ANKARA - These are some of the major headlines and their summaries in Turkish press on April 12th, 2005. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
IF OZAL HAD BEEN KILLED THAT DAY
HURRIYET- Hurriyet daily has seized the report prepared by U.S. intelligence organization CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) after the suicide against Turgut Ozal, who was the prime minister then, in 1988. The CIA report, dated June 25th, 1988 which was prepared before then president Kenan Evren's visit to the United States, said, ''if suicide against prime minister Ozal had served its aim, Turkey would have turned back to its unstable days in 1970s.''
GREEK CYPRIOT GESTURE FOR EMINE
HURRIYET- Greek Cypriot health minister has launched efforts for Emine Ozan, who is suffering from leukemia. Marrow transplantation cannot be made from two donators from the Greek Cypriot administration due to former debts of Turkey. Greek Cypriot health minister said, ''there is a humanitarian matter, so we will solve problems.''
ERDOGAN: WEST MANIPULATES CERTAIN ISSUES
MILLIYET- Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan replied to certain criticisms brought by European circles against Turkey during his trip to Norway. Erdogan said that there were certain people who tried to separate Turkey, adding that ''the west also manipulates that issue by using some concepts, we won't permit those people.'' Noting that the attitude towards Turks and Muslims in Western societies was not good, Erdogan said that ''Kurds are different, PKK is different. We are against nationalism based on race and religion.''
'CASUS BELLI' DEBATE BROUGHT TO EP
MILLIYET- Greek socialist parliamentarian Beglitis brought the debate of 'casus belli' which started with the statement of Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc in Turkey to the agenda of European Parliament (EP). He asked the EP President Josep Borell to send a letter to the Turkish parliament, pointing out to the reaction of the Turkish parliament to the statements of Arinc. Arinc had said that the parliamentary decision which considered Greece's extension of its territorial waters to 12 miles as 'casus belli' should be annulled.
THERE IS PROVOCATION
SABAH- Bulent Ecevit, one of Turkey's former prime ministers who spoke to Sabah daily, said that one of the most important problems of Turkey was ''provocations''. Regarding the recent incidents, Ecevit said, ''there are circles who want to cause chaos like days before 1980.''
IS IT KIZILCAHAMAM OPERATION?
SABAH- Halil Urun and Murat Mercan, members of the Central Executive Board of the (ruling) Justice & Development Party (AKP), were removed from their posts. Akif Gulle and Nihat Ergun replaced Urun and Mercan. This was the demand of the AKP parliamentarians during their meeting held in Kizilcahamam town of capital Ankara.
ERDOGAN STRONGLY CRITICISES EUROPE
CUMHURIYET- Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who is currently in Norway, said that there were some people who tried to divide Turkey and that the west was manipulating certain concepts. Erdogan also gave the message that a letter would be sent to 11 countries which took the Blue Book (which covers Armenian claims of genocide) as reference, asking them to apologise from Turkey. Erdogan also stressed that there was no concept like Kurdish minority in Turkey. ''We should also make a distinction between the concepts of PKK and Kurd,'' he said.
TRABZON GOVERNOR PROTECTS ASSAILANTS
CUMHURIYET- People protest the fact that no assailant was arrested after the lynch attempts that took place in Trabzon. On the other hand Trabzon governor Huseyin Yavuzdemir said in a press conference that certain people continued to act in a way which would disturb the peace in the city. He thinks that issuing press releases could be provocative.
''CASUS BELLI'' OUT OF AGENDA
RADIKAL- Greek Foreign Minister Molyviatis is in Ankara today as the guest of Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. Some developments in trade and tourism are expected, but not in Aegean issue. ''Casus belli'' matter mentioned by Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc is out of agenda of Molyviatis' meetings.
ERDOGAN'S TWO MESSAGES
RADIKAL- Meeting Turkish citizens living in Norway, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave messages about Armenian and Kurdish problem. Erdogan said, ''PKK and Kurd concepts should not be confused. We should not be deceived. Our parliament will sent a letter about Armenian issue having 550 signatures beneath it, to parliaments of 11 countries.''
I WON'T LET MY COUNTRY BE DIVIDED
TURKIYE- Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who met Turkish citizens in Norway, said, ''we have three red lines. We won't pursue ethnic, regional or religious nationalism. Everybody in my country is a whole, but there are circles who want to divide our country. Sorry, but I should say that the West, with some circles, is in such an effort. We won't allow this.''
WE WON'T ALLOW PROVOCATION
TURKIYE- In his statement regarding the incidents which occurred in northeastern city of Trabzon, Governor Huseyin Yavuzdemir said, ''we have to be patient and wait for justice to prevail. Nobody has the right to deteriorate the peace of Turkish nation.''
PROPOSAL FROM ALGERIA: LET'S ESTABLISH OTTOMAN NATIONS COMMUNITY
ZAMAN- Algerian President Bouteflika proposed to establish a structure among the countries that used to be under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, similar to that of the British Commonwealth of Nations. Bouteflika said, ''the vacuum caused after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire can't be filled yet. We need strong and tolerant Ottoman order more than ever. Can't we revitalize the Ottoman order? Britain formed the Commonwealth with its former colonies, and it continues the order. The Ottoman did not colonize us, so why don't we maintain the Ottoman Empire?''
PARLIAMENT SEES PROVOCATION IN TRABZON
ZAMAN- The parliament handled the incidents that occurred one after the other in (northeastern city of) Trabzon due to the demonstrations of Association of Solidarity Among Families of Inmates (TAYAD). According to first findings of the parliamentarians, ''Black Sea was chosen consciously.''
HISARCIKLIOGLU: IF TAXES DECREASE, UNREGISTERED ECONOMY TO LESSEN
YENI SAFAK- Chairman of the Turkish Commodity Exchanges and Chambers (TOBB) Rifat Hisarciklioglu said that unregistered economy leads citizens to live in fear. Hisarciklioglu stressed that as the tax rates were very high, unregistered economy increased significantly to 50 percent.
BOUTEFLIKA OFFERS HISTORIC PROPOSAL
YENI SAFAK- Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika proposed formation of a business structure among the countries which were under the Ottoman rule in the past like the Commonwealth. Abdelaziz Bouteflika received Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul on Sunday night and had a two-hour tete-a-tete meeting with him. Praising the Ottoman rule, Bouteflika said that ''we can revive the strong and tolerant Ottoman understanding today, we were also a part of the Ottomans and we had never seen ourselves as a colony.''