Press Scan

ANKARA - These are some of the major headlines and their summaries in Turkish press on July 31st, 2008. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

TURKIYE
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EVERYBODY RELIEVED
Both Turkey and the world have been relieved as the months-long uncertainty in the country came to an end. The Constitutional Court took a historic decision regarding the closure case against the ruling Justice & Development (AK) Party. Six judges voted for closure of the party, four voted for imposing financial sanctions, and one voted for rejection of the case.

"DEMOCRACY HAS WON"
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said about ruling of the Constitutional Court that Turkish democracy passed a successful test.
"The great uncertainty that was blocking Turkey's path has been removed with this decision. Our party will continue to defend the Republic's basic values," Erdogan said.

ZAMAN
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AK PARTY NOT CLOSED, RECEIVES TERSE WARNING
Turkey's highest court ruled on Wednesday not to close the ruling AK Party but it decided to cut half of the financial aid it receives from the state. Ten judges of the Constitutional Court voted to say that the AK Party had become "a focal point of anti-secular activities." Out of the ten, six voted for the closure of the party while four of them voted for the financial aid cut. One judge voted for the rejection of the case. Court President Hasim Kilic described the ruling as "a serious warning" to the AK Party.

ERDOGAN: WE WILL CONTINUE WITH RESPONSIBILITY
In his initial response to a high court ruling Wednesday not to close the governing AK Party, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey had survived a major hardship, adding that they would continue on their path with responsibility to make sure that the country would not be dragged to a similar position in the future. "The AK Party, which has never been a focal point of anti-secular activities, will continue to uphold the basic principles of our Republic," Erdogan told reporters.

YENI SAFAK
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TURKEY WINS
Turkey's four-and-a-half-month "closure nightmare" has come to an end. The Constitutional Court rejected the request of the chief prosecutor of the Court of Appeals for closure of the ruling AK Party. Six judges voted for dissolution of the party and five voted against.

"OUR PRIORITY IS SOCIAL COMPROMISE"
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after the Constitutional Court disclosed its verdict in the closure case against his political party that the court's decision lifted the great uncertainty that was blocking Turkey's path. "Our party, which was never the focal point of anti-secular activity, will continue to defend the Republic's basic values," he said.

A JOURNEY OF DEATH FROM VAN TO ISTANBUL
Hopes of migrants who wanted to go to Europe for a better life, have faded away in Istanbul. 13 of 150 Afghan and Burmese migrants who were forced to travel the long distance from the eastern province of Van to Istanbul inside an overcrowded lorry trailer, died of asphyxiation. Their bodies were left in a field in Istanbul by human smugglers.

VATAN
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AK PARTY NOT CLOSED, RECEIVES TERSE WARNING
Turkey's highest court ruled on Wednesday not to close the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party but it decided to cut half of the financial aid it receives from the state. Ten judges of the Constitutional Court voted to say that the AK Party had become "a focal point of anti-secular activities." Out of the ten, six voted for the closure of the party while four of them voted for the financial aid cut. One judge voted for the rejection of the case. Court President Hasim Kilic described the ruling as "a serious warning" to the AK Party.

CUMHURIYET
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COURT FINES AK PARTY
Turkey's Constitutional Court ruled Wednesday not to close the governing AK Party but it accepted that the party had become a focal point of anti-secular activities and decided to cut half of the financial aid it receives from the state. Six court members voted to ban the party, and four members voted for the aid cut. One member voted to reject the case. Court President Hasim Kilic said the ruling was "a serious warning" to the AK Party.

OPPOSITION LEADER: CRISIS NOT SOLVED
Leader of Turkey's main opposition party said top court ruling Wednesday on the fate of governing AK Party did not solve a crisis but it confirmed the crisis instead. Deniz Baykal, chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP), said the AK Party had the duty and responsibility to lead Turkey out of the crisis.

RADIKAL
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TURKEY RELIEVED
The ruling AK Party has narrowly avoided a ban. Ten of 11 judges of the Turkey's highest judicial body agreed that the political party became the focal point of anti-secular acts. Six of them voted for closure of the party, four defended that the party should be deprived of half of the Treasury assistance and one judge voted for rejection of the case. Since there were not seven votes needed to impose a ban, the ruling party was not dissolved but imposed a financial sanction.

EUROPE SATISFIED
The western world has welcomed the Constitutional Court's ruling not to impose a ban on the ruling AK Party.
EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn said that now it was time to get back to normal and re-energize the reforms with a broad consensus and based on dialogue with all sections of Turkish society.
British Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs David Miliband urged Turkey to accelerate its reform process.

FENERBAHCE CHEER UP TURKEY
Fenerbahce defeated MTK Budapest of Hungary 2-0 in the first leg of the second qualifying round of the European Champions League. Roberto Carlos and Selcuk Sahin were scorers of the match. The second leg will be played at Megyeri Stadium in Budapest on August 6th.

HURRIYET
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VERDICT: AK PARTY NOT BANNED, FACES CUT IN STATE AID
Turkey's top court announced Wednesday its verdict over a case filed to shut down Justice and Development (AK) Party, rejecting to close the ruling party but it decided to cut fifty percent of the financial aid from the state. The AK Party was also given what court president Hasim Kilic said "a serious warning." Six members of the Constitutional Court voted for closure of the AK Party while four others voted for depriving it of the financial assistance, and the court president voted for the rejection of the case. The ruling party will lose about 23 million YTL (nearly 20 million USD) of its financial aid.

ERDOGAN: EVERYONE SHOULD ACT WITH RESPONSIBILITY
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey had survived a major hardship after the country's top court ruled Wednesday not to close down his AK Party. "All sides and all institutions, most of all the politicians have to act with responsibility," he told reporters. "The AK Party, which has never been a focal point of anti-secular activities, will continue to uphold the basic principles of our Republic," he said.

A HUMANITARIAN TRAGEDY
Thirteen illegal immigrants suffocated in an airtight truck trailer as they were tried to be smuggled out of Turkey along with 125 others after a trip from the eastern province of Van to Istanbul. Police found the bodies of the immigrants in the outskirts of an Istanbul district. The immigrants were of Pakistani, Burmese and Eritrean origin.

MILLIYET
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NO CLOSURE, BUT SERIOUS WARNING
Turkey's highest judicial body voted against closing the ruling AK Party. Six of 11 judges voted for closure of the party, four defended that the party should be deprived of half of the Treasury assistance and one judge voted for rejection of the case. Since they could not reach the seven votes needed to impose a ban, the ruling party was not dissolved. However, ten of 11 judges agreed that the AK party became the focal point of anti-secular acts and decided to impose a financial sanction.

EU URGES TURKEY TO PRESS ON WITH REFORMS
The EU welcomed the Constitutional Court's ruling not to impose a ban on the ruling AK Party. EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn urged Turkey to make up for wasted time by pressing ahead with reforms.
"Now it is time to get back to normal and re-energize the reforms with a broad consensus and based on dialogue with all sections of Turkish society," Rehn said.
Joost Lagendijk, chairman of the Turkey-EU delegation in the European Parliament, urged the AK Party to show more sensitivity to concerns of its Turkish critics.
Meanwhile, the United States Department of State said that the U.S. would continue to work with the Turkish government and encouraging it to reinvigorate its efforts with the EU.

NINE PEOPLE DETAINED IN CONNECTION
WITH DOUBLE BOMBING IN ISTANBUL
The police have detained nine people for their alleged involvement in Sunday's double bombing in Istanbul in which 17 people and an unborn baby lost their lives. Operations are under way to capture the bomber who was identified by the police.

SABAH
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FIRST MESSAGE: WE WILL EMBRACE EVERYONE
Turkey's highest judicial body has ruled against dissolution of the ruling AK Party, and decided to impose financial sanction instead. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that they would give priority to social peace.

BOMBER TURNS OUT TO BE A MEMBER OF PKK
Nine people have been detained in connection with Sunday's double bombing in Istanbul which killed 17 people. The bomber managed to escape from the security forces at the last moment. It was claimed that the bomber was a member of urban cells of the PKK terrorist organization. The police raided some houses to capture the bomber.

BODIES OF 13 MIGRANTS FOUND IN ISTANBUL
Bodies of 13 illegal migrants have been found in a field in Istanbul. It was revealed that 13 of 138 migrants who were stacked in a lorry, died from asphyxiation and that human smugglers fled after throwing away the bodies. Ten migrants were found unconscious while the remaining 65 were missing.

(YMB-UK-MS)