ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001271 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 THURSDAY, MAY 24, 2007 In Today's Papers Governor: Ankara Bombing Suicide Attack All papers report Ankara Governor Kemal Onal told the press the suicide attacker who killed six people and injured around 100 others on Tuesday evening was Guven Akkus, a 28-year-old man who spent two years in prison for activities in relation to his membership in an illegal leftist organization, the Turkish Revolutionary Communist Union (TIKB). Akkus became affiliated with the PKK in prison. He spent eight years abroad and returned to Turkey to carry out the bombing. The suicide bombing in Ankara was originally planned to occur simultaneously with another attack in Istanbul, say papers, reporting the police detained a woman preparing for a suicide bomb attack in a home in the Umraniye neighborhood. Seven other suspects were also taken into custody. Adana Governor Ilhan Atis said a woman who was detained Wednesday in the southern city of Adana had planned to carry out a suicide attack. Atis said the woman, seized while trying to escape in a car, had 11.3 kg of explosives, two hand bombs and 12 detonators in her bag. No group has claimed responsibility for the Ankara bombing so far. Former Kurdish MPs Selim Sadak and Hatip Dicle, board members of Turkey's main Kurdish party DTP, condemned the attack and called for reason from everybody. Islamist-oriented Zaman reports Firat News Agency, an internet news agency close to the PKK, posted a statement by the Koma Komalen Kurdistan (KKK) chairmanship council that "they have no relation with the explosion" in Ankara, adding the attack would be used to justify a cross-border military incursion into northern Iraq. Editorial Commentary on the Ankara Bombing Ruhat Mengi writes in the mainstream daily Vatan: "The US Embassy statement after the terrorist bombing in Ankara expressed 'shock.' The fact of the matter is that we have been in shock for quite sometime and it is because of their biased attitude. It was the US who sat aside and did not help to resolve the PKK problem when it was really needed. And it was the US who gave support to Iraqi Kurds and the PKK, which helped encourage the terrorist organization even more. The EU is even worse than the US - giving support to every PKK linked organization." Fikret Bila says in the mainstream daily Milliyet: "Terrorism continues to claim lives of innocent people and the outside support for the PKK is documented, and Turkey gets suggestions for working on dialogue and political solution. This is totally unacceptable. Turkey is treated with an obvious double standard on issues of terror and terrorism. The US uses time-gaining tactics regarding terrorist attacks coming from northern Iraq, while the same US sought international cooperation in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks." Dogan Tilic comments in the leftist, pro-Kurdish daily Birgun: "The bombing in Ankara will give support to those in favor of a cross border operation in Northern Iraq against the PKK presence there. This act will also change the political rhetoric especially on the eve of the general elections. Following such terrorist attacks security becomes an extremely high priority, as fear gradually surrounds the entire society. Demands for security supersede demands for democracy. The 9/11 climate is a typical example of that. The fact of the matter is that when democracy and freedoms are sacrificed in the name of security, we will eventually be less secure than ever before." Erdogan: Parliament will Support Cross-border Action against Northern Iraq All papers report Prime Minister Erdogan said if there was a request from the Turkish military for a cross-border operation into northern Iraq, the parliament would support it. In televised remarks, ANKARA 00001271 002 OF 002 Erdogan, in response to a question on whether an operation into northern Iraq could be carried out "despite the US," said the US is Turkey's political ally. "The US should take the necessary measures against the presence of the terrorist organization in northern Iraq. Turkey will decide on its own when the time comes," said the PM. Turkish Special Iraqi Envoy to Visit Iraq This Weekend Hurriyet, Milliyet: An MFA delegation led by Special Envoy Ambassador Oguz Celikkol will leave for Iraq this the weekend. The delegation is expected to give Iraq a strong verbal warning to bring an end to the PKK presence in Northern Iraq. The delegation will hold talks with Iraqi PM Maliki and FM Zebari. Mainstream Hurriyet and Milliyet added that during the visit, Iraq will be asked to fulfill the requirements of the April 10 diplomatic note that Turkey had presented to Baghdad. Erdogan on Elections, Constitutional Reform All papers report that speaking at Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD) meeting, Prime Minister Erdogan criticized the Constitutional Court ruling about the quorum number for Presidential election, resulting in the failure to elect a president, and said history would judge those who made the decision. The PM also criticized President Sezer, saying the President has been intentionally holding on to the law to amend the constitution to allow the election of President in a popular vote. In an interview with ATV yesterday, the PM stressed that Abdullah Gul will be nominated as the AKP candidate for the Presidency if constitutional reforms for the election enter into effect. The PM added that he would not forget the unfair maneuvers during the presidential elections which forced Gul to withdraw his candidacy. TV Highlights NTV, 6.00 A.M. Domestic News - State Minister Ali Babacan said Turkey may fulfill its EU requirements by 2011. - Amnesty International report says freedom of expression was suppressed "in a variety of ways" in Turkey. - Turkey's TAV Airports Corp. signed a contract to operate Batumi International Airport in Georgia for 20 years. International News - Council of Europe Secretary-General Terry Davis said he was "revolted by the ruthless terror attack in Turkey" and characterized killing people while they went about their everyday lives as murder. - On Wednesday, a suicide bomber killed 20 people and wounded 30 others in a crowded coffee house in the town of Mandali in northern Iraq on the border with Iran. - A prosecutor in the northern Greek city of Salonika has pressed charges against unidentified persons who burned a Turkish flag during a Greek-Armenian demonstration at the city's Turkish consulate last month. - Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh accused Iran for the recent escalation in Gaza and the Kassam attacks. WILSON