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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 004626 
 
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, AUGUST 9, 2006 
 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Turks Skeptical of US Efforts Against the PKK 
Cumhuriyet and Vatan report that Inal Batu, a leading lawmaker from 
the opposition CHP, said the US suggestion to appoint a special 
coordinator was a "stalling tactic," just another way to put off 
concrete action against the organization.  Analysts and politicians 
are skeptical of the idea of a "special coordinator," stressing 
that, inspired by "the IRA model," the goal was to transform the PKK 
from a terrorist organization into a political force, pressing 
Turkey to negotiate with the PKK.  Meanwhile, the papers report that 
under growing political and military pressure, the outlawed PKK has 
shifted operations to Turkey's Black Sea region, in a move also 
aimed at boosting the morale of its members.  Papers also report 
that US troops are training in Kuwait for anti-PKK military 
operations on Mount Kandil.  Iran, too, reportedly stepped up 
operations against the PKK. 
 
Writing in the nationalist Ortadogu, Kamuran Ozbir warns of Turkish 
government inattention to the problem, pointing out that the 
appointment of a "special coordinator" is a danger signal in the 
battle against the PPK: "Turkey has been receiving promises from the 
US regarding the PKK since the beginning of the Iraqi war in 2003. 
So far, there have been no concrete results, a situation which the 
AKP government has chosen to ignore. Every country has a unit 
responsible for counter-terrorism.  If one side assigns a special 
envoy, that means some new steps, such as a general amnesty, will be 
taken bilaterally.  Fighting against terrorism should be an 
immediate priority, not a fight spread out over a long time.  With 
the assignment of a special coordinator, the Bush Administration is 
trying to distract Turkey's attention once again.  And, 
unfortunately, our administration is continuing to ignore these 
developments." 
 
Hikmet Bila, commenting in the leftist Cumhuriyet, agrees that the 
need for a "special coordinator" indicates trouble: "The US is going 
to assign a special coordinator to deal with the PKK, supposedly to 
coordinate the fight against the PKK.  This shows that there are no 
channels left between two NATO allies and friends in the fight 
against terrorism.  Obviously, the governments, militaries and the 
embassies were not capable of resolving this issue and they decided 
to assign a coordinator.  The opposition in Turkey has already 
warned the government that this not a good solution and if Turkey 
agrees to it, Turkey will lose out.  Actually, this is an historic 
warning, because Turkish history is full of problems caused by 
special coordinator assignments.  History will be repeating itself 
on the day the US assigns a special coordinator for the PKK in 
Northern Iraq." 
 
Saudi King Abdullah Visits Turkey 
All papers report Saudi King Abdullah came yesterday to Turkey 
accompanied by a 300-member delegation of officials and businessmen. 
 President Ahmet Necdet Sezer hosted a dinner for King Abdullah in 
Ankara at which the ongoing violence in Lebanon was discussed. 
Abdullah said that the "wise" Turkish position vis-`-vis the crisis 
in Lebanon was in line with the position of the Saudi Kingdom.  He 
also said the Middle East should be cleared of nuclear weapons. 
After dinner, the sides signed six agreements to deepen bilateral 
ties, agreeing to double bilateral trade, currently amounting to USD 
2.8 billion.  Reports speculate that Turkey and Saudi Arabia are 
kicking off a period of economic strategic partnership.  Turkey 
offered incentives to encourage Saudi investments in the country. 
Papers claim King Abdullah was interested in making USD 8 billion in 
investments in Istanbul and in constructing a mall containing 
health, sports and shopping facilities.  Abdullah is the first Saudi 
king to pay an official visit to Turkey since the foundation of the 
Kingdom in 1932. 
 
US Transfers Arms from Incirlik Airbase 
 
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Sabah, Milliyet, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, and Yeni Safak claim 15 
truckload of explosives belonging to the US Army were taken to 
Tasucu port near the Mediterranean coastal city of Mersin. Papers 
speculate that the arms were en route to Israel through Incirlik 
Airbase in south Turkey.  Yeni Safak alleges that the shipment 
included GBU-28 bunker buster bombs being sent to Israel by the US. 
US sources, however, have said that the shipments contained 
munitions from Incirlik Airbase being returned to the US. 
 
New Election System to Keep Kurds out of Parliament 
Vatan reports the ruling AK Party is mulling changes in the election 
system to prevent more pro-Kurdish lawmakers from entering the 
parliament.  The AKP is working on a formula to implement a 
threshold for independent candidates.  If the opposition CHP 
supports the draft regulation, independent candidates will have to 
overcome a 2 or 3 percent threshold to win seats in the parliament. 
Vatan says Turkey's main Kurdish party DTP was expecting to win 40 
seats in parliament through candidates running as independents in 
the next general elections, but that the new formula would allow the 
Kurds to get only 5 or 6 seats.  CHP is negative about the proposal, 
says the paper. 
 
US Review of GSP to Hit Turkish Exporters 
Hurriyet, Sabah and Dunya report Turkish exports to the United 
States are at risk because the Bush administration is reviewing 
trade benefits such as duty-free imports for 13 developing 
countries, including Turkey.  US Trade Representative Susan Schwab 
said a meeting at the US Congress on August 7 noted that the least 
developed countries did not benefit from General System of 
Preferences (GSP) and that a review of the existing implementation 
would be announced on September 5.  State Minister Kursad Tuzmen 
said Turkey had USD 1 billion of exports via GSP, and that if taken 
off the list, Turkish exporters would be adversely affected. 
 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV (7 a.m.) 
 
Domestic News 
 
- Turkish Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc has called for the release 
of the speaker of the Palestinian parliament, Aziz Dweik, and 
Palestinian lawmakers under custody in Israel. 
 
- Prime Minister Erdogan will meet today with Iraqi Vice President 
Tariq al-Hashimi, who is visiting Turkey as the guest of Erdogan's 
top foreign policy advisor, Professor Ahmet Davutoglu. 
 
- Eight PKK militants turned themselves in to the security forces in 
the southeastern border province of Sirnak yesterday. 
 
- The Turkish Undersecretariat for Maritime Affairs has announced 
that Turkish beaches are not threatened by an oil slick caused by 
Israel's bombing of a Lebanese power plant. 
 
International News 
 
- Fifty Lebanese civilians have been killed in the latest Israeli 
bombings, including at least 30 in a strike on southern Beirut. 
 
-  King Abdullah of Jordan said the US, Britain and Europe have 
failed to adopt a comprehensive strategy to resolve the problems of 
the Middle East and have caused great concern with regard to the 
future of the region. 
 
- German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the UN 
Security Council could pass this week a resolution to stop fighting 
between Israel and Hezbollah. 
 
 
 
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  Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON