Turkish press review

Turkish dailies covered Friday details of a court ruling on the coup plot case 'Ergenekon,' the lifting of Twitter ban and President Abdullah Gul's comments on the micro-blogging site. The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy."Ergenekon planned coup for three prime ministers," said daily STAR, adding, "The Turkish court presented its [detailed] verdict with evidence, showing plans of a coup against Ecevit, Gul, and Erdogan's governments."  Similarly, daily RADIKAL said: "Three governments were going to be toppled," while YENI SAFAK headlined, "Ergenekon exists, their target was the government."The Ergenekon investigation dates back to an incident in 2007 when a cache of explosives was found in the home of a former military officer; this was tied by state prosecutors to what they claimed was a much larger conspiracy. The probe led to the arrest of some 200 people, including senior military officers.Most Turkish dailies also covered the removal of a two-week block on the social networking site Twitter on their front pages. "Twitter is free," says daily HURRIYET, saying "After the Constitutional Court's decision on Twitter, the ban was removed."Daily ZAMAN said, "Blue bird is free," while daily MILLIYET said, "Delayed freedom." Daily RADIKAL headlined, "Same for YouTube," calling for the lifting of restrictions on the popular video-sharing website. YouTube was blocked on 27 March following the leak of a top security meeting of Turkish officials on the website.Turkish President Abdullah Gul also voiced his happiness over the court's decision on the Twitter ban. According to YENI SAFAK, Gul told press members accompanying him to Kuwait that the Constitutional Court's decision is no surprise for him. "The Internet law was aimed to block a particular web page, and not the entire website. We need to trust public institutions so that we can uphold the rule of law in this country," said the Turkish president.Gul also remarked on corruption allegations and Turkey's European Union process. "Four critical messages," said daily ZAMAN, referring to Gul's remarkstopressmembers."Corruption allegations should be investigated thoroughly," the daily quoted Gul as saying. He also stated that the aim should raising the level of Turkey's democracy to European standards.Gul also voiced his stance against regional autonomy, a demand raised by members of the Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party. "That demand is not in line with Turkey's realities," Gul said.