ANKARA - These are some of the major headlines and their brief stories in Turkey's press on December 7, 2002. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

HURRIYET (LIBERAL)
------------------
WE WANT SUCH POLITICS
Foreign Minister Yasar Yakýs and CHP deputy Kemal Dervis attended the European Convention meetings in Brussels together. Dervis was also present in the meetings of Yakýs with French and German Foreign Ministers. Yakýs said ''I requseted Dervis to attend the meetings with me and he accepted my request.'' EU also appreciated the participation of the contacts held for EU membership of Turkey by ruling and opposition party members together. Yakýs and Dervis gave the mesasge in their contacts that Turkey was against the date of 2005 which was mentioned by French and German leaders to start talks with Turkey.

U.S. WARNS:TERRORISM CAN HIT GAZIANTEP
U.S. Department of State issued a statement warning American citizens in Turkey about the possibility of a terrorist attack in Turkey. The U.S. Department particularly warned American citizens to be careful in Gaziantep Airport which is being used instead of Adana Airport as the latter is under repair.

MILLIYET (LIBERAL)
------------------
STATE MINISTER AYDIN:KORAN SHOULD BE RE-INTERPRETED
State Minister Mehmet Aydýn said that ''religious information can't be explained to the society without taking into consideration scientific information. Religious interpretations about the daily life have to be updated. Koran has to be re-interperted according to the changing conditions.''

ERDOGAN:WE CAN'T ACCEPT 2005
AK Party leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that ''we don't approve the dates mentioned by French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schoeder regarding EU's starting accession talks with Turkey which is 2005. We will tell our views both to the EU term president and also to other EU countries' prime ministers,'' said Erdogan to reporters. ''We will ask EU officials and states not to give a date later than 2003 to us,'' he added.

SABAH (LIBERAL)
---------------
2005 CAN'T BE ACCEPTED
The paper says that EU which will have 25 members as of May 2004 is not expected to give a clear date to Turkey to start accession talks. The new ten members of the EU won't want any new members to share the sources of the EU. Turkey which has difficulty in getting an appointment from a 15-member EU will have more difficulties in getting this date from 25-member EU.

U.S. REJECTS 2005
The U.S. objected to the common plan of France and Germany which think to give a date to Turkey in 2005 to start negotiations. A U.S. State Department statement noted that ''We feel strongly that Turkey should be offered an early confirmed date to begin accession negotiations and we're in contact with various other governments about that point of view.''

CUMHURIYET (LEFT)
-----------------
BERLUSCONI AND SIMITIS EXTEND SUPPORT TO TURKEY
Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi said that Italy and Greece are the advocates of Turkey in the EU. Berlusconi said that the date to start accession talks with Turkey should before January 2004. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his Greek counterpart Costas Simitis said delaying the discussions could wither Turkey's enthusiasm for the EU. ''To fix a date for the beginning of the negotiations encourages Turkey to enact reforms for market liberalisation and human rights,''Berlusconi told reporters after meeting Simitis. Simitis said in his part that EU should show that it is besides Turkey.

DEHAP TO OBJECT TO YSK'S DECISION
Democratic (DEHAP) which was the number one party in Siirt by getting 26,980 votes in Nov. 3 elections won't have any deputies represented in the parliament as it could not pass the ten percent threshold in the country in the last elections. DEHAP will compete in the new elections to be held only in Siirt on February 9. DEHAP deputy secretary general said that DEHAP will object to the decision of the Board.

RADIKAL (LEFT)
--------------
GOVERNMENT, AK PARY AND CHP CRITICIZE GERMANY AND FRANCE
The government, AK Party and CHP leaders criticized the decision of France and Germany which think of EU's giving a date to Turkey in 2005 to start accession talks. Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said that a Muslim country would make EU richer and show that EU is not a Christian club. Foreign Minister Yakýs said that''we can't explain such a decision to the Turkish public opinion.'' AK Party leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that ''Turkey can't be a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of Europe.'' CHP leader Deniz Baykal said that ''no other country was kept waiting for membership that long.''

WORLD BANK:GROWTH TO STRENGETHEN
According to the Global Economic Expectations Report of the World Bank in the year 2003, if the new governmnet continues to implement the reform programme and ensures political stability, this will strengthen the growth in the Turkish economy.

TURKIYE (RIGHT)
---------------
OBJECTION TO 2005
British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Jack Straw called EU countries to give negotiation date to Turkey, ''if this is not the case, EU can be accused of making religious discrimination.'' Noting that Turkey was successful in its democracy test, Straw said that if a date is not given to Turkey despite that, this will mean making discrimination to a Muslim country. Stressing that critical decisions will be made in Copenhagen summit, Straw said that ''these decisions will form Europe in the coming century.'' Speaking to a group of reporters, Straw said that European continent has to determine its borders again and decide where these borders end. ''Will the borders be geographical or religious, this will come out in the summit.'' Britain wants EU to give a date to Turkey, this is both the requirements of the promises given to Turkey before and also it is an historic responsibility, Straw said.

RASMUSSEN:A DECISION WILL BE TAKEN
EU Term President Denmark's Prime Minister Rasmussen said regarding Turkey that ''we are moving on a road, and we don't have any other alternative.'' Rasmussen said that Turkey would take some thing in Copenhagen summit.

ZAMAN (CONSERVATIVE)
--------------------
TURKEY:2005 CAN'T BE ACCEPTED
Turkey reacted to the date of July 1, 2005 which was proposed by France and Germany for EU's starting accession talks with Turkey. Foreign Minister Yasar Yakýs told his French and German counterparts that ''the negotiation date should be July 2003 at the latest.''