ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000296 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, FEBRUARY 12, 2007 In Today's Papers Aftermath of Foreign Minister Gul's US Visit Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, in an evaluation of his US trip, told the Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak, "I have not only explained to Cheney and Rice the depth of the US-Turkey relationship, but drew an overall perspective including Afghanistan, Iraq, the Balkans, Kosovo, energy and oil issues." In talks with the US Congressmen, Gul said he reminded them that the Armenian genocide issue is not a national question for the Americans. He believes the Armenian resolution has not reached an "irreversible" point, and rejects stories of him "threatening" Americans: "I haven't issued tough messages, but merely gave reasonable messages without trying to blackmail them." The paper says two Congressmen `ck support for the ge The agreement gives Ankara the right to intervene in the Kirkuk, Suleimaniya, Erbil, Tel Afar, and Dohuk -- an area of 90,000 square kilometers -- in case the Turkmen in the region are threatened. Turkey has discussed the issue with Britain, and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul raised it during meetings in the US, says Cumhuriyet. Editorial Commentary on US Presidential Race, Armenian Resolution Zafer Atay comments on the upcoming US Presidential race in the economic-political daily Dunya: "Democrats have some prominent figures in the race. Senator Hillary Clinton represents a big opportunity for the Democrat Party. Senator of Illinois Barack Obama seems to be another emerging name for some of the Democrats. The Republicans hope to gain election momentum with former mayor Giuliani. Senator McCain is another leading name for Republican Party and he is known to be more moderate than Bush. As far as the media is concerned, there are two stars of this race; namely Mrs. Clinton and Barack Obama. The former has no problem collecting money while the latter has very limited financial support for the election race. Moreover, Obama's chances are about to diminish since a series of attempts has already begun to label him as somehow linked to Bin Laden. He is repeatedly saying that he is not a Muslim, but Islamophobia in the US is significant enough to destroy a political career. There will certainly be more allegations and speculation circulating as the US gets closer to the election date. In the end, the main question is whether the US is ready for a woman president or a black president. I think the answer is not quite." Kamuran Ozbir argues in the nationalist Ortadogu that passage of an Armenian genocide resolution by the US Congress will damage US-Turkey relations: "The Armenian genocide resolution issue in the US House of Representatives is an indication of another crisis in the already fragile relationship between Turkey and the US. Given the Democratic majority in the Congress as well as the current political weakness of the Bush administration, it will be very hard to block the process. During the visit of FM Gul to Washington, the administration promised to intervene. The Washington administration will certainly keep its word, because a resolution as such does not serve US strategic interests. Yet the chance for success seems very unlikely. `he resolution passes in like a binding law in All to Excavation of Alleged Arenian Mass Grave Hurriyet reports the Turkish History Institution has invited officials from Sweden and other countries including Armenia to Turkey to join the excavation of a mass grave, allegedly belonging to Armenians killed by Turks, found in the southeastern province of Mardin. Swedish Professor David Gaunt, a "genocide specialist" at Sodertorns University College, has claimed that the mass grave was evidence of the mass killing of Armenians in 1915. The head of the Turkish History Institution Professor Yusuf Halacoglu said they were ready to apologize if the excavation results show that the mass grave belongs to Armenians or Syriacs, and that "We expect an apology if the excavations produce contrary results." Professor Gaunt has accepted the invitation. Turkey plans to start the excavations in late March. TV News: (NTV, 7.00 A.M.) Domestic News - Prime Minister Erdogan spent the weekend in his hometown, the Black Sea city of Rize, inaugurating various installations. - Four children in the southeastern province of Batman suspected of having the deadly avian influenza virus have tested negative. - Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer visits Ankara as the official guest of his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul. Downer will meet with Gul, President Sezer and Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc. - A Turkish Cyprus parliamentary delegation will attend the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) inter-parliamentary union meeting in Malaysia on February 13-16. International News - Ankara is expected to announce a four-stage unilateral plan for the harmonization of Turkish laws with EU regulations. - Iraq's foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari said Kirkuk is not a Turkish city, adding that the residents of Kirkuk could solve their ANKARA 00000296 002 OF 003 of his American counterpart General Peter Pace. General Buyukanit is expected to meet with General Schoomaker, Vice President Cheney, Undersecretary of Defense Eric Edelman, as well as General Pace. Sabah quoted General Buyukanit, prior to his departure saying that "if the Armenian resolution passes in the Congress the Turkey-US military relationship will be damaged." Milliyet reports that, on the plane on the way to the US, General Buyukanit complained about the fact that Turkey "could not explain its stance on Armenian Genocide and Cyprus issues to its interlocutors adding that "as a result, we come to the position of defending ourselves as if we are the faulty ones." Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc Comments on the Presidential Elections All papers report that Parliament Speaker Arinc revealed over the weekend that the ruling AK Party would choose a presidential candidate from the parliament. In an exclusive interview with Channel 7 on Sunday, Arinc was quoted as saying "no deputy of the ruling AK Party, which has the majority in Parliament, is considering a candidate from outside." Asked whether their candidate will be selected byo Excavation of Alleged Arenian Mass Grave Hurriyet reports the Turkish History Institution has invited officials from Sweden and other countries including Armenia to Turkey to join the excavation of a mass grave, allegedly belonging to Armenians killed by Turks, found in the southeastern province of Mardin. Swedish Professor David Gaunt, a "genocide specialist" at Sodertorns University College, has claimed that the mass grave was evidence of the mass killing of Armenians in 1915. The head of the Turkish History Institution Professor Yusuf Halacoglu said they were ready to apologize if the excavation results show that the mass grave belongs to Armenians or Syriacs, and that "We expect an apology if the excavations produce contrary results." Professor Gaunt has accepted the invitation. Turkey plans to start the excavations in late March. TV News: (NTV, 7.00 A.M.) Domestic News - Prime Minister Erdogan spent the weekend in his hometown, the Black Sea city of Rize, inaugurating various installations. - Four children in the southeastern province of Batman suspected of having the deadly avian influenza virus have tested negative. - Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer visits Ankara as the official guest of his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul. Downer will meet with Gul, President Sezer and Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc. - A Turkish Cyprus parliamentary delegation will attend the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) inter-parliamentary union meeting in Malaysia on February 13-16. International News - Ankara is expected to announce a four-stage unilateral plan for the harmonization of Turkish laws with EU regulations. - Iraq's foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari said Kirkuk is not a Turkish city, adding that the residents of Kirkuk could solve their ANKARA 00000296 003 OF 003 own problems through the Iraqi constitution. - Greek Cypriot leader Papadopoulos said his country will not give up its sovereign rights regarding oil exploration in the eastern Mediterranean. - Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis has invited Greek Cypriot leader Papadopoulos to Athens to urge him to give up plans for oil exploration that have become source of tensions in eastern Mediterranean. - On February 15, President Abbas is to formally authorize Prime Minister Haniyeh to form a new unity government in Palestine. http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON