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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002529 
 
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, MAY 8, 2006 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Larijani Visits Ankara 
All papers:  Iran's national security advisor and chief 
nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani is to meet with Prime 
Minister Erdogan, Foreign Minister Gul, and National 
Security Council (MGK) Secretary General Alpogan in Ankara 
on Monday.  Ankara is expected to tell Larijani that Turkey 
will comply with UN Security Council decisions on Iran and 
will move together with the international community.  If the 
UN decides to impose sanctions and suspend diplomatic ties 
with Tehran, Turkey will cut the transport of Iranian 
natural gas and halt official contacts with Iran.  Turks 
will tell Larijani that a proliferation of WMD in the Middle 
East would bring grave consequences.  Tehran has failed to 
meet the expectations of the international community, and 
Iran's secrecy over its nuclear program has fed concerns and 
mistrust.  Turkey does not plan to act as an intermediary 
between the sides.  Larijani told reporters on his arrival 
in Ankara that if threatened, Iran would withdraw from the 
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). 
 
Erdogan-Ahmadinejad Meet in Baku 
Prime Minister Erdogan met the Iranian President Ahmadinejad 
on Friday on the margins of the Economic Cooperation (ECO) 
Summit in Baku.  At the meeting, Erdogan urged that there be 
more transparency regarding Tehran's nuclear program while 
Ahmadinejad stressed that their program had peaceful 
purposes.  Ahmadinejad underlined that they had the right to 
use nuclear energy.  He noted Iran had been subjected to 
several sanctions since 1979, but did not concede in the 
face of pressures.  Ahmadinejad also doubted the reliability 
of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reports, 
saying IAEA was controlled by a few countries.  Erdogan 
pointed to the Iraqi example, and noted that the Middle East 
could not stand a new crisis.  Weekend papers comment that 
Iran ignored Erdogan's warnings.  Sabah said Ahmadinejad 
said the US had no right to meddle in Iranian affairs and 
that Iran had the right to defend itself. Erdogan reportedly 
said the request for the meeting had come from the Iranian 
side. 
 
Erdogan's Weekend Visit to Diyarbakir 
All papers:  In the mainly Kurdish southeastern city of 
Diyarbakir to participate in a party congress over the 
weekend, Prime Minister Erdogan said Turkey will not give in 
to terrorism.  Erdogan strongly criticized the PKK terrorist 
organization, saying that they used children in rallies in 
Diyarbakir and bombed children in Hakkari, referring to last 
week's PKK attack on a bus carrying the children of Turkish 
military officers which injured 11 school children.  Erdogan 
stressed that while continuing the fight against terrorism, 
the government would also continue its efforts for economic 
development and democratic openness in the region.  Papers 
say that Erdogan, failing to draw crowds during a previous 
visit to Diyarbakir last year, this time made a "show of 
force" by gathering 20,000 at the AKP congress despite calls 
by the "PKK mouthpiece" Roj TV to boycott the gathering. 
Milliyet says that Erdogan had "softened" his earlier 
remarks in the city, and that he had used the word "Kurdish" 
only once.  Papers also report that the trial of 94 children 
charged with involvement in the protest rallies following 
the funerals of four PKK members on March 28 will begin on 
Monday. 
 
Lagendijk Calls for More Kurdish Rights in Diyarbakir 
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Cumhuriyet, Radikal and others: 
Turkish-European Union Joint Parliament Commission Co- 
Chairman Joost Lagendijk said at the "Civil Rights in the 
Southeast Turkey" conference in Diyarbakir on Saturday that 
 
ANKARA 00002529  002 OF 003 
 
 
there was no place for violence in the struggle for Kurdish 
rights.  Lagendijk told the press he will urge the ruling AK 
Party government to speed up reforms to improve rights in 
the region.  Lagendijk noted that he had great difficulty in 
understanding why regional television and radio broadcasts 
in Kurdish were limited to 45 minutes a day and four days a 
week, stressing that he expected progress on the issue. 
 
Kurds Approve a Single Government in Northern Iraq 
All papers:  In Erbil over the weekend, the regional 
parliament in northern Iraq unanimously approved the 
establishment of a single government for the Kurd- 
administered region.  Necirvan Barzani from the Kurdistan 
Democratic Party (KDP) was chosen to be the prime minister 
of the new government, with Omar Fattah from the Patriotic 
Union of Kurdistan (PUK) as his deputy.  The KDP and KYB 
will be given 11 ministries each out of the total of 27 in 
the new administration, and the remaining five ministries 
are to be shared among the smaller parties. 
 
Ferai Tinc, commenting in Hurriyet, observes that the PKK in 
Iraq poses a serious threat to Iraq's stability. Tinc 
explains that while northern Iraq is in the process of 
establishing itself, the PKK is accelerating terrorist 
activities against Turkey and Iran, calling this "a bad sign 
for the future of northern Iraq."  Noting that the policy of 
the PKK is to "impose Kurdish nationalism, rooted in the 
Baath style of governing, by force on Turkey, Iraq and the 
entire region, Tinc argues that "given the consequences of 
Baath-style Arab nationalism" it is not difficult to 
conclude that it will lead to "oppressive totalitarian 
regimes and pave the way for international interventions." 
 
Turkey Recalls its Ambassador to Canada 
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Cumhuriyet, Radikal, Yeni Safak and 
others:  Turkish Ambassador to Ottawa Aydemir Erman had been 
recalled to Ankara for "consultations," a move regarded by 
Turkish papers as retaliation against the statements of the 
Canadian Prime Minister in support of Armenian genocide 
claims.  Papers claim that Ankara was preparing to chill 
ties with Canada and to ban Canadian companies from Turkish 
state auctions, and that similar measures would be applied 
to France. 
 
TV News 
(NTV, 8.00 a.m.) 
 
Domestic News 
- Turkish Parliament's justice commission will debate the 
new anti-terror bill on May 10.  Justice Minister Cemil 
Cicek said that the controversial Article 6 of the bill 
would not be scrapped. 
 
International News 
- On Sunday, two car bombs rocked northern Baghdad while 
another struck a Shiite holy city to the south in attacks 
that killed at least 33 and wounded 78 others. 
 
- The Palestinian Authority President Abbas and Prime 
Minister Haniya have failed to come up with a plan to ease a 
financial crisis that threatens to bankrupt the Hamas-led 
government. 
 
Economy News 
- Deputy PM Abdullatif Sener said according to 2004 figures, 
18 million people in Turkey live below the poverty line. 
 
 
 Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
 
 
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  http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON