Cablegate: Ankara Media Reaction Report

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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, NOVEMBER 9, 2006

In Today's Papers

EU Releases Turkey Progress Report
All papers report the EU Commission's Turkey progress report
released Wednesday stresses that Turkey should open its ports and
airports to Greek Cypriot vessels and airplanes. The document
criticizes the influence of the military in politics, implying that
the military meddled in the judicial process of the Semdinli
bombing. It points to the problems with regard to the independence
of the judiciary and notes that Turkey should open its border with
Armenia. It also says that dialogue with local authorities is
critical for the normalization of the situation in the mainly
Kurdish southeast, asking the government to develop strategies for
protecting the rights of Kurds. The report mentions that Halki
Seminary in Istanbul is still closed, adding that the Greek Orthodox
Patriarch is not allowed to use his ecumenical title. It also notes
that Turkey needs more reforms in freedom of expression, Article 301
should be amended to meet European standards, and there is limited
progress in the fight against corruption, the blueprint underlines.

Turkish dailies say the EU Commission gave Turkey until the EU
summit on December 14-15 to open its ports and airports to Greek
Cypriot traffic. The whole negotiation process would be influenced
unless Turkey changes Article 301 and takes forward steps on Cyprus,
Radikal says in an evaluation of the process.

Joost Lagendijk, co-chairman of Turkish-EU Joint Parliament
Commission, said talks with Turkey over eight or nine chapters could
be suspended if Turkey fails to record progress in Cyprus in the
next three weeks.

The Turkish government said the report confirmed Turkish commitment
to reforms, and indicated that there were some problems concerning
implementation. In a statement yesterday the Turkish government
called on the EU countries to act with common sense, adding that the
future of Turkey's EU process depended on the political vision of
European leaders. It noted the Cyprus problem should not be linked
to Turkey's membership in the bloc. "The Cyprus question is a
political one and is not an obligation for our accession process,
which is of a technical nature," the statement said.

Prime Minister Erdogan said on Wednesday Turkey would not open its
ports to Cypriot vessels unless the EU moved to end the isolation of
the Turkish enclave in northern Cyprus. Foreign Minister Abdullah
Gul said Turkey was determined to meet the criteria for EU
membership. Gul reiterated that Turkey supports Finland's efforts
on Cyprus.

Commenting on the EU's demand for reform of the military's role in
Turkey, Oktay Eksi observes in the mass appeal Hurriyet: "According
to the EU progress report, Turkey's military-civilian relations
should be up to EU standards. True, but for us to be able to meet
this standard the government should stop violating the principle of
a secular regime. As long as this violation continues in Turkey,
civilian-military relations will not be at the level the EU demands.
As a result of this, Turkey may not become an EU member but at
least it will be able to protect the secular regime."

State Funeral to be Held for Ecevit
All papers report a state funeral will be held for former Prime
Minister Bulent Ecevit in Ankara over the weekend. On Saturday
morning, Ecevit's coffin will be taken from the military hospital
GATA to the veteran politician's Democratic Left Party (DSP)
headquarters, from where to be moved on to the Parliament before a
funeral service at the Kocatepe Mosque around noon. Mainstream
papers expect a mass rally with the participation of hundreds of
thousands of Turks, which will likely turn into a "secular show of

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force" against the Islamist AKP government.

Erdogan Says He's "Not Fixed on" Becoming President
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and others
report Prime Minister Erdogan said Turkey's next president would be
chosen from the ranks of the current parliament. "It is our
decision that the president must emerge from this parliament,"
Erdogan said at a meeting with Turkish press on Wednesday.
Parliament selects the president under Turkey's constitution.
Erdogan said the AKP would listen to public opinion and consult
other parties before deciding on its candidate. He did not
elaborate further on whether he would seek the presidency, although
several columnists interpret his remarks as a signal that he is
interested in the post.

Zabari on Ties with Turkey
The Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zabari told Hurriyet in Paris
that Iraq and Turkey shared mutual interests. "I will accompany our
Prime Minister on a visit to Turkey in mid-November. We are working
with Turkey against the PKK. The Iraqi government is determined on
this issue; the three-party mechanism should be worked," said
Zabari. He added the Iraqi government closed the Ocalan Cultural
Center in Baghdad, banning the PKK front organizations in the
country as well as pressing them for a ceasefire. On Kirkuk, Zabari
said the constitutional process regarding the oil-rich northern
Iraqi city should be supported. "Kirkuk is not a Turkish city, and
its future will be decided on by the Iraqis," he stressed. Zabari
also emphasized that the death penalty given to Saddam Hussein will
not cause chaos in Iraq, but will contribute to stability.

ATC Delegation Visits TOBB
Aksam reports that Wednesday the American-Turkish Council (ATC)
leaders James Holmes and Brent Scowcroft and an accompanying
delegation paid a visit to Turkish Union of Chambers (TOBB) in
Ankara. Holmes told the press after the meeting that the existing
strong trade and investment ties between the two countries needed to
be enhanced. "Turkey and the US are only exploiting a mere .3
percent of their bilateral trade potential; we want to increase
significantly this truly modest amount. We of course want Turkey to
succeed in its EU drive, carrying on as an economically and
politically strong partner with the United States," said Holmes.

AKP Expected to Change Article 301
The conservative/opinion-maker Zaman reports the ruling AKP
government will change Article 301 of the Penal Code in a way to
expand free speech, and will welcome proposals coming from NGOs to
that end. One possible change is that the concept of "Turkishness"
in Article 301 will be replaced with "Turkish nation." The paper
expects the changes to be approved by the parliament before the EU
summit in December.

Editorial Commentary on US Congressional Elections
Ibrahim Karagul commenting in the Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak sees
a possible post-election "softening" in the US stance toward Iraq,
Lebanon, Syria and Iran: "Now, a very difficult era is starting for
the Bush Administration, which is responsible for the Iraqi
occupation, Iraq's division, torture and loss of hundreds of
innocent lives. It is possible that the US stance might soften
toward the crisis in Lebanon, Syria, and Iran. The occupation of
Iraq might be questioned, war budgets could be inspected and there
could be huge public pressure for the US to withdraw from Iraq.
Because, since the US has lost in Iraq, there is nothing else left
for the US to do there. Everyone, including the US commanders and
the architect of the war, Richard Perle confess that the US has lost
the war in Iraq. Actually, they did not loose only in Iraq, but in
the whole geography of Islam."

Commenting in the leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet, Mustafa Balbay
points out that the sentencing of Saddam did little to help
President Bush: "The recent congressional elections in the US were

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seen as a "vote of confidence" for the Bush Administration's Iraq
policy. That is why the decision date for Saddam's death sentence
was brought forward. The Bush Administration believed that the
death sentence for Saddam would impress the voters in favor of Bush.
However, the electors did not ask for Saddam's head but Bush's.
And, that is why Bush, in a last-minute, quick effort, asked for
Rumsfeld's head! Will there be any change in US Iraq policy after
Bush's defeat? Of course not. But, it is still promising to see
that the public in the US do not approve of the Bush policies
either. This will directly affect the global policies in our
region."

TV Highlights
NTV, 7.00 A.M.

Domestic News

- Prime Minister Erdogan will meet with the Spanish Prime Minister
Zapatero and UNSYG Annan in Istanbul on November 12 at a high-level
group meeting of the Alliance of Civilizations Initiative.

- Turkish National Security Council (MGK) Secretary-General Yigit
Alpogan is to pay an official visit to Poland Thursday.

- The ruling AKP will hold its party convention in Ankara over the
weekend.
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at

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

WILSON

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