GOOD MORNING--TURKEY PRESS SCAN ON DEC 19

HURRIYET
-- KIRAC RECEIVES SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AWARD
Marmara Group Strategic and Social Researches Foundation decorated Suna Kirac, deputy chairperson of executive board of Koc Holding, with social responsibility award in a ceremony. Inan Kirac, husband of Suna Kirac, received the award from the ninth president of Turkey Suleyman Demirel. Suna Kirac has been suffering from ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) for eight years.       Â

-- TURKEY ALLOCATES 100 MLN YTL FOR PROMOTION
Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay said that his ministry allocated 100 million YTL for Turkey's 2009 promotion campaign. Gunay made public the 2009 targets in a meeting attended by model Tulin Sahin, new face of Turkey's promotion campaign. Gunay said the campaign would start in 80 countries in January 2009.
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MILLIYET
-- TURKEY DISCUSSES
Online apology campaign for the events of 1917 has provoked quite different reactions in the Turkish society. While some extended support, some others raised objection and some got angry. Intellectuals, who initiated the campaign, reacted to Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan who said, "I neither accept nor support this campaign. We did not commit a crime, therefore we do not need to apologize. I do not understand those writers." Meanwhile, Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), said that he was ashamed of those who launched such a campaign. The nationalist party initiated an counter-campaign "you should apologize" and begun collecting signature of people.
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-- SLOWLY, VERY SLOWLY
Two new chapter headings will be opened to negotiations in Turkey's EU membership process today. So far, ten chapters were opened, only one could be closed. Croatia, who began the negotiation process on the same day with Turkey, has opened 22 chapters and closed 7.
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SABAH
-- DECREASE IN INTEREST RATE
Turkish Central Bank, which was accused of being late for decreasing interest rates, decided to drop indicative interest rate by 1.25 points. The rate was reduced to 15 percent. This is the most radical reduction made by Central Bank Governor Durmus Yilmaz so far.
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-- AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY STOPS PRODUCTION
Producers in the automotive industry have taken some measures against global economic crisis. There has been a remarkable decrease in manufacturing of motor vehicles in Turkey in November and total exports from the automotive industry dropped by 41.7 percent. OYAK Renault said it halted production due to shrinkage in the automotive market.

VATAN
-- CRISIS BREAK IN TURKISH AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR
The economic crisis has hit badly Turkish automotive sector. Ford, Otosan, Tofas and Oyak Renault, four leading companies of the sector, will suspend their production till January 12. Exports by Turkish automotive sector to Europe narrowed by 26 percent in November.
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-- GUNEY TO GIVE A DEPOSITION
Tuncay Guney, one of key names in the Ergenekon case, will give deposition in Canada. The Ministry of Justice will convey its request to Canadian authorities through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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CUMHURIYET
-- GREAT FACILITIES FOR HOLLYWOOD
Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay has said that they were submitting a draft law to the parliament which includes a number of facilities such as tax reduction with the aim of drawing foreign movie-makers to Turkey.
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-- "BUSH'S PLAN HAS COLLAPSED"
Ahmet Davutoglu, chief advisor for Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, has said in an interview with the French Le Monde newspaper that the U.S. President George W. Bush's Greater Middle East Project collapsed. "An inclusive approach which will make all regional actors a part of the process, is required to resolve the problems in the region," he said.
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RADIKAL
-- SURPRISING DECREASE IN INTEREST RATE
Turkish Central Bank, which drew attention to economic slowdown, made the severest intervention of the past two years in interest rates. Central Bank, which foresaw a decrease in inflation figure, reduced overnight interest rate from 16.25 to 15 percent in order to revive the market.
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-- GREAT INTEREST IN MEVLANA
Ceremonies and activities marking the 735th anniversary of the great Islamic Scholar Mevlana Jalal al-Din Rumi ended in central province of Konya the previous day. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) chairman Deniz Baykal attended the ceremonies. Several people participated in the activities held in Konya between December 1 and 17.

YENI SAFAK
-- RECORD REDUCTION IN INTEREST RATE
Central Bank Monetary Policy Board dropped short term interest rates by 1.25 points. Overnight interest rate was reduced from 16.25 to 15 percent. The board said in a statement that problems in global economy would continue to limit domestic and external demand and inflation rate would decrease.
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-- E-STATE GATEWAY
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan launched the "e-State Gateway" project which aims at reducing bureaucracy, and helping the state deliver faster and better service to its citizens and the business world. Delivering a speech at the inauguration of the e-State Gateway project in Ankara, Erdogan summarised the project as the moving of public services to the electronic environment and said the long ques at the public institutions were about to become history.