PM ERDOGAN VISITS DIYARBAKIR
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday visited Diyarbakir to attend a ceremony marking the new school year at Dicle University. Speaking to the ceremony, Erdogan lambasted demonstrators favoring the terrorist PKK, saying that some shops had been forced to close due to threats. Erdogan also criticized Osman Baydemir, the city's Democratic Society Party (DTP) mayor, saying, "Coming here from the airport, I saw the state of the roads. Should a modern city like Diyarbakir have trash on the roads? Doesn't the municipality have garbage trucks and street cleaners? The people should teach him a lesson." Erdogan also attended the opening of a burn center affiliated with Dicle University Medical School and Turkcell. /Milliyet/
SPANISH FM: "TURKEY PROMOTES PEACE IN THE WORLD"
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan yesterday met with his Spanish counterpart Miguel Angel Moratinos, who is on an official visit to Turkey. At a joint press conference afterwards, Babacan said that Turkey, along with Spain, initiated the Alliance of Civilizations and made it a UN project, adding, "The project has gotten a lot of international attention. The first Alliance of Civilizations Annual Forum was held in Madrid, and the second will be held next year in Istanbul." Touching on terrorism, Babacan stated that both Turkey and Spain have been terrorist targets, and that the two will cooperate on the issue. Speaking about Ankara's recent talks with the northern Iraqi regional administration, Babacan added, "Until recently, we had no contact with the administration in northern Iraq. In a major breakthrough, now we have established direct dialogue." Babacan also stressed the importance of Turkish, US, and Iraqi intelligence-sharing for fighting the terrorist PKK. For his part, Moratinos touted Turkey's recent election to a temporary seat on the UN Security Council, saying, "Turkey has scored key diplomatic achievements, and is a guarantor of peace in the world." Touching on Turkey's role in its region, he praised Ankara's mediation of peace talks between Israel and Syria. "Spain has always supported Turkey's EU membership, and it will continue to do," he added. / Star/
JUSTICE MINISTER: "ERGENEKON IS A NORMAL TRIAL"
Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin yesterday met with his Egyptian counterpart Mamdouh Marei. Afterwards, Sahin told a press conference that the Ergenekon trial was one of many trials being heard throughout Turkey and added, "The prosecutors on the case aren't committing a miscarriage of justice, but are judging according to the laws before them and the evidence they have." On controversy over the trial venue, Sahin said that the panel of judges had decided where the trial would be held and added, "Let's not exaggerate things. Soon the problems of the trial's first days should be largely solved." /Cumhuriyet/
MGK TO CONVENE TODAY
The National Security Council (MGK), chaired by President Abdullah Gul, is set to convene today at the Cankaya Presidential Palace. Issues expected to be discussed include the fight against the terrorist PKK at home and abroad. Media claims of military negligence in the recent terrorist PKK attack in Aktutun are also expected to be discussed. /Aksam/
ERGENEKON TRIAL BEGINS IN ISTANBUL
The trial of 86 suspects accused of being members of Ergenekon, a criminal network with links to the state accused of plotting to overthrow the government, began yesterday. The trial by the 13th Higher Criminal Court began at a special venue built for the hearings inside the Silivri prison complex in Istanbul. The panel of judges, led by Judge Koksal Sengun, set the next hearing for Thursday. The defendants include retired Gen. Veli Kucuk, Labor Party (IP) leader Dogu Perincek, journalist Ilhan Selcuk and former Istanbul University Rector Kemal Yalcin Alemdaroglu. Forty-six of the defendants are now standing trial, and the remainder are set to appear in court later. Defendants Selcuk and IP deputy leader Ferit Ilsever did not attend the hearing due to health problems. Tight security measures were taken in and around the court venue. During yesterday's hearing, prosecutors demanded life sentences for some suspects, including Kucuk, Perincek and Alemdaroglu, on charges of attempting to overthrow the government by force and inciting murder. In related news, before the trial started, lawyers for the suspects claimed that the courtroom was too small to hold a fair trial. After the hearing started, Judge Sengun ordered the courtroom cleared due to overcrowding. Hundreds of people also gathered outside the courthouse to support the defendants, holding Turkish flags and pictures of the suspects. Members of both the IP and the League of Turkish Youth (TGB) chanted slogans supporting Kucuk and other defendants. /Turkiye/
BARZANI SAYS TALKS WITH TURKEY TO CONTINUE
Massoud Barzani, the head of the regional administration in northern Iraq, said yesterday that talks with Ankara would continue both in the region itself and in Turkey. Barzani told reporters that the two sides have turned a new page and opened a path for dialogue. Referring to his meeting last week with Turkey's Special Envoy to Iraq Murat Ozcelik, he said, "Turkey took a step to boost relations. This was the first meeting between the head of the regional administration and a Turkish delegation. It was a new beginning which broke down the walls and melted the distrust between Turkey and the regional administration." Barzani said that the two parties didn't discuss specifics regarding the terrorist PKK or any other issue, adding that those would be dealt with in detail later. He also said the talks carry great importance for finding solutions to the problems of the region. /Turkiye/