Turkish Press Review

The Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.



The majority of Tuesday's newspapers dedicated their front pages to reactions after Sunday's boat tragedy in the Mediterranean plus Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's statement offering his condolences to the grandchildren of Ottoman Armenians who lost their lives during World War I.



MILLIYET ran the headline: "Europe is ashamed" reporting that the disaster in the Mediterranean "awakened Europe, which has remained insensitive to the death of migrants so far." The paper also ran a mocked-up image, showing all the EU leaders in one boat.



On its front page, STAR wrote: "Humanity is sinking, Europe is watching," while a HURRIYET report claimed that 300 people had been locked in the storeroom of the doomed ship, citing a survivor.



Many newspapers also covered PM Davutoglu's statement offering condolences to the grandchildren of Ottoman Armenians who lost their lives during World War I.



His comments came in a written statement Monday in which he said the deaths of Ottoman Armenians would be commemorated on April 24 in Turkey in a religious ceremony to be organized by the Armenian Patriarchate.



Referring to Davutoglu's statement, MILLIYET's headline read: "Condolences to Armenians," while VATAN wrote on its front page: "We remember them with respect."



"We remember the innocent Ottoman Armenians with respect and convey our condolences to their grandchildren," the prime minister said in a statement.



"Our common responsibility as the grandsons of two different peoples who shared the same joy and sorrow, is to relieve the pain of the past century and rebuild our humanitarian bond," Davutoglu added.



President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's condolences message last April to Armenians who lost their lives during the 1915 events was the first of its kind from a high-ranking Turkish official.



In sports news, Turkish basketball heavyweights Fenerbahce Ulker's victory against Israel's Maccabi Electra made the back pages.



On Monday night, Fenerbahce Ulker beat Maccabi Electra 75-74 in the overtime of the playoff series' third match in Tel Aviv and qualified for the final four phase in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague for the first time.



SABAH ran the headline: "Fenerbahce wrote history in Israel," while HURRIYET described the win as a "historic success." Similarly, VATAN wrote: "Fenerbahce's festival," running a photo of the players celebrating the win. 



The Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four will be held in Madrid between May 15 and 17.



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