ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001516 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, JUNE 14, 2007 In Today's Papers Turkey to Establish "Buffer Zone" Inside Northern Iraq Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Birgun, Yeni Safak and others report the Turkish government and the military have reached consensus in a "security summit" held Tuesday to explore creating a "buffer zone" on the Iraqi side of the border and raising the number of Turkish troops in northern Iraq. Cumhuriyet says Turkey will reinforce its 2000 troops already stationed in northern Iraq and establish a 15-km buffer zone in Iraqi territory along the border to prevent the infiltration of PKK militants into Turkish territory. Turkey is now trying to convince the US administration to support the plan, and wants a decision before the next Turkish National Security Council (MGK) meeting on June 20. A possible declaration of emergency rule in Turkish border provinces was not discussed at the security meeting, according to Cumhuriyet. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister reiterated that "the priority is to continue the fight against terrorism within Turkey's borders." Mainstream Sabah and leftist Birgun report a delegation of AKP MP'S, Egemen Bagis, Reha Denemec and Mevlut Cavusoglu, arrived in Washington on Wednesday for talks with Americans. Birgun claims the delegation will ask American officials to hand over PKK leaders to Turkey before the upcoming general elections July 22. The lawmakers will tell the Americans that a victory in the elections depends on the AKP showing the Turkish nation that the ruling party has taken effective steps with regard to the PKK, says Birgun. Meanwhile, on Wednesday a major was killed and two privates were injured when a remote-control PKK roadside bomb went off as a military convoy was passing in Yuksekova town in the border province of Hakkari. Barzani Remarks Hurriyet, Milliyet, Radikal, Cumhuriyet: According to the "Kurdistan For News" internet site, Iraqi Kurdish Leader Massoud Barzani, at his Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party's central committee meeting, accused Turkey of an aggressive approach towards Kurds and said "Turkey's problem is not the PKK or Kirkuk, but the presence of Kurds. Before the toppling of the dictatorial Baath regime, we had bilateral ties with Turkey on a number of issues, but after the Iraq war, Ankara's diplomacy towards here (northern Iraq) shifted. We always wish for friendly ties between the two sides without any interference in each other's domestic affairs. But, this does not mean that we will accept aggressive approaches." Meanwhile leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet reports that Barzani gave orders to replace Kurdistan flags with Iraqi flags at the Peshmerge points along the Turkey-Iraq border, as a precaution for a possible Turkish incursion. Editorial Commentary on Turkish Incursion into Iraq, Fighting in Gaza Okay Gonensin wrote in the mainstream daily Vatan (6/14): "There is an ongoing misrepresentation of Turkey's Kurdish problem and nowadays it continues through rhetoric about northern Iraq. The signs of a separate Kurdish state in the north of Iraq are considered a potential threat against Turkey. It is believed that such a development will encourage Kurds in Turkey towards separatist activities. The fact of the matter is that a Kurdish state in northern Iraq is coming, and we have to face it. The only way to prevent this from happening is to enter northern Iraq and to defy the entire world. It goes without saying that this is equal to complete insanity. Debating a cross border operation into northern Iraq as the only way to settle the terrorism issue and solve the Kurdish problem is an indication of a lack of vision in Turkish foreign policy. Terror is an internal problem of Turkey. Even though some foreign powers meddle in this issue, it is still a fact ANKARA 00001516 002 OF 003 that both the source and root of our terrorism problem is in Turkey. And it should be Ankara's problem to handle as well as to solve these problems. " Soli Ozel wrote in the mainstream daily Sabah (6/14): "The power struggle between two Palestinian groups in Gaza has turned into a civil war. Torn by the situation, Palestinians living in Gaza have started to escape, and some of them even wish for Israel to return to the area. The disunity among Palestinians which ended in this current disastrous situation stems from two reasons. First the ongoing embargo against Hamas caused terrible suffering for people of Palestine. Secondly, Palestinians failed to come up with a unified policy for their future and failed to shape realistic policy stances. The current situation in the region also indicates the need for the outside world to accept Hamas as a negotiating partner. The Hamas election victory in Gaza showed the political demise of Al Fatah. In addition, Hamas is disturbed by the Al-Qaeda linked movements in Gaza in the same way Lebanon, Iraq and other Arab nations are worried about the emergence of Al Qaeda linked organizations in their countries. There is a major difference between organizations with nationalistic goals, such as Hamas, and organizations with destructive goals, such as Al Qaeda. There will be an eventual chance for engaging in political dialogue with the former, yet negotiation with the latter under any circumstances is impossible." Paper on the "Terror Atmosphere in Turkish Politics" Liberal Radikal, under a page one headline "Terror atmosphere in politics," says party leaders are directing serious accusations against each other ahead of the July 22 elections. Prime Minister Erdogan condemned efforts to exploit funerals of martyred soldiers for political goals, denouncing opposition parties for their supposed complicity in these politicization efforts. Erdogan said he and his party valued the blood of martyred soldiers more than all the seats in the parliament. Erdogan also maintained that the main opposition party, CHP, established its political strategy by violating all boundaries of democracy and that it committed the greatest mistakes in its history during the recent presidential elections. Opposition CHP leader Deniz Baykal said Erdogan's statement that Turkey should first fight terrorists at home echoed the views of Kurdish leaders Barzani and Talabani. Baykal added Erdogan and his AKP government were the biggest obstacles to the fight against terrorism. The far-right MHP leader Devlet Bahceli claimed that Erdoda'sn failure in the fight against terror caused the sharp public reactions and that the PM was the architect of escalating terror in Turkey. 570 Kilo Al-Qaeda Heroin Seized in Istanbul Mainstream Sabah reports that Gendarmerie forces in Istanbul were informed that 570 kg heroin, in a truck coming from Afghanistan and transiting Iran, would be passing through Turkey to Europe. When the smugglers in the truck realized the Gendarmerie had set up a control point in the Pendik region of Istanbul, the gang off loaded the heroin in a dried out stream bed on the route. The gendarmerie seized the heroin from there. TV Highlights NTV Domestic News - Opposition party CHP plans to hold election rallies in 40 provinces. - President Sezer has approved a controversial bill granting extensive powers to the police. - A court in Istanbul has sentenced Irfan Dundar, the lawyer of the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, to three years and nine months in prison for meeting with PKK leaders in Kandil Mountain and for aiding the ANKARA 00001516 003 OF 003 terrorist organization. - Foreign investments in Turkey in 2006 totaled to USD 20.2 billion. International News - An explosion from a bomb-rigged car killed the anti-Syrian lawmaker Walid Eido and nine others on Beirut's seafront Wednesday. - The Knesset has elected Shimon Peres, Israel's deputy prime minister and Nobel peace laureate, as the country's new President. - The EU Commission spokeswoman Krisztina Nagy said negotiations with Turkey on three new chapters, including monetary union, were set to open as scheduled on June 26. - The EU has approved a European visa data system which will store biometric information like fingerprints and photos on 70 million visa-holders who pass through the EU's borderless travel zone each year. WILSON