TURKIYE
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     MOST COLORFUL MOVE
     Recep Tayyip Erdogan became the first ever Turkish prime minister who met with Romany (Gypsy) people in Istanbul. "There is no discrimination among Turkish, Kurdish, Laz, Circassian, Romany, Georgian, Bosnian and Albanian citizens. This was the first time Romany citizens are taken as interlocutors by the Turkish government. Our government has launched initiatives with the Housing Development Administration of Turkey (TOKI) to build Romany citizens' own houses," he said.
    
     "BALYOZ, MOST SERIOUS EVENT"
     Gen. Ilker Basbug, chief of the General Staff, said that the investigation into alleged coup plan known publicly as "Balyoz (Sledgehammer)" was the most serious event in regard to its impacts on the Turkish Armed Forces. He said that another plan called "Parola" including insult against the prime minister was "unacceptable".
    
     ZAMAN
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     THOSE WHO CONFUSED PUBLIC IN COUNCIL OF STATE ATTACK OWE APOLOGY
     The attack waged by Alparslan Arslan 4 years ago was described as a "headscarf protest" by certain circles. It was later revealed that the attack had connections with Ergenekon.
     Hasan Gulay, who was the second name in Democratic Left Party (DSP) while Bulent Ecevit was serving as the prime minister, also pointed to the huge gap between the claims raised in those days and the situation today.
     "Those, who used this incident for political purposes, should apologize," Gulay said.
    
     DOCUMENT WITH ORIGINAL SIGNATURE TO BE TURNED INTO PIECE OF PAPER
     While it became clear by reports of both Forensic Medicine, Police Department and Gendarmerie Forces that the "dirty plan" with the original signature was prepared by Colonel Dursun Cicek, General Staff Chief Gen. Ilker Basbug delivered confusing statements to daily Milliyet yesterday. Basbug said that chemicals should be used in order to determine the finger prints on the document and such action might cause harm. Basbug's remarks raised concerns. Retired prosecutor Gultekin Avci said that the original document was tried to be turned into a "piece of paper".
    
     YENI SAFAK
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     KUWAITI AMIR COMING TO TURKEY WITH 3 BLN USD
     The Kuwaiti Amir is planning to invest some 3 billion USD in Turkey. Kuwait's Amir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah is planning to give start to three or four giant projects in Turkey, worth 3 billion USD. Amir al-Sabah will especially focus on real estate business in Turkey.
    
     ONE SOLDIER KILLED IN HAKKARI
     A soldier was killed in an attack by terrorists in southeastern province of Hakkari. Terrorists opened fire on soldiers in Daglica hamlet of Hakkari's Yuksekova town, killing one soldier and injuring another. Security forces launched a wide-scale operation in the region. 
 

VATAN
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     THREE-MINUTE FORMULA
     A super league match between Istanbul Belediyespor and Diyarbakirspor was postponed because of incidents at stands. The referee called off the match at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul after Diyarbakirspor fans invaded the pitch at the 87th minute. Last week, Diyarbakirspor's home match against Bursaspor was also called off due to similar incidents. According to the regulations, a team that gets two defeats by default in a season is relegated. Now, a formula is being sought to have the teams play the remaining three minutes to save Diyarbakirspor.
    
     HEINOUS AMBUSH
     PKK terrorists opened fire on a group of troops in rural area near the town of Daglica in the southeastern province of Hakkari. Senior Sergeant Ahmet Ozbulut was killed in the clash while another soldier was wounded. Reinforcement units were sent to the area.
    
     CUMHURIYET
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     TURHAN SELCUK LAID TO REST
     Turhan Selcuk, a master cartoonist and the cartoonist of the daily Cumhuriyet newspaper who died in Istanbul on March 11, was laid to rest in Hacibektas town of central province of Nevsehir. Hundreds of people attended the funeral of Selcuk.
    
     ROMANY INITIATIVE SPEEDED UP
     12,000 Romany (Gypsy) people from several provinces of Turkey gathered in Abdi Ipekci Sports Hall in Istanbul within the scope of "Romany Gathering", one of the government's initiatives. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered a speech in the meeting and said the government would provide Romany people with jobs and houses.
    
     RADIKAL
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     MOST CHEERFUL MOVE
     Following the "Kurdish and Alevi moves" that caused tension, the government is experiencing a cheerful process thanks to the "Romany (Gypsy) move". Gypsy citizens, who gathered at Istanbul's Abdi Ipekci Sports Hall for the "Romany Workshop" yesterday, enjoyed themselves with dances and music.
     Speaking at the gathering, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he was born to a neighborhood full of "Romany" citizens. "You are my brothers and sisters," he told the crowd.
     Participants of the workshop cheered up as Erdogan promised to provide them housing units. Gypsy citizens, who came to the meeting dancing and singing, left the venue the same way.
    
     GREAT HONOR FOR FAZIL SAY
     With his "Istanbul Symphony", Fazil Say is displaying a great success that can only be experienced by a couple of remarkable classical music composers of our time. Say's piece, which has recently made its world premiere, received a 15-minute standing ovation from 1,700 people in Dortmund the other day.
 

HURRIYET
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     WE DEFEND TRUTH
     General Staff Chief Gen. Ilker Basbug and Land Forces Commander Gen. Isik Kosaner spoke to daily Hurriyet about the incidents in the eastern province of Erzincan. Basbug and Kosaner rejected each of the accusations listed in the indictment which also describes 3rd Army Commander Gen. Saldiray Berk as the number one suspect in Ergenekon.
     "This is the truth. We defend the truth and Berk. We have a special responsibility regarding him," Basbug said.
     Basbug also said that he could not get any information from the relevant authorities while Erzincan incidents took place.
    
     TARGET IS 30 BLN USD WITH AFRICA, GUL
     President Abdullah Gul, accompanied by a 210-member delegation, departed from Turkey for a formal visit to Congo and Cameroon yesterday.
     "I will attend a business forum meeting. Our goal is to increase our trade with Africa from 15 to 30 billion USD," Gul said.
    
     MILLIYET
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     LACK OF AFFECTION
     Muharrem Ince, rising star of the Republican People's Party (CHP), said that members of the main opposition party criticized each other constantly instead of showing respect. "CHP's problem stems from a kind of lack of affection. We need to stay away from crises since political crises serve the Justice & Development (AK) Party. We need to focus on the issue of unemployment," he said.
    
     'PULL-ASIDE' WITH ERDOGAN
     Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to go to the United States to attend a critical international summit on nuclear energy in Washington D.C. on April 12 and 13 after approval of a resolution on Armenian allegations by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs. During the summit, Erdogan is expected to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama with an informal formula called 'pull-aside'. Such mini-summits can last from 10 minutes to 45 minutes.
    
     SABAH
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     COLORFUL GATHERING
     Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Romany (Gypsy) people at Abdi Ipekci Sports Hall in Istanbul. Erdogan said, "I also grew up among you in Hacihusrev neighborhood in Kasimpasa. We will establish the future together." Romany people from Izmir, Aegean region, Edirne and Sarkoy came to Istanbul for the gathering. Erdogan said that there was no discrimination among Turkish, Kurdish, Laz, Circassian, Romany (Gypsy), Georgian, Bosnian and Albanian peoples. "Problems of all citizens living in Turkey are the problems of the Republic," he said.
    
     PRESIDENT GUL VISITING AFRICA
     President Abdullah Gul is paying a formal visit to Democratic Republic of Congo. Gul will later proceed to Cameroon as part of his tour of Africa. Gul said he considered Africa as Turkey's strategic partner, and he would meet high-level executives and his counterparts in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon.
    

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