Cablegate: Ankara Media Reaction Report

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DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EUR/SE, EUR/PD, NEA/PD, DRL
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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR TU
SUBJECT: ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2006

In Today's Papers

Article 301 Controversy Continues
All papers: On Tuesday, the Turkish Parliament held an
extraordinary session to discuss EU adaptation bills including
Article 301 of the penal code, under which author Elif Safak is to
appear before an Istanbul court on Thursday for "insulting
Turkishness" in her new novel. Milliyet and Radikal say the ruling
AK Party is divided on Article 301 with Foreign Minister Gul and
chief EU negotiator Babacan saying the article should be revised and
Justice Minister Cicek insisting there is no need to rush to change
the law. "We are for the free expression of non-violent ideas," Gul
stated. Gul was also quoted as saying article 301 had become a
source of trouble. Prime Minister Erdogan agrees with Cicek and
some other cabinet ministers that Turkey should wait to see the
implementation of the controversial article before taking new steps.
The influential business organization TUSIAD had earlier called in
a report for a change to Article 301. Radikal reminds that during a
visit to Brussels on September 9, Minister Babacan had promised to
amend the article if necessary. AKP lawmaker Irfan Gunduz said a
regulation for amending Article 301 could be sent to the parliament
in October.

The Turkish translators of American writer John Tirman's "Spoils of
War: The Human Cost of America's Arms Trade," also faces trial for
infringing Article 301. The publisher of the book, Fatih Tas, had
also been on trial for insulting Ataturk, the founder of modern
Turkey, as well as denigrating Turkishness, the republic and the
parliament. The prosecutor demands prison sentences up to three
years for translators Lutfi Taylan Tosun and Aysel Yildirim.
Amnesty International's Turkey coordinator Claude Edelman said the
lawsuit was "unprecedented."

Commentator Ismet Berkan writes in the liberal-intellectual Radikal
that Turkey is in dire need of "changing mentalities before changing
laws": We have to realize that the essence of the issue is about
freedom of speech where nobody will face prison just because he or
she expressed an opinion. The Turkish government presents a
stubborn attitude on this issue which does not indicate anything
positive for the future."

Bush Slams Iran in Address to UN
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Cumhuriyet, Radikal, Zaman and others
report President Bush renewed his attacks on Iran and defended
American action in the Middle East in a speech he delivered at the
UN General Assembly yesterday. Bush accused Iran of developing
nuclear weapons and sponsoring terrorism. Bush told the Iranians
that their government was the greatest obstacle to "a future of
liberty, prosperity, and warm ties with the United States."

International Automobile Federation (FIA) Fines Turkey $5 Million
Sabah, Aksam, Vatan, Bugun, Zaman and others: Turkey's Grand Prix
organizers were fined yesterday a record $5million by the Formula
One racing governing body for letting Turkish Cypriot President
Mehmet Ali Talat present the winner's trophy at last month's race.
At the ceremony, Talat was introduced as the President of the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), an entity recognized
solely by Turkey. Sabah says that the fine should be paid by those
who suggested using the F1 for a political show. Now, all eyes
turned to Turkish Union of Chambers (TOBB) chairman Rifat
Hisarciklioglu who had organized the ceremony and promised to pay
the fine after the criticism.

Iraq Names Special Envoy for Countering the PKK
All papers report that Iraq has appointed a special envoy for
countering the PKK. The Iraqi Ambassador to Turkey presented a note
to the Foreign Ministry yesterday notifying Ankara that Iraq has
appointed a special envoy. Vatan, Bugun and others report that
Baghdad appointed Sunni retired General Amir Ahmed Hassun as special

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envoy. Ankara, reportedly, was pleased with the appointment.

Greece Leaves Illegal Immigrants in Turkish Waters
Hurriyet reports in a banner headline story that in May, a Turkish
coastguard helicopter caught red-handed a Greek coastguard boat
shoving overboard six Afghan immigrants off the Aegean town of
Ayvalik in Turkish territorial waters. The immigrants, left on the
sea without shovels, were seen as trying to steer with their hands
the lifeboat toward the Turkish shore. In footage taken in July
2004, another Greek coastguard boat was seen by the Turkish
coastguard leaving a boat full of 35 immigrants in Turkish
territorial waters, according to Hurriyet.

Editorial: The Politicization of Religion
The chief editor of mass appeal Sabah, Mehmet Barlas commented:
"Turkey has come to understand the politicization of Christianity,
especially after the controversial remarks of the Pope. His remarks
not only provoked an international reaction but also proved that
political Islam, which we always considered a threat to
secular-democratic system, was not alone -- the Pope represents
political Christianity. In addition to the Pope, we can see clear
traces of political Christianity in the world as President Bush
represents strong Evangelism. Turkish opinion makers generally
acted with prejudice by thinking Christianity was exempt from
politicization. Recent incidents are very obvious examples
demonstrating the fact that Christianity is not free from political
ideology."

TV Highlights
NTV (7 A.M.)

Domestic News

- Turkish Justice Minister Cemil Cicek maintained the government was
not planning to change the controversial Article 301 of the penal
code.

- Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul met Greek counterpart Dora
Bakoyannis in Istanbul to discuss the confidence-building measures
adopted in May.

- Turkey's Diyanet-Sen labor union of clerics has filed a request to
launch legal action against Pope Benedict XVI and to arrest the
pontiff during his visit to Turkey in late November for defaming the
Prophet Muhammad in a speech earlier last week.

- Energy Minister Hilmi Guler, testifying at the Supreme Court in
connection with charges of irregularity against former energy
ministers Zeki Cakan and Cumhur Ersumer, accused the two of
inflicting losses on the public sector.

- Abdullah Demirbas, a district mayor in the mainly Kurdish city of
Diyarbakir, has been acquitted in a lawsuit for making terrorist
propaganda in a report on "local administrations in the light of a
multilingual population" presented to the European Social Forum.

- Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality destroyed a mosque illegally
built overnight by the residents of the Gaziosmanpasa district.

International News

- UNSYG Annan warned that Iraq is in danger of sliding into a
"full-scale civil war".

- Greece is rewriting its history schoolbooks in an effort to fight
chauvinism.

- The Taliban has announced they had killed a Turk abducted last
month after the construction company he worked for ignored an

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ultimatum to leave Afghanistan. Independent sources did not confirm
the killing.

- The European Commission said it is delaying the release of Turkey
Progress Report by two weeks, until November 8, with an aim to give
Ankara time to carry on with adjustment reforms.

- A report released by the Council of American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR) shows racism in the United States was up 29.6 percent from
last year. The report depicts 1,972 cases of anti-Islamic violence,
discrimination and harassment, the highest number ever recorded in
the country.

Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at

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

WILSON

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