ANKARA - These are some of the major headlines and their brief stories in Turkey's press on August 23, 2002. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
HURRIYET (LIBERAL)
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I PUT MY SIGNATURE UNDER THESE WORDS
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder met with Turkish businessmen at a European Union (EU) summit in Berlin on Thursday. Turkish businessman Vural Oger, who attended the luncheon of 20 Turkish businessmen with German Chancellor Schroeder, said, ''although countries like Romania and Bulgaria applied to the EU after Turkey, they were given priority. If the EU does not make a positive decision about Turkey, the only Muslim country heading the West, Turkish people will be disappointed. Turkey's modern structure should be taken into consideration.'' Schroeder said that he would put his signature under this and noted that as Europe, they were also evaluating it. Schroeder stated that the parliament had taken significant decisions and those decisions made EU's business easier. Noting that having different cultures was not important, Schroeder said according to their analyses, Turkey was progressing on the road drawn by Ataturk if they left aside extreme fundamentalism threat.
FIRST INVITATION FROM SOLDIERS TO TAYYIP
Soldiers invited Justice and Development Party (AK Party) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan to August 30 Victory Day celebrations to be held at the General Staff Headquarters for the first time. The General Staff, which did not invited Erdogan to last year's celebrations, made a statement to announce the change in its stance this year. In the statement, Erdogan was implied by saying ''leader who is not a deputy.''
MILLIYET (LIBERAL)
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IMMEDIATE INVESTIGATION FOR DEGRADING BEHAVIOUR AT PRISONS
Justice Minister Aysel Celikel issued a circular considering the complaints about F-type prisons and asked all prison personnel not to mistreat any prisoner or inmate. In the circular she sent to chief prosecutors' offices and prison directors, Celikel said inmates should not be abused during the time they stay in prison. She also asked prison authorities to start immediate investigation about personnel who mistreat or abuse inmates.
The circular also states that the inmates will stay alone with the doctors during a medical check-up and no prison official will be present during this process unless asked by the inmate.
SEZEN AKSU TO SING IN GREEK, ARMENIAN, HEBREW AND KURDISH AT ASPENDOS AND EPHESUS ANCIENT THEATERS
Sezen Aksu will sing songs in Greek, Armenian, Hebrew and Kurdish at two concerts at Ephesus and Aspendos ancient theaters on Aug. 30 and Sept. 1 respectively. During the concerts, Ferikoy Vartanat Armenian Church Chorus, Lospasaroz Sefaradis Jewish Children's Chorus, Orino Greek Music Group will also sing with Aksu.
SABAH (LIBERAL)
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DERVIS IS OK, BUT WHAT ABOUT BAYKAL?
Kemal Dervis, who did not make any decision about which political party he would join during the 18 months he spent in Turkey, will join Republican People's Party (CHP) today. When he was expected to take joint action with Democratic Left Party (DSP), he launched initiatives with the New Turkey Party (YTP). Later, he decided to join CHP. There is no doubt that Dervis will bring a certain amount of votes to the political party he joins. But, will the business world which extended a big support to Dervis when he announced that he would join politics, give the similar support to his unification with CHP? According to impressions we have got from the business world, nobody has doubts about Dervis. However, question marks started to occur in minds of people as CHP leader Deniz Baykal has become a part of the process. In fact, the business world does not have problems with CHP, the oldest political party in Turkey. But, the political outlook of Baykal has not been confidence-building so far. At the backstage, it is noted that Baykal has assumed an inharmonious attitude so far. The business world is curious about how many of his dreams Dervis can fulfil with a CHP headed by Baykal.
MEMORANDUM TO BARZANI
National Security Council (NSC) discussed Turkey's Northern Iraq policy at its August meeting. The Council took up Turkey's attitude towards the possibility of Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (IKDP) leader Masoud Barzani's declaring Kerkuk, Erbil and Musul, where Turkmens are a majority, as Kurdish region after a probable U.S. operation on Iraq. The NSC agreed to consider foundation of an independent Kurdish state in Northern Iraq as a casus belli. At the meeting, the participants agreed on the view that the future of Iraq should be determined by all of the Iraqi people after a probable operation. The NSC stressed that Iraq's territorial integrity was of vital importance.
WE WILL RETURN WITH CUP FROM UNITED STATES
Twelve giant men, Turkish national basketball team, is training all day seven days ahead of the World Basketball Championship. The basketball players said that the goal happiness felt during the World Cup in South Korea would be replaced with baskets scored in the United States.
CUMHURIYET (LEFT)
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GOVERNMENT BECOMES VERY INDUSTRIOUS RIGHT BEFORE ELECTIONS
The government started implementing the practices it has long been postponing. The Istanbul Approach project has speeded up while temporary workers were given permanent posts. The credits which were not used earlier were offered to the real sector. There are efforts to increase the agricultural support to 925 trillion TL. There are also efforts to improve the wages of civil servants.
CEM:''WE'LL RESOLVE THREE MAIN PROBLEMS OF TURKEY''
New Turkey Party (YTP) leader Ismail Cem has said that his party was embracing all the people of Turkey. ''We'll be the party of women, the young people, the poor, the workers, farmers, and some five million handicapped people,'' Cem said. The YTP leader also stated that his party will work to bring a solution to three main problems of the country which is low production, unemployment and inequality among people.
RADIKAL (LEFT)
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THE BIGGEST POLITICAL STORYTELLER RETURNS
Necmettin Erbakan, who organized a meeting for support to Felicity Party (SP), made people both laugh and cry with his ''sui generis'' style. Politically banned Erbakan showed that he did not lose his talent at the meeting aiming to support SP. Announcing that he would be an independent deputy in the elections, Erbakan pressed on Justice and Development Party (AK Party) leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan the most. Erbakan ignored AK Party when he was counting ''six rooted parties.'' Erbakan's eyes were filled with tears when he was talking about the economic crisis. The listeners who were laughing till that moment could not maintain their self-control and they also cried.
CEM'S MORALE BOOSTED IN ISTANBUL
New Turkey Party (YTP) leader Ismail Cem, who returned to Turkey after meeting with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, was welcomed by a thousand people at the Ataturk Airport of Istanbul. Cem, who got on an election bus to go to YTP branch in Mecidiyekoy district, toured the city with a convoy of five thousand vehicles. Cem threw red roses and hailed people from the bus.
SOURCE FOR CIVIL SERVANTS IS DIFFICULT
Touching on rises in salaries of civil servants, State Minister Masum Turker for economy said, ''we cannot make any expenditure without having the necessary source. We will try to give as much as we can.''
TURKIYE (RIGHT)
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BUSINESS WORLD OPTIMISTIC BUT CONCERNED
Business circles in Turkey are happy about the increasing production, but they are concerned about the postponement possibility of the elections. Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO) Chairman Tanil Kucuk announced the results of a recent survey on Thursday. According to the survey, the number of employed people increased by 2.1 percent while capacity usage increased in all sectors. Kucuk called for support from all sectors to support the measures that need to be taken for a powerful economy.
Kucuk criticized of scenarios of postponing the elections because of a possible U.S. operation against Iraq and said postponement of elections would have a very high cost to Turkey.
TURKEY IS THE FASTEST GROWING COUNTRY IN TOURISM
In a report issued for 2002-2012 period by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), Turkey topped the list of countries which expected the highest demand in tourism and highest tourism investments in the next decade. According to the report, Turkey's tourism demand will increase by 10.2 percent. Turkey will be followed by India, China, Laos, Botswana, Mexico, Vanuta, Vietnam and Nigeria.
ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)
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SIX OF ''THE NINES'' RESIGN FROM THE SHP, SOME OF THEM FLIRT WITH CHP
Six of the nine opposing deputies in the Democratic Left Party (DSP) who were known as ''the nines'' yesterday resigned from their party. The deputies who accused Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit of objecting to an alliance between leftist parties, haven't yet announced which party they will join.
The Republican People's Party (CHP) is welcoming only two of these deputies who are Emin Kara and Ertugrul Kumcuoglu. It was stated that the CHP didn't want the other three deputies, Ali Arabaci, Uluc Gurkan, Sadik Kirbas and Ahmet Arkan.
SELLING OF PAMUKBANK SUSPENDED
Council of State yesterday decided to suspend the selling process of Pamukbank which was transferred to the Deposit Savings Insurance Fund (TMSF) by the Banking Regulation and Inspection Agency (BDDK). Cukurova Group's Chairman Mehmet Emin Karamehmet had filed a suit for the suspension of his bank's sales and claimed that the transfer of Pamukbank to the TFSF was unfair.