TURKEY-PRESS SCAN (1)

ANKARA (A.A) - 01.04.2011 - These are some of the major headlines and their summaries in Turkish press on April 1, 2011. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

HURRIYET
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WE GROW 8.9%
Turkey has caught 9.2 percent growth in the last quarter of 2010 and exceeded expectations on growth rate for 2010. Turkey's growth reached 8.9 percent for 2010. With this rate, Turkey has become the fastest growing economy in Europe. This growth rate put Turkey also in the third spot among G20 countries. China, which saw a 10.3 percent growth rate last year, was followed by Argentina that achieved a 9.2 percent growth rate in 2010 among G20 economies.

OZINCE QUITS
Is Bankasi Director General Ersin Ozince said that he decided to resign from his post. Holding a press conference in Istanbul, director general Ozince said he would also resign as the chairman of Executive Board of Banks Association of Turkey (TBB). Ozince said that he would not retire and gave a message that he would continue to serve in the banking sector. Born in 1953 in Havran, H. Ersin Özince graduated from Middle East Technical University with a BS degree in Management in 1975 and started his professional career in 1976 at Isbank's Board of Inspectors. After serving as the head of various departments within Isbank, he was appointed as a Deputy Chief Executive in 1994 and was responsible for Treasury, Accounting, Securities, Commercial Loans and Credit Information and Financial Analysis functions of the bank. He was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer in 1998.

MILLIYET
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SECRET OF 09-001
A former Dutch soldier, who was earlier an intelligence expert, has made public the list of the military planes flying over Libya after listening to the wireless conversations of the allied forces. A Turkish jet with the tail number 09-001, which belongs to the Turkish General Staff, is also on the list. The Dutch soldier, who is known with the nickname "Huub", follows all the military planes that have taken part in the operation on Libya since March 19 and lists them on his twitter account @FMCNL.

PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM CAN BE ASKED TO NATION
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that "presidential system" was an opinion he had been defending since his duty as Istanbul Mayor. "The issue can be carried to a referendum, but not at the moment. It can be discussed after the general elections," he said.

SABAH
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"NATION TO SAY FINAL WORD FOR PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM"
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that presidential system could be presented to a referendum after the parliamentary election scheduled to be held on June 12. Speaking to Bloomberg TV during a visit to London, Erdogan said, "the presidential system could be presented to a referendum. It is not possible to take the issue to a referendum straightaway. This matter is not on our election agenda, either. We can discus it following the general elections."

TURKEY'S GDP RISES TO 1.1 TRILLION TL
Turkey showed a great performance in 2010 despite negative impacts of global economic crisis. Turkey grew 8.9 percent in 2010, Turkey's statistics authority, TurkStat, said. Turkey's GDP was 204.7 billion USD (298.2 billion Turkish liras-TL) in current prices in Q4 of 2010. The GDP rose to 735.8 billion USD (1.1 trillion TL) in current prices last year. Turkey became the fastest growing country of Europe.