ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

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