TURKISH MEDIA REACTION

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TAGS: OPRC KMDR TU PREL KPAO
SUBJECT: TURKISH MEDIA REACTION
THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2009

IN TODAY'S PAPERS

Continued Coverage of Ankara Court Decision that President Gul
Should Stand Trial for 1990s 'Missing Trillions' Case
Media outlets continue commenting on the ruling of Ankara's Sincan
heavy penal court that President Abdullah Gul should stand trial for
fraud over the "trillions" which went missing from the Welfare Party
(RP) funds in the 1990s. In a joint press conference with visiting
Slovenian President Danilo Turk yesterday, Gul said that fraud
charges were ten years old and stem from allegations from when he
was the deputy chairman of the RP. Gul noted that at that time, the
RP had ten deputy chairs, and that he personally had nothing to do
with the spending of party funds. Gul noted that in the past the
charges against him were taken up by the court. "At that time, the
court rejected the trial because it became clear that I had no
responsibility over the missing party funds," he said. Gul said he
was "not afraid to stand trial," adding he was only concerned that
the post of the presidency could be "harmed." Prime Minister
Erdogan said courts sometimes make "political" decisions, adding
that according to the constitution, the president could only be
tried for "treason."

Mainstream Vatan says the Sincan judge's labeling of Gul as a
"suspect" was not been good, adding the ruling has infringed on the
spirit of the constitution.

Editorial Commentary on Court Case against the President

Mumtazer Turkone wrote in Islamist oriented Zaman: "The court
decision against President Gul is a violation of existing laws
regarding the president's immunity. The judge of this decision is
blindly ignoring the Constitution as he apparently takes some
benefit for his personal career out of this controversy."

Papers: Erdogan, Gul to Exchange Posts in 2014
Media outlets report Prime Minister Erdogan sparked a heated
controversy by saying he was planning to quit politics in 2015, when
his duties as party chairman are due to end after three terms in
accordance with the AKP regulations. Papers speculate Erdogan plans
to take the presidential post in 2014. Leftist-nationalist
Cumhuriyet claims Erdogan is planning to become president when
President Gul's term in office ends in 2014. Even if the president
serves five years and leaves in 2012, Erdogan will still become
president, and Abdullah Gul will take over the chairmanship of the
AKP, according to Cumhuriyet.

Turkish Intelligence Chief's Term to be Extended
Mainstreams Hurriyet and Sabah report the ruling AKP government will
extend the office term of Emre Taner, the undersecretary of Turkey's
national intelligence agency (MIT) for six months as long as the
National Security Council (MGK) agrees to it. Leftist Taraf says
Taner has established a "critical dialogue" with the Kurdish
regional leader Massoud Barzani, and will work for six more months
to seek a settlement to Turkey's Kurdish question. Another reason
Taner's tenure was extended was that the MIT U/S supports the
'Ergenekon' investigation, according to Taraf.

Oskanyan: There Will be No Progress if Turkey Continues to Raise the
Karabakh Precondition
Papers report former Armenian foreign minister Vardan Oskanyan told
Turkish journalists in Yerevan that the Turkey-Armenia relationship
could be "moved forward" if the "Nagorno-Karabakh question is taken
out of the equation." On PM Erdogan's recent remarks that Turkey
could send back some 40,000 Armenians working illegally in Turkey,
Oskanyan said it was an "unfortunate statement." "I was hopeful
that a policy change could come until Erdogan raised the Karabakh
issue. If Turkey normalizes its ties with Armenia, the solution of
the Karabakh question will be much easier," said Oskanyan.

Iraq Asks Turkey for More Water from The Tigris and Euphrates

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Rivers
Liberal Radikal says Iraq is facing a significant drought this
summer if Turkey continues to retain waters from the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers. The paper says Iraq is pressing Turkey for more
water. Iraqi specialists have repeatedly asked Ankara to let the
Euphrates to flow at 700 cubic meters a second instead of the
current 230 cubic meters per second. The situation is not yet that
serious on the Tigris River, but Iraq is concerned that Turkey's
Ilisu dam, when finished, will have a capacity of over 10 billion
cubic meters. Aoun Thiab Abdullah, director of the National Center
for Water Resources, said at a recent seminar in Baghdad, "If the
water level in the Euphrates continues to decrease, we will not be
able to irrigate crops in July, which will be a disaster." Iraqis
complain that Turkey failed to meet the promises to double the quota
of water for Iraq, which was made by President Gul during a visit to
Baghdad in March, according to Radikal.

President Rajapaksa Phones Gul on His Victory against Tamil Tigers
Mainstreams Hurriyet and Sabah report Sri Lankan President Mahinda
Rajapaksa phoned President Abdullah Gul to give details about the
Sri Lankan government's victory against the insurgent terrorist
group the Tamil Tigers. Gul reportedly "welcomed" the developments,
adding that Turkey was ready to provide humanitarian support if
necessary. Hurriyet says Rajapaksa asked Gul for help in blocking
the activities of the Tamils against Sri Lanka on international
platforms, since Turkey is a member of the UN Security Council.

Editorial Commentary on Sri Lanka/Tamil and the PKK

Ertugrul Ozkok wrote in mainstream Hurriyet: "Can we possibly take
the Sri Lankan experience regarding the Tamils as a model against
PKK? With this method, Turkey can only finish off the PKK and still
the Kurdish problem remains. For us, the method should be winning
the hearts and minds and work through democratization in order to
reach a settlement."

Oktay Eksi wrote in mainstream Hurriyet: "Ending a dispute with
bloody methods cannot be something to be envious about. This is not
a healthy way and as far as the Sri Lanka example is concerned, it
remains to be seen whether such a bloody end to the war will really
put the Tamil question to an end."

Turkish Command in Larissa Stirs Up Controversy in Athens
Media report that the Greek media and political opposition are astir
over a NATO decision made in early May in Brussels in which the NATO
command on the Greek island of Larissa will be rotated between
Turkey and Greece. Mainstream Aksam reports, "The winds of peace
are blowing in the Aegean," as, "NATO decided to rotate command in
Larissa between Turkey and Greece," but, "Athens is enraged by the
decision because there has not been a Turkish commander on Greek
soil since 1821," and "the Greek media and opposition are
protesting." Mainstream Hurriyet calls the reaction in Athens "a
brouhaha over the NATO base." Liberal Radikal reports, "The NATO
decision has created reactions in Athens." Islamist-oriented Yeni
Safak headlines, "The Turkish Command Shock."

A 4X4 Decision from Obama (Yeni Safak)
Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak reports, "Americans, who love big cars,
were given a shock yesterday from Obama" as "He announced a new plan
to limit gas mileage standards to 7 liters per 100 kilometers." The
paper calls the move "another blow to GM." Islamist-oriented Zaman
headlines, "Americans Are Shrinking Their Cars." Mainstream Sabah
reports, "Americans will use smaller cars," as "The Obama
administration is seeking ways to reduce carbon emissions in
American vehicles."

U.S. To Try Guantanamo Suspect in New York
CNN Turk reports, "An official announcement indicates that the man
suspected of masterminding the 1998 attack against the U.S. embassy
in Tanzania will be tried in a New York federal court."

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Editorial Commentary on NBC/Zardari Interview

Tamer Korkmaz wrote in Islamist oriented Yeni Safak: "The recent
developments regarding the Bush administration's dirty works strike
a strong shock wave to the face of pro-Americans in the Turkish
media. What Seymour Hersh said, even though he backpedalled by
saying he was misquoted, is not something we can simply ignore.
Especially anyone who remembers Washington's pressure upon the
Pakistani government at that time to announce that Al Qaeda carried
out the Bhutto assassination. Not to even mention that Al Qaeda
itself did not claim any responsibility. Similarly, Zardari claims
that Osama Bin Laden was released by the U.S. after Pakistani
authorities captured him three months after the 9/11 attack. Yet
again our pro-American embedded media will not even bother to deal
with any of this and they will simply call all of it as 'a
conspiracy' or 'insane.'"

TV News (CNN Turk)

Domestic

- Israeli drones will be delivered to Turkey in August.

- A parliamentary commission approved a draft bill for the
establishment of a "security undersecretariat."

- Former cabinet minister Adnan Ekmen said the PKK was not
responsible for the killing of 11 villagers in an attack in
Guclukonak in the province of Sirnak 13 years ago.

- Police officer Oral Emre Atar has been sentenced to 25 months in
prison for killing a young car driver who did not stop at a
checkpoint. The father of the victim denounced the "symbolic"
penalty, saying he would appeal the verdict at the European Court of
Human Rights (ECHR).

- Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said a "big budget deficit" was
expected this year, and added that Turkey needed radical measures.


World

- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country was
ready to open peace talks with Syria without preconditions.

- French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner says the Mediterranean
Union project has been deadlocked as a result of tensions between
Israel and Palestine.

- British member of the European Parliament, Robert Kilroy Silk, has
filed a parliamentary motion which gives the false impression that
female genital mutilation was common practice in Turkey.

- The 28th annual Turkish Day Parade will take place in New York on
May 23.

JEFFREY