ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001789 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, APRIL 4, 2006 In Today's Papers Violence Continues in Southeast Turkey, New Terror Law Coming All papers: Violence continued for the seventh day in the southeast with the unrest in Diyarbakir spilling over to Viransehir, Sanliurfa near the Syrian border. Papers report the death toll in the region rose to 12, with 9 occurring in Diyarbakir. Police fired tear gas and water cannons to break up a crowd of some 500 protesters in Viransehir, chanting slogans in support of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. The protestors threw Molotov cocktails and stones at the security forces and local buildings. In the eastern province of Agri near the Iranian border, around 1,000 protesters threw stones at offices of the ruling AKP and clashed with police who responded by firing tear gas into the crowd. Following the killing of three people in a municipality bus set to fire by pro-Kurdish protestors in Istanbul over the weekend, police announced that civilian policemen would be placed in commuter busses to prevent new attacks. Turkey's main Kurdish party DTP released a statement to condemn the bus attack in Istanbul. DTP co-chairpersons Ahmet Turk and Aysel Tugluk said they asked for a meeting with PM Erdogan whereas Justice Minister and Government Spokesman Cemil Cicek said the DTP first had to declare openly that the PKK was a terrorist organization. Cumhuriyet says that the PKK had spent USD 1 million to set up attack teams in major Turkish cities. Zaman reports the Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) is preparing attempts to silence the PKK propaganda abroad and to cut foreign financial support for the organization. The government will "encourage" TV and radio outlets in the southeast broadcasting in line with state policies, says the paper. Minister Cicek told the press after Monday's Council of Ministers meeting people in eastern and southeastern Turkish cities did not support "the terrorist organization" during the recent incidents. ''The parliament will discuss the issue tomorrow. Terrorism and public peace have always been the priorities of our government. A new anti-terror draft bill will be submitted to the parliament next week," Cicek emphasized. Cicek noted that the legal period for detention will not be extended. Cuneyt Arcayurek commenting in the leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet calls on the government to warn citizens and take action against the instigators: "No announcements have ever been made to warn the people, nor any operations launched against the terrorist fronts present in almost every corner of each city. The AKP government is not capable of stopping these developments but, at least, they should remember that Turkey is a state of laws and should bring the DTP mayors, who are acting against the law, to justice." Arcayurek concludes, "There is one fact that arises from these developments -- the leaders of the uprising continue to get all kinds of support from western sources." US State Department Condemns Violence in Southeast Turkey Hurriyet, Sabah, Star, Cumhuriyet quote State Department Spokesman Adam Ereli as condemning PKK actions and the violence of what he called "PKK sympathizers" over the weekend in the southeast. "We call on all parties to exercise restraint, and we reiterate our strong condemnation of all terrorist groups, including the PKK," Ereli said, and added: " Turkey is a valued ally and close friend. We call on all parties to exercise restraint and we reiterate our strong condemnation of all terrorist groups, including the ANKARA 00001789 002 OF 003 PKK. It's important to condemn this violence and stand against terrorists and their supporters." In his column in the mainstream daily Hurriyet, Cuneyt Ulsever notes that US-Turkish military-to-military relations seem to be better than government-to-government relations: "Washington is well aware that until there is a political alternative to the current government, it has to deal with the AKP. This being the case, Washington is making efforts to perfect the relationship between Turkish and US militaries and that's why dialog has intensified between the generals of the two countries. Now the reason why the AKP government is in a fast-moving decline with the US, EU, IMF, businessmen and the civil bureaucracy, and why the Prime Minister has turned into a nervous wreck is clear. Because the Government believes its base is its only shelter, so it has gone back to populism to solidify the base, and it will stay like this until the next election." Iranian Ambassador: US Aims at Confronting Turkey-Iran The Iranian Ambassador in Ankara, Firuz Dowlatabadi, said in an exclusive interview with Milliyet that the US "Broader Middle East Project" included the goal of an independent Kurdistan. Dowlatabadi said during the first years of the revolution in Iran, the US had provoked ethnic unrest in Kurdistan, Huzistan, and Gumbat provinces "with no success at all." "After the establishment of Kurdistan, the US will pursue a policy of carving land from Iran and Turkey in an effort to annex new territories to the newly independent state," Dowlatabadi claimed, warning that only joint policies pursued by Turkey, Iran, and Syria could block such a development. He stressed that the US wanted to confront Turkey and Iran. Dowlatabadi denied reports that if attacked by the US, Iran would strike the Incirlik Airbase in south Turkey: "Turkey and Iran are two nations living in friendship for 1100 years -- such claims are ignorant lies." The Iranian Ambassador said the US had the capacity to eliminate the PKK threat in a week. "General Peter Pace made it clear that the US and Turkey agree 90 percent of the times and disagree 10 percent of the time. That 10 percent is the PKK," Dowlatabadi said. Turkish Captive Claims He was Tortured in US Hurriyet, Sabah, Radikal, Yeni Safak cite a New York Times story which said Ibrahim Turkmen, a Turkish national who was arrested in New Jersey for overstaying his visa after 9/11, said that inmates were subjected to torture with dogs during the four months he spent in Passaic State Penitentiary. A Canadian national who was in the same prison confirmed the story told by Turkmen, who is now living in the central Anatolian city of Konya. TV Highlights NTV (8 a.m) Domestic News - Five universities in the Aegean city of Izmir have released a joint statement, urging the government, the parliament and all constitutional institutions to take measures to prevent domestic and foreign provocations against the integrity of Turkey. - The provincial head of Kurdish party DTP in the southeastern city of Batman, Ayhan Karabulut, has been arrested for making a statement to the Copenhagen-based Ro TV before tensions flared up in the city. ANKARA 00001789 003 OF 003 - Renowned Israeli author Amos Oz met with PM Erdogan on Monday. Oz, a peace activist, signed a book for the PM, and said Erdogan was a good opportunity for the Middle East. - President Sezer will pay a two-day state visit to Azerbaijan as the guest of President Aliyev on April 4-5. International News - Secretary of State Rice and British Foreign Secretary Straw held a series of private meetings with leaders of Iraq's rival political groups in an effort to speed up government formation work. - A car bomb attack killed at least 10 people near a Shiite mosque in Baghdad. - Iran challenges the international community, and tests the "Hut" torpedo during the "Great Prophet" military maneuvers in the Persian Gulf. - The new Israeli cabinet will declare Prime Minister Ariel Sharon "permanently incapacitated" at its meeting next week, Yediot Ahronot daily reported. Economy News - National Bank of Greece has bought 46 percent of Turkey's Finansbank at Euro 2.3 billion. - A joint delegation of IMF and World Bank officials are in Turkey for talks until April 18. A delegation headed by State Minister for Economy, Ali Babacan, will attend IMF- World Bank spring meetings in Washington on April 22-23. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ MCELDOWNEY