ANKARA (AA) - These are some of the major headlines and their summaries in Turkish press on May 20th, 2005. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
HURRIYET (LIBERAL)
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CIVILIANS NOT TO BE TRIED BY MILITARY COURTS
Preparatory works have been completed on a draft law which says that civilians will not be tried by military courts in time of peace. National Defense Ministry prepared the draft law. According to the law, civilians will be brought to the military court, if they are involved in any crime committed by military personnel.
BAKU-CEYHAN TO MEET OIL
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline will start to transport oil on May 25th. Turkey will earn 200 million USD from BTC a year. The oil is expected to reach Ceyhan town of Turkish southern city of Adana gradually within six months. 440 kilometers of the 1,774-kilometer pipeline pass through Azerbaijan, 260 kilometers through Georgia, and the rest 1,074 kilometers through Turkey. About 50 million tons of crude oil to be brought from mainly Azerbaijan to Turkey will be transported to world markets from Ceyhan town.
MILLIYET (LIBERAL)
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CRISIS OF HEADSCARF
Members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) reacted harshly to the government, which advocated the ban on Islamic-style headscarf during a hearing at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Leyla Sahin filed a lawsuit at the ECHR against Turkey in 1998 affirming that her freedom of thought, conscience and religion was violated since she was prohibited from wearing the Islamic headscarf at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Istanbul.
GUL: ''WE WILL NOT RETRY OCALAN''
After the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that Turkey had violated right to a fair trial of Abdullah Ocalan, the head of the terrorist organization PKK, Turkish Foreign Minister & Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said, ''we have the opportunity of examining the file of Ocalan once again. Therefore, we do not intend to retry him.''
FAILURE IN TURKISH PLANE
A Turkish plane landed safely at Israel's international airport after an emergency was declared because the pilot reported trouble with his landing gear. The plane, with 294 passengers on board, landed safely with all the wheels locked in place normally. The plane, an Airbus, was flown by a Turkish charter company. A glitch in the plane's computer system caused the problem, which occurred as the aircraft was preparing to land at Ben Gurion airport.
SABAH (LIBERAL)
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AL-JAFARI FLIES TO TURKEY BY ERDOGAN'S PLANE
Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jafari of Iraq flew to Turkey by the plane 'Ata' that was sent by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to bring al-Jafari to Turkey. Al-Jafari will hold talks in Turkey from May 20th to 21st. His visit is described as a new page in relations between Turkey and Iraq. Besides the bilateral relations, rebuilding process in Iraq, and development of cooperation between the two countries will be high on agenda of Prime Minister al-Jafari's scheduled meetings in Ankara.
''ONUR AIR IS AS SAFE AS LUFTHANSA''
Officials of Adria Technical Center, which maintains planes of several European airways, said, ''we did not understand why Onur Air flights were suspended. Onur Air is as safe as Lufthansa.'' Slovenia's Adria Airways Deputy President Pavel Prhavc noted that Onur Air's planes were very safe.
VATAN (INDEPENDENT)
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''OCALAN IS A TERRORIST WHO BELONGS IN A PRISON CELL''
The U.S. State Department said that Abdullah Ocalan, the head of the terrorist organization PKK, is a terrorist who belongs in a prison cell. Noting that they took note of the recent decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Ocalan, the U.S. State Department said that the issue would be best handled by Turkey.
RETALIATION
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that national parliaments of 15 countries approved resolutions recognizing the so-called Armenian genocide. ''We will examine those countries, and approve similar resolutions if they committed genocide in their past,'' he said.
CUMHURIYET (LEFT)
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ENLIGHTENMENT PROMISE
May 19th Commemoration of Ataturk, Youth and Sports Festival was celebrated in Ankara with joy. Pillars of state headed by Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer visited the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern and secular Republic of Turkey. President Sezer signed special book of the mausoleum saying, ''Turkish youth is determined to preserve the enlightenment revolution that Ataturk initiated.''
ONE OF EVERY FOUR PEOPLE IS POOR
Turkish Prime Ministry prepared a social security report which said that 27 percent of people live below the poverty line in Turkey. The report noted that 82 percent of poor people don't have social security insurance.
RADIKAL (LEFT)
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JOY OF MAY 19TH
May 19th Commemoration of Ataturk, Youth and Sports Festival was celebrated throughout Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Pillars of state headed by Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer visited the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern and secular Republic of Turkey. They laid a wreath to the tomb of Ataturk, and observed a minute of silence in the memory of Ataturk. Official celebrations continued in May 19th Stadium.
CLASH IN MARDIN
A terrorist was killed in Nusaybin town of southeastern Turkish city of Mardin. Mardin Governor Ali Candan said that clash erupted between security forces and a group of terrorists in rural area near Dibek village, stating that a terrorist was killed in the clash.
TURKIYE (RIGHT)
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TURKISH BLOW ON CHINA
The World Trade Organization (WTO) admitted that Turkey's objection to removal of quotas imposed on the People's Republic of China was right. WTO granted several countries the right to take protective measures. While Turkey increased quotas, the United States expanded its sanctions against China.
PRIME MINISTER AL-JAAFARI OF IRAQ IN TURKEY
Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari of Iraq arrived in Turkey on a two-day official visit. Iraqi ministers of finance, oil, electricity, industry & minerals, water resources and high-level officials are accompanying Prime Minister al-Jaafari. Prime Minister Al-Jaafari is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday morning.
ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)
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TALKS OVER ONUR AIR TO CONTINUE
Dutch and Turkish aviation authorities held another round of talks to try and resolve a dispute over a ban against Turkish carrier Onur Air, but failed to reach a breakthrough. The talks, which began earlier this week in the Netherlands, are scheduled to resume on Friday and focus on technical matters. The Netherlands imposed a one-month ban on Onur Air last week because of safety concerns, sparking subsequent bans at Swiss, French and German airports.
YENI SAFAK (CONSERVATIVE)
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YOUTHS NOT READ BOOK
Young Businessmen's Association in Ankara made a research which revealed the fact that 31.7 percent of youths don't read book. According to the research, 21 percent of youths watch magazine shows and sports programs on tv channels.
AL-JAAFARI ARRIVES IN TURKEY WITH FIVE MINISTERS
Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari arrived in Turkey with five ministers. Al-Jaafari will pay a state visit to Turkey from May 20th to 21st upon the invitation of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
2005-05-20