ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 005604 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 25, 2006 In Today's Papers Turkish Peacekeepers Due in Lebanon October 20 Cumhuriyet reports Turkey is to deploy on October 20 a military unit to participate in the international force for Lebanon. The Turkish force will be made up of 200-270 military engineers for construction of roads and bridges and a 700-strong navy unit for patrolling off the Lebanese coast. Two Turkish majors will command the units and a colonel will serve at UNIFIL headquarters in Beirut. Writing in the conservative Bugun, Cengiz Candar notes that the UNIFIL mission will be to rebuild Lebanon without the involvement of Iran: "Observing the situation in South Lebanon, there has to be a serious effort to reestablish the daily lives of the people with a fast rebuilding process. It certainly looks like the people of South Lebanon have no power to engage in a war with ISRAEL at this point, and that shows Hezbollah cannot stop UNIFIL in this area. Then there is one other question that needs an answer: What will Iran do? Will Tehran give up its influence and power in South Lebanon? Time will show to what extent Lebanon will be rebuilt without Iran and without Iran-Syria influence." Turkish Parliament Delegation to Visit Northern Iraq Hurriyet, Milliyet, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and others: A Turkish Parliamentary delegation comprised of the ruling and main opposition AKP and CHP lawmakers will travel to northern Iraq on Tuesday for talks with the Iraqi, American and British officials to discuss the status of Kirkuk and developments in Iraq. AKP MP Turhan Comez said that the delegation will meet with the American and British consuls general and the governor in Kirkuk, and the speaker of the Turkmen Assembly where a Turkmen Friendship Group will be established during the three-day visit. Forced Marriages, Traditions Claim Lives in SE Turkey A front page report in liberal/intellectual Radikal says nine teenaged girls in the mainly Kurdish southeastern city of Batman held a march to protest the death of their friend, the 18-year old Saliha Demir, who committed suicide when she was forced to marry a 60-year-old man who already had two wives. The group called for an end to forced marriages and honor killings which makes Batman "the city of women suicides victims." Fifteen women there have killed themselves over the past nine months. On Sunday, NGOs in the border city of Hakkari made a joint statement to denounce violence against women, saying three girls between the ages of 13 and18 have committed suicide due to pressures coming from family and traditions. US Senate Blocks US Funding for Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey Railroad Sabah, Milliyet, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and others report the US Senate Banking Committee has approved a bill prohibiting American loans for the construction of a new railroad from Azerbaijan to Georgia and Turkey that will by-pass Armenia. The Armenian lobby in the US managed to convince the Senate Banking Committee to ban Eximbank and other US finance institutions from providing funds to the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project. Editorial Commentary: UNGA and Anti-Americanism Writing from Washington in the Islamist oriented-intellectual daily Zaman, Ali Aslan argues that the UNGA "demonstrated the growth of anti-American feelings since 9/11": "The strong anti-American remarks by the usual suspects, such as the Iranian and Venezuelan leaders were not the surprising part of UNGA. The unexpected development was the fact that those speakers received hearty applause from the UNGA participants. At this point, the international community can only find some relief if the issue between the US and Iran is resolved peacefully. A Congressional majority of Democrats after the November elections might also send a signal to President Bush to stop acting unilaterally." ANKARA 00005604 002 OF 002 One Out of Every Five Turks Jobless Cumhuriyet reports on its front page the number of young people who have stopped looking for a job because they have lost hope of finding one rose to 623,000, in which 39.8 percent are in the 14-25 age group. With the addition of 2.9 million jobless Turks, who had not been included in the data for the jobless, to the official figures for the unemployed, the percentage of jobless in Turkey climbs to 18.8. Opposition CHP lawmaker Professor Yakup Kepenek said new employees joining the total work force were below 50 percent, a level far too low when compared with OECD countries. Kepenek blamed ruling AKP policies for killing peoples' hopes to find a job. TV News: (NTV, 7.00 A.M.) Domestic News - This week the Turkish Parliament will continue discussing EU harmonization reforms, including the issue of minority schools. - 56 Kurdish mayors from Turkey's eastern and southeastern provinces will appear before the court tomorrow on charges of aiding the PKK. The prosecutor demands 15-year prison sentences for the mayors who have sent a letter to Danish Prime Minister Rasmussen to campaign against the closure of the Copenhagen-based pro-Kurdish Roj TV. - Seventeen people, including five policemen, were injured when a bomb-laden truck exploded in front of a police building in the eastern city of Igdir over the weekend. - The number of foreign tourists visiting Turkey has increased by 1.6 percent in August. International News - Iraq's Prime Minister al-Maliki called for peace and unity during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Sectarian violence claimed 20 lives across the country over the weekend. - Several British soldiers who have served in Iraq are being investigated on charges of smuggling guns confiscated from terrorists out of the country and exchanging them for drugs. - Turkish Cypriot Republican Turkish Party (CTP) and Freedom and Reform Party (ORP) will submit their joint cabinet list to President Talat for approval on Tuesday. - Forty Taliban insurgents have been killed in clashes with Afghan and NATO forces in Afghanistan. - The leaders of Thailand's military coup have closed more than 300 community radio stations in the country. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON