ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000248 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 MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2008 In Today's Papers Turkish Parliament Passes Turban Reforms, All Eyes on the Constitutional Court All papers report over the weekend and today that the Turkish Parliament voted to amend the constitution and lift the ban on headscarves at universities. On Saturday, the ruling AKP and opposition MHP lawmakers, backed by the pro-Kurdish DTP, passed the amendments by 411 to 103 after lengthy and heated debates. On Monday, the bill will be submitted to President Abdullah Gul, who is expected to approve the reforms soon. Opposition CHP will apply to the Constitutional Court to demand the annulment of the reforms after the amendment is published in the Official Gazette. The CHP's main argument is that the turban changes contradict article 2 of the constitution, which defines secularism. Before he departed for Germany on Sunday, CHP leader Deniz Baykal told reporters, "Turkey's energy will be wasted. Incidents that will break out in universities will cause divisions." Prime Minister Erdogan addressed approximately 18,000 Turks in Cologne, Germany and defended the headscarf reforms. He added, "With the new regulation, young Turks will not have to leave Turkey for their university education, which will reverse the brain drain." When asked how Islam can be reconciled with Turkey's EU process, Erdogan said "99 percent of people in Turkey are Muslim. We do not have the right to ask people who come from different religions why they practice their religion so well; that would not be compatible with basic freedoms." Papers report thousands of people gathered in Ankara on Saturday to protest against the headscarf bill. The demonstration took place during the parliamentary voting and was organized by 76 NGOs. Turkey is divided into two hostile camps: headscarf adversaries and supporters, mainstream says Milliyet while Islamist-oriented Zaman claims the decision of the parliament reflects "the will of the nation." Liberal Radikal and mainstream Hurriyet report the AKP government left the implementation of the new measure up to the university rectors. Yet, some rectors insist that the headscarf cannot be accepted into the universities before the parliament amends article 17 of the higher education law. Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak claims the Constitutional Court can only annul the bill if it finds the parliament did not meet the procedural requirements while passing the reforms. Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet and leftist Taraf say the Turkish Bar Association released a statement Sunday saying "the headscarf regulation passed by the government could stir chaos." The Association said the solution lies in democracy, and warned against efforts to seek solutions via military intervention. DTP to Submit to High Court Preliminary Defense against Closure Case Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Taraf, Cumhuriyet, Yeni Safak and others report Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party, DTP, will submit its preliminary defense to the Constitutional Court in response to the case to close the party. After hearing the DTP's preliminary defense, the chief prosecutor will present his argument to the court. A court reporter will prepare a file on the charges and defense before submitting it to the court. Then, the court will review the prosecutor's demand for closure. The court requires seven of the eleven total justices must support the ruling in order for it to pass. DTP lawmaker Hasip Kaplan said they support a democratic solution to the Kurdish problem. "Democracy cannot flourish in a country which has turned into a graveyard of closed political parties," Kaplan said. Third Hearing in Dink Murder Case on Monday Hurriyet, Milliyet, Radikal, Taraf, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and others report the third hearing in the trial over the slaying of Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink will take place Monday in Istanbul. Papers report a delegation of the International Human Rights ANKARA 00000248 002 OF 003 Federation (FIDH) arrived in Istanbul to follow the trial. The delegation members said the Dink case is a "human rights test for Turkey." Gates: NATO Will Collapse if Allies Don't Support Afghanistan Mission Milliyet, Cumhuriyet and Yeni Safak report Secretary of Defense Robert Gates warned Sunday at the International Security Conference in Munich that NATO would collapse if allies do not support the mission in Afghanistan. "We cannot become an alliance split into two with those who want to fight and others who don't," Gates is quoted as saying. "Afghanistan will finish NATO," reads a headline in the Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak, adding 42,000 troops were not enough against the Taliban, and that member countries are largely rejecting the demand for additional troops for Afghanistan. EDITORIAL OPINION: Kosovo; Headscarf Issue "Kosovo and Northern Cyprus" Kamuran Ozbir commented in nationalist-oriented Ortadogu (2/11): "Kosovo's declaration of independence can easily open "Pandora's Box" and change the global map. Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov recently warned that if Kosovo's independence is accepted, similar independence recognition should be implemented in every region in the world with similar problems, including northern Cyprus. Russia, the West and Serbia are playing quite a diplomatic game. On one side are those who want to re-evaluate international law, and on the other side are those who want to divide Serbia. Moreover, many separatist movements around the world will benefit from Kosovo's example. Separatist movements in Belgium, Italy, Spain, France and the UK may follow Kosovo's example. Of course, this issue is being followed closely in Northern Cyprus as well. Those against the independence of Kosovo know very well that the Turkish Cypriots will follow the same example. After all, once a precedent is established, why not use it?" "From Now On, the Global Crisis Will Affect Turkey More" Erdal Saglam wrote in mainstream Hurriyet (2/11): "Turkey will feel the impact of the global economic crisis soon. Next Thursday, Turkey's Central Bank will meet to determine new interest rates. The turban debates disturbed Turkey's financial markets and investment climate more dramatically than the AKP government predicted. Concern within Turkish economic circles is growing rapidly, especially after witnessing the AKP government's obstinate obsession with the turban issue during a massive global economic crisis. If President Gul approves the Constitutional draft, the Constitutional process will start. Starting from today, new turban tensions will grow at universities. There is a major possibility that university students will clash against each other again. It is possible that Turkey will begin to feel the economic effects of the global financial crisis at the same time as the inevitable turban crises hit the universities. The AKP government is not taking any precautions to deal with the looming economic crisis. On the contrary, the AKP government has insisted on political clashes that will negatively affect the economy and increase the public mistrust of the AKP government's economic policies." TV News: NTV Domestic News - The remains of nine Turks killed in a fire in Ludwigshafen have been brought to their hometown, Gaziantep, for burial on Monday. The number of witnesses who say the fire was an arson attack has increased to five. - Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak will arrive in Turkey Monday to meet with President Abdullah Gul, PM Erdogan, and Chief of ANKARA 00000248 003 OF 003 Turkish General Staff General Yasar Buyukanit to discuss defense cooperation and anti-terror intelligence sharing between Turkey and Israel. - The Tunceli prosecutor has initiated an investigation into the pro-Kurdish DTP convention held in the city over the weekend. International News - Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said if the EU countries recognize Kosovo, they will have to recognize the independence of Turkish Cyprus. - President Ahmadinejad is expected to visit Iraq by March 19 in a trip that would the first by an Iranian leader to visit Iraq in 28 years. - President Bush said the US would maintain a troop presence in Iraq long enough to guarantee that democracy takes hold in the country. WILSON