TURKISH MEDIA REACTION

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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

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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

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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