Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Licence needed for work use Learn More

Search

 

Cablegate: Ankara Media Reaction Report

VZCZCXRO1222
OO RUEHDA
DE RUEHAK #5109/01 2481336
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 051336Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8404
RUEKJCS/CJCS WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC//PA
RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU
INFO RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS 7403
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 1199
RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 1059
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 5418
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 5133
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1777
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 03 ANKARA 005109

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
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2006


In Today's Papers

Turkish Parliament to Discuss Joining Lebanon International Force
All papers report that the Turkish Parliament will discuss and vote
in an emergency session on Tuesday the government motion concerning
participation of Turkish troops in the international peacekeeping
force for Lebanon. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul will address the
lawmakers to defend the motion. Zaman reports Gul as saying that
the Turkish military supported troop deployment. Gul asked
yesterday in an interview on the all-news broadcaster NTV why Turkey
should not participate in the international force when Spain and
Italy, countries which have already pulled out of Iraq, are sending
troops to Lebanon. Cumhuriyet reports the military believed the
preparation and training of troops would take at least one month.
Prime Minister Erdogan reassured that the Turkish troops will not be
involved in the disarming of Hezbollah in Lebanon. Erdogan stressed
that Turkey will pull back troops if it is asked to participate in
an effort to disarm various militia groups in the country.
Opposition parties and NGOs are to hold a mass rally in Ankara today
to demonstrate against the deployment as the parliament continues
discussions. The NGOs and the main opposition CHP have been
maintaining a strong campaign against the deployment, claiming that
Turkish soldiers would be forced to engage in clashes with the
Hezbollah guerrillas. Turkish opposition claims safety guarantees
are not yet in place. UNSYG Kofi Annan is due in Ankara on Tuesday
evening for talks with Turks on Wednesday. Papers expect some 30
AKP MPs to vote against the motion, a number not sufficient to
reject the bill in the 550-seat parliament in which AKP holds an
absolute majority. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, who generally
vetoes such controversial bills coming from the AKP, has no right to
do so with the troop deployment motion. Papers also expect some
1000 Turkish soldiers to serve in Lebanon under the UN mandate for a
year.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Editorial Commentary on Lebanon Troop Deployment
Sami Kohen writes in the mainstream Milliyet: "The vote in the
Turkish parliament is not only going to determine whether Turkey
should send troops to Lebanon but also will shape the course of
Turkey's foreign policy. The government predominantly seems in
favor of sending troops while the opposition as well as political
groups and NGOs are against it. Recent public surveys also indicate
a similar tendency with approximately 80 percent giving saying 'no'
to participation. All of this indicates that even if the government
manages to pass the motion, the execution of this decision will not
be very easy due to harsh criticism and accusations. The government
should think about postponing the decision process in light of
popular opposition and its potential reflection in the
implementation process."

Asli Aydintasbas defends the motion in the mass appeal Sabah:
"Sending troops to Lebanon will bring prestige to Turkey and also it
will give Turkey a say internationally. Turkey strives to be a
regional player and a big state. Big states cannot stay aloof to
problems in their backyards. It is also important that both
Hezbollah and Israel are favorable to Turkey sending troops. Ankara
has already made it clear that disarming Hezbollah is not going to
be the Turkish army's job. The reasons for not sending troops are
not justifiable especially when the EU is participating in the
peacekeeping mission with 7000 soldiers. In the end, there are
certainly disadvantages, but the advantages are strong enough to
justify that Turkey has to be there. The parliamentary motion should
be adopted."

Guneri Civaoglu observes in the mainstream Milliyet: "There is a
vast majority, including the US, Israel, the UNSG, Islamic countries
and Lebanon, with the exception of Armenian community, who want to
see Turkey's participation in the peacekeeping force. The Turkish
army has assumed many missions abroad, from Kosovo to Somalia to
Afghanistan, achieving many humanitarian and peace-oriented
missions. If the army is goes to Lebanon under a well-defined

ANKARA 00005109 002 OF 003


mission plan, Ankara will have a stronger hand vis-`-vis the
international community. It will also help Turkey make arguments
about the devastating PKK terrorism to the US and others. As for
the comparison with the March 1 [2003] parliamentary motion on the
Iraq war, things are different at the moment. March 1 was asking
the Turkish army to on a foreign mission on the eve of a war, while
this motion is in support of ceasefire and peacekeeping mission."

Erdogan 'Indifferent' to Suffering of Families of Terrorism Victims
All papers: Addressing a crowd at a ground breaking ceremony in the
western Turkish city of Balikesir, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan
said in response to shouts from the crowd protesting a recent
killing of conscripts in the southeast by the PKK that the fight
against terrorism was a long-term campaign that inevitably would
claim lives. "The military is no place for soldiers to be idle and
do nothing. Turkish parents used to send their children to the army
telling them to get martyred if necessary," Erdogan stated. Radikal
says Erdogan later tried to soften his words by saying that military
compounds were different from tourist facilities and that military
service involved risks. "It is not easy to become a martyr,"
Erdogan said. Mainstream papers strongly criticize the PM for being
indifferent to the grievances of the people.

Critical Turkey Report from the European Parliament
Cumhuriyet, Hurriyet, Radikal, Sabah and others: The Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament (EP) adopted the report
on Turkey's progress towards accession on Monday. The committee
added some paragraphs to the report which include harsher language
against Turkey. The draft report criticized a number of issues,
including Cyprus, a slowdown in the EU reform process, the situation
in the southeast, problems with religious minorities, cultural
rights and civilian-military relations. The EP, in the report,
reiterated its call to Turkey to recognize so-called Armenian
genocide prior to its full EU membership. The report claimed that
Turkey committed genocide against Pontus Greeks and Assyrians in
addition to Armenians.

Imam's Murderer Lynched at Ismailaga Mosque in Istanbul
All papers (today and yesterday): An angry group of worshippers
lynched a man at the Ismailaga Mosque in Istanbul's conservative
district of Fatih, minutes after he stabbed a retired imam during
religious debates. Both the Imam, Bayram Ali Ozturk, and the
attacker, Mustafa Erdal, were killed in the incident on Sunday
morning. Although autopsy reports confirmed that Erdal was lynched,
and the Ismailaga religious community, on their internet site,
reported that they lynched Mustafa Erdal, police did not detain
anyone in connection with the killing of Erdal. Moreover, they
announced that Erdal committed suicide. Yesterday's Hurriyet
reported that the Ismailaga sect is one of the most radical groups
of the Naksibendi religious sect and linked to the Islamic terrorist
group IBDA-C. This is the second attack on an imam inside the
mosque, as in 1998 another imam was shot dead while preaching to a
group, Hurriyet adds.


TV Highlights
NTV (8 A.M.)

Domestic News

- At least 10,000 attended the funeral of a Turkish soldier killed
in fighting with the PKK militants in the mainly Kurdish
southeastern province of Diyarbakir.

- The Turkish General Staff (TGS) said it captured the defector
accused of causing the killing of Turkish soldiers in the Hakkari by
informing to the PKK the positions of troops in the
southeastern border province.

- President Kurmanbek Bakiyev of Kyrgyzstan arrived in Ankara on

ANKARA 00005109 003 OF 003


Monday as the official guest of President Ahmet Necdet Sezer.
Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha will pay a visit to Turkey on
September 5-6.

- International investor Morgan Stanley has predicted the year-end
inflation in Turkey will stand at 9.2 percent with the country's
economy showing signs of normalization.

International News

- United Nations Secretary General Annan stated Israel and Hezbollah
have agreed to have the UN act as a go-between in the dispute over
the abduction of an Israeli soldier which sparked a month-long war.

- Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, visiting Pakistan as the
official guest of President Musharraf, secured the backing of
Islamabad concerning the removal of international sanctions on
Turkish Cyprus.

- Britain's Independent said President Bush's policy of using
excessive military force to fight fundamentalism seems to have
backfired, spawning an epidemic of global terrorism.

Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at

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

WILSON

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
World Headlines

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.