The following are translated excerpts from the Turkish press.
POLICE CHIEF'S NEW BOOK CLAIMS RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION INFILTRATES GOVERNMENT
Controversy continues over a book written by the chief of police in Eskişehir province about the Turkish religious leader Fethullah Gülen's congregation and its infiltration of state organizations, and the Interior Ministry has opened an inquiry into the work.
Hanefi Avcı's book, "Haliç'te Yaşayan Simonlar: Dün Devlet Bugün Cemaat" ["'Devotee' Residents of Haliç: Yesterday a State, Today a Religious Congregation"], allegedly exposes the police force and other departments of state that have been infiltrated by the Gülen congregation's leaders and imams.
Avcı claims leaders of the congregation have wiretapped numerous government offices and published information from phone conversations if the exposure benefited the goals of the congregation. A quote from the book reads: "We should realize that we are not dealing with friends or colleagues; we are dealing with an organization that is dictated by an ideology." Avcı wrote that police officers, judges and prosecutors with special authority, and chiefs of police, are members of the congregation; and that the congregation directs all of their actions.
Avcı said he decided to write the book when the chief advisor to the prime minister ignored all the evidence he had accumulated on the organization, as well as his complaint that his phone calls were being illegally monitored.
Avcı specifically identifies the investigation, and relates the trials of the murders of Armenian-Turkish journalist ,Hrant Dink, and the Trabzon Catholic Church's priest, Andrea Santoro as being directed by secret members of the congregation.
In the book, many of the judges and prosecutors appointed to cases investigating the alleged Ergenekon gang, the Council of State attack in 2006, and the "Balyoz" (Sledgehammer) case are all said to be connected to the Gülen congregation.
Avcı wrote that although there are some documents and evidence that the alleged Ergenekon gang exists, there are no records of their activities, and that their participation in the aforementioned murders and attacks in Turkey is falsely presented to the community by the Gülen congregation.
Avcı included a section on what should be done about the Gülen congregation's presence in government and state institutions, saying that the only way to prevent further injustice and corruption is to replace the judges and prosecutors currently investigating the Ergenekon and Balyoz cases, as well as those investigating the unresolved murders. Avcı writes, "People opposing the views of the Gülen congregation are in danger as long as the members of the congregations are in such crucial positions in the government."
Avcı was formerly an Internal Ministry civil servant, and has served in police forces in the Edirne, Mersin and Diyarbakır provinces, and the city of Istanbul and has been chief of police in Eskişehir since 2009. Avcı also served on the Parliament's Investigation Board into the Susurluk accident. He was arrested in 1998 for leaking phone conversations at the National Intelligence Agency [MİT], on a debate program on TV, but was later released.
The book includes a narrative of his personal experiences during these periods, as well as his previous claims regarding the Gülen congregation's infiltration into the police force, the gendarmerie and MİT.
IF YOU ARE STRONG, LET'S DEBATE IN ANY TV CHANNEL YOU LIKE
Republican People's Party [CHP] leader, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who addressed a rally for his party which drew 100,1000 people to Çağlayan Square in Istanbul, challenged Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to debate on TV. Kılıçdaroğlu said: "If you are strong, let's debate any TV channel you like with journalists you favor. It may even be on Kanal 7, which feeds off of the Deniz Feneri association. I promise I will only discuss the constitutional amendment."
12 MILES, NOT A CASUS BELLI FROM NOW ON
The National Security Policy paper, which is being updated, changes clichés regarding external threat perceptions. The paper, publicly known as the "book of Turkey's red lines", defines neighboring countries as "collaborators," not as "external threats."
According to the draft, the "12 mile problem" between Turkey and Greece, which has been considered "casus belli" so far, will not be regarded as a prior problem from now on.
http://www.sabah.com.tr/Gundem/2010/08/23/kirmizi_kitapta_savas_degil_isbirligi_vurgusu
CASE CONCLUDED, TURKEY LOSES
The family of Hrant Dink, the late editor-in-chief of Agos weekly newspaper who was murdered in 2007, won their case at the European Court of Human Rights. Dink had applied to the European Court a week before he was killed, asking the court to overturn his sentence with the argument that "he had not insulted Turkishness." After the murder, his family filed a lawsuit, saying, "The state was negligent in not protecting Dink." Turkey sent a defense file to the court in which it defended itself with the argument, "Dink provoked people and did not ask to be protected."
The European Court found Turkey guilty in two regards. The court said Turkey violated the "right to life" of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and the "freedom of expression" of Article 10 of the same convention. Ankara will send a new defense file to the court if it appeals the decision.
http://www.gazetevatan.com/ka1.vatan
THOUSANDS SAY 'NO'
Republican People's Part [CHP] leader, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who addressed an enthusiastic crowd that filled Çağlayan square in Istanbul, referred to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's remarks that "he who remains neutral will be eliminated." Kılıçdaroğlu urged businessmen not to fear and to remain strong. "Mr. Recep goes by another nickname: Extortionist. Are you a king or a sultan? These are the footsteps of the people. Mr. Recep will run and we will pursue. We will give an end to this society of fear."
Kılıçdaroğlu said Erdoğan tried to portray himself as a victim of the Sept. 12 coup: "Their backs were patted by Gen. Kenan Evren. I voted against the Constitution back then. Let's hear what the prime minister voted for." Kılıçdaroğlu said that when the CHP came to power, would solve the headscarf problem.
http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/?kn=6
"OFCOURSE SOME STATE OFFICIALS HAVE DIALOGUE WITH PRISONERS".
Prime Minister Erdogan's chief consultant, Associate Professor Yalcin Akdogan, says: "some State institutions might have dialogue with some prisoners. This shall not be considered as a bargain or negotiations. It is good for PKK to announce a cease-fire unilaterally. This shows that Ocalan is reading the developments better than BDP and Kandil Mountain."
http://haber.gazetevatan.com/elbette-diyalog-olacak/324578/1/Gundem
AMBASSADOR OF DEATH
Iran, which has officially launched its first nuclear reactor, promoted its new military technological products on Sunday. One of these is the unmanned war plane, "Karrar," which was defined by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as an "Ambassador of Death."
http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/dunya/15612482.asp?gid=200
IRAN ON AGENDA IN WASHINGTON
A delegation headed by Feridun Sinirlioğlu, the undersecretary of Turkey's Foreign Ministry, flew to the United States to hold talks in Washington, D.C. During talks with officials at the U.S. State Department, the Turkish delegation will discuss Iran's nuclear file and sanctions.
http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/dunya/15612483.asp?gid=200
UN DUE IN TURKEY FOR AUTOPSY REPORTS
Members of a data collection mission set up under the auspices of the United Nations Human Rights Commission after the Israeli attack on the Mavi Marmara aid ship will arrive in Turkey on Monday. The delegation will examine the autopsy reports of the nine people killed in the attack and will investigate the Mavi Marmara ship, which is anchored in İskenderun, Turkey.
http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/ekonet/15614799.asp?gid=373
DENIZ FENERI INDICTMENT ABOUT TO BE CONCLUDED
The indictment in the Turkey leg of the investigation on the Deniz Feneri e.V, which ended with convictions in Germany, is about to be concluded. Turkish prosecutors, whose requests to travel to Germany for interrogation has been put on hold for months because of the unwilling attitude of the Justice Ministry, are getting ready to file a lawsuit this autumn following the investigation, which took two years.
http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/?kn=7
ARMY AND NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ORGANIZATIONS HAVE IMAMS
Eskişehir Police Chief Hanefi Avcı, who made shocking allegations about the Fethullah Gülen congregation in his book titled "Haliçte Yaşayan Simonlar"["Simons living in the Golden Horn"], made some striking allegations to Radikal. Avcı, who claimed that the congregation ran institutions with civilians called "imams," and said the Police Department was run by Osman Hilmi Özdil, who went by the code name "Ömer of Kozan." "The Turkish Armed Forces [TSK], and National Intelligence Organization [ MIT], have their own as well. MIT's imam is Mr. Sinan."
Avcı declined to answer the newspaper's question about who the TSK's imam was, saying that it was too early to reveal that. He said he knew who he was but did not know him in person.
