Turkish dailies mostly covered in their Tuesday issues the developments in neighboring Syria, an e-education project (FATIH) initiated in Turkish schools on Monday and a Swiss investigation launched against Turkey's EU Minister Egemen Bagis for remarks made on the incidents of 1915.

Commenting on the developments in neighboring Syria, Hurriyet, Turkiye and Zaman dailies underlined that Syria was close to a civil war. The papers wrote that the Syrian military continued operations to crush the opposition. The dailies quoted Turkish President Abdullah Gul as saying "Syria is on a road with no return" while Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying "I strongly curse and condemn the Syrian government's attacks on its own people". Meanwhile, the United States shut down its embassy in Damascus on Monday permanently.

Dailies highlighted an e-education project, titled FATIH, that was initiated in Turkish schools on Monday. As part of the project, high schools around the country would be equipped with smart boards.

Also as part of the project, 12,800 tablet computers will be distributed in 52 schools in 17 provinces within a pilot scheme. -Movement of Enhancing Opportunities and Improving Technology-, abbreviated as FATIH, is among the most significant educational investments of Turkey. FATIH Project proposes that -Smart Class- project is put into practice in all schools around Turkey. With this project, 40 thousand schools and nearly 600 thousand classes will be equipped with the latest information technologies and turned into computerized education classes (Smart Class), thanks to FATIH project. FATIH project, estimated completion of which will be within 3 years, will cost approximately 3 billion TL. The 17 provinces as part of the pilot scheme are: Ankara, Balikesir, Bingol, Diyarbakir, Erzincan, Erzurum, Hatay, Istanbul, Izmir, Karaman, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Mersin, Rize, Samsun, Usak and Yozgat.

Dailies also drew attention to a Swiss investigation launched against Turkey's EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis for his recent remarks made in Switzerland on the incidents of 1915. Bagis had said that "it is a crime to deny the so-called genocide. The incidents of 1915 were not a genocide. Let the Swiss come and arrest me". The Swiss Ambassador in Ankara was summoned to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on Monday for an explanation. The Turkish MFA said that the Swiss investigation was "unacceptable". A law in Switzerland makes it a crime to deny Armenian allegations pertaining to the incidents of 1915.

AA