ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000055 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, JANUARY 11, 2007 In Today's Papers Turks Investigate Plane Crash in Baghdad All papers follow up reporting on the Moldovan Antonov-26 aircraft that crashed near Baghdad on Tuesday killing 34 onboard, including 28 Turkish workers. Milliyet reports Turkey has been investigating claims put forward by the Arab television broadcasts in Iraq that the plane had been downed by an insurgent group, Iraq Islam Army. Turkish Foreign Minsitry (MFA) sources told Hurriyet that they had no information confirming the plane had been attacked or that US authorities did not allow it to land in the Balad Airbase. Zaman says no safety checks had been carried out on the plane in the last 12 months. Turkish Transportation Ministry has sent a team of three inspectors to Baghdad to investigate the crash, say papers. Meanwhile, Milliyet reports Iraq provides hope for unemployed Turks despite the bloodbath in the country. The paper says that through the Turkish Employment Agency alone 20,000 Turks went to Iraq for jobs in the last three years. US Squadron of F-16s Land at Incirlik for First Time in Three Years Sabah, Vatan, Milliyet, Hurriyet, Cumhuriyet and others: Vatan reports that 16 US F-16s arrived in Incirlik air base for training purposes for the first time in three years. F-16s were deployed at Incirlik Air Base, near Adana, in accordance with a Council of Ministers decision taken on April 1991, after the first Gulf war. The planes left the base in March 2003, after the "Provide Comfort" Force completed its mission. The warplanes, reportedly, will remain at the base for six to seven weeks to conduct training flights. Commenting on the squadron that has arrived at Incirlik, MFA spokesperson Namik Tan said that the reported activities are entirely training-related and that they are conducted periodically under the supervision of the Turkish Military, Hurriyet reports. Responding a question on the subject, Tan said "a NATO assigned squadron has landed at the Incirlik Air Base to conduct some training activities planned for 2007, similar to activities conducted in the past, within the framework of the Turkish-American Defense and Economic Cooperation Agreement signed on March 1980." Allegations of US Military Delegation Visiting PKK Offices in Northern Iraq Sabah, Milliyet and others: Firat News Agency, known to be close to the PKK, claimed that a US military delegation visited the Kirkuk office of the Kurdistan Democratic Solution Party (KDSP),the PKK's organization in Northern Iraq, and held meetings with the organization there. An official from KDSP Diyar Xerib said, "The Iraq Study Group Report was discussed with the US officials. It is a well-known fact that the US received the biggest support from the Kurds in Iraq. Therefore, as KDSP, we issued a call to the US to develop strategic relationship with the Kurds." Report: 600,000 Kurds Settled in Kirkuk Mainstream Hurriyet says a report prepared by Turkish intelligence shows that 600,000 Kurds have been settled in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq. Kurdish families in the shantytowns across northern Iraq have been promised USD 10,000-20,000 if they agree to move to Kirkuk. The majority of Kurds settled are not those forced out of Kirkuk under the reign of Saddam Hussein. The intelligence report notes that according to "sources" from the time of Hussein and UN records, 11,800 Turkmen, Kurds, Arabs, and Syriacs were expelled from Kirkuk. Editorial Commentary on New US Iraq Strategy Cengiz Candar comments in the economic-political daily Referans: "The essence of the President's new Iraq strategy is surge, not withdrawal. President Bush did not meet the expectations about giving some indications of a pull out. On the contrary he intends to control the growing violence in Iraq through more troops. His strategy on Iraq is like hitting the gas pedal, rather than the ANKARA 00000055 002 OF 003 brakes. The Bush strategy also entirely conflicts with the spirit of the Baker-Hamilton report. President Bush gives his main focus to the stability of Iraq which is a clear diversion from the high ideals such as bringing democracy, but at the same time he does not combine the stability priority with a pull out plan. One good way of looking at the new strategy is that we can see it as the last effort to prevent Iraq's division. However there are many loopholes in the new Bush strategy. The plan focuses on the elimination of the insurgency via military means but neglects the need for a political strategy to go along with it for absolute victory. President Bush does not offer a political strategy to address this need. Given the lowest level of support to the US policy for Iraq, success is very, very difficult. " Turgut Tarhanli writes in the liberal-intellectual Radikal: "In 2004, both the US and the UK declared the transfer of sovereignty to Iraq as UN resolution 1546 indicated. We should realize that such a thing never happened - it remained on paper. Iraqi authorities are trying to establish stability and public order but their roles and responsibilities stay very limited if we keep in mind that they are living under occupation. The Iraq reality from a legal perspective is about the big difference between what's written and what's implemented. Given the current situation in Iraq, it is not realistic for Turkey to talk about an Iraq policy filled with 'red lines.' This policy may be helpful for domestic politics, but narrowing down all of Iraq to issues about Kirkuk's demography cannot be a realistic approach. With this approach, Turkey is also narrowing down its role as a regional force. The reality is that Iraq's north has a significant stable situation despite the chaos in Iraq in general. The Kirkuk issue is undoubtedly a potential cause for local tension. However, when establishing policy and talking about 'red lines,' we should be able to see the situation in Iraq in general as well as the stability in the north." ECHR Ruling Forces Turkey to Review Minority Foundations Bill Hurriyet, Milliyet and Radikal report Turkey signaled on Wednesday it could amend a bill on non-Muslim minority foundations after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that a boys school building confiscated from an ethnic Greek foundation be given back. The ECHR told Turkey on Tuesday to return the property or pay 910,000 Euro in compensation for infringing on the foundation's property rights. Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin said the bill might now be changed to allow payment of compensation to minority foundations whose properties had been confiscated and then sold on to third parties. Sahin warned Turkey could face a much larger bill if it fails to amend the law. Sahin noted there were 124 such controversial assets currently under Turkish Treasury ownership and 28 under the Foundations Directorate, and an "unknown" number of properties sold on to third parties. TV Highlights NTV, 6.00 A.M. Domestic News - Turkey has suffered the highest human losses in Iraq after the US and the UK. - Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said Turkey will continue with EU reforms with determination, adding that 2007 will not be a lost year for Turkey. - The ruling AKP lawmakers have drafted a bill envisaging prison sentences for those who make public the messages issued by the PKK's imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan. - A new draft bill discussed by the parliamentary justice commission envisages prison sentences for domestic violence. - A survey by the Turkish Central Bank says yearend inflation was ANKARA 00000055 003 OF 003 expected to stand at 6.98 percent. - Dense fog has paralyzed air and maritime traffic in Istanbul. International News - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said the execution of Barzan al-Tikriti and Avad al-Bender, the two co-defendants of Saddam Hussein, should be delayed. - Secretary Rice will travel to the Middle East and Europe on Friday in a drive to revive the stalled Arab-Israeli peace efforts and stabilize Iraq. - President Bush is expected to bolster the US presence in Iraq by sending at least 20,000 extra troops to Baghdad and the restive Anbar province. - Gunmen opened fire on two buses of pilgrims returning to the Iraqi Shiite city of Karbala from neighboring Saudi Arabia, killing eight pilgrims. - Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said that in 2007 he expected important developments concerning the recognition of Armenian genocide claims in France and the US. http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON