ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001288 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, JULY 17, 2008 In Today's Papers Court Rapporteur Advises against Closing AKP All news outlets report Constitutional Court head Hasim Kilic said Wednesday the court rapporteur has submitted his report on the merits of the closure case against the ruling AKP to court members. The submission of the report is the final step before the chairman announces a date to debate the case. Kilic said a date for the hearing would be decided after talks with all other members of the court. Papers say in his "non-binding" report, Osman Can has recommended the court not to close the party or deprive it from Treasury funds. Can reportedly said the AKP-MHP backed headscarf reforms should be seen as an "act carried out by the parliament." He also noted the AKP members' statements should be evaluated under "freedom of expression." Can is also reported to have said the ban of political parties happened only in "extreme situations" in modern democracies. In March, Can recommended rejection after the case was filed, but the court accepted it. The Constitutional Court deputy chairman, Osman Paksut, has earlier said the case could be finalized within 4-5 weeks, signaling a decision could come at the end of July or early August. Turkey at the Center of Iranian Diplomacy. Today's lead news story focuses on Turkey setting its sight on solving the crisis over Iran's nuclear program through talks with both the U.S. National Security Advisor and the Iranian Foreign Minister. Mainstream Milliyet writes "Iran Traffic in Ankara," noting that "U.S. National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley comes to Turkey today, and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki will come to Turkey tomorrow." Liberal Radikal, in "Babacan: Turkey Plays an Unnamed Role for Iran," quotes Foreign Minister Babacan's remarks on NTV that "after working as a mediator in the indirect talks between Syria and Israel, Turkey would also be effective in the dialogue between Iran and the world." Leftist Cumhuriyet writes "U.S. and Iran are on the Way to Ankara," saying "subsequent contact with U.S. and Iranian officials reveals that Turkey is at the center of the diplomacy traffic." Former U.S. Ambassador Parris Comments on AKP Closure Case. Media outlets report that former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Mark Parris discussed recent developments in Turkey at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington. With regard to the AKP closure case, mainstream Milliyet reports Parris said "If the AKP had given priority to the EU process and the constitutional reforms after July 22, everything would be fine now. Unfortunately they did not and the coalition of different groups supporting AKP started to break down last autumn. Many corruption files started surfacing. At that moment, the closure case became like a savior to the AKP." Mainstream Sabah's headline reads "Parris gave a date for AKP closure case," reporting that Parris said "if the AKP is closed, this decision will negatively affect Turkey-U.S. relations as well as Turkey's EU membership process." Parris added that he expects the decision on the closure case sometime in mid-August or in the third week of August, and most likely on a Friday evening. Editorial Commentary on Ergenekon Indictment and Turkish Political Debates "Civilization and Democratization" Soli Ozel wrote in mainstream Sabah (7/17): "The Ergenekon case, even with its pluses and minuses, is an historic breakthrough in Turkish political history. It marks the end of a coup-mongering mentality and hopefully, it will also pave the way for a clean up the system via the judicial process. However, a bigger struggle is ahead of Turkish democracy: democratization. The aftermath of Ergenekon will help move Turkey towards a better civil society, but it does not necessarily automatic democratization. Democratization requires a full-scale supremacy of rule of law. From now on, given the current circumstances, Turkey's democratization is very much tied to the nature of its relationship with the Western alliance and ANKARA 00001288 002 OF 003 on the next phases in the EU process." "Taking A Lesson From History" Ismet Berkan wrote in liberal-intellectual Radikal (7/17): "As Turkey continues to debate the essence of democracy, the world's first republic concluded that debate some 210 years ago. It was 1797 when Thomas Jefferson defined the political parties into two categories: 'those who fear from people' and 'those who don't.' In the aftermath of the 1800 elections, all U.S. parties, regardless of their political stance, came to a unanimous belief in the legitimacy of the American Constitution. The United States has had only two constitutional crises; during the civil war and in the debate on the abolishment of slavery. And that was it, in more than 200 years of its constitution. As for Turkey, we are still struggling in the midst of a constitutional crisis, not to mention the fact that we have had six completely new constitutions since 1786. What Thomas Jefferson said then is valid for us now." Humanitarian Support for Consulate Attack Victims. Mainstream Sabah writes in "Support Promise from Wilson to the Martyr Family," quoting Ambassador Ross Wilson's remarks to CNNTurk, that "the U.S. is planning humanitarian support for the families of the martyred policemen," and that "Consulate and Embassy staff will also contribute." Meanwhile, mainstream Hurriyet reports that "the Istanbul Police Directorate has opened a bank account at Vakifbank for donations to the families of the martyred." U.S. Envoy to Attend Nuclear Talks. News outlets also give extensive coverage to the U.S. sending a top ranked diplomat to attend international nuclear talks with Iran on Saturday, marking a major shift in the U.S. policy on Iran. Mainstream Sabah carries the headline "U.S. Will Talk to Iran on Nuclear for the First Time," saying "Undersecretary William Burns will attend the meeting in Geneva between EU Foreign Policy Chief Solana and Tehran's nuclear negotiator Jalili, which is a first in the negotiations with Tehran." Leftist Cumhuriyet writes in "U.S. for the First Time at Negotiating Table," that "U.S. attitude shows a significant change in its Iran policy and strengthens the belief that the problem could be solved by negotiations." Liberal Radikal carries the headline "U.S. is This Close to Iran," saying "the U.S. is involved in nuclear talks with Iran for the first time." Leftist Taraf carries the headline "U.S. will Attend Iran's Nuclear Negotiations Too." TV Highlights CNN Turk Domestic News - The Turkish General Staff said since July 13, 11 PKK terrorists were killed in operations in the southeastern border province of Hakkari. - Prime Minister Erdogan, accompanied by a delegation of six cabinet ministers, is to travel to Turkish Cyprus on July 18 to meet Turkish Cypriot leaders including those of opposition parties as well as NGO representatives. - Turkish Truckers Association said it will use alternative routes for shipping goods to Europe to avoid an extra USD 271 fee charged by Bulgaria. International News - Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan's op-ed in The Wall Street Journal calls for "dialogue with Turkey for the normalization of ties and the opening of the border." - Russian President Dimitri Medvedev said plans to deploy parts of the U.S. missile shield in the Czech Republic "deeply distresses" Moscow. ANKARA 00001288 003 OF 003 - The U.S. Treasury Department prohibits all transactions with four Iranian firms which are known to be close to Tehran's nuclear and missile programs. WILSON