Taraf: “PKK to lay down weapons in 6 months,” read the headline of a front-page article in the newspaper yesterday, which quoted remarks from Cevat Öneş, a former deputy undersecretary at the National Intelligence Organization (MİT). Speaking to the daily’s Neşe Düzel, he said the recent developments in Turkey (the government’s Kurdish initiative) show that the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) will lay down weapons within six months. “Both the internal dynamics of Turkey as well as regional dynamics make it essential for Turkey to have the PKK lay down weapons so that the path to democratization can be opened. The PKK has no chance of continuing its armed battle from now on,” said Öneş, adding that when the PKK lays down its weapons, the politics of Turkey will change.Milliyet: “Turkey to go to polls in 2010,” the daily said in the headline of a page one article yesterday, quoting remarks from pollster Adil Gür, who said Turkey will most likely hold an early election in 2010. He said the party best prepared for the elections will be the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). “I have been conducting research since 2002. There was a break in the trend of the AK Party in January 2008 [its popularity started to decline]. This trend is continuing. Despite this, it is the AK Party that is most prepared for an early election,” he said.
Yeniçağ: In its main story yesterday, the paper reported that an agreement signed by the foreign ministers of Turkey and Armenia on Saturday to restore diplomatic ties has cast a shadow over Turkish-Azerbaijani brotherhood and has led to disappointment among Azerbaijanis. It said the government signing a “surrender” agreement with Armenia resulted in a “cold shower effect” for the Baku administration. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry delivered a statement saying the move, which was made before the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, cast a shadow over Turkish-Azerbaijani relations, which have their roots in history.
