ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 003368 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 THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 2006 In Today's Papers President Sezer Visits Israel All papers: Turkish President Sezer and Israeli President Mose Katsav held a joint press conference in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, in which Sezer expressed support for the UN framework for a settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Katsav stated that the visit of Sezer shows the strong relations between the two countries, and that Israel saw Turkey as its ally. Katsav stressed that Turkey's EU membership would be a great contribution to regional stability, and also a positive step for world economy, and lauded the Erez industrial zone project in the Gaza Strip, launched through the initiative of Turkey. Both presidents expressed concern over Iran's nuclear activities, with Sezer saying Iran could not be criticized if it pursued a peaceful nuclear program, adding that different aspirations would create risks for the region. Sezer later took the floor at the Knesset, saying that Turkey considers it a "responsibility to enjoy the privilege of having the trust of both the Israelis and Palestinians, and we hope that Prime Minister Olmert is going to meet President Abbas soon.'' He noted that Turks and Jews "always rushed to help each other in difficult times. We will never forget the help of our Israeli friends during the massive earthquake in Turkey in 1999. Friendship and solidarity constitutes the basis of our cooperation.'' Sezer stressed that Turkey may present large opportunities to its neighbors and allies, such as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline, which has vital importance regarding the establishment of stability and economic development in the region. The President also expressed Turkey's determination to improve cooperation with Israel by all means. Sezer also mentioned the victims of the Holocaust. The Turkish President received a standing ovation when he completed his speech by saying "Shalom" (peace) and "Toda raba" (thank you) in Hebrew. Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik said Israel will never forget that Ottoman Empire sheltered the Jews exiled from Spain 500 years ago, and that Turkey welcomed Jewish scientists who had to flee Nazi Germany. Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres said Israel supported Turkey's EU membership bid. Peres lauded Sezer by saying that he symbolized the values 
of modern Turkey. President Sezer later laid a wreath to Holocaust Memorial in memory of the victims of Holocaust before moving on to Palestine to meet with President Abbas. Sabah says Sezer told the Israelis the Hamas delegation was invited to Ankara by the ruling AK Party, not by the state, underlining that the invitation did not reflect the official policies of the Turkish state. Writing in the daily Dunya, Zafer Atay argues that Palestinian people are suffering because neither the western nor Arab nations have offered aid: "The US and the EU stopped their financial aid to Palestine and soon after Israel did the same. Muslim-dominated OPEC countries, on the other hand, did nothing to address the dire needs of the Palestinian people. What we have seen so far from the Islamic world is only words and no deeds. According to recent figures, more than three million Palestinians are living in famine conditions. Hospitals can only operate on the most severe emergency cases. The pain and agony of the people should be considered more important than political fights and rhetorical games. The Western community should feel ashamed for punishing innocent people in contradiction to their strong rhetoric on human rights. And the Islamic world should be doubly ashamed for doing nothing despite ANKARA 00003368 002 OF 004 their oil-rich revenues." Turkey Wants UN, EU Concerns on Iran Included in OIC Communiqu Yeni Safak reports that at the June 19-21 foreign ministers meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul will ask for inclusion of UN and EU concerns with respect to Iran's nuclear activities in the final communiqu. Despite persistent efforts by the international community over the past three years, OIC had declined to adopt a resolution against its member Iran. OIC communiqus had merely stated support for peaceful nuclear activities, criticizing the double-standard displayed by world nations on nuclear energy. Volatility Continues in Turkish Markets All papers: The Turkish Central Bank (CB) increased interest rates by 1.75 percent to 15 percent, the first such increase in the last five years, following the disclosure of higher-than-expected inflation figures for May. The increase also came when the current account deficit has reached a record USD 12.7 billion, a 45 percent increase over the same period last year. There has been strong volatility in the Turkish markets for the last three weeks with the Turkish lira depreciating and the stock exchange markets losing value. Over recent weeks, the Turkish Lira has fallen by 17 percent against the USD and the Euro, prompting investors to move away from emerging markets, including Turkey. Hwever, Turkey's situation took a turn for the worse with higher-than-expected inflation figures for April and May, and rising political strains after a deadly gun attack on the Council of State which left one judge dead and four others injured. Analysts said the ruling AK Party government still faced the threat of missing the 5.0 percent year-end inflation target. The failure to rein in inflation creates difficulty for Prime Minister Erdogan, who is counting on continued economic progress to boost his position ahead of presidential and general elections next year. A recent poll showed that 56.7 percent of Turks saw unemployment as the biggest problem facing Turkey today. Columnist faces Trial for Defending Conscientious Objection Hurriyet, Radikal, Birgun: Perihan Magden, a renowned Turkish novelist and columnist, appeared in an Istanbul court on Wednesday in the first hearing of a lawsuit filed against her for defending conscientious objection to military service. The Turkish General Staff (TGS) had complained that Magden attempted to "deter people from fulfilling their military service" in a weekly news magazine in December. The prosecutor seeks up to three years in prison for Magden. Before the court hearing was launched, demonstrators who describe themselves as "relatives of terror victims" tried to attack her. "I believe that both the TGS's denunciation of me and the prosecutor's lawsuit against me is a disproportional use of force," Magden told the court. On the other hand, renowned Turkish novelist Elif Safak faces trial for "denigrating Turkishness" in her second English language novel "The Bastard of Istanbul" in which Safak tells the tale of two families, an exiled Armenian family living in San Francisco and the Kazancis of Istanbul, whose contemporary stories conjoin through a family secret that began in 1915 and played out in the lives of their daughters today. Poll: Three Parties to Enter Turkish Parliament in General Elections Aksam carries a public opinion survey conducted between May ANKARA 00003368 003 OF 004 20 and June 3 by Sonar Polling Co through one-on-one interviews with 1,837 people in 15 provinces across Turkey. According to the survey, if general elections were held today, the AK Party would emerge as the winner by 23.6 percent, followed by CHP with 15.1. Other parties behind these two would be DYP 10.0 percent, MHP 6.6, DSP 5.7, ANAP 5.1, and the pro-Kurdish DTP 4.5. With the distribution of 21.2 percent of "undecided votes" among the parties, the percentage of votes would be: AKP 29.9, CHP 19.2, DYP 12.6, MHP 8.4, DSP 7.19, ANAP 6.5. Respondents said by 56.7 percent that Turkey's biggest problem today was "unemployment," followed by "poverty" with 15.3, "terrorism and the Kurdish problem" with 6.0, "corruption" with 3.7. Only 1.7 percent of the respondents believe the "headscarf" controversy to be the top problem of Turkey, according to the survey. Editorial Comment: Human Trafficking Mim Kemal Oke commented in the conservative Tercuman: "The State Department's annual report on human trafficking highlighted the problem in Turkey. Human trafficking by its nature is the postmodern slavery of the global era. It is a grave problem for the world which only helps to accelerate the collapse of moral values, and the growth of crime and unemployment. Turkey, due to its location and its economic situation, is a target country for human traffickers. In addition to the fact that citizens of certain countries, such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran and Bangladesh have been using Turkey as a transit route to their European destinations, being a transit route also covers terrorist activities. Turkish security institutions are taking this issue seriously but, as the report indicates, more should be done." TV Highlights NTV, 8.00 a.m. Domestic News - The main opposition CHP has asked the AK Party government to explain allegations in a US report that 90 nuclear bombs had been deployed in Incirlik Airbase in south Turkey. - In a joint press availability in Ankara yesterday, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and visiting Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora sent covert warnings to Iran by denouncing the deployment of WMD in the Middle East. - A court ruled the banned Islamist leader Necmettin Erbakan could serve a 28-month prison sentence at home. He was found guilty of financial irregularities in spending of party funds - Staff of the TRT demonstrated in Istanbul against alleged interference by the government through partisan appointments in the state-owned broadcaster. International News - Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat will travel to Berlin on Friday to meet with German Foreign Minister Steinmeier. - Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alemo said the withdrawal of Italian troops from Iraq would be completed by the end of the year. - Organization of Islamic Conference's (OIC) Turkish ANKARA 00003368 004 OF 004 Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu met President Putin SIPDIS during a visit to Moscow. - 17 terror suspects detained in Canada are accused of plotting to storm the Canadian Parliament and behead the Prime Minister. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON