Cablegate: Ankara Media Reaction Report

VZCZCXRO0429
OO RUEHDA
DE RUEHAK #5016/01 2431448
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 311448Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8291
RUEKJCS/CJCS WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC//PA
RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU
INFO RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS 7397
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 1179
RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 1047
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 5414
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 5128
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1770
RUEUITH/DET 1 39LG ANKARA TU
RHMFIUU/USDOCO 6ATAF IZMIR TU
RHMFIUU/39OS INCIRLIK AB TU
RHMFIUU/AFOSI DET 523 IZMIR TU
RHMFIUU/39ABG INCIRLIK AB TU
RHMFIUU/AFOSI DET 522 INCIRLIK AB TU
RUEUITH/AFLO ANKARA TU

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 005016

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EUR/SE, EUR/PD, NEA/PD, DRL
JCS PASS J-5/CDR S. WRIGHT

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR TU
SUBJECT: ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT
THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 2006

In Today's Papers

Victory Day Celebrations
All papers reported that the 84th anniversary of Victory day was
celebrated yesterday throughout the country, in the Turkish Republic
of Cyprus (TRNC) and in Turkish communities throughout the world.
The new Chief of General Staff General Buyukanit hosted a reception
at the Gazi Orduevi. Milliyet reports that, at the reception, Land
Forces Commander General Ilker Basbug told journalists that acts of
the PKK terrorist organization would not stop all at once and that
its financial sources should be cut off. He ruled out issuance of a
general amnesty. Responding to a question regarding the US
assigning a PKK coordinator, Gen. Basbug said that '"Turkey and the
US are still not on the same page regarding the separatist
organization. This issue has not shaped up yet, be patient. In the
coming days it will become clear. One should not kill every step
right at the beginning. Developments should be evaluated." Aksam
reports that at the reception, General Buyukanit, Prime Minister
Erdogan and Foreign Minister Gul discussed troop deployment to
Lebanon. Yeni Safak quotes US Ambassador Ross Wilson as saying at
the reception that the PKK will not be taken as an interlocutor and
it is out of question that Special Envoy Ralston would sit at the
same table with the PKK.

Parliament to Vote for Troop Deployment on September 5
Hurriyet, Sabah, Milliyet, Yeni Safak, Cumhuriyet and others:
Today's papers report that the AKP Government is expected to forward
the motion for troop deployment in Lebanon to the Parliament today.
Sabah reports that the motion will not mention the number of troops
but will note that Turkish troops will stay in Lebanon for one year.
The motion will be taken to the parliament general assembly on
Tuesday, September 5, on the same day UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan comes to Turkey. Cumhuriyet reports that EU sources told the
paper that Turkey's active military and political role in Lebanon
would have positive impact on its EU entry process.

Praising the decision to deploy troops, columnist Cengiz Candar
commented in the conservative Bugun: "Of all the participants in the
peacekeeping forces, Turkey holds a unique position, carrying with
it every justification for its involvement in the force. Besides
being a part of the Mediterranean, Turkey is a part of the NATO
collective security system as well as a part of the transatlantic
system. In other words, given all of these characteristics, Turkey
cannot simply say 'Lebanon is not my business.' By moving forward
on the deployment of troops in Lebanon, Turkey has positioned itself
with a global dimension which it really deserves. Unless you are an
archaic leftist, an Islamist, obsessed with political Islam's
victory in the Middle East, or are a rigid nationalist, there is no
need to be disturbed by the decision to send troops."

US Assistant Secretary Dan Fried Comments on Terrorism
Milliyet reporting on an interview conducted by CNN-Turk, writes
that US State Department Assistant Secretary Dan Fried urged Masoud
Barzani to end the PKK presence in Northern Iraq by saying that "it
is the responsibility of the Kurdish Administration in Iraq not to
allow PKK to take shelter on its soil, nothing can justify this."
Fried also said that Turkey will notice soon an increased
coordination and precautions on the PKK issue.

US State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey on PKK and Special
Envoy
Sabah, Yeni Safak, Zaman and others: Speaking at the Daily Press
Briefing, the US State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey said
that the US has long considered the PKK a terrorist group and
underlined the importance of coordination to eliminate the PKK
threat by saying that it is something that "requires work by all
parts of our governments, not only from the political or diplomatic
side, but also from the side of coordination among our security
forces. General Ralston is very well qualified both to work the
political aspects of this as well as the security dimensions of the

ANKARA 00005016 002 OF 002

problem." Responding to a question whether US Special PKK envoy
Ralston would hold talks with the PKK, spokesman Casey said that the
special envoy will coordinate efforts between the US, Turkey and
Iraq and that it was "out of question for us to hold talks with the
PKK or any other terrorist organization."

Columnist Mustafa Balbay of the leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet
remains skeptical about the appointment: "Despite reassuring
statements from Washington, the real life situation of the PKK
indicates more difficult days ahead for Turkey. First of all, the
US is well aware of the fact that the PKK is a primary force in
northern Iraq even stronger than the Barzani and Talabani forces.
The PKK will not take orders from them. The actual coordination
process will lead to a negotiation with the Iraqi administration
which will turn into making contact with the PKK one way or the
other. There is another significant development following the
announcement of the US special envoy on the PKK. The PKK is very
pleased with the appointment because it hopes to sit at the table
with Turkey. And who provides such hope you may wonder? The US."

TV Highlights
NTV, 7.00 A.M.
Domestic News

Q NGOs in Turkey ready to stage protests against government decision
on troop deployment in Lebanon
Q Tensions escalate during August 30 celebrations in Istanbul when a
group of activists, attempting to protest the government decision to
send soldiers to Lebanon, are mistaken by the crowd for PKK
sympathizers
Q One person was injured in explosion in a rubbish container in
Mersin

International News

Q UN Secretary General Kofi Annan demanded yesterday that Israel
lift its air and sea blockade of Lebanon, but Israel rejected the
call
Q 53 people die in bomb attacks in Iraq.
Q Five Palestinians died in a continuing Israeli offensive in the
Gaza Strip

Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at

http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/

WILSON

© Scoop Media