ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000091 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 18, 2007 In Today's Papers US, Iraqi Forces Raid Makhmour Camp in Northern Iraq All papers report US troops and Iraqi forces raided on Wednesday the Makhmour refugee camp known to be a stronghold of the PKK in northern Iraq. Makhmour governor Abdulrahman Pelaf is quoted as saying that the raid was carried out on a tip off that the refugees had weapons in the camp. The Turkish anti-terrorism special envoy, retired general Edip Baser, said the operation would lay the groundwork for other operations. "Our expectation is that this camp, home to some 10,000 people, be dismantled. You cannot of course call all of them terrorists. We have said before that the PKK is using the camp as a shelter and training area as well as a recruiting ground. This was a search operation, we must understand that a deep-rooted problem like this cannot be settled in one day," Baser said. Tom Casey Statement on Kirkuk All papers covered State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey's statement that "there are mechanisms in the Iraqi constitution for determining the status of Kirkuk and we expect the Iraqi Government to continue with those plans." Cumhuriyet and Radikal say that Washington ignored Turkey's objections to holding a referendum in Kirkuk this year. The Casey statement was made in reaction to a recent statement of Prime Minister Erdogan that Turkey cannot remain indifferent to developments in Iraq and Kirkuk, wrote the both papers. Today's papers also report that the Turkish Parliament will gather today for the first Kirkuk session, during which FM Gul will brief deputies. Both the ruling party and the main opposition submitted petitions for the Kirkuk sessions after the government faced tense requests to hold a parliamentary session to discuss the future of Kirkuk and several possibilities about Turkey's role, including military invention. Meanwhile, Turkish ambassadors to Middle East countries held yesterday a meeting to discuss developments in the region in preparation for parliamentary debates on Iraq today. Editorial Commentary on Kirkuk Gungor Mengi comments in the mass appeal Vatan: "The Turkish parliament is starting a general debate on Iraq which is a correct but belated step. Turkey continues to pretend that the conditions are still the same as they were when the parliament rejected the American transfer of troops through Turkey. The fact of the matter is that things have changed dramatically since March 1st and we couldn't even become a side player in the Iraq game. The Prime Minister has finally spoken out, warning that the events in Kirkuk are moving toward a dangerous path and underlined that Turkey cannot sit and watch the developments. However, Washington has already turned down this warning if you look at what the State Department spokesman has just said. On the PKK issue, spokesman Casey did not go further than the 'we are in cooperation' rhetoric either. All the parties in the parliament have to realize the current facts about the Iraq situation and brainstorm for rational ways to handle it. We must understand that our current position, staying opposed to an independent Kurdish state process and asking for their cooperation to eliminate the PKK, is not realistic at all." Zafer Atay writes in the economic-political Dunya: "The Kirkuk issue has a historical and political background which makes Turkey unable to remain aloof to the developments there. On the other hand, threatening a cross border operation to control Kirkuk and asking Turkey to do nothing about the Kirkuk issue are equally unrealistic. Even American thinkers, including in the Baker-Hamilton report, are warning about the importance of Kirkuk as well as its potential for causing further conflicts in Iraq. All of this does not necessarily call for a cross border action by Turkey. Yet we cannot afford to say this is not our business. Turkey has to exert all possible diplomatic ways and means till the bitter end. When doing that we ANKARA 00000091 002 OF 002 should keep in mind that the Iraqi Turkmen population does not have anybody else but Turks as their protectors. Turkey has to bear in mind the vitality of the Kirkuk-Yumurtalik pipeline as well -- that it is too precious to leave entirely in the hands of Kurdish tribes." FM Gul, Defense Minister Gonul and TGS Chief General Buyukanit to Visit US Hurriyet, Radikal, Posta and others: Hurriyet reports that Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul will meet with his American counterpart Condoleezza Rice in Washington on February 6 and will explain the importance of the special status for Kirkuk and will urge Washington to give special status to Kirkuk. HE is expected to urge that Kirkuk's natural resources be used by the whole of Iraq, not only by certain groups. Radikal reports that Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul will travel the US on January 22nd to sign the agreement document on the production of Joint Strike Fighter project. Gonul will meet with his counterpart Robert Gates on January 26. NTV reported that the TGS Chief General Buyukanit will visit Washington on February 11 and meet with General Pace and top US military leaders. Historic Self-Criticism Milliyet reports that former MIT (National Intelligence Organization) deputy undersecretary Cevat Ones confessed that Turkey was unsuccessful in finding a solution to the PKK and Kurdish issues. Ones said "PKK terrorism occurred as the result of the historical Kurdish issue. We have to eliminate the mistakes made in the past. Military martyrs are our own people, so are the PKK supporters in the mountains. Whether we call them militant, guerilla or something else, they are all Turkish citizens. If there are wrong systems in the country, such sorrows definitely occur as a result. We have to learn lessons from past mistakes. The PKK issue will not end if we eliminate about 3000 militant in Northern Iraq. The main thing is, to be able to eliminate the problems through democratic and legal ways." TV Highlights NTV, 6.00 A.M. Domestic News - Turkish Interior Ministry has approved an investigation against Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir for sending to Turkish officials invitations in the Kurdish language for the opening of a culture and arts festival held by the municipality in May. - Housing Minister Faruk Ozak has announced that foreigners acquired 181 million square meters of properties in Turkey. International News - A suicide bomber driving an explosives-laden truck hit a police station in Kirkuk killing 30 people and wounding dozens of others. The blast occurred in a Turkmen quarter of the city center. - EU Foreign Ministers will meet January 22 in Brussels to discuss regulations for direct trade with Turkish Cyprus. - Senators Carl Levin and Fred Upton campaign to block the extradition of suspected PKK militant Ibrahim Parlak to Turkey, saying he has been living in the US as an exemplary immigrant and businessman for years. - Californian Governor Schwarzenegger has called for a US troop pullout of Iraq by the end of this year. http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON