The General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces issued a statement on the prohibition of weekly press conferences. Referring to the statement, CNNturk reported that press conferences will now on be held when necessary. The press conference scheduled for January 8 was canceled.

The statement evoked varied responses in the Turkish society. The Government-military relations have recently been strained in Turkey as a result of the recent attempted murder of Turkish Vice-Prime Minister Bülent Arınç. Eight servicemen were detrained and later released after being questioned. At the detainees’ offices law-enforcers found documents containing personal information on the Turkish President and Prime-Minister. Investigation is going on.

T.P.