ANKARA - These are some of the major headlines and their brief stories in Turkey's press on March 18, 2004. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

HURRIYET (LIBERAL)
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THAT IS ENOUGH, KORAN DOES NOT SAY IT
Jordanian King Abdullah gave important messages in Istanbul. He said, ''Islam is not this. Let us say that's enough to extremists.''
Jordanian King Abdullah, who addressed Turkish-Jordanian Business Council, said, ''as moderate Moslems, we should resist against extremists.''
King Abdullah said, ''Moslems, as the majority, should say to the extremists that, 'that's enough. Koran does not say like this. This is not Islam.' We should announce to the whole world that those people do not represent our real belief.''
Abdullah, who also addressed the Western world, pointed out that, ''many countries say we should fight against terrorism. Fight against terrorism is not enough. We should also eliminate the reasons of it.''

DENKTAS: ''I WILL NOT BE IN QUARTET SUMMIT''
President Rauf Denktas of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) said, ''my people think everything is on the right track as long as they see me as the negotiator. I will not go to Geneva.''
This statement of Denktas, which was made without consulting with Ankara, caused a shock.
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul had meetings one after the other. Denktas, who was conveyed the message that ''you will put us into a difficult situation'', said, ''it is only I who is not going.''
Meanwhile, TRNC government approved Cyprus flag.

MILLIYET (LIBERAL)
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DENKTAS SAYS HE WOULD NOT JOIN QUARTET SUMMIT
President Rauf Denktas of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) announced that he would not join the quartet summit which would be made with the participation of Turkey and Greece.
Denktas's belief that there would not be any change in favor of Turkish side in the Annan plan caused him to take this decision.
However, Denktas also stressed that this decision did not mean his withdrawal from the negotiations.

TRNC ACCEPTS NEW FLAG
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) government approved the flag of ''United Cyprus Republic'' proposed by the United Nations.
Council of Ministers Spokesman Huseyin Celal said the draft flag was accepted, and that this would be conveyed to the U.N.
Stating that several changes were made on the flag which had appeared in media before, Celal said colors of the flag was red, yellow and blue.
SABAH (LIBERAL)
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AND DENKTAS SAID ''I WILL NOT BE IN THE SECOND ROUND''
President Rauf Denktas of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) rather early announced that he would not take place in quartet meetings in Switzerland. Denktas, who had been giving hesitant answers to questions in this respect, was expected to take his decision following the Cankaya summit that would take place in Ankara this weekend.

ERDOGAN WARNS: TURKEY WILL NOT ENTER A ROAD THAT WILL END IN CALAMITY
Statement of TRNC President Rauf Denktas that he would not join the quartet meeting in Switzerland on March 24 caused shock in Ankara.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who made a statement against this, said, ''Turkish Republic will not enter a road which will end in calamity.''
Replying to a question if they could convince Denktas, Erdogan said they would discuss it.

CUMHURIYET (LEFT)
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YOK WITHDRAWS FROM THE TABLE
Higher Board of Education (YOK) withdrew from the meetings, held with the government, on YOK draft.
As Justice and Development Party (AK Party) continued its insistence on facilitating entrance of vocational school graduates to the universities, which will pave the way for students of Imam-Hatip schools to go to universities, cooperation between the two sides broke off.
YOK Chairman Tezic said they encountered with a fait accompli of the Ministry, noting that they considered the consultation council formed by National Education Ministry, as an insult against them.

GUL: THERE ARE INCITEMENTS IN SYRIA
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, speaking about the incidents in Syria, said there were incitements and mispractices in the region. He said, ''those living in the region should think of their future and should not disrupt their will of living together.''
Pointing out that incidents in Syria would not be beneficial for anybody, Gul said, ''we have lived in tranquility in this region for centuries. It is the territory of all of us. There are incitements and mispractices in the region in recent years. There is uneasiness because of this.''

RADIKAL (LEFT)
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DENKTAS DOES NOT GO TO SWITZERLAND
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas announced that he was not going to attend four-party meetings in Switzerland. Denktas said, ''nothing happens if our sine qua nons are not accepted. The government will go to Switzerland. However, withdrawal from negotiations is out of question. I lost all my hope, but let's wait and see what they would do.'' Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's evaluation: ''we discuss and resolve it. Turkey does not enter a road which leads to a disastrous end.''

ASSURANCE OF MYERS FOR PKK
U.S. Joint Staffs Chief Gen. Richard Myers said that PKK would be dealt properly in Iraq. Asked whether the United States would take action against PKK before sovereignty in Iraq was handed over to Iraqis in June during a news conference, Myers said that a broad dialogue at both political and military levels had been made between Turkey and the United States on the issue of dealing with the PKK in Iraq, adding that he assured that there was a very close cooperation between the United States and Turkey and the PKK would be dealt with properly and work on this issue between the Turkish and U.S. governments had been under way in every level.

ALSO SECURITY LEFT TO SWITZERLAND
Also the talks between Turkey and Greece on security and defense issues in the Annan Plan which started in Athens yesterday were indexed to the four-party meeting in Switzerland. Important progress could not be made in the talks which lasted nearly six hours and were held at level of diplomats and military experts. In a joint statement issued after the talks, the sides said that the meeting was positive and constructive and they determined that their opinions about several issues were close to each other. It added that talks would be repeated next week.

TURKIYE (RIGHT)
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EU MINISTERS OF COMMERCE DUE IN TURKEY
State Minister Kursad Tuzmen said that European Union ministers of commerce would convene in Turkey in October. ''We convene all of the Euromed trade ministers in Turkey in October. All Euromed trade ministers including Pascal Lami will come to Turkey. And I will host the meeting.''

JOINT FLAG APPROVED
TRNC Council of Ministers yesterday approved the draft flag of ''United Cyprus State'' which will come into force after both sides approve the Annan Plan. TRNC Council of Ministers spokesman and Health and Social Assistance Minister Huseyin Celal announced that approval of the draft flag would not constitute a problem legally.

KING ABDULLAH GIVES BLANK CHEQUE
Jordan's King Abdullah said they had very good relations with Turkey. ''If our private sectors work together, we can further improve it.'' Speaking at a working breakfast hosted by the Turkish-Jordanian Business Council, Abdullah said they wanted to discuss how the two countries could make more joint investments and how they could improve bilateral trade. Noting that they were trying to carry out vocational training studies like those in Turkey in accordance with workforce requirements, Abdullah said they wanted to meet workforce if Turkish businessmen wanted to operate in Jordan as a company.

ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)
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TALAT TO JOIN QUARTET BARGAINING
President Rauf Denktas of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) decided not to join the quartet conference upon the intransigent attitude of Greek Cypriots in Cyprus talks.
Denktas said he thought nothing would change because of the attitude of Greek Cypriots, stressing that the government would join the meeting which would start on march 24 with the participation of Turkey and Greece.
However, Denktas noted, he would not withdraw from the talks.
TRNC Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat is expected to be the chief negotiator.

BOMB EXPLODES IN HIS HAND
A person, who was getting ready for a bomb attack on Istanbul Beyoglu Security Directorate, was injured as the bomb exploded in his hand. The assailant, whose fingers were dismembered in the blast, was later captured.
Security forces, who went to the spot after the explosion, found the fingers there.
Police, who searched for the surrounding hospitals, determined that Lokman Aslan (21) came to Okmeydani Hospital for treatment. Aslan was later taken under custody.
Istanbul Police Chief Celalettin Cerrah said the assailant had links with the terrorist organization PKK/KONGRA-GEL.

(AY-MS-AÖ) 18.03.2004