ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

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SUBJECT: ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT
THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2007


In Today's Papers

Turkish Presidential Debates
All papers continue reporting and speculation on whether the AKP
government can persuade enough lawmakers to participate in the first
round of voting of the presidential election in parliament set for
Friday. The main opposition CHP has already announced they will
boycott the voting and threatened to apply to the Constitutional
Court to rule the election invalid if less than two thirds of the
550 lawmakers (367) are in the parliament for the first round. The
only presidential nominee, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, needs the
support of 14 MPs outside AKP to secure the presence of 367 deputies
in the first round. The AKP maintains that only 184 deputies need
be present to hold the first round of voting. Asked yesterday by
reporters what would happen in case the high court annuls the first
vote, Gul said early parliamentary elections will be called.
Opposition parties Anavatan and DYP urged the AKP to put off the
presidential election and call early general elections instead.
Vatan says the two parties have decided not to participate in the
voting unless the government calls for early polls. Prime Minister
Erdogan ruled out postponing the presidential vote and the calls for
early elections.

Gul said following his contacts with the independent MPs in the
parliament that he will be true to the values of the secular
republic in deeds as well as in words. Gul stressed he has three
aims, "a strong democracy, a strong economy and a strong army in
Turkey."

Turkey's influential business gathering TUSIAD and labor union
Turk-Is have welcomed Gul's candidacy. The Turkish stock exchanges
reacted positively to the nomination of Gul. Economic/political
daily Dunya says up to USD 25 billion could come to Turkey in 2007
if the presidential election process is completed smoothly.

Editorial Commentary on Presidential Process
Cuneyt Ulsever writes in the mainstream Hurriyet: "The presidential
election process proved that the key players of Turkey not only
failed to observe democratic rules but also that they demonstrated a
serious lack of vision. Neither the ruling AKP, nor the main
opposition CHP has a vision. AKP voters should be upset because
they are shaping policy depending on the circumstance, rather than a
solid party strategy. As for the secular masses, they should be
upset too due to the fact that a staunch advocate of the headscarf
is about to occupy presidency. Turkey seems to be a country of
people with no vision."

Fehmi Koru comments in the Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak: "If the CHP
takes the presidential election issue to the Constitutional Court,
Turkey, no matter what, will end up in a crisis. Interestingly
enough, the opposition circles prefer to put the country into a
crisis rather than support a moderate figure for the presidency. It
just does not make sense that Turkey's main opposition party would
boycott the voting session for the presidency and advocate for a
crisis. But this is politics after all; politicians are known to
act in a suicidal fashion from time to time. The parliamentary
session tomorrow is very critical."

Larijani-Solana Meet in Ankara
All papers report EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana and Iranian
Chief Nuclear Negotiator Ali Larijani came together in Ankara to
discuss Tehran's nuclear program. Larijani and Solana said they
held "positive" discussions, adding they plan to meet again within
two weeks. Before the Larijani-Solana meeting, Prime Minister
Erdogan came together at lunch with Larijani who is scheduled to
meet with Turkish National Security Council (MGK) Secretary-General
Yigit Alpogan on Thursday. Sabah reports President Bush said
Secretary Rice and the Iranian FM might hold bilateral talks at the

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upcoming Iraq neighbors conference in Egypt.


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Editorial Commentary on Turkey's Diplomacy
Sami Kohen observes in the mainstream Milliyet: "Turkish diplomacy
succeeded in making three important meetings happen in Ankara.
Iranian representative Larijani started a series of meetings with
the EU official Solana. The Iraqi Foreign Minister is also arriving
in Ankara for discussions about the upcoming Iraqi conference in
Egypt. And, the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan are expected to
meet in Ankara next Monday. These meetings are the clear indication
that Turkey is a regional actor in diplomacy. Iran-EU talks
occurred when the nuclear issue seemed to be frozen due to
uncompromising statements of Iran. Despite this fact, the
Larijani-Solana meeting has the potential to initiate a new
negotiation process. As for the upcoming Iraqi conference, the
Iraqi Foreign Minister is apparently planning to conquer Ankara's
heart after the disappointment over the fact that Iraq did not want
Turkey to be the host for this conference. If the Egypt conference
produces some progress, a new phase might begin and Turkey can be
the host for the next conference."

Assassination Attempt on Education Board Chairman
All papers report a gunman attempted to enter the office of
Professor Erdogan Tezic chairman of Turkey's secularist Higher
Education Board (YOK) on Wednesday, in an attempt to assassinate
him. When he was prevented from entering the building, the gunman
fired three shots at the security guards and fled. The assailant,
Nurullah Ilgun, was captured in a bus station a few hours later.
Mainstream Hurriyet reports Ilgun was a supporter of the
nationalist-Islamist party BBP, adding his sister, wearing the
Islamic-style headscarf, had problems in university.

The attempted attack comes a day after the ruling AKP announced
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul as their presidential candidate.
Tezic has been highly critical of the ruling AK Party's policies and
opposed Erdogan seeking the presidency.

MFA on Bush's Armenian Remembrance Day Message
Radikal and Cumhuriyet report the Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA)
said in a statement it was "impossible to agree with certain points
in the statement" of President Bush on April 24 Armenian Remembrance
Day message. The MFA statement, however, noted "President Bush
emphasized that an open study of the historical events of the last
period of the Ottoman Empire will help the normalization of
relations between Turkey and Armenia. We agree with President Bush
on this matter, and expect that the US President and the
Administration will continue to encourage Armenia to give a positive
response to our historic offer."

TV Highlights
NTV, 6.00 A.M.

Domestic News

- A cabinet reshuffle is expected in Ankara following presidential
elections. Foreign Minister Gul is to be replaced by State Minister
Ali Babacan whose post will be given to AKP deputy chairmen Reha
Denemec or Nazim Ekren.

- 400 NGOs back a rally planned in Istanbul on Sunday to voice
support for the basic values of the republic.

- Police detained Wednesday in Istanbul six members of the PKK,
including a blind woman, seizing more than 6.7 kg of plastic
explosives and a bomb vest with a detonator on it. The terrorists
were reportedly preparing for a "sensational" bomb attack.

- President Sezer will host talks between Pakistan and Afghan
presidents Musharraf and Karzai on April 29-30 to cool tensions over
cross-border militancy in Afghanistan.

International News

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- The Turkish Jewish congregation and four other leading Jewish
organizations in the US have sent a letter to the US Congress urging
postponing Armenian genocide debates.

- A UN report said journalists in Iraq's Kurdistan face arrest and
harassment over reporting on government corruption and poor public
services.

- Radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called for demonstrations
against the wall around a Sunni neighborhood in Baghdad, saying it
displayed the "evil intentions" of American "occupiers."

- A senior US intelligence official said Fidel Castro's health is
improving and the 80-year-old leader is likely to take full command
again.

WILSON