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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 005016 
 
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, AUGUST 31, 2006 
 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Victory Day Celebrations 
All papers reported that the 84th anniversary of Victory day was 
celebrated yesterday throughout the country, in the Turkish Republic 
of Cyprus (TRNC) and in Turkish communities throughout the world. 
The new Chief of General Staff General Buyukanit hosted a reception 
at the Gazi Orduevi.  Milliyet reports that, at the reception, Land 
Forces Commander General Ilker Basbug told journalists that acts of 
the PKK terrorist organization would not stop all at once and that 
its financial sources should be cut off.  He ruled out issuance of a 
general amnesty.  Responding to a question regarding the US 
assigning a PKK coordinator, Gen. Basbug said that '"Turkey and the 
US are still not on the same page regarding the separatist 
organization.  This issue has not shaped up yet, be patient.  In the 
coming days it will become clear.  One should not kill every step 
right at the beginning.  Developments should be evaluated."  Aksam 
reports that at the reception, General Buyukanit, Prime Minister 
Erdogan and Foreign Minister Gul discussed troop deployment to 
Lebanon.  Yeni Safak quotes US Ambassador Ross Wilson as saying at 
the reception that the PKK will not be taken as an interlocutor and 
it is out of question that Special Envoy Ralston would sit at the 
same table with the PKK. 
 
Parliament to Vote for Troop Deployment on September 5 
Hurriyet, Sabah, Milliyet, Yeni Safak, Cumhuriyet and others: 
Today's papers report that the AKP Government is expected to forward 
the motion for troop deployment in Lebanon to the Parliament today. 
Sabah reports that the motion will not mention the number of troops 
but will note that Turkish troops will stay in Lebanon for one year. 
 The motion will be taken to the parliament general assembly on 
Tuesday, September 5, on the same day UN Secretary General Kofi 
Annan comes to Turkey.  Cumhuriyet reports that EU sources told the 
paper that Turkey's active military and political role in Lebanon 
would have positive impact on its EU entry process. 
 
Praising the decision to deploy troops, columnist Cengiz Candar 
commented in the conservative Bugun: "Of all the participants in the 
peacekeeping forces, Turkey holds a unique position, carrying with 
it every justification for its involvement in the force.  Besides 
being a part of the Mediterranean, Turkey is a part of the NATO 
collective security system as well as a part of the transatlantic 
system.  In other words, given all of these characteristics, Turkey 
cannot simply say 'Lebanon is not my business.'  By moving forward 
on the deployment of troops in Lebanon, Turkey has positioned itself 
with a global dimension which it really deserves.  Unless you are an 
archaic leftist, an Islamist, obsessed with political Islam's 
victory in the Middle East, or are a rigid nationalist, there is no 
need to be disturbed by the decision to send troops." 
 
US Assistant Secretary Dan Fried Comments on Terrorism 
Milliyet reporting on an interview conducted by CNN-Turk, writes 
that US State Department Assistant Secretary Dan Fried urged Masoud 
Barzani to end the PKK presence in Northern Iraq by saying that "it 
is the responsibility of the Kurdish Administration in Iraq not to 
allow PKK to take shelter on its soil, nothing can justify this." 
Fried also said that Turkey will notice soon an increased 
coordination and precautions on the PKK issue. 
 
US State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey on PKK and Special 
Envoy 
Sabah, Yeni Safak, Zaman and others:  Speaking at the Daily Press 
Briefing, the US State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey said 
that the US has long considered the PKK a terrorist group and 
underlined the importance of coordination to eliminate the PKK 
threat by saying that it is something that "requires work by all 
parts of our governments, not only from the political or diplomatic 
side, but also from the side of coordination among our security 
forces.  General Ralston is very well qualified both to work the 
political aspects of this as well as the security dimensions of the 
 
ANKARA 00005016  002 OF 002 
 
 
problem." Responding to a question whether US Special PKK envoy 
Ralston would hold talks with the PKK, spokesman Casey said that the 
special envoy will coordinate efforts between the US, Turkey and 
Iraq and that it was "out of question for us to hold talks with the 
PKK or any other terrorist organization." 
 
Columnist Mustafa Balbay of the leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet 
remains skeptical about the appointment: "Despite reassuring 
statements from Washington, the real life situation of the PKK 
indicates more difficult days ahead for Turkey.  First of all, the 
US is well aware of the fact that the PKK is a primary force in 
northern Iraq even stronger than the Barzani and Talabani forces. 
The PKK will not take orders from them.  The actual coordination 
process will lead to a negotiation with the Iraqi administration 
which will turn into making contact with the PKK one way or the 
other.  There is another significant development following the 
announcement of the US special envoy on the PKK.  The PKK is very 
pleased with the appointment because it hopes to sit at the table 
with Turkey.  And who provides such hope you may wonder?  The US." 
 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV, 7.00 A.M. 
Domestic News 
 
Q NGOs in Turkey ready to stage protests against government decision 
on troop deployment in Lebanon 
Q Tensions escalate during August 30 celebrations in Istanbul when a 
group of activists, attempting to protest the government decision to 
send soldiers to Lebanon, are mistaken by the crowd for PKK 
sympathizers 
Q One person was injured in explosion in a rubbish container in 
Mersin 
 
 
International News 
 
Q UN Secretary General Kofi Annan demanded yesterday that Israel 
lift its air and sea blockade of Lebanon, but Israel rejected the 
call 
Q 53 people die in bomb attacks in Iraq. 
Q Five Palestinians died in a continuing Israeli offensive in the 
Gaza Strip 
 
  Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON