ERDOGAN CONDEMNS TERRORISM, CRITICIZES MEPs' LETTER
Speaking at the General Assembly of the Turkish Milk, Meat, and Food Industrialists' and Producers' Union (SET-BIR) yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sharply condemned terrorism and the terrorist group PKK, saying that there was a definition of terrorism on the international stage. Commenting on a letter sent this week by a number of European parliamentarians blaming Turkey's state and military for the recent unrest and saying that the problem couldn't be solved by violence, Erdogan said that first they needed to live in Turkey to understand the problem. "Such letters are the individual views of their authors," he said. "Our security forces, gendarmerie, and military have adapted an approach of tolerance." In related news, European Union Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn commented on the MEPs' letter, saying that there was no need to erect "unnecessary obstacles" to Turkey's EU negotiating process. /Sabah/

ESTONIA FAVORS CYPRUS DEAL UNDER UN AUSPICES
Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said yesterday that his country favored a solution to the deep-seated Cyprus problem under the auspices of the United Nations. Speaking to reporters after a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul in Ankara, Paet said that Estonia hoped that the Cyprus talks would begin in a short period of time under UN auspices. The visiting foreign minister emphasized that the negotiations over Cyprus should include all the sides involved. He also made assurances that his country would extend support to Turkey's European Union aspirations in return for Ankara's support for Estonia's NATO membership bid. /Turkish Daily News/

AT FUNERAL OF COMMANDO SLAIN BY TERRORIST PKK, BUYUKANIT SAYS FIGHT AGAINST TERROR WILL DETERMINEDLY CONTINUE
Five soldiers who were killed in Sirnak by the terrorist group PKK were laid to rest yesterday. Attending the funeral of Gendarmerie Commando Cpl. Mukremin Basaran in Haymana, Land Forces Commander Gen. Yasar Buyukanit said that the fight against terrorism would continue determinedly. "We'll end this suffering," he said. "These terrorists will be punished." Also present at the ceremony were Gendarmerie General Commander Gen. Fevzi Turkeri, Ankara Governor Kemal Onal, and a number of other generals and officers. Other soldiers were laid to rest in Mersin, Kocaeli, Sinop, and Ordu. /Star/

EU BLASTS PKK, TERRORIST ATTACKS
During yesterday's session of the European Parliament on the recent unrest in southeastern Anatolia, European Union commissioners condemned the outlaw PKK and its terrorist attacks. Markos Kipriyanu, the EU commissioner in charge of health and consumer protection, said that the PKK was a terrorist group included on the EU's list of terrorist organizations. Stressing that terror could in no way be justified, Kipriyanu said that as a result of the PKK's provocation, the situation had grown more tense, adding that the people of the region did not want violence but rather peace and prosperity. /Turkiye/

COUNCIL OF STATE VOTING ON NEW CHAIRMAN
During a number of rounds of voting yesterday, none of the seven nominees to become the new head of the Council of State was able to get enough votes. A total of 48 votes, an absolute majority of its 95 members, is needed to take the helm. Voting will continue today. /Hurriyet/

NY TIMES: "CLASHES STEER KURDS AND TURKEY BACK ON A ROCKY PATH"
Issues making headlines in Turkey such as the terrorist PKK, headscarves and the European Union process are also making news in the Western press. An article written by Ian Fisher for the New York Times yesterday said, "Violent clashes between Kurds and security forces in Turkey over the past week have jolted memories here back to an old conflict that remains a dangerous barrier on the nation's path toward greater prosperity and democracy. After a decade of calm, at least 15 people have been killed in protests in recent days, most in the guerrilla battleground of the Kurdish southeast, but some in cosmopolitan Istanbul. Among the dead were a 6-year-old boy and a 78-year-old man, Halit Sogut, whose relatives asked on Tuesday how such violence was still possible in a nation that considered its rightful place to be as a member of the European Union.... `I neither want state terror, nor terror of any kind,' said one of Mr. Sogut's relatives, who would not give his full name because he is a public employee, and talking politics could cause him trouble. `More than 30,000 people died. This is enough. There should be a solution.'... Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has at least acknowledged the problems Kurds face, something that past prime ministers have been reluctant to do. In confronting the current crisis, his government's approach has been to offer hope to Kurds not eager for a resumption of the rebel group's violence." /Cumhuriyet/

KRETSCHMER: "SOME PROSECUTORS HAVEN'T GRASPED THE SPIRIT OF REFORMS"
Speaking at a conference on "Judicial Reform in the EU Accession Process," European Union Commission Representation to Ankara head Hansjoerg Kretschmer yesterday said that Turkey is facing problems in expanding freedom of expression. "We see that some prosecutors in Turkey have yet to comprehend the spirit of reforms as they continue to file charges without respect for freedom of expression," he said. He added that the judicial system in Turkey faced harsh criticisms and the independence of the judiciary was still in question, and cited as examples the cases of Yuzuncu Yil University Rector Yucel Askin and would-be papal assassin Mehmet Ali Agca. Kretschmer said many journalists appeared before court under Article 301 on freedom of expression and thought, and argued that judges and prosecutors in Turkey frequently use this article, separating Turkey from the EU member countries. "Articles restricting freedom of expression should be reworked. Such problems should be resolved within the negotiation process," said Kretschmer. /Milliyet/

MAIN BRANCH OF TURKISH-GREEK BANK TO OPEN IN JUNE
The main branch of the Business Aegean Bank established jointly by a Turkish-Greek initiative is set to open in June. Founding bank partner and Greek-Turkish Chamber of Commerce Chairman Panayotis Kotsikos said that an application had been made to Greece's Central Bank for the initial allowance of the bank, which aims to boost trade and investment between the two countries. He added that though the bank was planned to be founded with 60 million euros with an equal partnership, they later decided to boost this capital to 100 million euros after seeing great interest. /Turkiye/