ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002209 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, AUGUST 27, 2007 In Today's Papers Gul Expected to Become President in Tuesday's Voting in Parliament All papers report Abdullah Gul will be sworn in as soon as he is elected president on the third round of voting in the parliament tomorrow, August 28. Prime Minister Erdogan is expected to submit the new cabinet list to the new president on August 31, the same day on which the AKP will announce its government program. On September 3 the government program will be debated in the parliament, and the vote of confidence will be held on September 5 at the earliest. The parliament will go into recess by October 1. Mainstream Milliyet reports a survey conducted by Konda polling company shows that following the July 22 general elections, the AKP has increased its support to 54.1 percent (up from 47 percent) while support for the main opposition party CHP has fallen to 18.9 percent (down from 21 percent). According to the survey, 18.3 percent of voters say Gul's blocked presidency affected their voting preference in the general election whereas 76.6 percent say the economic situation was influential in their decision. Maliki Accuses Turkey of Shelling Northern Iraq Milliyet, Cumhuriyet: Mainstream Milliyet reports that, Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki, at a press conference on Saturday claimed that Turkey and Iran were shelling Northern Iraq. Maliki was quoted as saying "Shelling Iraq is violation of its sovereignty. We will not allow these violations to continue. This issue should be resolved through diplomatic means." Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet reports that the Regional Kurdish Administration Parliament announced on the Kurdistan Patriotic Union's website that it will convene extraordinarily next Tuesday to discuss the shelling by Iran and Turkey in Kurdistan border region in Iraq. According to Kurdish Parliament sources, the parliament and government is planning to give a diplomatic note to Turkey and Iran to stop shelling. More Missing US Weapons on PKK Terrorists Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak and Zaman reported that new evidence was found strengthening claims to the effect that PKK were using the missing US weapons in Turkey. After finding the US made M-16s on 6 PKK terrorists who were killed in Tunceli on August 2, another M-16 rifle was found on 10 PKK terrorists who were killed in Sirnak by Turkish security forces during operations. Two Turkish soldiers were killed during these operations and their funerals were held in Mersin and Gaziantep on Saturday. US Withdrawing its "Collaborators" from Iraq Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet Saturday reported that the US is giving immigrant status to 700 Iraqis out of the 4,000 who took refuge in Turkey. To discuss the issue, Washington sent Assistant Secretary of State responsible for immigrant issues Ellen Sauerbrey SIPDIS to Ankara. Seven hundred Iraqi refugees will be taken to the US soon by planes the US administration will supply. Reportedly, the US will also give immigrant status to widows with children, children without any families, aged and sick people and members of some ethnic and religious groups. Cumhuriyet says that Sauerbrey will go to Jordan after Turkey to give the Iraqi "collaborators" who took refuge in Jordan immigrant status. Editorial Commentary on Turkey-Iraq Relations Ferai Tinc writes in the mainstream daily Hurriyet: "First of all, Turkey should not expect anything from Iraqi PM Maliki's promises regarding the PKK. Maliki is having serious difficulties at the moment -- not only reactions from the US against him such as those from Senators Hillary Clinton and Carl Levin, but also the latest reports by American intelligent services indicating that Maliki's future is very uncertain. There is an emphasis on his failure to form a national consensus. It seems the general tendency is to hold Maliki responsible for every problem related to Iraq. In fact given the current situation, no government in Iraq is capable of controlling anything any longer. Even Iraqi intelligence services ANKARA 00002209 002 OF 003 are hiding information from each other. The issue is the US administration's attitude toward Iraq. The fact of the matter is that the PKK presence in Northern Iraq is primarily the responsibility of the US. And the American administration is also responsible for the failure of the Maliki government to cope with this problem. Whatever the views of third parties, including Turkey, are, they will be void unless the issue of US responsibility is properly and clearly addressed." Peres Calls Erdogan on ADL Accepting Armenian Genocide Islamist-oriented Zaman cites the Israeli Ha'aretz as reporting President Shimon Peres assured Prime Minister Erdogan last week that Israel had not changed its position with regard to the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turkish forces during World War I. President Peres told Erdogan that Israel does not control Jewish organizations in the US, which pursue their own agendas. On Tuesday, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) announced it considered the killings to be genocide; ADL National Director Abraham Foxman, however, apologized for putting the Turkish people in a "difficult position" in a letter this weekend, according to Turkish media. Soli Ozel comments in the mainstream daily Sabah: "One thing is getting more obvious every passing day: Turkey is doomed to experience dilemmas until it manages to resolve its primary domestic issues and until it shows a cool attitude regarding its recent history. Turkey is used to invoking its 'strategic importance' each time it faces troubles from outside, which only helps to create an impression of weakness. Recent developments clearly indicate that Turkey has failed to have its official thesis and arguments recognized by the outside world. Figuratively speaking Turkey has lost the match vis-`-vis world public opinion. An Armenian Genocide Resolution will likely be passed in the US Congress by the end of ¶2008. US domestic political considerations will prevail when such a resolution is considered in Congress. The elected president of the House certainly feels obliged to pass a resolution for the strong Armenian lobby in California. In sum, Turkey has become a part of the American internal political game. Turkey's policy on this issue after so many years has just collapsed. This may be the obvious price of not opening a border gate with Armenia. Turkey must take steps to open itself up and stop allowing itself to be a blackmail victim." EU: Greek Orthodox Patriarchate should be Free to Use 'Ecumenical' Title All papers report European Commission Expansion Commissioner Olli Rehn said, in response to a motion submitted by a Greek MEP, that the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Istanbul and Patriarch Bartholomew I should be allowed to use the title "ecumenical" freely. Rehn also said Turkey must respect the freedom and rights of non-Muslim religious communities. He added the European Commission was closely watching Turkey with regard to religious freedom according to the conditions and priorities set in the partnership document. TV News: (NTV, 6 A.M.) Domestic News - The Brussels-based think tank International Crisis Group (ICG) said the headscarf of Abdullah Gul's wife should not be seen as a problem. - Kurdish DTP acting chairwoman Selma Irmak said the presence of her party in the parliament was "a gift for democracy." - Turkish Central Bank predicts temporary increase in inflation in August. International News ANKARA 00002209 003 OF 003 - The death toll in Greece's forest fires reached 62 over the past three days as international assistance arrived in the country. - Iraq's top Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish leaders announced Sunday they had reached consensus on some key laws vital to fostering national reconciliation. - The Israeli daily Ha'aretz reports President Peres assured the Prime Minister Erdogan that Israel has not changed its position on Armenian genocide issue. - Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Filipe Marques Amado said the EU cannot solve the Cyprus problem. MCELDOWNEY