Here you'll find reports from the Turkish dailies, some stuff from international papers and anything else we think is relevant. Please remember that this is a country involved in a full scale guerilla war and not all the news is printed. Please comment.

Ankara is a lovely place to be as the afternoons start to draw out, the nights tend towards the balmy and the elections approach.

• Rumours Abound - Leaking of alleged statements allegedly made by Abdullah Ocalan while under interrogation continue to make the newspapers. We are being told that the PKK extorted funds from businessmen and entertainers and canvassed for support from foreign governments. These unsubstantiated statements make for excellent column fillers but they are raising concerns in the more responsible media about their effect on the forthcoming juduicial proceedings. 3/3/99

• Anti-Torture Group visits Apo - The first foreigners (well, maybe) to see imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan were a delegation from the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Turture. No news of their conclusions yet. 3/3/99

• Media restrictions - "Any kind of news or comment that could influence a viewer's opinion positively or negatively about a political party or candidate, and any kind of political advretisement or propaganda for financial purposes cannot be broadcast after the beginning of electoral restrictions". That covers quite a lot of ground. Interestingly enough political parties are avaoiding these restrictions by advertising in ways beyond the control of the radio and television authorities, the cinema is becoming a favourite. 3/3/99

• Sex-Change Op - Tabloid journalism rears its ugly head on these pages as we bring you the curious story of Cemile Aytuk. Ms. Aytuk, currently imprisoned for PKK related crimes has recieved permission for a sex change operation. The Justice Ministry considered Ms. Aytuk's claims that her experiences fighting in the mountain strongholds of the PKK had left her psychologically male and agreed that the operation should be funded by the Turkish Higher Education Board.3/3/99