ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001693 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 MONDAY, JULY 2, 2007 In Today's Papers Defectors Claim US Arms to PKK in Northern Iraq All papers report four PKK defectors -- three men and one woman -- who escaped from the PKK camps in northern Iraq and turned themselves in to the security forces, claimed they had witnessed two US armored vehicles bringing weapons to the PKK camp in Kandil Mountain in northern Iraq. The PKK members told reporters at the gendarme station in Sirnak's Silopi township that the possibility of a Turkish cross-border incursion against the PKK camps in the region caused panic among organization members and that camps were evacuated. The PKK militants also said the organization has been acquiring remote-control landmines and explosives from northern Iraq. Papers report the US Embassy in Ankara said in response to the charges, "The PKK is a terrorist organization, and we do not hold contacts with the PKK." Gul on Possible Turkish Incursion into Northern Iraq Hurriyet and Zaman report Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said Ankara wouldn't seek approval from the US when it feels its own security is at risk. Gul said Turkey has a deep historical friendship with the Iraqi Kurds, yet complained that this friendship has been "taken hostage" by PKK terrorism. He noted the image of the US has been deteriorating in Turkey, a fact which eventually affects some other state institutions as well. "This can be seen as a success of the PKK," Gul emphasized. Gul also noted Turkey was not obsessed with a cross-border incursion, adding Turkey sees Iraq's stability and territorial integrity as a high priority: "Harming the stability of Iraq is against our interests. We never wish for instability in Iraq's north." Gul Denies Baykal's Accusation of Secret Deal with US Over Iraq Vatan, Milliyet, Hurriyet, Zaman and others: Foreign Minister Gul denied CHP leader Baykal's claim that the Turkish government had made a secret deal with the US over northern Iraq. Main opposition party CHP leader Deniz Baykal recently claimed that Turkey and the US agreed on a deal in Dubai in 2003, in which Turkey would receive $1 billion if it promised not to intervene in northern Iraq. Baykal claimed State Minister Ali Babacan signed the deal. FM Gul explained that after the first Gulf War some regional countries that suffered damages were compensated. When the US offered compensation to Turkey Ankara initially agreed. However, when the US Senate added the condition that the assistance would be cut in case of a Turkish military intervention into Iraq, Ankara rejected the assistance. Erdogan and Bahceli Exchange Remarks over Ocalan Execution All papers report over the weekend and today that the leaders of the ruling AKP and extreme-right MHP, in separate election rallies held Saturday, engaged in a war of words over who was responsible for not carrying out the death sentence given to Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the PKK. On Saturday, Prime Minister Erdogan criticized the MHP for not carrying out Ocalan's execution. In response, MHP leader Devlet Bahceli, at an election rally in Erzurum, addressed Erdogan by saying, "Can't you afford to buy a hanging rope?" and threw a rope to the crowd. Another reply came from Erdogan at an election rally in Mersin, asking the MHP leader, "The death penalty was still legal in your time; why didn't you hang him?" On Sunday the MHP announced it would be exposing the names of the AKP members who voted in favor of a proposed amendment that would abolish the death penalty for all crimes including those of terrorism. MHP Deputy Chairman Mehmet Sandir said the MHP was the only party in parliament that had voted against the bill to abolish the death penalty in 2002, when a coalition government between the late Bulent Ecevit's DSP, the MHP and the Anavatan was in power. Hrant Dink Murder Case Begins in Istanbul Today Cumhuriyet, Yeni Safak, Radikal and others: Papers report that the Hrant Dink murder case will begin in Istanbul heavy penal court today. Liberal Radikal and Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak report that ANKARA 00001693 002 OF 002 defendant Yasin Hayal sent a letter to the prosecutor claiming that a group within the Turkish police guided the accused, arguing that the state should defend them as they had been used by the state. Editorial Commentary on Turkish Elections Gungor Mengi writes in the mainstream daily Vatan: "In this election there will be two main problems shaping the people's party choice, namely unemployment and terror. The ruling AKP has failed to decrease unemployment significantly, nor has it managed to develop programs in support of more production. However those insufficiencies will not necessarily lead to AKP's defeat as its rivals have also failed to come up with realistic solutions to those problems. In terms of the economy, the ruling AKP, despite some setbacks is still the front runner in the eyes of electors. Open, as well as indirect, support from the business community is another factor in AKP's election performance. As for terrorism, AKP is not doing very well. The growing number of terrorism victims is putting AKP into a panic while nationalist MHP is gaining more ground during the election rallies. The most recent controversy between the two parties over hanging [jailed PKK leader] Ocalan, is a strong indication that even PM Erdogan is confident that MHP will pass the 10 percent threshold." TV News: (NTV, 8 A.M.) Domestic News - CHP leader Deniz Baykal said at an election rally in Edirne that Prime Minister Erdogan is not aware of the role of northern Iraq in the rise of terror attacks in Turkey. - Three PKK suspects preparing for bomb attacks have been captured by police in Istanbul. - On the genocide statements made by Greek President Karolos Papoulias during a visit to Armenia, Turkish Foreign Ministry said Greece has no right to make recommendations to Turkey after the massacres carried out in Anatolia during the Turkish liberation struggle. - Former British Prime Minister Blair, Russian President Putin, German Chancellor Merkel and former US VP Al Gore are expected to participate in the World Chambers Federation congress to be held in Istanbul on July 4-6. International News - Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said Iraq will disintegrate and turn into a safe haven for al-Qaeda, worse than Afghanistan before the fall of the Taliban, if American troops withdraw prematurely, adding another risk was a regional war, pointing to Turkey's troop build-up on Iraq's northern border. - Portugal took over yesterday the rotating EU term presidency from Germany. - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez met Iran's Ahmadinejad to discuss energy and trade ties between the two countries in a visit he said was aimed at defeating the "imperialistic'' policies of the US. - The US embassy in Cyprus issued a public appeal on Sunday for information on the whereabouts of its Defense Attach Thomas Mooney who has been missing for three days. WILSON