ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 000259

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TAGS: OPRC KMDR TU PREL KPAO
SUBJECT: ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2009

In Today's Papers

Erdogan Asks Kecioren Mayor Altinok to Resign
Mainstream Hurriyet reports that Kecioren Mayor Turgut Altinok
announced his withdrawal from municipal elections after
disagreements with Ankara Mayor Melih Gokcek and the AKP
Administration over the nominations for the Kecioren Municipal
Assembly. Leftist Taraf says that Melih Gokcek leaked a video to
the public showing Mayor Altinok together with a secret lover.
Following the video, AKP vice-chair Huseyin Tanriverdi met with
Altinok on Monday night and gave him the message that Erdogan
expected him to withdraw from the elections.

Baykal Urges AKP to Initiate Investigation into German Deniz Feneri
Charity Irregularities Case
Mainstream Vatan gives extensive front page coverage to CHP leader
Baykal's party group meeting speech in parliament yesterday. Baykal
came to the podium with a file in his hand and said, "Here is the
file related to the investigation in Germany. Turks were involved
in this corruption case and the siphoned charity funds were brought
to Turkey. The government should take immediate action against the
Turkish suspects." Baykal also criticized PM Erdogan and the AKP
government by saying "Unemployment figures are quickly rising with
every passing day. Difficult economic conditions cause tremendous
suffering. Some people even commit suicide after they lose their
jobs and face financial ruin. PM Erdogan is speaking to people in
different cities. Unfortunately, no one can eliminate their hunger
with the PM's lies."

Editorials on Domestic Debates

Oktay Eksi wrote in mainstream Hurriyet: "PM Erdogan claims that he
will never allow corruption and irregularities in Turkey. However,
he did not keep his promises to fight corruption in Turkey. He did
not even allow the draft law to fight t corruption to be finalized.
Under these conditions, how can we, as the media, support the PM in
his fight against corruption?"

Bilal Cetin wrote in mainstream Vatan: "As local elections
approach, we see that the importance of municipal assembly
membership increases. When you ask the candidates why they want to
be elected as members of the municipal assembly, they will tell you
that they want to serve the people and increase the local quality of
life. But the main reason driving them is to get a position on the
municipal public works commission, which is a perk enjoyed by
elected municipal assembly members. Billions of annuities are being
distributed by municipal public work commissions in the big
provinces like Ankara and Istanbul. These annuities make municipal
assembly positions very attractive."

The PKK Seeks to Arouse Chaos Prior to Upcoming Municipal Elections

Islamist-oriented Zaman reports intelligence units of the National
Security General Directorate have said a large number of PKK
terrorists have infiltrated Turkey's eastern and southeastern
borders to stage provocative acts ahead of municipal elections
scheduled for March 29. The National Security General Directorate
intelligence report sent to the police departments of the country's
81 provinces reports the terrorist group is planning clashes,
sabotage, bombings and assassinations in order to create chaos and
provoke clashes between citizens of Turkish and Kurdish origin prior
to local elections. According to the report, the militants are using
PKK camps in northern Iraq to train for these acts of terror and
provocation. According to the police, the terrorist organization
plans to create chaos through staging local demonstrations ahead of
the elections, particularly on March 8, International Women's Day,
and March 21, the spring festival of Nevruz, which is of symbolic
significance to Kurdish nationalists. The terrorist organization has
reportedly sent open threats to candidates of the ruling AKP, who
are running for office in the cities of the Kurdish-dominated

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Southeast and parts of the East. The police department's first
reaction was to suspend all training activities. The police
department will deploy a large number of special operations and riot
police teams in the provinces affected.

The Interior Ministry has also been on high alert since the
intelligence report from the police department was released.
Interior Minister Besir Atalay is holding a series of regional
meetings with governors and local police chiefs to discuss measures
to be taken against the PKK's election time strategy. So far,
regional meetings have been held in the cities of Gaziantep,
Diyarbakir, Erzurum and Trabzon.

Incidents and clashes already took place over the weekend, which
marked the tenth anniversary of PKK leader Abdullah Vcalan's capture
in Kenya. The police will be deploying more officers in the cities
of Diyarbakir, Hakkari, Van and Sirnak on the critical dates of
March 8 and March 21. The National Security General Directorate
released a directive this week announcing the suspension of all
activities of the police department such as training courses,
symposiums and conferences. "Great responsibility falls on our
department to ensure that the municipal elections are conducted in a
healthy and safe manner. In this regard, our department's units are
taking the necessary precautions and making plans to prevent any
unwanted situations in the leadup to local elections next month,"
the statement said.

Baydemir: "The Diyarbakir People Saw a State of Tyranny on February
15."
Leftist Taraf reports Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir criticized
police for using tear gas against the pro-Kurdish opposition party
DTP office in Diyarbakir during weekend demonstrations marking the
tenth anniversary of Abdullah Ocalan's capture. Mayor Baydemir said
on February 15, "The people of Diyarbakir witnessed state tyranny"
and added that "the place where the police threw tear gas was
neither Palestine nor Hitler's gas chambers, but the DTP's
provincial office." Also, Baydemir said, "Women and children should
not be forced to pay for what happened." Baydemir emphasized that
they could forgive what happened to themselves but not what happened
to children and to the elderly. DTP Diyarbakir Representative Aysel
Tugluk said "People will show no interest in Prime Minister
Erdogan's visit to Diyarbakir on February 21."

Ocalan Sends a Letter to Kurdish Intellectuals
Leftist Taraf reports Abdullah Ocalan sent a letter through his
lawyers to Turkish Intellectuals regarding solutions to the Kurdish
issue. In a letter dated February 11, Ocalan said the Kurdish issue
could be solved through democratic and peaceful means. He also
noted that all the Kurds wanted was to make sure that the Turkish
constitution reflects universal norms. Ocalan claimed that
intellectuals can play a role in this process. Ocalan said the
claims by TGS that they killed X number of PKKers and the PKK's
claims that they killed X number of soldiers would never be a
solution to the issue and that such an approach would only lead to
further enhance divisions. Ocalan said intellectuals could open the
path for dialogue and that they should discuss this issue with PKK
and, to the extent possible, with the government of Turkey as well.

Kurdish Classes Begin in Istanbul's Bilgi University
Leftist Taraf reports Kurdish language classes officially began
yesterday for the first time in a Turkish university, at Bilgi
University in Istanbul. Students expressed varying reasons for
taking the Kurdish classes; one student said he was ashamed he was
not able to communicate with his Kurdish neighbors. Another student
said the official ideology denies the existence of the Kurds, and
therefore he wanted to learn Kurdish as a reaction to that ideology.
A college senior studying international relations said "Recognizing
Kurdish as an official language would contribute to peace and
strengthen people's inclusion in the system." This student recalled
that, as a high school student in Van, police found a Kurdish poem

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in one of his friend's notebooks and the police tore out the page
and made his friend chew and swallow it.

Obama's Call - Who was the one being warned?
Today the story on Obama's telephone conversations with Gul and
Erdogan has changed - yesterday the presidency and prime ministry
touted Obama's praise for Turkey's efforts in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, the White House's readout of the conversation stressed
Turkey's role in NATO, which some media interpret as Obama's attempt
to temper Turkey's approach to foreign policy in line with NATO
goals. Islamist-oriented Zaman headlines, "An April 24th Warning to
Obama" and reports "Turkish leaders gave the message to the new
president that it is important for the U.S. to uphold justice and
objectivity towards Ankara's policies in the Middle East and Armenia
to avoid damaging the bilateral relationship." Columnist Sami Kohen
of mainstream Milliyet notes, "The Armenian issue is high on Obama's
agenda with Turkey; he has expressed support for the normalization
in ties between Turkey and Armenia. In turn, Erdogan warned Obama
against recognizing Armenian genocide claims." In "A NATO Strike
From Obama," leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet reports "The White House
read out of the phone call emphasized the importance of U.S.-Turkey
relations within the framework of NATO operations in Afghanistan,"
and "this statement differs from the messages reported by the
presidency and prime ministry, which highlighted Obama's praise for
the AKP government's policy in the Middle East." Mainstream
Milliyet echoes Cumhuriyet's headline in the story, "A NATO Strike
from The White House," and reports, "Obama wants Turkey to focus on
NATO, not the Middle East," amid criticism from former Bush
Administration Energy Envoy C. Boyden Gray who recently wrote in the
Washington Times, "Turkey is blocking direct dialogue between the EU
and NATO," and "Turkey's stance is the source of trouble in
Afghanistan." Finally, Milliyet says, "Obama has given the message
that Turkey should stick to NATO views on issues such as Hamas and
Iran."

Editorial Commentary on Turkey-US Relationship; Economic Crisis

Sami Kohen wrote in mainstream Milliyet: "Obama's phone calls to
President Gul and PM Erdogan confirm the importance attached by the
new US administration to Turkey. The phone calls also highlight the
Obama Administration's determination to establish a real strategic
partnership with Turkey. Obama's positive image in Turkey and his
positive global approach (i.e. his messages to the Muslim world)
pave the way to a new era in the Turkey-US relationship."

Mehmet Barlas wrote in mainstream Sabah: "Media and economists
highlight one development regarding the current economic crisis -
As a result of the economic crisis in the world and in Turkey, the
state is now the most powerful economic institution and the ruling
leaders are the most powerful people. "

TV News (CNN Turk)

Domestic News

- "Turkey may grow three percent, provided measures are taken to
revive the economy; and we may overcome the crisis by April. For
that to happen, the domestic market and exports play a crucial
role," said Mustafa Boydak, chairman of the Kayseri Chamber of
Industry and the CEO of Boydak Group.

- Turkey's unemployment levels are the third worst out of 52
countries. Only South Africa and Spain are worse than Turkey in
this list, according to the Turkish employers' union, or TISK. .


- Former Kurdish lawmaker Leyla Zana is acquitted in a case for
making "terror propaganda" in a June 2008 address to the British
parliament.


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International News

- UN Mine Action Team operating in Gaza says no cluster bombs were
found and no evidence was found that Israel had used depleted
uranium.

- The Guardian writes the British government is considering plans
that would lead to thousands more British Muslims being branded as
extremists.

- Georgian authorities arrest 25 Turkish fishermen charged with
smuggling weapons to Abkhazia and illegal fishing.

- Turkey's largest state-owned bank, Ziraat Bank, opens its first
branch office in Athens.

JEFFREY