SEZER, ERDOGAN MEET SEPARATELY WITH IRAQI PRESIDENT
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday received visiting Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yaver to discuss a number of issues. Speaking afterwards, Sezer said that Turkey was doing its utmost to establish security and stability in its region and stressed Iraq’s importance for this goal. Sezer also charged that the terrorist group PKK/KONGRA-GEL had a continued presence in Iraq and urged al-Yaver to choke off its support. Sezer added that Turkish citizens visiting or doing business in Iraq had legitimate fears for their safety and called on al-Yaver to take necessary measures to rectify this. For his part, al-Yaver said that Iraq would never allow any terrorist group to threaten Turkey’s security. "We cannot tolerate or allow any group or formation that is posing a threat to the security of our neighbors," al-Yawer said at a joint news conference with Sezer. Later, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with al-Yaver to discuss a number of issues, including bilateral relations. During their meeting, Erdogan briefed al-Yaver on Ankara’s concerns about Iraq’s future and its sensitivity about the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. “We have always supported Iraq’s territorial integrity,” said Erdogan, adding that the country’s ethnic structure should be protected. Erdogan also said that Ankara had requested the Iraqi government’s support to open a consulate in Mosul, another northern city, adding that such a consulate would help to create a diplomatic infrastructure in the country. For his part, al-Yaver said that Iraq’s problems were also the problems of the region, and warned that a failure to resolve these would also threaten the whole region. He said that Turkey was a friendly neighbor to his country and reiterated that he would never allow the terrorist group PKK/KONGRA-GEL to threaten Turkey’s security. Later, al-Yaver met with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. /Turkiye/

HACIBEKTAS FESTIVAL BEGINS IN NEVSEHIR
The annual Hacibektas Veli Commemoration Festival of Culture and Art in the central province of Nevsehir began yesterday. Culture and Tourism Minister Erkan Mumcu attended the festival’s opening as the government’s representative. /Aksam/

SEZER, ARINC, ERDOGAN ISSUE MESSAGES FOR HACIBEKTAS FESTIVAL
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday issued a message for the annual Hacibektas Veli Commemoration Festival of Culture and Art. In his message, Sezer emphasized that the philosophy of Hacibektas Veli, which is based on humanism, love, peace and tolerance, was the foundation of peace in Anatolia and that his ideas had contributed to the Turkish Republic’s democratic identity. Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc also issued a message lauding Hacibektas’s philosophy as a call for peace. In his message to the festival, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also stated that Hacibektas Veli’s ideas would be passed down from generation to generation and spread worldwide. /Star/

TWO TURKISH TRUCK DRIVERS TAKEN HOSTAGE IN IRAQ
Two Turkish truck drivers have been taken hostage in Iraq, their employers reported yesterday. Drivers Durmus Kumdereli and Mustafa Koksal, both from the southern town of Tarsus, left the Turkish port city of Mersin together on Aug. 3 to make deliveries, a family member said. Armed militants reportedly took Kumdereli and Koksal hostage on Saturday after they had dropped off their cargo and were returning to Turkey. They work for a firm based in Antalya. /Sabah/

FIVE YEARS TODAY SINCE DEVASTATING MARMARA EARTHQUAKE
Today is the fifth anniversary of the devastating Aug. 17, 1999 earthquake centered in Golcuk in Turkey’s Marmara region. Commemorations marking the tragedy were canceled due to weather officials’ warning that the region is expected to experience its heaviest rainfalls in a decade. The earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale struck the region at 3:02 a.m. taking some 17,000 lives and leaving thousands of families homeless in its wake. /Cumhuriyet/

COSKUN: “INITIALLY ERASING SIX ZEROS FROM THE LIRA COULD CREATE PROBLEMS,
BUT LATER IT WILL BENEFIT THE ECONOMY”
Industry and Trade Minister Ali Coskun said yesterday that erasing six zeros from the lira could initially create certain problems, but that later it would benefit the economy and bring down inflation. The government plans to erase the zeros early next year. Touching on Turkey’s European Union membership bid, Coskun said that the government had worked very hard and passed necessary the EU harmonization laws for the bid. Coskun stressed that the government had also fulfilled the Copenhagen criteria and added that it would soon complete the Maastricht criteria. He said that he believed Turkey would get a date from the EU this December to begin its accession talks. /Turkiye/

TRNC’S TALAT: “TRANSFERRING THE GAZIMAGUSA PORT TO THE EU IS OUT OF THE QUESTION”
Transferring Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ (TRNC) port of Gazimagusa to European Union control is out of the question, said TRNC Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat yesterday, rebuffing Greek Cypriot media reports to that effect. “If we are to have free trade and export our goods to EU member states, our port should meet certain technical and administrative standards as required by EU rules,” added Talat. “An expert team can be tasked by the EU, but this doesn't mean that the port will be run by the EU. Moreover, the EU doesn’t operate any other port anywhere in the world.” /Star/