ANKARA - These are some of the major headlines and their summaries in Turkish press on August 28th, 2004. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
HURRIYET (LIBERAL)
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ERDOGAN SAVED JIRINOVSKI
It was revealed that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan saved life of extreme nationalist Russian leader Jirinovski during his official visit to Georgia. Erdogan told this interesting story to members of his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) during one of the party's meetings. When Erdogan was meeting Georgian President Saakashvili, they learned that Jirinovski arrived in Abkhazia, a disputed region bound to Georgia. Saakashvili had earlier ordered his soldiers to open fire on Russian ships since two countries were about to battle. Saakashvili told Erdogan that ''they had done all they could'' but didn't ignore Erdogan's words. And, he ordered his soldiers not to open fire on the ship. AK Party members told Erdogan that ''Jirinovski owed his life to Erdogan'', while Erdogan did not comment on the matter.
TWO TURKS KILLED IN IRAQ
Twenty-five days after Murat Yuce, a Turk taken hostage in Iraq, was killed, bodies of two Turks were found in Baiji city of this country. Violence against Turks continues in Iraq. Al-Jazzera television reported that bodies of two Turks, shot by a gun, were found on a highway. These two Turks have not been identified yet.
MILLIYET (LIBERAL)
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YALCINKAYA QUALIFIES FOR FINAL IN BOXING
Atagun Yalcinkaya of Turkey qualified for final in light-flyweight (48 kg) in the 28th Summer Olympic Games in Greek capital of Athens. 17-year old Yalcinkaya beat Sergey Kazakov of Russia with points 26-20. The young boxer will take on his Cuban rival Varela Barthelemy on August 29th for final. Yalcinkaya of Turkey, competing in 48 kg boxing, had qualified on Tuesday for semifinals and guaranteed bronze medal in Athens 2004 Olympic Games.
NUMBER OF TOURISTS VISITING TURKEY RISES BY 22.3 PERCENT
The number of foreign tourists visiting Turkey rose by 22.3 percent in July 2004 when compared to the same month of last year, the State Institute of Statistics (SIS) noted. A total of 2,123,000 foreign tourists visited Turkey in July. The number of tourists visiting Turkey increased by 37.7 percent to 9,324,000 between January and July 2004.
SABAH (LIBERAL)
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OTHER TWO TURKS KILLED IN IRAQ
Bodies of two Turks who were killed near Baiji province of Iraq were found, al-Jazzera tv channel said. The tv channel did not announce names of those two Turks who were shot dead in Iraq. Bodies of two Turks were taken to the hospital.
COMPROMISE STEP FOR TCK
Justice Minister Cemil Cicek and some deputies of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) visited Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal on Friday, and asked for support of CHP on Turkish Penal Code (TCK) draft law. Cicek informed Baykal on the importance of the draft law. Baykal said that they should discuss it together.
CUMHURIYET (LEFT)
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DON'T TEST TSK
General Yasar Buyukanit, who has taken over the Land Forces Command, stressed that applying secularism in the light of modern and brilliant Kemalist thought system was an indispensable duty and responsibility. Buyukanit said, ''I don't advise anybody to test our determination to maintain secularism.''
UEFA MATCHES TO BEGIN ON SEPTEMBER 16TH
Draw for the first round of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Cup was made on Friday in Monaco. Turkish teams Besiktas, Trabzonspor and Genclerbirligi were drawn with Bodo/Glimt of Norway, Athletic Bilbao of Spain and Egaleo of Greece, respectively. The first leg ties will be played on September 16th, second leg on September 30th.
RADIKAL (LEFT)
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ELVAN TO RUN FOR MEDAL
Elvan Abeylegesse of Turkey will run for the gold medal in women's 1,500-meter in the 28th Summer Olympic Games in Greek capital Athens at 8.30 p.m. local time on Saturday. Elvan qualified to final in women's 1,500-meter in women's 1,500-meter on Thursday.
EU COMMISSION TO PRESENT REPORT ON TURKEY ON OCTOBER 6
The European Union (EU) Commission will present its report on Turkey on October 6, 2004. Releasing a statement, the EU Commission said that it would present its recommendatory report on opening of accession talks between Turkey and the EU. EU Commission President Romano Prodi will present the report but his successor Jose Manuel Barrosa who will undertake this mission in November will also be informed on the report. After October 6, the report will be conveyed to foreign ministers of the EU-member countries.
TURKIYE (RIGHT)
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OCTOBER 6TH IS AN IMPORTANT DATE
European Union (EU) Commissioner for enlargement Guenter Verheugen's spokesman Filori said that the Commission would make public its recommendatory report on whether or not to open entry talks with Turkey on October 6th.
BUSY TRAFFIC IN SEPTEMBER
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Mohammad Khatami and EU Commissioner for enlargement Guenter Verheugen will come to Turkey in September, while Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will go to Germany and France.
PROVOCATION IN TRNC: BOMB ON CHURCH
A bomb attack was staged on Aya Mama Church, where the Greek Cypriots were scheduled to hold a religious ceremony between September 1st and 2nd. Mehmet Ali Talat, Prime Minister of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), said, ''this is an premeditated attack. There can't be any other harm that can be given to Turkish Cypriots.''
ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)
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TURKEY'S SEPARATION IS OUR RED LINE
Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir, who caused reactions by paying a condolence visit to family of a PKK/Kongra-Gel militant, told Zaman that they had seen that problems could not be solved by violence, and objected to those who accuse him of backing separatist movement. Baydemir said, ''our red line is separation. People and Kurdish opposition don't want separation.'' Baydemir thinks that he prevented a big clash by making this visit which caused criticisms. Baydemir said, ''some circles wanted people of Diyarbakir to walk to Hevsel and to be face to face with the security forces. I prevented a clash between people and the state.''
17-YEAR-OLD BOXER QUALIFIES FOR FINAL
17-year-old Turkish boxer Atagun Yalcinkaya, representing our country in 48 kg boxing in Athens 2004 Olympic Games, defeated world champion Sergey Kazakov of Russia 26-20, and qualified for the final. Atagun will take on his Cuban rival tomorrow.
YENI SAFAK (CONSERVATIVE)
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THY REPORTS PROFIT OF 23.9 TRILLION TL
Turkish Airlines (THY), which lost money in the first six months of the past five years, reported profit of 23.9 trillion Turkish liras (TL) for the first six months of 2004.
FOREIGN TRADE DEFICIT AMOUNTS TO USD 19.4 BILLION
Exports increased 27.6 percent to 5.4 billion U.S. dollars, and imports rose 36.8 percent to 8.5 billion U.S. dollars in July of 2004 over to the same period last year. The State Institute of Statistics announced results of the Provisional Foreign Trade Figures for July of 2004. According to the results, foreign trade deficit climbed 56.1 percent to 3.1 billion U.S. dollars, and the rate of exports meeting imports dropped from 67.6 percent to 63 percent in July. Foreign trade deficit amounted to 19.4 billion U.S. dollars in January-July period of 2004.
(EÖ-BRC) 28.08.2004