Cablegate: Ankara Media Reaction Report

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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
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2006

In Today's Papers

Pope Benedict XVI to Visit Turkey
All papers report Pope Benedict XVI will pay a landmark visit to
Turkey on Tuesday.
Benedict XVI will meet with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and the
head of religious affairs directorate (Diyanet) Professor Ali
Bardakoglu in Ankara tomorrow. On Wednesday, the Pope will visit
Virgin Mary's Church in Ephesus near Izmir in western Turkey before
traveling to Istanbul to join a liturgy with the Greek Orthodox
Patriarch Bartholomew I. The pontiff will also visit Hagia Sophia
Museum and Sultanahmet Mosque, and meet with the Armenian Patriarch
Mesrob II. Dailies report the Pope said before beginning his visit
"I want to send a cordial greeting to the dear Turkish people, rich
in history and culture. To these people and their representatives I
express feelings of esteem and sincere friendship."

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told the press on Sunday that the
"Turkish government considers the visit of the spiritual leader of
the Catholic world, Pope Benedict XVI, as an important opportunity
to overcome many prejudices." Recalling that the Pope's visit
coincided with the NATO Riga Summit, Gul said the pontiff and
Erdogan "will probably meet at the airport." "We will of course
show hospitality and we hope that this visit will be a way of ending
misunderstandings between Muslims and Christians. His message will
be very important," Gul said.

On Sunday, more than 20,000 in Istanbul held the biggest protest
rally so far against Pope Benedict's controversial visit. The rally
was organized by the Islamist Felicity Party (SP). The deonstrators
chanted slogans demanding that he Hagia Sophia museum, where the
Pope is supposed to visit, be turned into a mosque. The crowd
carried placards which were mostly in Englih saying that Islam is
respectful of Christianity and Jesus Christ, and that the Pope
should also respect Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. Addressing the
rally via videoconference, Turkey's banned Islamist leader Necmettin
Erbakan claimed the Pope was coming to Turkey "to revive Byzantium,"
and asked the ruling AKP government to block the visit. Mainstream
papers note that although one million demonstrators were expected
only about 20,000 showed up. Papers also speculate the main purpose
of Pope Benedict's visit is to meet the Istanbul-based leader of the
world's Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, in
an attempt to seek unity between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox
churches.

Editorial Commentary on the Papal Visit to Turkey
Gungor Mengi observed in the mass appeal Vatan: "Pope Benedict's
recent remarks during the Sunday mass demonstrate his intention to
extend warm messages to Turkey and the Turkish people which make him
deserve Turkey's respect and hospitality. A visit to a mosque,
Sultanahmet, is also a good indication of the Vatican's peaceful
message and sincerity. Defining his visit to Turkey as a pilgrimage
provided good support from the Pope for religious tourism in Turkey.
The protest organized by a political party was not able to attract
big crowds and failed to meet the expectations of the protest
organizers. This shows that Turkey remains a balanced country with
people of common sense. Given the recent developments, both the
Vatican and Turkey are ready for this visit."

Kursat Bumin wrote in the Islamist-opinion maker Yeni Safak: "The
main motive during the anti-Pope protest in Istanbul was to stand
against the 'Crusaders Alliance.' This shows that the organizers
somehow are unaware of the differences between Christian churches.
There is no use in turning a Papal visit to Turkey into a clash of
civilization. This does not necessarily mean that Pope's remarks on
Muslims are not disturbing, but representing his Turkey visit in the
context of a crusade is also unnecessary. In today's world, the
Pope does not have that much power contrary to common belief. He
was not successful in including Christianity in the EU constitution,
for instance. We are overrating his influence even over the

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Catholic world. Reality says that all these protests and other
anti-Papal stances give more power to the Pope than actually he
has."

Turkey's EU Process and Cyprus
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and others:
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told the press yesterday before
traveling to Finland that he would not meet with the Greek Cypriot
Foreign Minister George Lillikas at the Euro-Mediterranean Process
(EuroMed) foreign ministers' meeting. Several Turkish papers say
that despite the intensive efforts for a breakthrough regarding the
Cyprus question, hopes for reaching a deal are dim. Papers note the
Cyprus government has also denied any meeting will take place
between Lillikas and Gul. Reports quote diplomats as saying they
will use the summit to push for a deal allowing Turkey to open its
ports and airports to Cyprus.

Turkey's chief EU negotiator Ali Babacan is to kick off a tour on
Monday covering some EU countries. Babacan will travel to London on
Monday to attend the Turkey Political Group Round Table Meeting at
Chatham House on November 28, followed by meetings in Warsaw and
Prague later in the week. "Actors in the markets closely pursue the
developments on Cyprus because it is a matter of profit and loss,"
Babacan said. He added, "An agreement on the Finnish plan will be
the best probable result," indicating that, "we don't expect a
negative outcome in relations with the EU with regard to the Cyprus
issue. Even Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration do not want
Turkey to break off from the EU process."

Erdogan Attends Young Arab Leaders Forum in Jordan
Sabah, Vatan, Hurriyet and others: Speaking at the Young Arab
Leaders Forum in Jordan, PM Erdogan said that Turkey has a
"historical responsibility" towards the Middle East and is ready to
play a more active role in the region. Erdogan noted that Turkey
was suffered the biggest losses in Iraq after the US, having lost
150 people. On the Palestinian issue, Erdogan said that the peace
process should be resumed and that there should be more efforts to
upgrade the living standards of the Palestinian people. On global
terrorism, Erdogan said that the funds spent in the defense industry
last year reached $1 trillion, that the amount was used for killing
people and that if the money had been used to boost the economy and
education, global terrorism would not have threatened the world.
Speaking to the journalists on his return from Jordan, PM Erdogan
said "We do not want Lebanon to turn into another Iraq. Therefore,
we have some responsibilities as neighboring countries. Turkey is
ready to take necessary steps immediately."

NGOs Urge President Sezer to Veto 'Cargill Bill'
Hurriyet, Cumhuriyet, Sabah: Chairman of the Turkish Environmental
NGO TEMA, Prof. Dr. Celik Kurtoglu, asked President Sezer to veto
the passage of a controversial bill, allegedly meant to enable
illegally built industrial facilities to continue their operations.
Prof. Kurtoglu voiced his concern about the bill, which changes the
law on the protection and use of land, by saying "the passage of the
bill shows the determination to allow multi-national agri-giant
Cargill to continue operations despite several known illegalities."

TV News:
(NTV, 7.00 A.M.)

Domestic News

- Prime Minister Erdogan said he could meet with President Bush on
the sidelines of the NATO summit in Riga to discuss the situation in
Iraq.

- Turkish Foreign Ministry said a recent attack on Turkish students
in southern Cyprus was a result of the hatred fed by the Greek

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Cypriot leadership.

- Turkish Cyprus leader Mehmet Ali Talat said that they have
formally applied to British civil aviation authorities to launch
direct flights between northern Cyprus and the UK.

- CHP deputy chairman Onur Oymen claimed there was a regime crisis
in Turkey, adding the government was likely to collapse soon.

International News

- Italian daily La Repubblica said a group of terrorists plotting to
assassinate Pope Benedict XVI had been captured a few weeks ago.

- Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister George Lillikas said he was not
optimistic about the efforts exerted by EU term president Finland to
avert a crisis between Turkey and the EU.

- Russia reportedly has begun delivering Tor M1 air defense systems
to Iran.

- On Sunday, a car bomb killed five people and wounded 23 in a
crowded market in Haswa, south of Baghdad.

Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at

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

WILSON

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