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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 005202 
 
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 
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2006 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Turkey Names Retired General as PKK Coordinator 
Cumhuriyet, Radikal, Zaman, Yeni Safak report that Turkey has named 
retired general Edip Baser as the PKK special coordinator, following 
the appointment of former NATO Commander General Joseph Ralston by 
the US Administration for the same job.  President Sezer approved 
the appointment.  Papers claim Baser will meet with Ralston during 
his visit to Turkey on September 13. 
 
Buyukanit Turns Down NATO Call for ISAF Reinforcement in 
Afghanistan 
All papers report General Yasar Buyukanit, the chief of the Turkish 
General Staff (TGS) said in response to NATO calls for more troops 
from member countries that Turkey would send "not a single soldier" 
to Afghanistan. "We assumed the command of ISAF twice in the past. 
Our duty in the Kabul regional command is also continuing.  In the 
future, Turkey will continue to contribute to NATO within this 
framework," Buyukanit said.  Turkish papers reported top NATO 
commander US General James Jones as calling on allied countries to 
send reinforcements to restive southern Afghanistan to fight against 
the Taliban.  On Turkey's participation in the peacekeeping force in 
Lebanon, he said Turkish civilian personnel would go to Lebanon to 
provide humanitarian aid, and that they must be protected.  "We are 
actually going to Lebanon to protect our own nationals, and we will 
assume no duty other than that," said Buyukanit. 
 
Kamuran Ozbir argues in the nationalist Ortadogu that Turkish 
participation in UNIFIL inevitably means that Turkey will be drawn 
into a war: "With the aim of eliminating Hezbollah, Israel, as a 
proxy for the US, will re-start the war in Lebanon. It is a huge 
possibility that during this second round, by hitting certain 
targets, Israel will spread the war to Syria as well.  UN Resolution 
1701 is worded in favor of the US and Israel.  And the UN force to 
be deployed in Lebanon is going to protect these two countries 
interests in there.  What does this mean?  Since Turkey's has 
decided on participation in the UN force, Turkey, involuntarily, 
will be participating in the plan the US started in the Middle East 
with Iraq operation.  When Turkey decided to stay out of the Iraq 
war by the March 1 [2003] motion, we all thought that it was the 
right decision.  Unfortunately, regardless of the purpose, since 
Turkey decided to send troops to Lebanon, we will automatically 
become a part of the war the US is determined to continue. 
Moreover, with a great possibility, Turkey will be involved in armed 
clashes." 
 
Babacan Meets Rehn on Europe Tour 
All papers:  Turkey's chief EU negotiator Ali Babacan met yesterday 
with EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn and other EU officials in 
Brussels. 
Rehn expressed EU concerns over Article 301 of the penal code 
[related to freedom of expression], urging Turkey to amend the 
controversial provision.  Babacan and Rehn discussed the shape of 
Turkey's EU process following the European Parliament Foreign 
Relations Committee's recent approval of a negative draft report on 
Turkey's progress.  Rehn also reiterated an EU call for Turkey to 
meet its obligations by expanding customs union agreement in a way 
to cover EU member Cyprus.  Babacan told the press Turkey believed 
the Cyprus issue should not block EU membership talks with Turkey. 
 
 
Hoagland Approved as US Ambassador to Yerevan 
Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman, Yeni Safak say the 
Armenian lobby suffered a defeat in the US Congress when a Senate 
panel backed the appointment of Richard Hoagland as ambassador to 
Armenia after a heated debate over the withdrawal of the previous 
envoy John Evans who had sparked controversy with references about 
the genocide of Armenians at the hand of Ottoman forces during World 
War I. 
 
 
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Bush Acknowledges Secret Detention Centers 
Hurriyet, Sabah, Yeni Safak report President Bush has acknowledged 
for the first time the existence of secret CIA detention centers in 
a speech at the White House on Wednesday.  Bush noted that 14 top 
terror suspects, including the 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh 
Mohammed and lead operative Ramzi Binalshibh, were interrogated in 
those centers before being transferred to the military prisoner in 
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.  He rejected charges that US applied torture 
during the interrogation of suspects.  Sabah reports analysts said 
the surprise statement by Bush was a tactic aimed to shift attention 
from Iraq to the global struggle against terrorism before the 
upcoming US Congressional elections in November. 
 
Ibrahim Karagul urges the Turkish government to go public regarding 
cooperation with the US over "secret prisons" in the 
Islamist-opinion maker Yeni Safak: "Secretary Rice was lying to the 
entire world when she made a statement last year denying the 
existence of torture planes - even as people were dying in these 
torture centers.  Now President Bush has admitted that there were 
CIA detention centers, which means the US has finally confessed its 
responsibility for a crime against humanity.  Prior to this 
confession, the EU report in fact told the whole story behind the 
CIA torture planes and also named the collaborating countries, 
including Turkey.  On this matter so far we only heard denials from 
Turkish authorities about actual involvement of the Turkish 
airports, Istanbul, Incirlik and Diyarbakir, for the detention 
planes.  The Turkish authorities had better be thinking of changing 
this attitude and becoming transparent on the issue.  While they are 
putting every effort into denying such stories, the US is going to 
admit it eventually anyway.  What happens next, I wonder.  Are we 
going to issue a statement denying what President Bush has admitted? 
 Turkey should act before the US does to make public the details of 
Turkey's involvement in this particular crime against humanity." 
 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV (6 a.m.) 
 
Domestic News 
 
- On Saturday, a Turkish military team headed by Brigadier-General 
Tahir Bekiroglu will travel to Lebanon to examine the area where 
Turkish peacekeepers will be deployed. 
 
- Financial Times says Turkey's parliament has voted to send troops 
to join the international force for Lebanon as it seeks to join the 
EU and to win a seat on the UN Security Council in 2009-2010. 
 
- German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, on a visit to 
Turkey, promised to work together with Ankara to remove the barriers 
in front of Turkey's EU membership drive. 
 
International News 
 
- Israel said it lifted the two-month-long air blockade of Lebanon 
but kept its naval blockade in place until international forces can 
take over. 
 
- US Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International 
Security, Robert Joseph, said the time has come to impose sanctions 
on Tehran, adding Turkey was expected to comply with the UN Security 
Council resolutions in this issue. 
 
- Tony Blair has pledged to step down as Prime Minister within 12 
months in the face of growing criticism calling for him to quit. 
 
 
  Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
ANKARA 00005202  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
WILSON