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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001330 
 
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 
MONDAY, MARCH 13, 2006 
 
 
  In Today's Papers 
 
  Erdogan Meets AKP MPs at Weekend Gathering 
  All papers:  At a gathering of ruling AK Party lawmakers 
  in Kizilcahamam near Ankara over the weekend, Prime 
  Minister Tayyip Erdogan denied that there is tension 
  between his government and the military following 
  accusations that Land Forces Commander General Yasar 
  Buyukanit acted outside the law in the fight against PKK 
  terrorists.  The main opposition CHP and the press have 
  speculated that the prosecutor in the case acted under 
  the influence of the AK Party to discredit General 
  Buyukanit, who is expected to become chief of staff in 
  August.  Erdogan praised the army as "one of our most 
  important institutions" and said his government would 
  respect the military's rules of promotion.  Erdogan also 
  urged his party members to stand behind Finance Minister 
  Kemal Unakitan, who has been under fire by opposition and 
  the media for alleged corruption.  A censure motion 
  against Unakitan will be brought to the Parliament on 
  Tuesday.  Erdogan also noted that there will not be early 
  elections, and reafirmed that the current parliament will 
  elect Turkey's next president in 2007. 
 
  Gul on Iran 
  Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Cumhuriyet, Radikal, Zaman and 
  others:  Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul warned that any 
  international intervention against Iran due to its 
  nuclear activities would affect Turkey.  "Turkey will be 
  deeply affected by any possible sanctions against Iran," 
  Gul told ruling AK Party lawmakers on Sunday.  Gul noted 
  that nearly 70,000 trucks travel from Turkey to Central 
  Asian countries each year across Iranian territory. 
  Foreign Minister Gul said that International Atomic 
  Energy Agency (IAEA) Chairman Muhammad al-Baradei told 
  him in Vienna last week that only Turkey or Russia could 
  persuade Iran to suspend its nuclear program.  "Israel 
  also denies it has a  nuclear weapons program," Gul 
  added, "but 25-30 years ago there were reports that the 
  Israelis were developing nuclear weapons.  If Iran's 
  nuclear program is dangerous, then Israel's nuclear 
  program is just as dangerous." 
 
  Picking up on this perceived double standard on the Iran 
  issue, commentator Kamuran Ozbir of the nationalist 
  Ortadogu criticizes the international community for 
  ignoring Israel's nuclear weapons: "The international 
  community hastens to control the Iranian nuclear program 
  while doing nothing about Israel's nuclear weapons.  When 
  you read Western commentators, you learn that Iranian 
  possession of nuclear weapons poses a serious risk of war 
  in the region.  It is interesting to observe that there 
  is no mention of risk posed by Israel's nuclear weapons. 
  President Bush's emphasis on the use of force as an 
  option is both unrealistic and irresponsible.  The Bush 
  administration has not gotten anyhere by its bluffing, 
  but it still keeps repeating the same tactic." 
 
  Poll: AKP Way Ahead of Other Parties 
  According to a poll commissioned by pro-government, 
  Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak, 74.2 percent of Turks 
  believe the US is the biggest threat to world peace.  The 
  US is followed by Israel at 7.9 percent.  Only 2 percent 
  view Iran as the biggest threat.  62.5 percent say Turkey 
  should remain neutral in the event of a US military 
  operation against Iran, 2.9 percent say Turkey should 
  side with the US, and 19.4 percent say Turkey should side 
  with Iran.  56.1 of those surveyed believe there is a 
  "clash of civilizations" between the "Christian west" and 
 
ANKARA 00001330  002 OF 003 
 
 
  Islam.  61.9 percent would approve a referendum to join 
  the EU, while 30.7 would oppose it.  On the film "Valley 
  of the Wolves - Iraq," 37.4 percent had a positive 
  opinion, 19.7 percent negative, and 42.9 percent had no 
  opinion.  If general elections were held today, votes 
  would be distributed as follows:  AKP 42.7 percent, CHP 
  17.2, MHP 10.6, DYP 8.9, pro-Kurdish DTP 6.6, ANAP 5.6, 
  and others 4.7.  2,639 people in 12 provinces responded 
  to questions in face-to-face interviews for the survey, 
  which was carried out under the supervision of academics 
  from Middle East Technical University, Cankaya University 
  and Kirikkale University. 
 
  Istanbul Bilgi University Holds Kurdish Conference 
  Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Cumhuriyet, Radikal, Zaman and 
  others:   A number of prominent academics, politicians 
  and journalists participated in a conference at 
  Istanbul's Bilgi University on "Turkey's Kurdish 
  Question" over the weekend.  The mayor of Turkey's mainly 
  Kurdish southeastern province of Diyarbakir, Osman 
  Baydemir, said the Kurdish problem in Turkey is not 
  related to terrorism, but rather has economic, political 
  and social aspects.  Professor Baskin Oran said Kurds in 
  Turkey are demanding minority rights despite the fact 
  that they are a constituent people of the Turkish 
  Republic.  Kurdish politician and former cabinet minister 
  Serafettin Elci criticized state policies that have 
  focused on a military solution to the problem.  "Turkey's 
  traditional anti-Kurdish policy is bankrupt.  The Kurdish 
  people's right to self-governance must be recognized 
  without the Kurds breaking off from Turkey.  The two 
  peoples still have a chance to coexist," Elci said. 
  Columnist Hasan Cemal said the Kurds should openly 
  denounce PKK violence.   "The PKK must lay down its arms 
  and we must all work together for Turkeys' EU 
  membership," Cemal said. 
 
  Izmir Port Lacks Necessary Security 
  Vatan reports that Turkey's Aegean port of Izmir has been 
  listed in a US Homeland Security Department report on 
  world ports that do not have necessary security measures. 
  The report says that the security of containers imported 
  into the US is inadequate, and warned that WMD could be 
  brought into the US through shipments from foreign ports. 
  "The Izmir port is far from meeting US security 
  standards," according to the report. 
 
 
  TV HIGHLIGHTS 
  NTV News (7: 00 a.m.) 
 
  Domestic News 
  - About 3,000 leftist and pro-Kurdish demonstrators 
  commemorated in a peaceful rally to mark the killing of 
  11 people in clashes with security forces in Istanbul's 
  Gazi neighborhood eleven years ago. 
 
  - A Turkish soldier was killed during fighting with PKK 
  terrorists in the southeastern province of Sirnak over 
  the weekend. 
 
  - Turkish Cyprus leader Mehmet Ali Talat has been 
  discharged from Istanbul hospital after a bypass 
  operation, and has returned to Cyprus. 
 
  International News 
 
  - Shiite Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jafari said he will 
  not step aside despite strong pressure from Iraq's Sunnis 
 
ANKARA 00001330  003 OF 003 
 
 
  and Kurds. 
 
  - Britain's Sunday Telegraph reported that Iran has built 
  a secret underground command center in Tehran as its 
  leaders prepare for a confrontation with the West over 
  its controversial nuclear activities. 
 
  - Car bombs and mortar barrages rocked the Shiite- 
  dominated Sadr City in Baghdad on Sunday, killing at 
  least 46 and wounding more than 100 others. 
 
  - Tom Fox, a US national who was among four Christian 
  activists kidnapped last year in Iraq, was killed by 
  insurgents. 
 
  Economic News 
 
  - Prime Minister Erdogan said the nomination of a 
  successor to Turkey's Central Bank (CB) Governor, Sureyya 
  Serdengecti, would take some time.  CB Deputy-Governor 
  Erdem Basci is viewed as the most likely candidate for 
  the critical post. 
 
  - PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) projected that Turkey 
  would become world's 12th largest economy by 2050. 
 
  - The OECD will carry out research about money laundering 
  activities in Turkey later this year. 
 
WILSON