7.5 million living on the edge of starvation in Turkey - And more

[ozgurluk at xs4all.nl]

14 March,1998, Copyright © Turkish Daily News
   
                                       
            7.5 million living on the edge of starvation in Turkey
                                       
     * In a statement issued on the occasion of World Consumer Rights
       Day, Turk-Is demanded the formation of a just policy on national
       income distribution, the registering of the unregistered economy
       and tax exemption for minimum wage earners
       
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
   Ankara - Turkish Daily News
   
   The Turkish Confederation of Labor Unions (Turk-Is) has announced
   that, with poverty increasing rapidly throughout the world, there are
   7.5 million people in Turkey living on the edge of starvation.
   
   A written statement issued by Turk-Is on March 15, on the occasion of
   World Consumer Rights Day, asserted that in Turkey, the net minimum
   wage of TL 24,518,000 would only meet 14.6 percent of the compulsory
   spending for February 1998 necessary to remain above the poverty
   level.
   
   The statement continued: "Three and a half million people in Turkey
   have to live on minimum wages. Four million are unemployed. That makes
   up seven and a half million people living on the edge of starvation,
   let alone poverty. When a family of four is considered, every family
   with an income below TL 168,518 for the month of February are in a
   sense within the bounds of poverty. All this is the outcome of an
   inequality in income distribution. Putting it simply, whereas one
   thirds of the national income is shared by three million people, the
   remaining two thirds is shared by 60 million, in an unjust way."
   
   Turk-Is demanded in their statement the formation of a just policy on
   national income distribution, the registering of the unregistered
   economy and tax exemption for minimum wage earners.
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
            Civil servants try to persuade government about rights
                                       
     * Minister Kara, mentioning that the International Labor
       Organization contract Turkey had signed did not include the rights
       to bargain collectively and strike, said that the ILO conditions
       only refer to the right to unionize
       
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
   Ankara - Turkish Daily News
   
   State Minister Burhan Kara said that the government will give civil
   servants the right to unionization with the civil servant unions' bill
   which is currently being debated in Parliament, and that this was an
   important step.
   
   Confederation of Civil Servants' Unions (Memur-Sen) Chairman Akif Inan
   and the executive board members, visiting Kara in his office on
   Friday, expressed their opinion about the bill. Inan claimed that the
   government had not asked their opinion in the preparatory stages of
   the bill.
   
   Inan, noting that the bill would have meaning only if the right to
   bargain collectively and strike were included in the text, stated that
   the government should act as a vanguard to amend the relevant articles
   of the Constitution to include these rights.
   
   Meanwhile, minister Kara claimed that the social groups' opinions had
   been sought during the bill's preparation. Kara, mentioning that the
   International Labor Organization (ILO) contracts that Turkey had
   signed did not include the right of collective bargaining and
   striking, said that the ILO conditions only referred to the
   unionization right, the Anatolia news agency reported.
   
   Kara also mentioned that the Confederation of Turkish Labor Unions
   (Turk-Is) had asked them to reimburse money that workers lost after a
   collective bargaining process during the Welfare Party (RP)-True Path
   Party (DYP) coalition period. Kara, stating that the workers had not
   suffered any losses during the current government's time in power,
   added that the necessary preparations for paying this money back had
   not yet been finalized.
   
   On the other hand, Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO) Chairman Sinan
   Aydin Aygun claimed that the recent demonstrations and meetings which
   were especially serious in Ankara had adversely affected commercial
   activity. Aygun stated that the ATO would file a compensation suit
   against the unions which had attended the Kizilay demonstrations.
   
   Aygun, while visiting Ankara Governor Erdogan Sahinoglu in his office
   on Friday, expressed the sentiment that the ATO supported civil
   servants' rights, but that the demonstrations should take place away
   from commercial centers. "There are more than 10,000 shops in Kizilay.
   During demonstrations, citizens cannot go shopping. Shopkeepers'
   financial losses have reached large proportions. The governor
   mentioned that the demonstrations would be held in the Etlik and
   Tandogan districts of Ankara from now on, instead of Kizilay Square.
   We will file a compensation suit against those who continue to stage
   demonstrations in Kizilay," Aygun added.
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
                  300 from Bergama solicit support in Ankara
                                       
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
   Ankara - Turkish Daily News
   
   More than 300 people from Bergama including Mayor Sefa Taskin, who
   launched a suit against government officials because court decisions
   concerning gold mining were not implemented, arrived in Ankara to
   attend a court hearing and to garner public support. But they could
   not attend the meeting due to a train delay.
   
   The suit targets Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, Environment Minister
   Imren Aykut, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Cumhur Ersumer,
   Health Minister Halil Ibrahim Ozsoy, Public Works and Housing Minister
   Yasar Topcu, Izmir Governor Erol Cakir and former Environment Ministry
   undersecretary, Zeynep Arat.
   
   The group visited the Middle East Technical University (METU) campus
   to solicit support from academicians on Thursday, the Anatolia news
   agency reported. They provided information about their struggle
   against gold mining with cyanide and Eurogold to members of the METU
   Environment Club. The head of the METU Teachers Association, Professor
   Ali Gokmen, said they would give them their full support.
     _________________________________________________________________
 
                                      
                         Media bosses get their wishes
                                       
     * Parliamentary Constitution Commission approves the removal of the
       antimonopolist regulations in the Radio-Television Law
       
     _________________________________________________________________
                                      
   Ankara - TDN Parliament Bureau
   
   On Friday, the Parliamentary Constitution Commission approved a
   government draft removing the regulations in the Radio-Television Law
   that ban monopolization.
   
   The government has been planning to amend the Radio-Television Law per
   a request made by media bosses.
   
   "The same company can operate no more than one radio station and one
   television channel," reads the current law. The Constitution
   Commission's approval of removing the antimonopolist regulations will
   open the way for media bosses to own and operate multiple radio and
   television stations.
   
   The government's proposal will now allow for family businesses, as it
   will lift another regulation that bars even the distant relatives
   [three times removed] of a media boss from establishing radio and
   television companies.
   
   The amendment also nullifies a regulation that limits a person from
   owning more than 20 percent of the shares in a media organization. But
   it also changes the context, saying that a person will not be allowed
   to own shares -- at the same time -- in two or more media
   organizations whose rating exceed 20 percent. That change will
   apparently help media bosses form a monopoly of radio and television
   company ownership.
   
   The most important antimonopoly regulation, the one that bans those
   owning more than 10 percent of the shares in a media organization from
   taking part in government tenders, has also been annulled. This
   amendment was the biggest barrier to media bosses in taking part in
   government tenders such as in the area of energy generation and
   distribution. The government, even before antimonopoly regulations
   were abolished, announced the allocation of energy tenders -- mostly
   those in the Istanbul area -- to media bosses.
   
   A similar amendment removes the ban against media bosses buying and
   selling shares on the stock market. The commission action will also
   give radio and television station operators the option of owning an
   unlimited number of newspapers as well.
   
   The government proposal to remove antimonopoly regulations in the
   Radio-Television Law has been discussed by the commission for four
   months. Initially, the two leftist parties in Parliament, the
   Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Democratic Leftist Party
   (DSP), at first displayed opposition to the law. However, a "u-turn"
   by CHP deputy Seyfi Oktay in a lower commission paved the way for
   approval of the amendment.
   
   It is expected that the new amendment, approved by the Constitution
   Commission, will also pass Parliament by June, because the Higher
   Board of Radio and Television (RTUK) will complete the frequency
   allocation tender on July 2. If the latest amendment proposal
   supported by the media bosses is not approved before July, they will
   not be allowed to take part in the frequency allocation tender to the
   benefit of their television channels.
 
List info: english-request at ozgurluk.xs4all.nl