Friday, 9 January 2009
These are some of the major headlines and their
summaries in Turkish press on January 9, 2009. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
HURRIYET
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SILENT TRAFFIC
The Ergenekon traffic that started following a six-hour meeting of
commanders at General Staff HQs in Ankara continued with surprising visits on Thursday. However, contents of these meetings were not disclosed.
General Staff cancelled the weekly press briefing held every Friday
regularly.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Interior Minister Besir Atalay and
Undersecretary of the National Intelligence Organization Emre Taner.
Chief of General Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug, who was scheduled to have a
meeting with President Abdullah Gul, met with Erdogan. Prime Minister's Office said that "recent developments were assessed at the meeting."
Later, Basbug met Gul at the Cankaya Presidential Palace. General Staff made a statement about the meeting and said that Gen. Basbug expressed his views and made some assessments especially regarding Wednesday's developments.
After all these meetings, PM Erdogan had another meeting with Justice
Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin and Interior Minister Atalay.
THREE MESSAGES AT BACKSTAGE
Here are three messages claimed to have been given by Gen. Ilker Basbug: we
believe it was appropriate to directly convey our sensitivity and uneasiness, recent custodies (under Ergenekon probe) are not in accord with the laws, those who were detained complain about places they are being kept and these complaints should be taken into consideration.
MILLIYET
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FACE TO FACE
General Staff Chief Gen. Ilker Basbug had a meeting, which lasted for six
and half hours, with force commanders the previous day. But no statement was released after the meeting. A press briefing which is held by the General Staff every Friday was cancelled. Gen. Basbug had surprising meetings with President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and he expressed his views in regard to Ergenekon operation to Gul and Erdogan.
EGEMEN BAGIS BECOMES CHIEF EU NEGOTIATOR
Egemen Bagis, deputy chairman and a lawmaker of Turkey's ruling Justice and
Development (AK) Party, was assigned as state minister and named chief negotiator for country's accession talks with the European Union. The former chief negotiator for EU talks was Foreign Minister Ali Babacan.
SABAH
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EMERGENCY MEETINGS IN ANKARA
Meetings of President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and
General Staff Chief Gen. Ilker Basbug have been high on agenda of Ankara while interrogation of the retired generals, who were detained under the Ergenekon probe, is under way in Istanbul. Tension escalated after number of generals detained under the probe increased to seven and prosecutors' failure to release an indictment about the detained generals. Gen. Basbug held an unexpected meeting with Prime Minister Erdogan before his weekly meeting with the president. The Supreme Court of Appeals Board of Chairmen also convened to evaluate the recent developments.
LOTS OF HAND GRENADES
Security forces searched a house owned by Colonel Mustafa Donmez under the
Ergenekon probe and found lots of hand grenades. They also seized more than 8 thousand bullets. Donmez fled from security forces.
TURKEY-PRESS SCAN (2)
These are some of the major headlines and their
summaries in Turkish press on January 9, 2009. The Anadolu Agency does not verify
these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
VATAN
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FIRST CHARGES LEAKED TO MEDIA
Retired General Tuncer Kilinc: It was claimed that the former
Secretary-General of the National Security Council acts together with retired Gen. Sener Eruygur, who was arrested earlier. Eruygur told in his testimony that Kilinc sent Ergun Poyraz, who wrote books about President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to meet him. Poyraz claims that he got some of the secret documents, published in his books, from Eruygur, retired general Levent Ersoz who is a suspect in Ergenekon probe at large, and retired colonel Atilla Ugur who was arrested earlier.
Kemal Guruz: Former Chairman of the Higher Education Board is said to be the head of --together with former rector of Istanbul University Kemal Alemdaroglu-- academic organization of Ergenekon.
Professor Yalcin Kucuk: Kucuk is believed to be the power behind Dogu
Perincek, leader of Turkey's Workers Party who is under arrest in Ergenekon case.
Ibrahim Sahin: It is claimed that former chief of Special Forces of Police
was the head of second group of hitmen captured within the Ergenekon probe. An 11-man group were making plans to assassinate prominent intellectuals and politicians, it was claimed.
Bedrettin Dalan: He is shown as a high level name of the Ergenekon
organization. Istanbul's Yeditepe University founded by Dalan is accused of
having a nationalist structure and creating a public opinion in line with
Ergenekon.
SURPRISING DECISION FORM DERVIS
United Nations Development Program Administrator Kemal Dervis said he would
quit on March 1 instead of July 31. Dervis said he would work on global economy and Turkish economy.
CUMHURIYET
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HOT DAY IN CAPITAL
General Staff Chief Gen. Ilker Basbug has conveyed "views and evaluations"
of the army to President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan after detention of some retired generals and officers on active duty. Yesterday, top military commanders held an emergency meeting. Some claimed that Gen. Basbug explained the army's uneasiness over the recent wave of detentions under the Ergenekon probe.
DENOUNCEMENT AGAINST OZ
The Supreme Court of Appeals Board of Chairman has decided to denounce
prosecutor Zekeriya Oz who carries out the Ergenekon probe, to the Higher Board of Judges and Prosecutors. Oz will be accused of making up "fake evidence" by carrying out the investigation with illegal phone tapping.
RADIKAL
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HOT DAY IN ANKARA
There was a busy traffic in regard to the Ergenekon in Ankara on Thursday.
General Staff Chief Gen. Ilker Basbug first met Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan and then he had a meeting with President Abdullah Gul at Cankaya
Presidential Palace. Erdogan-Basbug meeting lasted for more than one hour.
Erdogan also held meetings with interior and justice ministers in the evening.
IMF DELEGATION IN ANKARA
IMF delegation headed by IMF's new Turkey Desk Chief Rachel Van Elkan
started talks in Ankara. The IMF delegation will hold talks with representatives of the banking and real sectors in Istanbul. Turkish State Minister Mehmet Simsek and IMF delegation discussed general framework of economic program in Ankara on Thursday.
TURKIYE
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ERGENEKON TRAFFIC IN ANKARA
General Staff Chief Gen. Ilker Basbug held a surprising meeting with Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan before his weekly meeting with President Abdullah Gul after detention of retired generals and officers on active duty under the Ergenekon probe. During his meetings with the president and the prime minister, the top military commander explained his views about the detentions. Interior Minister Besir Atalay also went to the Cankaya Presidential Office unexpectedly.
BAGIS BECOMES NEW CHIEF NEGOTIATOR
Egemen Bagis has been appointed as state minister. Bagis will also serve as
the chief negotiator in the full membership negotiations between Turkey and the EU.
ZAMAN
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DO NOT PUT PRESSURE ON JUDICIARY
Recent operations against the terrorist organization Ergenekon had
repercussions in public. Several figures of the judiciary and politics warned about the criticism that "laws were ignored" despite a court decision about police search and custodies. It was underscored that this criticism aims to put pressure on judges and they all wanted the judiciary process in Ergenekon case to continue until the end.
SURPRISING CHANGE IN CABINET
Deputy Chairman of the ruling Justice & Development (AK) Party Egemen Bagis
has been appointed as the State Minister for EU relations. Bagis will take over the "chief negotiator" post from Foreign Minister Ali Babacan.
YENI SAFAK
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GEN. BASBUG HAS MEETINGS WITH PRESIDENT GUL AND PREMIER ERDOGAN
The latest detentions under the Ergenekon probe have shaken the capital. A
meeting which was held at the General Staff the previous day focused on the
Ergenekon probe. General Staff Chief Gen. Ilker Basbug first had a meeting with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and then President Abdullah Gul on Thursday.
SHOCKING DROP IN INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION
Monthly industrial production index dropped by 13.9 percent in November 2008 when compared to the same month of 2007. The manufacturing sector shrank 15.5 percent and the electricity, gas and water sector dropped by 4.7 percent in November.
