World Bulletin / News Desk

Monday’s dailies covered Turkey’s ongoing anti-terror operations against the PKK in southeastern Sirnak province.

“PKK escaping from Cizre,” was YENI SAFAK’s headline.

The daily claimed that 128 terrorists were killed in the operations and 40 PKK members were executed by their own organization for retreating from fighting with Turkish security forces.

VATAN reported that a 70-year-old man, identified as Selahattin Bozkurt, was shot dead by PKK members because he did not allow them to use his home as a position.

The PKK – considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU – resumed its armed campaign in late July.

Since then, official figures indicate that more than 200 members of the security forces have been martyred and over 1,700 PKK terrorists killed in operations across Turkey and northern Iraq, including airstrikes.

Several towns in Turkey’s southeast have been put under curfew as Turkish security forces combat the PKK.

MILLIYET wrote that 11,354 tradesmen have been forced to close down their businesses in 21 eastern provinces over the last 10 months due to terror activities.

Turkish dailies also covered Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s speech Sunday during the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party’s youth wing congress.

Davutoglu was speaking in Ankara and said that: “We will forge a thick wall between terrorists and citizens” AKSAM reported.

The daily, also quoting Davutoglu, wrote: “We will not permit the PKK’s destabilization efforts in southeast region”.

SABAH ran the headline: “Demirtas playing with fire.”

The paper reported that Davutoglu criticized the intended Moscow visit of Selahattin Demirtas, the co-chair of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).

“Demirtas is visiting the countries which nearly declared war on Turkey” SABAH wrote, quoting Davutoglu.

CUMHURIYET’s headline was “Demirtas’ Moscow tour”. It reported that Demirtas’ visit to the Moscow capital will be on Wednesday to open the HDP’s Moscow representative office.

The daily also claimed that the HDP leader will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Demirtas had visited the U.S. in early December.

In other news, HURRIYET’s ran an extensive story in front page saying “the ghost city will be rebuilt”.

The paper claimed that the Turkish Contractors’ Association (TCA) has met with Turkish-Cypriot counterparts to make use of upcoming opportunities as a final settlement on the divided island becomes more likely.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’s annual investment budget is $137 million today; however it could have a $34 billion investment potential after the deal, the daily quoted TCA chairman Mithat Yenigun, as saying.

After Turkey’s 1974 peace operation to the island, the disputed enclave of kapali Maras (Varosha) had been closed to settlement by the United Nations.

Before 1974, Maras was popular with its long beaches, entertainment centers and luxurious hotels. Film starts had stayed there, such as British actress Elizabeth Taylor, HURRIYET wrote.

The areas has been a ghost town ever since the partition of the island.

In economic news, the Turkish press wrote on financial expectations for the New Year.

DUNYA said that the leading sectors in 2016 would be entertainment, tourism and automotives according to British magazine, The World in 2016.

The paper also claimed that export custom costs would decrease by 13% due to a Facilitating Trade agreement signed by the Turkish government in 2013 and presented to parliament to become law last week.

The agreement contains provisions for expediting the movement in international trade.