ANKARA - These are some of the major headlines and their summaries in Turkish press on May 27th, 2005. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

HURRIYET (LIBERAL)
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RESOLVE CYPRUS, MAKE PEACE WITH ARMENIA
Germany's favorite candidate for the Chancellor's position Angela Merkel turned Churches Day into a platform of criticizing Turkey. Merkel wanted Turkey to make its stance on Cyprus clear and to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia before October 3rd, when entry negotiations with the EU will begin.

TURKISH AIRLINES CARRY RECORD NUMBER OF PASSENGERS
Turkish Airlines (THY) General Director Temel Kotil has indicated that the number of passengers carried in the first four months of 2005 exceeded the number of passengers carried in the same period last year by 19.2 percent. Accordingly, the THY carried a record number of 4.02 million passengers between January-April.

MILLIYET (LIBERAL)
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HERE IS EDELMAN'S SUCCESSOR
Ross Wilson, the former Ambassador of the United States to Azerbaijan, is expected to replace Eric Edelman whose tenure in Ankara will end in June. Wilson, 50, is considered one of the most successful ambassadors of the U.S. State Department.

ARINC URGES UNITED STATES NOT TO DECLARE 1915 EVENTS AS GENOCIDE
Turkish Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc said that the U.S. Congress should avoid allowing political considerations affect historical judgments, and urged the United States not to recognize the 1915 events as Armenian genocide. Arinc said in a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington D.C. that Turkey was ready to establish an independent commission to investigate the events.

''CONFERENCE WILL TAKE PLACE SOON''
Organizers and participants of a conference at Istanbul's Bogazici University on ''Ottoman Armenians in the Era of Collapse of the Empire: Scientific Responsibility and Democracy Problems'' which was postponed, released a joint statement reading, ''as scientists and historians of Turkey, we had to postpone a three-day conference as a result of pressure, threat and denigration. But the conference will take place soon.'' The conference was scheduled to start on Wednesday.

SABAH (LIBERAL)
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FIGHT AGAINST UNREGISTERED ECONOMY
The Board of Accountants will launch an initiative to fight against unregistered economy in the meeting to be held today. The board will make public an action plan in today's meeting in Ankara. Turkish Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan will make opening remarks of the meeting. Effects, reasons and dimensions of unregistered economy will be taken up in the meeting.

CHP KARS PARLIAMENTARIAN RESIGNS FROM HIS PARTY
Selami Yigit, a parliamentarian from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), resigned from his party. After Yigit's resignation, the number of seats of CHP at the parliament fell to 169, while the number of independent parliamentarians climbed to 12.

VATAN (INDEPENDENT)
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TORRENTIAL RAINS KILL A PERSON IN ANKARA
Torrential rains killed a person and injuring other in Ankara yesterday. On the other hand, three people who were stranded in a basement of a building were rescued by divers. 80 houses and working places were flooded by torrential rains which lasted for one hour.

OYAK INTERESTED IN TELEKOM, TUPRAS AND ERDEMIR
Oyak Group Director General Coskun Ulusoy said that they were interested in sales of Telekom, Tupras and Erdemir, adding that they were determined to buy one of them.

CUMHURIYET (LEFT)
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OYAK: ''WE ARE INTERESTED IN TUPRAS, TELEKOM AND ERDEMIR''
Oyak Director General Coskun Ulusoy said that they were interested in privatization of Tupras, Turk Telekom and Erdemir, noting that they would make a choice among them due to privatization timetable.

CYPRUS SUMMIT AHEAD OF VISIT TO UNITED STATES
A summit on Cyprus issue will be held in Ankara in the first week of June ahead of visits of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul to the United States. Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mehmet Ali Talat, Prime Minister Ferdi Sabit Soyer and Foreign Minister Serdar Denktas will attend the summit.

RADIKAL (LEFT)
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ARINC SUPPORTS ARMENIAN CONFERENCE
Turkish Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc has supported the realization of the 'Armenian Conference' that was postponed at the Bogazici (Bosphorus) University. Arinc indicated that freedom of expression does not always include statements that people cheer and applaud. Arinc strongly criticized those circles who do not want such a conference.

ERDOGAN MAKES A CALL TO KAZAHK BUSINESSMEN FOR INVESTMENT IN TURKEY
Visiting Kazakhstan, Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan has extended an invitation to Kazakh businessmen and businesswomen to invest in Turkey. ''We will provide all the possible incentives to the Kazakh business community in Turkey,'' told Erdogan. Kazakhstan is Turkey's biggest trade partner in Central Asia.

TURKIYE (RIGHT)
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SUPPORT TO CYPRUS
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Kazakh Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov in Astana. Noting that the Kazakh state sent a letter to Cyprus to set up cultural relations with TRNC, Akhmetov said that ''we have Turkish brothers there and we are always ready to have cultural relations with them.'' After the meetings between Erdogan and Akhmetov, the two countries signed protocols and agreements on cooperation in international terrorism, fight with organized crime and drug smuggling, statistics and archives.

TURKEY RECORDED GREAT PROGRESS FOR 2016 OLYMPICS
Istanbul mayor Kadir Topbas and Milan mayor Gabriele Albertini signed a good will letter which foresees cooperation between Istanbul and Milan in various issues. Albertini said that Istanbul hosted the European Champions League final match between Milan and Liverpool on Wednesday, stating that it was a perfect organization. Albertini noted that this organization showed that Istanbul was ready for 2016 Olympics.

ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)
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PARLIAMENT STARTS DEBATING REVISED TCK
Turkish parliament started debating a revised version of Turkish Penal Code (TCK). The parliament was expected to approve the new TCK revamping the 79-year old code by eliminating all reference to the death penalty. But the government delayed the vote until June to address fears that the new code could threaten freedoms and result in prison terms for journalists.

KAZAKHSTAN SIGNALS ITS WILLINGNESS TO COOPERATE WITH TRNC
While Ankara has been trying to seek support of the other countries in its efforts to remove embargoes on the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Kazakhstan signaled its willingness to set up cultural cooperation with the TRNC. Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov of Kazakhstan said at his meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that he had given directives to the ambassador in Ankara to develop cultural cooperation with the TRNC.

YENI SAFAK (CONSERVATIVE)
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U.S. CONTINUES TO DISRESPECT THE KORAN
An inmate at the U.S. Guantanamo Base has accused the American military personnel for desecrating the holy Koran in 2002. After the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) made a request, the documents made public show that allegations on disrespect of the Koran are actually real. The documents indicate that some base authorities have flushed the Koran and threw it on the floor.

FAR EAST NATIONS AIM TO ENTER THE TURKISH MARKET
Far East nations have begun working toward entering the profitable Turkish market. 40 small and mid-scale Thai firms are in Istanbul, displaying their products in a fair. ''We want to meet Turkish businessmen face to face. We wish to enter the Turkish market,'' said some Thai businessmen. The fair will take place between May 26th-28th, 2005 at the Lutfi Kirdar Exhibition Center.