ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000110 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 FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2007 In Today's Papers Burns Meets Erdogan on First Day of Ankara Visit All papers report US Under Secretary of State Nicolas Burns met Thursday with Prime Minister Erdogan in Ankara. Erdogan told Burns that Turkey has been supporting the Americans' struggle against terrorism everywhere, complaining, however, that the US was not extending sufficient support to Turkey in northern Iraq. Burns gave Erdogan details about the Makhmour camp raid in northern Iraq, stressing that the US would always be on Turkey's side against the PKK. Burns said the raid on Makhmour was the first step toward closure of the camp. Burns also said Kirkuk was Iraq's internal affair, and that the matter would be left up to Iraq. Burns told the press after the meeting that the US would continue to stick to its pledges regarding PKK terrorism, and that further steps would be taken to close down PKK bureaus in Iraq. Burns said with regard to the Mahmur camp raid that it was a positive step toward blocking the PKK attacks against Turkey. Responding to Erdogan's warning that a US Congressional approval of a possible Armenian genocide bill would damage ties between Turkey and the US, Burns maintained that the US administration would exert every effort to avoid a crisis. Turkish Parliament Debates Iraq, Kirkuk All papers report that a censure motion filed by the opposition Anavatan Party against Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul for "breach of duty" in conducting Turkey's northern Iraq policy was rejected by the parliament on Thursday. Defending his government's Iraq policy, Gul said if the Turkmen are under pressure, Turkey will take a close interest in them. "We have no border dispute with Iraq, but we cannot remain indifferent to the fate of our kinsmen there. Kirkuk is a small Iraq; the sectarian and ethnic peace in Iraq depends on the solution of the Kirkuk problem," Gul emphasized. Mainstream Sabah expects, after a closed parliamentary session on Tuesday, the AKP government will announce a new plan on Kirkuk which is likely to suggest establishing UN control in the oil-rich northern Iraqi city for a ten-year period. The plan will ask that the planned referendum in Kirkuk this year be postponed until after changes in the Iraqi constitution, that a nationwide referendum with regard to the future of Kirkuk be held, and that the demographic structure and land registry records of Kirkuk be reviewed by an international commission. The plan will be submitted to the opposition parties in the Turkish parliament and to the US administration, says Sabah. The paper also expects Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul to warn Secretary Rice during his planned visit to the US in February that a referendum held in Kirkuk in the absence of compromise would upset balances in the region. On the Kirkuk issue, commentators called on the US to take action and warned about the seriousness of the issue, saying it would harm bilateral ties between the US and Turkey in the end. Ferai Tinc, commenting in the mainstream Hurriyet, recommends Turkey take a different approach to the Kirkuk issue in its diplomatic dealings: "The demographic changes in Kirkuk in favor of the Kurdish population started right after the American soldiers arrived in Iraq. When the Turkmen population expressed concern about it at that time, their voices unfortunately not heard much. It is natural for Turkey to take ownership of this issue for the sake of Iraq's good and for the sake of human rights but certainly not with expansionist intentions. Regarding the future of Iraq, Kirkuk and Baghdad are equally important to ensure stability. The UN recently issued a humn rights report about Kirkuk and has warned agaist a terrifying upcoming regional crisis. In fact Turkey was the first to warn the interational community about the nature of this crisis which everybody seems to have finally realized. Because of Turkey's ANKARA 00000110 002 OF 003 Kurdish problem; however, Ankara's concerns on Kirkuk were not taken seriously as it was immediately linked to the opposition against a Kurdish state in Iraq's north. Turkey should deal with the Kirkuk issue from the points of ethnic cleansing and risk of genocide. If we can succeed to take up the Kirkuk issue with proper politics we might have a chance for effectiveness in the region." Washington-based Hasan Mesut Hazar, writing in the conservative-nationalist Turkiye, urges the US and Turkey to cooperate as partners in Iraq, but warns that that will be difficult if the US fails to take action in the Kirkuk issue and demonstrate concrete steps against the PKK: "Given the current situation, it is very hard to ensure that Iraq's territorial integrity will be maintained and a civil war will be prevented. Iraq is moving toward a process of division. The signals from Iraq are all grave and require Turkey to implement an active foreign policy. Turkey has to plan a more engaging diplomacy on Iraq by working together with the US as two strategic partners, not in conflict with the US. There are however some serious obstacles to achieving an effective spirit of cooperation between Turkey and the US. It will be very hard for the US to increase cooperation with Turkey unless some satisfactory steps are taken on the PKK and dangerous games over Kirkuk as well as over the Turkmen population are prevented. The means and the ways should be worked out in order not to harm the strategic partnership between the US and Turkey. The recent developments make the upcoming visits to Washington by Turkey's Foreign Minister Gul and Chief of General Staff Buyukanit more important than ever. During these visits, Washington will either prove and persuade Ankara about its sincerity for taking concrete steps over Turkey's concerns or reinforce the common belief that this was all about gaining time. The absence of concrete steps to address Turkey's concerns on Iraq will actually be more damaging to the bilateral ties than the possibility of a genocide resolution passing in the Congress." Green Light to PKK from the European Court of Justice Sabah, Hurriyet, Vatan, Zaman and others: The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that appeal by terrorist PKK members against putting the group on the EU's terror list must be heard and the lower court was wrong in 2005 to dismiss the case by Osman Ocalan, brother of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, to challenge the group's position on EU's terrorist list. The ECJ ruled out that if a terrorist group can be subject to ban, it also has right to contest it. Miracle Survivor of Baghdad Plane Crash to Return to Turkey Sabah, Hurriyet: Abdulkadir Akyuz, the only survivor of the Moldovan cargo plane which crashed near Baghdad last week, will be brought back to Turkey within a few days. Hurriyet reports that the Ambulance-Plane belonging to Red Star company was prepared to be sent to Baghdad to bring Akyuz back, however, the US officials did not give permission for the plane to go there saying that the plane did not have all the necessary medical equipment. Responding to a question about whether the US objected to having the Turkish plane go to Baghdad for Akyuz, transport minister Binali Yildirim said "our wounded worker is having medical treatment in Iraq at the moment. He will be brought to Ankara when his medical condition allows him to do so. We are in continuous touch with the US officials on the issue. Any information or news other than this does not reflect the truth." Meanwhile, ANKA news agency claimed that Akyuz is suffering from memory loss. TV Highlights NTV (6 a.m.) Domestic News - A small group of Iraqi Turkmen have staged a protest in front of the US Embassy in Ankara, calling on the Turkish army to enter ANKARA 00000110 003 OF 003 northern Iraq to stop the massacre of the Turkmen. - Turkey's elite business grouping TUSIAD will present its annual Prize for European Understanding to the former EU enlargement commissioner Gunther Verheugen in a ceremony in Ankara on Friday which will be joined by Prime Minister Erdogan. TUSIAD in Istanbul will also release a report on democratization perspectives in Turkey. - EU permanent representatives agreed in Brussels yesterday to invite Turkey to accession negotiations in statistics. - Van prosecutor demands life in prison for the murder of Naile Ertas, 15, killed by her relatives to "cleanse" family honor. - Turkish workers are preparing for collective bargaining with the ruling AKP government in February. - Prime Minister Erdogan has released a circular calling for new austerity measures in state institutions. International News - The EU commissioner for enlargement Olli Rehn said there were misperceptions about one another in both the EU and Turkey. - Saddam Hussein's Baath party supporters marched in Baghdad to protest against the former leader's execution and show support for his fugitive deputy, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, who is believed to have taken command of the insurgency. - Last week China has successfully tested a system that can destroy spacecraft. http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON