VZCZCXRO9501
OO RUEHDA
DE RUEHAK #1963/01 1011338
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 111338Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4725
RUEKJCS/CJCS WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC//PA
RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU
INFO RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS 7082
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 0285
RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 0630
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 5206
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 4917
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1529
RUEUITH/DET 1 39LG ANKARA TU
RHMFIUU/DET 5 USARE MSS IZMIR TU
RHMFISS/USDOCO 6ATAF IZMIR TU
RHMFIUU/39OS INCIRLIK AB TU
RHMFIUU/AFOSI DET 523 IZMIR TU
RHMFIUU/39ABG INCIRLIK AB TU
RHMFIUU/AFOSI DET 522 INCIRLIK AB TU
RUEUITH/AFLO ANKARA TU

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001963 
 
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, APRIL 11, 2006 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
General Ozkok Visits Southeastern Provinces 
All papers:  Chief of the Turkish General Staff (TGS) 
General Hilmi Ozkok, accompanied by Land Forces Commander 
General Yasar Buyukanit and military top brass, paid a visit 
to the southeastern provinces of Hakkari, Yuksekova, 
Semdinli, Sirnak, Batman, and Diyarbakir to evaluate the 
recent incidents in the region.  ''We are the armed forces 
of the whole nation; we serve the whole nation,'' Ozkok 
said, noting that the protestors did not represent the 
people in the region.  Ozkok stressed no one would be 
allowed to divide Turkey or change its regime.  "I hope the 
people in Diyarbakir will evaluate well what is happening 
and find the right path," General Ozkok said. 
 
 
Funeral Service for the Fallen Lt.Colonel Alim Yilmaz 
All papers:  A funeral service was held yesterday for a 
fallen officer at Kocatepe Mosque in Ankara.  Alim Yilmaz 
was killed in a land mine explosion Saturday near Elazig, 
along with a private.  Almost every member of the cabinet, 
opposition party members, military officials along with 
crowds of private citizens attended the funeral.  A group 
attending the funeral shouted anti-PKK slogans.  One of 
Yilmaz's relatives urged the Prime Minister to change terror 
laws to enable a stronger battle against terrorists.  The 
funeral service for Gendarmerie Private Sinan Gumustas, who 
was killed by the same mine explosion in Elazig, was held at 
Selimiye Mosque in Istanbul.  Meanwhile, Anatolian News 
Agency reported that one soldier was killed and another was 
injured when their vehicle was blown up by a remote- 
controlled mine on the highway between Silvan and Batman. 
 
Bomb Attack on Judicial Personnel Bus Foiled 
All papers:  On Monday, 37 judges and prosecutors escaped a 
terrorist attack in Istanbul after the driver of their bus 
discovered a bomb aboard the vehicle.  The 1.2 kg of A-4 
plastic explosive wrapped around a cell phone did not 
detonate because the phone battery had run down. 
 
MFA Condemns Mosque Attack in Baghdad 
Cumhuriyet, Radikal:  Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) 
strongly condemned in a statement Monday last week's attack 
against the Buratha mosque in Baghdad which killed 79 
people.  "Clearly, this attack was aimed at causing 
sectarian and ethnic fighting.  Groups in Iraq should act 
with common sense against provocations.  We hope that a 
government which is to solve security and economic problems 
in Iraq will be established soon,'' the statement said. 
 
Cengiz Candar writing in Bugun noting that that the parties 
in Iraq are having difficulty naming a prime minister after 
Jafari, believes that the identity of Iraq's next prime 
minister will be "shaped by the rivalry between the US and 
Iran."  He questions why, with Jafari clearly out of the 
picture, Ankara invited him to visit last month. He 
concludes that Ankara is making "inadequate policy judgments 
on Iraq" and urges more analysis of the reason for these 
decisions. 
 
Commenting in the daily Aksam, Husnu Mahalli expresses 
surprise that the Iraqi government declared April 9, the day 
the American occupation started, an official holiday.  He 
continues: "While the US and Iran are busy with their 
rivalry over Jafari's premiership, the whole country is 
facing either a massacre or a civil war.  The situation in 
Iraq is getting worse every passing day, and the US does not 
seem to care.  Even some Americans are saying loud and clear 
 
ANKARA 00001963  002 OF 003 
 
 
that Iraq will eventually be divided into three parts.  The 
US is concealing its intentions about Iraq and the region. 
So far the US has lied about Iraq and they will continue to 
lie." 
 
Ankara Shapes its Iran Policy 
Radikal reports that last week, Foreign Minister Abdullah 
Gul and Turkish ambassadors in "related" countries held a 
three day meeting in an effort to shape Turkey's Iran 
policy.  The meetings said Turkey will have to abide by the 
decisions taken by the international community, including 
the resolutions to be adopted by the UN, with regard to 
Iran.  The issue is not a bilateral one between Iran and 
Turkey, so Turkey will deal with the problem as part of the 
international community.  Turkey will not support any 
military attack, including unilateral US air strikes, 
against Iran, and Turkey will do all it can for a peaceful 
solution, without necessarily acting as a mediator. 
 
Congressman Wexler Visits Ankara 
All papers:  Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul met yesterday 
with the head of the US-Turkey Caucus, Congressman Robert 
Wexler in Ankara to discuss bilateral and regional issues. 
Gul told Wexler that Turkey has run out of patience 
regarding the PKK presence in northern Iraq, asking for the 
terrorist threat to be eliminated.  Wexler said that the US 
shared Turkey's concerns over PKK terrorism, which has been 
on the rise recently.  Wexler said concrete steps for 
cutting the financial sources of the PKK have been taken, 
noting that time was needed for more measures.  The US 
continues to trust Turkey, Wexler stated, noting the US 
backing of Turkey's Cyprus action plan.  "Greek Cypriots who 
rejected the Annan plan deceived Turkish Cypriots," Wexler 
emphasized.  Wexler told the press after the meeting that 
the US, like the EU, considered Hamas to be a terrorist 
organization.  At a luncheon given in his honor, Wexler said 
the Hamas visit had eroded US confidence in Turkey. 
"Despite our cooperation in Iraq and Afghanistan, everybody 
in Washington wonders about the intentions of Turkey. 
Meeting with Hamas members was totally irrational," Wexler 
told the Turks, adding that Hamas should not be allowed to 
abuse democratic means to propagate violence.  He also 
stressed that the row over Hamas would not prevent the 
cooperation between Turkey and the US on other issues such 
as Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and Cyprus, and that the two 
countries should leave the Hamas disagreement behind. 
Wexler maintained that he expected Turkey's cooperation with 
regard to Iran, underlining that US efforts against Tehran's 
nuclear program could not succeed without Turkey's support. 
Congressman Wexler met with Prime Minister Erdogan later in 
the day to discuss Afghanistan, Iraq, the Middle East, and 
cooperation in energy issues. 
 
President Abbas to Visit Turkey 
Wire services:  Two months after a surprise Hamas visit, 
Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas is to visit Turkey during 
his tour of Europe.  Abbas will travel to Turkey, Norway, 
Finland and France in late April. 
 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV (8 a.m) 
 
Domestic News 
- New Turkish anti-terror draft law will be submitted to the 
Council of Ministers for approval today. 
 
- Four soldiers have died in a military transport helicopter 
which crashed during a training flight from Ankara to Izmit. 
 
ANKARA 00001963  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
International News 
- Centre-left leader Romano Prodi is to beat Prime Minister 
Silvio Berlusconi in Italy's general election, according to 
exit polls. 
 
- French President Jacques Chirac scrapped his government's 
contested youth jobs plan, handing a victory to unions and 
students after one of the country's biggest political crises 
in decades. 
 
- The Palestinian authority is seeking money to pay 150,000 
civil servants' wages. 
 
- US Ambassador in Baghdad, Zalmay Khalilzad said scheduled 
talks with Iranian officials over Iraq-related issues would 
be delayed until a new Iraqi government is established. 
 
- Saudi Arabia has invited bids for the construction of a 
security fence along its 900 km desert border with Iraq in 
an effort to bolster its defenses against external terrorist 
threats. 
 
 Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
 
  http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON