Anadolu Agency: News in English, 01-12-31

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ANADOLU AGENCY

NEWS

31 December 2001

Monday

-TURKEY-PRESS SCAN

These are some of the major headlines and their brief stories in Turkey's press on December 31, 2001. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

HURRIYET (LIBERAL)

Today is the last day of 2001 which brought the severest economic crisis in Turkey's history and which made Turkey poorer. The economy in Turkey had a worse year in 2001 than even the days it had during the Second World War. The shrinkage in the economy will be 9,2 percent. It is estimated that 125, 000 business places were closed and hundreds of people became unemployed in 2001. Every Turkish citizen lost 1,083 U.S. dollars of his/her annual income due to the economic crisis. Turkey lost its competition power.

ECEVIT SAYS HE IS FINE

Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit responded to questions of the paper regarding the speculations about his health: ''I am fine, but there are persons who want me to be ill. Their aim is to get rid of me. I will travel throughout the country and spread the village-city.'' Upon a question, Ecevit said that the situation that came out in the world showed that the Feb. 28 process in Turkey was right.

MILLIYET (LIBERAL)

The letter of intent prepared and signed by State Minister Kemal Dervis and Central Bank Governor Sureyya Serdengecti, which will be sent to IMF, notes that the target of growth rate in 2002 has been decreased to 3 percent. Therefore government aims to control the inflation rate. The government promises to retire 15,000 persons working in the public sector until mid- January 2002. The number of excessive public employees will be decreased by one thirds till the end of June and by two thirds till the end of October 2002.

TURKEY TO PAY 158,7 TRILLION LIRAS OF TAX IN ONE DAY IN 2002

While Turkey leaves behind a difficult year, Turkey produced goods and services worth of 506,2 trillion liras in one day in 2001. This figure is expected to reach 786,6 trillion liras in 2002. Turkey will pay a daily interest of 117,3 trillion liras and daily tax of 158,7 trillion liras in 2002.

SABAH (LIBERAL)

Rauf Denktas, the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) went to the Greek Cypriot side last Saturday evening to attend the dinner hosted in his honour by Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides. Clerides and Denktas met in the house of Clerides and Denktas sat at an armchair with Clerides. Behind the armchair, there were pictures of Clerides taken with the statesmen of other countries and a picture of them was also taken which was later handed out to journalists. Clerides wanted to give the image as if he was the President of Cyprus. Greek Cypriot journalists, on the other hand criticized the license plate of the car which brought Denktas to the house of Clerides. The number in the plate was 747. Greek Cypriot journalists said that the plate was chosen on purpose in order to recall the Peace Operation of Turkey which was launched in July, 1974.

CUMHURIYET (LEFT)

The fines that are paid by drivers who violate traffic rules will increase by 53,2 percent starting from January 1, 2002. The lowest amount of fine will be 20,200 liras and the highest amount will be 1,25 billion liras. One who drives without having driving license will pay 83 million liras and one who does not wait at red light will pay 40,7 million liras.

TURKEY CAN'T EVEN BUY MEDICINE

The number of applications to hospitals in Istanbul decreased by 50 percent in the last one year. Patients wait until the last moment before going to hospital. Turkish Pediatric Institution Chairman Prof. Ozdemir Ilter said that patients can only buy one of the medicine written in the prescription as they don't have enough money.

RADIKAL (LEFT)

Turkey welcomes 2002 while she leaves behind 2001, which has been a terrible year for Turkey. The economic crisis came out, unemployment, murders increased, natural disasters took place in Turkey while it was also affected by the international terrorism and war in the world. In 2001, Diyarbak�r Security Director Gaffar Okkan was murdered by terrorists, unemployment increased, a CASA type military plane crashed killing 34 soldiers, prominent businessman Uzeyir Garih was killed and persons froze to death in the streets due to severe winter conditions.

EYES ON NATIONAL LOTTERY

There will be very rich persons in Turkey in the first day of 2002 if they win the National lottery tickets. The highest prize is 5 trillion liras. An income of 56 trillion liras was achieved by selling 23,400 million tickets in the country.

TURKIYE (RIGHT)

An unemployed person held a protest in front of Prime Ministry building yesterday. Fevzi Torun (45) tried to sew his mouth with a needle and opened a banner written ''I Want Job'' on it. Torun, who said that he was recently released from prison and he was unemployed, was rendered in effective by policemen and taken to police station.

ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)

The new year brings cold weather from the Balkans. Turkey will be rainy for one week. Meteorology officials said that it will snow in Thrace region starting from tonight. Temperatures will drop by 10-15 degrees all over Turkey.

-62 FOREIGNERS CAUGHT IN IZMIR

CESME/IZMIR - A total of 62 persons who wanted to go abroad illegally were captured in Cesme and Urla towns of western Izmir province on Sunday.

Coast guard officials said that 59 persons including Iraqis, Iranians and 24 Afghans who set sail from Turkey illegally with a boat, which later started to take in water, were captured when the captain of the boat asked for help. Turkish Security guard boat brought the boat to Cesme town.

Meahwhile gendarme took into custody three Iraqis who entered Turkey without passports in Urla town of Izmir.

-TURKISH CIVIL CODE TO GO INTO FORCE ON TUESDAY

ANKARA - The Turkish Civil Code which introduces important changes in family law and wihch is consisted of 1,030 articles, will go into force on Tuesday.

The adoption of the new civil code by the parliament resulted the efforts launched for 50 years to amend the Civil Code dated 1926.

The new Civil Code further expands the Turkish women's rights than that of the Civil Code which was adopted in 1926. The 1926 code was considered revolutionary and brought significant rights for Turkish women when it was adopted, but failed to keep up with the changes in women's roles in modern society.

The new law brings equality between the husband and wife in a marriage. The code also guarantees that all assets accumulated during the union are shared equally in the event of a divorce. With the new code, women are now entitled to use their maiden names. The new code raises the legal age for marriage to 18 for both men and women, and grants out-of-wedlock offspring the same inheritance rights as others. Men will be able to request alimony from wives who are better off under the new code. Adopting children will also be easier under the new code.

-CHANGES IN FAMILY

Turkish parliament formally recognizes Turkish men and women as equals with the comprehensive revisions it made to the 1926 code. The previous code which remained unchanged since 1926, had designated the husband as head of a family and the woman had to seek her husband's permission to go out to work.

Under the new law, man will no longer be head of the family and both wife and husband will have equal rights in the management of the household. And the wife will no longer need a husband's consent to get a job under the new code. Either partner can ask his or her spouse not to take a job that will create problems in the marriage.

Men will no longer be ''responsible for the care of the wife and children'' since the new law brings ''equal responsibility''. Husband and wife will contribute to the household expenses depending on their income or financial sources.

Under the new law, the couple will together chose the house they will live. According to the old law, the husband had to chose the house where the couple would live and his wife had to conform with his choice.

-PROPERTY RIGHTS

Previously, in a divorce, women were entitled only to property legally registered under their names. But the new code guarantees that all assets accumulated during the union are shared equally in the event of a divorce. Although sharing accumulated assets during the marriage is adopted as the valid regime under the new law, the spouses can also prefer to make an agreement arranging their property rights.

-SURNAMES

The new law also addresses the question of terminology. Women are now entitled to continue to use their maiden names together with their husbands' surname during the marriage.

A divorced woman will be able to use her surname before the marriage. The woman can also use the surname with which she is known by others.

By this implementation, women will get rid of problems and red tape they encountered with when they had to prove their identities.

-ADOPTING CHILDREN

The new law makes adopting children easier. The code lowers the legal age for adopting children from 35 to 30 and allows a single parent to adopt children. The couples having children will also be able to adopt children.

The new code strictly bans the parents to marry their adopted child, and it grants out-of-wedlock offspring the same inheritance rights as others.

-MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE

The new code also raises the legal age for marriage from the current 17 for men and 15 for women to 18.

It sets a legal separation period of six months before couples can file for divorce.

No religious marriages will be allowed without a state approved marriage document as in the old law.

''Humiliating behaviour'' will be considered a reason for divorce. The new code requires spouses to be legally separated for six months before they file for divorce. And in divorce cases, one of the parties can ask the judge to hear the case in closed sessions.

Men will be able to request alimony from wives who are better off.

-SEX CHANGE

Under the new code, a person who wants to change his/her sex, must personally apply to the court and ask the court's permission. Those who are over the age of 18, single, and obtain a special health report, may be allowed to have a sex change.

-KOSOVO TURKISH BATTALION COMMANDER HOLDS BRIEFING

PRIZREN - Lieutenant Colonel Kahraman Gunes, the commander of Turkish Battalion charged within the scope of Kosovo Peace Keeping Force, wished 2002 to bring peace and security to Kosovar people.

Speaking in a briefing he held for media about the social assistance activities the Turkish battalion undertook in Kosovo, Gunes said that the Turkish battalion undertook such activities in 48 villages of Prizren and Dragas municipalities.

Noting that the Battalion collected nearly 11,000 German Marks from the wages of its personnel, Gunes said that schools were constructed and repaired by this money and by the money sent by Turkey. The Battalion gave 73,000 German Marks of stationery to the schools.

The Turkish battalion gave food and cleaning stuff to more than 36,000 families in Kosovo by the support of Turkish Red Crescent and Kosovo Red Cross, he said.

Pointing out that daily 250 persons had check-up free of charge in Turkish Battalion, Gunes said that more than 30,000 persons were treated, 200,000 medicine worth of 30,000 German Marks were given to people free of charge, 1,100 children were vaccinated and 1,103 children were circumcised to date.

Gunes said that the battalion also constructed a kindergarden in Prizren and a health centre in Mamusa village.

Noting that 2001 year was a difficult one, Gunes said that ''nevertheless important developments took place in respect of democracy and reconstruction.''

Gunes said that general elections were held in a democratic atmosphere in Kosovo, hoping the Kosovo parliament to be beneficial for all the Kosovars.

-AK PARTY LEADER ERDOGAN ASSESSES 2001 YEAR

ANKARA - AK Party leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that the most negative incident of 2001 in Turkey was the economic crisis that took place in February and the most positive incident was the foundation of AK Party.

Speaking to A.A correspondent, Erdogan assessed the developments in 2001.

Hoping the new year not to be like 2001, Erdogan said that 2001 has been very negative for Turkey.

Citizens became poorer in one night due to the economic crisis, said Erdogan and noted that the Turkish economy shrank by ten percent for the first time after the Second World War. The gross national product which was 205 billion dollars in 1998, decreased to 150 billion liras, he said adding that the national income per capita which was 3,600 U.S. dollars, decreased to 2,300 dollars and inflation continued to increase.

''A total of 13 million Turkish citizens had to live with 43 U.S. dollars in a month,'' asserted Erdogan and defended the view that Turkey became one of the five countries which are worst in the world in respect of unfair distribution of income.

''The existing situation in Turkey is really bad, however the country is able to solve its problems,'' he added.

-''NATIONAL AGENCY'' FOUNDED FOR TURKISH STUDENTS TO

BENEFIT FROM EU'S EDUCATION PROGRAMMES

ANKARA - ''National Agency'' which had to be founded in Turkey for Turkish young persons and students to benefit from the education and youth programmes in EU countries, has started working.

The National Agency was founded within the structure of the State Planning Organization (SPO) and by the contributions of National Education Ministry, Higher Education Board (YOK), Youth and Sports Directorate General.

The Chairman of the Agency Sadrettin Karahocagil started his term in office on December 26 and the way for Turkish youngsters to participate in education and youth programmes namely ''Socrates, Leonardo da Vince and Youth'' in EU countries also opened.

One coordinator for each of these programmes is expected to be appointed in the coming days. After being appointed these coordinators will go to Brussels for training.

The Agency will start its activities in the full meaning of the term at the end of June 2002.

The budget of the Agency will be 2 trillion liras and the EU will give 3,5 million Euros to the Agency.

-FUND BANKS JOINT EXECUTIVE BOARD CHAIRMAN ALTINOK QUITS HIS POST

ISTANBUL - Fund Banks Joint Executive Board Chairman Tevfik Alt�nok announced on Monday that he quit his post.

Issuing a written statement, Alt�nok said that he had announced when he started office that he would quit the post after one year when he fulfilled his mission.

''I fulfilled the tasks of uniting, selling or liquidating the 13 banks which had been transferred to the Saving Deposit Insurance Fund (SDIF) during my term in office,'' he said adding that he was pleased to fulfil his mission.

-TURKEY'S LETTER OF INTENT TO BE SUBMITTED TO IMF IN JANUARY

ANKARA - The letter of intent will be signed by State Minister Kemal Dervis and Central Bank Governor Sureyya Serdengecti in the beginning of 2002 and be submitted to IMF.

A written statement was issued on Monday from the office of State Minister Kemal Dervis noting that the IMF board was expected to examine the letter of intent in the second half of January.

Noting that the negotiations with the IMF delegation regarding the new stand-by arrangement which will cover three years starting from 2002 were completed on Dec. 14, 2001, the statement added that the government prepared the new letter of intent covering the measures it would take within the scope of the economic programme and the reforms to be undertaken.

''The draft letter was sent to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers to ask their views on December 20, 2001,'' it was added.

-SPAIN TAKES OVER EU TERM PRESIDENCY

BRUSSELS - Spain has taken EU Term Presidency from Belgium.

Spanish King Juan Carlos and Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar said on Monday that EU would give priority to fight with terrorism during Spain's term presidency.

Spain which joined the EU in 1986, will be the EU Term President for the third time between Jan 1-June 30, 2002.

Speaking to the press, Spanish Foreign Minister Joseph Pique said that there were certain problems about the European Defense and Security Policy (ESDP). ''There is consensus with Turkey on ESDP, but there are also problems with Greece,'' he said.

Referring to candidate countries, Pique noted that Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey should not feel themselves isolated and stressed that ''we will bring a new dimension to the full membership negotiations with Turkey, we will focus more on the full membership goal.''

-LOSSES OF FUND BANKS REACH 5,7 BILLION DOLLARS AS OF END OF NOVEMBER

ISTANBUL - The losses of the banks in the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (SDIF) increased to 5,7 billion dollars as of the end of November 2001.

According to the report prepared by Tevfik Alt�nok, who quit his post as the Chairman of the Fund Banks Joint Executive Board on Monday; 19 banks were transferred to the SDIF from 1997 until the end of Nov. 2001. Four banks were sold and seven of them were united. One of them's license was cancelled, while three of them were liquidated. There are five banks namely Turk Ticaret Bank, Tarisbank, Bay�nd�r Bank, Sitebank and Toprak Bank in SDIF for the moment.

There have also been increases in the number of banks' branches. On Dec. 31, 1997, there were 274 branches which reached 1,112 as of the end of 2000. The number of branches decreased to 567 on November 30, 2001. The number of personnel in these banks which was 20,093 at the end of 2000, decreased to 9,484 this year.

The assets of banks in SDIF which were worth of 13,19 billion dollars last year, decreased to 8,46 billion dollars as of the end of November, 2001.

-TRNC PRESIDENT DENKTAS SAYS JAN. 16 NEGOTIATIONS TO BE DIFFICULT

LEFKOSA - Rauf Denktas, the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) said on Monday that the direct talks which will start on January 16 will be difficult, adding that he has the determination to continue taking part in the talks until he reaches success.

Noting that he believes the conditions in 2002 will be better, Denktas said that ''I would like to believe that 2002 will bring positive, constructive days to Turkish Cypriots and Cyprus.''

Issuing a message upon the new year, Denktas said that the negotiations will start in Cyprus on Jan. 16, adding that ''both sides hope these talks to result with an agreement that will be accepted by the two peoples on the island.''

Noting that he invited Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides to meet face to face in September, Denktas said that they came to together with Clerides for three times since then.

''TRNC thinks that there are issues which should not be forgotten. An agreement on the island should not end up like 1960 Treaties, should not repeat the incidents that took place between 1960-1974, should not overshadow our security, should not make TRNC economy a slave again with embargos and it should be stable and lasting,'' he said.

Denktas stressed that he expected patience, understanding and trust from his people during the talks, adding that ''our people want protection of our seperate existance, democracy, culture, religious and traditional rights, geographical basis, and political equal sovereignty. The continuation of the guarantee of Turkey in this respect is a must. As it is seen, the negotiations will be tough as both sides have their own expectations.''

Noting that Turkish Cypriots can not live without Turkey and the Cyprus problem does not constitute a threat for Turkey's full membership process to the EU, Denktas said that those who think that 'if Turkey sacrifices Cyprus for EU membership, Turkey will join the EU,' is wrong. Denktas said that Turkish Cypriots live in trust within the borders of the state it founded.

-LABOUR AND SOCIAL SECURITY MINISTER OKUYAN SAYS

JOB SECURITY BILL TO BE ADOPTED IN 2002

ISTANBUL - Labour and Social Security Minister Yasar Okuyan said on Monday that the Job Security bill will be adopted in 2002 by the support of the parliament.

''Great progress will be recorded in 2002 in Social Security Agency (SSK), Social Security Agency for Artisans and Self-Employed (Bag-Kur), and Turkish Employment Agency,'' said Okuyan in the news conference he held in SSK Social Installations in Istanbul.

Okuyan said that there won't be any patients waiting in lines in SSK hospitals at the end of 2002, adding that SSK gives medical service to 36 million citizens with its personnel of only 52,860. ''The number of personnel in the Health Ministry is 268,000 and this shows the insufficient number of personnel in SSK, he said.

Okuyan said that he also wants the adoption of the bill on prevention of child labour, the bill on professional standards, and the bill on fight with foreign illegal work by the parliament in 2002.

Noting that there are one million foreign illegal workers in Turkey, Okuyan said that this has to end.

-SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS CHIEF PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE

SENDS SUSURLUK CASE FILE TO EIGHTH PENAL DEPARTMENT

ANKARA - The Chief Prosecutor's Office of the Supreme Court of Appeals sent on Monday Susurluk case file and the decision of the Supreme Court of Appeals General Council to the Eighth Penal Department, which will examine the case in respect of merits.

The Supreme Court of Appeals General Council had accepted by majority the objection of Chief Prosecutor Sabih Kanadoglu to the verdict of Eight Penal Department which annuled the verdict of lower court given at Susurluk case due to ''incomplete investigation.''

If the Eighth Penal Department approves the imprisonments given by Istanbul State Security Court (DGM) No. 6 in Susurluk case this time, the suspects have the right to ask for correction of the decision which is known as an extraordinary way of law. But this request has to be first of all accepted by the Chief Prosecutor's Office of the Supreme Court of Appeals. If the Eighth Penal department annuls the verdict in respect of merits, Kanadoglu has the right to object to it. Supreme Court of Appeals will again discuss this objection.

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