ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 006454 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, NOVEMBER 20, 2006 In Today's Papers MHP Convention All papers: MHP held its regular general convention on Sunday, November 19 in Ankara. Devlet Bahceli was the only candidate for the chairmanship, and he was re-elected as the party chairman with 1127 votes for and only 12 votes against. In his one-hour 45-minute speech, Bahceli criticized the AKP, DYP leader Agar and the EU. Giving clear anti-EU messages, Bahceli said that the EU should "leave and take its Copenhagen Criteria with it." He asserted that Turkey is not dependent on EU, accusing the Union of trying to create artificial minorities in the country. He branded the EU a "treacherous destruction project aimed at Turkey's disintegration." Criticizing the government over its methods in tackling the terror problem, Bahceli said the AKP encouraged the PKK to follow its plan to divide country. He asserted that the MHP, if it came to power, would take cross-border operations seriously into consideration and send Ocalan to an "F-type prison." Condemning debates over general amnesty for the PKK, Bahceli accused DYP leader Agar of treason, and said that MHP would end ethnic separatism and would do whatever is necessary to curb terror. Cutting Off the PKK's Financial Sources Saturday's Cumhuriyet reported that US Principal Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism Frank Urbancic visited Europe last week to discuss cutting financial support for PKK with officials there. Before coming to Turkey, Urbancic held contacts in Germany, Belgium and France where PKK activities are rather intense. The activities of the PKK and affiliated organizations and their financial sources were discussed at the meetings. Urbancic's trip showed that there was a change in the US approach to the PKK issue. Today's Cumhuriyet reports that during his visit to Ankara, Urbancic met with Hayati Guven, General Director for Intelligence at the Foreign Ministry, and revealed a report about the financial activities of PKK in Europe and the support generated by various associations. Iraq Milliyet, Aksam: In an interview with Milliyet, Turkey's Special Envoy to Iraq Oguz Celikkol said that the PKK and Kirkuk were at the top of the agenda during the visit of Iraqi PM Maliki to Turkey last week. Celikkol said that Iraqi officials are aware of the PKK threat in Iraq. Aksam reports that Peter Galbraith, an American who serves as political advisor to the Kurdish leaders in Northern Iraq, said that Turkey is important for Kurds, and due to the investments in the region, Kurds approach Turkey with sympathy. He predicted that an independent Kurdistan will be established in five years and added that Iraq has already been divided. Galbraith added that "Kurdistan" does not view the PKK warmly. Yasemin Congar, writing from Washington in the mainstream Milliyet, warns against the expectation that the US might turn to a more 'low profile policy' on Iraq in the aftermath of Congressional elections: "The Congressional elections posed a serious blow to Bush. However this fact does not necessarily mean that the US will pursue a low profile in the international arena and abandon its Middle East democracy project. Influential Democratic Party figures also validate this argument by emphasizing that the US cannot and shall not go through a post-Vietnam-like syndrome due to the failure in Iraq. They attach more importance to the democracy ideal and talk about correcting the notorious human rights record of the US. The Democratic policy makers believe in the need for more engagement in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East. Democratic Party politicians simply do not share the left-wing view on Iraq, which can be summarized as 'let's leave Iraq as soon as possible, and don't think about the rest of it.' The fact is that there is no miracle to find on the Iraq issue and the Bush administration is having a hard time. But that does not validate the argument that the US will implement a softer foreign policy and go back home." Commentary on the Middle East Peace Process ANKARA 00006454 002 OF 002 Kerim Balci observed in the Islamist-intellectual Zaman: "Spanish PM Zapatero started a new initiative on the Middle East issue with the support of Italy and France. It will be wrong to believe that this was originally Zapatero's idea because there are two names behind the scenes of this plan. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is one of them. Annan is deliberately working on ways to make the UN more effective in local and global crises. He pursues negotiation as a first approach as opposed to the American use of force. The second name in the plan is Spanish Foreign Minister Moratinos. He is a well-known and respected figure in the Arab world and a leading figure in shaping EU foreign policy. On the other hand, regardless of the nature and sincerity of a plan, success is directly related to the level of acceptance by relevant parties. Palestinians stay in the middle, as they say the plan is a positive step but there are things to discuss. Israel is very negative for two reasons: the US is not part of the plan, and the initiative is not something that the Israelis asked for. Given the facts about acceptance, the chance for success of the Spanish initiative on the Middle East is almost zero. The Middle East problem is a chronic one, and needs new leaders instead of new solution formulas." TV News: (NTV, 7.00 A.M.) Domestic News - Security officials have undertaken special security measures to prevent the honor killing of a 21 year old pregnant girl in Van - Industrialists voice reactions to reports for increases in electricity prices International News - A suicide bomber kills 22 people south of Baghdad - Israel cancels a planned raid on the home of a Gaza militant after hundreds of Palestinians barricade themselves inside the building. - Russia and the United States signed a bilateral deal for Moscow's entry in the World Trade Organization Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON