ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000414

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, FEBRUARY 2, 2006


THIS REPORT PRESENTS A QUICK LOOK AT THE TURKISH PRESS:

In Today's Papers

State of the Union
Hurriyet/Milliyet/Sabah/Vatan/Zaman/Cumhuriye t and others:
Turkish papers give extensive coverage to the President's
State of the Union address, focusing on his assertion of the
continued need for US leadership in the world. Papers
emphasize that the President pointed to 'radical Islam' as
being the greatest enemy of the United States and add that
he 'indirectly' turned down a cease-fire proposal from bin-
Ladin by saying that the US will not `step back' because 'if
we do, they will carry the war to US shores.' Papers also
highlight the President's admonition that Tehran will not be
allowed to produce nuclear weapons and his warning to Iran
to stop supporting terrorism. 'Iranians are taken hostage
by a small group of mullahs who are isolated from their
people,' Bush stressed. The President's remarks on the
Broader Middle East, his call on the Egyptian government to
permit a peaceful opposition to decrease the appeal of
radicalism, and his call on Hamas to renounce violence and
recognize Israel are also highlighted.

Writing in tabloid "Bugun", Cengiz Candar noted that the
tone and messages of the SOTU provides a good indication of
the US approach to world affairs. Candar observed,
"President Bush did not step back from his rhetorical
commitment to democracy and freedom, despite the case of
Hamas. His tone on Hamas was quite flexible, which
indicated that when Hamas takes the necessary steps, it
could have a place in American foreign policy."

Commenting in Islamist opinion maker "Yeni Safak", Ibrahim
Karagul contended that "the speech was nothing more than
empty rhetoric, since the US itself poses the biggest threat
to democracy, freedom, justice, human rights, and
prosperity."

Ahmadinejad Responds to Bush Remarks on Iran
Hurriyet/Milliyet/Sabah/Yeni Safak/Zaman/Cumhuriyet and
others: Papers highlight the response to President Bush's
remarks on Iran by President Ahmadinejad, who said that
those who support the "Zionist regime" in Israel and the
destruction of Palestine cannot talk to Iran about human
rights. Ahmadinejad added that 'those responsible' will be
tried in a people's tribunal soon. The Iranian President
also stressed that the nuclear plant in Iranian city Busehr
will be activated by the end of the year.

Reaction Grows to the Publication of Prophet Cartoons
Hurriyet, Milliyet and Aksam highlighted that in a show of
solidarity with Danish daily Jyllands-Posten, French,
German, Italian, and Spanish newspapers republished its
controversial caricatures of the Prophet Muhammed. The
drawings provoked emotion in the Muslim world because
Islamic tradition bars any depiction of the prophet.
Reaction is growing in Turkey to the publication of these
caricatures, with members of the union of the Turkish
Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet Sen) placing black
wreaths in front of the Danish and Norwegian embassies. The
union demanded that the two countries apologize for the
cartoons while calling on the Turkish government to boycott
Danish and Norwegian goods.

Debate Over Financial Disclosures by Party Leaders
Hurriyet/Milliyet/Sabah/Cumhuriyet/Zaman/Yeni Safak and
others: The lead story in most dailies is Prime Minister
Erdogan's alleged decision to reveal his personal wealth

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amid a row among political parties over whether politicians
should be required to make such declarations. "Radikal"
frontpages that unlike the practice in Turkey, details about
the finances of President Bush and members of the US
Congress are readily available on the Internet.

French FM Visits Turkey
Hurriyet/Milliyet/Sabah/Zaman/Cumhuriyet and others: At a
joint press conference with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul,
visiting French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy
called for the resumption of talks on Cyprus to reach a
satisfactory settlement, papers report. Douste-Blazy said
the issue should be resolved under the UN umbrella. The
French FM refrained from expressing clear support for the
Turkish position on Cyprus, and called on Ankara to open its
ports and airports to Greek Cypriots and recognize Cyprus,
as well as to acknowledge Armenian genocide claims, say
papers. Gul said Turkey will only recognize Cyprus when
both sides work agree to a permanent solution under the
auspices of the UN.

Turkish, US Ambassadors Discuss New Natural Gas Pipeline
with Niyazov
Radikal reports that in an effort to block the Russian
monopoly over natural gas reserves in Central Asia, Turkey
and the US have joined forces. After Russian President
Putin's offer to Turkmenistan to buy its natural gas and
carry it to international markets through Blue Stream
pipeline, the Turkish and US ambassadors in Ashgabat visited
the Turkmen president to explain the hazards of selling his
country's natural gas to Russia. The two ambassadors
submitted to Niyazov a plan for building a new natural gas
pipeline from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan. The new 230-km
pipeline would be constructed under the Caspian Sea and
would carry 16 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually,
says the report.

Turkey-Israel Agree to Abandon Manavgat Project
Dunya, Milliyet: Turkey's economic/political daily "Dunya"
and mass-appeal "Milliyet" report that Turkey and Israel
have agreed to abandon the Manavgat project, launched 14
years ago, to carry water from Turkey to Israel, saying that
the parties were now working on new projects to carry water
to Israel, Palestine, and Jordan from the Goksu River in
Turkey.

TV HIGHLIGHTS
Rumsfeld Presents 'New US Defense Doctrine'
NTV: Turkey's leading all-news broadcaster NTV reported
that Defense Secretary Rumsfeld submitted to the US Congress
a `new US defense doctrine' focused on a 'long war against
terrorists and extremists that will continue for an
undetermined period.' The 'doctrine' reportedly emphasizes
the formation of new counter-terrorism US special forces and
has as its main goal the prevention of the spread of WMD.

FROM THE WIRES
European Heroin Smuggling in Turkish Hands
International Wire Services: A report released Tuesday by
the Council of Europe on heroin smuggling said that drug
trafficking in countries such as Germany, Britain, and the
Netherlands was largely conducted by Turkish crime
organizations, with heroin smuggling activities being run by
the Turkish mafia in Germany, and drugs taken into England
and the Netherlands by the same groups. Since 2003, 34
percent (18,019 kilos) of all heroin seized around the world
had been confiscated in Europe, the report said. Of this
total, over one quarter (4,705 kilos) was seized in Turkey.


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WILSON