ANKARA - These are some of the major headlines and their summaries in Turkish press on October 23rd, 2004. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
HURRIYET (LIBERAL)
------------------
FM PROPOSES GOVERNMENT: BOSS SHOULD BE GUL, CHIEF NEGOTIATOR SHOULD BE BABACAN
Turkish Foreign Ministry made two separate proposals for the team which will carry out negotiations with the European Union (EU). Both of the proposals nominate Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul as ``the head of the negotiation team``. Turkish State Minister Ali Babacan for economy was named as the chief negotiator in the first proposal, while the second proposal says a bureaucrat should be chosen as the chief negotiator.
LEYLA ZANA AND HER (POLITICAL) FRIENDS TO ESTABLISH PARTY
Leyla Zana, former deputy of the banned Democracy Party (DEP), and her (political) friends announced that they had launched initiatives to form a new party under the title ``Democratic Society Movement``. Zana said, ``our aim is to define all ethnic differences, including the Kurds, under a higher identity of ``being a citizen of Turkey`` (as against being Turk).
MILLIYET (LIBERAL)
------------------
PKK`S TARGET IS THE SAME
In his newly-published book named ``Which PKK?``, Fikret Bila, one of the columnists of Milliyet daily, sheds light to days when Abdullah Ocalan, the head of the terrorist organization, was captured and tried. In the defenses he wrote in Imrali island, Ocalan claims that he has given up his target to ``establish an independent Kurdish state``. But, Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and security units consider this (claim) as a ``postponement and conceal``.
THEY ARE EXCEEDING THEIR LIMITS
The French ``Paris Match`` magazine insulted Ataturk, the Founder of Republic of Turkey, in its article named ``welcome to the east door of the future Europe``. Correspondents of Paris Match took a photograph, giving European Union (EU) flag to poor people in Tekelli and Gunyazi border villages near southeastern town of Semdinli. The article mentions the region as ``Kurdistan``, while insulted Ataturk. The article quoted one of villagers as saying, ``if Europe doesn`t protect us, we fear that (Turkish) soldiers will take revenge from Kurdistan``.
SABAH (LIBERAL)
---------------
TURKEY, A COUNTRY OF CONFIDENCE AND STABILITY, HAS BECOME A CENTER OF ATTRACTION
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, ``every week, we lay foundation of a new project in one city. Turkey, a country of confidence and stability, has become a center of attraction.``
TOBB CHAIRMAN HISARCIKLIOGLU ELECTED AS MEMBER OF EUROCHAMBERS MANAGEMENT
Rifat Hisarciklioglu, the Chairman of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), was elected as a member of the executive board of the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry (EUROCHAMBERS) with the highest vote in the General Assembly of EUROCHAMBERS held in Austrian capital of Vienna.
CUMHURIYET (LEFT)
-----------------
THE FRENCH TALK NONSENSE
Helene Flautre, the Chairperson of the Sub-committee on Human Rights in the European Parliament (EP), visited Tellikaya village of southeastern city of Diyarbakir. Flautre said that the European Union (EU) attached a particular importance to Diyarbakir, and noted, ``path to the EU passes from Diyarbakir. Diyarbakir is the capital of Kurdish region.``
GUL: WE HAVEN`T DEMANDED (ANYBODY TO PREPARE ANY) REPORT
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said that the Human Rights Advisory Board`s report was written in a very bad style, and included unjust accusations against Turkish parliament and prime minister. Gul stated that neither he nor the government had charged anybody to prepare such a report. Gul said that it was just an advisory and consultative board, and had nothing to do with the Prime Minister`s Office.
RADIKAL (LEFT)
--------------
``THERE IS NO COUNTRY LIKE KURDISTAN``
Turkish Foreign Ministry said, ``people with passports writing `Kurdistan` in the place of birth part have not been allowed to enter Turkey as of 2004.`` On the other hand, Turkish Directorate General of Security said, ``there is no country like Kurdistan`` when commenting on the same matter.
``RESERVATION`` OF POLICE
It has been announced that Turkish Directorate General of Security has put reservation to six articles of the human rights report released by the Prime Ministry Human Rights Advisory Board, of which the directorate is also a member. Ramazan Er, the spokesman of the Directorate General of Security, said that he represented the directorate in the advisory board, but he did not attend the meeting held on October 1st in which the mentioned report was discussed. Er said that the report was later submitted to him, and added, ``but, I had some reservations since some expressions in the report did not reflect the realities.``
TURKIYE (RIGHT)
---------------
PUTIN DUE IN TURKEY IN DECEMBER
Russian President will visit Turkey at the beginning of December. Both Turkey and Russia attach great importance to this visit. Putin had planned to visit Turkish capital of Ankara on September 2nd, but had to postpone his visit due to the terrorist act staged against a school in North Ossetia.
SPECIAL UNDERSECRETARIAT FOR EU
The Secretariat General for the European Union (EU), which will be the ``core institution`` during membership negotiations with the European Union (EU), will be restructured under the title ``Undersecretariat for the EU.``
ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)
--------------------
GREEK CYPRIOT ADMINISTRATION PUTS CONDITION BEFORE TURKEY`S EU VISA
The Greek Cypriot administration sent a message to Turkish capital of Ankara, asking Turkey ``to recognize itself`` before the European Council due on December 17th (when EU leaders will decide whether and when to open membership negotiations with Turkey). In its message, the Greek Cypriot administration said, ``Turkey can`t start negotiations (with EU) without recognizing all of 25 EU member states.``
GREENS CONFUSED ABOUT HEADSCARF ISSUE
The Group of the Greens of the European Parliament (EP), who strongly criticizes human rights conditions in Turkey, is still approaching distantly to the headscarf issue. The Group of the Greens, who held a three-day conference in Istanbul, were interested in problems of Kurds, Alevis, lesbians and homosexuals, while they refrained from referring to headscarf issue. Monica Frassoni, the Co-chairperson of the Group of the Greens; Helene Flautre, the Chairperson of the Sub-committee on Human Rights in the EP; and Joost Lagendijk, the Co-Chairman of EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee; all told Zaman daily that they thought that headscarf should be free in principle. But, they complain that the EU could not reach a common standard regarding this matter.
YENI SAFAK (CONSERVATIVE)
-------------------------
MOODY`S: BUDGET GUARANTEES CONTINUATION OF REFORMS
Moody`s Investors Service states that the newly-announced 2005 budget includes a commitment to a prudent fiscal stance again next year. Moody`s says that Turkey is at a critical juncture in its modern history because of its recent political stability, with the payoff for its EU prospects and tight fiscal and monetary policies coming in the form of single-digit inflation for the first time in more than 30 years. But, in the same report, the Moody`s Investors Service warns Turkey about foreign trade and current balances deficit.
INVEST AND GET INCENTIVES
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who attended the inauguration ceremony of a detergent factory of Procter & Gamble in northwestern Gebze town, called on administrators of companies to invest in Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia regions, and benefit from the Incentive Law.

(BRC) 23.10.2004