ANKARA - Turkish Justice Minister and Government spokesman Cemil Cicek has stated that a new draft law will be sent to the Turkish parliament to make Turkish police stronger.
Cemil Cicek held a press conference after the meeting of the Council of Ministers ended.
''There is a shortage of number of police officers in Turkey. We will encourage graduates of 4-year universities and, after a training period of six months, will add them to our police force,'' said Cicek. ''There is one police officer per 250 individuals in the EU. This number is one per more than 300 Turks in Turkey.''
According to Cicek, the Council of Ministers decided to prepare a new law on banking transactions in Turkey. ''The Council of Ministers will start working on changes to the Turkish Banking Law to meet the needs of clients and do away with problems encountered in the past,'' told Cicek.
Cicek informed journalists that the Council of Ministers heard about the assassination of former Prime Minister of Lebanon Rafik Hariri during its meeting. ''We are deeply saddened by the assassination of Hariri. Turkey condemns such brutal attack on Hariri and others.''
Cicek said, ''Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan briefed the Council of Ministers on steps Turkey can take in southeast Asia. Turkey will help the tsunami-stricken regions of southeast Asia by constructing facilities such as hospitals and schools,'' remarked Cicek.
Cicek indicated that irregularities and corruptness took place during the recent elections in Iraq. ''Turkey believes that the elections in Iraq were a positive step. Yet, the elections were not conducted in a fair atmosphere,'' stressed Cicek.