The following are translations of excerpts from the Turkish press.
THE "RED BOOK" HAS BEEN CHANGED
[Turkey's] National Security Council discussed and approved the new "National Security Strategy Concept Paper," often referred to as the "Red Book," in yesterday's meeting.
The statement released after the five-hour meeting said: "The new document was discussed and approved and the council decided to forward its resolution on the issue to the cabinet."
No details were provided in the statement about the new document. The document, which is updated every five years, was last updated in 2005. The "threat of fundamentalism," which was in the list of threats in the former document, was removed in the new one.
http://haber.gazetevatan.com/kirmizi-kitap-degisti/337075/1/Gundem
ERDOGAN SURPRISED WITH TWO RESULTS IN SURVEY
Regarding the results of the survey Pollmark carried out on the referendum, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was surprised with two results: When the education level increased, the number of "yes" votes decreased; and 66 percent of people believed there was a dictatorial ruling.
http://haber.gazetevatan.com/basbakan-referandum-anketinde-neye-sasirdi/337035/9/Siyaset
IRAQ'S OIL TO FLOW IN NABUCCO
Turkey took action to include Iraqi oil in the Nabucco pipeline project. This request was conveyed to Nechirvan Barzani, former prime minister of the regional administration in the north of Iraq and deputy chairman of Iraq's Kurdistan Democratic Party, who was paying a visit to Turkey.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who met with Barzani, discussed energy issues rather than political ones.
http://yenisafak.com.tr/Ekonomi/?t=28.10.2010&i=285282
PKK: "WE CAN APOLOGIZE"
Murat Karayılan, the Kurdistan Workers Party's (PKK) top figure, made a historic confession.
"Yes, we have had some mistakes which led to civilian deaths. We can apologize for that if necessary," Karayılan told Radikal on Mount Kandil. "We are training our forces not to harm any civilians in our actions."
"The state will not be able to defeat us. We've realized that we will not be able to defeat the state either."
"We are watching the dialogue process with Öcalan for a permanent ceasefire. We will act on this process."
http://haber.gazetevatan.com/karayilandan-tarihi-itiraf/337165/1/Gundem
TURKEY'S CHP HANDS OVER LIGHTHOUSE SCANDAL DOSSIER TO PROSECUTORS
Turkey's main opposition has submitted 14 dossiers about a charity scandal in Germany to the Ankara-based prosecutor assigned to the case, saying government disinterest prompted the party to hand over the papers.
Republican People's Party [CHP] leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu gave the instructions to hand over the documents, which have been in the party's possession for more than a year, in order to aid the prosecution of the German-based Lighthouse e.V. charity.
"We want this investigation to end so that the country can be rid of this shame as soon as possible," Kılıçdaroğlu told the press upon arrival in Istanbul, criticizing the lack of government action on the massive embezzlement case, which has alleged links to Turkish officials.
"The total number of pages [we provided] is around 6,500 and as far as we know, the prosecution [previously] only had 650 to 700 pages. We handed over the documents in order to help the Ministry of Justice," the CHP's Ali Kılıç told the press Wednesday at the courthouse in Ankara after handing over the documents to public prosecutor Nadi Türkaslan.
"Some 17 names appear in the documents, including ringleader Zekeriya Karaman, Zahid Akman and their friends. The testimonies conducted in Germany, the investigations and parts of the indictment are all included," Kılıç said, adding that the party [CHP] hopes to see results in the case, which had seemed headed toward a dead end in the 30 months since the case started in Germany.
"We have handed over the documents, we will see what happens," he said.
Kılıç claimed last year that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's name appeared in the files.
"Fourteen months have passed, and the prime minister has not explained why his name is in there," he said at the time. "We do not know if he knew before, but he found out for sure after our announcement. It is thought-provoking that a statement has not yet been made."
Speaking to the press Wednesday, Kılıç contrasted the government's approach to the Lighthouse e.V. case with how it has responded to an Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that resulted in the deaths of eight Turkish activists and one American of Turkish descent.
"Look at the Mavi Marmara incident. The government exerted its authority, formed a commission and concluded the matter," he said.
"For whatever reason, no steps are being taken regarding the Lighthouse case. This is also thought-provoking."
Claiming that both Germany and Turkey are "dragging their feet" on the embezzlement case, Kılıç said the CHP would insist on resolving the matter. "Those who take advantage of the goodwill of our people will have to answer to the judiciary in Turkey, too," he said.
The Lighthouse e.V. case, one of the biggest embezzlement cases ever in Germany, involves the transfer of at least 17 million euros of charitable donations collected from Turks in Germany to Turkey for commercial activities.
The rest of the 41 million euros collected in total was spent for other purposes. German Prosecutor Kerstin Lötz and Frankfurt High State Court President Johann Müller have repeatedly asserted that officials in Turkey were complicit in the affair.
The CHP has been waiting for the Justice Ministry to request the dossiers, Kılıç said, noting that former party leader Deniz Baykal had said that the party was prepared to hand over the documents if needed.
"As far as we know, the Justice Ministry had only received the decision text. The court documents and testimonies did not arrive," he said. "They should have asked for the dossiers from us a long time ago."
EXTENSION OF PKK CEASE-FIRE UNLIKELY, TURKEY'S PRO-KURDISH PARTY SAYS
Efforts to get the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party [PKK] to extend its unilateral cease-fire past the current expiration date of Oct. 31 are unlikely to succeed, Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party has said.
"The government has not taken any steps to convince the PKK to extend its non-action period. Thus, I am not hopeful that the organization will prolong its decision," Bengi Yıldız, a deputy from the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party [BDP], told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Wednesday.
As the Daily News went to press Wednesday, pro-Kurdish figure Aysel Tuğluk, the former co-chairwoman of the now-disbanded Democratic Society Party [DTP], was preparing to visit Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of the PKK, in the latest in a series of efforts to convince the outlawed group to extend its cease-fire. The government has also been trying to convince the PKK to lay down its arms.
The group previously extended its non-action [cease-fire] period by a month after a meeting in September between Öcalan, his lawyers and Tuğluk on İmralı Island, where the PKK chief is serving a life sentence.
Following that announcement, conveyed through Tuğluk and the lawyers, Murat Karayılan, one of the PKK leaders at the group's headquarters in the Kandil Mountains in Iraq, said the cease-fire would continue if mutual confidence-building steps toward peace were taken. "Otherwise, we will reevaluate the situation," he said.
In the September meeting, Öcalan warned that if the government did not take any steps toward a solution by Oct. 3, he would remove himself from the process.
"I will tell Öcalan that we should resist for peace," Tuğluk told daily Vatan on Monday. "The cease-fire between Aug. 13 and Sept. 20 was requested by the state. A protocol was made through the negotiations at İmralı to achieve this non-action period." According to the protocol, Öcalan was planning to call for a yearlong cease-fire, but "the state has not fulfilled the promises given," Tuğluk said.
She said Öcalan and the PKK are in a period of evaluation, adding that there is a confidence and sincerity problem. "I observe that the state thinks the PKK won't use arms due to the upcoming winter conditions," Tuğluk said, adding that this perspective is a mistake.
It has been reported that the PKK might extend its cease-fire until the end of the upcoming Feast of the Sacrifice bayram holiday in order to see how the court case of detained pro-Kurdish politicians progresses. The release of arrested Kurdish politicians has been one of the key demands of the PKK.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Turkey. More than 40,000 civilians and security forces have been killed to date in clashes between the PKK and the government.
