ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001346

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, MARCH 14, 2006


In Today's Papers

Gul: US-Turkey Work Together to Bring Freedom, Democracy to
Muslim World
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told the ruling AK Party
lawmakers at a group gathering near Ankara over the weekend
that Turkey is working with the United States to help bring
democracy and freedom to the Islamic world under
Washington's Greater Middle East Project, Radikal reports.
Gul said Turkey supported the US Broader Middle East and
North Africa Initiative (BMENAI,) a project "parallel to
Turkish foreign policy goals and principles." Gul stressed
the importance of freedoms, saying that AKP could not have
come to power without democracy. Responding to lawmakers'
questions with regard to the crisis between Iran and the
international community, Gul said Turkey must be prepared
for a possible US intervention in Iran. Gul noted that
Turkey would have to "close the door on Iran" in case of
negative developments in the region, adding that an
intervention in Iran will inflict serious losses on Turkey.
The FM pointed to Pakistan and Israel as other countries
declining to join international treaties on nuclear energy,
and said that Turkey cooperated with the UN to pursue
policies deterring Iran.

In his column in the economic-political daily Dunya, foreign
affairs writer Haluk Ulman draws attention to the growing
anti-Americanism in the Islamic world and elsewhere. Ulman
writes that global anti-Americanism stems from "a fury
against the Bush administration's policy on the use of
force." Citing a Pew poll, Ulman notes that that citizens of
foreign nations generally believe that the "global war on
terrorism" is not only about security but is "more about
controlling Middle East oil, changing Muslim regimes,
protecting Israeli interests and ruling the world." Ulman
concludes, "In other words, nobody thinks that President
Bush's democracy rhetoric is sincere. The Bush
administration should look inside and acknowledge its policy
mistakes instead of blaming others for the growing anti-
Americanism in international public opinion."


Ankara Not Happy with New UN Cyprus Envoy
Ankara has conveyed to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan
concerns over the Annan statement after meeting with
Papadopoulos in Paris last week, in which Annan implied that
Turkey should take new forward steps in Cyprus such as the
demilitarization of the island and the transfer of
Gazimagusa (Famagusta) to the Greek Cypriots, Hurriyet
reports. Ankara criticized Annan for being the victim of
Greek Cypriot maneuvers to delay a solution in the divided
island. The UN General Secretariat has responded by saying
that the statement of Annan had been misinterpreted,
stressing that Annan supported Turkey's action plan for
Cyprus. The economic/political daily Referans commented
that Ankara still trusted Annan, but that Turks believed the
UN Special Cyprus Representative Michael Moller was
"biased." Ankara believes that Moller's attitude favoring
the Greek Cypriots influenced the developments in Cyprus.

Unemployed Turkish Workers Find Jobs in Iraq, Afghanistan
Yeni Safak reports Turkey's labor force has shifted to
Russia and the newly-independent Turkish states in Central
Asia as well as to war-ravaged Iraq and Afghanistan,
countries in the process of rebuilding. In 2005, 1,237
Turkish workers went to Iraq, 6,048 to Afghanistan, 6,452 to
Saudi Arabia, 19,540 to Russia, and 5,775 to Kazakhstan.
Qualified Turkish workers are paid monthly an average of USD
600, and engineers USD 2,000.

ANKARA 00001346 002 OF 003



Allegations on a CIA Plane Landing in Diyarbakir in 2002
According to mainstream daily Hurriyet, the Turkey angle to
the alleged CIA detention flights landing in the third
countries deepens with every passing day. Earlier, it was
reported that one of these CIA planes had landed in
Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport and the second one had
landed in Adana. According to the new allegation, a
'Gulfstream V' type CIA plane landed in Diyarbakir on
November 25, 2002. This plane, owned by "Premier Executive
Transport Services' company (a side contractor),took off
from Frankfurt and landed in Diyarbakir. There is no
information on how long the plane stayed in Diyarbakir, the
number of passengers aboard or where the plane went after
Diyarbakir.

Change in the Turkish Citizenship Law
Hurriyet: The Government decided to make an amendment to
the Turkish Citizenship Law as a part of the reform
framework for EU harmonization. According to the latest
draft presented to the Council of Ministers, conscientious
objection to compulsory military service will no longer be
grounds for annulment of Turkish citizenship. Government
spokesman Cemil Cicek signaled there would be a change in
the compulsory military service law as well.

TV Highlights
NTV (8 a.m)

Domestic News
- The head of the Turkish General Staff, General Hilmi
Ozkok, said a provincial prosecutor's charges that Land
Forces Commander General Yasar Buyukanit abused his
authority have actually shown Buyukanit's greatness.

- Turkish Parliament on Tuesday will vote on a motion filed
by the main opposition CHP against Finance Minister Kemal
Unakitan for irregularities. The ruling AK Party said the
motion was politically motivated.

- The jandarma will hand over to the police the task of
Turkish border security. A police force of 70,000 will
protect Turkish borders. The EU will extend Euro 685,000
for the restructuring of border security in line with EU
rules.

- Armenian historians said they will not join the Armenian
conference to be held in Istanbul University on March 15-17
with the participation of more than 50 specialists from
Turkey and abroad, including US Professor Justin McCarthy.

- A conference on "Turkey's Kurdish Question" over the
weekend at Istanbul's Bilgi University proposed Kurdish
should be accepted the second official language in Turkey.

International News
-Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said Greece was not
ready for Turkey's EU membership.

- The radical Shiite leader, Muqtada al-Sadr said there was
civil war in Iraq, and called for calm.

- The Iraqi Turkmen Front claimed the Kurdish peshmerge in
the Iraqi National Guard had attacked the Turkmen village of
Tuzhurmatu last week.

- The British Defense Secretary John Reid announced that
about 800 British troops will be withdrawn from Iraq in May.


ANKARA 00001346 003 OF 003


- The Iraqi Special Tribunal adjourned the hearing of Saddam
Hussein and seven aides until Wednesday, March 15.

- Dutch officials said Slobodan Milosevic deliberately took
the wrong drug, Rifampicin, to neutralize heart medication
in an attempt to force The Hague to transfer him to Moscow
for treatment. The family of former Yugoslav president
pushed for a Belgrade state funeral for the indicted war
criminal.

- A US judge adjourned the death penalty trial of al-Qaida
conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui for 48 hours after what she
termed a violation of rules against witnesses by a
government lawyer.

Economy News
- The ruling AK Party government will not hurry to seek
President Sezer's approval to appoint Erdem Basci to govern
Central Bank (CB),but will wait to see Turkish market
support for Basci, the current CB deputy governor.

- Austria's oil company OMV announced that it bought a 34
percent stake in Turkish oil corporation Petrol Ofisi, owned
by the media mogul Aydin Dogan.

WILSON