ON AUGUST 22

Aycell which is one of the four GSM operators in Turkey will start giving technical and commercial service in on August 22.

Sources said that Aycell which would be in service in Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, Adana, Bursa, Antalya and Mugla with 1.000 base stations at first stage targeted to spread its network throughout Turkey within 5 months.

Fixed charges will not be collected from the subscribers.

Meanwhile, sources added that talks between Aycell and other operators Turkcell, Telsim and Aria on roaming agreements which foresaw use of infrastructure of these operators by Aycell were under way.

SABAH (LIBERAL)

First lieutenant pilot of a T-37 training plane which took off from Cigli Air Base reported to the base a UFO. The unbelievable incident took place at noon the previous day. First lieutenant pilot Ilker Dincer saw a UFO near Candarli Gulf a short time after the take-off.

SHARON SAYS HE IS A PACIFIST NOW

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who is coming to Turkey today for a one-day official visit, told those who criticize him for being a falcon, that he worked in all levels of the army. Sharon said that he felt all the agonies, noting that his close friend died in front of his eyes and there was much bloodshed.

CUMHURIYET (LEFT)

Death fast protest, which was started against F type prisons, entered to the 293rd day.

A written statement issued by TAYAD claimed that police continued to put pressure for days to intervene the death fasts which the relatives of inmates continued in Kucukarmutlu to expend support to the death fasts in prisons.

IMF CREDIT EXPECTED TO COME TODAY

The tranche worth of 1,5 billion dollars which is extended to Turkey by IMF is expected to be in the Treasury's account on Wednesday.

Part of the tranche will be used in financing reserves and THE remaining part for financing the budget.

IMF Executive Board discussed Turkey's supplementary letter of intent on August 3 and approved the ninth review of the economic programme. IMF will release the other tranches worth of 3 billion dollars after September 20 and November 15.

RADIKAL (LEFT)

The Treasury reduced the interest rate by two points in the five-month bond auction. State Minister Kemal Dervis announced that the new inflation targets will start to be implemented by autumn. The Treasury sold net 1.8 quadrillion Turkish lira (TL) in the bond auction. The interest rate was 89.83 percent in the auction.

TURKISH DAY IN FIELD

The aim of Fenerbahce soccer club is to be advantageous in the end of its match with Glasgow Rangers while Galatasaray wants to gain an advantage for the second match by defeating Levski Sofia.

PROMOTION IN BBC

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) praised the Aegean and Mediterranean regions of Turkey in a program the previous night. In the program, the BBC said that the roads in Turkey are more secure now. The BBC said that food is good and that touristic facilities are good.

TURKIYE (RIGHT)

One person who came to the Prime Ministry central building with his tanker and protested the government. Police took out Kazim Gemalmaz (35) from his tanker who shouted ''I brought a gift to prime minister.'' He was rendered ineffective by security forces and handcuffed.

Gemalmaz who said ''I am hungry, and I can't bring food to my house,'' was later taken to police station to be questioned.

Gemalmaz later told the police that he wanted to protest the governemnt because of his debts.

Gemalmaz who bought the tanker by getting a bank credit carried wheat and fodder for a private firm. He couldn't pay his debt to the bank which was 7 billion liras and a decision to sequestrate his tanker was taken.

CONTROVERSIAL VISIT

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will be given the message that there was no alternative but peace during his visit to Ankara which will take place at a time when violence escalated in the Middle East and when the sides lost confidence in each other.

Both sides want Turkey to put pressure on the other prior to the one-day working visit of Sharon.

Ankara is expected to convey its views to Sharon to stop violence in the region and to provide peace.

ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)

The citizens who had to leave their villages because of terrorism and unemployment, return to their villages with the initiative of the state. However, most of them don't have jobs or a house to shelter.

Citizens, who return to their villages from big cities with the force of life conditions following the economic crisis, face a series of problems. Those people, who can not find a house to shelter, have to stay in the house of their relatives.

MTA SISMIK-1 TO CARRY OUT ANOTHER RESEARCH ABOUT QUAKE

Sismik-1 research ship of Mineral Research and Administration Institute (MTA) came to Gemlik on Tuesday to carry out a new quake research.

The ship will install to the fault lines in Marmara Sea a system called OBE which consist of seismologic instruments to follow movements of fault lines via satellite.

CONTENTS

[01] ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER SHARON ARRIVES IN ANKARA

[02] WORLD BANK REPAIRS SCHOOLS

[03] ALMOST 2.5 MILLION PEOPLE ENTERED FROM ATATURK AIRPORT IN SEVEN MONTHS

[04] PALESTINIAN AMBASSADOR SAYS TURKISH GOVERNMENT WILL BRING EVERY ISSUE INTO AGENDA

[05] BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA AND KOSOVO ASSIGNMENT OF TURKISH AIR FORCES COMPLETED WITH THE RETURN OF F-16 PLANES

[06] ANKARA CALLS ON AZERBAIJAN AND IRAN TO EASES TENSION BETWEEN THEM THROUGH DIALOGUE

[07] CAKMAKOGLU LEAVES FOR UKRAINE

[08] A GROUP PROTESTS ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER SHARON'S VISIT TO TURKEY

[09] DR. BAGIS FROM TUBITAK:''I CAN'T IMAGINE THE CONSEQUENCES OF HUMAN CLONING SINCE CLONING TESTS ON ANIMALS ARE STILL IN PROGRESS''

[10] ECEVIT AND SHARON HOLD A JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE (1) -ECEVIT SAYS TURKEY WANTS ISRAEL AND PALESTINE TO REACH AN AGREEMENT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

[11] ECEVIT AND SHARON HOLD A JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE (2)

[12] ISRAELI INDUSTRY AND TRADE MINISTER ITZIK TO HOLD CONTACTS IN ISTANBUL BETWEEN AUGUST

[13] ECEVIT AND SHARON HOLD A JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE (3)

[01] ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER SHARON ARRIVES IN ANKARA

Sharon will firstly meet with Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit.

Following the meeting to which Foreign Minister Ismail Cem will also attend, two prime ministers are expected to make a joint press conference.

After attending the luncheon hosted by Ecevit in his honour, Sharon will be received by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer.

The Israeli prime minister will later meet State Minister Kemal Dervis. Sharon is expected to make some recommendations to Dervis about how his country overcame high inflation.

Sharon is expected to depart from Turkey in the evening.

[02] WORLD BANK REPAIRS SCHOOLS

The World Bank expended 25 million U.S. dollars for the repair of 1300 schools in 76 provinces in 1300 rural regions, and also expended one million U.S. dollars for the renewal works of 13 boarding schools in 13 provinces.

Officials said tender works were completed in 40 provinces and construction started, noting that other tenders would be completed soon.

[03] ALMOST 2.5 MILLION PEOPLE ENTERED FROM ATATURK AIRPORT IN SEVEN MONTHS

Officials at Ataturk Airport told A.A correspondent on Wednesday that Germans were ranked the first among the foreigners who came to Istanbul with 187,027. Russians and Americans followed the Germans.

Three thousand and 731 people departed from Ataturk Airport in the same period.

Below listed number of Turkish and foreign people who entered from Ataturk Airport in the first seven months of this year:

Month Turks Foreigners

----- ------- -----------
Jan 141.545 135.260

Feb 116.769 147.262

March 171.216 196.985

April 104.487 227.436

May 113.795 215.976

June 169.827 221.190

July 240.817 255.188

TOTAL : 1.058.456 1.399.297
Below listed the number of foreigners who came to Istanbul in the first seven months of this year:

Country Number

---------- ---------
Germany 187.027

Russia 127.068

The U.S. 101.493

France 88.159

Italy 70.896

Britain 70.116

Israel 49.834

Japan 46.276

The Netherlands 36.764

Ukraine 35.977

Spain 33.587

Greece 17.850

Kazakhstan 10.967

Azerbaijan 10.783

Uzbekistan 10.722

Armenia 914

El Salvador 887

Senegal 883

Uruguay 580

Venezuela 375

Mongolia 217

Peru 183

Costa Rica 177

Kiribati 19

Cape Verde 12

The Bahamas 11

Barbados 7

Benin 2

Guinea-Bissau 1

Burkina Faso 1

Mozambique 1

Saint Lucia 1

[04] PALESTINIAN AMBASSADOR SAYS TURKISH GOVERNMENT WILL BRING EVERY ISSUE INTO AGENDA

Commenting on Sharon's visit to Turkey, Yassen said that Sharon's visit is a working visit and that they believe that Turkish government will bring issues regarding peace process into the agenda.

Yaseen said that there is violence in Palestine and that he believes that Turkey will tell Sharon to stop this violence.

[05] BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA AND KOSOVO ASSIGNMENT OF TURKISH AIR FORCES COMPLETED WITH THE RETURN OF F-16 PLANES

The Air Forces Command issued a written statement and said Turkish Air Forces fleet participated in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo operations from Italy's Ghedi Base, where they were deployed to contribute to the providing of stability in the region.

The statement said 167 planes from 10 fleets attended those operations since April 21, 1993 up to now, noting that the planes flew 35,000 hours in Bosnia, and 2,000 hours in Kosovo.

The Turkish pilots, who attracted attention among the NATO Forces with their performance and success, were awarded by Gen. Keys, the then- Commander of the NATO Allied Air Forces.

[06] ANKARA CALLS ON AZERBAIJAN AND IRAN TO EASES TENSION BETWEEN THEM THROUGH DIALOGUE

Huseyin Dirioz, the Foreign Ministry Spokesman, said, ''Turkey carefully and closely follows the difficulties experienced between Azerbaijan and Iran stemming from unilateral evaluations as legal status of Caspian Sea has not been determined yet.''

Pointing out that Turkey was a country believing in virtue of solving conflicts between the neighbours through dialogue, Dirioz said that not applying to force, and not applying to threat of using force were the fundamental principles of the international law and U.N. Charter.

Dirioz said, ''we believe that relations between Azerbaijan and Iran would continue acting within the framework of this understanding and that status of the Caspian Sea would be settled into a legal basis that will be formed with the participation of littoral states.''

Dirioz said those views were conveyed to the Iranian Ambassador in Ankara.

[07] CAKMAKOGLU LEAVES FOR UKRAINE

Prior to his departure from Etimesgut Military Airport to Ukraine, Cakmakoglu told reporters that he and his Ukranian counterpart Olesksandr I. Kuzmuk would discuss matters that are of interest to both Turkey and Ukraine and other regional issues. He said that they would also seek ways to develop cooperation between the two countries on the international platforms. Cooperation in the defense field will be another topic of discussion during the meeting.

''As you all know, in the recent years, confidence building measures in the Black Sea is a priority for Turkey. We will bring a solution to certain disagreements on this matter with Ukraine,'' Cakmakoglu told reporters. ''Crimean Tartars are the strongest tie between Turkey and Ukraine. Ukraine's positive approach to Crimean Tartars who want to return to their homeland is strengthening our friendship with this country.''

Responding to a question about the General Staff statement about the discussion on the national security concept which was started by Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz, Cakmakoglu said ''In general sense, I believe that matters regarding Turkey's national values and national security should be discussed on legal grounds at the right time rather than debating them as part of daily politics. The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) is an important part of Turkey's national security.''

When asked if there was a change in the national security concept recently, Cakmakoglu said, ''As far as I know, there is no change. The statements of State Minister Devlet Bahceli and Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit also prove this right. There is no change recently in the concept of national security.''

Responding to a question about the passage of an aircraft carrier sold by Ukraine to China from Istanbul Strait, Cakmakoglu said, ''This subject is not on my agenda. But as the government is trying to find a solution considering Turkey's security.''

Speaking about the allegations that Turkey decided not to rent F-16 airplanes to Hungary because of the economic crisis, the defense minister said, ''This is definitely not true. Turkey has the Turkish Aerospace Industry (TAI) which is an airplane factory. TAI has to receive orders in order to survive and continue its activities on airplanes. Of course, we have to market what we produce. TAI has an experience on manufacturing F-16 planes. Therefore, we rent airplanes to friend countries when we know that they need it. This is what happened with Hungary.''

''The airplanes could be sold from the United States or they could also be bought from the factory in Turkey. However, the U.S. approval is needed according to our agreement. I don't think we'll face any significant troubles regarding the renting of the planes but we need the U.S. approval to sell them,'' he concluded.

[08] A GROUP PROTESTS ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER SHARON'S VISIT TO TURKEY

The group gathered in Kizilay Square, and chanted slogans protesting Sharon.

Stressing that they would continue to support Palestinian people, the demonstrators called on government to annul all bilateral agreements between Turkey and Israel.

Speaking at the demonstration, EMEP Provincial Chairman Ibrahim Akkaya claimed, ''our government led by Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit has been treating Israeli Prime Minister Sharon with great respect and honor. In fact, Sharon is the responsible of massacre of many Palestinians. Therefore, Turkish people should object to Sharon's visit to Turkey.''

Later, they dispersed peacefully.

[09] DR. BAGIS FROM TUBITAK:''I CAN'T IMAGINE THE CONSEQUENCES OF HUMAN CLONING SINCE CLONING TESTS ON ANIMALS ARE STILL IN PROGRESS''

Scienctific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) Genetic Engineering Biotechnology Research Institute expert Dr. Haydar Bagis told the A.A that cloning of a human being could have very dangerous consequences since the tests on animal cloning have not yet been finalized. Bagis said Antinori's initiative was a ''case'' and it should be taken seriously. He also remarked that Antinori made internationally valuable studies and were wellknown names in their field.

''I can't think of the consequences that might emerge when a technique is used on humans while it is still being tested on animals,'' he asserted. Indicating that cloned animals suffered from health problems such as heart failures, Bagis said ''Who is going to claim responsibility when these people suffer from abnormalities? Who could guarantee that there won't be a genetic problem in these people?''

Speaking about the social problems that might occur as a result of cloning, Bagis said, ''I can't understand how sterile couples want to clone themselves. I can't understand the rationality or the logic of this. The medicine sometimes fail to offer a solution to sterile couples, but the couples who want to clone themselves do not understand the consequences of this act,'' he said.

He explained that the biggest discussion that will arise with cloning of humans will be who the father of the cloned human being will be. ''Who is going to be the father or the mother of my clone? It sure won't be me. The material taken from me to clone myself comes from my parents. It is not clear what kind of a family relationship there would be between me and my clone. How am I going to prove that my clone is my child in a legal case? This issue has a potential for a big discussion,'' he said.

Istanbul Mufti Necati Tayyar Tas said religion could not approve such an initiative. He said that the mother and the father of a clone would not be definite in such a project.

''This project would cause chaos in all respects. Human being is the most glorified of all creatures because its origin is known. A strange creature would come into existence if you deprive this quality from human beings. Although it would look like a human, it would be stripped off the human qualities that are ordered by religion,'' he commented.

Stressing that Islam was not against science, Tas said, ''religion does not oppose to discovery or trying new things, on the opposite, it orders it. God's power is not weakened by new discoveries. But God wants to keep everything balanced in the universe and recommends not to disrupt this balance. No matter how further techonogy goes, civilizations need humans. Humans should be protected. Religion does not approve human cloning because of these reasons. Religion allows test tube babies but in the cloning, there will be no parents. Therefore, cloning of human babies is not approved by Islam religion. I think that cloning of animals is good for advancements in science but cloning of human beings would be disastrous for humanity,'' he said.

[10] ECEVIT AND SHARON HOLD A JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE (1) -ECEVIT SAYS TURKEY WANTS ISRAEL AND PALESTINE TO REACH AN AGREEMENT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

Following a tete-a-tete meeting between Prime Minister Ecevit and his Israeli counterpart Ariel Sharon who is currently paying a one-day visit to Turkey, an inter-delegationary meeting was held.

Later, Prime Minister Ecevit and Prime Minister Sharon held a joint press conference.

Speaking at the press conference, Prime Minister Ecevit said that he had held a very interesting and important meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

''Every state wants security of its country and people. Therefore, we understand Israel's attributing great importance to its security. We want Israel and Palestine to reach an agreement as soon as possible,'' he told reporters.

Prime Minister Ecevit noted, ''according to a point of view, terrorism should be put an end first to reach an agreement. We think that those who target to prevent an agreement between Israel and Palestine would continue to support violence in that case. Therefore, we believe that on one hand the sides should take measures to prevent acts of violence, and on the other hand the Middle East peace process should be resumed.''

Stressing that embargo imposed on Palestine would strengthen radical elemenets, Prime Minister Ecevit added, ''Mr. Sharon explained his government's opinions clearly. Also we conveyed our methods and views to him.''

[11] ECEVIT AND SHARON HOLD A JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE (2)

Prime Minister Sharon held a joint press conference together with Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit.

Speaking at the press conference, Prime Minister Sharon said that they had reviewed the Middle East peace process during bilateral and inter- delegationary negotiations.

Noting that he had conveyed Israel's loyalty to peace to Turkish side during the meetings, Prime Minister Sharon said, ''as a soldier, I understand the need for peace more than any other politician.''

''There's only one thing to understand: We are committed to peace and I am ready to make painful concessions for peace, but I will not make any concessions on the security of the people of Israel. I believe that Turkey would also act so under the same conditions,'' he stressed.

Noting that a democracy should defend itself, Israeli Prime Minister Sharon said, ''we want the negotiations to start, but a condition for this, I emphasize, is for the violence to stop completely.''

Claiming that nearly half of terrorist activities were staged by forces of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, Prime Minister Sharon said, ''50 percent of our martyrs lost their lives in attacks staged by Arafat's forces. We lost 145 people. If we compare this number with Turkey's population, it equals to 1,500 martyrs.''

''Arafat must decide if he sought to head an independent state or a gang of murderers. The way leading to peace is clear. Whenever tranquility is provided, we will not spend a single day to start peace talks,'' he noted.

Stressing that a homicide was being experienced in the Middle East each day, Prime Minister Sharon claimed that all those actions were staged by Palestinian organizations.

Accusing Palestine of not taking necassary measures, Prime Minister Sharon said that Israel had taken measures to protect itself.

Recalling that he had submitted the list of people who were believed to have been members of fundamentalist organizations, Sharon stressed that if Arafat had arrested those people, he would have prevented acts of violence.

Sharon stressed that they could not allow a suicide bomber to walk around Israel, adding that they would continue to defend Israeli people.

Underlining importance of Turkey's role in providing stability in Middle East, Sharon said, ''a war will not break out in the region. Such a war does not take place in our agenda.''

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ecevit said in his part, ''we wish that the peace process would be resumed. We attribute great importance to restart of the peace process. We hope that the Mitchell Report would be put into practice.''

''We attribute great importance to peace in the region. According to our point of view, it is not realistic to put end of violence as a precondition to reach a final agreement. Because those who oppose an agreement between Israelis and Palestinians continue to support violence so that a final peace cannot be reached. Therefore, we believe that while efforts to stop the violence are undertaken, on the other hand steps to revive the peace process must also be taken,'' he added.

[12] ISRAELI INDUSTRY AND TRADE MINISTER ITZIK TO HOLD CONTACTS IN ISTANBUL BETWEEN AUGUST

ISTANBUL - Israeli Industry and Trade Minister Dalia Itzik will hold contacts in Istanbul between August 9 and 10.

The Israeli Consulate General said on Wednesday that Itzik would proceed to Istanbul after holding officials contacts in Ankara together with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Itzik would meet with officials from the Turkish-Israeli Business Council which carried out activities within structure of the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK), at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Istanbul on Thursday, it said.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Consul General in Istanbul would host a reception in honor of Itzik late on Thursday, it said.

Israeli Consulate General added that Itzik would visit Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO) on August 10.

[13] ECEVIT AND SHARON HOLD A JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE (3)

Prime Minister Ecevit held a press conference together with his Israeli counterpart Sharon who is currently paying a one-day visit to Turkey.

Speaking at the press conference, Prime Minister Ecevit said, ''Turkey has been doing its utmost for settlement of peace in the Middle East. We held contacts with both Israeli and Palestinian officials almost every day during the Camp David process.''

Underlining importance of a continuous dialogue in order to pave way for an agreement between the sides, Prime Minister Ecevit said, ''we have decided to attribute great importance to such a dialogue. We are opposed to violence whatever its reason is. I do not suppose that any politician wants terrorism for his own country and people. I cannot think of a politician supporting terrorism.''

When asked whether or not tough frame of relations between Israel and Palestine made Turkey's policiy for the region more difficult, Prime Minister Ecevit stressed, ''if hopes for peace vanish in the Middle East, that could put Turkey's relations in the Middle East into difficulty. Of course, we would not like this. We give importance to our relations both with Israel and Palestinians. Therefore, we attribute great importance to preparation of necessary ground for peace and stability in the region. Our relations with Israel have been further improving in every field recently.''

Responding to a question, Israeli Prime Minister Sharon underlined importance of settling stability in the region, and stressed that Israeli people would not pay the price of that stability with their lives.

Noting that Jewish people had a small state, Sharon noted that Israeli people did have the right to protect themselves. He added that Israel would not make concession any longer.

Responding to a question about acts of violence that erupted following his visit to Temple Mount which is also known as Haram al-Sharif, Sharon said the Temple Mount was the most holy site of Jewish people.

''Each Jew has the right to visit such a holy site. Jerusalem will remain as the eternal capital of Jews,'' he told reporters.

Responding to another question about the U.S. administration's request for declaration of Tanzim organization as a terrorist organization, Israeli Prime Minister said that the Tanzim organization was responsible for many terrorist activities in the region, and added that many of Israeli martyrs lost their lives in attacks staged by Tanzim organization.

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