MIDEAST MIRROR 28.04.15, SECTION C (TURKEY & IRAN)

1-From today’s Turkish press

GOVERNMENT/GULEN TENSIONS: Oral Calislar claims that the Gulen movement is seeking to manipulate the judiciary in centre-left Radikal: "The [alleged Gulen-led] 'parallel structure' is organized inside the state, and it is still strong.  It is not possible for a political system to accept or legitimize such a structure. We cannot accept that a structure organized inside the state can do whatever it did in other court cases so as to save its own men under the guise of a 'legal act'. There will always be lawyers who have different political preferences, of course. They may include those who have sympathy for the religious [Gulen] community. But it is not normal for those who are members of the system to manipulate the judiciary for their own purposes."

Bulent Korucu calls for freedom for the judiciary in moderate, pro-Islamic, pro-Gulen Zaman: "One cannot talk about judges' security after the judges who issued the decision to release [Gulen prisoners] have been suspended from their duties, and have been assaulted by the supporters of the justice minister and the HSYK [Supreme Court of Judges and Prosecutors]. Can judges hand down rulings that will be disliked by the government? For example, can a judge, who is the head of an election council, confirm fraud without any qualms? If the answer is no, we should do something before it is too late."

Writing in the same paper, Sahin Alpay depicts a deliberate government campaign of distortion and cover-up: "First they [the government/ruling party] hid the millions they stocked in their houses and thus exonerated themselves, and then they stopped the biggest bribery and corruption investigation in republican history with nonsense about the 'parallel structure'; then, armed with the same nonsense, they set about nullifying the rule of law and the independent judiciary, step by step."

Mehmet Metiner accuses the Gulen Movement of an assault on the law in centre-right, pro-government Star: "The [U.S.-based] Gulen Movement’s leader gives orders and some people act. This is blind obedience. A civil servant runs to the scene on an issue that is not under his authority and usurps the authority of others. This is akin to supporting a coup. They [the Gulen movement] have been pursuing an open coup attempt against the legal system using the judiciary. This is a continuation of the December 2013 coup attempt [based on corruption and bribery claims against the government]. We are face to face with murder of the law."

Ali Bayramoglu portrays a defense of democracy in moderate, pro-Islamic, pro-government Yeni Safak: "With the attorney general’s refusal to release the [Gulen] prisoners, this farce has ended. But what does all this tell us? It is not about the intervention of the government in the judiciary, of course. On the contrary, what it tells us, is about the intervention of an informal structure; a group that is aggregated inside the judiciary and that uses the judges’ authorities in dispensing justice. Once again it has been revealed that this negative reality inside the judiciary continues to exist. There is no doubt that the measures that will be taken against it are equal to the continuation of democracy."

DISPUTE WITH CYPRUS: Murat Yetkin, blames the Turkish president for disturbing relations with the newly-elected president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in centre-left Radikal: "Calling for brotherly relations did not bring new TRNC President Mustafa Akinci any benefit. Similar to all other living creatures, he has also felt President Erdogan's lashings. Erdogan's general discontent about the events of recent weeks has gradually begun to be much more evident. This may be because there are no longer any advisors around him who are ready to appease him 'in a brotherly manner', or maybe because the June 7th election polls have not shown that he can secure a new constitution that will bring him the super presidency.”

Guneri Civaoglu detects the winds of change in centrist Milliyet: "The Mediterranean countries are tired of the status quo'.  Societies are fed up with politicians of the same ilk. The face of the status quo may change but the people’s problems are always the same. That is why, societies now want new and young leaders who do not look like the previous ones and are not representatives of the status quo. I think the winds of change have reached Cyprus as well.”

2-From today’s Iranian press

NUCLEAR TALKS: Conservative Resalat prepares for the blame game: "Republican senators have intensified their efforts to pass a bill empowering Congress to review any Iran nuclear deal, which can overshadow the negotiations and even lead to the failure of the talks. President Obama will no longer be able to decide with total authority on the final agreement and lifting of sanctions. If this happens, the U.S. should be held accountable for the failure of the talks." 

Hard-line Javan urges vigilance: "Apart from the difficulties that our negotiating team faces in the talks, such as preserving our red lines and ensuring national interests, they also have to deal with countries whose announced goals significantly differ from their hidden ones. The Supreme Leader's approach and peoples' support have already defeated the policies of the hegemonic system, but we cannot be indifferent to the gradual effects of the enemy's games, which comply with the demands of some domestic political activists." 

Conservative Siyasat-e Ruz reminds: "A number of individuals and groups do not believe in the Iranian nation's resistance to unwarranted U.S. demands. Over the past 35 years, Iran has been under serious sanctions imposed by America and its allies. But, we managed major achievements during that time. Our progress has angered and confused the U.S.; they do not know how to treat us anymore. Fellow Iranians should bear in mind that agreeing to American excessive demands would not allow us to continue with our progress." 

IRANIAN DIPLOMACY: Reformist Sharq acclaims soft power: "Amid disagreements and concerns about critics and different interpretations of the Lausanne statement, Iran's soft power in the region and the world is being felt. The accurate and timely stance over Saudi Arabia's attack on Yemen unveiled our soft power more than ever, at a time when no sign of Iranian military intervention or weapons has been found in Yemen." 

DOMESTIC POLICIES: Hard-line Keyhan is unforgiving: "After the American-Israeli post-election sedition of 2009, the deception and hypocrisy of the polluted current claiming reforms was unveiled. The ugly plot was exposed. They tried to spread the old U.S.-Israel-UK lie that the Islamic Revolution was a medieval and anti-Islamic movement like the Taleban and bloody and predatory like Saddam. That sedition is the most undeniable proof of treason by the current claiming reforms." 

ISIS: Reformist Arman is clear: "ISIS has no chance to survive without Saudi Arabia. The Saudis know well their role in corrupting the world. When countries like Iran act rationally, Saudis, who lack the necessary tools for rationality, become more isolated in the region and the world."

Centrist Jomhuri-ye Eslami puts Zionists and Arab reactionaries in the same bag: "ISIS and an-Nusra terrorists commit atrocities in Syria as desired by the Zionists. These atrocities have not been condemned by the reactionary Arab regimes; on the contrary, they tilt towards them and are even involved in backing the perpetrators with political, financial and media support." 

"DIRTY MONEY" IN ELECTIONS: Reformist E'temad targets corruption: "Since the Interior Minister started his revelations about dirty money, we witnessed harsh reactions from a number of MPs. The Minister's action was a brave and admirable move, but unfortunately some MPs have not realized the importance of this issue and instead of thanking the Minister and assisting the government to fight corruption, they are creating problems. The truth is that, unless state institutions try hard to combat such corruption, there will be concern that dirty money would not only create deep economic crisis, but would also bring about negative changes in the political system."

AFGHANISTAN: Conservative Hemayat revisits: "After the occupation of Afghanistan, the U.S. imagined that it would be able to completely change the country’s political structure, establish a new colony and sabre-rattle over Iran, Russia, China and India. The U.S./Afghan security pact of 2014 was to cover the failures of the U.S. invasion and to justify wrong policies. This pact is a betrayal of both the Afghan and American people and all the countries that participated in that unproductive war."

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