PM ERDOGAN: "ISTANBUL PAYS A HEAVY PRICE FOR MASSIVE MIGRATION"
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday attended the Governors' Meeting of Village Infrastructure Support (KOYDES). Addressing the meeting, Erdogan said that some outdated policies had resulted in discrimination against villages in favor of cities. Stating that these misguided policies had caused a great exodus from villages, Erdogan said, "Cities subjected to this great migration became huge villages. The chief example of this is Istanbul." Erdogan lamented how the migration hasn't been stopped despite many efforts to do so, adding that Istanbul and Istanbulites were paying a heavy price for this. He said, "We should ask those coming to Istanbul: Why did you come? Do you have a job? Do you have money? If you don't have these, why did you come to Istanbul?" /Cumhuriyet/

GUL VISITS ALBANIA
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday traveled to Albania for two days of talks with top Albanian officials. Speaking to reporters at Ankara's Esenboga Airport, Gul said that the government values the views of non-governmental organizations on Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) and that any changes to it will take cooperation. Commenting on the fight against terrorism, Gul said that this is the top priority of his government, adding that concrete steps would be soon taken against the PKK in northern Iraq. He also took reporters' questions on the plane en route to Albania. On a recent agreement signed between Greek Cyprus and Lebanon for oil and gas exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean, Gul said signing the pact had not befitted Lebanon. After his arrival in Tirana, he met with his Albanian counterpart Besnik Mustafay and exchanged views on ways to boost current ties. In related news, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also expected to pay an official visit to the country in near future. /Turkiye/

GUL TO VISIT WASHINGTON NEXT WEEK
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is set to travel to the US at the beginning of next week. During his trip, Gul will have talks with top US officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney, his host Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley as well as some key congressmen. He will work to win their support in Iraq and for efforts to fight an Armenian genocide resolution recently introduced to Congress. /Star-Turkiye/

TURKEY: "NO NEW SHIPS WERE SENT TO CYPRUS"
Turkey reacted firmly to the oil game played by the Greek Cypriots by signing oil exploration deals with Egypt and Lebanon. Ankara gave its ships a command to go outside their routine duty zones, which patrol the Mediterranean within the context of Mediterranean Shield to fight human trafficking. Under this order, warships deployed around the island of Rhodes were redirected to near Greek Cyprus. Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit told reporters that Turkish warships routinely patrol the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean, but that no new force had been sent around Cyprus. "There's no need to send new warships," he said. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said that the deployment of the warships to the eastern Mediterranean was a planned and routine activity. /Cumhuriyet/

TALAT: "GREEK CYPRUS' INITIATIVE IS UNACCEPTABLE"
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mehmet Ali Talat yesterday morning spoke with newspapers' foreign policy editors at a breakfast in Istanbul. Commenting on Greek Cyprus' unilateral initiative to search for oil and gas in the Eastern Mediterranean, Talat said that the move was unacceptable. Stressing that the Greek Cypriot administration didn't represent the whole island, Talat said that there was no legal administration or government for the entire island and that an illegal government can't make a deal with neighboring states for oil and gas research. "We'll never forsake Cyprus or its natural resources," Talat said. /Milliyet/

EXPLOSION AT TUPRAS OIL REFINERY KILLS 3
A blast in a refinery of state oil company TUPRAS near the western Kocaeli province yesterday killed three and wounded at least five others. Preliminary reports said that five workers were poisoned by the blast. Ambulances and firefighters rushed to the scene and admitted wounded and poisoned workers to the hospital. Residents in the area were also being evacuated due to gas leakage risk. Cavit Aykanat of the Petroleum Workers' Labor Union (Petrol-Is) said the explosion occurred during the dismantling of an empty lead tetraethyl tank. /The New Anatolian/

NATIONAL ANTI-DRUG CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED
The Greater Youth Association yesterday launched a campaign against drug addiction in the country. Speaking at a gathering in Ankara marking the event, State Minister for Family Nimet Cubukcu said that much like the rest of the world, Turkey has seen a growing drug addiction problem. Stressing that drug addiction was a problem that could darken the future of young people and that urgent measures are needed to end it, Cubukcu said that all public institutions, the media and especially families have the responsibility and need to cooperate for the future of young people. /Turkiye/