Ankara Media Summary

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000589 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: Ankara Media Summary WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2009 In Today's Papers Prime Minister Erdogan Speaks to Party Group Meeting Regarding Turkey-Armenia-Azerbaijan Mainstream Hurriyet reports that PM Erdogan addressed his party group in the Parliament yesterday. In his address, Erdogan denied that the AKP government would take actions that would "ignore Azerbaijan's concerns" and said "The AKP's views on Azerbaijan are clear. Unfortunately such an important and sensitive matter is abused for the sake of politics." PM Erdogan also criticized a group of Azerbaijani women parliamentarians who paid a visit to Ankara last week, by saying "My words are also for those who come from Azerbaijan and follow misguided policies here. We have never let down our Azeri brothers before. The Azeri women parliamentarians visited the opposition parties CHP and MHP, but left the AKP off their agenda." Mainstream Milliyet's headline reads "The U.S. Checked MHP's Pulse Regarding the Armenia Issue" and reports that U.S. Ambassador James Jeffrey and State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary Matthew Bryza visited MHP's deputy chair Oktay Vural in his office in Parliament. Milliyet reports "President Obama's recent visit to Turkey and the Armenia issue were on the meeting's agenda" and "DAS Bryza gave information on the MINSK Group activities to find a solution to Nagorno-Karabagh issue between Armenia and Azerbaijan and added that important steps were taken in the international arena to end the dispute through peaceful means." When Bryza asked Vural regarding MHP's stance on this same issue, Vural said, "The Turkey-Armenia border cannot be opened until the Armenian occupation ends in Karabagh. From a strategic angle, Azerbaijan has more importance to Turkey than Armenia. Azerbaijan is in a strategic position not only for Turkey but for the whole Eurasia. If this country's importance as an energy corridor is ignored, then regional stability will be damaged. The EU's energy needs should be considered. Please do not throw the region's peaceful future into danger while trying to please Armenia." In a related story, mainstream Sabah interviews the Chairperson of the Yerevan Press Club, Boris Navasardian. Navasardian said "Turkey-Armenia ties are now to a point we couldn't even have dreamt of ten years ago. However, the relationship is still too sensitive. The people of the two countries do not know each other well and judge each other based on history." Editorial Commentary on Turkey-Armenia-Azerbaijan Tufan Turenc commented in the mass appeal Hurriyet: "Opposition CHP lawmaker Sukru Elekdag, back from a recent CHP-MHP delegation's visit to Baku, said Turkey and Armenia have agreed on a package which envisions a committee to discuss the genocide issue and Armenia's recognition of its border with Turkey. In return, Turkey will open the border crossing with Armenia. The sides are also working on a second package, which, according to Elekdag, deals with Armenia's withdrawal from the lands it has occupied in Nagorno Karabakh. 'The Minsk Group is also working on this problem. Armenia is Russia's last stronghold in the region. Moscow, who is afraid of losing Yerevan, will not resolve the Karabakh problem,' emphasizes Elekdag. No government in Turkey can open the border unless Armenia withdraws from the Azerbaijani territories and recognizes the border agreement between Turkey and Armenia." Cengiz Candar observes in the liberal Radikal: "Deputy Assistant Secretary Matt Bryza told the VOA on April 17 that the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents were working to further the process toward a settlement, and that real progress could be seen in a couple of weeks. On May 7, the two presidents will meet in Prague, in what will be their third meeting in a year. Turkey must not panic and must carefully follow what is going on. There's absolutely no use in Azerbaijan putting unfair pressure on Turkey." ANKARA 00000589 002 OF 003 Taha Kivanc comments in the Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak: "Ankara has made several good-intentioned statements saying Turkey was trying to develop ties with Armenia, but not to the detriment of Azerbaijan. In Azerbaijan, however, sentiments against Turkey are on the rise, as seen in the rallies and protest demonstrations. The issue of Azeri lands occupied by Armenia is merely an element used in political power struggles in Azerbaijan. An Azerbaijani politician will act according to whether an end to or the continuation of the occupation will benefit him. The Azerbaijani administration has done everything to move the Azerbaijanis against Turkey -- they went to Moscow to shake hands with Putin, and announce the sides have agreed on a new 'Moscow-Baku entente.' They also whispered to the media a false story that FM Babacan showed Azerbaijani deputy FM Guliev the door. The diplomats who conduct Turkey's Caucasus policies must be disappointed. Imagine the diplomats, who have been pressed for years for an end to the occupation in Karabakh, will eventually have to watch a game in which their gains will be lost by those who have pressed them." Turkey Opens New Page in Ties With Lebanon All papers report that Lebanese President Michel Sulayman came to Ankara yesterday for an official visit in the first visit of a Lebanese President to Turkey in 54 years. In a joint press conference with Sulayman, President Gul said "Turkey will continue its support in many areas, including military support, to Lebanon. President Sulayman , on his part praised the Turkish military for their contribution in UNIFIL. DTP Plans Protests While Their Party Chair Tells Brits "Kurds Have a Dream" Mainstream Milliyet report that the mainly pro-Kurdish opposition DTP parliamentarians will initiate a sit-in protest in the Parliament's General Assembly today. The protest will last until tomorrow's special session for April 23 celebrations (to commemorate National Sovereignty and Children's Day). Mainstream Sabah reports that DTP issued a call to all its supporters to march to Ankara from locations all over Turkey on May 17 to protest recent law enforcement operations against the DTP. Sabah also reports that the Chairman of DTP Ahmet Turk told the British Parliamentarians at a reception in London that "Kurds have a dream too" and urged them to support a solution to the Kurdish problem." Meanwhile, DTP co-chair Emine Ayna criticized the recent security operations, detentions and arrests against DTP and said at her party group yesterday "We DTP parliamentarians should also be considered to be 'PKK members' since we are 'committing the same crime' as those members of the DTP who were detained during the recent operations. If you block the path to politics than you will force us to go to mountains." Ayna criticized the Turkish military too by saying "The Turkish Military never attended the Parliamentary sessions during the last 21 months. However, the commanders came to parliament to listen to Obama's speech in English. This is Turkish General Staff's populism for you. We believe that in a democracy the military should not hold a place in the Parliament." In a related story Sabah reports that DTP's Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir and Batman Mayor Necdet Atalay were sentenced to 10 months in prison on charges they "made propaganda" about the PKK and the referred to PKK members as "guerillas" instead of "terrorists." Editorial Commentary on the Kurds and the PKK Ahmet Altan writes in the leftist Taraf: "Today, the Kurds see their weapons as an essential tool to maintain their pride and existence, and not as a means to win a war. Once they lay down their arms, they don't want to be rounded up in the cities and villages. It's essential that the Kurds are given 'guarantees' before the PKK lays down its arms. The Kurds want a Turkey where they don't have to ask for permission for Kurdish televisions, where Kurdish villages will be as safe as the Turkish ones, and where they can speak in Kurdish in the municipalities where there is a Kurdish population. They ANKARA 00000589 003 OF 003 want to be equal and they want their equality guaranteed by the constitution. As long as such demands are rejected, the problem will reemerge tomorrow even if the PKK lays down its weapons now due to current pressure from around the international community. A new Turkey needs to be established that accepts the existence of the Kurds and their equality with the Turks." France and Germany Oppose Turk as NATO Assistant Secretary General. Islamist-oriented Zaman writes in "France and Germany's Rasmussen Revenge," that "France and Germany are opposed to Turkey's EU entry and are now creating problems for Turkey in NATO" as "France and Germany, supposedly due to the economic crisis, are now opposing the appointment of a Turk as Assistant Secretary General of NATO." Mainstream Sabah headlines "Trouble for Turkey's New Seat in NATO" and notes "England, Germany and France are opposed to Turkey taking one of the five Assistant Secretary General positions due to the economic crisis." F-35 Becomes Victim of Cyber Attack. Media outlets note that cyber hackers broke into the Pentagon's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program; emphasis is placed on reports that at least one breach took place in Turkey. Mainstream Milliyet headlines in "Terrifying Piracy Hits the U.S." that "The primary suspect is China," and "part of the attack took place in Turkey when data was compromised in Turkey." Liberal Radikal headlines, "They Hacked the Pentagon from Turkey?" and notes "The 300 billion dollar project" was attacked by hackers and "Russia and China are on the list of suspects." In "A Cyber Attack against The Pentagon," mainstream HaberTurk notes "Chinese cyber spies have broken into the files of the U.S.'s most expensive defense program," and "Turkey is a partner in this program." 'War' Breaks Out between Turkey's Kurdish TV Channel and Roj TV Mainstream Aksam reports in 'War Between Roj TV and TRT-6' that the competition between state-owned broadcaster TRT's Kurdish-language channel TRT-6 and Roj TV, which Turkey requested to be banned in Denmark for being PKK's broadcaster, has now passed to their satellites. At first TRT-6's broadcast was going to be launched from the Hotbird satellite, which also broadcasts Roj TV. Then, TRT-6 chose another satellite, Turksat. The paper notes Roj TV also had to switch satellites due to technical problems and low quality of the broadcasts in the Southeast from the Hotbird satellite. TV News (CNN Turk) Domestic - 37 suspects were taken into custody in operations against Al-Qaeda network in six provinces. - The EU urges Turkey to undertake concrete steps for reforms. - Petrol Ofisi, owned by Dogan Media Group is suspended from public tenders. World - Armenian sources say Armenian President Sargsian had a telephone conversation with the US Vice-President Joseph Biden. - Demonstrators rallied in front of the parliament in Tbilisi to demand resignation of President Saakashvili. - Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani warned Israel against the attack on its nuclear facilities by saying "Iran will respond in a way that they will not be able to sleep peacefully anymore." JEFFREY