ANKARA - These are some of the major headlines and their brief stories in Turkey's press on May 28, 2004. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

HURRIYET (LIBERAL)
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UNITED STATES WANTS INCIRLIK BASE
Turkish Deputy Chief of General Staff Ilker Basbug announced that the United States demanded that Turkey should make some facilitation for bases in Incirlik town of southern Adana province and central Konya province. Basbug hinted that Washington was taking pulse related with establishment of three new sea bases in the Black Sea. Replying to questions of reporters, Basbug said, ''we have received some request from the United States. We are working on them.'' Basbug noted that there was no need for a parliamentary decision to meet some of these demands within the scope of Defense and Economic Cooperation Agreement (DECA). Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he had not received any demand for Incirlik base.

DEMOCRACY CAN'T BE ACHIEVED WITHOUT SECULARISM
Turkish Deputy Chief of General Staff Ilker Basbug, who spoke in a symposium held in War Academies, said, ''Aegean issue can be brought to the Court of Justice.'' Recalling that secularism was the motivative force in development of Turkish democracy, Basbug said, ''coming to the conclusion that countries whose population is mainly Muslim can be democratic by considering Turkey an example may be misleading.'' On Aegean issue, Basbug said, ''Turkey should solve its problems with Greece and the Aegean within the scope of the current European Union (EU) acquis as every candidate country. If it can't solve the problems this way, it should accept other means of solution including the Court of Justice.''

MILLIYET (LIBERAL)
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''NO'' SUPPORTER LEADER TREATED AS TOURIST
Not even a single person in the United States gave appointment to Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos. Washington hosted Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat in the level of U.S. State Secretary Colin Powell. Papadopoulos will tour the United States to see if he can persuade the United States to change its stance. The United States is reacting to ''no'' vote of the Greek Cypriots to a solution in Cyprus under United Nations (UN) Secretary General Kofi Annan's plan in simultaneous referenda held in the island on April 24, and is getting prepared to take encouraging measures for Turkish Cypriots. Papadopoulos will try to influence Bush administration with lobby activities in his tour to the United States on which he will go without any official appointments.

U-2 TENSION WITH UNITED STATES
The United States wants to deploy 48 war planes at Incirlik Base in southern Adana province and to use Turkish airspace for U-2s. The United States asked for Turkey's permission to use Incirlik and Konya bases and to land U-2s on these bases. Turkish Deputy Chief of General Staff Ilker Basbug said, ''demands outside the Defense and Economic Cooperation Agreement (DECA) may require decision of the political will.'' Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said, ''I don't welcome these demands.''

SABAH (LIBERAL)
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COMPLETE ADJUSTMENT NOT CONDITION OF NEGOTIATIONS
European Union (EU) Enlargement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said that Turkey could start accession negotiations although it did not fulfil all Copenhagen criteria. Verheugen recalled that the ten countries which newly joined the EU had not fulfilled all criteria when they started entry talks in 1997 and 1999. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, ''I thank him very much. He made a very appropriate statement.''

TWO FOREIGN LANGUAGE COURSES OBLIGATION IN HIGH SCHOOLS
Second foreign language course in addition to English is going to be compulsory in applied sciences, Anatolian and super high schools in Turkey beginning next year. Students can elect one of the courses ''German, French, Italian, Russian, Arabic, Persian or Chinese language'' as second foreign language course. The Ministry of National Education is planning to spread the system to all high schools in 2006.

WE SENT HELICOPTERS TO AFGHANISTAN
The General Staff announced that it decided to send three general purpose helicopters and 56-member flight and maintenance personnel to Afghanistan as a contribution to the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF). It said that they would be dispatched on May 29.

CYPRUS REPUBLIC ENGAGED IN LAWSUIT
Ahmet Necati Ozkan, a leading businessmen in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), has brought a suit in the Greek Cypriot side against ''Cyprus Republic'' due to his spiritual and material injury due to incidents in 1963. In his application to ''Cyprus Republic'' Chief Prosecutor's Office, he said his ''Bosfor Hotel'' and garden plots around the hotel had been occupied and plundered by Greek Cypriot National Guard Force in 1963 and demanded nearly 500 thousand Cypriot liras compensation together with its interest since 1963.

CUMHURIYET (LEFT)
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TURKEY IS NOT MIDDLE EAST
Turkish Deputy Chief of General Staff Ilker Basbug touched on Greater Middle East project, Afghanistan, European Union (EU) and Iraq in his speech in a meeting at the War Academies. Basbug said that those who defended Greater Middle East project, forgetting secularism, the cornerstone of democracy, were mistaken. Noting that the United States had not assumed a serious attitude towards fight against terrorism till the September 11th terrorist attacks, Basbug said, ''the United States and Europe should assume a common approach.'' Stressing that a strong central administration should be formed in Iraq, Basbug announced that the United States hand not exerted any active or apparent activity against the terrorist organization PKK.

BAD NEWS FOR SSK AND BAG-KUR PENSIONERS
Turkish Labor and Social Security Minister Murat Basesgioglu gave the message that the government would not fulfil requirements of the decision of the Supreme Court that ''the government should pay extra money to the Social Security Agency (SSK) pensioners in line with the 29-month inflation in consumer prices index (CPI).'' Basesgioglu noted that the decision of the Supreme Court covered all the pensioners and said, ''jurisdiction has individual decisions. A decision covering all the cases has not been taken yet.''

RADIKAL (LEFT)
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ERTURKS SAYS THEY CAN'T GET BACK ALL MONEY FROM OWNERS OF SUNKEN BANKS
Savings Deposit and Insurance Fund (SDIF) Chairman Ahmet Erturk said that it was not possible to zero burden of sunken banks with various operations. Erturk noted that the fund would continue its operations against bank officials who did not want to reach any agreement. Erturk said, ''it is impossible to zero costs of banking crises even with operations. We are trying to get back embezzled money, but we can't get all the money back. This is a burden on us.''

NEW VISA REGIME FOR TURKISH CYPRIOTS
The United States changed its visa regime on Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) passports which allowed Turkish Cypriot people to enter the United States twice within six months. The new visa to be granted by the United States to Turkish Cypriot people will be multi-entry and valid for two years.

TURKIYE (RIGHT)
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COOPERATION OBLIGATORY AGAINST TERRORISM
Turkish Deputy Chief of General Staff Ilker Basbug said that terrorism was the biggest threat against world peace and security in this century. Basbug stressed that countries should agree on ''common threat'' definition and develop strategies accordingly.

OPPONENTS DETERMINED
The opponent group in the Republican People's Party (CHP) which wants an extraordinary congress met yesterday. Sources said that a committee comprised of 14 members including seven deputies was formed in the meeting. The committee named as ''the congress preparation committee'' will make technical preparations for an extraordinary congress. The committee is planning to launch initiatives for this extraordinary party congress in the first week of June.

ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)
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CLOSURE OF DGMS TOUGHENS ASYLUM IN EUROPE WITH FALSE DOCUMENT
While State Security Courts (DGMs) became things of the past under the latest EU package which the government passed from the parliament, the false DGM warrants of arrest which are arranged for asylum application in European capital cities remain on hand. Hundreds of people who managed to go to European countries from Turkey through several ways were seeking political asylum in these countries with false warrants of arrest that were arranged on behalf of DGMs. A Turkish citizen who is still living in a EU member country as a refugee told the newspaper that those false DGM warrants of arrest were seen as the most concrete document in Europe for asylum applications. ''The words saying, 'DGMs in Turkey are going to arrest me' in the application seemed like the most precious document. Now, it is over.'' The refugee who had lived in France for long years but later returned to Turkey said that a retired teacher in Paris arranged those false documents in return for 250 euros and those who took such documents were assured that they would be granted political asylum if they would not speak wrongly at court. He said that those documents were original and stamped, adding, ''they either prepare them with computers or issue them actually.'' He added that many people had applied to the French Office for Protection of Refugees with those documents.

(BRC-MS-AÖ) 28.05.2004