ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 005442

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
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2006


In Today's Papers

Pope Remarks Cause Strong Reaction in Turkey
All papers report Pope Benedict XVI said on Sunday that he was
''deeply sorry'' about the Muslim anger caused by his recent remarks
regarding the concept of holy war (jihad) in Islam and the Prophet
Muhammad which he made in a university lecture on Tuesday. "I am
truly sorry for the reactions caused by a brief passage of my
speech. These were quotations from a medieval text that do not
express in any way my personal opinion," the Pope said. Turkish
papers say the Pope has expressed regret, but stopped short of
apologizing for his statement. Turkish Religious Directorate
(Diyanet) head Ali Bardakoglu rejected the Pope's remarks, calling
them a "third-rate apology." Radikal says instead of apologizing,
the Pope merely said his remarks were a quotation. The
Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak says the Pope will apologize on
Wednesday in a detailed statement issued by the Vatican. Cumhuriyet
claims the Pope's statement was a "provocation" designed to spark a
clash of civilizations, opening the way for the US Greater Middle
East Project.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I said he expected Turkish
nationalists and Islamic activists to continue pushing for the trip
the Pope is scheduled to make to Istanbul in late November to be
cancelled. However, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told the press on
Sunday before heading to New York to attend the annual UN General
Assembly, "From our point of view, there is no question of any
change in the visit." Sunday papers reported that Gul had written
to Benedict XVI urging him not to cancel his visit to Turkey, saying
it was an important opportunity to foster dialog between different
cultures.

Columnist Mehmet Barlas, writing in the mass appeal Sabah, says the
Pope's remarks reflect his "intolerance" and "lack of comprehension"
of world affairs: "Pope Benedict's recent remarks deserve more pity
than anger because they reflect his lack of comprehension of world
affairs and his intolerance. It is a pathetic situation because he
became the Pope at a time when the entire world is in most immediate
need of consensus between civilizations and different cultures.
However he seems even unaware of the most recent Danish cartoon
crisis. Therefore his attempt to express 'regret' does not change
anything. The whole thing can be summed up by the slogan: as long
as the Pope lives in Rome, tolerance lives in a coma."

Writing in the mass appeal Hurriyet, Mehmet Y. Yilmaz comments that
the Pope's remarks should not be surprising, and that they must be
"happy news" for President Bush: "The recent incident and growing
reaction against the Pope proved once again that the Islamic world
is very vulnerable to provocations. Let's not forget that the Pope
is the leader of Catholic Christians and it does not require
research to learn his basic approach to Islam. In fact whatever
Muslim religious figures think of Christians, the same is valid for
the Pope about Muslims. In other words there is nothing to be
surprised about here. At this point transferring a theological
argument to the political arena will harm everybody. Meanwhile the
growing reaction against the Pope in the Islamic world must be happy
news for President Bush. President Bush's strategy to reshape the
world is melded into the conflict of civilizations argument, and the
recent controversy only serves this purpose."

Ralston Meets Barzani
Cumhuriyet, Radikal, Bugun, Zaman and others reported on Sunday
Joseph Ralston, US special envoy for countering the PKK, has met
Massoud Barzani, the leader of Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and
president of the Kurdish Regional Government in northern Iraq, to
express US uneasiness over the PKK activities in northern Iraq.
Papers said Ankara had been discomfited by Barzani's offer of
intermediation to Ralston for resolving the problems with the PKK.
The main opposition CHP said the Barzani remarks marked the start of
negotiations with the terror organization.

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Rusen Cakir, commenting in the mass appeal Vatan, points out that PM
Erdogan may come to regret his upcoming trip to Washington if he
"fails to get something tangible" from President Bush in the fight
against the PKK: "The US has not taken any concrete step to
eliminate the PKK presence in northern Iraq despite the ongoing,
never-ending terrorist acts in Turkey. This has caused a serious
and growing anti-Americanism as it comes with three preconceived
arguments. First, most believe that Washington has no intention to
resolve the PKK issue and its main focus is to work for an
independent Kurdish state in Iraq. Second, to many the US has no
intention of making the PKK give up violence by using military
force. It is believed that the US wants to achieve this goal by
forcing the PKK through the political system which, in the end, will
come to Ankara in the form of some unacceptable demands from
Washington, such as the release of PKK leader Ocalan from prison.
Finally, there is a belief that the US intends to push Turkey for
more radical reforms with the pretext of solving the Kurdish issue
-- which may lead to a crack in territorial integrity. If PM
Erdogan fails to get something tangible from President Bush in the
fight against PKK, his visit to Washington will be a trip to regret.
It is no secret that there are many anti-AKP figures in the US
capital and they seem to be close to the President."

Sezer Stresses Secularism on First Day in School
All papers report President Ahmet Necdet Sezer stressed in a message
in connection with the opening of the new education year the
importance of honoring Ataturk's principles and secularism in
education. Sezer called for the closure of illegal Koran courses in
Turkey, saying they can damage children with "dogmas and false
beliefs." Some 14 million primary and secondary school children go
back to school today, the first day of a new academic year.


TV News:
(NTV, 7.00 A.M.)

Domestic News

- Turkish Land Forces Commander Ilker Basbug expressed determination
to eradicate the PKK at a funeral in Van for security officials
killed in clashes with the terrorist organization.

- Osman Baydemir, the mayor of the mainly Kurdish Diyarbakir,
rejected charges that the wireless devices used in early last
week's deadly Diyarbakir bombings had been similar to the devices
found in the car of his brother two years ago.

- TUSIAD chairman Omer Sabanci said current deficit and inflation
levels were very critical indicators for the Turkish economy.

- Guler Sabanci, the chief of Sabanci Holding, told The Observer
that the West has the wrong perception about her country - that
women have always been highly regarded in Turkey.

International News

- The Knesset has authorized a war inquiry into the way the Israeli
government and military handled the Lebanon war.

- Coalition talks between Palestinian President Abbas and the Hamas
party have stalled over Hamas' refusal to recognize Israel.

- Six bomb attacks across the oil-rich northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk
killed 25 and wounded another 70.

- Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said Turkey's EU membership
will be possible only after the recognition of Cyprus.

- Some 7,000 US and Afghan troops launched a renewed push,

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"Operation Mountain Fury," against the Taliban in central and
eastern Afghanistan.

- The summit meeting of 118 Nonaligned Movement nations in Havana
urged unconditional talks with Iran to solve the nuclear dispute and
condemned the Israeli offensive on Lebanon.

Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at

http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/

WILSON