Cablegate: Ankara Media Reaction Report

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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 006454

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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
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2006

In Today's Papers

MHP Convention
All papers: MHP held its regular general convention on Sunday,
November 19 in Ankara. Devlet Bahceli was the only candidate for
the chairmanship, and he was re-elected as the party chairman with
1127 votes for and only 12 votes against. In his one-hour 45-minute
speech, Bahceli criticized the AKP, DYP leader Agar and the EU.
Giving clear anti-EU messages, Bahceli said that the EU should
"leave and take its Copenhagen Criteria with it." He asserted that
Turkey is not dependent on EU, accusing the Union of trying to
create artificial minorities in the country. He branded the EU a
"treacherous destruction project aimed at Turkey's disintegration."
Criticizing the government over its methods in tackling the terror
problem, Bahceli said the AKP encouraged the PKK to follow its plan
to divide country. He asserted that the MHP, if it came to power,
would take cross-border operations seriously into consideration and
send Ocalan to an "F-type prison." Condemning debates over general
amnesty for the PKK, Bahceli accused DYP leader Agar of treason, and
said that MHP would end ethnic separatism and would do whatever is
necessary to curb terror.

Cutting Off the PKK's Financial Sources
Saturday's Cumhuriyet reported that US Principal Deputy Coordinator
for Counterterrorism Frank Urbancic visited Europe last week to
discuss cutting financial support for PKK with officials there.
Before coming to Turkey, Urbancic held contacts in Germany, Belgium
and France where PKK activities are rather intense. The activities
of the PKK and affiliated organizations and their financial sources
were discussed at the meetings. Urbancic's trip showed that there
was a change in the US approach to the PKK issue. Today's
Cumhuriyet reports that during his visit to Ankara, Urbancic met
with Hayati Guven, General Director for Intelligence at the Foreign
Ministry, and revealed a report about the financial activities of
PKK in Europe and the support generated by various associations.

Iraq
Milliyet, Aksam: In an interview with Milliyet, Turkey's Special
Envoy to Iraq Oguz Celikkol said that the PKK and Kirkuk were at the
top of the agenda during the visit of Iraqi PM Maliki to Turkey last
week. Celikkol said that Iraqi officials are aware of the PKK
threat in Iraq. Aksam reports that Peter Galbraith, an American who
serves as political advisor to the Kurdish leaders in Northern Iraq,
said that Turkey is important for Kurds, and due to the investments
in the region, Kurds approach Turkey with sympathy. He predicted
that an independent Kurdistan will be established in five years and
added that Iraq has already been divided. Galbraith added that
"Kurdistan" does not view the PKK warmly.

Yasemin Congar, writing from Washington in the mainstream Milliyet,
warns against the expectation that the US might turn to a more 'low
profile policy' on Iraq in the aftermath of Congressional elections:
"The Congressional elections posed a serious blow to Bush. However
this fact does not necessarily mean that the US will pursue a low
profile in the international arena and abandon its Middle East
democracy project. Influential Democratic Party figures also
validate this argument by emphasizing that the US cannot and shall
not go through a post-Vietnam-like syndrome due to the failure in
Iraq. They attach more importance to the democracy ideal and talk
about correcting the notorious human rights record of the US. The
Democratic policy makers believe in the need for more engagement in
Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East. Democratic Party politicians
simply do not share the left-wing view on Iraq, which can be
summarized as 'let's leave Iraq as soon as possible, and don't think
about the rest of it.' The fact is that there is no miracle to find
on the Iraq issue and the Bush administration is having a hard time.
But that does not validate the argument that the US will implement a
softer foreign policy and go back home."

Commentary on the Middle East Peace Process

ANKARA 00006454 002 OF 002

Kerim Balci observed in the Islamist-intellectual Zaman: "Spanish PM
Zapatero started a new initiative on the Middle East issue with the
support of Italy and France. It will be wrong to believe that this
was originally Zapatero's idea because there are two names behind
the scenes of this plan. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is one of
them. Annan is deliberately working on ways to make the UN more
effective in local and global crises. He pursues negotiation as a
first approach as opposed to the American use of force. The second
name in the plan is Spanish Foreign Minister Moratinos. He is a
well-known and respected figure in the Arab world and a leading
figure in shaping EU foreign policy. On the other hand, regardless
of the nature and sincerity of a plan, success is directly related
to the level of acceptance by relevant parties. Palestinians stay
in the middle, as they say the plan is a positive step but there are
things to discuss. Israel is very negative for two reasons: the US
is not part of the plan, and the initiative is not something that
the Israelis asked for. Given the facts about acceptance, the
chance for success of the Spanish initiative on the Middle East is
almost zero. The Middle East problem is a chronic one, and needs
new leaders instead of new solution formulas."

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

Domestic News
- Security officials have undertaken special security measures to
prevent the honor killing of a 21 year old pregnant girl in Van
- Industrialists voice reactions to reports for increases in
electricity prices

International News
- A suicide bomber kills 22 people south of Baghdad
- Israel cancels a planned raid on the home of a Gaza militant after
hundreds of Palestinians barricade themselves inside the building.
- Russia and the United States signed a bilateral deal for Moscow's
entry in the World Trade Organization

Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at

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

WILSON

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