ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002154

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 18, 2006

In Today's Papers

New Anti-Terror Draft Submitted to Parliament
Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and others: A
draft bill to amend Turkey's anti-terror law has been
submitted to the parliament. The ruling AK Party government
has broadened the scope of terrorist offences in the bill
which will prompt fierce debate as its provisions could
contradict Turkey's EU-linked reforms. Journalists will
face imprisonment, prosecutors will be authorized to ban
publications, and human and drug trafficking, irregularities
in state contracts, prostitution, pollution, and credit card
forgery will be treated as terror offenses under the new law
which also aims at curbing the financial resources of
terrorism. Media outlets which "promote and propagate
terrorism" will be suspended for up to one month at the
request of a public prosecutor. Terrorist organizations'
members will face 10 years imprisonment and supporters three
years. The same sentences will be applied to those who
carry "a sign or emblem, or wear a uniform of a terrorist
organization." Dailies express concern that Turkish reforms
in the last ten years to improve freedom of expression will
suffer a setback. Cumhuriyet says the measures introduced
by the draft would be worse than those applied under marshal
law.

Warning the government about the negative impact of the
newly introduced anti-terror law, columnist Fehmi Koru wrote
in the Islamist-opinion maker Yeni Safak: "The government's
"no step back from democracy" rhetoric conflicts with the
anti-terror draft. Almost every aspect of the anti-terror
draft envisions the narrowing down of democratic rights and
freedoms. The new initiative has not only a potential for
imposing limitations on citizen rights but also has
potential to influence Turkey's future negatively. The new
anti-terror law also conflicts with all the EU-harmonization
laws introduced by the government during the last four
years."

Turkey Names New Central Bank Governor
All papers: President Sezer approved the ruling AK Party
nominee, Durmus Yilmaz, to be appointed to govern the
Central Bank (CB,) ending a month of uncertainty that had
threatened to undermine the country's economic gains.
Yilmaz, 59, a UK-educated economist who has been with the
Central Bank since 1980, pledged to continue the fight
against inflation and to achieve "lasting price stability."
Analysts said Yilmaz would bring steadiness to the bank and
the conduct of monetary policy. Yilmaz succeeds Sureyya
Serdengecti, the widely admired governor whose term expired
on March 14. Turkey's financial markets rose after the
announcement.

Poll: Turks Don't Trust Political Leaders
Milliyet: A public opinion survey conducted by the ruling
AK Party's Political Strategies Center, headed by AKP
lawmaker Mahmut Kocak, showed 49.6 percent of respondents
trusted none of the political leaders in Turkey. 79.6
percent said they were mostly influenced by "nationalism"
among several other trends. The percentage of votes in case
of general elections would be as AKP 28 percent, MHP 14, DYP
12, CHP 11, pro-Kurdish DTP 5.5, and ANAP 4.3. The survey
was carried out with 16,704 people in 27 provinces between
March 28 and April 9.

Turkey Condemns Tel Aviv Suicide Bombing
Sabah, Milliyet, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Yeni Safak and others:
Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) condemned Monday's suicide
attack in Tel Aviv that killed 10 and injured 50 others. A
statement by MFA urged the sides to block efforts to

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boosting violence in the region. MFA Spokesman Namik Tan
said at a weekly press briefing yesterday Hamas statements
supporting terrorist attacks "are not helpful to the
political process," adding "in line with the expectations of
the international community, Hamas must take forward steps
that would contribute to the process." Sabah says Israel
had been uneasy with Ankara's reluctance to condemn
statements of Hamas officials justifying the attack. In a
phone conversation with FM Gul, the Israeli FM Livni urged
Turkey to respond more strongly to Hamas statements
supportive of terrorist actions. Livni will soon pay a
state visit to Ankara for meetings on Hamas, Sabah says.
Meanwhile, Radikal reports the Palestinian Authority
President Mahmoud Abbas will visit Ankara on April 24.

Commenting in mainstream Sabah, Mehmet Barlas noted that
while most see the tensions in the world as negative, there
are also those who benefit: "The oil giants are certainly
the number one on this list because every new crisis in the
Middle East leads to a dramatic rise in oil prices which
means a significant rise in profits. The arms industry is
undoubtedly another beneficiary of world tensions. Ongoing
tensions with Iran also serve the interests of both the
Iranian mullahs and American neo-cons. Iranian religious
figures are enjoying the opportunity to enhance their
standing with the people while American neo-cons are also
happy to have the chance to gain attention once again
particularly after the Iraq failure."

Secretary Rice Due to Visit Turkey

SIPDIS
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Cumhuriyet, Radikal, Zaman and
others report Secretary Rice is to visit Turkey on April 26
before she participates in the NATO foreign ministers
meetings in Sofia. Rice will meet with President Sezer,
Prime Minister Erdogan, and Foreign Minister Gul to discuss
the PKK, nuclear strains with Iran, Palestine, and Cyprus.

TV Highlights
NTV, 8.00 a.m.

Domestic News
- Turkey's National Security Council (MGK) will meet on
Thursday to discuss terrorism and Iran's nuclear activities.

- Three PKK militants and one security personnel have been
killed in operations in the southeastern provinces of
Hakkari and Siirt. 22 people, including four women, have
been detained in anti-terror operations in central Turkish
provinces of Sivas and Tokat for recruiting new members for
the PKK. Four members of Turkey's main Kurdish party DTP
have been detained in Tunceli for alleged ties with the PKK.

- Four people detained in connection with burying barrels of
toxic waste in Tuzla near Istanbul have been set free after
the prosecutor said there is still no law under which they
could be charged.

- On April 22-23, State Minister for economy, Ali Babacan
and accompanying economists will attend IMF and World Bank
Spring meetings in Washington where they will also meet with
US Treasury, and World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz. The
delegation will move on to New York on April 24 to attend
the UN Economic and Social Council meeting.

International News
- Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis has reiterated
support for Turkey's EU entry bid, urging Turkey to meet its
political responsibilities for membership.

- President Bush said "all options are on the table" in

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dealing with Iran's nuclear program, stressing diplomacy is
still the best course.

- Secretary Rumsfeld said he won't quit despite calls by
several retired American generals to step down.

- Yalcin Ozbey, Turkish fugitive implicated in the
assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in 1981, has been
rearrested in Brussels for crimes committed in Belgium. He
will appear before court on Thursday. Turkey sent a file to
the Belgian authorities for Ozbey's extradition.

Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at

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

WILSON