The following are translations of excerpts from the Turkish press.
HIGH COUNCIL OF JUDGES AND PROSECUTORS WILL RESIGN
Vice Chairman of the High Coucil of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) Kadir Ozbek announced that they will hold a press conference and after the conference, some members of the HSYK will announce their resignations.
http://www.stargazete.com/guncel/hsyk-da-toplu-istifa-haber-301082.htm
REFUEL FROM IRAN
Iran has provided indirect support of military exercises between Turkey and China. Four Chinese SU-27 jets participating in the military exercise refueled in Iran for the first time in Iranian history. Turkish-Chinese military exercises took place between Sept. 20 and Oct. 4, receiving criticism from the United States.
http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/16009322.asp?gid=373
MILITARY MESSAGE TO U.S.
The Turkish Armed Forces will send a lieutenant general to the annual conference of the American-Turkish Council (ATC). The conference was originally scheduled to take place in April 2010 but was postponed due to allegations of Armenian genocide [in the World War I era].
In 2009, the ATC conference was attended by the Chief of Turkish General Staff.
ERDOGAN TO TRAVEL TO SYRIA
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will travel to Syria on Monday on a one-day trip. Erdoğan will meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Asad. The fight against the PKK will be the first item on the meeting's agenda.
http://yenisafak.com.tr/Politika/?t=11.10.2010&i=282560
TURKISH MINISTER URGES MORE REPRESENTATION AT IMF, WORLD BANK
Under-representation of emerging countries in the International Monetary Fund as well as the World Bank seriously [impacts] the legitimacy and effectiveness of these institutions, according to Turkish State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan.
In his statement posted on the website of IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings, Babacan said, "Global problems require coordinated and sustained efforts."
"In this regard, international financial institutions play a central role in the coordination of our policies," Babacan said.
"Only fair representation in these institutions implies legitimacy. This is critical for the effectiveness of the decisions taken by these institutions. Looking from this perspective, under-representation of the emerging countries in IMF as well as the World Bank seriously affects the legitimacy and the effectiveness of these institutions," Babacan said.
"We call for the rapid completion of the 14th quota review in IMF and this should involve a significant shift of quota shares from developed countries to dynamic emerging market and developing countries," he said.
"Also, shifting some chairs from advanced economies to emerging market economies at the board of IMF would improve the representation and legitimacy of this board," Babacan said.
Meanwhile, attending the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington, the Undersecretary of Turkish Treasury İbrahim Çanakçı said Turkey was a very strong candidate to become a member of the IMF Executive Board as an emerging market economy.
"There is wide agreement in the IMF on Turkey's candidacy. Both the United States and European Union want Turkey to be represented at the IMF," Çanakçı said.
During the meetings in Washington, Turkey's success story in recent years has been discussed and appreciated, Çanakçı said, adding that Turkey and its representatives are listened to more carefully as compared to past years.
"International investors with whom we spoke expressed that they wished to increase their investments in Turkey," Çanakçı said.
EUROPEAN ENERGY GIANT TO OPEN POWER PLANT IN SAMSUN
European energy giant OMV is planning to open an 870-megawatt gas-fired power plant in the Black Sea province of Samsun. The company is investing 600 million euros in the plant, which is designed to meet 3 or 4 percent of Turkey's total electricity demand.
Speaking at the power plant's groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, OMV Group CEO Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer, said the company had no interest in entering the electric or gas distribution sector. Verbund, OMV's partner in Austria, however, was planning to invest in Turkey's energy distribution sector.
Also speaking at the ceremony, Energy Minister Taner Yıldız, appealing to environmentalist's concerned about the energy plant, said there were objectors to all sorts of energy, including renewable energy, but the ministry had to continue with investments due to Turkey's ever-increasing energy needs.
"We do not have the luxury to tell the public that we can have power cuts for two hours a day," Yıldız said. "Turkey's annual growth rate in energy, combined with international capital, is around $5.5 billion. We have to make these investments through the private sector in a more liberal and competitive environment." He also said the total amount of money raised after energy privatizations this year was $16 million.
"Turkey has more than 8,000 kilometers of coastline, which means there is space for tourism, culture and energy projects," said Yıldız. "However, we cannot give up on energy projects for the sake of others, and I do not think that choosing one means we can ignore the rest."
AUTHORS ON TRIAL IN TURKEY FOR WRITING GUIDE TO ERGENEKON
The ongoing Ergenekon coup investigation has netted two more journalists and charged them with violating secrecy and trying to influence a fair trial with their reporting for a book that has been labeled as the most comprehensive guide to the inquiry. The research done for the book is supported by open sources and public documents, says one of the co-authors.
Two more journalists have gone to trial for reporting on the Ergenekon coup investigation, this time for publishing what is regarded as the most detailed book yet about the inquiry.
Ertuğrul Mavioğlu and Ahmet Şık had their first day on trial at the Kadıköy Courthouse on Friday for their book "Kırk Katır Kırk Satır" (Between a Rock and a Hard Place), which was released in June and immediately put under legal investigation on the day of its release. It has two volumes: "Kontragerilla ve Ergenekon'u Anlama Kılavuzu" (The Guide to Understanding Counter Guerilla and Ergenekon) and "Ergenekon'da Kim Kimdir?" (Who's who in Ergenekon?).
Şık told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Sunday that they collected the data in the book from open sources and therefore "the violation of secrecy" is not a "logical charge."
Ergenekon is an alleged, shadowy, ultranationalist, gang accused of planning to topple the government by staging a coup, initially by spreading chaos and mayhem.
Şık said he believes there is "automation" in place to net all reporting on Ergenekon. "They are opening an investigation into every written or visual communication featuring the word Ergenekon," he said, adding that all journalists who report on the topic face charges of "the violation of secrecy," while those who criticize the case are also charged for "influencing a fair trial."
Şık said they expected to be acquitted at the first hearing, as many books have been written on Ergenekon since the investigation began.
"Between a Rock and a Hard Place" is arguably the least biased of them as it neither completely denies the existence of Ergenekon nor calls for increased investigation in a partisan-style [as] many others have done.
"Both prosecutors running the Ergenekon investigation and some of the accused filed complaints against us," Şık said, adding that this was proof that they favored neither side.
"The Ergenekon investigation has silenced everyone who is critical of the leading administration and 'a certain community,'" said Şık. "I started to feel as if I am a member of Ergenekon. There is no such thing of course, there are people who I am not and cannot be with in the same political camp."
Şık said, however, the motivation behind writing the book for him and Mavioğlu was their suspicion that the investigation was not a genuine investigation into the "deep state."
"If the 'Deep State' is to be investigated [in Turkey], this book is to clear a path," he said.
He illustrated some events in the past when the "deep state" was close to being exposed, the closest being the Susurluk incident, in which a traffic accident in 1996 revealed the presence of a former police chief, high profile criminal Abdullah Çatlı and Sedat Bucak, a Kurdish landlord and deputy of the True Path Party, all in the same car along with several weapons and identity cards, exposing a link between the police, the mafia and politicians.
"Call it counter guerilla, whatever, in this process the name of this organization is now called Ergenekon," he said, adding that as authors they believe the case is an opportunity to deal with the past.
"Turkey has a dark, dirty [and] bloody past. We saw this as an opportunity for them to be enlightened, but no such thing has occurred at the point [the case] is now. We want the true criminals to be tried for their actual crimes, that is all that matters to us," he said.
Şık said last week's release of former union leader Mustafa Özbek, who has been under arrest for nearly two years, was one of the more important recent developments in the case.
"Özbek was released without even his testimony heard [in court]," Şık said, asking how this could be explained if the case is actually trying to solve many shady issues from Turkey's past.
