ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001705 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, JULY 3, 2007 In Today's Papers Hrant Dink Assassination Trial Starts All papers report a court in Istanbul decided during the first hearing on the case to release four of the 18 suspects accused of participating in the assassination of Hrant Dink, an Armenian Turkish journalist. The prosecutor asked for life imprisonment for the main suspects Erhan Tuncel and Yasin Hayal on charges of inciting the murder, and demanded a prison sentence between 18-24 years for the assailant Ogun Samast. Prison terms ranging between 7.5 and 35 years were requested for other suspects. The trial was held behind closed doors because Samast is a minor. The trial date was set for October 1. Some 1,000 people gathered in front of the courtroom yesterday, shouting "We are all Hrant Dink; we are all Armenians" and "We want justice." "Go to hell, you're all Armenians," shouted Fuat Turgut, one of the lawyers of the defendants, to the crowd. Dink's widow Rakel submitted a petition to the court urging those responsible for the murder be brought to justice. Rakel Dink criticized the court's reluctance to deepen the investigation over fears that links between the members of the judiciary and the murder would be disclosed. Dink's lawyers have expressed concerns about the possible involvement of Turkey's so-called "deep state" in court proceedings. DP Unveils Election Manifesto Hurriyet, Sabah, Radikal, Zaman and others report the leader of Democrat Party (DP) Mehmet Agar, disclosing his party's election manifesto, which called for students to be allowed to wear the headscarf at universities; and an "expanded EU forum" with the participation of political parties, universities and NGOs to change to the method of "open-ended talks" between the EU and Turkey. The DP manifesto also called for a cooperation mechanism between Turkey and Iraq which would secure Iraq's territorial integrity, adding if it fails, Turkey will withdraw from the 1926 Ankara Agreement which had marked the border between the two countries. Resolution of the problems stemming from unemployment, social security, and unbalanced wealth distribution will also help bring terrorism to an end, declared the manifesto. US Military Attach Found Dead in Cyprus All papers report the Greek Cypriot police yesterday found the body of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Mooney, the defense attach at the US Embassy in Nicosia, who had been missing since June 28. Papers speculate Mooney's death could be related to nuclear smuggling, or could be an Iranian act of retaliation for the "abduction" of Iranian Ali Reza Asgari in Istanbul earlier this year, or that he could have been poisoned. Papers also note Mooney was a graduate of the Turkish military academy and was a military anti-terror specialist. Turks Seize Uzans' USD 250 Million in Switzerland Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and Yeni Safak report Swiss and Turkish officials have launched joint operations to track the assets of the Uzan family in Europe. The officials have seized cash, gold and stock exchange certificates totaling USD 250 million in Swiss banks. State banking fund (TMSF) officials are now working to transfer the funds to Turkey. The accounts had been frozen by an international court order on a telecommunications company controlled by the Uzan family. The family is estimated to have at least USD 1 billion in Swiss banks. In 2004, Turkish financial authorities seized over 200 companies belonging to the Uzans for failing to repay debts of more than USD 5.5 billion. Arrest warrants have been issued for father Kemal Uzan, his brother Yavuz and Kemal's younger son Hakan, on charges of embezzlement, fraud and irregular off-shore transactions. Another son of Kemal Uzan, Cem Uzan, is currently running for parliament in Turkey as the leader of the Genc (Youth) Party. ANKARA 00001705 002 OF 002 Editorial Commentary on International Peacekeepers for Gaza Erdal Safak observes in the mainstream Sabah: "As if Turkey doesn't have enough troubles, now, there is an attempt to push it into hell in Palestine. PLO Secretary General Yaser Abed Rabbo recently suggested that deployment of an international force in Gaza consisting of troops from countries such as Turkey, Indonesia and Qatar, could establish security there. Sending Turkish troops to Gaza would be a nightmare for various reasons: an international force in Gaza would be interpreted among both the Turkish and Arab publics as defending Israel against Hamas; Hamas already announced they would consider such a force an occupation force and promised to greet them with missiles; there are more radical organizations in Gaza than Hamas, like the "Islamic Army;" Israel is against the international force having only observer -coordinator status; and, as a last reason, this international force will indirectly be involved with Iran because Hamas gets its weapons and financial support from Tehran. Just one of these reasons alone is enough for Turkey to keep away from this hell. If a peace force is sent to the region, then, Egypt should contribute troops as a neighbor of the Gaza strip. If Egypt doesn't have sufficient troops, then the EU countries should contribute. However, they are hesitant to send troops to such a dangerous region, even though they support an international force there." TV Highlights NTV, 7.00 A.M. Domestic News - Abdullah Demirbas, the Kurdish mayor of Sur municipality in Diyarbakir, has stepped down after the Council of State (Danistay) ruled to remove him from office for providing municipality services in languages other than Turkish. - In Antalya on Tuesday, the chief of the Turkish General Staff Yasar Buyukanit will deliver a speech at the Silk Road seminar held with the participation of defense ministers and army chiefs from NATO, Partnership for Peace, Mediterranean Dialogue and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative. - World Chambers Federation will hold a congress in Istanbul on July 4-6 with the participation of 1500 businessmen from 140 countries. - State Minister Ali Babacan said electricity and natural gas prices will not increase this year. International News - The new EU term president Portugal reportedly plans to open two or three new chapters in accession negotiations with Turkey. - British police held seven people on Monday in their pursuit of a suspected al-Qaeda cell which rammed a fuel-packed jeep into the Glasgow airport and left two car bombs in London. - The US Ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad said the Taliban and other extremists try to use civilians as shields. - Iranian President Ahmadinejad and his Venezuelan counterpart Chavez broke ground Monday on a joint petrochemical complex south of Tehran. WILSON