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Anadolu Agency: News in English, 99-08-15Anadolu Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Anadolu Agency Home Page at <http://www.anadoluajansi.gov.tr/>AA Daily15 August 1999 SundayCONTENTS
[01] TURKEY-PRESS SCANThese are some of the major headlines and their brief stories in Turkey's press on August 15, 1999. The Anadolu Ajansi does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.HURRIYET (LIBERAL)ECEVIT: ''ERBAKAN IS DREAMING''Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit defended that the constitutional change in the Political Parties Law will not open the way for Necmettin Erbakan, former Leader of the Welfare Party which was closed by the Constitutional Court, to return to politics. RICHARDSON DUE IN TURKEY MILLIYET (LIBERAL)DRUG NETWORKNarcotics officials confiscated a total of 7 kg of heroin and 22.5 kg of hashish having a market price of nearly one trillion Turkish Liras (TL) in three separate operations they launched in Istanbul within the last two days. Meanwhile, a total of 103 street-dealers were captured in Istanbul along with 18.6 kg of heroin, 33.5 kg of hashish, 154 gr cocaine, 144 gr opium, 73 thousand drug pills, 2.4 thousand roots of Indian hemp, 50 gr Indian hemp, 2 used injectors and 4 pistols. SUNFLOWERS FOR CAN YUCEL SABAH (LIBERAL)ECEVIT: ILLEGAL DEMONSTRATIONS MAY LEAD SERIOUS PROBLEMSPrime Minister Bulent Ecevit said that illegal demonstrations may lead to serious problems in Turkey, adding, ''all social groups can express their complaints in an appropriate way, but the Labour Platform's demonstration turned out to be a challenge.'' Stressing that they will never cease from retirement age as 58 for women and 60 for men, Prime Minister Ecevit told the reporters that this issue is irreversible. SUICIDE BOMBER KILLED IN BINGOL CUMHURIYET (LEFT)''CONDITIONAL AMNESTY'' FOR TERRORISTS ON MOUNTAINSIf the law, which was prepared by the government, is approved at the Parliamentary General Assembly, the terrorists, who did not join any terrorist activity and lay down their arms, won't be punished with court verdicts. Terrorists, who killed or injured security forces, can't benefit from the law. The Repentance Law does not include high-level officials of the terrorist organization. The law, which will be in effect for six months, is thought to speed up dissolution of the organization. WOMAN, WHO WEARS OFF ISLAMIC STYLE HEAD-SCARF, TO BE FORGIVEN GREEK-CYPRIOTS IN TRNC TODAY RADIKAL (LEFT)CASE RECORD-HOLDER BANNED RP DEPUTIESThere are plenty of cases filed at the State Security Courts (DGM), high criminal courts, basic criminal courts and criminal courts of peace against the former deputies of the Welfare Party (RP), which was closed by the Constitutional Court. The first imprisonment sentence was handed down on Hasan Huseyin Ceylan, the former deputy from Ankara. Hasan Huseyin Ceylan will be imprisoned in September 1999 as the sentence given by the Ankara DGM No:1 became clear. Necmettin Erbakan, the latest leader of the closed RP, was acquitted from the case which was opened with charges of ''insulting the Constitutional Court''. The cases, which were filed at the Diyarbakir DGM No: 1 and Ankara High Criminal Court No:9, still continue. Sevki Yilmaz and Ibrahim Halil Celik are wanted as verdicts for arrest on absentia as they did not attend the trials at the cases opened in several provinces. T�RK�YE (RIGHT)MOURNFUL GENERAL CONGRESS OF GMISThe General Congress of the General Miners' Union (GMIS) was held in the wake of assasination of Semsi Denizer, the Secretary General of the Confederation of the Turkish Labour Unions (Turk-Is) and the Chairman of the GMIS. Addressing the congress, Remezen Saribas, brother of Denizer, said that the private coal enterprises is the responsible of the assasination. PRESIDENT DENKTAS'S CALL FOR GREEK CYPRIOTS ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)FOREST FIRE IN SINDIRGAFire broke out in woodland in Sindirga county of Balikesir province. A total of 45 hectares of woodland was reduced to ash in the fire which started at about 15.00 local time. [02] STATEMENT OF GENERAL STAFF: - ''THE TURKISH ARMED FORCES WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE GUARANTOR OF THE SECULAR REPUBLIC AND OF THE COUNTRY'S INTEGRITY WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF ITS DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES GIVEN BY THE CONSTITUTION AND LAWS''ANKARA, August 15 (A.A) - The General Staff issued a written statement on Sunday, and expressed regret over some recent news reports including humiliating and deliberate comments about the commanders who will retire on August 30, 1999.The statement underlined, ''obnoxious targets of the persons and organizations producing irresponsible conspiracy theories about the commanders, making sarcastic, slandering, deliberate and unrealistic comments about pasts and futures of the commanders, are very well known by the Turkish people having common sense. The Turkish Armed Forces are a family with privates, non-commissioned officers, civilian staff, officers, generals and admirals. Retired staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, are also indispensable part of this family.'' ''Those who consider the Turkish Armed Forces as the biggest obstacle in front of the establishment of a state based on religious principles, and who launch initatives to damage the esteemed and reliable image of the Turkish Armed Forces by showing as if it was an enemy of the religion, are the traitors and enemies,'' the statement stressed. It also emphasized, ''the Turkish Armed Forces will continue to be the guarantor of the secular Republic and of the country's integr�ty within the framework of its duties and responsibilities given by the Constitution and laws.'' [03] U.S. PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON TO VISIT EFES - A U.S. DELEGATION MAKES INQUIRIES IN EFES RUINS AND HOUSE OF VIRGIN MARYSELCUK, August 15 (A.A) - The U.S. President Bill Clinton who will pay a visit to Turkey to attend the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) meeting which will be held in Istanbul in November 1999, will also visit the Efes Ruins and the House of Virgin Mary in Selcuk county of Izmir province, it was reported on Sunday.Within this framework, a U.S. delegation made inquiries in the Efes Ruins and the House of Virgin Mary to determine the schedule of the visit and the security measures to be taken. Yusuf Ziya Karacaev, the Governor of Selcuk county; Onder Curukoglu, the Protocol Director of Izmir Governorship, and Selahattin Erdemgil, the Director of Selcuk Archaeology Museum, accompanied the U.S. delegation. Wife and daughter of Bill Clinton had earlier visited the Efes Ruins where the temple of Artemis, an ancient Greek goddess who was characterized as a virgin huntress, is situated. Clinton's visit is expected to make a considerable contribution to the ''religious belief tourism'' which will be organized to mark the 2000th anniversary of the Jesus Christ's birth. [04] IN JANUARY-JULY PERIOD, 162 MILLION U.S. DOLLARS OF TEXTILES EXPORTED FROM SOUTHEASTERN ANATOLIAGAZIANTEP, August 15 (A.A) - The exports of textiles from the Southeastern Anatolia in the first seven months of 1999, decreased 2.4 percent to 162 million 82 thousand U.S. dollars, it was reported on Sunday.In the same period last year, the region exported 166 million 53 thousand U.S. dollars of textiles. Adil Sani Konukoglu, the Chairman of the Southeastern Anatolia Textile Exporters' Union, told the A.A correspondent that in the first seven months of the year, they exported 91 million 969 thousand U.S. dollars thread; 63 million 795 thousand U.S. dollars cotton fabric; and 6 million 318 thousand U.S. dollars various textiles. Konukoglu added that they export textiles mainly to the U.S., Syria, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Italy, Jordan, Spain, Israel, Portugal, France, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Romania, Greece, Algeria, Russia and Azerbaijan. [05] AMNESTY DRAFT LAW - TURK, MINISTER OF JUSTICE: ''WE HAVE CONCLUDED PREPARATIONS FOR THE BILL''ANKARA, August 15 (A.A) - Hikmet Sami Turk, the Minister of Justice, said on Saturday that a consensus was reached on the amnisty draft law for which the preparations were finalized.Turk stated that the bill will be sent to the Parliament next week. Noting that the only thing left was the editing of the bill, Turk said, ''however, the commission member Motherland Party (ANAP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) deputies will convey the draft to their parliamentary groups and leaders. It will be editted after the ANAP and MHP groups approve the draft. The reason of the bill will be written according to the corrections and later it will be opened to the signatures of the cabinet.'' Turk said that the commission won't convene again if the groups approve the bill, and then they will submit it to the Parliament next week. Declining to give information about the details of the bill, Turk said, ''at this stage, the bill has not become clear. Any information about the details may lead to misunderstandings.'' [06] AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR'S PRODUCTION IN TURKEYANKARA, August 15 (A.A) - The Turkish automotive sector produced a total of 120,915 automobiles between January and July 1999, it was reported on Sunday.The Automotive Industry Association (OSD) data shows that the Oyak-Renault produced 65,821 automobiles that equals to 54.44 percent stake in total production in Turkey. The names of companies and number of automobiles they produced in this period according to the OSD data are as follows: Company Number of Automobiles ------------ ---------------------- TOFAS 35,683 Toyotasa 5,465 Honda 3,534 Opel 1,858 Ford Otosan 804 --------------------------------------- Company Towing Lorry Truck Van Bus Minibus Midibus ------- ------- ----- ----- --- --- ------- ------- BMC - 49 543 2,065 44 27 71 Ford Otosan - - 680 7,257 - 4,617 - Hyundai Assan - - - 4,196 - 758 - Karsan - - - 1,043 - 778 3,870 M.A.N. 95 - 31 - 278 - - Otokar - - - 1,314 - 381 - Otoyol - 948 24 573 - 264 985 Temsa - 1,020 - 1,032 130 - 341 ------------------------------------------------------------ Company Tractor ------- ------- Turk Traktor 10,081 TZDK 2,174 ----------------------------------- [07] SOCIAL SECURITY DRAFT LAW - ARTICLE 16 APPROVEDANKARA, August 15 (A.A) - The Social Security Draft Law's Article 16 was approved at the Parliamentary General Assambly on Sunday.Article 16 foresees that the pensions of the people, who retire in accordance with the Law on Social Security Authority (SSK), will be increased every month according to the rate of Consumer Prices Index (TUFE) that will be determined by the State Institute of Statistics (DIE). In accordance with Article 16, the nominal labor term will be maximum five years at the proffessional associations where there are hard working conditions. This term will be reduced from the retirement age. The people, who are insured, should inform the SSK that they started to work within 30 days after they became employed. The relatives of security forces, Judges and Prosecutors and the officials at the narcotics will receive the death pension and won't pay contribution fee for prosthesis and equipment. A.A Anadolu Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |