ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 004448 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 WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2006 In Today's Papers Lebanon Crisis All papers give extensive coverage to the ongoing Israeli offensive in Lebanon, reporting that Israel was aiming to advance its ground operations some 30 km deep into the south of the country. Papers criticize the Israeli cabinet for not backing off even in the face of reactions to the Qana killings. Reports claim Israel is preparing for an occupation. They point to the looming humanitarian disaster for Lebanese civilians, reporting that thousands of Lebanese people living in the south are fleeing to the north. President Bashar Assad reportedly ordered the Syrian army to raise its level of readiness in the face of expanding violence in the region. Papers quote deputy Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres as praising Turkey at a Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) meeting in New York, saying Turkey was the best example of a "modern and Muslim" country. Humanitarian relief organizations operating in member countres of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) met in Istanbul to discuss aid for Lebanon and Palestine. Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the OIC Secretary General, qualified Israel's attacks on Lebanon as a "crime against humanity," and stated that they gathered in order to provide a cease-fire. Lebanese Ambassador to Ankara Habib Siam said at the meeting that Lebanon wanted to take back its lands now occupied by Israel, adding that they needed the help of the international community to achieve this. Prime Minister Erdogan will travel to Kuala Lumpur on Thursday to participate in an extraordinary convention of the OIC to discuss the situation in the Middle East. In reaction to the Israeli offensive in Lebanon, 26 lawmakers from ruling and opposition parties resigned from the 263-member Turkey-Israeli Parliamentary Friendship Group. The head of the group, AKP MP Vahit Kirisci, said before considering to dissolve the group he would call on Israel to halt its attacks. Editorial Commentary on Lebanon Hasan Cemal, writing in the mainstream Milliyet, fears "what will happen next" in the Middle East if "diplomacy does not prevail" soon: "Is there any chance of stopping Hezbollah's strength? Unlikely. At this point what could be the next step, I wonder. Can Israel attack Iran and Syria as well? There is no limit to madness especially when President Bush is in Washington." Writing in liberal Radikal Ismet Berkan agues that the power struggle in the Arab world is the root of the current crisis: "The essence of the issue comes with a question and deserves an honest answer: Should Israel continue to exist in the region or should it be eliminated? As long as this question exists there will always be a war. Arab nations should be proactive and prepare a plan which envisions peace and stability in the region while respecting Israel's right to exist. The Middle East region will not see peace and tranquility as long as some Arab nations directly or secretly support the elimination of Israel. Today the Arab world has even failed to issue a real condemnation of Israeli attacks against Lebanon. This is because it is about Shiites being killed, not Sunnis. They see the situation as Israel fighting against Iran and actually feel content. There would be no Palestinian problem at all by now if this was not about a power struggle in the Arab world." Commenting in the leftist Cumhuriyet, Oral Calislar warns of "more disasters" if western powers don't act to "stop the madness": "Because of the methods implemented by Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah are becoming the most radical organizations in the world, which means the escalation of tension and violence. Why is this so obvious to us but not to the American neo-cons and Israeli administration? It seems that their intention is to spread the war as widely as possible and for this purpose Iran will be used as ANKARA 00004448 002 OF 003 another pretext eventually. President Bush and his administration are dragging the entire world into an enormous adventure. There will be more disasters unless some of the western powers can stop this ongoing madness." Assad to Visit Turkey Late August Hurriyet reports an official from the Syrian Information Ministry said President Bashar Assad and his wife would visit Turkey in late August as the guest of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Iraqi Administration Plans to Shut down PKK Offices Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Vatan: Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told the Washington Times that his government was preparing for serious steps against the PKK. Zebari was quoted as saying that the PKK office in Baghdad called "Ocalan Strategic Studies Center," only 500 meters away from the Turkish Embassy, will be shut down immediately. The offices of a number of political parties allied with the PKK in Erbil and Sulaymaniya will be shut down too. "First of all they are not Iraqis. Second, this is not the place for them to operate or lobby. Third, there was a joint message delivered to them from Iraqi Kurdistan leader Barzani and Iraqi President Talabani, asking the PKK to stop fighting. We believe that these measures will convince everybody that we are in business to fight the PKK," Zabari said. Turkey had increased its warnings to both the US and the Iraqi government last week following the death of dozens of Turkish soldiers in PKK attacks, and had implied that it would launch a cross border operation if there will be no immediate and effective steps from Washington and Baghdad. Gul-Erdogan at Odds over PM Advisors Cumhuriyet, Vatan, and Aksam speculate a rift is growing between Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Erdogan over Gul's uneasiness that advisors to Erdogan such as Professor Ahmed Davutoglu and Cuneyt Zapsu were carrying out political contacts with foreign ambassadors. Cumhuriyet says Gul declined to take a leading role in the growing crisis in the Middle East, and unlike foreign ministers of other countries, he did not visit Lebanon. Gul, apparently hurt by the meetings Zapsu held with top foreign envoys in Ankara, phoned Erdogan to ask "who is the foreign minister of Turkey -- me or Zapsu?" says Cumhuriyet. The paper claims Gul had come to the brink of resignation. Vatan says Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) Spokesman Namik Tan said some ten days ago that the MFA, too, learned about the contacts of Zapsu with foreigners from the press. Papers say Davutoglu was sent to Damascus to meet with President Assad and Hamas leader Mashal despite objections from the MFA. Vatan claims Erdogan had been annoyed by the Gul remarks in an interview with Hurriyet last month in which the FM said he was constantly warning Erdogan to keep his temper at meetings with foreigners. Hazelnut Protests Lead to Security Director's Demotion Cumhuriyet, Bugun, Radikal and others: Ridvan Guler, Ordu's deputy police chief was reassigned to Ankara after facing accusations of failing to act against the demonstrators in Ordu on Sunday. Reportedly, he has been appointed as a police inspector, a post he previously occupied. Meanwhile, the main opposition party CHP, yesterday accused Prime Minister Erdogan and his aid Zapsu for being responsible for the falling price of hazelnuts. Republican Peoples Party (CHP) deputy chairman Kemal Anadol, at a press conference yesterday accused the PM and his aid Zapsu by saying "just as he created chaos in Turkey's foreign policy, Zapsu is also behind the government's hazelnut policies." The government abandoned a farmers' union that purchases hazelnuts at a price fixed every year and caused the prices to fall. If prices go down on the domestic market, exporters will make more profit. All hazelnut traders have followed this policy, said Anadol. Claiming that an AKP deputy or Ordu's governor ordered the police chief to disperse the demonstrators, Anadol said 'if the chief had done that, many people could have been injured.' ANKARA 00004448 003 OF 003 TRT "Censors" Polanski's "The Pianist" Aksam reports that fearing reaction from the nation, Turkey's public broadcaster TRT television canceled a scheduled airing of Roman Polanski's "The Pianist" after the Israeli bombing of the Lebanese town of Qana which killed 60 civilians. On Monday, the Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak had criticized TRT for scheduling to show "The Pianist," a film depicting the cruelties Polish Jews faced during World War II, saying it was "bad timing." TV Highlights NTV (7 a.m.) Domestic News - Turkey's Supreme Military Council appointed First Army Commander General Ilker Basbug as the new Land Forces Commander. Basbug is the most powerful candidate for the post of General Staff Chief when the newly-appointed TGS Chief General Yasar Buyukanit retires in ¶2008. - Green Line, a coalition of environmental groups, said a huge oil slick caused by the Israeli bombing may reach beaches in Turkey, Cyprus and Greece. The 35,000-ton oil spill was caused by an Israeli air strike on the Jiyyeh power plant 20 miles south of Beirut. - Environmentalists have been concerned over press reports that the asbestos coatings of French aircraft carrier "Clemenso" and Mexican ship "Otopan" will be dismantled at a private shipyard near the Aegean city of Izmir. - US Defense News magazine says Turkey is to buy 30 F-16 jets for USD 1.5 billion to boost its air defense. - Turkey plans to hold an auction for the bloc sale of the state-owned Halkbank at the end of the year. International News - Tel Aviv said Israeli troops would advance about 18 miles into southern Lebanon. Heavy fighting between the Israeli forces and Hizbullah militias continue along the northern border with Lebanon. Ha'aretz reports Israel will accept a ceasefire to be offered by the UN Security Council on Friday. - Tehran said yesterday's UN Security Council demand for Iran to suspend its nuclear activities in a month or face sanctions was "illegal." - Bombings and armed attacks killed more than 50 people in Iraq on Tuesday. - President Bush said Venezuelan President Chavez is "not a military threat" but a menace who "undermines democracy." - Cuba's Fidel Castro has temporarily relinquished his presidential powers to his brother Raul over health problems. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ MCELDOWNEY