The following are translations of excerpts from the Turkish press.
WARNING TO ISRAEL: DO NOT INTERVENE IN EGYPT
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said: "It is very important that Israel does not take action and speak. I also talked with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and told him that he had responsibilities about the issue. Israel should not be involved in and intervene in this process. I also told this to U.S. President Barack Obama. Any intervention by Israel provokes and affects the process negatively."
MESSAGE FROM CAIRO: DON'T INTERVENE IN OUR DOMESTIC AFFAIRS
Egyptian Ambassador in Ankara Abdurrahman Selahaddin met with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu yesterday and presented a letter from his government. The ambassador also diplomatically told Davutoğlu that statements of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan - who asked Egyptian President Mubarak to withdraw - were considered an intervention in domestic affairs of Egypt that created uneasiness.
NEW FLOTILLA AIMS TO REACH GAZA ON ANNIVERSARY OF DEADLY RAID
A flotilla of ships will try to reach Gaza at the end of May, to mark the first anniversary of a deadly Israeli raid against a similar convoy that killed nine activists, organizers said Monday.
The flotilla, that will try to break Israel's blockade of the territory this time, will consist of some 15 boats with activists from 25 nations compared to just six ships last year, they told a news conference in Madrid.
"We will set sail during the second half of May," said Manuel Tapial, one of the three Spanish activists who were on board the Mavi Marmara, that was intercepted by Israeli navy commandos on May 31, sparking a global outcry.
Activists aboard the Free Gaza flotilla say the Israeli commandos started shooting as soon as they boarded the vessel. But Israel says the commandos used live fire only after they were attacked with clubs, knives and guns.
Eight Turks and one American, of Turkish origin, were killed in the attack.
Last month an Israeli probe into the incident concluded that both the raid and the blockade of the impoverished Palestinian territory complied with international law.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the inquiry had neither value nor credibility.
A Turkish investigation concluded Israeli troops had used "disproportionate" force during their raid, which took place in international waters about 130 kilometers off of the Israeli coast.
The new convoy will transport construction material and electric generators to Gaza.
Maria Elena Delia, of the Italian branch of "Sailing to Gaza," the non-governmental group that is organizing the new flotilla, called the Israeli blockade of Gaza "a crime and a violation of international law."
"We hope to break this blockade and if we can't, we will set sail again and again," she said.
http://www.afp.com/afpcom/fr/taglibrary/thematic/politic
LETTER POSTED TO THE ADDRESS 'MERSİN 10, TURKEY'
Some labor unions from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) held a demonstration in Nicosia to protest Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's recent remarks about TRNC. The group went to the Turkish embassy to send a letter to the Turkish premier, however, officials at the embassy told the protesters that the letter should be sent via postal services. Upon such development, representatives of labor unions decided to write on the letter:"P.O. Box Mersin 10, Turkey," once created by Turkey due to TRNC's not being acknowledged in the international arena.
http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/dunya/16962514.asp?gid=200
DINK QUESTIONING TO PROTOCOL
A chief public prosecutor with special authority from Istanbul has launched an investigation against more than 30 state officials allegedly linked to "organized crime" in connection with journalist Hrant Dink's murder.
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Turkey shall pay a compensation of 133,000 Euros for not having fulfilled its responsibility to protect Dink's life. Attorneys for the Dink family asked the prosecutor's office to investigate some 28 public officials.
As the investigation launched by the prosecutor's office points to "organized crime," no investigation permit was needed from the Istanbul governor and police chief, the intelligence chief or the Trabzon police department ahead of the time.
http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/16962646.asp?gid=233
GENERAL STAFF REACTS TO CHP
The Army General Staff reacted to the remarks of Republican People's Party Deputy Chairman Süheyl Batum who said: "They took down the whole army. It appears it was a paper tiger all along, but we mistook it for an army."
The General Staff said: "It is rather saddening to see those politicians who seize every opportunity to say the Turkish military should stay out of politics, are attempting to draw the military into politics."
http://www.sabah.com.tr/Gundem/2011/02/08/asker_bizi_siyasete_malzeme_yapmayin
LAW READY, TURKEY'S SPACE JOURNEY TO BEGIN
Turkey has taken a step to catch up with developed countries in the field of space research. Turkish Transportation Ministry has prepared a draft law envisaging the establishment of "Turkey Space Institution" (TUK) that would carry out studies in an effort to protect Turkey's rights and interests in space. The draft law has been sent to the prime ministry. The space authority, which will be an autonomous institution administered by 8 people, will be given broad powers.
http://www.zaman.com.tr/haber.do?haberno=1090473&title=yasa-hazir-turkiyenin-uzay-yolculugu-basliyor
IRAN, TURKEY AIM TO TRIPLE TRADE TO $30 BILLION
Iran and Turkey plan to triple two-way annual trade to $30 billion by 2015, officials of both states said Monday ahead of a visit by Turkish President Abdullah Gül to the Islamic republic.
"Without doubt, the signing of mutual agreements can achieve the objective of the leaders of both countries to increase the level of trade to $30 billion," said Iran's Commerce Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari at a meeting with Turkish State Minister Cevdet Yılmaz, state news agency IRNA reported.
Yılmaz agreed. The "leaders of both the countries have set a clear target for future trade."
"This goal is easily achievable given the current capacity," he said, while Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said the target was "not out of reach over five years."
Ghazanfari and Yılmaz also hoped that a tariff pact would be signed during Gül's visit next week.
Annual trade between the two countries has already surged from $1 billion to $11 billion over the past decade.
Iran and Turkey, with a combined population of 150 million, have increasingly grown closer, with Ankara emerging as a key ally of Tehran in its delicate nuclear negotiations.
Iran currently exports between 15 to 18 million cubic meters of gas to Turkey.
In July, it signed a one billion euro contract with a Turkish company to build a 660-kilometer pipeline to export 60 million cubic meters of gas daily within three years to Turkey and Europe.
http://www.afp.com/afpcom/fr/taglibrary/thematic/politic
TURKISH CAPITAL TO HOST CONFERENCE ON NUCLEAR ENERGY ON WEDNESDAY
The Turkish energy ministry and the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) will jointly organize a conference on nuclear energy in Ankara on February 9.
The conference on "nuclear energy's entry into the Turkish energy system" would be held within the scope of NEA Director-General Luis Echavarri's formal visit to Turkey, officials said Monday.
The conference will take place at the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEK) headquarters.
Aside from Echavarri, Turkish Energy & Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz, TAEK's President Zafer Alper and several other officials and scholars are expected to attend the gathering.
The NEA is a specialized agency within the OECD, an intergovernmental organization of industrialized countries is based in Paris.
The mission of the NEA is to assist its member countries in maintaining and further developing, through international cooperation, the scientific, technological and legal bases required for the safe, environmentally friendly and economical use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
