ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002746

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
MONDAY, MAY 15, 2006

In Today's Papers

Controversy Over Turkey's New President
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Cumhuriyet, Radikal, Zaman and
others: The main opposition CHP leader Deniz Baykal said
that early elections should be held prior to the election of
Turkey's new president by the parliament in 2007. "The
existing parliament is not fit to choose the new president,
who will determine the future of Turkey for seven years,"
Baykal said. Former President Suleyman Demirel continued
his criticism of the ruling AK Party's policies, stressing
in today's Radikal that it would be difficult for Erdogan,
who had a "credibility problem," to become Turkey's new
president at a time of heated debates over headscarves and
secularism. "The new president must be chosen by the
Turkish people in a two-stage election system. Only 17
million out of the total 41 million votes are represented in
the current parliament, which means that some 60 percent of
the national will is not represented. It will be difficult
for Erdogan to become president when he has not been able to
erase the suspicion that he is concealing an Islamic
agenda," Demirel said.

Armenian, Greek Lobbies Campaign to Block US Missile Sale to
Turkey
Aksam, Star, Cumhuriyet, Yeni Safak: Armenian and Greek
lobby groups have joined forces in the US Congress in an
effort to block a planned sale of cruise missile systems by
the Pentagon to Turkey. The Pentagon's Defense Security
Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on April 28 that it had
notified Congress of the intended sale to the Turkish Air
Force of 50 AGM-84K air-to-ground SLAM-ER missile systems.
According to the press reports, 4 US Congressmen with close
ties to the Armenian and Greek lobbies have signed a letter
in opposition to the proposed sale.

Turkish Company's First Oil Well in Northern Iraq
Aksam, Sabah: The first oil well belonging to a Turkish-
Canadian joint venture began operations in Taq-Taq in
Northern Iraq yesterday. The Turkish 'General Energy' and
Canadian 'Addax' companies arranged an official ceremony
yesterday for their joint venture. The Northern Iraqi
Kurdish region's Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and his
deputy, Omer Fettah, attended the opening ceremony. The
Turkish-Canadian joint venture is planning to establish two
other drilling sites in the same area before the end of this
year. The total capacity of the three oil wells combined is
expected to reach 20,000 barrels daily.

New Regulation on Minority Foundations in Turkey
Hurriyet and Radikal report that the Turkish government is
taking steps to resolve one of the major obsacles on
Turkey's path toward the European Unon - the issue of
minority foundations. A drft list approves 161 groups as
foundations that will be authorized to collect donations.Hurriyet says that concerns about missionary activities
might increase following the release of the regulation, but
should not block efforts to find a solution to the
controversial issue.

Tuzmen, Sahin, Sener Face Charges of Misconduct
All papers report that State Minister Kursad Tuzmen's hotel
and other expenses were paid by the Istanbul-based CNR
Holding Co during an official trip to Paris in 2003. During
his stay in Paris, Tuzmen allegedly lobbied in support of
CNR, an international fair organizer. Tuzmen defended
himself, saying that he had been the victim of a "political
slander campaign." Hurriyet broke the story over the
weekend, implying a secret relationship between Tuzmen and
Ms Ceyda Erem, the owner of CNR. Meanwhile, Saturday's

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Radikal ran a front-page story charging Deputy Prime
Minister Ali Sahin and State Minister Abdulatif Sener with
malfeasance for allegedly accepting racehorses for 100,000
YTL (approximately 70,000 USD) from a group lobbying the
government to decrease the share taken by the state in
earnings from horse races. Both ministers responded on
Sunday that they had agreed to pay 5,000 to purchase the
horses. Monday's Hurriyet reports, however, that Minister
Sener now intends to return his horse to its previous as a
result of the media scrutiny.

Turkey Blocks Release of Gitmo Captive Kurnaz
Hurriyet cites the German Focus magazine in claiming that
Turkey's intervention in the talks between the US and
Germany regarding the case of Murat Kurnaz, had delayed the
release of the Turkish captive held in Guantanamo Bay
prison. Turkey will reportedly send an investigation team
to Guantanamo.

Editorial Comments:

"The Freedom Contradiction in the White House"
Washington-based Ali Aslan wrote in the Islamist-
intellectual Zaman (5/15): "The appointment of a former
army general as CIA director has intensified the current
debate in the US about civilians being isolated from
intelligence agency oversight. The administration's overall
tendency is to limit individual rights using a militarist
and security dominated approach. All Americans with common
sense are worried about the protection of their individual
rights, as the war on terrorism is a long-term process. The
current situation in the US represents a clear contradiction
in the administration's policies: as basic freedoms at home
are being limited due to security paranoia, the Bush
administration claims to be on a mission to bring freedom to
the entire world, including the Middle East."

"US-Turkey and Iran"
Washington-based Yasemin Congar wrote in the mainstream
Milliyet (5/15): "The US and Turkey are engaged in a new
phase of bilateral dialogue regarding the IRAN issue.
Washington at this point is convinced that Ankara does not
want an IRAN with nuclear weapons. However, this does not
necessarily mean that IRAN will no longer be a thorny issue
between Turkey and the US. First of all, the Bush
administration continues to hold out military action against
Iran as a possibility. Secondly, upcoming developments in
the UN Security Council are of concern to Ankara. If the UN
Security Council overcomes its differences and manages to
unite on the IRAN issue, Washington may launch an initiative
to form a coalition of the willing against the Iranian
regime. American officials are clearly saying that if and
when this happens, the US will try to include Turkey and the
EU in the coalition. Both of these possibilities are enough
to irritate Ankara and have the potential to put Turkish-
American cooperation on an uneasy footing."


TV News
(NTV, 8.00 a.m.)

Domestic News
- Prime Minister Erdogan said at the 'Developing Eight' (D-
8) summit talks in Bali that if they join forces, the D-8
countries could become important actors in the international
arena.

- The trial of the 16-year old suspected killer of Andrea
Santoro, the priest murdered at the Santa Maria Church in
the Black Sea city of Trabzon in February, will begin on

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Monday morning.

- The Turkish Parliament is to discuss this week the social
security bill vetoed by President Sezer.

International News
- Six bomb attacks claimed 35 lives in Baghdad on Sunday.

- A Hartford Courant report says the US is sending mentally
unstable conscripts to Iraq because of a shortage of
soldiers, a practice that has led to high suicide rates
among troops. These soldiers, most of who take anti-
depressives, wander around at the frontlines "like time
bombs."

- President Ahmadinejad said that IRAN is ready to hold
talks with all countries except Israel.


Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at

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

WILSON