ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001530 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 THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 2006 In Today's Papers General Pace in Ankara Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet: Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Pace will join representatives from NATO and the Mediterranean countries tomorrow at a symposium in Ankara organized by the Turkish General Staff (TGS) to discuss international cooperation against terrorism. The "Global Terrorism and International Cooperation" symposium will consider the effects of globalization on terrorism, security of urban areas, and cooperation against terrorism. In addition to making a presentation at the conference, General Pace will meet today with Prime Minister Erdogan and travel to Istanbul with TGS Chief General Hilmi Ozkok on Friday. Defense Offer from Lockheed Martin Sabah: A consortium headed by US defense giant Lockheed Martin has presented an unprecedented proposal to the Turkish defense industry. The Joint Strike Fighter consortium has asked Turkish Airspace Industry (TAI) to cooperate in the construction of the fuselage of 4,000 new generation F-35s. Ankara remains undecided due to political considerations reasons. Along with Lockheed Martin's offer, Turkey is considering an EU plan for the sale of Eurofighter Typhoon war planes. US Official Delegations in Ankara for Iran Yeni Safak, Bugun, Cumhuriyet, Radikal: A convergence of official visitors from Washington has heightened focus on the Iran issue. In addition to General Pace, a Congressional delegation led by Senator Warner is in Ankara today and NEA Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Gordon Gray met with Turkish officials yesterday to discuss Iran, among other issues. Dailies report that Washington wants Ankara to exert more pressure on the Iranian government. Turkey and the Arab League Yeni Safak: After considering Turkey's request, the Arab League has decided to grant permanent observer status to Turkey. PM Erdogan will attend the upcoming Arab League Summit on March 27 in Sudan. The Danish cartoons, the Middle East, Iran, and Iraq are among the main agenda items. Iraq Commentary on the third anniversary of the Iraq War continued. Highlighting the ongoing instability, columnist Zafer Atay suggested that a mechanism should be established prior to the pull out of the US. In economic-political 
daily Dunya, he wrote: "In this ongoing chaos throughout the country, it would be completely unrealistic to suggest a UN peacekeeping force or an Islamic Peace Corps. There is no way to protect peace when it simply does not exist. A mechanism must be found to prevent civil war in Iraq in the event of a pullout of foreign troops. Such a mechanism should contain the means by which to fill the power vacuum if and when the pullout occurs. There is a Turkey side to all of this. The first Gulf War worsened terrorism in Turkey. And this time we don't even want to think about the consequences for Turkey." Talking about the urgent need for a national consensus government in Iraq, columnist Hasan Cemal noted that an immediate pullout would only worsen the chaos. In mainstream Milliyet, he wrote: "Any Sunni, Shiite, or Kurd in Iraq with common sense doesn't want the US to pull out from the country. They are aware of the fact that an immediate pullout will only worsen the current chaos and lead to division as well as terror. It will only help ANKARA 00001530 002 OF 003 radical Islamists to operate more freely, which will unleash a wave of terror throughout the Middle East. On the other hand, the US should start formulating an exit strategy by taking suggestions from the international community into consideration. Failure should not be an option for the future of Iraq. An immediate consensus between Shiite, Kurdish, and Sunni groups for a national unity government will pave the way for normalization and a stable Iraq." Turkey Opens Airspace for Greek Cypriot Airport Milliyet: There are signs of flexibility on opening ports and airspace to Greek Cypriot vessels. While Ankara continues to discuss whether opening its ports to Greek Cypriot ships, permission has already been granted for the airspace. International airlines are allowed to use Turkish airspace en route Larnaca airport on the Greek Cypriot side. Cypriot Airlines is still an exception to this rule. TV Highlights NTV, 8 AM Domestic News - Noting that Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul had to cancel his trip to the United States due to a health problem, Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Namik Tan said Turkey will be represented by State Minister Kursad Tuzmen during the American Turkish Council meetings in Washington on March ¶26. - Police Intelligence Chief Sabri Uzun has been fired from his post. There is speculation that Uzun was a victim of his harsh criticism of the military during his testimony about the Semdinli incidents in southeastern Turkey. - Afghan President Karzai arrived in Ankara on Wednesday to participate in the international symposium on global terrorism. Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Pace; chiefs of general staff from NATO, Partnership for Peace, and Mediterranean countries; and high-level military officials will attend the symposium. - Security sources said compared to last year, there was a 20 percent decrease in participation in Nevruz celebrations. - Diyarbakir-based Gun TV and Soz TV and Sanlyurfa-based Medya FM Radio commenced Kurdish-language broadcasts, marking the first private radio and television broadcasts in Turkey in a language other than Turkish. International News - Israeli acting PM Ehud Olmert's Kadima remains the leading political party on the eve of the elections. - The Basque separatist group ETA has ended a decades-long campaign of terror, announcing a permanent cease-fire. Economic News - Addressing the Istanbul Chamber of Industry, Prime Minister Erdogan said it would be wrong to claim that Turkey is currently going through an economic crisis like the one seen in 2001. Erdogan added that there will be no change in monetary policies, including the floating exchange regime. - State Minister for Economy Ali Babacan departed for Vienna on Wednesday to attend a meeting on investment opportunities in Turkey. On Thursday, Babacan will move on to Sweden to meet with Swedish foreign minister and industry minister. - The wage hike granted by the ruling AKP government to ANKARA 00001530 003 OF 003 civil servants and the cut in VAT for textile producers is seen by the IMF as a deviation from the economic stabilization program. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON