>Delivered-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >TENS OF THOUSANDS OF TURKS PROTEST JOBS, IMF > >reuters > >-- Tens of thousands of Turks on Friday staged strikes and >protests against unemployment, low wages and social security cuts many >saw as the legacy of a troubled IMF-backed anti-inflation plan. > >Banners and slogans attacked the government, but much of the anger >was directed against the International Monetary Fund. "IMF Get Out. >This country is ours!" ran the slogan on posters pinned to the chests of >many protesters. > >The public demonstrations came as the government struggled to cope >with a financial crisis that threatened to scupper the IMF-backed plan >and with it hopes of curbing the rampant inflation, which has blighted the >economy. > >The IMF on Thursday said it was sending a mission to Ankara at the >weekend to discuss an emergency loan. The stock market has fallen >over 30 percent since the start of last week and bank rates have soared. >Turkish inflation dropped to about 40 percent late this year from 60 >percent before the IMF plan was implemented. > >Police backed by armoured cars stood by as the demonstration, planned >before the crisis, filed into the central Kizilay district carrying banners >and chanting. > >Turkish pop music blared over loudspeakers, some protesters danced >and some beat drums. > >NTV private Turkish television estimated the crowd in Ankara at >30,000. > >Trade unions had pledged to bring the country to a halt, but the effect of >the strike call seemed relatively limited in Istanbul, the main commercial >center, and in the capital Ankara. > >There were other protests in smaller cities. > >One protester criticized the IMF Turkey desk chief Carlo Cottarelli, >now a familiar figure in the country. > >"Yes, we're against the government. But Cottarelli's the one who is >running this country," he said. > >Most protests and speeches targeted an austerity budget, saying wage >deals for health sector workers and civil servants were based on what >they called unrealistically low inflation expectations. Fears of rising >unemployment if privatizations go ahead also spurred demonstrators. > >Parliament approved an expected 10 percent pay raise for civil servants >late on Friday, but the official annual inflation figure was reported at 44 >percent in October. > >The IMF aims to bring annual inflation down to single digits by the end >of 2002. However, government officials accept this year's targets of 20- >25 percent are not likely to be met until early next year. > >Union leaders in Istanbul rallied another 30,000 protestors in the historic >Sultanahmet district. > >"There is no training, no healthcare, no investment, no opportunity, no >justice in this budget," said Siyami Erdem, head of the left-leaning KESK >union of civil servants. > >Egitim Sen, a schoolteacher's union, said police had arrested 383 >teachers in protests throughout the country. > >Earlier NTV reported 400 teachers had been arrested. Police were >unavailable for comment. > >-- >Press Agency Ozgurluk >In Support of the Revolutionary Peoples Liberation Struggle in Turkey >http://www.ozgurluk.org >DHKC: http://www.ozgurluk.org/dhkc > > _______________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi _______________________________________________________ Kominform list for general information. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Anti-Imperialism list for geopolitics. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________________
