Turkish Press Scan July 14th

CUMHURIYET

DAVUTOGLU WARNS EU
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Wednesday that if the Greek Cypriot side delays talks in Cyprus and becomes the EU term president in July 2012, Turkish-EU relations would freeze. "Turkey will not consider the Greek Cypriot side an interlocutor," Davutoglu stressed.

POSITIVE BUT NO COMPROMISE
Speaker of Turkish Parliament, Cemil Cicek, brought together officials of the opposition Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) and ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party in Ankara on Wednesday so that BDP deputies end their boycott and take oath at the parliament. While the two sides described the meeting as "positive", no compromise was reached that would encourage BDP deputies to take oath.

HURRIYET

RELATIONS WITH EU WILL BE FROZEN IF CYPRUS IS NOT SOLVED
Cyprus and visa problem were the main topics of the breakfast between European Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Fule and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Ankara on Wednesday. Fule promised to find a solution to visa problem, however he did not detail it. Davutoglu made a harsh reaction regarding Cyprus problem, and said, "if the problem is not solved, Turkey-EU relations will be frozen next year. Think, and then decide."

NEW SHOCK IN MATCH-FIXING, FIVE ARRESTED
Besiktas's deputy chairman Serdal Adali, coach Tayfur Havutcu, executive Ahmet Ates, and Istanbul Buyuksehir Belediyespor's footballers Ibrahim Akin and Iskender Alin were arrested in the second wave of the match-fixing operation. In the second wave of operations, Ibrahim Akin confessed that he got 100,000 USD from Fenerbahce. According to allegations, Akin and Alin received a proposal from coach Tayfur Havutcu to be transferred to Besiktas on condition that they did not play well against Besiktas in the Turkey Cup final. Thus, the number of people jailed in the match-fixing operation has reached 31.

322 VOTES OF CONFIDENCE TO 61ST GVT
Votes were counted in an hour due to a problem in electronic system although the voting lasted only five minutes. The 61st government received votes of confidence of 322 Justice & Development (AK) Party members despite 172 against votes. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, "we are entering an ambitious and busy period".

MILLIYET

STAKE TO EU
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu drew attention to the uncompromising attitude of the Greek Cypriots, and said, "if the Greek Cypriot administration undertakes the rotating presidency of the EU before a settlement in Cyprus, we may freeze our relations with the union." Davutoglu said Turkish side was continuously taking initiative in Cyprus, and reacted to the Greek Cypriots who were trying to take their time for a settlement. Davutoglu said, "we will not take Greek Cypriot administration's EU presidency as an interlocutor."

FIRST POST-VOTE OF CONFIDENCE MESSAGE IS COMPROMISE
The 61st government won vote of confidence with 322 votes in favor. 495 lawmakers cast their votes, and 173 of them voted against the government. After the result of the voting was made public, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, "we will undergo a test altogether" and gave a message of compromise. Then, he walked to the opposition desks at the Parliament General Assembly, and shook hands with Republican People's Party (CHP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) lawmakers.

"SPECIAL COURTS SHOULD BE ABOLISHED" PROPOSAL
Emine Ulker Tarhan, the deputy chairperson of the CHP group, submitted a bill for an amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure, asking criminal courts with special authority to be abolished. It has been learned that CHP will submit another bill limiting the longest arrest period with three years. Also, Aydin Ayaydin of CHP has presented a bill on establishment of Political Ethics Committee to Parliament Speaker's Office.

RADIKAL

LIMITED CHOCOLATE FOR SCHOOLS
The Turkish government is taking measures against obesity in schools. Turkish Health Minister Recep Akdag said that schools in Turkey would be able to sell only a limited amount of cola, hamburgers and chocolate.

TURKEY ISSUES DATE TO EU
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Wednesday that "if no solution was reached in Cyprus by 2012, Turkey would not consider the EU an interlocutor". Davutoglu warned the EU that if the Greek Cypriots become the EU president unilaterally in July 2012, Turkey would freeze all relations with the EU.

VATAN

NEW CRISIS FEAR
After Greece, alarm bells are ringing in Italy. Economy's boss Ali Babacan said, "risk indicators have climbed to a record level. If Europe shakes, we will also feel it. What is important is to stand firm on our feet." Markets feared that "Italy was sinking" after all economic indicators turned to negative in Italy -- a European country with the highest debts worth 1.6 trillion USD. Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said Turkey could not remain indifferent to a tremor in EU economy. Babacan said, "if permanent solutions are not found to problems soon, we may face a crisis similar to that in 2008-2009."

AL QAIDA WAS PLANNING TO ATTACK U.S. EMBASSY IN ANKARA
Police detained 15 al-Qaida supporters in their operations in Ankara, Bursa and Yalova with 700 kilograms of explosives, two long-range rifles and landscape sketches. The detainees are still being interrogated by police officers. Al-Qaida is preparing to attack some foreign representations of the United States, including the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, in order to take revenge of their killed leader Osama Bin Laden.

OPPONENT ERGENEKON JUDGE APPOINTED
Koksal Sengun, the head of the 13th Heavy Criminal Court who voted for release of Republican People's Party (CHP) lawmakers Mehmet Haberal and Mustafa Balbay, was appointed to the Black Sea province of Bolu. The Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) showed a discipline punishment as a reason for Sengun's appointment. Sengun's meeting with Ergenekon case suspect lawyer Tulay Bekar and former justice minister Seyfi Oktay was taken under technical surveillance. Sengun said he did not ask for his appointment, adding, "I did what I believed was right. The decision is an intimidation."

SABAH

ADALI, HAVUTCU, AKIN AND ALIN ARRESTED
The number of people arrested with charges of match-fixing rose to 31 on Wednesday. Deputy Chairman and Head of the Transfer Committee of Besiktas Football Club Serdal Adali, Besiktas Coach Tayfur Havutcu, Besiktas Protocol Director Ahmet Ates, and players of the Istanbul Buyuksehir Belediyespor Ibrahim Akin and Iskender Alin were all arrested by a court on Wednesday night. With the arrests made on Wednesday, the total number of individuals arrested within the match-fixing operation rose to 31.

FINAL OPINION ON GREEK CYPRIOTS TO EU
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Wednesday that if the Greek Cypriot administration assumed the EU presidency unilaterally in July 2012, this would negatively affect Turkish-EU relations. "We will freeze relations with the EU if the Greek Cypriots become the EU term president unilaterally. We will not accept the Greek Cypriot administration as an interlocutor," Davutoglu stressed.

TURKIYE

IT SEEMS THAT BDP HAS ALSO BEEN CONVINCED
Meetings, held between the Justice & Development (AK) Party and the Peace & Democracy Party (BDP) upon Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek's call to solve the oath-taking crisis, were concluded positively. BDP group's chairman Selahattin Demirtas said they wished to meet again, and added, "if we get a result, we will add a momentum to democratic politics altogether." AK Party group's deputy chairman Nurettin Canikli said the meeting was held in a positive atmosphere.

MOSQUES SOLD BY CHP
Historical documents indicate that some mosques were used as stable or arms depot during the rule of Ismet Inonu, many of them were demolished, and many others were sold. After Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed Republican People's Party (CHP) lawmaker Muharrem Ince and recalled that Alaeddin mosque in central Anatolian city of Konya was turned into a barn when Ismet Inonu was ruling the country, situation of mosques during CHP administration came a matter of discussion again. An amendment to Foundations Law in 1935 paved the way for sale of mosques, and 950 mosques were sold to individuals or institutions.

CRITICAL MEETING IN ISTANBUL FOR AL-QADHAFI
Foreign ministers and representatives of 40 countries, including the United States, Britain, France and Turkey that are all members of Libya Contact Group, will meet in Istanbul. Participants will discuss Libyan leader Muammar al-Qadhafi's fate, and take up developments in Syria.

YENI SAFAK

LAST EXIT BEFORE RECESS
A day before the Turkish Parliament goes into recess, the first contact between the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party and opposition Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) has been established. The officials of both political parties met in Ankara on Wednesday upon an invitation by the Speaker of Turkish Parliament Cemil Cicek. BDP officials demanded amendments in the Counter-Terrorism Laws and repetition of elections in south-eastern province of Diyarbakir so that Hatip Dicle, whose position as a deputy was dropped due to a past conviction, gets elected. AK Party officials told the BDP officials that all problems could be solved in the parliament through consensus. The officials of both parties are expected to meet again on Thursday. BDP deputies refused to take oath at the Turkish Parliament recently after Dicle was dropped off his position as a deputy due to a past conviction and several BDP deputies were not released from prison.

61ST GVT BEGINS WORK
The 61st Turkish government received a vote of confidence at the Turkish Parliament on Wednesday. 322 deputies voted in favor of the new government. Speaking to the parliament after receiving a vote of confidence, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, "we will succeed in this examination together".

ZAMAN

WARNING TO EU REGARDING TERM PRESIDENCY: WE WILL NOT CONSIDER GREEK CYPRIOTS AN INTERLOCUTOR
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu warned the European Union on Wednesday and said that if the Greek Cypriots were to assume the EU term presidency unilaterally in July 2012, Turkey would not consider the Greek Cypriots an interlocutor. In such a case, our relations with the EU would freeze, said Davutoglu.

322 VOTES OF CONFIDENCE TO 61ST GVT
The 61st Turkish government, led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, received a vote of confidence at the Turkish Parliament on Wednesday. 322 deputies voted in favor of the new government while 173 voted against.