GOOD MORNING--TURKEY PRESS SCAN ON JULY 4

HURRIYET

--GLOCK PROVED TO BE CLEAN

A Glock gun, found in the office of Ankara Chamber of Commerce Chairman Sinan Aygun on May 8th, was proved to be clean at the end of a gendarmery criminal investigation. The ballistic investigation indicated that the gun was not used in any incident and it did not have a license.

Twenty-seven hand grenades, seized in a shanty house in Umraniye, Istanbul last year, were the most important evidence of the Ergenekon investigation. However, they were destroyed under a court decision because they could "explode."

--INDICTMENT RUMORS

The Ergenekon indictment is expected to be made public on Friday. However, there are rumors everywhere about the indictment. According to rumors, prosecutor Zekeriya Oz, who is carrying out the investigation, asked the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), General Staff and Security Department whether Ergenekon was a terrorist organization. MIT and Security Department said there was such an organization, whereas the General Staff said, "we do not know."

The indictment consisting of more than 2,500 pages, was prepared by paying attention to its language because it might harm the prestige of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). It used "so-called terrorist organization within the TSK" instead of "TSK-Ergenekon relationship."

MILLIYET

--DETAINED IN JUNE 2007, RELEASED IN JULY 2008

Kuddusi Okkir, a businessman who was detained in June 2007 for allegedly providing financial assistance to the Ergenekon gang, has been released after his condition deteriorated. Okkir, 60, was diagnosed with lung cancer during his detention in the northwestern province of Tekirdag.

His wife Sabriye Okkir said that she found her husband on a stretcher in a hospital suffering from both cancer and malnutrition.

--ALTINBAS ARRESTED, AKKOC RELEASED

Five out of 21 people who were arrested in the 6th wave operation of the Ergenekon probe have been transferred to the court. Tunc Akkoc of the Workers' Party (IP) was released by the court while Barbaros Hayrettin Altintas was arrested. Meanwhile, the arrestees were taken to medical control at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday night.

--PAKSUT: TRIAL COULD BE COMPLETED WITHIN 4-5 WEEKS

Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek and Deputy Group Chairman Bekir Bozdag have appeared in the Constitutional Court to present the ruling AKP's 200-page defense verbally. Osman Paksut, deputy chief judge of the country's top court, said that the trial could be completed within 4-5 weeks.

SABAH

--CICEK DEFENDS RULING AKP FOR 7 HOURS

State Minister Cemil Cicek said that the Chief Prosecutor first filed a case to close down Justice and Development Party (AKP), and he started to collect evidence afterwards.

"He wanted to put the court under pressure by unlawful allegations. The decision of the Supreme Court of Appeals regarding (Fethullah) Gulen's acquittal is an indicator of the Chief Prosecutor's unlawful stance towards the ruling AKP. The prosecutor has a problem with perceiving the party. We are the guarantee of secularism," Cicek said.

--SUMMER DUMPING IN INFLATION

As the prices of foodstuff decreased due to summer, the inflation rate dropped 0.36 percent. The annual inflation rate reached 10.61 percent. Moreover, civil servants will receive a marginal payment of 0.8 percent, it was reported.

VATAN

--I AM BEING THREATENED BUT WE HAVE LAUNCHED THIS PROCESS

When replying questions of some students visiting him, Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan made striking statements about Ergenekon investigation and recent detentions. Erdogan said, "the judiciary asked the executive organ to brief itself on the operation (Ergenekon). As MIT (the National Intelligence Organization) and Security Department are under my auspices, we gave the required information. The judiciary is independent, the prosecutor orders and the security department implements."

Erdogan said that his government had pioneered the process, and therefore they would be after it. The premier said that more people might be detained as the investigation proceeded.

--"SHARIAH ACCUSATION IS MEANINGLESS"

The ruling AKP defended itself verbally in the Constitutional Court regarding the closure case against it. Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek and Bekir Bozdag, the deputy chairman of the AKP group at parliament, defended the party for about six and a half hours. In their defense, Cicek and Bozdag said, "it is meaningless and baseless for the chief prosecutor to associate AKP with violence and to say that AKP aims at Shariah." The AKP executives also said, "the remarks showed as a reason for closure case in the indictment are views that can only be defined within the scope of freedom of thought." The court did not ask any questions to Cicek and Bozdag.

CUMHURIYET

--"WE ARE NOT ANTI-SECULAR"

State Minister & Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek and Deputy Group Chairman Bekir Bozdag have presented the ruling AKP's defense verbally at the country's top court. During the session at the Constitutional Court, Cicek and Bozdag advocated that the AKP was not the center of anti-secular actions.

--"TRIAL WILL END IN 6 WEEKS"

Osman Paksut, deputy chief judge of the country's top court, has said that the court would work to conclude the closure case against the ruling AKP in the shortest time possible.

RADIKAL

--CLOSURE CASE TO BE CONCLUDED IN 4 TO 5 WEEKS, PAKSUT

Osman Paksut, vice-president of the Constitutional Court, said that the closure case filed against AKP would be finalized in four to five weeks. The members of the court would not take vacations until the case was concluded, he said.

Paksut also said that rapporteur Osman Can would immediately start preparing his report on the merits of the case.

--COURT HOUSE PROCESS STARTS FOR DETAINEES

The interrogation and court house phases started in "Operation Ergenekon" yesterday.

After Cumhuriyet daily's Ankara representative Mustafa Balbay used his right to remain silent in front of the police, Kemalist Thought Association (ADD) head retired Gen. Sener Eruygur, editor-in-chief of daily "Halka ve Olaylara Tercuman" Ufuk Buyukcelebi and Nationalist Businessmen's Association (USIAD) chairperson Birol Basaran used the same right as well.

YENI SAFAK

--MOTHER OF BLOODY JULY IS SARIKIZ

Sener Eruygur and his team, who could not accomplish Sarikiz and Ayisigi interventions when he was commander of the gendarmerie forces, adopted the same plan to Ergenekon project that would take start with assassinations and bloody demonstrations on July 6th. Retired general Eruygur, the mastermind of action plans that would result in an intervention in the country after assassinations of prosecutors and provocative demonstrations in 40 cities, is using his right to remain silent in the interrogation.

Eruygur could not be successful in operation "Sarikiz" when he was the gendarmery general commander. His second attempt was operation "Ayisigi." He was dismissed from the army due to his intervention-supporting identity. This time, he tried to achieve his goal with operation "Bloody July".