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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000835 
 
SIPDIS 
 
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
SUBJECT: ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT 
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2006 
 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Turkey-Israel Ties Following the Hamas Visit to Ankara 
Hurriyet, Sabah, Milliyet, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman, Yeni 
Safak and others:   The Israeli Ambassador in Ankara, Pinhas 
Avivi rejected an offer from Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) 
to brief him on the Hamas delegation visit to Ankara last 
week.  Sabah says that Avivi had refused the briefing 
because there was no change in the attitudes of Hamas, and 
that the Turkish initiative had failed.  Hurriyet reminds 
readers that last Friday the MFA had briefed the 
representatives of the Middle East Quartet -- US Ambassador 
Ross Wilson, Russian Ambassador Petr Stegniy, EU term 
president Austria's Ambassador Marius Calligaris, and UN 
representative Jacob Simonsen -- on the Hamas visit. 
Mainstream papers expect new strains in ties between Turkey 
and Israel while Yeni Safak believes that Israel will not 
choose to fuel tensions with Ankara.  Zaman reports that a 
delegation of high-level MFA officials will pay a visit to 
Israel in the second week of March as well as President 
Sezer who is to visit Israel in June.  Zaman also says that 
the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) is planning 
to provide financial aid to the Hamas administration, and 
that Arab foreign ministers discussed in Algeria yesterday 
sending 50 million USD every month if Israel applies 
sanctions on Palestine.  Meanwhile, papers report Turkish 
government spokesman Cemil Cicek as telling the press after 
Monday's cabinet meeting that Turkey conveyed the 
expectations of the international community to the Hamas 
officials.  Cicek said Turkey had advised Hamas to follow 
democratic means as they were elected via democratic 
elections. 
 
Editorials in Turkish papers were almost entirely dedicated 
to comments on the Hamas visit.  Mainstream press continued 
to argue that this visit did not provide anything positive 
for Turkish diplomacy.  Characterizing the visit as a match, 
with the score "Hamas 1, Turkey 0," senior columnist Haluk 
Ulman wrote in the economic-politic daily Dunya: "Double 
talk is the most unacceptable mistake in diplomacy, as it 
poses a serious blow to a country's credibility.  Success in 
foreign policy comes from being reliable as well as 
trustworthy.  Once double talk is used, as the AKP 
government did on the Hamas issue, it is too late to be 
credible. Trying to justify this visit by saying that Ankara 
gave important messages to Hamas is another blow to 
credibility.  Who can possibly believe that Hamas will agree 
to certain conditions, repeatedly expressed by the US, the 
EU and the whole international community, just because 
Turkey has asked them to?" 
 
Focusing on the Hamas leader's current visit to Tehran, 
columnist Mehmet Y. Yilmaz commented in the mass appeal 
Hurriyet: "Turkey and Iran have completely opposing views on 
the Palestine issue.  For instance Turkey wants the 
Palestine administration to recognize Israel while Iran 
wants Israel to leave the region.  The Hamas leader's visit 
to Iran and his remarks there clearly indicate that the 
Turkish foreign minister's advice did not work at all.  It 
seems that the visit of Hamas to Ankara will pave the way 
for many undesired developments for Turkey in near future." 
 
Accusing the critics of being blind, Islamist-oriented Yeni 
Safak columnist Mehmet Ocaktan argued: "Some still argue 
that the visit of Hamas will bring trouble for Turkey.  They 
must be suffering from intellectual blindness.  What is 
wrong with the Hamas visit?  Turkey's effort regarding Hamas 
deserves support unless the goal is to push Hamas to more 
radicalism." 
 
ANKARA 00000835  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
While praising the government for its role as a mediator, 
columnist Hakan Akpinar thinks that the timing was wrong. 
In the conservative-sensational Tercuman daily, he observed, 
"This visit was arranged in such an unprofessional way, it 
ended with damaging consequences for the Turkey-Israel 
relationship.  The important thing in here is not only to 
diagnose the problem but also to identify proper methods for 
resolving it.  The Palestinian issue is a just cause.  It 
was right for the AKP government to meet with Hamas, but 
unfortunately, the timing and the method were wrong." 
 
Hamas Visits Tehran, Bolton Calls on Iran to 'Surrender' 
All papers cover Hamas leader Mashal's visit to Iran 
following talks in Ankara, and his remarks in Tehran that 
Hamas will neither recognize Israel, nor lay down arms. 
Papers also report that US Ambassador to the United Nations, 
John Bolton, called on Tehran to follow the Libya example 
and give up efforts to have nuclear weapons.  'If Tehran 
does so, problems will be resolved,' Bolton said. 
Meanwhile, Tehran launched a diplomatic attack with an 
Iranian delegation paying a second visit to Russia and 
Foreign Minister Mottaki in Brussels to hold talks.  Sabah 
claims that recent construction work launched in the airport 
of Turkey's remote eastern province of Mus fueled suspicion 
that US will use the airport during attacks against Iran. 
 
Rice Postpones Visit to Turkey 
Cumhuriyet reports that Secretary Rice will not visit Turkey 
during her tour of Middle East February 22-24 to explain US 
policies with regard to Hamas and Iran.  The paper 
speculates that Secretary Rice's visit to Turkey is 
postponed following Ankara's recent foreign policy moves.  A 
US diplomat told the paper that a visit by Secretary Rice to 
Turkey will probably happen in mid-Spring. 
 
Alarm in Incirlik for Missile Attack 
Sabah:  As a result of the intelligence information that Al- 
Qaida was preparing to attack Incirlik air base with 
missiles, security measures increased to the highest level 
in the base.  The CIA warned the Turkish intelligence last 
week that Al-Qaida militants were preparing to attack the 
air base with rockets.  The base command increased the 
security system to prevent a possible attack and, at the 
same time, asked Turkish intelligence and security to find 
and arrest the militants. All the security units in Adana 
were alerted. 
 
Kurdish Broadcasts to Begin in March 
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Zaman, Cumhuriyet and others: 
After meeting with two local broadcasters from Turkey's 
mainly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir on Monday, the Turkish 
Radio and Television High Bard (RTUK) said local broadcasts 
in languagesother than Turkish will begin in March.  The 
RUK had released in late 2005 a regulation to alow radio 
and television broadcasts in Kurdishand other languages in 
¶2006.  Twelve radio and television stations had applied to 
RTUK to broadcast in Kurdish and other dialects; however, 
the organization did not respond to the demands, citing 
'insufficient paper work.'  Broadcasters that have completed 
the necessary paperwork will be given licenses to air 
programs in languages other than Turkish.  TV channels will 
be allowed to air 45-minutes and radio stations 60 minutes 
of Kurdish programs a week.  The state-owned Turkish Radio- 
Television Institution (TRT) has been airing programs in 
Kurdish, Bosnian, Arabic, and Circassian since June 2004. 
 
 
TV Highlights 
 
ANKARA 00000835  003 OF 003 
 
 
NTV (8 a.m) 
 
- UNSYG Annan will visit Nicosia following the Greek Cypriot 
elections this year in an effort to reinitiate talks between 
the sides in Cyprus.  President Papadopoulos, who is to meet 
with Annan in Vienna today, said he will not discuss the UN- 
sponsored peace plan, but will ask the UNSYG to send the UN 
representative to the island as soon as possible. 
 
- Attacks in Iraq claimed 23 lives on Monday.  Terrorist 
attacks on the oil pipelines in the country caused 6 billion 
USD of damage since the outbreak of war in Iraq. 
 
- Denmark warned Ankara against rallies held in Turkey in 
protest of the Prophet Muhammad cartoons, saying that the 
demonstrations were held under the influence of the Taliban. 
 
- The imprisoned al-Qaida ringleader, the Syrian-born 
terrorist Louai Sakra admitted that he received 50,000 USD 
from Mullah Omar to attack Israeli cruise liners in Turkey 
last Summer. 
 
- Secretary Rice tours the Middle East to seek Arab support 
for US policies toward Iran. 
 
- Saddam Hussein, if found guilty of ordering the killing of 
140 people from the town of Dujail, might be executed within 
months. 
 
WILSON