ERDOGAN: "WE CAN PROVIDE DIALOGUE WITH IRAN"
Attending the weekend World Economic Forum (WEF) conference on the Middle East in Egypt's Sinai resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Erdogan took part in a panel discussion entitled "Strengthening cooperation and dialogue" together with Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazief and Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora. Erdogan said that when the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power Turkey was experiencing serious dialogue troubles with neighboring countries, but today Ankara had forged good dialogue with these countries and was in a good situation. Asked about Turkey's possible role in efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear crisis, Erdogan began by recalling that he had had two meetings with the Iranian president in just a month. Referring to public discussion over whether Iran's nuclear energy program is meant to develop a nuclear weapon or for peaceful civilian goals, Erdogan underlined the importance of political dialogue to avoid deepening the crisis and to find a diplomatic solution, and said that Turkey could help in this process. /Hurriyet/
ECEVIT KEPT IN MEDICALLY INDUCED COMA
After being hospitalized on Thursday after attending the funeral of a top judge killed by a gunman, senior statesman Bulent Ecevit is continuing to be kept in a medically induced coma to prevent further swelling around his brain. Speaking to reporters, Zeki Sezer, Ecevit's successor as leader of the Democratic left Party (DSP), said that there was no further indication of complications in Ecevit's condition, adding that how long he would be kept in the coma was not yet clear. Meanwhile, members of the DSP coming from all around the country and ordinary people gathering at DSP headquarters and GATA military hospital in Ankara continued to lend support to the ailing former prime minister. /Aksam/
PROBE OF ATTACK ON TOP COURT DEEPENS; NINE SUSPECTS QUESTIONED
Nine suspects believed to have been involved in a an attack last week on the Council of State that left one senior judge dead and four others wounded were interrogated by the state prosecutor in Ankara as an investigation into the shocking assault deepens. A key suspect in the attack, a former army captain, was in police custody at an Istanbul hospital, where he was brought on Saturday by two unidentified people, saying he had stabbed himself in a suicide attempt. The suspect, Muzaffer Tekin, who was discharged from the military due to disciplinary problems, is believed to have instructed lawyer Alparslan Arslan to attack the Council of State. He was also expected to be taken to Ankara to testify before the state prosecutor. Authorities discovered that Arslan had spoken to him on the phone several times before the attack. The attack on the Council of State judges on Wednesday, seen largely as an attack on secularism, sent shockwaves through Turkish politics, and thousands of people took the streets to protest the attack as well as the government, which they said encouraged the attack with statements criticizing the top court in the past. /Turkish Daily News/
GUL: "TURKEY WON'T REVISIT THE PAST WE LEFT BEHIND"
Stressing that the attack last week on Council of State judges was also against the state and the government, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday said that the Turkish police, intelligence and the military were capable of foiling such plots, adding that all that was needed is solidarity. Speaking at a gathering organized by his Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the central Anatolian province of Amasya yesterday, Gul said that Turkey would not return to the old days of violence and tension. Furthermore, in the eastern province of Van, Education Minister Huseyin Celik said the bullets fired at Council of State judges had targeted Turkey's peace, unity and the government. He stressed that a pawn had carried out the attack and had been captured, but the master of this pawn was still at large. /Milliyet/
CHP LEADER BAYKAL: "THE PUBLIC WILL DEFEND SECULARISM"
Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal claimed over the weekend that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) was trying to use democracy to deprive Turkey of secularism. Speaking at a party meeting, Baykal accused a speech made by Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc on National Sovereignty Day, April 23, in Parliament of being a memorandum against secularism. He said that the latest developments and particularly the deadly shooting at the Council of State last Wednesday showed that it's critical for the public and not only public institutions to defend republican principles. /Cumhuriyet/
DYP LEADER AGAR: "THE GOVT SHOULD WORK TO WIN PEOPLE'S TRUST"
The government should also work to win the confidence of sectors of society which didn't vote for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), said opposition True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar yesterday. Speaking at a meeting in Karaman over the weekend, Agar said that the government was responsible for the health and security of the entire nation, and that preventing and blocking every kind of armed attack is also the government's responsibility. Agar said that those ruling Turkey should understand this well and that it's necessary to prevent actions which could drag society into tension. /Star/
THOUSANDS OF TURKS MARCH IN ANNUAL NEW YORK PARADE
Thousands of Turkish-Americans marched along the main avenues of New York yesterday in the 25th annual Turkish Day parade. The annual event was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin, and a parliamentary group led by Egemen Bagis, head of the Turkish-US Interparliamentary Friendship Group. Addressing the crowd, Sahin expressed his pleasure at seeing the solidarity of Turks in America, adding that the US is a melting pot, and Turks are a part of it. /Turkiye/
PAPADOPOULOS: "NO POLICY CHANGE IN GREEK CYPRUS AFTER ELECTIONS"
Greek Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos said yesterday that he sees no reason for a "dramatic change" in foreign policy following yesterday's parliamentary elections in the Greek Cypriot administration. Asked by Turkish Cypriot journalists at Deftera Elementary School, where he voted, if after the elections there might be major changes to the Greek Cypriot side's position, Papadopoulos replied, "I think the policy of the Greek Cypriot side, as you call it, is well-known and correct." I see no reason for any dramatic changes," he added. The Greek Cypriots voted for a new Parliament yesterday following a campaign dominated by debates over a future settlement on the divided island. /The New Anatolian/