TURKISH MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001619 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, NOVEMBER 12, 2009 Media Highlights: Colonel Cicek Now; Iran's Nuclear Technology; 300 PKK Leaders for Gulf Countries; OIC Warned Bashir; Pundits on Foreign Policy; Visa-Free Period With Azerbaijan; Turkish and US Companies are Sued Over Toxin Waste Claims Colonel Cicek in Prison All papers report that Navy Colonel Dursun Cicek, whose signature is allegedly on the original of the "action plan to fight fundamentalism," was arrested for the second time after four and a half months. Mainstream Hurriyet and Milliyet note that Colonel Cicek was interrogated by prosecutor Zekeriya Oz and then remanded to court. Cicek denied the allegation that the signature on the action plan belonged to him. Citing an official forensic report that indicated "the wet signature is Cicek's," the court sent him to prison. This latest development is a reverse of an earlier decision by the Military Prosecutor's Office, which had investigated the allegations and decided not to prosecute. The prosecutor had determined that the document was not drafted by the TGS. Turkey Warns the West and Iran Regarding Iran's Nuclear Technology Mainstream Sabah reports that in order to find a solution for Iran's nuclear crisis, Turkey is sending the following message to the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany. Citing sources, correspondent Duygu Gunvenc writes that "None of the sanctions implemented against Iraq and North Korea in the past had resolved any issues. We are against the sanctions and operations to be implemented against our neighbor Iran. The on-going inspection process should continue. You should not expect Iran to transfer its nuclear technology to any other country or to Turkey." Meanwhile, Turkey continues to advise Iran to compromise on the nuclear bargaining by saying, "we used all our credit in the Western world for Iran. Now, we are expecting you to take concrete and realistic steps regarding nuclear inspection." 300 PKK Leaders Might be Sent to Gulf Countries Intellectual-Islamist oriented Zaman reports that the fierce battle between the opposition and government on the Kurdish issue continued yesterday as members of the Planning and Budget Commission in the parliament gathered to listen to Interior Minister Besir Atalay, who made references to the country's fight against terrorism. The ruling AKP brought the issue to Parliament on Nov. 10 after months-long public discussions in order to end the Kurdish conflict. Parliamentary officials announced yesterday that the general discussion of the issue will be held in Parliament on Friday. Hurriyet Ankara bureau chief Enis Berberoglu reports that Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc commenting on voluntary returns said 'Once returnees say they would like to continue living in their country and to come back from the mountain, Article 221 of the Turkish Criminal Code can be applied. They don't necessarily need to pronounce 'I repent.'' As none of the Makhmour residents have criminal record, they will not be detained upon their return. Priority will be given to Makhmour and then to returnees coming from Qandil. There are about 1000 Syrian citizens who are expected to go back to Syria. The government has made contact with some Gulf countries to discuss transfer of 250-300 high rank PKKers. Earlier discussions with Scandinavian countries for their transfer did not succeed, according to Berberoglu. OIC General Secretary Ihsanoglu Says He Warned Bashir Many Times The General Secretary of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu told Hurriyet that "Islam doesn't give anyone the right or privilege to kill people. Being Muslim will not give him any exemption. This is very wrong. There is also a double standard here which disturbs the public in the Islamic World. Maybe this caused some of the reactions. The Al-Bashir issue was exaggerated. There is no court decision on that issue but only the allegations." Just because Turkey is hosting the event, doesn't give Turkey the right to decide on the invitees. When the UN has a meeting in New York, Ahmedinejad and Kaddafi can go as well. Chavez also goes and talks as he wants. This is an international forum and the member countries have a right to attend. While I am saying all ANKARA 00001619 002 OF 003 this, I am not defending the mistakes of Sudanese government in Darfur. I, personally, told all this to Bashir many times and our position is still the same on this issue. We have a principal decision on the people who are responsible of the human rights violations in Darfur, to be tried and punished. However, it is wrong to change the whole issue to a genocide. Genocide was not committed in Sudan." Editorial Opinion: Is Turkey Shifting From Its Foreign Policy Axis to the East? Pundits express different opinions on the issue but mostly they take US foreign affairs and/or think tank reviews as the basis for their arguments. In mainstream Milliyet, Kadri Gursel sees serious problems in Turkey's current foreign policy actions. In "No Shift But Discrepancies" he writes: "As seen in many examples and in the Iran nukes and Sudan issues recently, Turkish foreign policy suffers from Islamism tendency. Up until 2005, the EU used to be the main parameter but it is no longer there." In a similar approach, mainstream Milliyet columnist Semih Idiz expects some tough times ahead for Prime Minister Erdogan during his upcoming visit in the U.S. In "Erdogan Will Be Sweating in Washington" he observes: "there are some negative impacts on foreign policy which come directly from PM erdogan. Thus while he is in D.C., he will be facing questions on why Turkey has become a defender of all the countries which have problems with the West." Tamer Korkmaz, a columnist for Islamist oriented daily Yeni Safak thinks differently. In "News That Makes Some Disappointed" he calls those who question Turkish foreign policy tendencies as "more royal than the king" while noting "Turkey has become the ruler of the game in its region and therefore some in Turkey as well as outside are not happy about." In mainstream Sabah, columnist Erdal Safak also sees that the ongoing controversy is about Turkey's power. He argues: "The growing argument about whether Turkey is changing its foreign policy direction comes mainly from a growing concern about Turkey's role as a main regional player." Visa-Free Travel with Azerbaijan Sabah reports that during AKP party group meeting, PM Erdogan said that Turkey had reached an agreement in principle with Azerbaijan to lift visa requirements. The paper says the AKP government is exerting efforts to improve the relations with Azerbaijan and this initiative is the result of these efforts. Turkish and American Companies are sued for Poisoning people with Waste Toxins Mainstream Milliyet reports that a retired contractor and a US soldier filed a case against American companies Halliburton and KBR, and the Turkish Erka company, for creating toxic waste. The companies were all contractors for the US Army in Iraq and are accused of burning all kinds of waste in the open, including human bodies, animals, etc. and resulting in poisoning people with the waste toxin. Upcoming events: Q November 13: PM Erdogan will address the Parliament to give details about government's democratic opening November 13: FM Davutoglu will travel to Spain November 16-18: PM Erdogan will attend the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)summit held in Rome on November 16-18 TV News (NTV) ANKARA 00001619 003 OF 003 Domestic - Death Toll in Swine Flu Climbs to 40. Health Minister announced an initiative for Turkey to produce its own flu vaccination - The Kurdish opening debate in Parliament will be held on Friday - AKP rejects the allegations that PM Erdogan scolded Parliament Speaker Sahin while the opposition demands the resignation of the Parliament Speaker - RTUK gives permission to private radios and TV channels to broadcast in Kurdish for 24 hours - Judges and Prosecutors from Sincan courthouse ready to file suit for compensations in connection with reports that phones in their courthouse were wiretapped World - Human Rights Watch says the running dispute between Iraq's central government and Kurdish authorities could erupt into a human rights catastrophe - British The Guardian has been ordered to pay Iraqi PM Maliki thousands of dollars in compensation for printing an article describing him as increasingly autocratic - Iran unilaterally lifts visa regime for Azerbaijani citizens. JEFFREY