ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 005992 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 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2006 In Today's Papers Iraqi Prime Minister Cancels Scheduled Visit to Turkey All papers report the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki cancelled his scheduled trip to Turkey at the last minute due to a sandstorm at the Bagdhad airport. Vatan and Cumhuriyet think there were other reasons for the cancellation, that Maliki could not leave Iraq at a time of growing debates regarding a partition of Iraq; that the US authorities in Baghdad and the Iraqi Kurdish groups are concerned that while in Turkey the Iraqi PM could make pledges impossible to meet; or that President Talabani, being denied by Ankara an official visit to Turkey, blocked al-Maliki from going. Gul on Article 301, Cyprus Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal,, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and others report Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told the press en route to Ankara from Monday's Turkey-EU Troika foreign ministers' meeting in Luxembourg that Turkey will revise the controversial Turkish penal code's Article 301, which is seen as restricting free speech. EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn during a joint news conference with Gul yesterday said that 'Accession negotiations are not just a technical exercise, but a political process; and progress depends first and foremost on reforms.' Rehn said he hoped there would be 'concrete results' before the report is published on November 8, adding that 'Turkey will not repeat the mistake made by France.' Rehn also described Finnish proposals on Cyprus as being 'balanced and realistic,' stressing that they could be a 'last window of opportunity' on the divided island. Finland has proposed a two-year solution to the Cyprus problem focused on Turkey opening its ports and airports to Greek Cypriot vessels and airplanes. Ankara proposed a four-way summit with the EU, Greek and Turkish Cypriot representatives to negotiate the matter. Gul's conditions for debating the EU plan are that the control of Cypriot ports should be given to the UN instead of the EU, and the issue of the ghost-city of Maras (Varosha) should not be taken up as a separate issue. Turkish Peacekeepers to be Deployed in Shadiyah in Lebanon Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and others report the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and Turkish delegation have agreed that Turkish troops would be deployed in Shadiyah village near the southern Lebanese city of Tyre. Papers say the previously agreed area of Baqbuq to the north of Tyre was 'unsafe,' and relocated the Turkish military engineering contingent of 261 personnel to Shadiyah village. The Vatican Confirms Pope Benedict Visit to Turkey Sabah, Milliyet, Radikal, Zaman and others report Monday the Vatican press office announced that Pope Benedict XVI will pay an official visit to Turkey November 28--December 1. The Pope will arrive in Ankara, then move on to Izmir and Ephesus on November 29, ending up in Istanbul where he will participate in the Saint Andreas feast on November 30 at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate. In Ankara, Benedict XVI will call on the head of Turkish Religious Affairs Diyanet Professor Ali Bardakoglu, in a 'gesture' regarded by Turkish papers as an effort to reduce negative reactions towards the pontiff over his recent controversial statement about the Prophet Muhammad and Muslims. US Army Commander to Visit Turkey Sabah reports US Land Forces Commander General Peter Schoomaker will come to Turkey on October 26-27 to discuss military ties as well as the recent situation with the PKK and Iraq. Schoomaker will meet Land Forces commander General Ilker Basbug and the Turkish General Staff (TGS) chief General Yasar Buyukanit. Washington Times Predicts that the AKP Will Loose the Majority in ANKARA 00005992 002 OF 003 the Next Elections Sabah, Radikal: A recent Washington Times article argued that the AK Party could lose its parliamentary majority in Parliament after the next general elections and could receive around 25 percent of the vote. As a result of this, a coalition government could be established. The piece also argued that the result of next year's elections may well determine whether Turkey remains a friend of the West, or slips deeper into a hostile Islamist Middle East. Commenting on the terrorism threat Turkey faces, The Washington Times argued that the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) has won the support of the people because the AKP has failed to deal with the PKK. The paper added that the PKK issue has proven to be one obstacle in restoring the US-Turkey relationship that soured in 2003 when Turkey denied the US use of its territory during the war in Iraq. Radikal reports that, in an interview, PM Erdogan acknowledged the fact that support for his party has declined to 27 percent. The AK Party received 34.4% of the votes at the last elections. Iraq Becomes Hope for the Unemployed Milliyet cites a report published by the Employment Association as a source in saying that the number of Turkish workers who went to Arab countries like Jordan, United Arab Emirates and Qatar, increased noticeably in 2005. According to the report, over sixty thousand Turkish workers went to foreign countries in 2005 to work. Despite the security risks, the number of Turkish workers who traveled to Iraq, increased 68% in 2005, from4,900 Turkish workers in Iraq in 2004 to 8,237, in 2005. TV Highlights NTV (8 A.M.) Domestic News - Professor Erdogan Tezic, the chairman of the Turkish High Education Board YOK returned his Commandeur Chirac medal to the French Embassy in Ankara in protest over the French adoption of a bill concerning Armenian genocide claims. The Turkish parliament will hold a special session on Tuesday to discuss the approval of the controversial bill by the French Parliament. Lawmakers are expected to draft a strong response to France, including a trade boycott. - The New York Times describes the Nobel-winning Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk as "a writer above politics." - A Turkish pilot died on Monday when his F-16 jetfighter crashed in the mountainous province of Bitlis in southeast Turkey, Turkish Air Force said. - The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) World Investment Report for 2006 released yesterday said Turkey moved up to 22nd place on the index of countries receiving direct foreign investment with USD 9.7 billion of direct investment. International News - An unidentified French Foreign Ministry official said President Chirac did not promise to block the genocide bill from becoming law in a recent phone talk with Prime Minister Erdogan. - Greek and Greek Cypriot papers claim the US intervened to forge a compromise over a Finnish formula on Cyprus on the eve of the release of a EU Commission report on the divided island. - The OECD will release two major reports: one on corporate governance in Turkey and the other an economic survey of the country, during an upcoming visit to Istanbul and Ankara by the Organization's Secretary-General, Angel Gurra on October 17 and 18. ANKARA 00005992 003 OF 003 - On Monday, 91 people were killed in sectarian fighting between Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON