VZCZCXRO6157
OO RUEHDA
DE RUEHAK #2970/01 1441432
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 241432Z MAY 06 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5857
RUEKJCS/CJCS WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC//PA
RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU
INFO RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS 7213
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 0580
RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 0788
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 5288
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 4995
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1614
RUEUITH/DET 1 39LG ANKARA 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 04 ANKARA 002970 
 
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 
WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 2006 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Turkish, Greek Fighter Jets Collide over Aegean Sea 
All papers report that a Greek pilot was killed yesterday 
after his fighter jet collided with a Turkish F-16 during a 
dogfight over the southern Aegean Sea.  The Turkish pilot 
was rescued after ejecting from his aircraft.  The Greek 
Defense Ministry said the Greek F-16 had been dispatched to 
intercept the Turkish jet because it had violatedGreek 
airspace, while the Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) claimed 
the crash was caused by a Geek fighter interfering in 
Turkish maneuves in 'international airspace.'  Foreign 
Minister Gul conveyed Turkey's condolences to his Greek 
counterpart in a telephone conversation, and the two agreed 
the incident would not affect bilateral ties, the MFA said 
in a statement.  Turkey's Chief of General Staff General 
Hilmi Ozkok also called his Greek counterpart immediately 
after the collision.  NTV reports that NATO sources 
essentially confirmed the Turks' version of events, and 
acknowledged that the Greek pilot had been at fault. Both 
sides reportedly agreed to establish a commission to discuss 
the issue of Aegean airspace in order to avoid such 
incidents in the future. 
 
Turkish High Court Attack Investigation Continues 
All papers report that lawyer Alparslan Aslan, the suspected 
assassin of a Council of State judge, said he did not 
receive an order to carry out the attack from Muzaffer 
Tekin, a retired army captain who is under investigation in 
connection with last week's shooting in which four other 
judges were also wounded.  Tekin, the suspected ringleader 
in the attack, was found to have ties to a state-linked 
crime ring that came to light in the Susurluk scandal in 
¶1996.  According to police sources, the Council of State 
shooting incident has essentially been solved, but the 'key 
powers' behind the attack are still shrouded in darkness. 
Experts referred to the assailant as a professional hitman. 
Turkish police chief Gokhan Aydiner said the attacks against 
the Council of State and Cumhuriyet daily were carried out 
by an 'illegal network,' but he declined to elaborate 
further.  Many commentators, especially but not only in the 
Islamist-oriented press, believe the attacks were part of an 
operation to destabilize Turkey in a plot to force the 
ruling AK Party to go to early elections and thus influence 
the election of a new president that is scheduled to take 
place in the first half of next year.  Deputy Prime Minister 
Mehmet Ali Sahin said in televised remarks yesterday that 
the illegal network might be a holdover of the 'Gladio-type' 
paramilitary organizations formed within NATO member 
countries during the Cold War.  Sahin, the first official to 
make such a statement, expressed hope that the recent 
attacks will help eliminate the 'Turkish Gladio' in the way 
that most other NATO countries have already eliminated such 
structures.  On Wednesday, Prime Minister Erdogan is 
expected to address his party group about the incident. 
 
Wolfowitz on Council of State Attack, Turkish Economy 
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Radikal, Yeni Safak and others report 
World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz as telling a Brookings 
Institute panel meeting that the deadly attack on the 
Council of State aimed to disrupt Turkey's unity in which 
'secularism and the respect for religion have lived side by 
side for a long time.'  Wolfowitz also warned Turkey to 
follow through on IMF economic guidance to ensure future 
growth.  'I think there is no substitute for continued 
monetary and fiscal discipline.  When you've had crippling 
inflation for so long, it's no surprise that there are fears 
it could come back.  Recent cautions in the IMF report are a 
reminder that these reforms are necessary for Turkey's 
 
ANKARA 00002970  002 OF 004 
 
 
growth,' Wolfowitz said. 
 
Mermoud Visits Ankara to Break Russian Monopoly on Natural 
Gas 
Sabah reports that US Special Representative Frank Mermoud 
paid a visit to Ankara as part of his 'shuttle diplomacy' 
tour in the region to discuss plans for pipelines to 
transport Caspian natural gas to European markets through 
Turkey.  Secretary Rice urged during her recent visit to 
Ankara that Russia be excluded from projects to carry 
Azerbaijani, Turkmen and Kazakh natural gas to Europe as 
part of a US-led effort to find alternatives to Russia's 
near-monopoly in gas distribution.  Mermoud had lunch with 
the state-owned BOTAS pipeline company and Turkish Energy 
Ministry officials who do not want to limit Turkey's role to 
being a mere transit country, but are planning to develop a 
conceptual framework to sell to third countries as well. 
Mermoud moved on to the Caucasus after wrapping up his 
meetings in Ankara yesterday.  (Editor's note:  In fact, 
Mermoud visited Ankara several weeks ago.  End note.) 
 
Israel's Livni, Russia's Lavrov to Visit Turkey 
Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Yeni Safak:  Israeli Foreign Minister 
Tzipi Livni is to pay a three-day state visit to Ankara from 
May 28-June 1, during which she will discuss Iran's nuclear 
program and economic assistance to Palestine with Prime 
Minister Erdogan and Foreign Minister Gul.  Russian Foreign 
Minister Ivanov will travel to Ankara May 31-June 1 to talk 
with Turkish leaders on bilateral issues as well as Tehran's 
nuclear aspirations. 
 
Ankara Prepares New Cyprus Peace Plan 
Cumhuriyet says that, dispirited by the outcome of the Greek 
Cypriot general elections, UNSYG Annan will not launch a new 
initiative on Cyprus.  The paper adds that Turkey has 
started to prepare a new plan for peace on the divided 
island.  According to the new plan, the Turkish Cypriots 
will decide in a 'Montenegro-type' referendum whether they 
want reunification or independence; if the Turks reject 
reunification, Ankara will take the Cyprus problem to the UN 
and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). 
 
Amnesty International 2006 Report 
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Cumhuriyet, Radikal, Zaman and 
others carry excerpts from the Amnesty International (AI) 
2006 report on human rights violations across the globe. 
The report's section on Turkey highlights continuing 
problems in the areas of freedom of expression, torture, the 
rule of law, and imprisonment for conscientious objection. 
The report also claims that the reform process in Turkey has 
slowed over the past year. 
 
 
Editorial Comments 
 
The Picture of Turkey as Viewed from Washington 
Asli Aydintasbas wrote from Washington in the mass appeal 
Sabah (5/24):  "I am in Washington for the annual Sabanci 
conference, but today I am going to write about the 
atmosphere in Washington as it relates to Turkey.  Leaving 
the Hamas visit, the Rice visit and the murder of a high 
court judge behind us, what is Washington's view about the 
AKP government?  What we can say for sure is that there are 
two different camps in Washington regarding the AKP.  One 
group sees the glass as half-empty, particularly in light of 
the March 1 decision.  According to this group, the Islamic 
tendency within the AKP government is the main reason for 
the damaged relations.  Although the Hamas visit to Ankara 
has almost been forgotten, it is noticeable that the Jewish 
lobby will never let the issue go.  Also, issues like 
 
ANKARA 00002970  003 OF 004 
 
 
secularism and the presidential election in Turkey are 
followed closely here.  I got the signal from high-level US 
officials that if Turkey's next president could keep good 
relations with the government and have a wife who doesn't 
wear a headscarf, tension will be defused in US-Turkey 
relations.  I keep hearing Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul's 
name as this group's choice for the next president of 
Turkey.  Now let me move on to the optimistic group.  This 
group believes that, despite all the negatives, United 
States must be careful not to lose Turkey.  This sentiment 
is mainly felt at the State Department.  The optimistic 
group believe that even though the US cannot trust Turkey as 
before, the Americans will need Turkey in the future on a 
variety of issues, including Iran.  Therefore, the US-Turkey 
relationship should not be damaged further.  Although the 
optimistic group is in a minority, the fact that Secretary 
Rice is part of this group means it has more influence in 
the decision-making mechanism.  This is the atmosphere Prime 
Minister Erdogan will face in Washington if he travels there 
this summer." 
 
Serbia-Montenegro's Civilized Separation 
Sami Kohen observed in the mainstream daily Milliyet (2/24): 
"After a public referendum, Montenegro announced its 
independence from Serbia in a very civilized way.  The 
Montenegro example shows the world that it is not always 
possible for people with different national identities to 
live together under a single authority.  In the Soviet Union 
and ex-Yugoslavia, the peoples' will for independence mainly 
came from the different ethnic, national and religious 
groups.  The population of Montenegro is only 650,000.  Will 
it be possible to have a viable state with such a small 
population?  Well, there are states in the world that are 
even smaller than Montenegro, like Luxembourg and Malta. 
Montenegro, a paradise for tourism, has long-term 
aspirations to become a member of the EU.  According to some 
officials, Montenegro could become a member within 5-6 
years.  All of this got me to think again about the Cyprus 
issue. If the Greek Cypriots do not want to live together 
with Turks on the Island, couldn't they separate in the same 
way Montenegro separated from Serbia?  Because he seeks to 
rule the whole island, naturally Papadopulos won't agree to 
such a separation.  But while it is celebrating the 
independence of Montenegro, what would the EU say to this 
idea?" 
 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV (7 a.m.) 
 
Domestic News 
 
- Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin said the 
government's top priority is unemployment, not the headscarf 
issue.  'It would be wrong for us to give priority to the 
headscarf issue, which has been a problem for only 1.5 
percent of the population according to polls we have 
conducted,' Sahin said. 
 
- Main opposition CHP leader Deniz Baykal said statements by 
government officials in support of secularism are designed 
to disguise the real intentions of the ruling AK Party. 
 
International News 
 
- On Tuesday, Prime Minister Erdogan was received by 
Algerian President Bouteflika. The the two sides signed a 
friendship and cooperation agreement later in the day.  The 
visit of Erdogan to Algeria is the first by a Turkish Prime 
Minister in 21 years. 
 
ANKARA 00002970  004 OF 004 
 
 
 
- A bomb detonated outside a Shiite mosque in Baghdad, 
killing at least 11 and wounding several others. 
 
- Pro-Serbia groups demanded a recount of votes in 
Montenegro's referendum on independence from Serbia, while 
Serbian President Tadic said Belgrade has accepted the 
outcome of the vote. 
 
- Thousands of Iranian Azeris gathered on the streets of 
Tabriz and clashed with police as they protested against a 
cartoon in a state-controlled daily which depicts an Azeri 
boy being insulted by an Iranian child.  The protest 
prompted the closure of the newspaper and the imprisonment 
of its managers. 
 
 
 Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
 
  http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON