GOOD MORNING--TURKEY PRESS SCAN ON OCT 26

HURRIYET
--"IF NUMBER OF OUR VOTES DROPS, WE LEAVE"
Deputy Prime Minister and State Minister Cemil Cicek has pledged during the defense of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) at the closure case at the Constitutional Court that if number of their votes dropped during the upcoming local elections in March 2009, they would leave.

-- TOP U.S. COMMANDER IN IRAQ VISITS TURKEY
The top U.S. commander in Iraq has paid a visit to Turkey and held talks with Gen. Hasan Igsiz, deputy chief of the Turkish General Staff. The fight against terrorism was high on the agenda of the meeting. Gen. Ray Odierno said at the meeting that the PKK committed heinous crimes against the Turkish people. "There are things we can do now, in the short-term, to help protect the lives of innocent people, and we are committed to supporting our Turkish and Iraqi partners in this effort," Odierno added.
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MILLIYET
-- ERDOGAN CRITICIZES DTP IN TUNCELI
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized the officials of the Democratic Society Party (DTP) in eastern province of Tunceli on Saturday after his visit to this province was protested by the DTP. Addressing around 2,000 people in Tunceli, Erdogan said that "those who want tension do not care about production, democracy, and freedoms. Inciting people to uprise against the government is not a contribution to peace."
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-- TRILATERAL TRAFFIC AGAINST PKK
Turkey, the United States and Iraq are preparing a calendar in the fight against terrorist PKK organization. The Commander of the Multi-National Force in Iraq, General Raymond Odierno, had talks with the Deputy Chief of Turkish General Staff Gen. Hasan Igsiz in Ankara the other day. Turkey's Special Envoy to Iraq Murat Ozcelik and an accompanying delegation will visit Irbil next week and meet with the Prime Minister of the Regional Administration in north of Iraq Necirvan Barzani.
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SABAH
-- TWO TURKISH ENGINEERS KIDNAPPED IN AFGHANISTAN
Two Turkish engineers were kidnapped in Afghanistan's Khost state. The engineers were working for the Altinsan construction companies.

-- PM ERDOGAN INVITES ALL TO COMMON SENSE
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a call to all Turks in eastern province of Tunceli to common sense. "The people do not want tension but production. We are against religious nationalism," Erdogan stressed. Erdogan accused the mayor of Tunceli for acting with ingratitude after the Tunceli municipality removed banners from the province that read "Welcome to Tunceli".

VATAN
-- IMF SAYS TURKEY HAS A GOOD RECORD
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is revising its loan programs to make them better suited to members facing financial difficulties. Accordingly, the Fund will provide a credit line to countries effected by the global crisis. The immediate beneficiaries would be developing countries with good economic records such as Turkey, Brazil, and South Korea. The quotas of those countries will be increased by fivefold. If Turkey wants, it will be able to obtain a loan of 8.8 billion USD.
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-- THREE TURKS KIDNAPPED IN AFGHANISTAN
Three Turkish engineers have been kidnapped in Afghanistan. Identities of the engineers who were kidnapped from a construction site near the border region with Pakistan, were not revealed yet. Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, who is currently paying a formal visit to Afghanistan, asked Afghan President Hamid Karzai's assistance to find the missing engineers.
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CUMHURIYET
-- U.S. CONGRESS ADDS TURKEY'S EAST TO 'GHOST STATE'
A map prepared as part of a report by the Research Center of the U.S. Congress showed Turkey's south-east and east as part of 'Kurdistan'. The report referred to PKK terrorists as "guerillas". The report stressed that the regional administration in north of Iraq may declare independence. According to the report, Turkey would be against an independent Kurdish state in north of Iraq.
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-- TWO TURKISH ENGINEERS MISSING IN AFGHANISTAN
Two Turkish engineers were kidnapped in Afghanistan. The news on the two engineers were made public at about the same time Turkey's Foreign Minister Ali Babacan arrived in Kabul. The Taliban denied reports that it was involved in the kidnapping of the two Turkish engineers. According to the Taliban, the engineers may have been kidnapped by bandits.
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RADIKAL
-- SERIOUS ACCUSATION FROM ERDOGAN
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused the Democratic Society Party (DTP) to incite people to an uprising against the government and the Turkish state. "Inciting people to an uprising against the government and the state does not make any contribution to efforts to secure peace in this country," he said.
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-- BABACAN IN AFGHANISTAN
Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan is currently paying an official visit to Afghanistan. The news of kidnapping of two Turkish engineers came during his visit. The engineers were travelling on a road in the southeastern province of Khost on Thursday when they were seized by gunmen. Turkey has some 800 troops in Afghanistan, in and around Kabul, as part of NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

YENI SAFAK
-- ERDOGAN WARNS AGAINST ALL FORMS OF SEPARATISM
Chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that "we are all one and united, with Turks, Kurds, Lazs, Circassians, Georgians and Abkhazians. Our roof is the citizenship of the Republic of Turkey." Speaking at the congress of the AKP in eastern province of Tunceli on Saturday, Erdogan stressed that his party is against ethnic, regional and religious nationalism. "Everyone is free in their beliefs. We are at equal distance to all belief groups as a democratic, secular and social state of law. No one can divert us from such an understanding," Erdogan said.

-- BASBUG SUGGESTS THINK TANK
Chief of Turkish General Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug will attend Monday's Council of Ministers meeting and brief the ministers on the fight against terror. General Basbug suggested the establishment of a think tank organization to be a part of the Undersecretariat for Counter-Terrorism. The think tank organization would be a unit of the Turkish Interior Ministry.