ISTANBUL
Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
The majority of Monday’s newspapers dedicated their front pages to Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s remarks at a major election rally of his ruling Justice and Development, or AK Party, in Istanbul.
“The square was not enough,” was YENI SAFAK’s headline, adding that Davutoglu had challenged his rivals with his “big Istanbul meeting”. The paper claimed more than a million people attended.
Featuring a front-page picture from the rally, the daily reported that Davutoglu arrived by helicopter.
STAR also featured a large photograph of Davutoglu and his wife Sare saluting the crowd.
The daily claimed that the crowd was more than two million. HABER TURK reported that it was announced from the rally platform that the crowd was around three million.
HABER TURK also said that in the square there was a banner reading: “We are all Morsi, we are all Asmaa,” a reference to Egypt’s first elected president, Mohamed Morsi, and Asmaa el-Beltagy – the 17-year-old daughter of a Muslim Brotherhood politician who was shot death during 2013 protests in Cairo.
VATAN reported that Davutoglu accused the opposition parties of having a “pro-coup mindset” and said that those who claimed that “AK Party symbolizes authoritarianism” were looking for a local Sisi – Egypt’s current president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi who overthrew Morsi in a military coup in 2013.
HURRIYET’s quoted Davutoglu’s speech in which he said three main opposition parties and “parallel gang” had come together to block the AK Party.
Turkish newspapers also covered President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s comments during a public rally in the country’s central Anatolian province of Kayseri.
“Europe remains silent,” was MILLIYET’s headline, a quotation from Erdogan.
The daily said that Erdogan slammed European countries, accusing them of reaming silent after an Egyptian court’s decision to impose the death penalty on Morsi.
“Europe and the West remain silent,” claimed Erdogan, according to the newspaper.
In economic news, DUNYA ran a news story about Turkey’s logistics sector. According to the daily, there are problems at border gate crossings across the country.
“Turkish export is stopped at the borders,” was the daily’s headline. The newspaper reported that some drivers had to wait at the country's frontiers for almost 15 days, making Turkish exports more costly.
