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BBC Monitoring Turkish Press Quotes on Bird Flu 14 Oct 05

Posted on: Friday, 14 October 2005, 06:00 CDT

Aksam (centre-right) "It is obvious that foreign countries, which are trying to create panic over the danger of bird flu, do not know Turkey well enough. Turks do not take serious events seriously enough and so are not affected by anything at all." (Commentary by Serdar Turgut)

Sabah (centrist) "Be afraid of flu in human beings, not of bird flu: WHO officers are warning that the real danger of an epidemic will appear with the meeting of these two viruses. The Ministry of Health must start a campaign of free flu vaccination before winter comes, like the EU and the USA are doing." (Commentary by Erdal Safak)

Vatan (centrist) "As it is not possible to slap a visa on migratory birds, places where they rest on migration routes must continuously be observed and the production of poultry farms must be strictly controlled. For the first time, the government is facing the test of a serious crisis. Leadership is needed now. Training of people is more important than even providing medicine... Until the danger passes we want a state that does not request but executes." (Commentary by Gungor Mengi)

Radikal (centre-left) "There is no need for panic, but there is a crisis. It is obligatory to accept that there is a crisis and act according to that. And this primarily requires a communication policy based on the truth, openness and modernity... We know that especially in Europe there is a mentality which believes Turkey may have a weakness... The way to prevent this is for the Ministry of Health and the government to act openly and honestly and without tardiness in providing all information about developments to the world." (Commentary by Haluk Sahin)

Cumhuriyet (secular, Kemalist) "Bird flu is on Turkey's agenda. Villagers are not handing over their poultry to officials, but killing and eating them... What did the minister of agriculture and village affairs, Mehdi Eker, say? 'I eat chicken meat, let everyone eat it!' The villagers believe the words of the minister." (Commentary by Hikmet Cetinkaya)

Sources: As listed

Source: BBC Monitoring European

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