TURKISH PRESS REVIEW ON MAY 21

Thursday’s dailies covered claims by the prime minister of an opposition 'tacit agreement' against his ruling AK Party.

TURKISH PRESS REVIEW ON MAY 21

World Bulletin / News Desk 

Turkish dailies on Thursday mainly focused on Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s remarks on Wednesday, accusing opposition parties of forming a united front against his ruling Justice and Development, or AK, Party.

“MHP and HDP made tacit agreement,” was HURRIYET’s headline quoting Davutoglu who was speaking at a meeting for provincial heads and mayors in Ankara.

Davutoglu was referring to the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

He was speaking in the aftermath of two simultaneous blasts which occurred at the HDP’s provincial centers in southern Mersin and Adana provinces on Monday.

HURRIYET reported Davutoglu accusing both opposition parties of issuing similar statements blaming the AK Party for the attacks.

Quoting Davutoglu, STAR said that the ideologically opposed MHP and HDP were in a “coalition.”

“We did not fall into these kinds of traps in the past and we will not do so now,” Davutoglu was quoted as saying.

Turkish newspapers also focused on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s remarks at a joint press conference with Mladen Ivanic, chairman of the three-man Bosnian Presidency in Sarajevo.

“‘President is Morsi, not Sisi’,” was YENI SAFAK’s headline, quoting Erdogan who was referring to Egypt’s first elected president Mohamed Morsi – ousted by current president Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi in a military coup.

On Saturday, an Egyptian court referred 122 out of 166 defendants – including Morsi – to the grand mufti to consider possible death sentences over charges of jail breaking and espionage.

“For me Egypt’s president is Morsi,” was SABAH’s headline. The newspaper reported that Erdogan criticized Western countries for not taking a stance against the Cairo court’s decision.

In other news, Turkish dailies also covered the latest developments in the attack on a young woman who was still in critical condition after being shot in the head in Turkey's southeastern Diyarbakir province.

VATAN quoted well-known Turkish singer Sibel Can, who helped 19-year-old Mutlu Kaya appear on a TV talent show: “I am the first one to have seen her in intensive care. I held her hand.”

“Good news from Mutlu,” said SABAH reporting that, according to Kaya’s doctor, her condition was improving.

On Tuesday, police detained three people, including Kaya's boyfriend. Another person who was taken into custody was later released.

In economics news DUNYA reported Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan’s remarks about an ongoing autoworkers’ strike across Turkey as employees protest over salaries.

In an interview with a private TV station, Babacan said that the timing of these expanding strikes is remarkable as the country is on the threshold of a general election.

“When these issues came to the fore suddenly with no reason, two to three weeks ahead of elections, naturally it raises doubts,” he said.

Güncelleme Tarihi: 21 Mayıs 2015, 10:59
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