ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 006747 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, DECEMBER 26, 2006 ANKARA 00006747 001.2 OF 002 In Today's Papers Parliament Approves 2007 Budget All papers report that, after two sleepless nights and heated debates, the Parliament adopted the 2007 budget last night. Tension escalated at Parliament during yesterday's debates. AKP deputies reacted to statements of main opposition party CHP leader Deniz Baykal who said, "The headscarf is only a cloth which covers hair, it cannot cover a person's shame." ANAVATAN leader Erkan Mumcu said that a person who told lies to his people cannot become the next president. Responding to the opposition parties' criticism, PM Erdogan said, "I condemn such language under the roof of the Parliament." Concerning criticism for his connections to Saudi businessman Yasin Al-Kadi, PM Erdogan said, "I know him very well and I trust him." Levent Bilman to be New Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hurriyet, Sabah, Cumhuriyet, Radikal and others: The Turkish Foreign Ministry's new spokesperson will be Levent Bilman, an expert on Greece and Cyprus, Foreign Ministry confirmed on Monday. Bilman will replace Namik Tan, who will be Turkey's new Ambassador to Israel. Meanwhile, Murat Esenli, who is also the son-in-law of Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, was appointed as the new top advisor to Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. Natural Gas Deal with Georgia Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet and others: Sabah reports about the Georgian Energy Ministry announcement saying that Turkey and Georgia signed an agreement for Georgia to buy 800 million cubic meters of Azeri gas from Turkey in 2007. The deal with Turkey reduces Georgian dependency on Russian natural gas and pulls down the cost of natural gas for Georgia, Radikal notes. Cumhuriyet and Referans report that the Turkish pipeline company Botas has rejected the Georgia's claims that a natural gas deal has been reached, and announced that the Energy Ministers of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia will meet in Istanbul to discuss the distribution of Shahdeniz natural gas. Presidential Election Debates Cumhuriyet reports that the Honorary Chairman of the Court of Appeals Sabih Kanadoglu said that the government will fail to elect a new president because AKP votes are not sufficient to elect a new president. Kanadogly said the Constitution requires at least two-thirds of the deputies be in quorum for the presidential election to be considered, which is more than AKP's members alone.. Editorial Opinon: Iran and UN Resolution "The Name of Fear is Ahmedinejad" Kubilay Celik commented in the conservative Tercuman (12/26): "The recent UN resolution to impose sanctions on Iran due to its nuclear program has been in the process for the last five months. In other words, it took five months for the permanent members of the UN Security Council to reach a consensus, as Russia and China always stood against punishing Iran. In the end, these two members could not bear the growing pressure any more, resulting in the decision to impose sanctions. As for the Iran angle, Ahmedinejad has already defied the decision and described the resolution as just a piece of paper. More, importantly he gave an ultimatum by saying to the Western world, 'You will regret this.' As a matter of fact, his statement merits more careful examination, given his very radical character. He may carry out an act of insanity, such as sending a nuclear missile to Israel. Even the thought of this insanity is enough to give us the creeps." "Iran" Mustafa Balbay observed in the leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet: (12/26): "The UN decision, on a series of sanctions against Iran because of its nuclear program, was finally passed. However the tone of the resolution is softer than anticipated. According to the ANKARA 00006747 002 OF 002 resolution, Iran is banned from purchasing nuclear supplies from outside. The fact of the matter is that these supplies were illegal and Iran was not supposed to have them anyway. The UNSC has turned what is well known into a resolution -- that's all. Historically speaking, Iran's nuclear program is the result of US efforts during the Shah regime, Germany's facilitative assistance during the fundamentalist Islamist Khomeni regime, and finally Russia's current encouragement. The comprehensive report on Iran's nuclear program was available in June 2003 (interestingly enough, right after the US invasion of Iraq). It said that Iran's nuclear capability is far greater than had been expected. The US since then has been asking for sanctions against Iran, but China-Russia-EU did not concur. This is the basic reason for the UNSC resolution with softened terms. The US failure in Iraq, and mistrust in international public opinion against Washington, became other major factors for the softened resolution against Iran." TV Highlights NTV, 6.00 A.M. Domestic News - The prosecutor has issued an order for the arrest of 17 suspects taken into custody in connection with irregularities in state tenders - The National Security Council (NSC) will hold a meeting on December 28 to discuss counterterrorism and EU entry bid - AKP deputy Fatma Sahin has filed a motion for parliamentary inquiry into climate change and related risks for Turkey International News - Ethiopian forces bombed Somalia's two main airports on Monday - British troops carry out a massive raid on a police station in Basra after receiving intelligence that dozens of prisoners were tortured there - At least 87 people died after floods and landslides battered Indonesi's Aceh and North Sumatra provinces. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON