Vatan: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he would write a letter to Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal to seek his support for the government's democratization initiative to solve Turkey's long-standing Kurdish problem. Speaking at a fast-breaking dinner he held for the editors-in-chief of newspapers on Thursday, Erdoğan said: “Esteemed Baykal refused to meet with me to discuss this issue. Actually, if he talks to us and gives us advice, we will negotiate with him and make the necessary corrections [in the government's democratization initiative]. But he refuses to do so. I will write a letter to the esteemed Baykal and if he says OK, I will meet with him. If not, this is something we will know and we will continue on our path,” said Erdoğan. Bugün: Unity of power in the Middle East, read the headline of a front-page article in the daily yesterday, which reported that Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu hosted nine Iraqi ministers in İstanbul on Thursday. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem also attended the meeting. Speaking at the beginning of the meeting, which was held in İstanbul's Çırağan Palace, Davutoğlu greeted the ministers saying, “welcome to your country.” “Our goal here is to ensure the economic integration of Turkey and Iraq in the most extensive way possible. With the projects we will realize from now on, we will link Basra and Edirne and the fates of Baghdad and İstanbul will be united,” said Davutoğlu.
Sabah: Who hid him, read the headline of the daily's main story yesterday, which featured a photo of Cem Garipoğlu, the prime suspect in the murder of Münevver Karabulut. Garipoğlu surrendered to police on Thursday after staying on the run for 197 days. İstanbul Police Chief Hüseyin Çapkın said there were 20 people who helped Garipoğlu to evade the police adding that the İstanbul Police will capture each and every person who abetted Garipoğlu. Garipoğlu was believed to be hiding abroad, with speculation focusing on Russia and Armenia. However, his surrender in İstanbul suggests that he might have never left the country after the murder. Indeed, sources say that he said in his initial interrogation he had not left Turkey over the past six months.
