TURKISH MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001602 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, NOVEMBER 6, 2009 Media Highlights: MFA Says Bashir Can Visit; Pundits Reject Claims of Turkey's Eastern Drift; More Israeli Ambassador Protests; Kurdish Democratic Roadmap; Turkey-Greece to Work for Cyprus, Aegean; PKK Returns from Kandil, Makhmur Turkish MFA Says Bashir Can Visit Turkey Islamist-oriented Zaman reports an unnamed Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) source stated Thursday Ankara has not accepted The Hague-based International Criminal Court's (ICC) arrest warrant on Omar al-Bashir, and that the Sudanese President could visit Turkey. Bashir is expected to join an Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) summit meeting going on in Istanbul. In "Genocide Indictee to Make a Third Visit," Hurriyet Daily News notes that the controversial leader "stands accused of committing war crimes." The paper notes that Turkish Justice Minister Sadulla Ergin was "vague" on whether Bashir would be arrested in Turkey, saying only that "the statutory provisions of international law would be fulfilled." Turkish Foreign Policy: Pundits Reject Claims of Turkey's Eastern Drift In a long piece on the state of Turkey's foreign affairs, former European Court of Human Rights Strasbourg Judge Riza Turmen opines that Turkey doesn't have problems in its ties with the West. Writing in Milliyet, he says "Turkey doesn't behave like a member of the Western Alliance. Other then the talks with the US regarding security issues, Turkey doesn't have a foreign policy dialog with Western countries. Islamic sensitivity in Turkey runs ahead of Western democracies. This attitude doesn't make Turkey more independent but only keeps Turkey out of the Western alliance." Ferai Tinc in mainstream Hurriyet claims that Turkish foreign policy hasn't changed its axis. She says "even though Turkey's increased cooperation with Muslim countries is in the foreground recently, this is not a new process but the follow up of a process Turkey has followed since the 1980s in search of new openings in foreign policy. Erdogan's style damages Turkey's foreign policy and plays a great role in strengthening the belief that Turkey slips away from the West. The AKP government believes that Turkey will become indispensable for the EU as its effectiveness increases as a regional power. There is nothing wrong with this thought but it is very difficult to reach to this aim. An acrobat who plays with more than one ball always impresses the audience, however, the possibility of dropping and loosing the balls should always be considered. This is the impression Turkey is recently giving." Ambassador Levy Met with Protests Everywhere He Goes (Aksam) All papers report Israeli Ambassador Gaby Levy was again met with protests during his visit Thursday to the Black Sea province of Gumushane. After meeting with the governor and mayor, Levy was met with protests during his meeting with the representatives of local press. Earlier, a city council member reportedly drew attention to the Goldstone report charging Israel with genocide, and another one told Levy Israel had to show more sensitivity regarding the rights and freedoms of the Palestinians. Levy later told the press he was "hurt" by the criticisms, since he considers himself, "from a viewpoint," a Turk. Islamist-oriented Zaman questions whether the Israeli intelligence had not warned Levy against visiting the Black Sea region, famous for its "nationalistic reflexes" as well as having witnessed a couple of mystery killings over recent years. The Israeli Embassy told Zaman that the Ambassador paid visits to two or three provinces every month, and it was part of their "public diplomacy program." Meanwhile, NTV reported that Foreign Minister Davutoglu, in speaking with the press, emphasized that "all Ambassadors are traditionally regarded as guests in Turkey and Israeli Ambassador would always be welcomed with respect.." In "Anti-Semitism or Opportunism?" Hurriyet Daily News columnist Yusuf Canli says the situation regarding the Israeli Ambassador is a "tragic comedy" and opines "isn't it coincidental that whenever the government has some serious headaches on some important and irrelevant issues, we either have an attack on Israelis or some ANKARA 00001602 002 OF 003 sort of controversy related to the military. . . If the Turkish government is so keen on human rights and crimes against humanity, why is it preparing to host yet again a butcher from Sudan?" Erdogan Discusses with Staff 'Roadmap' for Kurdish 'Democratic Overture' Media outlets report that prior to the debates to be held in the parliament November 10, Prime Minister Erdogan held Thursday a meeting with some of his cabinet ministers, bureaucrats and AK Party officials to discuss his government's Kurdish "democratic overture." Mainstream Milliyet says short, medium and long-term legal arrangements for advancing the democratic overture will be taken to the parliament. The meeting decided that the DTP's "irresponsible actions" must be restrained and the PKK provocations must not be allowed. Islamist-oriented Zaman says the return of the PKK members from Europe would be put on hold, and the first target would be the complete evacuation of Camp Makhmur in northern Iraq. In order to prevent "shows" during arrivals, the returnees might be welcomed on the Iraqi side of the border. Zaman expects the government to take further steps forward and enact private broadcasts in Kurdish as well as allow Kurdish in prisons. Turkey-Greece Overtures: Panandreou Accepts Ministerial on Aegean and Cyprus Media outlets report Greek Prime Minister Papandreou has announced he accepted Prime Minister Erdogan's proposal to "launch ministerial level work" between Turkey and Greece for the resolution of problems over Aegean and Cyprus. In a letter he sent four days ago, Erdogan said in a recent letter to Papandreou that Ankara was "encouraging" Turkish Cyprus leader Mehmet Ali Talat's administration for a settlement in Cyprus, and that Athens should do the same with the Greek Cypriot administration. Erdogan also said ministers from both countries should come together for Aegean as well. On Thursday in Athens, Papandreou told State Minister Egemen Bagis he agreed with Erdogan, and stressed Greece was ready to work with Turkey. PKK Returns Expected from Kandil, Makhmur (Yeni Safak) Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak reports in an effort to turn a new page in its democratic overture process, the AK Party government would soon allow a group of 40-50 people from Mount Kandil and Camp Makhmur to return to Turkey. The group to return will comprise of the Kurds who have not committed crimes against Turkey. The paper says the returns would continue until all the 11,000 refugees living in Camp Makhmur were evacuated. The return of groups from Mount Kandil will continue at a slower pace. The returns will intensify in November and December, and around 1,000 Syrian and Iranian members of the PKK will go to Syria. Yeni Safak also says that the "hawks" in the DTP would be "silenced" for a while to avoid escalation of tensions in the country. Upcoming events: Q November 6: President Gul visits the eastern city of Elazig. Q November 6: Prime Minister Erdogan will receive Armenian cleric Aram Atesyan. Q November 6: Chief EU negotiator Egemen Bagis visits Berlin. Q November 8: Iranian President Ahmadinejad will come to Istanbul for the OIC meeting. Q November 10: The government plans to take its Kurdish democratic overture to the parliament for debates. TV News (NTV) Domestic Q CHP leader Deniz Baykal says the government made a mistake by launching its Kurdish "democratic overture" without waiting for the disarmament of the PKK. Q Visiting British Foreign Secretary David Miliband commented on the Ak Party government's democratic overture that Ankara deserves support for its "courageous steps." ANKARA 00001602 003 OF 003 Q At least 80,000 people have been vaccinated against swine flu as the death toll from the virus reaches 21. Q The Turkish Parliament's human rights committee plans to visit children imprisoned for throwing stones at security forces. World Q Turkish commandoes deployed in the Gulf of Aden foiled an attempt of pirates to hijack a Greek boat. Q Iranian security forces arrests an AFP reporter who was covering the rallies marking the anniversary of seizure of the US Embassy in Tehran. Q An Exxon Mobil-Shell consortium beats rival Russian, French and Chinese groups and grabs the right to develop Iraq's West Qurna field. JEFFREY