ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 005846 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, OCTOBER 6, 2006 In Today's Papers German PM Angela Merkel Visits Turkey All papers: On Thursday, visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at a joint press conference after meeting with Prime Minister Erdogan that Turkey should grant access to Greek Cypriot vessels and airplanes if Ankara wants to divert a crisis during the EU membership process. Erdogan responded by saying Turkey would not open its ports and airports to Greek Cyprus unless the international isolation of Turkish Cyprus is ended. Erdogan noted the Greek Cypriot side had been unjustly rewarded for rejecting a settlement in the divided island. Merkel said Ankara had reportedly welcomed EU term president Finland's proposal which might help to resolve a difficult problem. The Finnish proposal is for Magosa (Famagusta,) a key port in Turkish Cyprus, to reopen under UN control in exchange for handing over the ghost-town of Maras (Varosha) to the Greek Cypriots. Merkel also said Germany and Turkey should closely cooperate in the Middle East. Vatan says Erdogan stands close to the Merkel proposal, and wants to carry bilateral ties with Germany to the level of 'strategic partnership' like the one that exists between the US and Turkey. Merkel also said in relation to the problems of the Turkish community in Germany that young Turks would benefit more from education opportunities by learning German. She said her government aimed at removing the barriers Turks face in integration with German society. Merkel was later received by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer before she flew to Istanbul with Erdogan to participate in the Turkish-German Economy Forum meetings on Friday. On Thursday evening, non-Muslim minority leaders Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I, Armenian Patriarch Mesrob II, Chief Rabbi Ishak Haleva and Vatican envoy George Marovich joined a fast-breaking dinner (iftar) with Erdogan and Merkel in Istanbul. Meanwhile, EU Commissioner Olli Rehn told the press before departing Turkey yesterday that Turkey must be confident in its EU process. Rehn does not anticipate a "train crash" on Turkey's road to EU membership, but warns that the road ahead will be a tough one, advising Turkey to pass through this phase "with reforms." Responding to a question, Rehn stressed that EU progress reports were always "impartial and fair." He also said his new book, on display at the Frankfurt Book Fair, would generate debates with regard to Turkey-EU relations. Turkish Participation in UNIFIL Sabah, Vatan and others report that the frigate TCG Gaziantep will set sail from the Aksaz Naval Base in Marmaris today for Lebanon to join international naval forces off the Lebanese coast. Vessels from participating countries will carry out the duty in rotation. A Turkish deployment of nearly 260 soldiers, most of them reportedly engineers, will depart for Lebanon on October 10. Opposition Party CHP Backs AKP's Bill to Lower the Election Age All papers report that after submitting the bill to the Parliament to lower the minimum age to be elected deputy to 25 from 30, two AKP deputies Salih Kapusuz and Sadullah Ergin met with CHP deputy leader Ali Topuz. Topuz, reportedly, promised CHP support on the amendment. The Constitution Committee will take up the issue today. The first round of voting on the constitutional amendment will be made in Parliament on Tuesday and the second round on Thursday. For the change be implemented in 2007 elections, it has to be adopted before October 20. Poll Speculates on Chances for 'Election Alliances' Cumhuriyet carries on its front page a public opinion survey commissioned by SONAR polling company which indicates that the three left-wing parties, namely CHP, DSP and SHP, would have nearly the same percentage of votes as the ruling AKP if they formed an alliance in elections. If general elections were held today, the AKP would lead by 27.80 percent of votes followed by the 'leftist ANKARA 00005846 002 OF 003 alliance' CHP-DSP-SHP 27.06, DYP 13.94, and MHP 13.12. According to a second scenario, if only DSP and SHP enter into an election alliance, they will receive 12.43 percent of votes, with AKP still leading with 28.85 percent, followed by CHP 17.31, DYP 13.17, and MHP 12.80. The third scenario speculates an alliance between DYP and ANAP which is predicted to receive 18.82 percent after AKP with 28.82 and CHP 19.29, followed by MHP with 12.44. The survey was conducted in 14 major Turkish provinces in October. Editorial Commentary on War on Terror and the PKK Writing in the nationalist Ortadogu, Kamuran Ozbir argues that as it is a "local" terror issue, the fight against the PKK is not a priority for the US: "The US has always seen the terrorism threat on an international scale. Local terrorism, such as the PKK, is not part of the US official perception of the terrorism threat. US official documents are enough to validate this argument since they always refer to 'international terrorism' which basically is about the threat against American interests in the world. The PKK does not fall into that category and nowadays we see the continuation of efforts to distract Turkey's attention from a possible cross border operation. Terrorism 'coordination' is also a part of this effort which basically has two hidden goals: politicization of the PKK and prevention of Turkey's intervention in northern Iraq. The current US administration put together an anti-terrorism strategy but it didn't help in the fight against terrorism. It actually helped the growing anti-American sentiment throughout the world, and provided more ground to radical Islamist terrorism. The Bush administration and his neo-cons should realize that the current anti-war strategy is useless and the use-of-force policy should be abandoned." Erdal Guven, commenting in the liberal-intellectual Radikal, also says the PKK is not a priority for the US, but for different reasons: "Given the current circumstances, the US does not support the PKK but cannot do anything against it either. This does not mean that the US is supporting and sheltering the PKK. What it means is that in Washington's analysis of threats vis-`-vis Iraq and the Middle East, the PKK is not a primary figure. A military option against the PKK by American forces is a remote possibility as the US has enough to deal with in the Middle East, including the Iraq situation, Hamas, Hezbollah and others. At the same time, Washington is aware of the fact that the PKK attacks in Turkey constitute the main reason for growing anti-Americanism and feels obliged to take action on the issue. Appointment of a special envoy to counter PKK, public relation efforts in Turkey - the program with families of martyrs -- and lengthy announcements from the White House about the Bush-Erdogan meeting are all a result of this feeling." TV Highlights NTV (8 a.m.) Domestic News - Turkey's religious affairs directorate Diyanet said in a report that 1000 Koran courses have been opened in Turkey since 2002, with one million attendants annually. - A prosecutor demanded 4.5 years of prison sentence for novelist Ipek Calislar, who was put on trial for insulting in her novel the memory of the founder of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. - An IMF delegation will visit Turkey on Monday for the fifth review inspection. - State Minister for economy Ali Babacan predicted the year-end inflation rate to be below ten percent. International News ANKARA 00005846 003 OF 003 - European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso warned that a sudden refusal to admit Turkey into the bloc could make the EU seem hostile to Islam. - A new coalition government between the CTP and ORP parties in Turkish Cyprus has been given vote of confidence in the parliament yesterday. - Dutch politicians are concerned that Turkish voters might boycott the approaching general elections as three candidates of Turkish heritage have been suspended for declining to accept 'genocide' of Armenians at the hand of Ottomans during World War I. - The British Guardian reports Iraq's school and university system is in danger of collapse across the country as pupils and teachers flee in the face of threats of violence. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON