Wednesday, 11 March 2009
These are some of the major headlines and their summaries in Turkish press on March 11, 2009. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
HURRIYET
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2ND INDICTMENT IS 1909 PAGES
Prosecutors who carry out Ergenekon probe have prepared a 1909-page indictment covering 6th, 7th, 8th waves of detentions and sent it to Istanbul High Criminal Court.
The indictment comprising 5 sections accuses 12 suspects of being the "inner circle" of the organization.
Istanbul Public Prosecutor's Office said secrecy of the content of the
indictment will continue till the court accepts the indictment.
PACKAGE WILL BE PREPARED WITHIN TWO WEEKS AND IMPLEMENTED AFTER ELECTIONS
Deputy Prime Minister Nazim Ekren, speaking at a Justice & Development (AK) Party Executive Board meeting where measures against economic crisis were discussed, said the prime minister would make public a package within two weeks, which would be implemented after upcoming local elections.
Ekren said they particularly worked on measures increasing domestic demand, noting that they would implement projects to prevent unemployment and to boost employment.
MILLIYET
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WE GET ON HIGH-SPEED TRAIN
High speed train made its first trip from Ankara to the neighboring province of Eskisehir. The journey lasted for only one hour and 20 minutes. The journey time will drop to one hour and five minutes. High-speed train has the capacity of carrying 419 passengers. It has 55 business class and 354 first class seats. In its business class parlor car, passengers have internet access.
PREMIER ERDOGAN ON ECONOMIC CRISIS
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his government saved Turkish people from high inflation rate. Erdogan said, "isn't there an economic crisis (in Turkey) now? There is an economic crisis in the country. But we should be aware of the fact that the previous government could not find a cure to high inflation rate."
SABAH
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LIFE SENTENCE FOR TWO GENERALS
The indictment regarding 56 suspects, 21 of whom are in prison, within the framework of the Ergenekon investigation was sent to the Criminal Court No: 13. Prosecutors accused 14 suspects of attempting to annul the parliament and government by using violence, and sought life imprisonment. Retired generals Hursit Tolon and Sener Eruygur are among these 14 suspects. The second indictment also included accusations against businessman Sinan Aygun, journalists Mustafa Balbay and Tuncay Ozkan.
GUL: "GOOD THINGS WILL HAPPEN REGARDING KURDISH PROBLEM"
President Abdullah Gul said, "good things will happen regarding Kurdish
problem soon. It will be wrong to put the burden only on abroad."
PACKAGE OF MEASURES AGAINST UNEMPLOYMENT
The government is preparing to make public a package of measures against rising unemployment in a few weeks. The package includes measures to revive domestic demand and envisages changes in incentive system.
VATAN
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GOOD THINGS WILL HAPPEN ABOUT KURDISH ISSUE
President Abdullah Gul gave important messages about domestic and foreign affairs of the country while he was aboard the plane on his way from Turkey to Tehran. Regarding Kurdish issue, Gul said, "good things will happen about this issue; it will not go on like this. It would be wrong to put the burden of this issue only on foreign countries." An opportunity had emerged with Barack Obama's election for solution of problems and for a new world order, Gul said that a new era could begin. When asked whether Obama would give a message to Islamic world when he was in Turkey, Gul said that Obama's visit to Ankara itself was a message.
MARKETS FLY, USD DROPS
U.S. dollar dropped to 1.77 Turkish liras when Central Bank sold USD and Euro gained in value. "We started 2009 well", the statement of Citigroup, made stock exchanges fly. The rise at London, Paris and New York stock exchanges exceeded five percent.
CUMHURIYET
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THERE WILL BE GOOD DEVELOPMENTS
President Abdullah Gul, who went to Iran for a meeting of Economic
Cooperation Organization, said that U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to the Turkish capital of Ankara would be a new message to the world. "A new era has begun. Everyone should get prepared for this new era as it would be important for peace and stability in the world," Gul said. Replying to questions on Kurdish issue aboard the plane on its way to Iran, Gul said that there would be good developments.
PRODUCTION STOPS
The capacity utilization rate in the Turkish manufacturing industry was down in February. The capacity utilization rate dropped to 63.8 percent in February when compared with February 2008. The capacity utilization rate was 79.3 percent in February 2008.
RADIKAL
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OBAMA SPIRIT IN TEHRAN!
President Abdullah Gul is optimistic about the atmosphere that has changed after Barack Obama was elected the president of the United States. Gul expects progress in settlement of regional problems, including U.S.-Iran relations. He said there might be "surprising developments" inside and outside Turkey regarding the Kurdish problem. Gul said, "there is an appropriate climate for solution of big problems."
USD DROPS TO 1.78 TL
One USD dropped to 1.78 Turkish lira (TL) thanks to the auctions of the
Central Bank. One USD climbed to 1.825 TL before the intervention. The stock exchange was up 81 points and reached 23,138 points.
VERY FAST HIGH-SPEED TRAIN
The high-speed train reached 256 km/hr of speed in its promotion trip
between Ankara and Eskisehir. The round-trip took only three hours and 15 minutes between Ankara and Eskisehir. The train spent 15 minutes of that total time at the stations.
TURKIYE
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SECOND ACT OPENS IN ERGENEKON, NEW INDICTMENT READY
The second indictment of the Ergenekon case, which was launched after
several bombs were seized in a shanty house in Umraniye district of Istanbul, accuses 12 more suspects of being administrators of terrorist organization.
The file which was sent to the 13th Istanbul High Criminal Court, includes crimes committed by the organization, relations of the organization with NGOs and media, and personal activities of the suspects.
WORLD SHOULD GET PREPARED FOR NEW PERIOD
President Abdullah Gul, currently on a formal visit to Iran, said U.S.
President Barack Obama initiated a new period with the messages he relayed to the world, mainly about Iran.
Gul made a historical warning and said, "everybody should take a fresh look for peace and stability".
ZAMAN
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FULL MARKS TO HIGH SPEED TRAIN AT HIS FIRST JOURNEY
Turkey's dream of high-speed train has come true. A ceremony will take place on Friday to mark the beginning of high-speed train trips with participation of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. High-speed train passed its first test with a great success on Tuesday. The journey from capital Ankara to neighboring province of Eskisehir lasted for one hour and 27 minutes. The train will start to serve on March 13.
PRESIDENT GUL TALKS ABOUT KURDISH ISSUE
President Abdullah Gul said regarding Kurdish issue that there would be good developments in the coming days. Gul chatted with journalists aboard the plane en route from Turkey to Iran and said a new era had begun with the election of Barack Obama as U.S. President. There would be new opportunities for the relations between Turkey and the United States, he said.
YENI SAFAK
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1,909 PAGES INCLUDING SABANCI & SIVAS
A 1,909-page additional indictment was completed within the scope of
Ergenekon probe. The indictment said Ergenekon was responsible for Sabanci's assassination, Sivas (Madimak Hotel) massacre and Gazi (neighborhood in Istanbul) incidents. The indictment accuses 12 people of being the inner circle of the organization.
RECESSION CONTINUES
Global economic crisis is continuing to hit the industry. Capacity
utilization rate in February, 2009 dropped 15.5 percent to 63.8 percent when compared to February, 2008. Stagnation in domestic market, decrease in exports and financial insufficiencies caused recession.
