ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 004237 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, JULY 20, 2006 In Today's Papers Prime Minister Erdogan Reaffirms Support for Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) All papers: Arriving in northern Cyprus for the 32nd anniversary of the Turkish intervention, Prime Minister Erdogan expressed Ankara's determination to continue supporting Turkish Cypriots in all areas and said that Turkey should not be expected to make more concessions in Cyprus. Erdogan urged the international community to end the isolation of the TRNC. The Prime Minister yesterday met with TRNC President Talat, the Prime Minister and the Parliament Speaker. Meanwhile, State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary Matt Bryza said that it is a very positive development for Papadopoulos and Talat to agree to meet, and that Washington is determined to support the United Nations' efforts to resolve the Cyprus dispute. Syrian President Assad Calls Erdogan to Discuss Lebanon Cease-fire; Evacuees Arrive in Turkey Sabah, Bugun, Milliyet and others: While the evacuation of foreigners from Lebanon continued, Syrian President Assad called Prime Minister Erdogan and asked for his assistance in reaching a cease-fire in Lebanon. Sabah reports that the US has sent four military ships to Lebanon for its citizens there. A group of Swedish evacuees landed in the Turkish Mediterranean port city of Mersin yesterday. Commentary on the Middle East Conflict Writing in liberal Radikal, Ismet Berkan observed that Israel's actions are only serving to weaken the Lebanese government and by extension strengthen Iran and Syria: "There is a serious conflict between Israel's declared targets and the actual implementation. Israel wants the Lebanese army to station troops on the border to weaken Hezbollah's power. At the same time Israeli attacks are hitting the Lebanese army as well which in fact weakens the democratically elected Beirut government. In short ISRAEL is doing wrong, although there is no way to defend Hezbollah's presence either - it is an organization aiming to destabilize the region and act as a branch of Iran and Syria in Lebanon. But given the current situation, ISRAEL seems to be leaving the control fully to Iran and Syria by destroying Lebanon and by causing and extraordinary number of civilians killings. " Writing in the Islamist-intellectual Zaman, Fikret Ertan, sees no end in sight to the situation: "As the Israeli military operation in Lebanon reaches its 9th day, where there is still no sign of ceasefire. On the contrary there are strong indications that the attack will continue for two or three weeks with all its harshness and cruelty. Israeli generals have already and openly declared that additional time -- up to three weeks -- is needed to finish the job. Israeli sources also admit that despite air, sea and land forces continuous bombardments, Hezbollah has only lost half of its military capability. Given the current missile attacks against Israel from Hezbollah-controlled areas, Hezbollah has still a significant supply of missiles. It seems there is no sign of hope for a settlement unless there is an unexpected and sudden ceasefire." Debates on a Possible Turkish Cross-Border Operation in Iraq Radikal, Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Bugun, Vatan, and others: Prime Minister Erdogan confirmed military plans yesterday for a possible cross-border operation to eliminate terrorist bases in Northern Iraq and said that Turkey is waiting for replies from Washington and Baghdad on Ankara's request for concrete steps. Meanwhile, at the daily press briefing, US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack stressed US opposition to any unilateral move by Turkey. Milliyet, citing the US Embassy press release of yesterday, said that 'the words of US Ambassador Ross Wilson have been misunderstood. Turkey, like every country, has a right and obligation to defend itself and its people.' The US Embassy press release has been distributed to ANKARA 00004237 002 OF 002 the press in Washington by the State department, Milliyet notes. Comparing the Turkish stance on the Israeli actions against Hezbollah to its stance on actions against the PKK in Iraq, Ertugrul Ozkok commented in the mass appeal Hurriyet: "Turkey has taken a leading role in the Middle East crisis, actively engaging in some initiatives even though some of them have not been welcomed by the US or Israel. All of this might be attractive to the domestic audience. At this point, I can't help but act as devil's advocate. Is it really in our interest to take an actively binding role in the Middle East crisis as it has been a problem for half a century and while Turkey suffers from its own terrorism problem? Putting aside the voices of fanatics, anyone sensible can see that overreacting to Israel and acting even more militantly than Egypt and Saudi Arabia is an unnecessary thing. Moreover Turkey should be very careful when criticizing others' way of fighting against terrorism while it has plenty of its own terrorism problems. Regarding the recent polemic between the US Ambassador and Prime Minister Erdogan, we should understand that asking the US to stop ISRAEL and to support Turkey can only weaken our case. What we see today is the fact that Turkish policies regarding the Middle East and northern Iraq have completely collapsed as a natural consequence of the rejection of March 1 parliamentary motion." TV Highlights NTV, 8.00 p.m Domestic News Q A police helicopter has crashed in Antalya, killing 5 policemen. The cause of the crash was technical failure. Q Hundreds of representatives of the Kamu-Sen labor union threw eggs at the Israeli Embassy in Ankara to protest Israeli strikes against Lebanon and Palestine. Q The US Embassy in Ankara released a written statement saying that comments made by Ambassador Wilson in recent days have been misinterpreted. Q Prime Minister Erdogan urged the international community to remove unfair restrictions in Northern Cyprus International News Q US State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said that the US would not support a cross-border operation by Turkey in Northern Iraq Q More Lebanese civilians died in Israeli air strikes Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON