Press roundup

Instead, it gave priority to the search for the missing pilots. According to journalists Deniz Zeyrek and Özgür Mumcu, this attack by Syria cannot be regarded as a cause of war and international law does not give Turkey the right of self-defense. Turkey is expected to write an informing letter to NATO and the UN, and will then seek compensation from Syria.

Star: “500 teachers being trained to teach in Kurdish,” read the headline of a first-page story covering how Professor Kadri Yıldırım, the head of Mardin Artuklu University's Institute of Living Languages, told the daily that his institute is training 500 teachers to start teaching the Kurdish language in the next academic year, which will start in September. Yıldırım said they are planning to start training 500 more teachers in February. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan previously announced that Kurdish will be offered as an elective language course in Turkish schools.

Taraf: “Secret organization within army carried out [Zirve] massacre,” headlined the paper's top story, reporting on an indictment into the Zirve massacre, in which three Christians were killed in 2007 at the Zirve Publishing House in Malatya. According to the story, the indictment states that the killings were conducted by the Turkey National Strategy and Mobility Department (TUSHAD), a secret organization established within the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) by retired Gen. Hurşit Tolon, the prime suspect in the Zirve killings case. The indictment also says that JİTEM, an illegal counterterrorism unit established within the gendarmerie, was also operating under TUSHAD.