Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07ANKARA1399
2007-06-06 05:06:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Ankara
how-toVZCZCXRO6572 OO RUEHDA DE RUEHAK #1399/01 1570506 ZNR UUUUU ZZH O 060506Z JUN 07 FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2437 RUEKJCS/CJCS WASHDC IMMEDIATE RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC//PA RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU INFO RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS 8121 RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 2820 RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 2008 RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 5948 RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 5726 RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2342 RUEUITH/DET 1 39LG ANKARA TU RHMFIUU/USDOCO 6ATAF IZMIR TU RHMFIUU/39OS INCIRLIK AB TU RHMFIUU/AFOSI DET 523 IZMIR TU RHMFIUU/39ABG INCIRLIK AB TU RHMFIUU/AFOSI DET 522 INCIRLIK AB TU RUEUITH/AFLO ANKARA TU
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001399
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, JUNE 5, 2007
In Today's Papers
Parties Unveil Candidate Lists
All papers report political parties have announced candidate lists
for the July 22 parliamentary elections. About 100 existing MPs
were not included in the ruling AKP list and over 60 were left off
of the opposition CHP list. AKP leader Erdogan will run from
Istanbul, CHP's Deniz Baykal from Antalya, DP's Mehmet Agar from
Elazig, Anavatan's Erkan Mumcu from Isparta, MHP's Devlet Bahceli
from Osmaniye, and GP's Cem Uzan from Izmir. Former Prime Minister
Mesut Yilmaz will run as an independent candidate from his hometown
Rize. Necmettin Erbakan, the leader of the banned Welfare Party
(RP),will run on the Felicity Party (SP) list from the conservative
central Anatolian city of Konya, provided the High Election Board
(YSK) does not block him due to the political ban on the veteran
Islamist leader. The leader of Turkey's main Kurdish party, DTP,
Ahmet Turk, who last week faced a court case for referring to the
PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan as "Mr.," will run as an independent from
the southeastern province of Mardin. AKP officials said around 400
women applied to the party to run for parliament, and some 100 of
them were nominated.
The YSK will examine the lists and notify the political parties if
there are any shortcomings. If there are, the parties will be given
until June 8 to eliminate them. The lists of candidates will be
published in the Official Gazette and broadcast by radio and
television on June 10.
YSK said 42,533,041 voters will cast votes at 158,700 ballot boxes
across Turkey on July 22.
PKK Terrorists Kill 7 Turkish Soldiers
All papers report PKK terrorists staged an attack on a Turkish
gendarme outpost, killing seven soldiers and wounding another eight.
The attack in Pulumur in the eastern province of Tunceli was
carried out by two terrorists who drove into the station in a stolen
car, tossing grenades while terrorists lying in ambush outside fired
at the soldiers with long range rifles. One of the terrorists in
the car was shot dead while the other managed to escape with
injuries.
Turkey-EU Troika Meeting
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman. Yeni Safak
and others: The Turkey-EU Troika met in Ankara yesterday with term
President German FM Steinmeier and the enlargement commissioner Olli
Rehn in attendance. Turkey was represented by FM Gul and Chief
Negotiator Ali Babacan. Term President Steinmeier said that they
hope that democratic reforms will continue after the elections and
that there won't be any alternative to EU membership. Mainstream
Sabah says that the PKK-Northern Iraq issue was on the top of the
Troika's agenda. Commissioner Rehn expressed concern over the
Turkish General Staff statement during the presidential elections
and reiterated EU respect for the Turkish Military. Rehn
highlighted the importance of preserving democracy and secularism in
Turkey and ensured Turkey of EU support in its fight against PKK
terrorism. Turkish FM Gul stressed that Turkish patience was
wearing out about the terrorist attacks from Northern Iraq. In his
opening remarks Gul drew attention to Turkey's continuing efforts
regarding accession to the EU and asked the EU to cooperate to
continue negotiations. Rehn and Steinmeier said that negotiations
would start on three chapters by the end of this month.
US Special Envoy for Countering PKK Calls Akgunay, His New Turkish
Counterpart
Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak reports that US Special envoy for
countering terrorism retired General Joseph Ralston phoned the new
Turkish Special Envoy Undersecretary Rafet Akgunay on Friday
afternoon and stressed that he is looking forward to working
together with Akgunay. It is reported that no date is determined
yet for the two special envoys to meet for the first time. Akgunay
ANKARA 00001399 002 OF 002
took up his duties on May 21.
Editorial Commentary on Possible Cross-Border Operations
Berat Ozipek writes in the conservative daily Star: "The ongoing
debate over Northern Iraq seems to be one over domestic politics
rather than the PKK. The war mongers are doing their best to
provoke Turkey into action. Given some comments from so-called
experts regarding the possibility of postponing the elections due to
the situation in Northern Iraq, it looks as if there are some other
reasons than the PKK behind the remarks encouraging Turkey to
conduct a cross border operation. The government has a very
important responsibility on this issue. Those who act with a strong
nationalistic approach or those who pursue politics using the PKK
issue should not mislead the government. Everybody can make mistake
but a government cannot afford to. The government should resist the
warmongers; otherwise the consequences will be disastrous."
Can Dundar writes in the mainstream daily Milliyet: "Washington,
swamped in Iraq, does not want to see any trouble in the north of
the country which remains the only stable part of the country.
Therefore the possibility of Turkey conducting a cross-border
operation receives a clear no from the US. The US worries that when
and if a cross-border operation happens, northern Iraq will turn
into a chaotic place with suicide bombers just like Baghdad. On the
other hand, Washington seems very aware that Turkey is running out
of patience. The US needs a formula that would convince Kurds and
console Turks at the same time, which is a hard thing. Today
happens to be the 43rd anniversary of the Johnson letter to then-PM
Inonu - the letter that prevented Turkey's intervention in Cyprus.
The traces of the current snowballing anti-Americanism can be found
some 43 years ago. Let's hope the US reads Turkey's agony carefully
and in the right context so that there will be neither a need for
intervention nor a letter from Washington to prevent it from
happening."
TV Highlights
NTV
Domestic News
- A member of the outlawed PKK who allegedly carried out a bomb
attack on May 12 in the Aegean city of Izmir, killing one and
injuring 15 others, was arrested Monday.
- Turkey prepares to apply to the UN to seek stronger international
cooperation in the fight against the PKK.
- The chief of the Russian General Staff Yury Baluyevsky will visit
Ankara Tuesday as the official guest of his Turkish counterpart
General Yasar Buyukanit.
- Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener met yesterday with the head
of Cuban Atomic Research Center Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart, the son of
Fidel Castro.
International News
- President Bush was met with protests in Prague.
- Palestine proposed a new ceasefire.
- ETA will end the ceasefire tomorrow.
- President Bush is having a hard time over Guantanomo issue due to
recent court decisions.
WILSON
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, JUNE 5, 2007
In Today's Papers
Parties Unveil Candidate Lists
All papers report political parties have announced candidate lists
for the July 22 parliamentary elections. About 100 existing MPs
were not included in the ruling AKP list and over 60 were left off
of the opposition CHP list. AKP leader Erdogan will run from
Istanbul, CHP's Deniz Baykal from Antalya, DP's Mehmet Agar from
Elazig, Anavatan's Erkan Mumcu from Isparta, MHP's Devlet Bahceli
from Osmaniye, and GP's Cem Uzan from Izmir. Former Prime Minister
Mesut Yilmaz will run as an independent candidate from his hometown
Rize. Necmettin Erbakan, the leader of the banned Welfare Party
(RP),will run on the Felicity Party (SP) list from the conservative
central Anatolian city of Konya, provided the High Election Board
(YSK) does not block him due to the political ban on the veteran
Islamist leader. The leader of Turkey's main Kurdish party, DTP,
Ahmet Turk, who last week faced a court case for referring to the
PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan as "Mr.," will run as an independent from
the southeastern province of Mardin. AKP officials said around 400
women applied to the party to run for parliament, and some 100 of
them were nominated.
The YSK will examine the lists and notify the political parties if
there are any shortcomings. If there are, the parties will be given
until June 8 to eliminate them. The lists of candidates will be
published in the Official Gazette and broadcast by radio and
television on June 10.
YSK said 42,533,041 voters will cast votes at 158,700 ballot boxes
across Turkey on July 22.
PKK Terrorists Kill 7 Turkish Soldiers
All papers report PKK terrorists staged an attack on a Turkish
gendarme outpost, killing seven soldiers and wounding another eight.
The attack in Pulumur in the eastern province of Tunceli was
carried out by two terrorists who drove into the station in a stolen
car, tossing grenades while terrorists lying in ambush outside fired
at the soldiers with long range rifles. One of the terrorists in
the car was shot dead while the other managed to escape with
injuries.
Turkey-EU Troika Meeting
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman. Yeni Safak
and others: The Turkey-EU Troika met in Ankara yesterday with term
President German FM Steinmeier and the enlargement commissioner Olli
Rehn in attendance. Turkey was represented by FM Gul and Chief
Negotiator Ali Babacan. Term President Steinmeier said that they
hope that democratic reforms will continue after the elections and
that there won't be any alternative to EU membership. Mainstream
Sabah says that the PKK-Northern Iraq issue was on the top of the
Troika's agenda. Commissioner Rehn expressed concern over the
Turkish General Staff statement during the presidential elections
and reiterated EU respect for the Turkish Military. Rehn
highlighted the importance of preserving democracy and secularism in
Turkey and ensured Turkey of EU support in its fight against PKK
terrorism. Turkish FM Gul stressed that Turkish patience was
wearing out about the terrorist attacks from Northern Iraq. In his
opening remarks Gul drew attention to Turkey's continuing efforts
regarding accession to the EU and asked the EU to cooperate to
continue negotiations. Rehn and Steinmeier said that negotiations
would start on three chapters by the end of this month.
US Special Envoy for Countering PKK Calls Akgunay, His New Turkish
Counterpart
Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak reports that US Special envoy for
countering terrorism retired General Joseph Ralston phoned the new
Turkish Special Envoy Undersecretary Rafet Akgunay on Friday
afternoon and stressed that he is looking forward to working
together with Akgunay. It is reported that no date is determined
yet for the two special envoys to meet for the first time. Akgunay
ANKARA 00001399 002 OF 002
took up his duties on May 21.
Editorial Commentary on Possible Cross-Border Operations
Berat Ozipek writes in the conservative daily Star: "The ongoing
debate over Northern Iraq seems to be one over domestic politics
rather than the PKK. The war mongers are doing their best to
provoke Turkey into action. Given some comments from so-called
experts regarding the possibility of postponing the elections due to
the situation in Northern Iraq, it looks as if there are some other
reasons than the PKK behind the remarks encouraging Turkey to
conduct a cross border operation. The government has a very
important responsibility on this issue. Those who act with a strong
nationalistic approach or those who pursue politics using the PKK
issue should not mislead the government. Everybody can make mistake
but a government cannot afford to. The government should resist the
warmongers; otherwise the consequences will be disastrous."
Can Dundar writes in the mainstream daily Milliyet: "Washington,
swamped in Iraq, does not want to see any trouble in the north of
the country which remains the only stable part of the country.
Therefore the possibility of Turkey conducting a cross-border
operation receives a clear no from the US. The US worries that when
and if a cross-border operation happens, northern Iraq will turn
into a chaotic place with suicide bombers just like Baghdad. On the
other hand, Washington seems very aware that Turkey is running out
of patience. The US needs a formula that would convince Kurds and
console Turks at the same time, which is a hard thing. Today
happens to be the 43rd anniversary of the Johnson letter to then-PM
Inonu - the letter that prevented Turkey's intervention in Cyprus.
The traces of the current snowballing anti-Americanism can be found
some 43 years ago. Let's hope the US reads Turkey's agony carefully
and in the right context so that there will be neither a need for
intervention nor a letter from Washington to prevent it from
happening."
TV Highlights
NTV
Domestic News
- A member of the outlawed PKK who allegedly carried out a bomb
attack on May 12 in the Aegean city of Izmir, killing one and
injuring 15 others, was arrested Monday.
- Turkey prepares to apply to the UN to seek stronger international
cooperation in the fight against the PKK.
- The chief of the Russian General Staff Yury Baluyevsky will visit
Ankara Tuesday as the official guest of his Turkish counterpart
General Yasar Buyukanit.
- Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener met yesterday with the head
of Cuban Atomic Research Center Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart, the son of
Fidel Castro.
International News
- President Bush was met with protests in Prague.
- Palestine proposed a new ceasefire.
- ETA will end the ceasefire tomorrow.
- President Bush is having a hard time over Guantanomo issue due to
recent court decisions.
WILSON