TURKISH MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001059 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 PREL KPAO SUBJECT: TURKISH MEDIA REACTION FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2009 In Today's Papers Constitutional Court Annuls Parts of the Land Mine Law All papers: The Constitutional Court on Thursday invalidated some parts of the recently passed law for clearing mines on the Turkish-Syrian border. With the new bill, it will be possible to use the cleared area for agricultural purposes. However, the Constitutional Court has suspended the provisions that allowed the de-mining company to use the land for up to 44 years for agricultural activities. Mainstream Vatan says that in the last six years, main opposition party CHP applied to the Constitutional Court to demand the annulment of 143 bills passed by parliament. Mainstream Hurriyet notes that in June 2009, all the opposition parties with seats in Parliament filed a lawsuit at the Constitutional Court demanding the invalidation of some parts of the law on the grounds that those articles were against the Constitution. Turkey, Iraq, and the U.S. to Discuss Makhmur Camp (Taraf) Leftist Taraf reports that on Tuesday, officials from Turkey, the U.S. and Iraq will hold a summit meeting in Ankara to discuss the role of the Makhmur refugee camp in the "return home" of PKK militants in northern Iraq. Makhmur was to become the first stop for the PKK militants willing to leave the mountains and return to their homes. Taraf comments the Turkish government was taking "concrete steps to make the PKK militants lay down their weapons." Debate Over the Government's Possible Kurdish Plan Bejan Matur wrote in Islamist-oriented Zaman: "There are certain social reflexes buried in Turkish society which are against finding a solution to the Kurdish problem. However a strong public affairs campaign can change this. The current climate is good enough to turn this sentiment into a positive direction if both the state institutions and the DTP at the same time act on this nature." Yasin Dogan wrote in Islamist oriented Yeni Safak: "There is so much talk about making Ocalan [PKK's imprisoned leader] a part of the negotiations regarding the Kurdish issue. Ocalan's clout within the PKK cannot be denied but that does not qualify him as negotiator or interlocutor. Leaders of Kurdish community in Turkey have to think in a broader perspective if they sincerely want to contribute to the solution finding process." Cengiz Candar wrote in liberal-intellectual Radikal: "There are certain things the state can easily move forward and make an easy path toward finding a solution to the Kurdish problem. The enhancement of the local administration structure will allow them administrative autonomy as described in the EU process as one of the things which the government can do immediately." Ece Temelkuran wrote in mainstream Milliyet: "There are many obstacles, besides the obvious ones, in efforts to find a solution to the Kurdish problem. First and most important of all, Turkey's southeast reality does not match with the Ankara reality because country's prime minister does not even want to listen to the voices of his southeastern deputies. They are outspoken and open to listening to what Ocalan has to say while PM Erdogan seems determined to act with no democratic maturity." FM Davutoglu Appoints New, Younger Ambassadors Papers report the Turkish Foreign Ministry has appointed new ambassadors to 45 embassies around the world. Papers underline that Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has brought fresh blood to the top positions in the ministry with the appointment of "younger" diplomats. Deputy Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu, Turkey's former ambassador to Israel, will be replacing Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan as the new undersecretary of the MFA. Ambassadors Namik Tan, Halit Cevik, Selim Yenel, Naci Koru and Hakki Akil, who all served ANKARA 00001059 002 OF 003 abroad until recently, will be the new deputy undersecretaries. The current deputy undersecretary, Ambassador Unal Cevikoz, will remain in office. Davutoglu has informed the ambassadors of their new positions, and called their wives to convey the ministry's gratitude for supporting their husbands, say papers. U.S., Turkey Economies Getting Better (Zaman) Islamist-oriented Zaman reports "good news" from the U.S., where Ford announced a USD 2.3 billion of profits this year. The Istanbul Stock Market (IMKB) also reached its highest point in 2009, says Zaman, adding the Turkish Lira has gained value over the U.S. Dollar and the Euro since October 2008, says Zaman. Turkey ranks top in anti-Americanism (Vatan) Mainstream Vatan reports the PEW survey results show Turkey ranked at the top of the list of countries with anti-American sentiments - only 14 percent expressed positive feelings about America. Mainstream Milliyet says "President Obama failed to change Turks' opinion on the U.S." and highlights that the American image improved worldwide after President Obama took charge, while Turkish people continue to feel distant to both the U.S. and to the European Union. U.S. Killed Bin Laden's Son "Accidently" in a Missile Attack (Aksam) Mainstream Aksam cites NPR radio's interview with a US official saying that "(Osama) Bin Laden's son Saad wasn't in a high position within the Al-Qaeda organization. We did not target him individually. He was killed just because he was at a wrong place in a wrong time." Mainstream dailies Sabah and Vatan also cite the NPR radio interview with a US counter-terrorism official to report that, according to US Intelligence service, Laden's son was killed during a missile attack in Pakistan, at the beginning of the year. Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak carries the headline, "A Son Was Killed." A 'Racism Objection' from Obama (Cumhuriyet) Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet reports from Washington that President Obama said police forces in the U.S. treat the blacks and Hispanics "disproportionally," and added the "race issue" continues to be a problem in the country. On the arrest of Harvard University Professor Henry Louis Gates over suspicion of "theft" while the professor was trying to enter his own house, Obama said police had acted "stupidly." "It's a fact that this country has a long history of police detaining African-Americans and Latinos," said Obama. Gates was released after he was kept under custody for a couple hours, says Cumhuriyet. TV News (CNN Turk) Domestic - CHP leader Deniz Baykal told a press conference PM Erdogan was creating "big expectations" with his remarks regarding the Kurdish question, but then was failing to meet the expectations. - A military training fighter jet crashed in Malatya, but the two pilots survived the crash with light injuries. - Turkey's economy administration is working on measures to curb public spending. - Number of foreign tourist visiting Turkey has declined in June. World - Northern Iraq goes to the ballot boxes for elections on Saturday. - President Obama said despite the continuing violence in Iraq, the U.S. was on schedule to withdraw troops out of the country by the ANKARA 00001059 003 OF 003 end of 2011. - Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic says he wants access to DNA from mass graves to show that the death toll in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of Muslim men has been "exaggerated." - Russian President Medvedev has announced a pilot project that will require schoolchildren to take classes in religion or secular ethics. JEFFREY