GOOD MORNING--TURKEY PRESS SCAN ON DEC 22

HURRIYET
-- FLOOD OF GOALS IN LAST DERBY MATCH
Galatasaray was the winner of the last derby match of 2008 that took place between Galatasaray and Besiktas. Galatasaray defeated Besiktas 4-2 in the game. Servet scored one and Baros scored three goals (two of them penalty shots) for Galatasaray. Delgado and Holosko scored Besiktas' goals. Galatasaray reached 33 points in the Turkcell Super League, while the number of goals scored by Baros reached 14.
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-- AKP TO GO ON WITH TOPBAS IN ISTANBUL
Premier Tayyip Erdogan announced that his Justice and Development Party (AKP) would go on with Kadir Topbas, the mayor of Istanbul. Erdogan said that Topbas was again AKP's candidate for mayor of Istanbul in the upcoming local elections due in March. Erdogan also said that Ibrahim Karaosmanoglu would also run for another term as mayor of Kocaeli in the elections.
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MILLIYET
-- "RECORDS OF PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS SHOULD BE DESTROYED"
Inclusion of records of some irrelevant private conversations in the indictment for the Ergenekon case has boosted a serious discussion. Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin said that the records in the file of the case should have been destroyed in line with the law.
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-- TOPBAS AGAIN
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has said that their candidate for mayor of Istanbul in the local elections on March 29, 2009, was again Kadir Topbas. The ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) candidate for mayor of Kocaeli would be the current mayor of the province, Ibrahim Karaosmanoglu.
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SABAH
-- 12 PROTECTIONS TO NEW TL
The new Turkish lira (TL) banknotes that will be in circulation as of Jan. 1, 2009 will be protected by 12 security measures. There will be writing on the new Turkish banknotes that changes when looked at from different angles.
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-- SHY PROGRAM FROM CHP
The Republican People's Party (CHP) reviewed its regulations and program, but did not take any steps regarding "clothing" and the "Kurdish issue". CHP chairman Deniz Baykal only gave messages of unity and solidarity.

VATAN
-- TURKEY TO PURCHASE HELICOPTERS FROM RUSSIA
Ankara will purchase attack helicopters from Russia after its request to buy Cobra and Super Cobra helicopters from the United States was turned down. Turkey will purchase 32 Mi-28 attack helicopters from Russia and pay some $1 billion to use them until Turkey and Italy co-produce the A-129 helicopters.
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-- TOPBAS FOR ISTANBUL AGAIN
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has revealed the names of two of candidates for the upcoming local elections. Kadir Topbas will run for mayor of Istanbul while Justice and Development Party's (AKP) candidate for mayor of Kocaeli is the current mayor of the province, Ibrahim Karaosmanoglu. The local elections will be held on March 29, 2009.
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CUMHURIYET
-- PAY ATTENTION TO TURKEY
The Washington Post has written that Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's chief advisor for foreign policy Ahmet Davutoglu's domino theory deserved careful attention from president-elect Barack Obama's team as it thinks about Middle East strategy. "As Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey's leading foreign policy strategist, explains the series of political choices that are ahead in the Middle East next year, he might be describing a row of dominoes. If they fall in the right direction, good things could happen. But if they start toppling the wrong way, watch out," the daily wrote.
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-- PHARMACISTS TAKE TO STREETS
Tens of thousands of people have converged to the capital city Ankara to attend a rally held by the Association of Turkish Pharmacists and 51 chambers of pharmacists to protest the changes in the law envisaging payment of medical examinations through pharmacists.
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RADIKAL
-- 2009 WARNING FROM EU
Olli Rehn, the European commissioner for enlargement, said 2009 would be a year when Turkey would undergo a real test on its road to European Union (EU) membership. Rehn warned Turkey about Cyprus and reforms, and said that Turkey used its energy on internal tensions instead of making structural and economic reforms on its road to the EU in 2008. Rehn said he hoped 2009 would be a year of a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus, and also said it was of utmost importance for the EU to see a solution in Cyprus. Rehn said that reforms in constitution, freedom of expression, religious expression, and freedom of language were of key importance.

Rehn said 2009 would be a year of real test for Turkey to show whether it was serious about its EU membership perspective, and expressed the union's expectation that Turkey would speed up its reform process and start making reforms seriously. Rehn said Turkey should start reforms no later than the local elections due in March.
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-- BUSINESS WORLD PESSIMISTIC ABOUT 2009
Ali Kibar, a member of the Executive Board of the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD), said preserving zero growth level in 2009 was a success. Tanil Kucuk, the chairman of the Istanbul Chamber of Industry, said the picture was dark whereas Murat Yalcintas, the chairman of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, said demand shrinkage would continue.

YENI SAFAK
-- FOLLOW TURKEY'S PATH
David Ignatius, one of the important writers of the Washington Post, said Barrack Obama should carefully examine the "domino theory" Turkey was implementing in the Middle East. Ignatius wrote about his interview with Professor Ahmet Davutoglu, the chief adviser to Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, in his column and defined Davutoglu as "the leading foreign policy strategist of Turkey." Ignatius wrote that Davutoglu was behaving with zero problem with Turkey's border neighbors and commented that Davutoglu was perfectly managing sensitive diplomatic initiatives between Syria and Israel. Addressing Obama, Ignatius drew attention to Turkey's initiatives in the Middle East.
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-- GULF CAPITAL FLOWS TO TURKEY
When international direct investments inflow to Turkey is taken into consideration, the investments inflow from Africa climbed to $82 million in the first nine months of 2008 over the same period of 2007. The inflow was only $5 million between January and September 2007. The inflow of Gulf capital rose from $278 million to $1.6 billion in the same period. Also, the investments inflow from Near and Middle Eastern countries was up from $207 million to $215 million.