TURKISH MEDIA REACTION

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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

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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

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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