TURKISH MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001073 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 MONDAY, JULY 27, 2009 In Today's Papers The AKP's Kurdish Initiative Prepares for Debut All papers: Sunday's mainstream Sabah reports that the Turkish Government is getting ready to take "brave steps" in order to solve the Kurdish issue. PM Erdogan will review the different alternatives of a plan, which will be prepared by Interior Minister and other government officials. Before submitting the plan to the parliament, the government wants to discuss the plan with state institutions and the NGOs. According to the plan, the PKK militants - excluding top PKK leaders- will be granted amnesty and will be given guarantees that they will not be jailed. A special rehabilitation program will be prepared for militants who agree to lay down their weapons and return to their homes. PKK leaders will be given a chance to go to a third country from northern Iraq. Sabah notes that the method used to disarm the PKK members will be discussed at tomorrow's trilateral mechanism meeting between Turkey, the U.S. and Iraq. Today's Sabah reports that the trilateral mechanism will convene in Ankara tomorrow at the level of Interior Ministers. Turkey's Interior Minister Besir Atalay will host the meeting. Iraqi National Security Minister Sirvan al-Vaili will lead the Iraqi delegation and Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government official Kerim Sincari will attend the meeting also. U.S. military personnel from Iraq will participate at the meeting on behalf of the U.S. In a related story, mainstream Hurriyet reports that, according to the TV channels and internet sites close to PKK, Jailed PKK leader Ocalan said "I just responded to President Gul and PM Erdogan's indirect calls and announced that I will reveal a 'road map' on August 15 to resolve the Kurdish issue. I am not who I was in the past, and the state is not the same state. The past remains in the past. Fighting, violence and death are not in my logic any longer. I am a radical democrat now." Meanwhile, Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party's high level official, responsible of international issues, Safeen Dizayee, spoke to Hurriyet newspaper regarding the controversies over the Turkish government's Kurdish initiative. Dizayee said "violence cannot solve the problems. The time to solve the problem through weapons should come to an end for both sides. PKK is a domestic issue of Turkey. It is true that a part of PKK structure is based on our territory. We were even accused of not fighting against PKK. But there is a new era since April 2008, and it really gives hope to me." Dizayee also remarked about the Makhmur camp in northern Iraq and said "In Makhmur camp there are 11,000 Kurds who are Turkish nationals. But no Turkish officials ever come to the camp to hear about their problems and expectations. We know that the majority of the people in the camp want to go back to their country. If there is room in the camp, the PKK militants in the mountains, after laying down their weapons, could be kept in the camp." Editorial opinion on Kurdish Initiative Semih Idiz wrote in mainstream Milliyet: "As Turkey discusses some possible steps toward solving the Kurdish issue, Washington is watching developments in Turkey very closely. Various American sources indicated that Washington does not want to end up seeing a Turkish-Kurdish conflict especially on the eve of the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. There is still fear the Kurds will try to establish an independent Kurdish state in some Turkish circles however this is definitely out of question for America and its interests. At this point, Washington expects some pragmatic steps toward a solution to the Kurdish problem, such as a plan for amnesty. Americans also believe that Turkey should be able to put Ocalan into the process if needed. Given the everyday stories in Turkish press, he is pretty much a part of the process anyway." Mehmet Yilmaz wrote in mainstream Hurriyet: "There is a lesson to learn from past experience that the Kurdish issue cannot be solved through military means. We should be able to discuss more radical ANKARA 00001073 002 OF 003 steps and some other ways to address the issue. There is a significant degree of consensus within army and the government on resolving the issue. PKK and DTP should realize that the disarmament of the PKK has to be the immediate first step." Ahmet Altan wrote in leftist Taraf: "Both the Turks and the Kurds have understood that neither side will achieve anything through armed struggle. Not only Turkey, but also the world wants this war to end. State officials have tried to explain the oddity Turkey has been going through with the clich of 'Turkey's special position' -- for years, they have scared us with 'communism'; and replaced it with 'fundamentalism' when communism ended. If this war ends, this 'separatism' issue will also end. Fundamentalism, no matter how much noise it makes, has not found a concrete base for itself. The conservative image the AKP cadres have been giving, even when they try to impose on urban dwellers the lifestyle of town dwellers, is not the manifestation of fundamentalism, but the manifestation of the rage of a segment which was despised for too long. As they get accustomed to being in power, they will cease such behavior. An ending of, however, this 'fear' will also end the clich of 'Turkey's special position.' When this clich ends, the secret domination of Turkey's armed and unarmed bureaucrats will be history; this is why today's secret dominators do not want it to end. This was actually the main duty of the Ergenekon gang -- keeping alive the sense of fear constantly. Now, some inside the state are still trying to save this gang and resurrect the fear. This is the main goal of the attempt to replace the Ergenekon prosecutors and those who investigate the murders unaccounted for in southeast Turkey. They want to save the Ergenekon suspects and continue the war in the southeast by stoking tensions through mystery killings. The people of Turkey want change. An important portion of the state have understood that in case we do not change, this state will not be able to save itself from being turned into a mob, and drag this country into a terrible chaos. They are, therefore, determined. Ergenekon will not be abel to save itself, the February 28 will not come back, and this war will end. History and life make this a necessity. That is why today both Ocalan and Ankara are in a race to find the most sensible roadmap." Opposition Makes Modest Gains in Iraqi KRG Parliamentary Elections. The top international story today notes that the opposition made some surprising gains against KRG President Massoud Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party, KDP, and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, PUK during this weekend's parliamentary elections. Both the KDP and the PUK are expected to retain power. Mainstream Sabah headlines, "Talabani Lost in His Hometown," noting, "Nusherwan Mustafa's opposition group, Change, beat the PUK in Talabani's hometown Suleymaniye. Barzani won 70 percent of the presidential vote," and "the opposition had 37 percent of the parliamentary vote, which is enough to dent the hold in parliament of the KDP and the PUK." Mainstream Milliyet writes in, "The Man Changes the Balances," that "as the third power standing against Barzani and Talabani, Mustafa generated hope among Kurds. He gets his power from women and youth." In "Fraud Complaint from The Change movement," leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet reports the leader of the Change Movement, Nusherwan Mustafa, complained of "fraud" and accused the PUK and KDP of bussing unregistered voters to polling stations to cast ballots. Liberal Radikal headlines, "Here Comes the Third Leader for Iraqi Kurds." While mainstream Milliyet writes, "Change's Success Cracks the KDP-PUK alliance." U.S. Steps Up Diplomacy in the Middle East. Media report U.S. Middle East special envoy George Mitchell's visit to Syria as part of the U.S. diplomatic efforts in the Middle East. Liberal Radikal and Islamist-oriented Zaman report "The U.S. Middle East envoy said he had 'candid and positive' talks with President Bashar al-Assad, and that the U.S. administration is determined to achieve a 'truly comprehensive' Arab-Israeli peace settlement." Papers report on Syria's stalled, Turkish-mediated peace talks with ANKARA 00001073 003 OF 003 Israel, Mitchell said "Our near-term goal is the resumption of negotiations. Comprehensive peace is the only way to guarantee stability, security, and prosperity for all of the states in the region." A Decrease in Islamaphobia in Europe. (Yeni Safak, Zaman, Taraf and Sabah) Papers are carrying the British Observer story about the significant decrease in Islamaphobia in Europe and particularly mention how Turks living in Europe are resisting radicalism. "Turks are not sympathetic to radical Islam and they are resisting to it" says mainstream Sabah. The paper also notes that fear from Muslims among Europeans have dropped to the lowest levels since 9/11. Islamist oriented Zaman writes "Europeans' Fear From Muslims Was Proven Baseless." Modern Slavery: Work and Travel. (Yeni Safak) Liberal Radikal, mainstream Aksam, mainstream Star and Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak report Turkish students travelling to the U.S. with the Work and Travel program are working under "slavery conditions" and are being abandoned by the companies sending them to the US. The students complain about losing their sanity because they are being "worked like slaves." Yeni Safak reports, "The Turkish American Association Federation officials have received many complaint messages and have recently found homes for 30 students in New York." Mainstream Sabah headlines, "The Kunta Kintes of the 21st Century." TV News (CNN Turk) Domestic - Two DTP activists have been killed in the province of Sirnak. - DTP official Nurettin Demirtas completes his compulsory military service. - 15 people were arrested in Ankara, Konya and Bursa, during operations against the Hizbut Tahrir terrorist organization. World - According to a survey conducted in Southern Cyprus, 72 percent of the Greek Cypriots have no hopes for a settlement in the peace talks - French President Sarkozy is rushed to the hospital after collapsing while jogging. - Iran's President Ahmedinejad dismisses the intelligence and culture ministers. JEFFREY