TURKISH MEDIA REACTION

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SUBJECT: TURKISH MEDIA REACTION
MONDAY, JULY 6, 2009

In Today's Papers

President Gul Holds Phone Conversation With U.S. President Obama
AA, Sabah, Milliyet ,Hurriyet, CNN Turk, and others: President Gul
held a phone conversation with President Obama on Sunday.
Mainstream Hurriyet says that the phone conversation was held on the
eve of Obama's trip to Moscow. According to the White House, the
two leaders focused on bilateral and regional issues, including U.S.
relations with Muslim societies in the world, the situation in the
Caucasus, Turkish-Armenian relations, and the Upper Karabakh issue.
Mainstream Sabah reports the phone conversation took place "hours
before Obama's visit to Moscow." Mainstream Milliyet writes, "Before
(Obama) Hit The Road, He Spoke with Gul," to discuss "relations
between Turkey and Armenia," and also Gul took the opportunity "to
thank Obama for his Cairo speech to the Muslim world." Mainstream
Haberturk notes, "Before Obama departed, he spoke to Gul."

Sabah Reports on A New Plan to Eliminate The PKK
Saturday's mainstream Sabah reveals a plan by the U.S., Iraq and
Turkey for the liquidation of PKK. Rights and Freedoms Party
(Hak-Par) leader Bayram Bozyel talked to Sabah on the issue
following his contacts in the region. According to Bozyel, the
U.S., Turkey and Iraq have agreed on a four-step plan. The first
step in the plan is the evacuation of refugees living in Mahmour
camp in northern Iraq. 10,000 refugees in the camp will be brought
to Turkey. After the evacuation, PKK members from the Quandil
mountain will settle in the Mahmur camp and will be disarmed there.
The PKK leaders will be given Iraqi passports and will be sent to
European Countries, mainly to Norway. Parallel to this process,
Turkey will prepare a new solution package which will contain
amnesty for some PKK members as well. Bozyel said the meetings
between Turkey, the U.S. and Iraq continues and passports for the
leaders are being prepared. Stressing the importance of the roles
of Barzani and Talabani at this process, Bozyel said "There are
ongoing meetings with the PKK in different levels which the state
keeps secret. The process of issuing passports and transferring the
PKK leaders to Europe is easy. But, Turkey should announce the
package soon. The PKK leaders also support this plan."

Three Alternatives for President Gul
Mainstreams Aksam and Sabah report that all eyes are turned to
President Gul for the approval of a bill allowing civilian courts to
try military personnel. Aksam highlights President Gul's options -
he could approve the law but at the same time urge the government to
make arrangements for the trial of top military officials; he might
veto some of the provisions in the draft to demand arrangements
giving immunity to the Chief of the General Staff and high-ranked
military commanders; or Gul might approve the bill and state that
the bill is in harmony with the constitution.

Editorial Commentary on the Controversial Bill
Murat Yetkin wrote in liberal Radikal: "TGS has submitted to
President Gul its objections to the bill for the trial of army
officials by civilian courts. According to the military, the law
contradicts the constitution. Second, the military believes that
passage of the law will lead to clashes between the military and the
civilian judiciary. In addition, the military believes its
intelligence activities will become vulnerable to investigations
launched by civilian prosecutors in connection with ungrounded
complaints. This in turn might pave the way for the politicization
of the army. The military is concerned that army officials might
become target of ungrounded complaints similar to the complaint that
led to the arrest of Col. Cicek."

Fikret Bila wrote in mainstream Milliyet: "According to the army
sources the plan for fighting fundamentalism was not drafted in the
General Staff by military officials. They say that the plan was
drafted by civilians. This is why they need the cooperation with the
civilian judiciary to find out the truth about the plan. The arrest
and release of Col. Cicek is related to a complaint letter written
to the Istanbul prosecutor. Because of this letter, he was summoned

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as a suspect linked to the Ergenekon network."

Armenian FM Nalbandyan Comments on the Border Opening
ANKA News Agency: Armenian Foreign Minister Nalbandyan said over
the weekend, "Borders with Turkey can open once an unconditional
agreement is reached in the direction." Nalbandyan also noted, "We
expect Turkey to take the practical steps" but noted Turkey "has
not" taken such steps.

Chief Negotiator on Turkey's EU Membership
AA: In response to Greek FM Bakoyannis' remarks to the Greek press
that, "Greece has supported Turkey's EU membership from the outset
but Greece's thesis is clear. Besides those eight chapters there
are other issues on the table and Turkey should fulfill its
obligations," Turkey's Chief EU negotiator Egemen Bagis said "Turkey
is aware of its responsibilities on the road to the Union. Also
Turkey has the right to expect its interlocutors to fulfill their
responsibilities and liabilities." In addition, Bagis noted "In
contrast to our Greek friends, Cyprus is not the only item on our
agenda."

Editorial Commentary on Turkey-US and Turkey- Iran Ties

Omer Taspinar wrote in mainstream Sabah: "While Turkey is dealing
with critical discussions regarding military-civilian issues,
Washington has two different opinions on Turkey. One side dislikes
the AKP and sees a significant danger that Turkey is headed toward a
more and more Islamist state. The second group is slightly more
positive and they believe they need to win Turkey back after it was
lost during the Bush administration. This group works closely with
Obama and Clinton. This camp is primarily concerned with Turkey's EU
bid and democratic reforms, not Islam. They think the only way
forward for Turkey is the EU harmonization process and Turkey should
not waste time. Turkey should follow the EU reform path."

Semih Idiz wrote in mainstream Milliyet: "As international interest
grows regarding the situation in Iran, there is active disinterest
towards Iran by Turkey. It seems that Turkey will follow a low
profile policy towards Iran in order to prevent any political
tension. Following President Gul's visit to Tehran, Ahmedinejad's
commented, "Tehran doesn't want Turkey to mediate between the U.S.
and Iran," and the Iranian leader noted, "The only choice for Turkey
is to sit quietly and hope that developments in Iran won't affect
Turkey negatively."

An Historic Summit in Moscow Launches A New Beginning for
U.S.-Russia Relations
Media feature U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Moscow as the
lead international story, and particular emphasis is placed on the
hope that the summit will improve relations between the U.S. and
Russia. Islamist-oriented Zaman writes, "Obama's long-awaited visit
to Moscow begins today." Mainstream Milliyet headlines, "This Is The
Time For Mutual Understanding," and the paper notes, "Obama's visit
to Moscow will begin a new period for relations between the U.S. and
Russia." Mainstream Haberturk headlines, "The Summit To End
Bush-ism and Putin-ism," as the summit marks, "A new era in
relations between Russia and the U.S." Mainstream Sabah reports in
"A New Start With An Historic Summit," that ,"Obama wants to bring a
new beginning to U.S. relations with Russia," as "the two countries
will discuss a number of issues in what is seen as 'an historical
opportunity.'" Meanwhile, leftist Taraf comments in "A Nuclear
Agreement Is Still Not Ready," that, "the two countries are still
working to reach an agreement that will decrease their nuclear
armament suspicions." Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak also has a
different take on the issue in "Obama Shows His Official 'Target,'"
during his Moscow visit, which the paper comments is Iran.

The U.S. Won't Stand in Israel's Way
Media draw attention to U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's comments in
Iraq regarding the U.S. stance on a possible Israeli military strike
against Iran. Mainstream Vatan interprets Vice President Biden's

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remarks as, "a green light" to Israel under the headline, "If Israel
Wants To Strike Iran, (The U.S.) Will Not Oppose It."
Islamist-oriented Zaman headlines, "A Green Light from Biden To
Israel for An Iran Operation." Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet calls
Biden's remarks, "Promises from VP Biden that are creating
anxieties." Mainstream Haberturk headlines, "The U.S. Won't Say
Anything to Israel If They Strike Iran." Mainstream Sabah notes,
"The U.S. Won't Stand in Israel's Way." Liberal Radikal points out
that Biden's comments were followed by Saudi Arabia's announcement
that "Riyadh gave a guarantee to Israel to use Saudi airspace in an
attack against Iran." Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak calls Biden's
comments, "Approval from The U.S. to Israel," for an Israeli attack
against Iran.


TV News (CNN Turk)

Domestic

-
- The Turkish Board of Statistics (TUIK) conducted a survey on 6465
people and showed that 51.9 percent of Turkish people would vote for
EU membership if a referendum was held. Only 29.5 percent would
vote against EU membership.

- Turkey will start warning smokers both in written and visual on
packages as of 2010.

- Three village guards were injured in a mine blast in Sirnak.

World

- Independence Day celebrations in New York begin with the Statue
of Liberty's crown opening to the public for the first time since
September 11.

- The Organization of American States agrees to suspend Honduras
over the coup.

- Two NATO Service members were killed in a bombing in southern
Afghanistan.JEFFREY