ANKARA (A.A) - 16.05.2002 - These are some of the major headlines and their brief stories in Turkey's press on May 16, 2002. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
HURRIYET (LIBERAL)
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HE WRITES A NEWS STORY AND HIS LIFE TURNS INTO A NIGHTMARE
Sinan Kara, a journalist from Datca township of western province of Mugla wrote a news story which angered Head Official Savas Tuncer. The news story released in August of 2001, said, ''the dogs were banned to go swimming in the sea. The head official of Datca said that the dogs were forbidden by the religion to go swimming in the sea.'' Later, a total of 18 lawsuits were filed against Kara. He was sentenced to nine years in prison, and to pay 4 billion Turkish liras in fine.
BELGIAN WEAPON SMUGGLER CAPTURED
Belgium which refused Turkey's request for extradition of Fehriye Erdal, a member of illegal Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) and one of suspects of killing of businessman Ozdemir Sabanci in 1996, has taken immediate action for extradition of Belgian weapon smuggler Jacques Monsieur.
FIVE BUREAUCRATS DETAINED
Within the framework of an investigation into fuel-oil smuggling carried out by Van Gendarme Command in Saray township of eastern province of Van, gendarmerie units came to Ankara and detained five bureaucrats at the Environment Ministry. These bureaucrats are Environment Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Niyazi Cakmak, Prevention of Pollution and Control Department Director General Sami Agirgun, Prevention of Pollution and Control Department Deputy Director General Tulin Basa, Measurement and Monitoring Department Director Fatih I. Erkal, and Gulsen Baykal. The detainees were taken to Van to be interrogated about the investigation into fuel-oil smuggling.
40 LAWYERS REPRESENT IP LEADER PERINCEK
The Ankara Basic Criminal Court no:2 started to hear the case in which imprisonment terms up to three years are sought for Workers' Party (IP) leader Dogu Perincek and his aide Hasan Yalcin on charges of illegally seizing and announcing EU's Representative in Turkey Karen Fogg's e-mails after hacking into her computer. Suspects Perincek and Yalcin and their nearly forty lawyers attended the first hearing of the case. Making his defense, Perincek claimed that they had determined that Fogg was carrying out activities which targeted Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) like gathering secret information about Turkey, transmitting those information secretly, forming gang by leading some journalists and labor unions and inciting Turkish Cypriots against the TRNC government.
MILLIYET (LIBERAL)
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TANTAN EXPECTED TO RESPOND SOME CRITICAL QUESTIONS
Statements of former Interior Minister Sadettin Tantan about the plotting scandal reveals that he was aware of what was happening. Tantan is expected to respond to some critical questions in coming days.
''PLEASE DO NOT GO TO AFGHANISTAN''
State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Husamettin Ozkan called on Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit who has been resting in his residence for nearly two weeks because of health problems, and warned him to postpone his scheduled visits to Afghanistan and Pakistan due to scorching temperatures in the region.
ALI FEVZI BIR TO BE EXTRADITED TO TURKEY
Ali Fevzi Bir, one of suspects of Susurluk case who has been under arrest in Germany, will be extradited to Turkey. German authorities have decided to extradite Bir who was arrested in his absentia in Turkey within the framework of allegations of rigging in soccer matches. Turkish and German officials will set a date for extradition of Bir to Turkey.
''PKK CASE WAS CLOSED DOWN FOR US''
Vice President Abd al-Halim ibn Said Khaddam of Syria said that the case of terrorist organization PKK which was the most serious problem between the two countries, was closed down for themselves. He pointed out that the water problem would be resolved soon.
SABAH (LIBERAL)
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DEATH DEALER CAPTURED IN ISTANBUL
Belgian Jacques Monsieur, one of the most dangerous weapon smugglers of the world, was captured at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport. Monsieur, 50, has been accused of selling thousands of U.S. dollars of weapons to many countries especially to Iran, Croatia, Congo and the People's Republic of China. As a result of initiatives launched by the United States, Monsieur was detained in France in 1999, and judicial process was launched against him. However, Monsieur managed to flee. Later, Iran claimed that Monsieur was arrested in Iran on charges of spying, and did not allow him to hold talks with Belgian diplomats. The United States, France and Belgium issued an international arrest warrant against Jacques Monsieur. Belgium is expected to make an official request to Turkey for extradition of Monsieur.
MEHMET CEYLAN RESIGNS FROM MHP
Mehmet Ceylan, a deputy from Sivas province, resigned from Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). After resignation of Ceylan, the number of MHP deputies at the parliament reduced to 126 and number of independent parliamentarians rose to 15.
CUMHURIYET (LEFT)
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HOPE IN CYPRUS
Contacts of U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan who came to Cyprus to accelerate the talks brought positive results. TRNC President Rauf Denktas and Greek Cypriot administration leader Glafcos Clerides were satisfied with their meetings. Denktas said he was optimistic about solution of the issue by June, adding, ''solution can be found if Greek Cypriots accept that they are not the government of Turkish Cypriots.'' Meanwhile, Clerides said Annan wanted to accelerate the procedure of talks.
EUROPE'S TERROR EXAM
It was claimed that some European countries had told head terrorist Abdullah Ocalan's brother Osman Ocalan that the PKK would be included in the EU's list of terrorist organization but ''don't worry it is only a nonfunctional list.'' Turkey expects EU members to take steps to declare these allegations were untrue.
NO PERMISSION TO PKK
The ''Trilateral Summit'' among President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and his Bulgarian counterpart Georgi Purvanov and Romanian counterpart Ion Iliescu ended. Sezer stressed that PKK's identity cannot be changed even if it changed its name. He said that Bulgaria and Romania would show the necessary sensitivity toward the terrorist organization's activities.
MEETING WARMS UP ATMOSPHERE
The first trilateral meeting of the Turkish, Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers who are in Reykjavik to attend the NATO meeting ended successfully. Ismail Cem and his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts Vilayat Quliyev and Vartan Oskanyan decided to make cooperation and set up dialogue for peace. Such trilateral meetings where security issues particularly the Upper Karabakh will be taken up will continue. A high-level Turkish diplomat said, ''all of the ministers were satisfied with the meeting. The important thing was organization of such a meeting. We think that this meeting would add an important momentum to efforts for settlement of stability in the region.''
SIT-IN DEMONSTRATION OF UNIONISTS
The Confederation of Turkish Labor Unions (Turk-Is) started a sit-in demonstration for legalization of the labor assurance and end of IMF policies. Nearly 100 unionists sit up all night in Guvenpark in order to have their voice and demands heard by the government.
RADIKAL (LEFT)
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ANNAN CREATES HOPE
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan who paid a visit to Cyprus created hope about the direct talks process that has come to a deadlock. President Rauf Denktas of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) said, ''if the Greek Cypriot side accept that it is not the government of Turkish Cypriots, a solution can be reached by June.'' Meanwhile, Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides said that they had been waiting for news from the Turkish Cypriot side.
TURKIYE (RIGHT)
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IMF DOES NOT WANT ELECTIONS
It was revealed that the World Bank and the IMF had gotten agitated when State Minister Kemal Dervis for Economy had expressed the word of ''elections''. This statement by Dervis had also shaken the international finance circles. While Dervis was making this statement, World Bank President James Wolfensohn and IMF official Thomas C. Dawson were attending a meeting in Switzerland and when they heard of this statement they got agitated and called Motherland Party (ANAP) deputy Nesrin Nas who was attending the same meeting. And they asked Nas, ''what is this man talking about?'' And Nesrin Nas phoned Ankara and requested information by asking whether or not anything had happened in Turkey. Later, Nas met again with Wolfensohn and Dawson, and Nas faced the warning that ''you can't hold elections for at least next one year.'' When this warning was conveyed to Ankara, Dervis said, ''I was misunderstood.''
SEZER: ''ARMED FORCES IS THE GUARANTEE OF PEACE IN THE WORLD''
Releasing a message upon the Commemoration Day of Turkish Pilots Died While Fulfilling Their Mission, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said, ''our martyrs sacrificed their lives to guard our country and protect our national interests. The Turkish Armed Forces makes an important contribution to the peace in the world with its position of being the most advanced armed force in the region.''
RTUK AT PRESIDENCY PALACE
The Radio and Television Supreme Board (RTUK) Law which was discussed at the Parliament after it had been vetoed by the President was sent back to President Ahmet Necdet Sezer for the second time for its approval.
RAID TO ENVIRONMENT
The Gendarme Command teams which opened an investigation under the Van Saray Chief Prosecutor's Office had come to Ankara two days ago and detained five high-level bureaucrats and brought them to C-Van for their interrogation. It was announced that those bureaucrats were Environment Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Osman Niyazi Cakmak, Director General Sami Agirgun, Deputy Director General Tulin Basa, Office Director I. Fatih Erkal and secretary Gulsen Baykal.
ANNAN'S JOYFUL VISIT
The visit of U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to TRNC President Rauf Denktas for the first time in Cyprus drove Greek Cypriots crazy. Greek Cypriots showed their reaction by saying that the United Nations officially recognized the TRNC while Annan was welcomed with Turkish and U.N. flags in the TRNC.
ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)
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TURKEY TO BE SATELLITE TRANSMITTING STATION OF EURASIA
Turkey is planning to be the satellite transmitting center of Caucasus and Central Asia which gained strategic importance after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The Transportation Ministry prepared a Eurasiavision (Europe-Asia vision network'' which will cover the region that lacks electronic transmission.
BELGIAN SMUGGLER IN RETURN FOR FEHRIYE
Notorious weapon smuggler Jacques Monsieur of Belgium which has been wanted by Interpol with red bulletin for years was captured at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport. It was mentioned that Monsieur who was put in Metris Prison in Istanbul would be used as the trump card in return for extradition of terrorist Fehriye Erdal.
YILMAZ: ''EU HAS VERY SOUND AND COMMON CRITERIA''
Motherland Party (ANAP) leader, State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz said that the European Union (EU) has ''very sound and common criteria''. Yilmaz said, ''we do have difficulty in understanding these in Turkey. We live as people isolated from the world.''
EU: ''RTUK LAW SHOULD BE REVIEWED AGAIN''
EU Commissioner for enlargement Guenther Verheugen's spokesman Jean-Christophe Filori announced that the new Radio and Television Supreme Board (RTUK) Law contradicted with the Copenhagen criteria so it should be reviewed again.