These are some of the major headlines and their brief stories in Turkey's press on March 18, 2002. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
HURRIYET (LIBERAL)
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TRY ME IN TURKEY
Sukru Karahasanoglu, the former director general of Sumerbank and Etibank, currently in a foreign country, applied to Justice Ministry International Law and Foreign Relations Directorate General through his lawyer to be tried in Turkey.
Istanbul State Security Court had issued an arrest warrant against Karahasanoglu in November 2000 within the scope of Sumerbank investigation.
Interpol also had issued a Red Bulletin against Karahasanoglu to be arrested. Karahasanoglu had been arrested in February 2001 by Interpol in Milano city of Italy.
I HAVE BURNT FIVE SACK OF DOCUMENTS BELONGING TO TURKES
Naci Memis, the former Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) secretary general, said he burnt five sack of documents belonging to Alparslan Turkes after his death. The documents included information and and reports.
Memis said, ''the information and reports were mostly coming from policemen and military officials, assigned in the southeast, fighting against terrorist PKK organization. They were, in a way, the special source of information of Turkes.''
Memis said Turkes had been giving the letters to him, and that he was summarizing the letters to Turkes. ''When Turkes died, I burnt all of them thinking that those were the secret documents of Turkes. And I also thought nobody should suffer a loss because of them,'' he noted.
MILLIYET (LIBERAL)
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SHOCK IN PRIME MINISTRY
All urine and blood samples belonging to prime ministry bureaucrats, who went through a health check, were stolen.
Within the framework of the campaign started by Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, a wide-scaled health check took place in Prime Ministry. Everybody in the Prime Ministry went through this health check. All the blood and urine samples, taken from the bureaucrats and the civil servants, were kept in a room. However, some unidentified people stole all the blood and urine samples from the room three weeks ago.
An investigation has been launched against the incident.
YASAR KEMAL IS ''HONORARY GREEN''
Germany Union 90/Greens Party held a convention in Berlin with the slogan ''Vision of Future is Formed Here'' and elected famous author Yasar Kemal as honorary member due to his efforts exerted for human rights.
Kemal, while addressing the party members, said, ''you are fighting for the protection of nature and human rights. You are important for me in this respect.''
Kemal said the most important problem of humanity was to provide peace, noting that human beings could not get rid of wars although they formed civilized societies.
SABAH (LIBERAL)
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KIVRIKOGLU: ''WE CANNOT BE OVERLY FAMILIAR WITH IRAN
General Huseyin Kivrikoglu, the Chief of General Staff, met with Parliament Speaker Omer Izgi before starting his tour to Central Asia countries. During the meeting, the issue of Iran was brought onto agenda. General Kivrikoglu said, ''National Security Council (NSC) Secretary General Kilinc's statement should be well-assessed. We cannot be overly familiar with Iran. Any soldier cannot give up the principle of modernizm.''
ECEVIT: ''UNITED STATES WILL POSSIBLY LAUNCH AN OPERATION AGAINST IRAQ''
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit met with Parliament Speaker Omer Izgi last Monday. The meeting focused on the issue of Iraq. Prime Minister Ecevit told Izgi, ''the United States will possibly launch a military operation against Iraq. We will ask U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney to inform us during his contacts in Turkey.''
CUMHURIYET (LEFT)
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NEWSWEEK GIVES BROAD PLACE TO DEATH FASTS IN TURKEY
Leading Newsweek Magazine published an article entitled ''Fasting to Death'' in its latest issue. The Newsweek described death-fasting prisoners as victims of a culture of brutality spawned by decades of political violence. ''Now Turkey is seeking to join the European Union (EU) and clean up its human rights act-with police brutality, torture and prison conditions high on the list of reforms,'' it said, and added that death fasts claimed the lives of 47 people.
8,387 FOREIGNERS TAKE SHELTER IN TURKEY
Responding to an interrogation motion submitted to the parliament by Tevhid Karakaya from the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), Interior Minister Rustu Kazim Yucelen said, ''according to the international conventions, countries are not obliged to accept request of a person coming from a country in which he is not in danger.'' Yucelen said that 19 thousand 236 foreigners applied Turkey for asylum in the last four years, and added that applications of 8 thousand 387 were accepted.
RADIKAL (LEFT)
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SEVEN PERCENT DEMOCRACY
Efforts of Turkey to get rid of the image of being the country closing political parties the most, are in vain. According to the recent change in the Constitution, the Constitutional Court will be able to cut the whole or some part of the Treasury aid which the party takes, instead of closing a party. The prosecutor will be able to call for cutting of the Treasury aid instead of closure.
However, this article automatically excludes the parties whose rate of votes are low because under the law, the parties who got less than seven percent of votes can not benefit from the Treasury aid. The government did not adjust this article in the second adjustment package which is expected to be discussed within this week.
ECEVIT EXPECTED TO SAY ''YOU ARE LEFT ALONE''
Key Ankara visit of the U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney will start on Tuesday. Cheney could not find the necessary support from the Arabs in his tour to Middle East regarding military operation on Iraq.
Cheney is expected to attract the attentions to the mass destruction weapons of Iraq and convey the view that Iraq could cause a war in the Middle East by directing those weapons to its neighbours.
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit is expected to point out the opposition of the Arabs and the European Union (EU) and convey the message that, ''Europe thinks like us. You are alone this time. There is not a strong coalition backing you as it happened in Afghanistan.''
Ecevit is also expected to convey the view that Iraq did not have the power to damage its neighbours.
TURKIYE (RIGHT)
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WHAT WAS OZDEMIR'S FAULT?
Leading businessmen Sakip Sabanci has still been grieving for his brother Ozdemir Sabancý who was killed by the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party Front (DHKP-C), criticized the law on release from prison. He said, ''Fehriye Erdal makes sing of victory with her hands. What is this victory? She says they succeeded in killing Ozdemir. What was Ozdemir's fault. He had been only working, establishing factories and setting up bridges between Turkey and Japan. These were the faults of Ozdemir. Those who were released from prison under this law, robbed banks. Because this system encourage offenders to commet crimes again.''
CHENEY DUE IN TURKEY
U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney will come to Turkey on Tuesday within framework of his tour to Middle East. Cheney will brief Turkish officials on Iraq's chemical weapons. He is expected to stress that these weapons posed a serious threat on Turkey. Turkish sides will warn the United States that a military operation against Iraq would hit Turkish economy.
ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)
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SWITZERLAND OPENS TWO YOUTH HOUSES IN SOUTHEASTERN ANATOLIA
Industrialized countries sends 10 percent of their income to the under-developed countries. Switzerland has chosen Southeastern Anatolia to send money. Switzerland that opened two youth houses in Mardin and in Diyarbakir in July of 2001, has begun giving free training to young people.