ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 006219 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 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2006 In Today's Papers Finland's Effort for a Cyprus Summit Hurriyet, Radikal, Milliyet and others: EU Term President Finland planned to bring together Turkey, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC),and the Greek Cypriots for a meeting in Helsinki on November 5-6, prior to the release of the EU Commission's report on November 8. After the Finnish initiative to arrange a three-party Cyprus summit failed, Turkey insisted that Greece also should join the talks. Now Finland is exerting efforts to ensure the participation of Greece and the UN in the Helsinki meeting. Hurriyet reports that before the meeting the Finnish Foreign Minister will hold talks with TRNC President Talat in Brussels. Milliyet reports that, FM Gul, on his way to Moscow to attend the Black Sea Ministerial, said there is no such meeting planned, and as the term president, Finland has been making some good will moves. National Security Council (NSC) Meeting All papers: The NSC meeting was held yesterday. General Buyukanit attended the NSC meeting for the first time as the TGS chief. The statement issued after the meeting said recent developments both in Turkey and the world were discussed at the meeting in detail. Sabah reports that increased military-civilian cooperation against fundamentalism was agreed on at the meeting. Separatist terrorism and Iran's nuclear program were also discussed at the meeting and the importance of finding a solution to the Iranian problem was highlighted. General Buyukanit is heading to Athens today as an official guest of the Greek Chief of General Staff. Central Bank Warns Government on Trade Deficit Hurriyet, Sabah, Radikal and others: Turkish Statistics Institute (TUIK) stressed yesterday that Turkey's foreign trade deficit increased by 25.2 percent in the first nine months of the year and reaches $39.8 billion. Speaking at a press conference yesterday Central Bank Governor Durmus Yilmaz said that the inflation rate would be between 9.2 and 10.6 at the end of 2006 with 70 percent probability and added that they needed the support of all segments of the society to meet the inflation targets, asking everyone to adapt their pricing habits according to the target. Yilmaz was quoted as saying, "We know that the wages of civil servants are low, but we are obliged to warn the government because we all will suffer if the fight against inflation collapses." Gallup Poll in Armenia Milliyet reports that according to a Gallup poll held in Armenia only 1 percent of the Armenians consider the so-called Armenian Genocide issue a priority, the majority consider unemployment as a major issue to be resolved first of all. Editorial Opinion on Iraq Mete Cubukcu argued in the leftist Birgun that the linking of the current situation in Iraq to Vietnam indicates that "America is headed to the end of the road" in its invasion: "Depicting Baghdad as the Arabian Saigon is a perfect characterization of the current situation. The US army is not declaring a defeat but is not capable of controlling Iraq either. The failure of US tactics in Iraq is now expressed by officials as well, from President Bush to State Department officials. The uncertainty of Iraq's future brings many speculations along with it. One of the options might be putting the democracy dream on the shelf and establishing a junta regime under the pretext of the need for stability. The fact of the matter is that the current Iraqi administration is not much more than a junta, since the strings are fully controlled by US Baghdad Ambassador Khalilzad. The US administration faces a vicious circle in Iraq as resistance grows using newer tactics while the occupation authorities are getting harsher, albeit to no avail. There will be no remedy for Iraq until a pull-out is presented as a strategy and a calendar for withdrawal is offered." ANKARA 00006219 002 OF 002 Zafer Atay writing in the economic-political Dunya argues that a US pull-out from Iraq is inevitable as soon as it does the government will collapse: "As American authorities are admitting, the chaos in Iraq is growing every passing day with increasing attacks against security forces, government buildings and more. Like in the Vietnam situation, it is not possible to identify who is a friend and who is an enemy in the midst of anarchy. It looks like Saddam's prediction is coming true as he was expecting that the occupation forces will eventually ask for his help to stop the bloodshed. Iraq is also experiencing a lack of central authority. There is no doubt that the so-called government of Iraq will collapse the day the US pulls out. In the end, both England and the US will have to pull out from Iraq. And, unfortunately, Turkey will end up living next to a neighbor with blood and fire." TV Highlights NTV (7 A.M.) Domestic News - Five players from second league soccer team Alanyaspor were injured when lightning struck their field during training. - CHP Leader Deniz Baykal criticized PM Erdogan harshly for his reluctance to start action against irregularities in Islamic company Yimpas. - Turkey introduced EU standards for its lottery. International News - British Defense Ministry announced that the cost of Britain's military involvement in Iraq has passed four billion pounds. - North Korea decided to re-join the six-party talks concerning its nuclear program. - A NATO Soldier and 55 insurgents were killed during a six-hour firefight in southern Afghanistan Economy - Pipeline company BOTAS has increased price of natural gas used in households by 5.8 percent. - Turkey agreed to buy 12 S-70B Seahawk naval warfare helicopters from the US. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON