ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 003099

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
FRIDAY, MAY 26, 2006


In Today's Papers

Alpogan on Iran's Nuclear Efforts
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Cumhuriyet, Radikal, Zaman and others:
Turkish National Security Council (MGK) Chairman Yigit
Alpogan told the press after wrapping up three-days of
meetings in Moscow that Turkey would not want having a
nuclear armed Iran as its neighbor, stressing that Ankara
favors a diplomatic solution to the problem. 'I have
explained our position to the Americans during an earlier
visit to Washington. We don't believe that Iran as a
nuclear power will serve world peace and regional stability.
Turkey lost 50 billion USD despite the fact that it was not
involved in the First Iraq War in 1991. And Turkey had to
look after some 450,000 Iraqis who fled to Turkey,' Alpogan
said. He added that Turkey will suffer enormous losses if a
military operation is launched against Iran. Turkey views
the probability of US military action against Iran this year
as very low, Alpogan said, because the American public
largely opposes war with Iran and there are US interim
elections in November.

Nuclear Equipment Seized at Turkey-Iran Border
Milliyet and Cumhuriyet report that in a joint operation
with the CIA, the Turkish intelligence agency (MIT) seized
two truck loads of equipment allegedly destined for the
Iranian nuclear program at the Gurbulak border crossing on
the Turkey-Iran border. Cumhuriyet says the equipment was
to be used in missile production and had been purchased by
an Iranian company, the Istanbul-based Step Co., from firms
in the EU, US, Canada, India, Ukraine, and China. Documents
accompanying the shipment indicated that the end-user was in
Turkey. The paper says that Turkey had been used as a
bridge in ferrying 'critical' materials to Iran.

Sezer Will Not Meet Hamas on Upcoming Visit to Israel,
Palestine
Radikal reports President Ahmet Necdet Sezer will not meet
with Hamas leaders during an upcoming visit to Israel and
Palestine on June 7-8, despite persistent efforts by Prime
Minister Haniya to be received by the Turkish President.
Sezer made the decision in reaction to a statement by Hamas
that the killing of civilians in the April 17 suicide bomb
attack in Tel Aviv was 'legitimate self-defense.' While in
Palestine, Sezer will only meet with President Abbas and
urge the Palestinian officials to give up efforts to
legitimize their armed struggle, calling on both sides for a
revival of talks under the Road Map. Diplomatic sources
said the Turkish government supported Sezer's decision, and
that the President would not be accompanied by cabinet
ministers on his upcoming trip.

Arrests over Council of State Attack Continue
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Cumhuriyet, Radikal, Zaman and
others: Erhan Timuroglu, a suspect detained in connection
with last week's deadly attack on the Council of State
(Danistay) and the recent grenade attacks on the Cumhuriyet
daily, said if the attacker Alparslan Aslan had not been
caught, they would launch bloody bombings in Istanbul and
target Armenians in the city. Prior to his departure to
Berlin yesterday, Prime Minister Erdogan said there was a
"bloody" organization behind the Council of State attack.
Erdogan slammed opposition CHP leader Deniz Baykal for
suggesting a link between the atackers and the ruling AK
Party government.

Syrian Opposition Party Takes AKP as Model
A Syrian opposition group organized in exile in London told
Hurriyet they want to meet with Prime Minister Erdogan

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during a visit to Turkey next month. The group said they
take the ruling AK Party in Turkey as a model, noting their
name in Arabic, 'Harakat al Adala wal Binaa,' meant 'Justice
and Development Party.' The party's leader Anas al-Abdah
said their members disguised as academics had toured Turkish
cities last year in an effort to observe how the ruling
party functioned. 'We have met with leading AKP officials
during their visits to several Arab countries, including
Qatar. They support us. We want to continue our party in
Syria, and believe that our 'Third Way,' the 'democratic
Islamist way,' will be the new face of opposition in Syria,'
Abdah said.

Ataturk Airport Fire Causes 1 Billion USD Damage
All papers: Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK,) an offshoot of
the outlawed PKK, claimed responsibility over the blaze that
destroyed the cargo section of Istanbul's Ataturk airport,
the hub of international air travel in Turkey, which
slightly injured three people and caused delays in air
traffic. Initial estimates put the cost of the fire at
around 1 billion USD. The Turkish authorities have said an
electrical short circuit was the cause of the blaze.
Airport officials said some incoming planes were ordered to
delay their landings and others were rerouted to the city's
second airport on the Asian side of the Bosphorus Strait.

Erdogan on the Headscarf Issue
All papers: During a meeting with the representatives of
the Turkish community in Berlin, a Turkish woman wearing a
headscarf complained to Prime Minister Erdogan that the
Turkish Embassy in the German capital demanded photographs
without headscarves for visa procedures. The Turkish
ambassador to Germany confirmed there was such a practice,
and that the embassy only applied the instructions of
Ankara. An angry Erdogan to change the instructions that
were allegedly outlined in a circular sent to Turkey's
foreign missions, according to reports.

Kurdish DTP Leaders to Attend Meeting in Northern Iraq
Aysel Tugluk and Ahmet Turk, co-chairpersons of the DTP,
Turkey's main Kurdish party, will attend the Socialist
International Kurdish Working Group meeting in Suleymaniye
on May 29, the Copenhagen-based Kurdish Roj TV reported.
President Jalal Talabani, head of the Kurdistan regional
government leader Nechirvan Barzani, and Speaker of the
Kurdistan Parliament Adnan Mufti, and the regional president
of Kurdistan, Massoud Barzani will participate in the one-
day meeting.

Editorial Comments

EU: "No Similarity between the Cyprus and Montenegro Issues"
Selcuk Gultasli wrote from Brussels in Islamist-intellectual
Zaman (5/26): "The Europeans were very pleased about
Montenegro's independence from Serbia after last week's
referendum. While praising this occurrence and urging
everyone to recognize Montenegro's independence, EU sources
strongly object to the idea that Turkish Cypriots would
separate from the Republic of Cyprus and become independent.
The same EU sources say that although these two issues could
be compared, still there are huge differences between them.
Besides, it has not been too long since the Greek rejection
of Annan plan, and Turkish Cypriots' independent structures
would not be accepted by the international community until
all efforts exhausted to unite the both sides in Cyprus.
However, the same sources add that if the intransigent
stance of Papadopulos continues, international support for
Turkish Cypriot independence could increase within few
years."


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Time to Stop the Game
Sami Kohen observed in the mainstream daily Milliyet (5/26):
"The meeting of Greek and Turkish Foreign Ministers in
Istanbul on June 10 for the fourth 'Turkey-Greece Media
Conference' will be a great opportunity to stop a very
dangerous, long lasting game. After the collusion of
Turkish and Greek F-16s in the Aegean, it is necessary to
discuss the 'dog fight' issue and take precautions to
prevent such accidents. It is good for Turkish and Greek
governments to continue this dialogue, but unless the both
sides' governments and military officials implement
confidence building measures, talks on the technical level
only will not help to resolve disagreements between Turkey
and Greece. The most effective way to prevent such
incidents is to declare a flight moratorium in the Aegean
while the both countries seek compromise."

TV Highlights
NTV (8 a.m.)

Domestic News
- Following the collision of Turkish and Greek fighter jets
over the Aegean earlier in the week, Foreign Minister Gul
said an emergency phone line between the two countries would
be set up soon. US State Department Spokesman Sean
MacCormack said of the incident, "Those are things that we
would hope that over time Greece and Turkey would be able to
work through."

- The EU is expected to warn Turkey and present new demands
at Turkey-EU Association Council talks on June 12 in
Luxembourg: The military must speak out only on military
issues; Greek Cypriots must be allowed into Turkish ports
and airports; independence of the judiciary must be observed
in the Semdinli trial, and Turkey must speed up reforms.

- Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement yesterday
'The Anatolian Sun 2006' military exercises to be held near
Antalya today do not target any other country. The United
States, France and Portugal will participate in the
exercises as well as thirty-one observer countries.

- Turkey's State Statistics Institute said tourist arrivals
in April rose to 1.37 million, up from last year's 1.34
million, recovering from a sharp fall in the first quarter
of 2006 on bird flu fears and terrorist attacks.

International News
- Palestinian President Abbas said on Thursday he would call
a referendum on a Palestinian proposal seeking a negotiated
settlement with Isrel if rival al-Fatah and Hamas groups do
not aree on the plan.

- US Ambassador to Armenia John Evans was removed from post
after acknowledging the 'genocide' of Armenians by Ottomans
in 1915. Sixty US Congressmen have expressed their concern
about Evans' removal in a letter to Secretary Rice.

- Sources said twenty-four ethnic Azeris were killed in the
riots in northwestern Iran sparked by the publication of a
cartoon that allegedly denigrated Azeris.


Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at

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WILSON