TURKEY OBSERVES MARTYRS' DAY
Turkey yesterday observed Martyrs' Day in ceremonies held throughout the country. Top leaders, including President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc and Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan, issued messages marking the day. Sezer said in his message that the nation was proud of its martyrs and was commemorating them with great honor. /Milliyet/
PARLIAMENT DEBATES EU HARMONIZATION BILLS
Parliament yesterday began an extraordinary session to debate European Union harmonization laws as part of the ninth reform package. Parliament is set to continue to work this week, including in the evenings if necessary, to pass the bills. /Turkiye/
GUL ATTENDS IRAQ COMPACT FOREIGN MINISTERS MEETING
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday participated in the Iraq Compact Foreign Ministers meeting held in New York at Iraq's initiative. Stating that Turkey wants to cooperate closely with Iraqi officials on terrorism, Gul said that they were still disturbed by the presence of the terrorist groups in Iraq. Gul, in New York to participate in UN General Assembly meetings, also attended a luncheon hosted by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and a reception hosted by US President George W. Bush. Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Namik Tan yesterday said that Gul's meeting with his Greek counterpart Dora Bakoyannis was a warm and friendly one. Gul will meet with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tomorrow and will join Bush and Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Washington on Oct. 2. /Aksam/
CHP'S BAYKAL CRITICIZES EXTRAORDINARY SESSION OF PARLIAMENT
Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal yesterday criticized the appointment of a special envoy for the fight against the terrorist PKK. Speaking at his party's group meeting at the Parliament, Baykal also criticized Parliament's decision to hold an extraordinary session, saying that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) had convened Parliament to hastily pass European Union harmonization laws. /Star/
EU POSTPONES PROGRESS REPORT ON TURKEY
The European Union Commission has postponed the release of its progress report on Turkey to Nov. 8. EU enlargement spokesperson Krisztina Nagy yesterday said that the postponement of the progress report previously scheduled for Oct. 24 was a simple calendar change. She said that the change came from the commission's work on completing all candidate countries' reports. EU sources said that the delay would give Turkey additional time to make progress on reforms. /Cumhuriyet/
IRAQ: "PKK OFFICES WILL BE CLOSED DOWN"
Iraq's government yesterday officially declared that all the terrorist PKK's offices in Iraq would be closed down. Iraqi government spokesperson Ali El Debah yesterday stated that this decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting. El Debah said that they wanted good relations with Turkey and all neighboring countries and thus the Iraqi government had decided to order all PKK offices in Iraq closed down. In related news, following the US and Turkey both appointing military men as special envoys to coordinate anti-PKK efforts, Iraq has done the same. Iraq's new anti-PKK envoy is Amir Amet Hassun, a Sunni Arab general. /Star/
WILSON: "NORTHERN IRAQ WON'T BE A PKK BASE"
US Ambassador to Turkey Ross Wilson yesterday said that northern Iraq won't serve as a PKK base in the future. Also addressing the subject of a controversial article in an unofficial US magazine about the US armed forces, Wilson said that a map in the article showing parts of Turkey's eastern Anatolian region as Armenia and "Kurdistan" did not reflect the US' official policy. Wilson also said that the terrorist PKK had recently stepped up its violent attacks and this wouldn't be tolerated. /Hurriyet/
BABACAN. "THE IMF HAS AFFIRMED TURKEY'S ACCOMPLISHMENT"
State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan said yesterday that through raising Turkey's quota, the International Monetary Fund had affirmed the nation's economic accomplishment. Speaking to reporters in Singapore, Babacan, who is in the country to attend IMF-World Bank meetings, said that Turkey's voting share had been increased 23 percent, adding that in the next two years its quota would also be raised. Babacan also noted that the IMF-WB had agreed to hold its 2009 annual meeting in Turkey. Furthermore, the state minister said that the IMF was expected to begin its fifth review of the Turkish economy early next month. /Milliyet/
IMF PRESIDENT: "TURKEY'S ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE IS VERY GOOD"
International Monetary Fund President Rodrigo de Rato said yesterday that Turkey's economic growth performance was very good. Speaking to reporters in Singapore, Rato said that structural reforms and economic policies carried out in Turkey had yielded positive results. Stressing that the floating foreign exchange rate regime and inflation targeting system had helped to curb inflation and ensure resistance to external shocks, Rato said that Turkey deserved the IMF's support for the appropriate policies it has followed. /Turkiye/