TURKISH MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000679 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, MAY 11, 2009 IN TODAY'S PAPERS Baku: "No Progress in Prague" Sunday's Hurriyet cites Azeri media to report that Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Memmedyarov denied US DAS Matt Bryza's comments that the progress was made at last week's meeting between the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Prague. Memmedyarov said "the two leaders were unable to advance during their meetings. Settlement is possible if the US shows close interest in the issue. Otherwise, there will be no progress." A related story was in mainstream Sabah's Sunday issue. The headline read "Sargsian complained about Turkey to the US", and reported that Sargsian told DAS Bryza in Prague that "Turkey is not taking any further steps even though our road map is ready." DAS Bryza talked to Sabah and said "Sargsian is disturbed by the slow progress of the Turkey-Armenia process. He knows that Turkey is waiting for progress in Nagorno-Karabakh issue." An official from the Turkish Foreign Ministry said "Of course, these two are related issues." PM Erdogan on Armenia/Azerbaijan Prime Minister Erdogan repeated the importance of resolving Nagorno Karabakh issue before opening of Armenian border with Turkey. During the weekend, Turkey's semi official news agency AA quoted him as saying "There is a cause and effect relationship here. First, Nagorno-Karabakh was occupied by the Armenian side, then 1 million Azeris were forced into exile and we closed the border. We closed the border. The reason was the occupation - the result was that we closed the border. So let that reason end, and let's open the border." President Gul: "Kurdish Issue is Turkey's Top Problem" Radikal, Hurriyet, Yeni Safak, Cumhuriyet: Saturday's liberal Radikal reports that speaking to journalists on route from Prague to Ankara, President Gul said "the Kurdish issue is Turkey's top problem. Turkey has to work towards a resolution of the Kurdish issue and everybody needs to contribute to these efforts." Radikal notes President Gul's remarks last March where he said that "nice things will happen regarding the Kurdish issue. The consensus among state institutions has offered an opportunity to make progress. There is an open dialogue among the civilians, military and the intelligence. This is a great opportunity to make progress and we should not miss this opportunity." Today's Hurriyet reports that in response to Gul's comments, CHP leader Baykal said "President Gul is talking about an historic opportunity. He should elaborate on his comments and explain what he means by "historic opportunity". Are we going to amend the Constitution or declare an amnesty? If it is an amnesty in the fight against terrorism, it will not work." Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak reports that DTP leader Ahmet Turk welcomed Gul's comment by calling it "a very important development." Kurdish Studies in a Turkish University Daily Yeni Safak carries a short interview with Chairman of Higher Education Board (YOK) Yusuf Ziya Ozcan where he announced the approval of Kurdish Studies Center at Istanbul University Faculty of Literature. "This is going to be the start of academic studies on Kurdish" said Professor Ozcan. The YOK Chairman also talked about the Board's initiative to open Turkish universities abroad. Initially there are three countries being considered: Germany, Azerbaijan and Afghanistan. Oil from the KRG Area Dailies Bugun and Taraf report that oil reserves in the Kurdistan Regional Administration region will start flowing to Turkey's Ceyhan pipeline as of June 1. Of the central administration's approval, Bugun says "the Oil Ministry has approved a flow of 60,000 barrels per day" while Taraf claims that Baghdad has not yet approved the measure. KRG National Resources Minister Havrami was quoted as ANKARA 00000679 002 OF 002 saying "the revenue from these sales will go to the people of Iraq. With this decision, Iraq's oil export capacity will increase." Both dailies note that Turkey is becoming a main venue for transfer of Iraqi oil to the world. Council of State President: "Pressure on Judiciary May Lead to Chaos" All papers: Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet reports that Mustafa Birden, chief judge of the Council of State, said that the authority to amend the constitution is not unlimited. "The biggest threat against judicial independence and neutralism is inserting politics into the judiciary," Birden said during the ceremony marking the 141st anniversary of the highest Administrative Court, the Danistay. Mainstream Hurriyet says Birden warned the government about social chaos, legitimacy, secularism and any new constitution during his speech. He added "Attempts by political powers to control the judiciary may lead to chaos. The judiciary must be independent and politics must be in line with basic rule of law." In his speech, Mustafa Birden also urged the Ergenekon prosecutors to observe the confidentiality of the investigation and to respect the principle of presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Editorial Opinion on Pakistan Omer Taspinar wrote in mainstream Sabah: "Contrary to common belief, President Obama's biggest foreign nightmare is not Iran, Iraq or Afghanistan. It is Pakistan because the country is on the verge of becoming fully controlled by radical Islam. Pakistan's Pashtun region has already become a de facto Taliban regime. Given Pakistan's nuclear capacity, Washington is very worried about these developments. President Obama made Afghanistan and Pakistan an immediate priority as soon as he took charge in the White House. The President understands that Pakistan and Afghanistan must be treated as one policy-wise." TV News (CNN Turk) Domestic - Security officials found ammunition in the sea of Beykoz district of Istanbul. After a fisherman found bullets in a sack, sea-police divers took out hand grenades, smoke bombs, bullets, etc. in the sea - A three-story building collapses in Siirt. Five workers buried under the rubble are rescued. - Ankara Chamber of Commerce accuses the banks of making other sectors pay the cost of global crisis World - French President Sarkozy and German PM Merkel supported a "privileged partnership" for Turkey instead of full EU membership - Georgian President Saakashvili and opposition leaders are expected to meet today - Pope Benedict XVI is in Israel. - President Obama's decision to address Muslim world from Egypt triggers heated controversy JEFFREY