Cablegate: Ankara Media Reaction Report

VZCZCXRO5331
OO RUEHDA
DE RUEHAK #6213/01 3041527
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 311527Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9747
RUEKJCS/CJCS WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC//PA
RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU
INFO RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS 7555
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 1556
RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 1285
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 5539
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 5255
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1918
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 006213

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, OCTOBER 31, 2006

In Today's Papers

Turkey's EU Bid
Sabah, Hurriyet, Milliyet, Cumhuriyet and others: Hansjoerg
Kretschmer, outgoing head of the European Commission Delegation to
Turkey, said on his last day of duty that although the Turkish
Government wants to keep up with the reform process, the military is
resisting. Speaking to CNN-Turk, Kretschmer touched on crucial
issues in Turkey's path, such as the deadlock on Cyprus, the reform
process and military-civilian relations. On the Cyprus deadlock,
Kretschmer stated that if Turkey insists on not opening its ports
and harbors to the Greek Cypriots, the EU won't ignore it. Milliyet
reports that Cem Ozdemir, the European Parliament's German
parliamentarian (Turkish origin), said that it is the right time for
Turkey to amend the Turkish Penal Code, Article 301, which relates
to freedom of expression. By doing this, Turkey could teach Europe
a lesson on the subject. Meanwhile, in a speech yesterday at the
opening of Foreign Trade week in Ankara, PM Erdogan fiercely
rejected allegations that his government was selling out Turkish
interests in Cyprus. Milliyet quoted him as saying, "we have
fulfilled our responsibilities in Cyprus. We want our counterparts
to meet their obligations too. They should not come with extra
demands until they fulfill their own obligations. The Turkish
government will never meet such demands."

General Kosaner Comments on the PKK
Hurriyet and Sabah quoted Gendarme Commander General Kosaner as
saying that "we are talking to the families of PKK terrorists who
are in the mountains, to get them to convince their children to lay
down their weapons and come down from the mountains." At an October
29 reception, Kosaner said that the operations will continue without
any interruption and the only solution is for the armed people to
surrender without any conditions and face justice. He added that,
the number of PKK members who had turned themselves in has
increased.

Turkey Plans to buy 100 F-35s from the US
Sabah, Hurriyet, Cumhuriyet, Milliyet and others: Papers report
that Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul met with his American
counterpart Donald Rumsfeld in Washington. Reportedly, Rumsfeld
expressed regret over the "unfortunate map crisis" and stressed that
the map had nothing to do with the Pentagon [referring to the use of
a map showing an independent Kurdistan, which included parts of
Turkey, by a US military officer at a NATO seminar in Rome].
Meanwhile, papers quoted Minister Gonul as saying that Turkey is
going to buy 100 F-35s from the US at a cost of $10 billion.

Cargill Appeals against Court Ruling Halting Production
Hurriyet and Milliyet report US Cargill Turkey CEO Murat Tarakcioglu
told a press conference yesterday that a court ruling halting
production at the US food giant's facilities in the Bursa province
had a discouraging effect on their plans to invest in two other
countries through Turkey. "We employ 142 personnel here. We
purchased $50 million worth of corn from farmers last year. There
are 25 other operations in the same area in the Bursa province but
only Cargill has been suspended. We have appealed against the
decision, and hope to be back in business again," Tarakcioglu said.
Responding to a question, Tarakcioglu said he would give the key of
the factory to any one who proves that Cargill pollutes the
environment.

Editorial Commentary on Northern Iraq
Writing in the conservative Turkiye, Yilmaz Oztuna notes that the US
appears to be "working" on the PKK issue, but warns that the US may
have other plans if Turkey "fails to fulfill its obligations" as a
strategic partner: "The anarchy and chaos in Iraq continues to grow
every passing day, and nobody, including the US, can make an
assessment about the future. A pull out by the US is still unlikely
regardless of the outcome of the Congressional elections -- simply
because of the oil factor. The US failed to comprehend the internal

ANKARA 00006213 002 OF 002

dynamics of Iraq from the very beginning, and in the end it had to
make a strong commitment to the Iraqi Kurds. Turkey also has made
its share of mistakes by rejecting the movement of American forces
through Turkey, which ended up in the creation of a Kurdistan state
as well as a significant resurrection of the PKK. Currently
Talabani, despite his position as the president of Iraq, is working
to divide Iraq and in the interest of Kurdistan. As for Turkey, we
continue to focus on the PKK problem but recently put high hopes in
America and Iraq for solving the problem. Washington seems to be
working on it. Nevertheless the US at the same time keeps some
projects in its back pocket, like plans for Greater Kurdistan and
Greater Armenia, for use if and when it thinks Turkey is failing to
fulfill its obligations as a strategic partner."

TV Highlights
NTV (8 A.M.)

Domestic News

- Prime Minister Erdogan stressed Turkey will move ahead after
renaming the Copenhagen Criteria if the EU does not allow Turkey to
join the bloc.

- The Turkish Union of Chambers (TOBB) President Rifat
Hisarciklioglu warned public support for the EU had decreased,
blaming the government for the fall.

- The Turkish police have carried out 6,017 anti-drug smuggling
operations in the last nine months in which 13,000 people have been
detained and about eight tons of drugs have been seized.

- Turkey's Human Rights Joint Platform has launched a campaign for
the abolishment of Article 301 of the penal code and other
provisions restricting free speech.

International News

- EU term president Finland's Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja has
invited Greek Cypriot counterpart Lillikas, Turkish counterpart Gul
and Turkish Cyprus leader Mehmet Ali Talat to meet behind closed
doors in a town near Helsinki this weekend.

- Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel plans to expand its
military offensive in the Gaza Strip and will decide soon on what
kind of operation it will conduct.

- Iranian President Ahmadinejad said UN Security Council sanctions
over Iran's nuclear program would only serve to further motivate the
Iranian nation.

- Pakistani helicopters destroyed an Islamic school used as an
al-Qaeda-linked training camp near the Afghan border, killing some
80 militants.

Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at

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

WILSON

© Scoop Media