Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06ANKARA5569
2006-09-22 13:49:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Ankara
Cable title:  

ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

Tags:  OPRC KMDR TU 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 005569

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
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2006


In Today's Papers

Charges against Safak for "Insulting Turkishness" Dropped
All papers report an Istanbul court on Thursday dropped charges
against author Elif Safak for denigrating Turkish identity" in her
latest novel, "The Bastard of Istanbul." The ruling said
substantial evidence was lacking. "I'm very happy with the outcome
but as long as Article 301 is out there, there will be many other
cases like this," Safak said.

Prime Minister Erdogan also welcomed the verdict, signaling that the
government would consider amending Article 301 of Turkey's penal
code which envisages up to three years in jail for "denigrating
Turkish national identity." The European Commission welcomed the
decision to acquit Safak, but said Turkish law still threatened free
speech. Joost Lagendijk, co-chairman of the Turkey-European Union
Joint Parliamentary Commission, said regardless of the outcome,
every case filed was a victory for the opponents of the European
Union in Turkey.

After the hearing, a small group of protesters condemned Safak,
forcing riot police to move in to stop scuffles between nationalists
and leftists outside the courthouse.

Writing in the Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak, Mehmet Ocaktan argues
that the problem is not Article 301 itself but the nationalists and
politicians who enable them to bring charges under the law: "It is a
big relief to see Elif Safak's acquittal, but this doesn't guarantee
that prosecutors won't file similar cases. If Turkey was a normal
democratic country, maybe this article would never be mentioned.
Italy has a similar law but, so far, no one has ever been tried
because of their opinions under this article. This is mainly
because Italians do not have lawyers like Kemal Kerincsiz, the
nationalistic lawyer who initiated many such cases and follows the
authors and poets around like a detective. Of course, the greatest
hurdle on the path to democratization and Article 301 is those
politicians who have a Kerincsiz-like mentality. It seems that a
'nationalistic wave' is on the rise in Turkey's politics.
Opposition party leaders Baykal and Bahceli are the political
partners of Kerincsiz. I believe the first thing to be done is to
save Article 301 from the hands of Kerincsiz and his political

partners."

CHP Blocks Non-Muslim Schools Bill
All papers say changes in a bill regulating education in non-Muslim
minority schools have been suspended over complaints of the
opposition CHP that the new regulations would be used to pave the
way for the reopening of the Halki Seminary. Earlier this week the
ruling AK Party government made an attempt to change the definition
of "minority schools." Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) officials
told Radikal that the regulation had been planned as a good-will
gesture for 40,000 Armenians as well as foreign diplomats and
businessmen living in Turkey. The government was forced to pull
back the motion when CHP lawmakers charged that the bill would pave
the way for reopening Halki Seminary in Istanbul. According to
current regulations, only minority nationals of Turkey have access
to minority schools in Turkey. A decision regarding minority
regulations will be made when Foreign Minister Gul returns home
after wrapping up talks in the US.

CHP leader Deniz Baykal warned the AKP government to respect the
Lausanne Treaty, likening the planned reforms to the concessions
demanded in the Treaty of Sevres for dividing Turkey. Radikal slams
the opposition for manipulating sensitivity over the Lausanne Treaty
in an effort to oppose the reforms planned by the government.
Several academics told the press that the Lausanne Treaty did not
refer specifically to the Greek, Armenian and Jewish minorities, but
to "non-Muslims" in Turkey, stressing that the treaty allowed
non-Muslim schools and Halki Seminary.

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Al-Qadi Controversy
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Yeni Safak and
others: A US diplomat told Sabah on condition of anonymity that
Washington had welcomed the Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) decision
to appeal against the ruling of the Council of State (Danistay) on
Saudi financier Yasin al-Qadi, but was equally disappointed with a
later decision to withdraw the appeal. During an upcoming meeting
in early October, President Bush will express to Erdogan the US
uneasiness with the Danistay decision to scrap a government decree
freezing the assets of al-Qadi in Turkey, reminding the PM that the
Saudi busnessman is on the UN terror list. On Thursday, Ambassador
Ross Wilson commented that UN decisions are binding for all members.


Gul Meets Rice in New York
All papers report Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, in New York to
attend the 61st UN General Assembly meetings, met with Secretary
Rice on Thursday to discuss peace in Middle East, Iran, Iraq,
Lebanon and Turkey's EU process. Gul told Rice that Kirkuk was not
a "Turkish-Kurdish problem," adding that negative developments in
Kirkuk would negatively affect all of Iraq. Papers say Rice made
Gul no new promises concerning fighting against the PKK. On
Thursday, Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) spokesman Namik Tan said
the visits to the US of Turkish farming and state ministers, Mehdi
Eker and Kursad Tuzmen, and the appointment of Ralston as the
special US envoy for combating terrorism had been concrete moves
coming out of the strategic vision document.

Editorial Commentary: UN Reforms

Columnist Sami Kohen, writing in the mainstream Milliyet, calls for
UN reform: "The structure of the UN is outdated. The organization
was established at the end of World War II by 50 countries,
including Turkey. Today, the UN has 192 members. In recent years,
we have seen several times that the UN has been unable to resolve
international disagreements, and end attacks and clashes. In many
cases, the organization was even inefficient in extending
humanitarian aid. Everyone agrees that the UN needs reforms.
However, there is no consensus over the kind of reforms that should
be applied to the UN. To put it another way, the UN is unable to
unite even to decide its own future. Last year, during the 60th
anniversary of the UN, some basic agreements were reached regarding
necessary reforms. Priority should be given to the reforms to
answer today's needs, as soon as possible."


TV Highlights
NTV (8 a.m.)

Domestic News

- UNHCR Turkey said Greek coastal security forces had violated
international laws and EU norms by leaving illegal immigrants
offshore from the Turkish coast, noting that Turkish officials
sometimes had been acting in the same way.

- Mehmet Ali Agca, the hitman who attempted to kill Pope John Paul
II in 1981, warned Pope Benedict XVI in a letter not to visit Turkey
because his life would be at risk.

- Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas said car owners might be charged an
annual fee of 100 lira for parking their cars on streets.

International News

- Iraqi President Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) said
Turkish forces situated along the border had been shelling the town
of Dohuk in northern Iraq.


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- An opinion poll commissioned by the Bertelsmann Foundation, a
German think tank, shows 37 percent of those surveyed across the EU
believe Turkey will join the EU in the next 15 years.

- Kosovo parliament has adopted a proposal to make Turkish the
official language in the southern municipality of Prizren.

- Authorities found the beheaded body of Turkish engineer Mustafa
Asimi who was abducted in Afghanistan last month.


Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at

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

WILSON