Caliskan: 2270 people lost their lives in traffic
Güncelleme Tarihi:
“2270 people lost their lives in traffic accidents in Turkey during the first half of 2006. Rate of fatal car crashes rose by 2.4 percent while death toll in traffic accidents increased 3.7 percent in January-June period of 2006 over the same period of previous year,” Ismail Caliskan, spokesman for the Security Dept. said on Friday.
Speaking at the weekly press briefing, Caliskan said, “42 percent of all traffic accidents occurred between 2.00 p.m. and 10.00 p.m., while 29 percent occurred at weekends. Lorries and trucks were involved in 32 percent of crashes. Out of 1844 accidents, 188 occurred in Istanbul, 126 in Ankara and 90 in Antalya.”
SNS INVESTIGATION
Upon a question whether a criminal investigation was launched into the SMSs affair about Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, Caliskan said that he is not aware whether such an investigation was started or not. (Editor's
note: Just before his nomination as the new chief of the General Staff, unknown people sent SMS messages to prominent personalities, including PM Erdogan and cabinet ministers, trying to slander gen. Buyukanit).
Replying to a question about Saudi businessman Yassin al Qadi, Caliskan told reporters, “the last time al Qadi arrived in Turkey was on August 28th, 2001, and he left for good on August 31st, 2001. He has not entered Turkey since then.”
Referring to the new soccer season, Caliskan said, “we have taken a series of measures to prevent acts of violence in soccer fields. We are serious to prevent hooliganism. 1253 hooligans were penalized in the last two years.”