ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002372 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 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2007 In Today's Papers Gul Visits Turkish Cyprus on First Trip Abroad as President All papers report Turkey's new President Abdullah Gul traveled to Turkish Cyprus yesterday on his first official visit abroad. The President's wife Hayrunnisa Gul accompanied him but stayed in the background because of the heated controversy over the Muslim headscarf she wears. She did not participate in the Ramadan "Iftar" dinner held in honor of the President. In Lefkosa (Nicosia),no military ceremony was held to welcome President Gul. Turkish military commanders only attended the official reception for Gul at the presidential palace. Hurriyet says the military applied a "headscarf protocol" to avoid contacts with Gul's wife. Gul told a joint news conference after meeting with Turkish Cyprus leader Mehmet Ali Talat, "There are two realities on Cyprus, two democracies, two states, two languages, two religions.... By approving a previous referendum, the Turkish Cypriots showed their sincerity in desiring a lasting solution." He repeated Turkey's call for the EU to honor its promise to lift the international restrictions on the north of the divided island. "Peace will one day prevail in Cyprus. Turkey, Greece and Cyprus may establish a major center of cooperation in the eastern Mediterranean," said Gul. Meanwhile, the south of the divided capital of Nicosia condemned Gul's trip to the north. "Mr Gul's blatant act to pay his first visit as president to the territory of the Cyprus Republic which today is part of the EU and is under the illegal military occupation of Turkey constitutes a blow against the international legal order," the Cypriot Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "It shows provocative contempt to an EU member state." Nicholas Burns Visits Turkey All papers report State Department Undersecretary Nicholas Burns told the press Tuesday after meeting with Patriarch Bartholomew I in Istanbul that it was the "right time" for strengthening ties with Turkey. Burns added Turkey was a friend of the US and that any step taken by Turkey toward peace would be appreciated by the US. Burns emphasized that the US acted together with Turkey regarding the terrorist organization PKK. He also noted that the US supported Turkey's EU membership bid. "We are on the side of the Turkish people. We support the Turkish government and its efforts against the terrorist PKK organization. We do not support the PKK," said Burns. Burns also said the US was supporting the bid for the reopening of Halki Orthodox Seminary in Istanbul, adding, however, that this question was to be resolved between Turkey and the Patriarchate. Burns noted Turkey can help make its own case with the European Union by reopening the Halki Seminary. After his call on the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, Burns visited the Suleymaniye Mosque. Mainstream Vatan expects Burns to express US concerns over the natural gas deal signed between Turkey and Iran and ask Ankara to end cooperation with Tehran. Burns will also specify whether Turkey is expected to continue to play the role of "facilitator" in the region or to undertake a more active role by joining the multinational forces in Iraq and the Middle East. Burns is also expected to repeat US recommendations for upholding freedom of expression, protecting the rights of religious minorities and strengthening women's rights. Papers expect the Turkish side to ask for elimination of the PKK presence in northern Iraq and urge the US to press the Iraqi government to sign the anti-terror deal with Turkey agreed on during the August visit of Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki to Ankara. Turks will request details about the US investigation probing the alleged transfer of US-origin weapons to PKK terrorists. Turks will also ask for US support for Turkish Cyprus, the breakaway statelet in the north of the divided island, which Burns is expected to call on in ANKARA 00002372 002 OF 003 the coming months. Burns will be in Ankara on Wednesday for talks with President Gul and Prime Minister Erdogan, as well as with senior diplomats at the Turkish Foreign Ministry, including U/S Ertugrul Apakan. They will mainly discuss Iran and a possible operation against the PKK in northern Iraq, papers report. Editorial Commentary on Burns' Turkey Visit Cengiz Candar in the business daily Referans writes, "the visit by the U/S will demonstrate that American support for Turkey has two conditions: Turkey should cooperate on the Iraq issue and Turkey should avoid energy cooperation with Iran. These are potential problems between the US and Turkey, but it seems that the government of Turkey does not have a strategy for Iran or Iraq." Mehmet Y. Yilmaz comments in the mainstream Hurriyet: "The number three of the US State Department lined up at passport control and walked out of the international terminal carrying his suitcase just like any ordinary passenger. The reason Burns acted like an ordinary person despite being one of the most influential names in American diplomacy is very simple: Nicholas Burns is not used to using VIP lounges. Putting on airs and graces if you occupy a higher rank is entirely from the eastern culture. Eastern politicians immediately consider themselves above the ordinary people and look for privileged treatment. And it is ironic that in Turkey even children of politicians use the VIP while an important figure of US State Department did not even think of using it." Patriarch Mutafyan in the US Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet reports that the Patriarch of Armenians in Turkey, Mesrob Mutafyan, will participate in a Ramadan "Iftar" dinner held at the US Congress today and will deliver a speech at Washington's Georgetown University on Thursday. Harut Sassounian, publisher of The California Courier, criticized Mutafyan in an editorial for not backing the Armenian genocide thesis. The editorial quotes American Armenians' Archbishop Barsamian as saying Mutafyan's remarks that Turks and Armenians lived together for centuries under the Ottoman Empire as words coming from "a prisoner of conscience of the Turkish government." Sassounian also claimed Mutafyan's visit, which came shortly before the debate over the Armenian Genocide Resolution in the US Congress and Patriarch Karekin's visit to the US, was organized by the Fettullah Gulen community. 'Autumn Operation' against the PKK Sabah and Cumhuriyet report that some 10,000 Turkish troops launched a sweeping operation against PKK militants in the southeastern provinces of Sirnak, Siirt and Hakkari. The operation, joined by village guards, aims at preventing terrorists' retreat to their shelters in the winter, say papers. A Message to the US from PM Erdogan Regarding the PKK All papers: Prior to his trip to the US, PM Erdogan gave a message on terrorism at a ceremony held at the Police Academy. Erdogan was quoted as saying "several countries are reluctant to adopt necessary measures to combat global terror. There should be global cooperation against terrorism. Declaring some organizations terrorist would not be enough; effective struggle against them is required. The fire that burns us now may fall on your house as well." Important Messages from Hillary Clinton Mainstream Hurriyet carried what it characterized as "important messages" from Hillary Clinton on its front page. During a reception in Washington, Clinton reportedly told Hurriyet's editor-in-chief Ertugrul Ozkok that if she was elected President, she would tell people that 'the cowboy period is over.... People do not respect the US anymore. If I become president, I will end the war in Iraq, because it jeopardized not only the US, but also ANKARA 00002372 003 OF 003 Turkey, Israel and Jordan. I will travel the world and make efforts to mend broken ties.' TV Highlights NTV Domestic News - Turkey's draft new constitution was submitted Tuesday to Prime Minister Erdogan, who is to make final decisions regarding several critical issues, including whether to continue the Muslim headscarf ban. - Huseyin Bektasoglu, the pro-Kurdish DTP provincial head in Erzincan, has been sentenced to three years for referring to Abdullah Ocalan as "Mr." and making propaganda for the terrorist organization. His lawyers have appealed the ruling. - Visiting British Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks said in Istanbul that he valued the Turkey-Iran energy agreement, stressing Turkey would become an important energy corridor. International News - Belgium's Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that fugitive Turkish leftist terrorist Fehriye Erdal can be tried in Belgium for crimes she is accused of committing in Turkey. Erdal was sought by Turkey for her alleged part in the murder of prominent businessman Ozdemir Sabanci and two other people in January 1996. She was arrested in Belgium in 1999 and sentenced to four years in jail, but Belgium refused to extradite her because she could have faced the death penalty in Turkey. However, she escaped before her conviction and remains on the run. Her case will proceed in absentia if she is not caught. - The Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time in four years, seeking to prevent a housing slump and turbulent markets from triggering recession. The rate cut will eventually lead to lower borrowing costs for consumers and businesses. - Greek PM Karamanlis unveiled his new cabinet yesterday with most of the top posts remaining unchanged, including Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis and Defense Minister Evangelos Meimarakis. WILSON