ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 006510 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 27, 2006 In Today's Papers Pope Benedict XVI to Visit Turkey All papers report Pope Benedict XVI will pay a landmark visit to Turkey on Tuesday. Benedict XVI will meet with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and the head of religious affairs directorate (Diyanet) Professor Ali Bardakoglu in Ankara tomorrow. On Wednesday, the Pope will visit Virgin Mary's Church in Ephesus near Izmir in western Turkey before traveling to Istanbul to join a liturgy with the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I. The pontiff will also visit Hagia Sophia Museum and Sultanahmet Mosque, and meet with the Armenian Patriarch Mesrob II. Dailies report the Pope said before beginning his visit "I want to send a cordial greeting to the dear Turkish people, rich in history and culture. To these people and their representatives I express feelings of esteem and sincere friendship." Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told the press on Sunday that the "Turkish government considers the visit of the spiritual leader of the Catholic world, Pope Benedict XVI, as an important opportunity to overcome many prejudices." Recalling that the Pope's visit coincided with the NATO Riga Summit, Gul said the pontiff and Erdogan "will probably meet at the airport." "We will of course show hospitality and we hope that this visit will be a way of ending misunderstandings between Muslims and Christians. His message will be very important," Gul said. On Sunday, more than 20,000 in Istanbul held the biggest protest rally so far against Pope Benedict's controversial visit. The rally was organized by the Islamist Felicity Party (SP). The deonstrators chanted slogans demanding that he Hagia Sophia museum, where the Pope is supposed to visit, be turned into a mosque. The crowd carried placards which were mostly in Englih saying that Islam is respectful of Christianity and Jesus Christ, and that the Pope should also respect Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. Addressing the rally via videoconference, Turkey's banned Islamist leader Necmettin Erbakan claimed the Pope was coming to Turkey "to revive Byzantium," and asked the ruling AKP government to block the visit. Mainstream papers note that although one million demonstrators were expected only about 20,000 showed up. Papers also speculate the main purpose of Pope Benedict's visit is to meet the Istanbul-based leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, in an attempt to seek unity between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. Editorial Commentary on the Papal Visit to Turkey Gungor Mengi observed in the mass appeal Vatan: "Pope Benedict's recent remarks during the Sunday mass demonstrate his intention to extend warm messages to Turkey and the Turkish people which make him deserve Turkey's respect and hospitality. A visit to a mosque, Sultanahmet, is also a good indication of the Vatican's peaceful message and sincerity. Defining his visit to Turkey as a pilgrimage provided good support from the Pope for religious tourism in Turkey. The protest organized by a political party was not able to attract big crowds and failed to meet the expectations of the protest organizers. This shows that Turkey remains a balanced country with people of common sense. Given the recent developments, both the Vatican and Turkey are ready for this visit." Kursat Bumin wrote in the Islamist-opinion maker Yeni Safak: "The main motive during the anti-Pope protest in Istanbul was to stand against the 'Crusaders Alliance.' This shows that the organizers somehow are unaware of the differences between Christian churches. There is no use in turning a Papal visit to Turkey into a clash of civilization. This does not necessarily mean that Pope's remarks on Muslims are not disturbing, but representing his Turkey visit in the context of a crusade is also unnecessary. In today's world, the Pope does not have that much power contrary to common belief. He was not successful in including Christianity in the EU constitution, for instance. We are overrating his influence even over the ANKARA 00006510 002 OF 003 Catholic world. Reality says that all these protests and other anti-Papal stances give more power to the Pope than actually he has." Turkey's EU Process and Cyprus Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and others: Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told the press yesterday before traveling to Finland that he would not meet with the Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister George Lillikas at the Euro-Mediterranean Process (EuroMed) foreign ministers' meeting. Several Turkish papers say that despite the intensive efforts for a breakthrough regarding the Cyprus question, hopes for reaching a deal are dim. Papers note the Cyprus government has also denied any meeting will take place between Lillikas and Gul. Reports quote diplomats as saying they will use the summit to push for a deal allowing Turkey to open its ports and airports to Cyprus. Turkey's chief EU negotiator Ali Babacan is to kick off a tour on Monday covering some EU countries. Babacan will travel to London on Monday to attend the Turkey Political Group Round Table Meeting at Chatham House on November 28, followed by meetings in Warsaw and Prague later in the week. "Actors in the markets closely pursue the developments on Cyprus because it is a matter of profit and loss," Babacan said. He added, "An agreement on the Finnish plan will be the best probable result," indicating that, "we don't expect a negative outcome in relations with the EU with regard to the Cyprus issue. Even Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration do not want Turkey to break off from the EU process." Erdogan Attends Young Arab Leaders Forum in Jordan Sabah, Vatan, Hurriyet and others: Speaking at the Young Arab Leaders Forum in Jordan, PM Erdogan said that Turkey has a "historical responsibility" towards the Middle East and is ready to play a more active role in the region. Erdogan noted that Turkey was suffered the biggest losses in Iraq after the US, having lost 150 people. On the Palestinian issue, Erdogan said that the peace process should be resumed and that there should be more efforts to upgrade the living standards of the Palestinian people. On global terrorism, Erdogan said that the funds spent in the defense industry last year reached $1 trillion, that the amount was used for killing people and that if the money had been used to boost the economy and education, global terrorism would not have threatened the world. Speaking to the journalists on his return from Jordan, PM Erdogan said "We do not want Lebanon to turn into another Iraq. Therefore, we have some responsibilities as neighboring countries. Turkey is ready to take necessary steps immediately." NGOs Urge President Sezer to Veto 'Cargill Bill' Hurriyet, Cumhuriyet, Sabah: Chairman of the Turkish Environmental NGO TEMA, Prof. Dr. Celik Kurtoglu, asked President Sezer to veto the passage of a controversial bill, allegedly meant to enable illegally built industrial facilities to continue their operations. Prof. Kurtoglu voiced his concern about the bill, which changes the law on the protection and use of land, by saying "the passage of the bill shows the determination to allow multi-national agri-giant Cargill to continue operations despite several known illegalities." TV News: (NTV, 7.00 A.M.) Domestic News - Prime Minister Erdogan said he could meet with President Bush on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Riga to discuss the situation in Iraq. - Turkish Foreign Ministry said a recent attack on Turkish students in southern Cyprus was a result of the hatred fed by the Greek ANKARA 00006510 003 OF 003 Cypriot leadership. - Turkish Cyprus leader Mehmet Ali Talat said that they have formally applied to British civil aviation authorities to launch direct flights between northern Cyprus and the UK. - CHP deputy chairman Onur Oymen claimed there was a regime crisis in Turkey, adding the government was likely to collapse soon. International News - Italian daily La Repubblica said a group of terrorists plotting to assassinate Pope Benedict XVI had been captured a few weeks ago. - Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister George Lillikas said he was not optimistic about the efforts exerted by EU term president Finland to avert a crisis between Turkey and the EU. - Russia reportedly has begun delivering Tor M1 air defense systems to Iran. - On Sunday, a car bomb killed five people and wounded 23 in a crowded market in Haswa, south of Baghdad. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON