Later the same day Ankara Anatolia reported the following also from Izmir:

R.B. who stabbed a priest in Izmir on Sunday said that he came to Izmir from Balikesir to learn about Christianity.

"I attended a rite in the church after which I got angry. Then, I stabbed priest Adriano Francini," R.B. affirmed.

R.B. is a construction worker and also works in his father's farm in western province of Balikesir.

R.B. told police that he conducted a research on Christianity on the internet and phoned the Saint Antuan Church in Karsiyaka town of Izmir.

"I came to Izmir upon an invitation by the authorities of the church. I observed the rite in the church. I got angry at remarks made by the priest and stabbed him all of a sudden," R.B. underlined.

The priest Adriano Francini is under medical care at the Aegean University Faculty of Medicine Hospital and is not in a life-threatening condition.

[13] Kurdish political party leader detained

Speaking to reporters before flying to Ankara, Nurettin Demirta had said he did not expect to be detained when he arrived in the capital. This would be an absurd situation, he said.

If there is an investigation about me, if my testimony is needed, then the authorities would hear my testimony. We heard about these claims only from the press. It was the press that wrote about this issue [of a legal investigation], he explained. Demirta also told reporters that Turkey s recent raid on terrorist bases in northern Iraq would not solve the problem. He expressed his opinion that the solution to the Kurdish question should be sought using democratic methods.

Demirta s legal troubles

Police last month arrested members of an illegal organization that provides fake medical documents to those who want to escape military service, and Demirta was allegedly one of their customers. If the claims are proven true, Demirta will have to perform his military service. But Demirta has repeatedly denied links to the criminal organization and he has said his medical report is genuine.

Demirta served 10 years in prison for membership in the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). He took over as the leader of the DTP two months ago, replacing Ahmet Türk, who was considered a moderate.

His party is currently faced with charges of nurturing ties with the outlawed PKK and the case, which is currently in the Constitutional Court, may lead to its closure.

EU officials have urged Ankara not to shut down the DTP but have also said that the party must distance itself from the terrorists of the outlawed PKK, who have in the previous month conducted deadly attacks on Turkish security forces and civilians in southeastern Turkey.

Demirta also faces criminal charges for his speech on World Peace Day on Sept.1, where he accused the military of employing chemical weapons in an operation to oust PKK terrorists from Uludere, ^1rnak, in southeastern Turkey.

[14] Turkish Foreign Ministry denies secret deal with US in 2003

Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) denied Monday the allegations that former Turkish and U.S. foreign ministers reached a secret agreement in 2003.

"When he was the foreign minister of Turkey, President Abdullah Gul had a meeting with then U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell in Ankara at the beginning of April 2003," the MFA spokesman told reporters.

The MFA said the meetings that took place in Ankara immediately after the Iraq War focused on humanitarian aid to Iraqi people, and Turkey's possible contributions to Iraq's reconstruction.

"Necessary statements were made to the press immediately after the meetings," the MFA spokesman told.

The ministry said Turkey allowed flights of multi-national air forces within the scope of related resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, as other UN member states did.

"In this context, claims that were published in the media that a secret agreement was made during these meetings are baseless. No secret agreement was made in these meetings," the ministry also said.

[B] COMMENTARIES, EDITORIALS AND ANALYSIS

[15] Columnist in Radikal assesse the Turkish Operation in N. Iraq

Winter and night-time are no longer a refuge for the PKK. Operations and the rehabilitation law are parts of the plan.

This is what you really call the surprise impact of the strike. Just when, because of the rehabilitation law and the winter conditions, the PKK was perhaps least expecting an operation, conducting a night operation in particular, by passing through a corridor that the United States had opened in Iraq, was a serious demonstration of strength, and of international cooperation.

What are the dimensions of the military losses dealt to the PKK as a result of the operation? At the moment, it is impossible to determine this in detail. But this is in any event of only secondary importance. The primary importance of yesterday's strike was its political and psychological impact. One can analyze this under three headings:

1 - The cooperation with the United States is real, and is producing results: Turkish military aircraft conducted a fierce operation for approximately an hour, hundreds of kilometers inside Iraq. This would not have been possible without the concurrence of the United States, which controls Iraq's airspace and military, and without its keeping the operational corridor clear. Persuading Baghdad and Arbil are included within this. This situation has to be seen, for instance, as being not much different from Mexico's carrying out an operation in the state of Texas, with the permission of the United States, in order to eliminate a threat against itself; that is how significant it is. The developments show that the meeting in the White House on 5 November between Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan and US President George Bush was truly a turning point. Including the military directly in the political process played a role in the cooperation's coming to life; from this standpoint, the person to be congratulated is Erdogan.

2 - Winter and night-time are no longer a refuge for the PKK. In the quarter-century-long struggle against the PKK, the winter months always meant a de facto cease-fire. And sometimes the PKK would declare "cease-fires," for propaganda purposes, in the winter months, which it used as months to withdraw and recuperate. Prior to the United States' Iraq operation, Turkish cross-border operations always took place in the spring, summer, and autumn months. The latest operation was the first one to be conducted 1) in the winter months, 2) under night-time conditions, and 3) against the PKK's headquarters at Qandil. As of yesterday, winter and night-time ceased being protection for the PKK. And Qandil is no longer safe.

3 - Both the operation and the rehabilitation law are parts of the plan: For winter, night-time, and Qandil to cease to be refuge for the PKK took place during a period in which the DTP [Democratic Society Party] has been making calls, both domestically and abroad, for the PKK to be taken as an interlocutor, in other words, during a period in which the PKK thought that it was strong. The movement also took place during a period in which Turkey has been debating the project to "bring [the PKK guerrillas] down from the mountains" announced by Prime Minister Erdogan. To date, these rehabilitation projects have always come up during the periods when the fighting has de facto stopped. Now, while on the one hand a milder form of politics is being pursued, the fierceness of the struggle against terrorism is being stepped up on the other. This could turn into an element that will really push low-level militants, in particular, to come down from the mountains. It is a new approach. The impression is growing stronger that the cross-border operation and rehabilitation project are components of the "comprehensive plan" that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced following her meeting with Prime Minister Erdogan in Ankara on 2 November.

What else does this comprehensive plan include? When the statements coming from the United States over the past few days are read in conjunction with the latest statements of Erdogan, [Foreign Minister Ali] Babacan, [General Staff Chief Yasar] Buyukanit, and Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek, one can antidipate that a number of additional legal, economic, and diplomatic steps will be forthcoming. For instance, can it be expected that, in the period ahead, the project discussed in the latest meeting of the Counter Terrorism High Council, headed by Cicek, for the PKK leadership cadre to be apprehended in the countries where they are located and then returned [to Turkey], will be stepped up? We will see.

But one should recall that the expression that best explains the framework of this comprehensive plan has in fact already been stated. This framework is the expression used by General Staff Chief Buyukanit in his 9 November press conference, that "a modern federation in Iraq is preferred." This was at the same time the expression that a Kurdish federation that does not include either the PKK or Kirkuk, and which accepts the central authority of Baghdad, will be accepted by Ankara. The basis of compromise that would make cooperation with the United States, Iraq, and probably the Iraqi Kurds possible is probably just this. And the credit for this step belongs to General Buyukanit.

Now it is time to see how this framework will be filled in.

[16] From the Turkish press of 17 December 2007

a) Operation in North Iraq: All the dailies report extensively on the operation, as follows:

"The air strike conducted against PKK camps in north Iraq in the dark of the night on Sunday is the result of long political and technical preparations," Taha Akyol writes in an article in Milliyet. This operation is part of a comprehensive plan, Akyol argues, and more operations can be expected. He stresses that Turkey received the approval of the United States and Europe for such cross-border operations, and that this was a heavy blow on the PKK.

Hurriyet's Ertugrul Ozkok announces that the operation proved that "Turkey is the greatest power of the region." In an article, the columnist argues that after this operation, the PKK will not cross the border again.

In an editorial in the Turkish Daily News, Yusuf Kanli says "the Turkish government is not only using 'carrots' but 'sticks' as well in its latest drive to marginalize the separatist terrorist threat, if not to totally wipe it out. It is as well clear that Turkey does not intend to postpone this push to the next spring, as many people were anticipating. We have to underline as well that besides Turkey's determination in this drive, the international climate is rather suitable... Turkey has told the gang that even Kandil mountains are within Turkey's reach and terrorists cannot enjoy safety anywhere. This fact of course will have a psychological effect both on the current members of the gang as well as those who might wish to join it. Now, there is an increased danger. The gang will have to take some perhaps totally irrational moves to overcome the psychological effects of the Turkish operation. Security forces and the military must take additional measures against this probability."

Under the banner headline "Swift Response to a Call from a Satellite Phone," Yeni Safak carries a front-page report which says that Turkish Armed Forces sent fighters and helicopters to northern Iraq to bombard four PKK camps after receiving an intelligence report that PKK leader had made a call from a satellite phone in a camp in Mount Qandil yesterday while Turkish artillery pounded possible escape routes of PKK guerillas.

In an article entitled "They Keep Using Methods Which Were Used in the Past 23 Years" Yeni Safak columnist Koray Duzgoren argues that there is no guarantee that military cooperation between Turkey and the United States will produce positive results even if it is assumed that yesterday's air strike was carried out by using intelligence provided by the United States, reminding that hundreds of Afghan, Iraqi, and British soldiers and civilians were killed as a result of friendly fire in Iraq and Afghanistan. Noting that the air strike was probably carried out for psychological purposes and it will not deliver a severe blow to the PKK, Duzgoren comments: "The question is why they are still using the same method employed in the past 23 years. Why are they hindering peaceful efforts to make use of opportunities for trying other methods?"

Under the banner headline "Midnight air Strike in Qandil," Zaman carries a front-page report which says that F-16 fighters equipped with Lantirn systems took off from a military airport in Diyarbakir at 1 A.M local time on Sunday to bombard PKK camps in Zap, Avasin, Hakurk, and Mount Qandil.

In an article entitled "The Fruits of the Agreement Concluded With the United States," Zaman columnist Ali Aslan says that the Turkish Government has done the right thing by launching an air strike to hit northern Iraq rather than a comprehensive ground operation which would entail serious military and political risks. He says: "The best option is to wait until popular support for the Democratic Society Party and the PKK totally erodes in the face of the rising popularity of the Justice and Development Party [AKP] without resorting to use of excessive force while putting an end to the 'good boys' regime which permits the use of illegal anti-terrorism methods like those witnessed in Semdinli."

In an article entitled "A Holiday Gift for the PKK," Bugun columnist Emin Pazarci points out that yesterday's air strike was carried out by taking advantage of support provided by the United States while Iraq's airspace was opened to Turkish fighters. He says: "This change will have significant psychological repercussions in both Turkey and northern Iraq. Support given by the United States to Turkey will discourage people from joining the PKK and its disintegration will accelerate. The PKK will come under stronger pressure if the Turkish Armed Forces takes some other unexpected steps in the coming days."

b) Islamization of Turkey : The world-famous pianist Fazil Say criticized Turkey for driffing towards Islamization. Mr. Say had recently said that he was considering leaving Turkey, given the current drift in the country toward a "darkness of the Middle Ages."

In an article in Hurriyet, Ahmet Hakan backs the pianist, accusing the Justice and Development Party, (AKP), government and its supporters of seeing themselves as "the real representatives of the people." The columnist goes on: "Under the guise of the people's values, these circles want to impose a single type of life and culture." They dismiss European art and the bourgeois culture that has developed in the country, Hakan laments. More than being Islamists, he adds, these circles are peasants who uphold and want to impose a peasant culture on everyone.

Columnist Mehmet Barlas argues that it is as unacceptable for Fazil Say to feel uncomfortable in Turkey, as it is for Fethullah Gulen not to be able to come and live in his country. In his commentary, Barlas says "what everyone needs are liberal and democratic sociopolitical conditions in Turkey, where the supremacy of law prevails, where basic rights and freedoms are upheld, where the individual and the state have equal rights, and where people do not feel to be under ideological or religious pressure."

Under the banner headline "You Should First Count These" Milli Gazete carries a front-page report which says that pianist Fazil Say, who has said that he could leave Turkey because the country is being ruled by the AKP, has not faced any restriction or coercion similar to those experienced by women wearing headscarf.

c) New Yok Chairman Headscarf: In an article entitled "YOK [Higher Education Council] Chairman Ozcan and Sezer Share the Same Opinion" , Vakit columnist Ihsan Karahasanoglu says that former President Ahmet Necdet Sezer dissented from a Constitutional Court ruling turning down an application for the annulment of a law stipulating that there may be no dress restrictions in universities in 1990 when he was serving as a justice in the Constitutional Court on the grounds that students could wear headscarf if the law was not abrogated. Karahasanoglu says: "The new chairman of YOK is keen to ensure compliance with an article of the law stating that there should be freedom of dress in universities which has not been annulled by the Constitutional Court. He, therefore, says that freedom of dress can be effectively ensured without amending the Constitution or enacting a new law. In my view, he is totally right."

In an article entitled "Is it a Second Tevhide Case?," Vakit columnist Abdurrahman Dilipak says that an anti-headscarf campaign has been launched in the wake of a report about an award presented to a high school student wearing headscarf during an official ceremony attended by Minister of Education Huseyin Celik and advises Islamists not to be involved in what he describes as a meaningless dispute characterized by demagogic arguments in order to avoid damage to their justifiable cause.

/PL

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