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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002027 
 
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 
THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2006 
 
  In Today's Papers 
 
  Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Parliamentary 
  Union in Istanbul 
  All papers:  On Wednesday, Turkish leaders addressed the 
  fourth conference of the parliamentary union of the 
  Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Istanbul. 
  President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said Turkey was deeply 
  concerned about the attempts to polarize the world along 
  Islamist and Western ends.  Sezer called for an 
  international alliance against terrorism, stressing that 
  the UN should be the center of the efforts.  Sezer noted 
  Israel and Palestine must live side by side as two states 
  with clearly defined borders.  Turkish Parliament Speaker 
  Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said the Muslim and Western 
  nations were not enemies of each other, and expressed 
  concern that religious fighting, poverty, terrorism and 
  proliferation of nuclear weapons threatened Turkey's 
  region.  Turkey's accession into the European Union will 
  forge a better cooperation between the EU and the Islamic 
  world, Erdogan noted.  The PM called for a national unity 
  government in Iraq where security is ensured and the 
  country's resources are shared by all Iraqis.  Erdogan 
  stressed that economic sanctions imposed on Palestine 
  were unfair, saying that Palestinians should not be 
  punished for their democratic preferences.  He called on 
  the international community as well as Palestinian and 
  Israeli leaders to act with common sense.  Erdogan 
  maintained no further positive steps should be expected 
  from Turkey unless the blockade on Turkish Cypriots is 
  lifted. 
 
  Iranian Parliament Speaker Gulamali Haddad Adil said any 
  military attack on Iran would be illogical.  "We had 
  eight years of war with Iraq, and we know how to deal 
  with psychological war tactics,'' Adil said, stressing 
  that the Islamic world has confidence in Iran that it 
  will not produce nuclear weapons.  Palestinian parliament 
  member Zuhair Sanduka said Hamas came to power by a 
  democratic and transparent election, calling on the 
  international community to realize that Hamas represents 
  the people of Palestine. 
 
  Columnist Turgut Tarhanli thinks that Iran's acquisition 
  of nuclear capability does not necessarily justify a 
  military strike. Writing in the liberal-intellectual 
  daily Radikal, Tarhanli emphasized the importance of 
  compromise and no use of force: "In today's world any 
  dispute should be settled without the use of force.  This 
  is an international commitment which binds all, but the 
  concept is pushed into a narrow frame because of various 
  pretexts posed by various states.  The US plays a shaping 
  role on this issue, however the US definition of 
  international cooperation on security matters makes 
  international consensus and compromise harder than ever 
  before to achieve." 
 
  Turkey's Undeclared Embargo Against the US 
  Bugun columnist Lale Sariibrahimoglu writes that a new 
  crisis is about to start in the Turkey-US relationship. 
  She notes that Turkey, in an effort to upgrade its 
  national defense industry, has placed a 'secret embargo' 
  on US firms due to the American policy of not exporting 
  military technology.  For the last two years Turkey has 
  prevented US companies from bidding on the $3.5 billion 
  worth of arms contracts by attaching special condition 
  asking for technology transfer.   After not winning any 
  bid in this field for the last two years, the US sent a 
  letter to Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul through the US 
  Ambassador in Ankara Ross Wilson.  US officials confirmed 
 
ANKARA 00002027  002 OF 003 
 
 
  to Bugun newspaper that Ambassador Wilson presented 
  Minister Gonul with a two-page letter just a day before 
  his US trip.  In his letter dated March 24, Ambassador 
  Wilson stressed that Turkey-US international military 
  cooperation, which had proceeding smoothly, is entering a 
  risky period with Turkey's special conditions on defense 
  industry bids.  Ambassador Wilson highlighted four 
  possible negative effects resulting from the 
  implementation of these special conditions: 1. Technical 
  cooperation for the use of the military goods will 
  decrease; 2. Cooperation, like that in Afghanistan, will 
  become more difficult; 3. American arm companies' 
  positive lobbying for Turkey against the Armenian and 
  Greek lobbies will weaken; 4. Ankara will end up paying 
  higher bills for its defense because of the reduced 
  competition. 
 
  President Sezer Addresses War Academies 
  All papers:  Speaking at the Turkish Military Academy, 
  President Sezer issued a harsh warning against both 
  Islamist fundamentalism and separatism.  Sezer stressed 
  that the fundamentalist threat has reached a worrying 
  level in Turkey but Turkey's biggest assurance against 
  this threat is its secular order.  Sezer pointed out that 
  religion should not go beyond private life and should not 
  become part of community life; and the fight against 
  fundamentalism should not be launched as a fight against 
  the religious beliefs of people.  One of the major duties 
  of the government is to protect the military's prestige, 
  he added.  Sezer said that those trying to separate the 
  country through street protests or terror will not be 
  able to achieve their goals.  On foreign policy, Sezer 
  said 'nobody should expect Turkey to accept unfair 
  demands on issues of national interest, such as the 
  Armenian genocide claims and in Cyprus issue.  Referring 
  to the relations with the US, Sezer said "the failure to 
  agree on certain issues is not going to affect the 
  overall sense of alliance." 
 
  Turkish Police Detain Human Rights Watch Staffer 
  Zaman, International wires:  Turkish police detained 
  Jonathan Sugden, a British researcher for the New York- 
  based Human Rights Watch (HRW,) for alleged visa 
  violations and brought him to Istanbul before being 
  deported to London soon, HRW said on Wednesday.  Sugden 
  was probing abuses in the mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey 
  that involved police and state-sponsored local militiamen 
  (Korucu).  The Turkish authorities said Sugden was in the 
  country on a tourist visa, and did not have authorization 
  to carry out human rights work in Turkey.  Holly Cartner, 
  HRW Europe and Central Asia director, said the issue was 
  not about the visa, but about the authorities not wanting 
  HRW to document abuses in the region. 
 
  Military Operation in Sirnak against the PKK 
  Hurriyet, Milliyet, and others:  The military operation 
  against the PKK launched two days ago in Sirnak continues 
  in Bestler and Dereler region.  During a clash between 
  the security forces and the PKK in the Dereler region 
  yesterday, reportedly 12 PKK militants were killed and 
  two soldiers were martyred.  Hurriyet says a total of 17 
  terrorists were killed in the Sirnak region in the last 
  four days. 
 
  Turkey to Open a Hospital in Darfur 
  Cumhuriyet, Radikal, Zaman and others:  Turkey will open 
  a field hospital with 50 beds and two operating rooms in 
  Darfur, Sudan, Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) said on 
  Wednesday.  Prime Minister Erdogan had visited some 
  30,000 refugees living in terrible conditions in Otach 
 
ANKARA 00002027  003 OF 003 
 
 
  camp during a visit to Sudan later last month. 
 
  US Texas Pacific Group Partners with Turkish Liquor 
  Producer 
  Aksam reports US Texas Pacific Group (TPG) purchased the 
  majority stake in Turkish liquor producer Mey Icki, 
  marking the first international entry into Turkey's 
  alcoholic drinks sector.  In 2006, Mey Icki has exported 
  4 million liters of liquor to 40 countries including 
  Greece, South Korea, Poland, Iraq, and Lebanon. 
 
 
  TV Highlights 
  NTV, 8.00 a.m. 
 
  Domestic News 
  - President Sezer told the War Academies in Istanbul 
  attempts to divide Turkey along ethnic and religious 
  lines would not succeed. 
 
  - British Ambassador in Ankara, Peter Westmacott told NTV 
  the PKK's efforts to use terrorism for political goals 
  were "unacceptable," stressing the importance of cutting 
  the funds flowing to the terrorist organization. 
 
  - Turkey's Human Rights Association (IHD) probing the 
  recent public unrest in Diyarbakir has issued a call 
  against using children in demonstrations.  In Ankara, 13 
  people including a founding member of the Kurdish party 
  DTP have been detained for making PKK propaganda. 
 
  - Turkish state atomic power body TAEK said Turkey's 
  first nuclear power plant will be built in the Black Sea 
 province of Sinop.  TAEK said a nuclear reactor producing 
  100 megawatts from uranium will be built in the next 
  three to three and-a-half years. 
 
  - Animal rights and women's organizations will rally in 
  Ankara over the weekend to protest some local 
  municipalities killing street dogs and bury them in mass 
  graves. 
 
  International News 
  - Italian opposition leader Prodi said he has received 
  the majority of votes to form the new government while 
  Prime Minister Berlusconi rejected defeat, demanding a 
  recount of votes. 
 
  - The EU and the US have voiced concern over President 
  Ahmadinejad's announcement Tehran had managed to enrich 
  uranium to use as nuclear plant fuel.  The US said Iran 
  could produce a nuclear bomb in 15 months. 
 
  - A survey by Reader's Digest shows 68 percent of the 
  people in Europe opposed Turkey's EU entry, with the 
  highest in Germany by 72 percent. 
 
 Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
 
  http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON