ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002004 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 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12, 2006 In Today's Papers Erdogan Meets AKP MPs on Problems in Southeast Turkey All papers: On Tuesday, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan discussed the problems and expectations of people in the mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey with the ruling AK Party lawmakers from the region. The lawmakers told Erdogan that the PKK was losing its grip in the region, urging more investments and democratization. In response to some lawmakers calling for general amnesty on behalf of the people in the southeast, Erdogan said that granting such pardons would be impossible at a time of public uproar at the funerals of security personnel killed by the terrorists. Twelve PKK militants and two Turkish troops were killed in clashes yesterday in Sirnak near the Iraqi border. Acting on a tip-off, police in Ankara detained 20 members of the PKK who were preparing for attacks with Molotov cocktails. Five suspects were detained in connection with a foiled bomb attack on a bus carrying judges and prosecutors in Istanbul. The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) claimed responsibility for the plot yesterday. Erdogan 'Secretly' Meets with Iran Ambassador Cumhuriyet claims on its front page Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and the Iranian Ambassador in Ankara, Firuz Dowlatabadi, held a secret meeting to discuss Tehran's nuclear program, government formation efforts in Iraq, and PKK terrorist infiltrations into Turkey. Erdogan told Dowlatabadi about the international community's expectations from Iran, stressing that Tehran should increase cooperation with the IAEA. The two agreed that a civil war in Iraq would affect the entire region, and that a government must be formed in Baghdad at once. The meeting took place after Dowlatabadi returned from Tehran, says Cumhuriyet, speculating that the Ambassador might have brought a message to Erdogan from the Iranian Administration. Columnist Nuh Gonultas predicts region-wide chaos if the US goes for the military option against Iran. In his column in the tabloid Bugun he writes: "A war against Iran will bring many consequences. First, it will aggravate Hizbullah in Lebanon and the Shiites in Iraq. It is very likely that a war with Iran will lead to an Israeli operation against the Hizbullah in Lebanon since both Hizbullah and Hamas will be lethal to Israeli security. All of this will create a chain reaction and lead to Syrian involvement." Zafer Atay, writing in the economic-politic Dunya, believes that an embargo will probably be used against Iran, but wonders about the effectiveness: "Considering the situation, cornering Iran seems to be the most likely tactic and an embargo is the only way to do this. A comprehensive embargo against Iran will certainly push the Tehran regime into a corner. However we have to bear in mind two realities as well. First of all, embargoes so far have not been very successful. Secondly, oil will play a major role. Will the international community be able to fully give up Iranian oil?" Court Drops Charges Against 4 Journalists on Armenian Conference Issue Milliyet, Hurriyet, Aksam and others: A court in Istanbul dropped charges against four Turkish journalists, Hasan Cemal, Ismet Berkan, Haluk Sahin and Erol Katircioglu, accused of insulting the justice system in Turkey, but decided to proceed with the trial of the *********************** * Missing Section 002 * *********************** *********************** * Missing Section 003 * ***********************