ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 002805 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 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2007 In Today's Papers AKP insists it has no "Comprehensive Kurdish Plan" All papers speculate on Prime Minister Erdogan remarks from last week that "the government's priority is to make terrorists lay down arms; they can choose democracy or remain in the mountains." Media implies that the PM has a "comprehensive Kurdish plan" which he allegedly discussed with President Bush. Opposition CHP leader Deniz Baykal claims Erdogan - based on these comments - plans to declare amnesty for the terrorists. "It will be an extremely dangerous situation if we begin political negotiations with the PKK," Baykal said. AKP deputy chairman Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat said there was no new plan and that Erdogan has made similar statements for the past four or five years. Government Spokesman Cemil Cicek said that armed struggle is not a clever choice, especially since democratic struggle is within the framework of the law. He also noted the government had no plans for declaring amnesty. Columnists such as Murat Yetkin of liberal Radikal and Ibrahim Karagul of Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak urged the government to disclose Turkey's comprehensive Kurdish plan. Both columnists believe the plan was discussed during Secretary Rice's meetings in Ankara and with President Bush in Washington, D.C. and that this comprehensive plan includes some level of amnesty. Meanwhile, columnist Enis Berberoglu of Hurriyet speculated that, after northern Iraqi Kurdish leaders softened their position regarding a Turkish military operation, there are no more obstacles against a cross border operation. Berberoglu wrote that a Turkish cross border operation could happen at any minute. Kurds Ban Reporters' Access to PKK Bases in Northern Iraq Hurriyet, Milliyet, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and others report the Kurdish regional government (KRG) in northern Iraq has banned journalists from traveling to PKK bases in the Kandil Mountains. KRG spokesman Jamal Abdullah accused the media of aggravating the crisis with Turkey. "We are trying different ways to calm the situation with Turkey," he said. Abdullah denied accusations that Kurdish Peshmerge had detained several journalists. Turkey Gives Note to Iran for Abducted People in Van Hurriyet, Cumhuriyet: Interior Minister Besir Atalay said that Turkey delivered a diplomatic note to Iran regarding seven people from Van who were kidnapped last week. "Since the abduction happened in Baskale, which is near our border with Iran, we think that our citizens were taken there. Therefore, we have delivered a diplomatic note to Iran." Axa Insurance Company Compensates Families of Armenians Killed in World War I Hurriyet, Milliyet, Radikal and others: French Insurance Company Axa, acting upon the verdict of a California Court in 2005, paid a total of 14.5 million USD to three Armenian associations who will distribute the money to 7000 descendants of those who died in the incidents of 1915. The Armenians who opened the court case claimed that their relatives had insured themselves before 1915, but their inheritors did not receive any payment. Milliyet's headline on the issue reads "Genocide Compensation from Axa". Editorial Opinion on Kosovo Sami Kohen commented in mainstream daily Milliyet: "Taci, the winner of Kosovo's recent elections, speaks of a new era there. When independence is declared in December, it will mark a new era for Kosovo, yet there are many issues to work out. The Serbian minority in Kosovo does not want to be separated from Belgrade. Moreover, neither the EU nor the UN, including the Troika, is united in their opinions concerning Kosovo independence. Therefore, if Taci declares independence on December 10 as he promised, it will be a complex, conflict-filled and painful era for Kosovo. It is not clear how the international community will react if Kosovo ANKARA 00002805 002 OF 002 unilaterally declares its independence. The US supports independence in principle while the EU members do not agree unanimously on this issue. Russia sides with the opposition within the EU nations, such as Spain, Cyprus and Greece. After all, each country shapes its policy based on its own interests and not according to territorial integrity and separatism." TV News: NTV Domestic News - Opposition far right MHP has drafted a bill for removing the parliamentary immunities of lawmakers who commit crimes against state unity. MHP will submit the proposal to all parties in the parliament, except for DTP. - Two separate percussion bombs exploded simultaneously Monday night at the offices of the ruling AKP and far right MHP in Saray in Van province. The blasts caused only material damage. - Turkish companies Turkuaz and Nurol, along with Europe's biggest commercial broadcaster RTL Group, have applied for prequalification to buy Turkish media company ATV-Sabah. The state fund TMSF seized ATV-Sabah in April and has set a minimum reserve price of $1.1 billion for the group. The auction is scheduled for December 5. International News - On Wednesday in Tbilisi, President Abdullah Gul, Azerbaijan President Aliyev and Georgian President Mihail Saakashvili will attend a ground breaking ceremony for the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. Turkey is contributing $220 million of the $420 million for the project and will construct 76 km of railway between Turkey's eastern province of Kars and the Turkish-Georgian border. Georgia will build 30 kilometers of railway from its border with Turkey to Akhalkalaki. The railway, expected to be ready in 2010, will carry about 1.5 million passengers and 3 million tons of goods every year. - Israeli Prime Minister Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Abbas met Monday to seek compromise language for the joint declaration to be released at the end of the Annapolis meeting. - Bouderbala Fateh, head al-Qaeda in Algiers, was arrested in a raid after a tip from local residents. - Frances Townsend, the White House advisor on homeland security and counterterrorism, has resigned from her post after three and a half years. WILSON