ERDOGAN: "WHY DIDN'T YOU HANG OCALAN?"
Speaking at a campaign rally in Mersin over the weekend, ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli. Recalling that Bahceli, whose party was part of the coalition government that revoked the death penalty as part of Turkey's European Union accession, once showed off a noose as if to hang the terrorist PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, Erdogan said, "Why didn't you hang him when he was delivered to you?" Erdogan also accused the MHP of trying to score political points at mosques over soldiers killed by terrorists. /Cumhuriyet/

GUL: "THERE IS NO SECRET AGREEMENT WITH THE US"
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul over the weekend blasted recent claims that the government had made an agreement with the US not to carry out a cross-border operation into northern Iraq, calling the allegations "slanderous lies." He added that if any agreement had been made, there would be an official state record of it. /Milliyet/

BAYKAL ATTENDS EDIRNE RALLY ALONG WITH DSP LEADER SEZER
Speaking at a political rally in Edirne, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal criticized Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying that the CHP had blocked from coming to Parliament an alleged agreement under which Turkey promised not to cross into Iraq in return for $1 billion from the US. Baykal also said that the AKP had encouraged terrorism through its mistaken policies. Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader Zeki Sezer also attended the rally. /Aksam/

IN TRABZON, BAHCELI CRITICIZES ERDOGAN
Campaigning in Trabzon over the weekend, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli said that people living in the Black Sea region were suffering because their hazelnut and tea production is no longer appreciated. Charging that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was disregarding former governments, Bahceli said that Erdogan can't be a nationalist. /Aksam/

AGAR: "CAN THERE BE A DEMOCRACY WITHOUT RULES?"
Opposition Democrat Party (DP) leader Mehmet Agar over the weekend criticized Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc for attending a meeting held by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Kayseri along with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. "This was improper," said Agar, referring to the customary impartiality of Parliament speakers. "It was against normal procedure. Everyone should follow this. The AKP has started to be afraid of everything. Can there be a democracy without rules? Religion and the republic don't need to be guarded by politics. Turkey needs a DP which will share all these values." /Sabah/

PKK MINE KILLS 3 SOLDIERS
The Pulumur district of the Tunceli province last week witnessed another roadside mine attack against security forces in which a noncommissioned officer and two sergeants were killed. At funerals held for the fallen soldiers in their hometowns, mourners cursed the terrorist PKK. Meanwhile, security forces launched a crackdown in the region to capture the terrorists. /Hurriyet/

PKK MILITANTS: "MT. KANDIL IS BEING CLEARED OUT IN A PANIC"
Recent rumors that Turkey would carry out a cross-border operation into northern Iraq have caused panic and fear among the terrorists, who have begun to flee from their camps on Mt. Kandil, according to four PKK terrorists who surrendered to Turkish security forces over the weekend in Sirnak. Stressing that the terrorists were trying to survive in the camps under very difficult conditions, the four stated that Turkish security forces had treated them very well. They said that they were no longer believed in the terrorist group, adding that they had seen two US armored vehicles bringing weapons to the camps on the mountain. In related news, clashes between Iranian forces and militants of PJAK, an Iranian branch of the terrorist group PKK, have escalated recently, and many terrorists have reportedly been killed. /Turkiye/

MARITIME AND CABOTAGE FESTIVAL CELEBRATED
The Maritime and Cabotage Festival's 81st anniversary was celebrated yesterday through ceremonies and competitions in a number of cities. State Minister Kursad Tuzmen attended a ceremony in Mersin. /Milliyet/