ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001359 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 TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2008 In Today's Papers Erdogan, Baykal Denounce Istanbul Bombings, PKK Denies Responsibility All news outlets report on Monday, Prime Minister Erdogan and opposition CHP leader Deniz Baykal visited the site of the deadly bomb attack in Gungoren neighborhood in Istanbul. Erdogan claimed the blasts were in retaliation to the Turkish operations against the PKK in northern Iraq. The PM urged Turkish people to withdraw support for "political parties backing terror." Baykal issued a call for a "nationwide campaign against terror, calling for millions of Turks to rally together to condemn terror. Papers report Erdogan supports Baykal's idea and would be willing to discuss it with him.. Istanbul Governor Muammer Guler said earlier the attack was an act of terrorism. Papers quote security experts suggesting the attack "could have been perpetrated by the PKK," and that intelligence units had been expecting a PKK operation "in a big city, especially in the aftermath of the Turkish cross-border operations into northern Iraq." Zubeyir Aydar, chairman of the People's Congress of Kurdistan (Kongra-Gel,) "strongly condemned" the attack and said "the Kurdish freedom movement has nothing to do with this." Aydar said the fact that the attack took place in the midst of the AKP and 'Ergenekon' trials should not be overlooked. Mainstream Sabah reports "allegations" that the PKK-affilianted TAK had accepted responsibility for the attack. Kurdish party DTP leader Ahmet Turk warned it was "premature" to point at anyone as the perpetrator, and the incident should not be exploited "for political benefits." Turk said the attack was a blow for "peace, coexistence and the future." Papers also speculate the attack's aim was chaos which would lead to civil strife in Turkey. Mainstream Sabah says the Ergenekon indictment alleges the possibility of such attacks to stoke tension between Kurds and Turks. Editorial Commentary on Istanbul Bombings Murat Yetkin wrote in liberal-intellectual Radikal (7/29): "Efforts are underway to provoke a conflict between Turks and Kurds. The bombings in Istanbul resulted in a great deal of hatred, and the PKK was believed to be the perpetrator. Even though the PKK spokespersons in northern Iraq and Brussels denied responsibility, there is an overall perception that this was the work of the PKK. Perception is sometimes stronger than the truth and in this case, it will be grave if this goes beyond the PKK and people of Kurdish origin are held responsible. We should take a lesson from the past. There is a trap and we should not fall into it." Ekrem Dumanli wrote in Islamist-leaning Zaman (7/29): "At this point there is no use thinking about who benefited from the Istanbul bombings. Any sensible Turk is well aware of the fact that there are many traps. In this game, those who are responsible for the chaos are creating 'savior' or 'heroic' identities for themselves. However, Turks are fed up watching various versions of the same movie. And they have come to the point of 'enough is enough' - a very good response to chaos plotters." Court Holds First Hearing on AKP Closure Case All papers report the Turkish Constitutional Court, convened its first hearing on the AKP closure case on Monday. The hearing lasted 12 hours. Court justices will come together every day until they reach a decision. Papers comment yesterday's long meeting raised expectations that the ruling might come earlier than anticipated. Under the Constitution, at least seven out of 11 court members' votes are needed to close the party. Editorial Commentary on 'Ergenekon' Probe ANKARA 00001359 002 OF 003 Ali Sirmen wrote in leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet (7/29): "The Ergenekon investigation provides both horror and laughter at the same time. Putting inconsistencies and irrelevant accusations aside, so many horrifying stories have appeared in certain media outlets and they've been presented as truth. The whole thing is portrayed as going after the deep state. If this is the genuine desire, state transparency is the only way to achieve the goal. Let's take the murder of Hrant Dink. It is presented as a deep state act. This proposition deserves only laughter. It is certainly the responsibility of the State to prevent something like Dink's murder from happening. The State's failure is that, almost deliberately, it did nothing to prevent the Dink murder. Yet the responsible figures are still in public service: Chief of Police, Police Intelligence Chief, Istanbul Governor and others. They are not hiding in the deep. Let's deal with the shallow state first before going after the deep one." Kurds Attack Turkmen Office after Deadly Bomb Attack in Kirkuk All papers report 32 people were killed Monday when a female suicide bomber struck a Kurdish rally in the city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq. The demonstrators attacked the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) building and Turkmeneli TV station in the city after the attack. Demonstrators set the ITF office on fire and abducted five people, according to ITF officials. Islamist-oriented Zaman reports Ankara, worried about the developments, advised the Turkmen to "keep calm." ITF's Turkey representative Ahmet Muratli said Kurds held the Turkmen responsible for the attack, and claimed some want to incite fighting between the Kurds and Turks. Babacan to Tehran July 29 Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and Yeni Safak report Foreign Minister Ali Babacan will travel to Tehran on July 29 to participate in the Non-Aligned Movement summit talks. Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet expects Babacan to continue Turkey's "facilitator" role between Washington and Tehran regarding Iran's nuclear program through contacts on the sidelines of the summit. Babacan will also lobby UN member states attending the meeting for Turkey to gain a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council, according to Cumhuriyet. Paper: Ahmadinejad to Visit Turkey August 14 Liberal Radikal reports Iranian President Ahmadinejad will travel to Turkey on August 14 on a working visit. Radikal says Ahmadinejad and Turkish President Abdullah Gul are expected meet in Istanbul, which would excuse the Iranian President from visiting Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey. In the past, visiting Iranian officials declined to visit Anitkabir, which caused public anger in Turkey. Iran 'Intermediates' for Improving Turkey-Armenia Ties Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak reports Kaan Soyak, the co-chair of Turkey-Armenia Business Development Council, said Iran wants to "help" in improving ties between Turkey and Armenia. "For the first time, regional countries including Iran plus the Minsk Group members want Turkey-Armenia border reopened and ties between the two countries normalized," Soyak said. TV News: CNN Turk Domestic News - The Turkish General Staff (TGS) said in a statement posted on its website on July 27, nine shelters, one cave, and an explosives cache belonging to the PKK were destroyed completely during air strikes carried out Saturday evening by Turkish F-16 fighter jets in Mount Qandil region in northern Iraq. - The Turkish Central Bank said Monday it expects the year-end inflation to stand at 10.6 percent. ANKARA 00001359 003 OF 003 - A Goldman Sachs survey says Turkey will become the world's ninth largest economy in 2050. International News - NATO soldiers killed two children after opening fire on a car in southern Afghanistan. - Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is to meet President Bush to discuss efforts against the fundamentalist militants along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. - Three female suicide bombers kill 54 people in Baghdad. WILSON