The following are translations of excerpts from the Turkish press.
ISRAEL CALLS FOR BOYCOTT OF TURKEY
After the news in Israel's local media saying [Turkish] PM Erdogan is considering Israel as a threat, Israeli Minister of Tourism Stas Mizeshnikov asks Israeli citizens not to go Turkey as tourists. He says the fewer who go, the stronger the message sent to Turkey.
http://haber.gazetevatan.com/Haber/337754/1/Gundem
32 INJURED IN BOMB ATTACK IN ISTANBUL'S TAKSIM SQUARE
The search for culprits was continuing Sunday after a suicide bomber blew himself up in Istanbul's Taksim Square, wounding 32 people, including 15 policemen, on the final day of a cease-fire by an outlawed terrorist group.
Istanbul Police Chief Hüseyin Çapkın said the male bomber tried but failed to get into a parked police van and detonated the bomb just outside the vehicle. Riot police are generally stationed at Taksim Square in case of demonstrations.
Seventeen passersby were also injured in the attack in addition to the 15 police officers, Istanbul Gov. Hüseyin Avni Mutlu said. Of the injured, 23 people were treated in hospitals and sent home the same day.
"None of the injured people face a life-threatening risk. The investigation is ongoing," said the country's head police chief, Oğuz Kaan Köksal, who came to Istanbul from Ankara after the bombing.
Sami Özverel, one of the injured civilians, told the private news channel CNNTürk that he initially could not understand what had happened.
"I saw my head was bleeding and felt that one of my feet was aching. I saw people jumping and windows that had broken with the noise of the bomb," he said. "Then police came and brought me to the hospital." Özverel was walking toward İstiklal Avenue when the bomb exploded.
"The incident is under investigation. It's a suicide bombing," Çapkın told reporters at the scene, adding that the bomber had blown himself to pieces.
The attack came on the deadline for the unilateral cease-fire that had been declared by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party [PKK]. The PKK has not made a statement about the attack and the government has not accused any group of involvement in the bombing.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
"The police were targeted and civilians were injured as well," Mutlu said, noting that surveillance camera footage was being examined. "This is a crime against humanity. It is impossible for the perpetrators to reach their aim by [simply] disturbing the peace."
Çapkın said bomb squads had discovered more explosive devices at the scene and were working to defuse them.
No immediate statement was made claiming responsibility for the attack, which occurred as the city was preparing to hold Republic Day parades originally planned for Friday but delayed due to heavy rain. The explosion occurred as the parade was held in another part of the city.
Police sealed off all roads leading to Taksim Square and forensic teams in blue coveralls were walking in line, combing the area for pieces of debris and other evidence. Some were seen walking around the ledge of a statue at the square's center.
The body of the suicide bomber was lying on the ground. The bomber appeared to be in his early 20s, Ulutaş said.
There have been two previous suicide-bomb attacks on police near Taksim Square. The first wounded three police officers and 10 other people in 1999 and the second killed two police officers in 2001.
AS LONG AS OUR UNITY CONTINUES, ALL THOSE TRICKS WILL BE SPOILED
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan condemned the attack in Taksim on Sunday. "Those attacks will not divert Turkey from its fraternity and development targets," he said. "The hope to destroy modern Turkey lies as the basis of those tricks. ... We are one, we are united, and we are brothers and sisters. We will foil this game as long as we stay united and together."
http://www.sabah.com.tr/Gundem/2010/11/01/erdogan_hedefte_gelisen_turkiye_var
DIPLOMATIC TEAM FROM EU TO TURKEY
The European Union increased its team in Turkey to 132 people, making it the bloc's largest foreign representation. The EU will increase the number of people in its new structure in Turkey to 132 people in December.
TURKEY WELCOMES AGREEMENT BETWEEN AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Sunday: "We welcome that [the developlement that] Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders agreed on several humanitarian issues during a summit hosted by Russian President Medvedev."
"Turkey hopes that the Astrakhan Summit will make positive contributions to the solution process by adding momentum to the efforts to resolve the Upper Karabakh dispute. We also wish that steps to be taken on humanitarian issues will be supported with concrete initiatives. Turkey is determined to fully support initiatives that will serve creation of a [basis] for compromise between the parties," the Ministry added.
President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and President Serzh Sargsian of Armenia met in the southern Russian city of Astrakhan on October 27 at a meeting hosted by Russian President Medvedev to discuss ways to resolve the dispute over Upper-Karabakh. During the talks, the leaders agreed to exchange prisoners of war and victims' bodies. Russia, together with the United States and France, has been leading international efforts to resolve the dispute.
http://en.cumhuriyet.com/?hn=187096
NETANYAHU TO FLY TO U.S. FOR TALKS ON PEACE
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he will fly to the United States next weekend for talks on Middle East peace efforts and to speak of the need to combat international terrorism.
"Next Sunday, I shall leave for the annual assembly of Jewish communities in the United States," Netanyahu told reporters at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting, referring to a congress to be held in New Orleans on November 7-9.
"I shall meet there with Vice President (Joseph) Biden and other senior administration officials and I shall discuss with them a range of issues, including, of course, a renewal of the peace process with the aim of reaching an agreement on peace with security for the state of Israel," he said. But Netanyahu will not be meeting U.S. President Barack Obama, who will be travelling in Asia at the time.
