ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 002699 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 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2007 In Today's Papers Rice Due in Turkey amid Worries of Turkish Iraq Incursion All papers report that on Friday, Secretary Rice is to travel to Ankara to meet with President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ali Babacan to discuss the crisis on Turkey-Iraq border. Rice will move on to Istanbul later in the same day to participate in the expanded Iraq Neighbors Ministerial Conference on Saturday. Papers expect Rice to try to soften the Turkish attitudes with regard to a possible cross border military incursion against the PKK terrorists in northern Iraq, adding that proposals to be made by the Secretary could not be sufficient to defuse strains. Papers see a Turkish incursion inevitable, and expect Erdogan to search ways with Rice for Turkey's cooperation with the US to that end. Mainstream Vatan claims that on November 3, Babacan and Rice will come together with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari to discuss the possibilities for launching three-side operations against the PKK, adding this meeting would give Baghdad a last chance to take an active role in the policy to be pursued against the terror organization. Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet reports on its front page that Erdogan has insisted on meeting President Bush even though Rice would call on Turkey November 2. The paper claims Erdogan will offer Bush "unconditional Turkish Support" on sanctions against Iran in return for backing Turkey's campaign to target the PKK. Zebari: Strains on Border should not affect Iraq Talks in Istanbul Several Turkish papers and television newscasts report Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Wednesday in a joint news conference with visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki in Baghdad that Iraq has increased the number of check points to cut logistical support going to the PKK. Zebari stressed that the upcoming Iraq meetings in Istanbul should focus on security and stability in Iraq, without being affected from the strains on Iraq-Turkey border and the PKK's terror activities. Mainstream Sabah and tabloid Aksam report that despite a recent invitation from Turkey, Iraqi President Talabani would not participate in the Iraq conference in Istanbul, and that it also was not confirmed whether Iraqi PM Maliki will attend or not. PM Erdogan-President Bush Meeting on November 5 Hurriyet, Sabah, Milliyet, Vatan and others: Today's papers focus on the importance of the upcoming Erdogan-Bush meeting in Washington. White House Spokesperson Dana Perino said that President Bush will urge Turkey to act with restraint during his meeting with Erdogan on November 5. Papers report that PM Erdogan will be accompanied by Deputy Chief of the General Staff General Ergin Saygun and the head of General Staff's Planning and Operations Department General Kenan Kocak. Mainstream Milliyet reports that Erdogan will ask the US to take urgent concrete steps and underline Turkey's determination to do the necessary things if the US does not so. Meanwhile, Pentagon spokesman said that they are helping Turkey in collecting information which is of key importance for a military operation to be successful. Mainstream daily Hurriyet's managing editor Ertugrul Ozkok believes that PM Erdogan's delegation en route to White House has a special message by its composition: "PM Erdogan at the last minute decided to include important high ranked generals to his delegation. Therefore a last minute seating arrangement has been done which affected the travel plans of some accompanying journalists as they were taken out. To my knowledge this is the very first time such a big number of officers accompany a visit by the Prime Minister. This last minute revision should be interpreted as a sign for Turkey's strong unity between government and military. It also shows what exactly is expected from the White House. The message is something like this: The US should either persuade the Northern ANKARA 00002699 002 OF 002 Iraqi administration for tangible steps against the PKK presence, or should help out Turkey for its military operation. If Washington does not want to be one of the sides of this issue, then it should immediately make sure that PKK is taken out of Northern Iraq." Panel Meeting to Discuss AKP-Drafted New Constitution Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak reports Prime Minister Erdogan and several leading AKP members, academics and NGO representatives are to participate in a panel meeting held by Public Research Foundation to debate the new constitutional draft made by a group of constitutional law experts for the ruling AKP. Erdogan will deliver the opening remarks of the panel in Ankara today to be followed by an address by Professor Ergun Ozbudun, the head of the team that drafted the constitutional changes. TV Highlights NTV Domestic News - Former foreign minister and Deputy Prime Minister Erdal Inonu, the son of Turkey's second president, has died of cancer at the age of 81 while being treated in Houston the United States. On Saturday, a state funeral will be held in Ankara for Inonu. - The Turkish General Staff said 15 PKK terrorists were killed in operations in Cudi Mountain in the last three days. - The PKK has reportedly evacuated its camps in Zap valley near the Turkish border in northern Iraq. - The EU Commission is expected to make public its Turkey progress report on November 6. International News - A Kremlin spokesman said Wednesday Turkey should show restraint over the Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, but that its security concerns are understandable. - The Spanish Parliament has approved for the first time a bill which formally condemns the 40-year dictatorship of General Francisco Franco. - US spending on intelligence programs totaled USD 43.5 billion this year, up more than 50 percent from a decade ago. - On Tuesday, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution calling on the US to end its decades-long trade embargo against Cuba. WILSON