GUL, BUYUKANIT DENY N.IRAQ PULLOUT DUE TO US PRESSURE
The General Staff announced on Friday that Turkish troops had started to pull back from northern Iraq, and yesterday released new photos on its official website of the cross-border operation. Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit said on Saturday that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) had withdrawn its troops from northern Iraq on schedule and also denied any foreign influence on the decision. Speaking to Milliyet daily, Buyukanit said that the army decision to withdraw from Iraq was taken on strictly military grounds. "If someone says that the army withdrew early, then let them go there (northern Iraq) and stay for 24 hours," he added. "The government knew about the pullback from northern Iraq, but needless to say they didn't know the exact time. The army killed 242 rebels out of 300 targeted in the operation, and PKK communications were cut off." Speaking to reporters on Sunday before leaving for an official visit to Romania, President Abdullah Gul also said that the decision to end to the operations was in no way made under pressure from the United States. Asked if he had known the time the operation would finish, he said that he knew the date, as the military gave briefings, and how it was planned, and finally that it ended that way. /Hurriyet- Aksam/
ERDOGAN: "THE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM HASN'T ENDED"
Speaking to his ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) Youth Branches Congress in Ankara yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated that the recent cross-border operations in northern Iraq were done with parliamentary authorization. "This government didn't take orders from anyone, and will not do so," he said. "The fight against terrorism hasn't ended. What is necessary will continue in a determined way, as before. " /Milliyet/
PM ERDOGAN SET TO TRAVEL THE COUNTRY
In apparent preparation for local elections set for a year from now, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced plans to travel the country. Erdogan will visit 10 provinces in a first stage, and will address people in Diyarbakir on March 22, the day after Nevruz. The premier will also visit Usak on March 7, Izmir on March 9, Siirt and Batman on March 15, Gaziantep on March 22, and Sanliurfa, Mardin and Manisa on March 23. /Turkiye/
NGOS CRITICIZE GOVT MOVE TO EASE HEADSCARF BAN
The Turkish Bar Association (TBB), Union of Istanbul Women's Institutions (IKKB) and Union of National Non-Governmental Organizations yesterday released a joint statement criticizing the government's recent constitutional changes meant to lift the university headscarf ban. The statement said the push for the amendments was raising concerns that the principle of secularism and the founding philosophy of the republic are under threat. /Milliyet/
BAYKAL: "THE CROSS-BORDER OP SHOULD HAVE GONE FOR LONGER"
Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal yesterday lamented as premature the end of a land-based cross-border operation into northern Iraq after eight days. Speaking to a crowd in Ankara's Temelli district, Baykal said, "Excellent results were gained through the operation, but it should have been carried out until all resources of the terrorist PKK were destroyed." /Turkiye/
IRAQI PRESIDENT TO VISIT ANKARA LATER THIS MONTH
Following the Turkish Army's pullback from northern Iraq, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has firmed up a visit to take place later this month. A Turkish delegation had conveyed the invitation from President Abdullah Gul last week, but while accepting it, Talabani said he couldn't set a date until the end of Turkey's cross-border operation, which ended last Friday. Talabani praised the pullback. An agreement on Turkish-Iraqi energy cooperation, supported by the US, could be signed during his visit. /Cumhuriyet/.