Yilmaz: 'We'll not be intimidated' ANAP's seats rise to 139 Yurdatapan on trial Viewers: TV slanders and humiliates - Turkish Daily News Jul 31, 1997

Speaking at a joint press conference at Parliament on Wednesday, Prime Minister and Motherland Party (ANAP) Chief Mesut Yilmaz, and his deputies, Democratic Left Party (DSP) Leader Bulent Ecevit and Democratic Turkey Party (DTP) deputy Chairman Ismet Sezgin said they were determined to implement an eight-year compulsory education system on a continuous basis. Yilmaz said, Those who think that they can intimidate government through illegal activities, threats or blackmail, are completely mistaken. The government is firm on putting the continuous education system into practice.

The prime minister said, the government's draft bill which was put before Parliament last week, did not violate religious freedom. But those who claim that this new set of rules is hampering religious education are lying, he added. The Welfare Party (RP) is supposes that the imam-hatip students are its own militants and wants to preserve these schools as if they will raise new militants for them.

No government can allow such a development, he said. Yilmaz said the target of religious schools would not be to raise militants. The imam-hatip schools cannot go on as a back yard or training ground for a political party, he added.

The coalition leader claimed that the Islamist rally that took place on Tuesday was provoked by the RP. He said those who attended the illegal demonstration by being incited by the RP were clearly committing crimes, and urged them not to follow this incitement. He said the authorities would take the necessary precautions against such illegal activities from now on.

Yilmaz said that continuous education was one of the most important reforms since the republic was founded, adding that he was very disturbed by the recent attempts to turn it into a matter of political opposition. He said those who opposed the proposal did not want the religious schools to be shut down, but added that it was not their intention anyway. Yilmaz said the imam-hatips would maintain their status as high schools, and religious education would become broader.

He said there were currently 280,000 students studying in the secondary sector of religious schools, but with the new regulation 10 million middle-school students will be able to take optional religion classes. The prime minister said the government would announce the Year 2000 Project in Education next week, and would receive funding from external sources, such as the World Bank, UNESCO, and the European Union. DSP Leader Ecevit who spoke after Yilmaz said, those who objected to eight-year compulsory continuous education did not actually want religious freedom, but rather religious exploitation.

He said the new education project would mostly improve the schools in the underdeveloped eastern and Southeastern regions. He also said that over 3,000 villages and hamlets in these regions were evacuated in the past, and the number of those who migrated from the area was around 370,000. Ecevit said that currently 2,076 schools in these regions were closed and there are 117,000 children deprived of the right to receive education.

He added that the schools lacked a total of nearly 8,000 instructors, and the government was intending to increase the number of boarding schools in the region. DTP deputy Chairman and Defense Minister Ismet Sezgin also spoke, saying those who think they can change the course of government were seriously mistaken. He said the main parties that should be held responsible for implementing a continuous education system were the former coalition partners, the Welfare Party (RP) and the True Path Party (DYP) which approved it during the National Security Council (MGK) meeting.

He said that new education reform had the character of revolutionary change.Apologies from the press The coalition leaders also expressed their regrets about the police beating of journalists during Tuesdays' demonstration. The occurrence of such an incident during our administration is an additional cause for regret, Yilmaz said.

He added that the human factor from time to time, exceeded the ruling mentality of governments. He promised that the government's basic mentality will overcome the human factor with the new precautions it is planning to implement. Also Ecevit said, Interior Minister Murat Basesgioglu had warned the security forces to assist press members when he assumed office.

He said he would never approve of such actions and the authorities would take the necessary measures against them.'Strong enough to curb radicalism' Yilmaz who also spoke at the Parliamentary group meeting of ANAP on the same day, said Turkey currently was under threat by the Islamic reactionary movements, and those who wanted to preserve that threat currently had seats in Parliament. However, he said the state was strong enough to remove that threat.

The prime minister said that those who participated in Tuesday's demonstration in Ankara was participated were gathered together and organized with contributions from RP-held municipalities, but they never gained popular support. We will never leave the Turkish state or the Islam religion in the hands of the RP, he added. No government would allow the existence of institutions that will raise enemies of the state, he said, adding that the RP's main intention was not to preserve the imam-hatip schools but was to exploit them for its political ends.

Prime Minister Yilmaz gave details of the former government's education policy. He said the former government had allocated TL 25 trillion in the budget for education, but that amount was not even enough to complete the building of 39 boarding schools which have been under construction in the country's eastern region. He said the current government was able to raise TL 5 trillion additional support from the Banking Union and the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) to complete the building of these schools.

But he said the government would need more funds when the new education program begins to be implemented. In order to provide these new funds, Yilmaz said, the taxes imposed on luxury goods will be increased in addition to the certain segment of that tax which is being allocated to the special fund that is aimed at developing the current education system. He said the government is planning to raise TL 50 trillion in funds to funnel education this year.

And the next year, it would be able to find a minimum of TL 100 trillion for education, he added. Yilmaz said the government's goal is to equip all schools throughout Turkey, including those in the Southeastern province of Hakkari, the country's poorest region, with computers, foreign-language teaching means and sports facilities.

Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz came to the press conference with State Minister Cavit Kavak, and deputy Premier, Bulent Ecevit came with State Minister Husamettin Ozkan and Education Minister Hikmet Ulugbay who are always behind him. Only Defense Minister Sezgin came by himself. Sezgin who did not go into detail, summarized his opinion with few words after Yilmaz and Ecevit had spoken: We will not compromise on the issue of uninterrupted eight-year compulsory education.

Moreover there is no such issue of imam-hatip closure. On the contrary the government is planning to provide better education opportunities to those who are studying in those schools. We also hope the journalists who were beaten by police recover soon.

The necessary procedures against these police officers will be taken, Sezgin said. To summarize: The 55th government's first press conference was an apology to journalists. They were justified in doing this because the press that had carried them to power is now infuriated with them -- this fury was clearly demonstrated in many of the dailies' headlines.

Pointing out that the biggest achievement of the government was that the worries regarding Turkey's future had begun to disappear. He said those who had worked in third class positions at the municipalities had been promoted by the Welfare Party (RP) to become general-directors in bureaucracy. He said that Erbakan's claim that the WelfarePath coalition had reduced the number of state posts was totally incorrect and that they had in fact employed more people in their term than any government had ever employed in a one-year period.

Yilmaz said that nearly 200 bureaucrats had been appointed within 18 days since his government obtained vote of confidence. He said qualified people who believed in the philosophy of the state would be appointed to top state posts but no individuals who defended ANAP views. Yilmaz said that the new government's assuming office had shown its influence in foreign relations as well.

He said that the three frigates purchased from the United States would be delivered to Turkey soon. He pointed out that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had sent a letter stating that it trustedthe government's economic policies. Meanwhile, former True Path Party (DYP) deputies Omer Demir, Nuri Yabuz and Tekin Enerem joined ANAP.

These deputies had resigned from the DYP prior to the Motherleft government'sobtainment of vote of confidence and backed the new government. With their participation, ANAP's parliamentary seats are now 139. Istanbul - Artist Sanar Yurdatapan who has been accused of helping and harboring members of the illegal Kurdistan Workers' Party went before the Istanbul No.

6 State Security Court Wednesday. Yurdatapan was arrested for allegedly providing false passports from Germany for two people, Murat Demir and Murat Ipek, who were being sought on charges that they belonged to the PKK. He was held in prison for a while before being released.

The artist said that the police had been lying in their claims about him and stressed that he was not guilty. The statements which he made on MED television were not to praise the PKK but were of a critical nature. He asked that the court's judges listen to the cassette of what he said on MED.

The court postponed the hearing to a future date in order to assemble witnesses.

Forty-two percent of the respondents had the opinion that there were broadcasts incompatible with the national and moral values of Turkish society, the Anatolia news agency reported on Wednesday. Thirty seven percent thought that the TV broadcasts are contrary to the principles of the Constitution, democratic rules and personal rights. Fifty two percent carried the view that broadcasts disturb the social peace, general moral values and are contrary to the structure and values of Turkish family.

Thirty two percent said that the broadcasts were contradictory to the principle of not discriminating against people on the basis of differences in race, gender, social class or religious affiliation. It was reported that the RTUK gave 67 warning penalties for the violation of such and 38 penalties to the broadcasts that caused the arousal of feelings of hate within the society. On the other hand, the RTUK decisions on the temporary or permanent closure of TV and radio stations were approved of by 74 percent of the respondents.