Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09ANKARA164
2009-02-03 14:33:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Ankara
Cable title:  

ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

Tags:  OPRC KMDR TU PREL KPAO 
pdf how-to read a cable
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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: ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2009

In Today's Papers
Q Gul Goes to Saudi Arabia; Erdogan Receives Sudanese VP
Q AQ Charged in 'Revenge Attack for Gaza;' Jewish Community 'Uneasy'

Q PKK-Hizbullah Tensions Intensify on the Eve of Municipal
Elections
Q Erdogan - Hero or Failed Negotiator?
Q DTP Members Protest JITEM
Q TRT to Launch Armenian TV, Radio and Webpage
Q Obama Approves CIA Renditions


Gul Goes to Saudi Arabia; Erdogan Receives Sudanese VP
Mainstream Sabah reports that President Gul is going to Saudi Arabia
today together with 90 businessmen and four Ministers. This will be
Turkey's first presidential-level visit to Saudi Arabia in 19 years.
Meanwhile, Sabah notes that Iranian President Ahmedinejad invited
President Gul to Iran to attend the Economic Cooperation summit on
March 11. According to Iranian State TV, Deputy FM Muhsin Telai
will come to Ankara today to present the invitation. Mainstream
Milliyet reports, "PM Erdogan is entertaining an interesting guest
today" as "Erdogan will receive the deputy (Vice President Ali Osman
Muhammed) to President Omar al-Bashir, the man who is charged with
annihilating Christian and non-Arab Africans in Sudan." Milliyet
also reports that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will come to
Ankara this weekend on President Gul's invitation and he will meet
with PM Erdogan as well.

AQ Charged in 'Revenge Attack for Gaza;' Jewish Community 'Uneasy'
Last week, one al-Qaeda militant was killed, one was wounded and
four others were captured while trying to rob a post office in the
strictly conservative Sultanbeyli neighborhood in Istanbul.
According to today's mainstream Hurriyet, the suspects were planning
to assassinate a Jewish religious figure in retaliation for the
Israeli offensive in Gaza, whereas mainstream Vatan believes the
militants were plotting an attack on a Jewish restaurant in the
city. On Monday, eight of the 11 suspects taken into custody were
charged and the other three were released.

Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet reports Jewish community spokesman
and Salom newspaper writer Ivo Molinas warned Monday against the
rising anti-Semitism in Turkey over Israel's Gaza attacks. "Can you
imagine how some 4,000 Jewish children felt during the [Education

Ministry-ordered] minute of silence observed at elementary and high
schools for the children killed in Gaza? Inscribing into the minds
of little kids enmity against the Jews is not right. The Education
Ministry was also planning to hold a Gaza essay contest in schools.
It's good that they dropped the idea after our warnings; otherwise
children would be competing to see 'who can draw the bloodiest
picture, or who will express the bloodiest rhetoric," emphasized
Molinas. Molinas also stressed the Jewish community was 'getting
uneasy' in Turkey, and that PM Erdogan's efforts have turned into
anti-Semitism on the streets.

Mainstream Hurriyet reports religious affairs directorate, Diyanet,
instructed its imams at mosques to issue calls for common sense at
Friday sermons this week. The decision came when the head of the
Jewish community in Turkey, Silviyo Ovadya, visited Diyanet chief
Professor Ali Bardakoglu to express concern about provocations
targeting Turkey's Jews in the aftermath of the Israeli operations
in Gaza.

PKK-Hezbollah Tensions Intensify on the Eve of Municipal Elections
Media outlets report around 200 PKK supporters attacked the office
of the Social Solidarity and Council Organization, Surader, in
Adana, with Molotov Cocktails and stones, injuring 20 people.
Surader is known to be one of the several civilian affiliates of the
Turkish Hezbollah. Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet, in a
news-commentary, notes this was the first conflict between Hezbollah

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and the PKK in 12 years, and warns that tensions, already high in
Adana and Mersin, might spread to other provinces in the mainly
Kurdish east and southeast Turkey. The PKK views Hezbollah as an
ally of the Fettullah Gulen community, so the PKK uses violence
against them.

Erdogan - Hero or Failed Negotiator?
Media continue to assess the impact of PM Erdogan's criticism of
Israel on Turkey's global reputation. Pro-government outlets
emphasize UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon's supportive phone call
to Erdogan, while other outlets note Turkey's role as international
mediator could soon be over as, behind the scenes, bilateral ties
with Israel are viewed to be in crisis. Islamist-oriented Yeni
Safak quotes UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon during a telephone
conversation with Prime Minister Erdogan in the headline, "There Is
A Need for Your Leadership and Mediation in the Middle East."
Conservative-nationalist Turkiye reports, "Moon Supports Erdogan in
the Davos Controversy." Mainstream Vatan reports, "Erdogan Is A
Hero in the Middle East," as "demonstrations in Gaza, Iran, Syria,
Jordan, and Sudan praise Erdogan."

However, in "Israel Behind the Scenes," Vatan notes, "an anonymous
Israeli government official said, "We have lost our trust in
Erdogan" and "We no longer see Turkey as objective," so "It will be
impossible for Turkey to continue its role as a mediator between the
Israel and the Middle East." Meanwhile, Mainstream Milliyet
reports, "Weapons Sales Could Stop," as "Erdogan's harsh criticism
of Israeli President Peres could have damaged a long-standing
bilateral relationship between Israel and Turkey," and "an unnamed
Israeli defense official indicated that Israel may reject military
sales requests from Turkey," and in turn a bilateral crisis could
emerge because "Ankara could respond by cancelling its permission to
allow the Israeli military to use Turkish airspace for Air Force
training." Milliyet columnist Sami Kohen writes, "Ankara does not
think it needs ties with Israel or the U.S. because Turkey is
becoming a force in the Middle East," and "Ankara instead believes
that other countries should be concerned about the consequence of
losing Turkey." However, Kohen warns Ankara to proceed with caution,
"The Arab World is not unified (in their views of Hezbollah and
Hamas),and it is important to remember that there are divisions
among Palestinians." Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet reports,
"Turkey's Mediator Role Is Finished," as "Turkey's support for Hamas
will not be successful in the international arena," since Turkey
actually seems to have "taken over the role of Iran backing Hamas
and Hizbullah."

Editorial Commentary on the 'Davos Incident'

Sami Kohen wrote in mainstream Milliyet: "Turkey has gained an
important strategic card in the aftermath of the Davos incident.
Ankara does not think it needs ties with Israel or the U.S. because
Turkey is becoming a force in the Middle East and Ankara instead
believes that other countries should be concerned about the
consequence of losing Turkey. From now on Ankara should be extra
careful when playing its cards in order to preserve a balance
between Israel and Palestine. The Arab World is not unified (in
their views of Hezbollah and Hamas),and it is important to remember
that there are even divisions among Palestinians. "

Cengiz Candar wrote in liberal-intellectual Radikal: "Turkey's
powerful influence is timely and fills the vacuum in the Middle East
power game. Turkey is the only country that can balance Iran's de
facto power in the region."

Akif Emre wrote in Islamist oriented Yeni Safak: "Israel's power is
overrated by Turkish elitists. There is a deliberate campaign to
present Israel and the Jewish lobbies in the Diaspora as more
powerful than they actually are. In fact Israel needs Turkey much
more than vice versa."


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Mehmet Y. Yilmaz wrote in mainstream Hurriyet: "As the annual April
24 incident approaches, Turkey should be able to think and act
beyond expectations for a mild statement from the U.S. President or
a helping hand from Jewish organizations. Regardless of what is
next, the fact of the matter is that more than half of the world
disagrees with Turkey's thesis on the Armenian genocide. This is an
issue which calls for a comprehensive public relations effort from
Turkey and no one else."

DTP Members Protest JITEM
Milliyet: A group of DTP members, including DTP Diyarbakir deputy
Gulten Kisanak and DTP mayors, protested the alleged covert
intelligence unit in the gendarmerie (JITEM) in Diyarbakir's
Saraykapi neighborhood yesterday. DTP deputy provincial chair Ali
Simsek accused JITEM of being responsible for hundreds of missing
people and unresolved murders in Diyarbakir.

TRT to Launch Armenian TV, Radio and Webpage
Pro-government Sabah reports the state-owned TRT television is
preparing to set up a television channel, a radio station and a
webpage in Armenian. The radio and webpage will be up in two
months. Turkey's National Security Council (MGK) has advised the
TRT in a report five months ago that broadcasts in Armenian would be
a major factor in countering the Armenian Diaspora's anti-Turkey
propaganda, says Sabah.

Obama Approves CIA Renditions
Media criticize U.S. President Barack Obama for coming to office on
a platform of change, but continuing the Bush Administration's
policy of allowing secret CIA renditions. Mainstream Sabah reports,
"He Closed Gitmo, But He Approved Ghost Prisons."
Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet headlines, "Change Won't Be That
Easy." Liberal Radikal writes, "Obama Will Continue The
Illegality." Islamist-oriented Zaman reports, "He Approved the
CIA's Torture Flights." Leftist Taraf headlines, "Offensive Claims
Against Hope For Obama." Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak headlines,
"Secret Permission From Obama."

TV News: CNN Turk

Domestic News

- State Minister Mehmet Simsek says the ten-day hiatus in talks with
the IMF might be extended if the sides fail to work out
disagreements.

- Istanbul's prestigious Bilgi University is preparing to offer
elective Kurdish-language lessons to its students in the Kurmanchi
dialect.

- A prosecutor initiates an investigation against the pro-Kurdish
DTP for using the Kurdish language during an election rally in Van.


- Automotive exports dive by 53 percent, overall Turkish exports
decline by 28 percent in January.

International News

- British commander Major General Andy Salmon says British troops in
Iraq are on track to begin leaving the country by May 31.

- Turkey is ranked 57th among 158 countries in KOF Index of
Globalization 2009, calculated by the Zurich-based Economic
Institute KOF to measure the economic, social and political
dimensions of globalization.

- A protester throws a shoe at the Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao
during a speech at Cambridge University.


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JEFFREY