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Turkish Press Review, 00-08-18
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
18.08.00
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] TURKEY MARKS 1ST ANNIVERSARY OF QUAKE
[02] PRESIDENT SEZER IN EARTHQUAKE REGION
[03] COUNCIL OF MINISTERS MEETING
[04] OVER 5000 RECRUITS IN RESCUE TEAM
[05] COMMANDERS' FAREWELL VISIT
[06] FEHRIYE ERDAL RELEASED FROM PRISON
[07] POLICE SEIZES PICASSO'S PAINTING IN SANLIURFA
[08] RATIFICATION FOR GSM
[09] MINISTRY OF JUSTICE SENDS A DECREE TO THE PUBLIC PROSECUTORS
[10] CASH AIDS FOR THE VICTIMS OF NATURAL DISASTER RAISE
[11] IMF TO OPEN AN OFFICE IN TURKEY
[12] MANUFACTURING CAPACITY RATIO INCREASES
[13] TURKISH FIRMS IN BAGHDAD
[14] "TURKISH NATIONAL DAY" IN EXPO 2000 FAIR
[15] TURKEY TO PARTICIPATE IN THESSALONIKI FAIR
[01] TURKEY MARKS 1ST ANNIVERSARY OF QUAKE
Thousands of people gathered with candles and tears in central
squares of hard-hit towns at 3:02 a.m. to mark the moment that
the earthquake hit western parts of Turkey on Aug. 17 last year,
killing over 17,000 people and causing the collapse of more than
285,000 homes. Mourning for their beloved ones, survivors of the
victims called on government to heal the wounds of quake as soon
as possible.
[02] PRESIDENT SEZER IN EARTHQUAKE REGION
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday paid a one-day visit to
the Marmara region on the first anniversary of the last year's
devastating quake. Delivering a speech at the 294 permanent
houses' laying foundation ceremony in Sakarya, President Sezer
said all Turkish citizens are sharing the grief of the
earthquake. Wishing for God's mercy on the victims of the quake
and offering his condolences to their relatives, the President
said that Turkey had learned lessons from the quake and would
continue to heal the wounds. He also said: "We ask you to be
patient and to trust the State."
[03] COUNCIL OF MINISTERS MEETING
The Council of Ministers held a meeting yesterday to evaluate the
developments after the August 17 Marmara quake. After the
meeting, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said, "The state has proved
its power after the quake." The Prime Minister said, "There was
no hitch in the health and education services in the region after
the earthquake. The housing and nutrition services were carried
out very quickly." During the Council of Ministers' meeting, it
was decided to form a council which will determine the
deficiencies of the measures taken against quakes. The council
which will be presided by Deputy Prime Minister Husamettin Ozkan
consists of Public Works and Housing Minister Koray Aydin,
Finance Minister Sumer Oral, State Ministers Faruk Bal and Recep
Onal.The council will prepare a report on deficiences of the
activities that have been carrying out in the quake region and
will present it to the Council of Ministers. Mr. Ecevit said, " A
mobilization is necessary to deliver the houses to the people who
lost their houses in the earthquake as soon as possible."
[04] OVER 5000 RECRUITS IN RESCUE TEAM
Search and rescue teams formed by the Civil Defence Organization
walked in the parade in Taksim, Istanbul to commemorate the
people who lost their lives in the Marmara quake last year.
Deputy Governor of Istanbul Ali Cafer Akyuz said that 5.350
rescuers were trained for possible new disasters and the rescue
teams were equipped with modern search and rescue materials.
[05] COMMANDERS' FAREWELL VISIT
The Commander of the Land Forces Gen. Atilla Ates and the
Commander of Gendarmerie Gen. Rasim Betir paid a farewell-visit
to Minister of National Defence Sabahattin Cakmakoglu. Both
commanders will retire on Aug. 30.
[06] FEHRIYE ERDAL RELEASED FROM PRISON
Fehriye Erdal, whose extradition is wanted by Turkey on murder
charges, was released from Bruge prison by the order of Belgian
authorities on Wednesday and placed under house arrest. Belgium
is seeking to deport Erdal to a third country. Meanwhile, two
journalists, who were following Fehriye Erdal after release, were
attacked by the militants of terrorist organization DHKP-C.
Aggressors lightly injured the journalists and broke down their
cameras. They also took their car and belongings and ran away.
[07] POLICE SEIZES PICASSO'S PAINTING IN SANLIURFA
The painting "The Portrait of a Young Woman" by Pablo Picasso,
which was stolen from the Kuwait Museum during the Iraqi military
occupation, was seized in a police operation in Suruc, Sanliurfa.
The painting was submitted to Harran University to be examined by
the experts.
[08] RATIFICATION FOR GSM
The Competition Board ratified the take-over of the licence of
GSM 1800 network to Is Bank-Telecom Italia consorsium which gave
the highest offer with 2,525 billion dollars at the bidding on
April 12 2000.
[09] MINISTRY OF JUSTICE SENDS A DECREE TO THE PUBLIC PROSECUTORS
Ministry of Justice has sent a decree to the public prosecutors
demanding the improvement of the health conditions in the jails.
The decree also envisages necessary measures should be taken not
to cause delays in the health services in jails. It is reported
that prisoners' health conditions have always been taken with
care without taking into account whatever crime or offence they
had committed.
[10] CASH AIDS FOR THE VICTIMS OF NATURAL DISASTER RAISE
The Council of Ministers decided to raise the amount of cash aid
paid to the victims of the disaster-stricken areas. According to
the decision which was published in the Official Gazette
yesterday, the Fund for Social Solidarity and Aid is going to pay
now TL750 million to the citizens who lost their first degree
relatives in the natural disaster such as earthquakes, floods,
landslides,avalanches. The victims who lost their properties such
as house, shop etc. will get cash aid ranging from TL200 million
to TL500 million which will be based to the degree of the damage.
[11] IMF TO OPEN AN OFFICE IN TURKEY
Turkish Foreign Ministry has approved the IMF to open an `office'
in Turkey to observe the implementation of stand-by agreement.
IMF representative Odd Per Brekk will be the chief of the office.
Opening an IMF representative office in Turkey was first
suggested by Carlo Cottarelli, an IMF Official in charge of
Turkey desk at the beginning of the year. Foreign Ministry gave
its formal approval to the official demand of the General
Directorate of Foreign Economic Relations of the Treasury
Undersecretariat on the issue.
[12] MANUFACTURING CAPACITY RATIO INCREASES
State Institute of Statistics (DIE) announced the data on the
production, sales and prices of the industrial sector for the
second quarter of 2000 (April, May, June) and the expected ratios
for the third quarter of the year (July, August, September). DIE
disclosed yesterday the Turkish manufacturing industry's
utilization of production value weighed capacity reached 76.1 %
increasing by 0.4 % when comparing the same period of last year.
[13] TURKISH FIRMS IN BAGHDAD
Turkish firms are preparing to attend the 33rd Baghdad
International Fair. A 4,500-square metre area is going to be
allocated for Turkey which is expected to participate in the fair
with 50 firms.
[14] "TURKISH NATIONAL DAY" IN EXPO 2000 FAIR
"Turkish National Day" will be celebrated on August 19, at the
Expo 2000 Fair in Hannover, Germany. Deputy Prime Minister and
Chairman of the Motherland Party (ANAP) Mesut Yilmaz and Minister
of Tourism Erkan Mumcu will participate in the activities.
[15] TURKEY TO PARTICIPATE IN THESSALONIKI FAIR
Turkey will participate in the Thessaloniki Fair to be held
between September 2 and 11.The fair will be inaugurated by Greek
Prime Minister Simitis. 19 countries such as Turkey, the United
States, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Colombia, South Africa, the
Czech Republic will present their productions in the fair.
Chairman of Turco-Greek Business C�uncil Sarik Tara said, "The
firms that will participate in the fair will present their
productions not only for the Greek market, but also the European
Union markets. This fair will contribute greatly to the
rapproachment between Turkey and Greece."
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