Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07ANKARA20
2007-01-05 14:35:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Ankara
how-toVZCZCXRO0609 OO RUEHDA DE RUEHAK #0020/01 0051435 ZNR UUUUU ZZH O 051435Z JAN 07 FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0488 RUEKJCS/CJCS WASHDC IMMEDIATE RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC//PA RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU INFO RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS 7705 RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 1879 RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 1488 RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 5650 RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 5380 RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2033 RUEUITH/DET 1 39LG ANKARA TU RHMFIUU/USDOCO 6ATAF IZMIR TU RHMFIUU/39OSS 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 03 ANKARA 000020
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
FRIDAY, JANUARY 5, 2007
In Today's Papers
Erdogan on Turkey's 'Kurdish Issue'
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Yeni Safak and
others report that speaking with Turkish journalists during his
visit to Lebanon over the weekend, Prime Minister Erdogan said
Turkey had "no Kurdish problem," but a "problem of terrorism."
Erdogan emphasized that when he talked about Turkey's "Kurdish
problem" earlier, his government was working to improve the social
and economic structure of the mainly Kurdish southeast region.
Investments were intensified in the region, Erdogan said, with 4,500
trillion Turkish Lira spent for infrastructure and superstructure
reconstruction. Such measures have helped diminish the problems of
Kurdish people or people coming from different ethnic groups in the
region, Erdogan maintained.
'Multilingual' Kurdish Municipality
Milliyet, Cumhuriyet and Radikal report that Sur Municipality in
the mainly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir is to launch "multilingual
municipality services" in Kurdish, Syriac, and English alongside
Turkish. "Turkey is a multilingual, multicultural, and
multireligious country; I hope that our implementation will serve as
a model for the Parliament," said Mayor Abdullah Demirbas of the
mainly Kurdish party DTP. The Interior Ministry has sent inspectors
to investigate the situation.
Fight against the PKK
Hurriyet and Milliyet report that recently Turkey gave the US
information regarding the whereabouts of two PKK leaders in northern
Iraq, but the US disregarded the intelligence. Hurriyet says that
the PKK's Murat Karayilan and Cemil Bayik went to a hospital for a
health check in Irbil, the northern Iraqi city controlled by Massoud
Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP.) Americans ignored
Turkish officils' demand that the two terrorists be handed over to
Turkey, angering Ankara. The Turkish special anti-terror envoy,
retired general Edip Baser conveyed to his counterpart Joseph
Ralston uneasiness over seeing no progress in cutting the financial
sources of the PKK in Europe at a December 11 meeting in Stuttgart,
according to Hurriyet. Baser reportedly told his aides that he had
a timetable for action, and that he would have to resign if Turkey's
demands are not met within the limits of the timetable.
Meanwhile, Milliyet reports that since 2003, only ten percent of
the US-sent 500,000 weapons had been registered in Iraq. Some
14,000 RPGs, MP-5 automatic guns, M-4 sniper rifles, and AK-47
Kalashnikovs went missing. Turkish police contacts with the Air
Force Office of Special Investigations in Ankara made the Pentagon
launch an investigation into the issue, says Milliyet. Prime
Minister Erdogan had said during a recent trip to Lebanon that PKK
terrorists had been captured in Turkey with US weapons.
Editorial Commentary on Special Envoys for Countering the PKK
Oktay Eksi argues in the mass appeal Hurriyet that the PKK problem
is one Turkey should resolve on its own: "Don't you think that it is
just about time to give up on believing the never ending story of US
helping us to counter terrorism. If we can overcome that
unrealistic approach we can move on and take action on our own. The
recent complaint from Prime Minister Erdogan regarding the lack of
action by the US is not news. We have heard similar complaints at
least 20-30 times before. The US has not taken serious steps to
catch the PKK leadership and to cut off the PKK financial links.
That's how PM Erdogan is repeating himself as well as calling on the
US to act within the spirit of the strategic partnership. We have
been hearing the same type of promises and pledges from the US about
the fight against PKK all the time. Here are a few examples:
Secretary Powell made a promise about that. Condoleezza Rice
SIPDIS
promised even before she became the Secretary of State. The US
administration sent Frank Urbancic a while ago to Europe to work on
cutting off the financial links. In sum, the US authorities always
said that they are taking the PKK issue seriously but that has
ANKARA 00000020 002 OF 003
remained only rhetoric. The PKK coordinator job was created when
Turkey started saying enough is enough. It did not change anything
either. After six months of the coordinator business the result is
an absolute zero. At this point there is no use complaining about
the US. We should be able to stand up and tell our government: Stop
lamenting. Just do whatever is needed."
Similarly, Fikret Bila observes in the mainstream Milliyet that
the fight against terrorism is not something that can be
"subcontracted" to others: "After PM Erdogan's negative remarks on
the coordinator mechanism, we should take a close look at the
situation. Turkish envoy General Edip Baser should be the one who
makes an assessment of the status of the fight against the PKK and
decide whether the picture calls for his resignation or not. There
are reasons from both sides for the lack of success in the fight
against terrorism. The US was trying to prove that the PKK issue is
being taken seriously and that's how the countering the PKK
mechanism was established. But Ankara, with expectations for
concrete results, saw nothing but time-gaining tactics on the US
side. Regarding the appointment of an envoy, the position Edip
Baser holds now, neither the Turkish President, nor the military and
government seemed sympathetic to the idea. In the end the
appointment was done just to respond to the US move. In other
words, the PKK coordinator mechanism was like a still born baby to
begin with. The fact of the matter is that the fight against
terrorism is supposed to be our job, not something that can be
subcontracted to others. It will be unrealistic to believe that the
US will treat the PKK and Turkey's Kurdish issues independently from
its current Kurdish policy in Iraq."
Energy Minister Guler on Iran's Suspension of Natural Gas to
Turkey
All papers: Energy Minister Hilmi Guler told reporters at a press
conference that Iran's suspension of natural gas exports to Turkey
will not create any crisis. Minister Guler was quoted as saying
"We've been experiencing problems arising from supply cuts in
Iranian gas for 10-15 days but we made sure people wouldn't notice.
We're meeting energy needs through the measures we're taking and
internal balances. There is no problem right now. We keep in
contact with Iranian officials and hope the problem will be solved
by Saturday." A high level Ministry official said that Turkey is
transferring natural gas from Russia via the Western line and Blue
Stream pipeline, from Iran via the Iranian line, and Liquid Natural
Gas from Nigeria and Algeria. Energy cuts from one of these
channels will not affect us very much, said the same official.
Under the gas contract signed by Iran and Turkey in 1996, Iran was
obliged to supply three billion cubic meters to Turkey in the first
year, with the volume rising to 10 billion cubic meters by 2007.
Iranian officials say a natural gas refinery in the south of Iran
will start operating by the end of this weekend and express hope
that they will begin re-supplying natural gas to Turkey. Yeni Safak
reports that Turkey signed a secret natural gas agreement with Iraq
ten years ago, under the Refahyol government through BOTAS. Now,
the Energy Ministry is having discussions with the governments of
Iraq and the US regarding the exporting of Iraqi gas. Within this
framework, US Ambassador Ross Wilson met with Energy Minister Guler,
two weeks ago and the first meeting of 2007 will take place in
mid-January.
TV Highlights
NTV (6 a.m.)
Domestic News
- 62 Turks have died during the 'hajj' pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
- The Turkish Parliament's justice commission has drafted a bill
banning the carrying of licensed arms in the public.
ANKARA 00000020 003 OF 003
- A university student wounded by a stray bullet during New Year
celebrations in Istanbul died yesterday morning.
- The Financial Times says Turks are growing disillusioned with
Europe.
- Turkey has missed its 5-percent yearend inflation target, but
managed to keep inflation below ten percent.
International News
- Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh cut short a visit to
Jordan when clashes resumed between the rival Hamas and Fatah
militias.
- Taliban chief Mullah Mohammad Omar said he had not seen Osama
bin Laden since the US-backed forces ousted the Taliban from
Afghanistan in late 2001.
- California Democrat Nancy Pelosi has become the first woman to
be elected speaker of the US House of Representatives.
- US State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said US Navy forces
have been deployed off the Somali coast to block the escape of
members of the ousted extremist Islamist government.
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/
MCELDOWNEY
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
FRIDAY, JANUARY 5, 2007
In Today's Papers
Erdogan on Turkey's 'Kurdish Issue'
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Yeni Safak and
others report that speaking with Turkish journalists during his
visit to Lebanon over the weekend, Prime Minister Erdogan said
Turkey had "no Kurdish problem," but a "problem of terrorism."
Erdogan emphasized that when he talked about Turkey's "Kurdish
problem" earlier, his government was working to improve the social
and economic structure of the mainly Kurdish southeast region.
Investments were intensified in the region, Erdogan said, with 4,500
trillion Turkish Lira spent for infrastructure and superstructure
reconstruction. Such measures have helped diminish the problems of
Kurdish people or people coming from different ethnic groups in the
region, Erdogan maintained.
'Multilingual' Kurdish Municipality
Milliyet, Cumhuriyet and Radikal report that Sur Municipality in
the mainly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir is to launch "multilingual
municipality services" in Kurdish, Syriac, and English alongside
Turkish. "Turkey is a multilingual, multicultural, and
multireligious country; I hope that our implementation will serve as
a model for the Parliament," said Mayor Abdullah Demirbas of the
mainly Kurdish party DTP. The Interior Ministry has sent inspectors
to investigate the situation.
Fight against the PKK
Hurriyet and Milliyet report that recently Turkey gave the US
information regarding the whereabouts of two PKK leaders in northern
Iraq, but the US disregarded the intelligence. Hurriyet says that
the PKK's Murat Karayilan and Cemil Bayik went to a hospital for a
health check in Irbil, the northern Iraqi city controlled by Massoud
Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP.) Americans ignored
Turkish officils' demand that the two terrorists be handed over to
Turkey, angering Ankara. The Turkish special anti-terror envoy,
retired general Edip Baser conveyed to his counterpart Joseph
Ralston uneasiness over seeing no progress in cutting the financial
sources of the PKK in Europe at a December 11 meeting in Stuttgart,
according to Hurriyet. Baser reportedly told his aides that he had
a timetable for action, and that he would have to resign if Turkey's
demands are not met within the limits of the timetable.
Meanwhile, Milliyet reports that since 2003, only ten percent of
the US-sent 500,000 weapons had been registered in Iraq. Some
14,000 RPGs, MP-5 automatic guns, M-4 sniper rifles, and AK-47
Kalashnikovs went missing. Turkish police contacts with the Air
Force Office of Special Investigations in Ankara made the Pentagon
launch an investigation into the issue, says Milliyet. Prime
Minister Erdogan had said during a recent trip to Lebanon that PKK
terrorists had been captured in Turkey with US weapons.
Editorial Commentary on Special Envoys for Countering the PKK
Oktay Eksi argues in the mass appeal Hurriyet that the PKK problem
is one Turkey should resolve on its own: "Don't you think that it is
just about time to give up on believing the never ending story of US
helping us to counter terrorism. If we can overcome that
unrealistic approach we can move on and take action on our own. The
recent complaint from Prime Minister Erdogan regarding the lack of
action by the US is not news. We have heard similar complaints at
least 20-30 times before. The US has not taken serious steps to
catch the PKK leadership and to cut off the PKK financial links.
That's how PM Erdogan is repeating himself as well as calling on the
US to act within the spirit of the strategic partnership. We have
been hearing the same type of promises and pledges from the US about
the fight against PKK all the time. Here are a few examples:
Secretary Powell made a promise about that. Condoleezza Rice
SIPDIS
promised even before she became the Secretary of State. The US
administration sent Frank Urbancic a while ago to Europe to work on
cutting off the financial links. In sum, the US authorities always
said that they are taking the PKK issue seriously but that has
ANKARA 00000020 002 OF 003
remained only rhetoric. The PKK coordinator job was created when
Turkey started saying enough is enough. It did not change anything
either. After six months of the coordinator business the result is
an absolute zero. At this point there is no use complaining about
the US. We should be able to stand up and tell our government: Stop
lamenting. Just do whatever is needed."
Similarly, Fikret Bila observes in the mainstream Milliyet that
the fight against terrorism is not something that can be
"subcontracted" to others: "After PM Erdogan's negative remarks on
the coordinator mechanism, we should take a close look at the
situation. Turkish envoy General Edip Baser should be the one who
makes an assessment of the status of the fight against the PKK and
decide whether the picture calls for his resignation or not. There
are reasons from both sides for the lack of success in the fight
against terrorism. The US was trying to prove that the PKK issue is
being taken seriously and that's how the countering the PKK
mechanism was established. But Ankara, with expectations for
concrete results, saw nothing but time-gaining tactics on the US
side. Regarding the appointment of an envoy, the position Edip
Baser holds now, neither the Turkish President, nor the military and
government seemed sympathetic to the idea. In the end the
appointment was done just to respond to the US move. In other
words, the PKK coordinator mechanism was like a still born baby to
begin with. The fact of the matter is that the fight against
terrorism is supposed to be our job, not something that can be
subcontracted to others. It will be unrealistic to believe that the
US will treat the PKK and Turkey's Kurdish issues independently from
its current Kurdish policy in Iraq."
Energy Minister Guler on Iran's Suspension of Natural Gas to
Turkey
All papers: Energy Minister Hilmi Guler told reporters at a press
conference that Iran's suspension of natural gas exports to Turkey
will not create any crisis. Minister Guler was quoted as saying
"We've been experiencing problems arising from supply cuts in
Iranian gas for 10-15 days but we made sure people wouldn't notice.
We're meeting energy needs through the measures we're taking and
internal balances. There is no problem right now. We keep in
contact with Iranian officials and hope the problem will be solved
by Saturday." A high level Ministry official said that Turkey is
transferring natural gas from Russia via the Western line and Blue
Stream pipeline, from Iran via the Iranian line, and Liquid Natural
Gas from Nigeria and Algeria. Energy cuts from one of these
channels will not affect us very much, said the same official.
Under the gas contract signed by Iran and Turkey in 1996, Iran was
obliged to supply three billion cubic meters to Turkey in the first
year, with the volume rising to 10 billion cubic meters by 2007.
Iranian officials say a natural gas refinery in the south of Iran
will start operating by the end of this weekend and express hope
that they will begin re-supplying natural gas to Turkey. Yeni Safak
reports that Turkey signed a secret natural gas agreement with Iraq
ten years ago, under the Refahyol government through BOTAS. Now,
the Energy Ministry is having discussions with the governments of
Iraq and the US regarding the exporting of Iraqi gas. Within this
framework, US Ambassador Ross Wilson met with Energy Minister Guler,
two weeks ago and the first meeting of 2007 will take place in
mid-January.
TV Highlights
NTV (6 a.m.)
Domestic News
- 62 Turks have died during the 'hajj' pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
- The Turkish Parliament's justice commission has drafted a bill
banning the carrying of licensed arms in the public.
ANKARA 00000020 003 OF 003
- A university student wounded by a stray bullet during New Year
celebrations in Istanbul died yesterday morning.
- The Financial Times says Turks are growing disillusioned with
Europe.
- Turkey has missed its 5-percent yearend inflation target, but
managed to keep inflation below ten percent.
International News
- Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh cut short a visit to
Jordan when clashes resumed between the rival Hamas and Fatah
militias.
- Taliban chief Mullah Mohammad Omar said he had not seen Osama
bin Laden since the US-backed forces ousted the Taliban from
Afghanistan in late 2001.
- California Democrat Nancy Pelosi has become the first woman to
be elected speaker of the US House of Representatives.
- US State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said US Navy forces
have been deployed off the Somali coast to block the escape of
members of the ousted extremist Islamist government.
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/
MCELDOWNEY