ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002940 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, DECEMBER 11, 2007 In Today's Papers Human Tragedy on Human Rights Day Hurriyet, Sabah, Milliyet, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and others: All papers report that yesterday, on Human Rights Day, a small fishing boat carrying 85 illegal migrants from Iraq, Somalia and Palestine capsized and sank off the Aegean coast. The boat was headed from Seferihisar to Greece, and capsized because of a storm and passenger overload. Hurriyet says 43 bodies, including those of a woman and a child, were found on the shore. Six survived the accident. Described by mainstream Sabah as a "crime against humanity" the paper claims that each person paid 2500 Euro for passage from Turkey to Greece. Liberal Radikal writes that "in the last five years, 310,000 illegal immigrants have been apprehended" in Turkey, and opines that this accident "draws attention to the necessity for an international platform promising to end the market for human trafficking." Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak notes that "every year there is at least one tragedy" like this, noting that "on Human Rights Day, these migrants drowned with hope." Illegal migrants use Turkey as a transfer point to go to European countries. "Shameful for Us" Gungor Mengi wrote in the mainstream daily Vatan: "Despite many statements issued for World Human Rights Day, yesterday's immigrant tragedy in the Aegean sea came like a punishment for Turkey. Human trafficking is a shameful crime and Turkey, despite all of its efforts, fails to come clean in its own responsibilities. The local Turkish authorities laid the blame for the disaster on the countries from where the illegal immigrants fled. The fact of the matter is that we simply cannot get away with this by blaming others. This unspeakable crime has two pillars in which Turkey is involved. First, Turkey has become a country of maids and sex workers who come illegally from former Soviet countries. We all know about this, but we do not talk about it. Second, Turkey is an important transit route used by human traffickers. Traffickers provide false promises of hope as they rob these migrants of their money. Sometimes these migrants are killed in our land. It is unacceptable to suggest that Turkey should sit and wait until human traffickers are punished in their own homelands. As a state, we have to exert our authority. The laws must be enforced against these criminals until their bitter end." President Gul Assigns Prof. Yusuf Ziya Ozcan as YOK President All papers report that President Gul appointed Middle East Technical University (METU) Professor of Sociology Yusuf Ziya Ozcan as the president of the Higher Education Board (YOK). Cumhuriyet says Prof. Ozcan is known for his opposition to the headscarf ban in universities and for his closeness to the AKP government. Milliyet says that, upon Ozcan's assignment, YOK's acting chairman Prof. Aybar Ertepinar resigned. Ertepinar criticized the choice of Ozcan as "an initiative to eliminate the effectiveness of YOK. From now on, YOK will be politicized." Papers also claim that Ozcan is very close to Prime Minister Erdogan's Chief Policy Advisor, Ahmet Davutoglu. France Interferes in Turkey's EU Membership Sabah, Milliyet, Vatan, Hurriyet, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and others report, upon France's insistence, the words "membership" and "accession" were removed from the draft EU Summit declaration on enlargement strategy, and that the EU changed the title of a meeting with Turkey and Croatia later this month from a "membership conference" to an "intergovernmental conference.". French President Sarkozy claims that Turkey has no place in the EU. On France's insistence, the EU changed the event name from "membership conference" to "intergovernmental event." Milliyet posits that the Turkish government was not pleased with the statement and the Foreign Ministry issued a written statement expressing Ankara's displeasure. Families Convince 155 PKK Terrorists to Come Back from the Mountains Zaman reports that this year a total of 155 terrorists left the PKK and returned home after their families' intervention. Meanwhile, the debate continues concerning the government's strategy towards the PKK and whether a new type of amnesty will be offered. Hurriyet says that PM Erdogan has "pushed the button for the return of terrorists to their homes" while Government Spokesman Cemil Cicek insists that there are no legal preparations for any new laws concerning an amnesty. Sabah quotes CHP leader Baykal saying that "an amnesty law will boost the morale of the terrorists." Meanwhile, Yeni Safak reports that FM Babacan stressed that "the strategic partnership between Turkey and the US will continue until the PKK is finished." EDITORIAL COMMENT: Kosovo Sami Kohen commented in the mainstream daily Milliyet (12/11): "The negotiation process regarding the political future of Kosovo ended in failure, despite the fact that all possible solution formulas have been tried. It seems there is no more formula left to discuss. However, Russia, hopeful for time for more diplomacy, continues to push for the extension of talks. Time is running out for the UNSC to finalize a decision on Kosovo. The deadline is set for December ¶19. Given the current situation, Kosovo's leader Taji is acting with common sense as he prefers to wait instead of declaring independence immediately. In any case, Kosovo is moving toward independence, which brings up some scenarios about the future of Kosovo. One possibility is the declaration of independence after waiting for a reasonable amount of time. If that happens, Serbia will react and possibly close its border with Kosovo. Another possibility is a Serbian military intervention in Kosovo, which the NATO army in Kosovo will prevent. Another worst case scenario is the possibility of a Serbian uprising in Kosovo, which undoubtedly will be a disaster. The EU, on the other hand, is on the verge of a serious rift because certain EU members, including Greece, the Greek Cypriot Administration, Romania, and Spain, are against secession. Kosovo will remain a hot topic with more possible scenarios in the days ahead." TV News: NTV Domestic News FM Babacan said decisions adopted by PM Erdogan and US President Bush at their meeting on November 5 are being implemented gradually. A lieutenant died of a heart attack during commando exercises in Isparta. A survey conducted by Amnesty International shows that 63 percent of Turkish people have never heard of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. One DHKP-C terrorist was killed by the security forces in Ankara and two policemen were injured. International News Greek arsonists burnt five diplomatic cars from Turkey, Italy and the Philippines. Libyan leader Qaddafi arrives in France for an official visit, his first there in 30 years. Iraqi FM Hosyar Zebari said officials from Tehran, Washington and Baghdad will meet on December 18 to discuss how to end the violence in Iraq. Russian President Putin announced that first Deputy PM Medvedev is his preferred successor. WILSON