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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 005264 
 
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, SEPTEMBER 13, 2006 
 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Bomb Kills 10 in Diyarbakir 
A bomb blast killed 10 people, including six children, on Tuesday 
evening near a park in the mainly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir.  The 
explosion was triggered by a mobile phone.  There was no immediate 
claim of responsibility.  The explosion came only one day after 
Turkey's main Kurdish political party DTP called on the PKK to 
declare a ceasefire unilaterally. 
 
European Parliament Hosts PKK Conference 
All papers report some PKK members held a press conference in the 
European Parliament under the auspices of EU lawmakers, issuing 
calls for the release of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the 
PKK.  EU Parliament member and ethnic Kurd Feleknaz Uca has called 
on the PKK to announce a ceasefire, and for talks between the sides 
for a settlement.  A top PKK official in Europe Ahmet Gulabi Dere 
stressed the organization would not give up its armed struggle. 
Meanwhile, more than 200 Turkish and Kurdish intellectuals, former 
parliamentarians, and lawyers and doctors from the southeast issued 
yesterday the "strongest" call on the PKK to lay down arms 
unconditionally.  Cumhuriyet predicts that the PKK, losing 
grassroots support, was preparing to accept a ceasefire call that 
had been made by Turkey's main Kurdish party DTP soon. 
 
Ralston in Ankara for Talks on the PKK 
All papers report the US Special Envoy for Countering the PKK, 
retired General Joseph Ralston, arrived in Ankara on Tuesday to hold 
talks today with the Prime Minister, Turkish General Staff (TGS,) 
intelligence officials, and his counterpart Edip Baser.  Papers 
expect the Turks to tell Ralston that Turkey will not send 
additional troops to Afghanistan while the PKK threat continued in 
the country.  Cumhuriyet says Ankara would ask Ralston to handover 
to Turkey the PKK terrorists sought by Interpol.  Zaman reports that 
three-party meetings for fighting the PKK could be resumed after the 
visit of Ralston to Turkey.  Several papers report the ruling AK 
Party government waited until the last minute to appoint retired 
general Edip Baser as Ralston's counterpart.  Cumhuriyet says the 
Turkish military had been uneasy with the idea of  PKK coordinators, 
fearing such a mechanism could pave the way for holding talks with 
the terrorist organization.  On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Abdullah 
Gul told the press before traveling to attend an intercultural 
meeting in Paris that Washington had been expected to take more 
meaningful steps against the PKK.  Zaman reports Gul as saying that 
even if backed by no one, Turkey would still do whatever necessary 
to beat the PKK problem. 
 
Yalcin Dogan argued in the mass appeal Hurriyet that the appointment 
of PKK "coordinators" will lead to the "politicization of the PKK": 
 "The US appointed a coordinator for the PKK despite the fact that 
the Turkish military, the MFA and the President were all against 
such an appointment.  This appointment unleashes the US short- and 
long-term intentions regarding the PKK issue.  The concept of the 
coordinator implies someone who acts as mediator or a problem 
solver.  Here the US wants to establish coordination with a terror 
organization.  However, Retired General Edip Baser, who was named 
the coordinator for the Turkish side was quoted as objecting to this 
term and explained his mission as coordinator in the fight against 
terrorism.  It is obvious that once we use the words 'PKK 
coordinator' to define this mission, it will end up with the 
politicization of the PKK.   Americans had better not use the term 
'PKK Coordinator.'" 
 
Mehmet Ali Birand, optimistic about the appointment of the special 
envoys, suggests in the tabloid Posta that the PKK problem is "not 
something that can be solved solely through military means": "What 
will these two retired generals do?  The special coordinators will 
talk about politics. The PKK problem is not something that can be 
solved solely through military means. I believe this development 
will lead to a new era. The US will be able to better understand 
 
ANKARA 00005264  002 OF 003 
 
 
Turkey's sensitivities as well as its ability to wage an 
antiterrorism campaign. Turkey, on the other hand, will see what the 
real intentions of the United States are and how much the two 
countries can cooperate.  A solution depends on both Turkish and 
regional developments. There is a need for political, cultural, 
economic and social reforms.  We looked at the matter from a solely 
security-related perspective at a time when even the military was 
warning that security measures alone cannot be the solution. 
Nothing has been done to find ways to win over the region's people. 
The media, the government and NGOs just stood silently by and did 
nothing. Even the tiniest of measures were seen as treason. We 
transformed our funerals into party rallies. We always blamed 
outside powers for what was happening.  This dangerous escalation 
took us to the state of affairs we face today.  There is only one 
way to escape this vicious circle. All state institutions must come 
together and prepare a joint long-term policy. If not, it will be 
harder to escape this trap." 
 
Brits Express Support for Turkey in EU 
Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal report British Prime Minister Blair said 
Turkey's exclusion from the EU would make "earthquake-like 
repercussions" across the world.  British minister for European 
affairs, Geoffrey Hoon, said French Interior Minister Sarkozy's 
statement that Turkey should be kept out of the European bloc was 
one meant for domestic political consumption before the upcoming 
general elections in the country.  Papers also cite the British 
Guardian as saying the West needed Turkey, but that European leaders 
broke Turkey's enthusiasm to join the bloc. 
 
cientific American to Give Turkey Supplement inJanuary 
Turkiye reports Ambassador Ross Wilson told an Istanbul gathering to 
celebrate a special Turkey supplement in the January 2007 issue of 
Scientific American that Turkey and the United States should act 
together to beat terrorism.  Prime Minister Erdogan's advisor Egemen 
Bagis, the journal's editor Bruce Brandon, and Bilkent University 
Rector Ali Dogramaci were among the participants in the meeting held 
yesterday at the Ciragan Palace in Istanbul. 
 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV (7 A.M.) 
 
Domestic News 
 
- Demonstrators laid a black wreath at the US Embassy in Ankara to 
protest the September 12, 1980 military takeover in Turkey. 
 
- In a meeting with German Integration Minister Maria Bohmer, Prime 
Minister Erdogan denounced culture tests conducted in the country 
for Muslims who want to acquire German nationality. 
 
- Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is to visit Paris as the guest of 
President Jacques Chirac on September 12-14.  Gul will take part in 
a conference on "Dialog between Peoples and Cultures" sponsored by 
the French Foreign Ministry. 
 
- Turkey, for the first time, reported a budget surplus in the first 
eight months of the year. 
 
International News 
 
- Several terrorists tried to blow up a vehicle outside the US 
Embassy in Damascus on Tuesday morning; three attackers were killed 
in fighting with Embassy guards. 
 
- Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said the Palestinian government must 
fulfill the conditions set by the international community -- 
renouncing violence and recognizing Israel's right to exist. 
 
- Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki met Iran's President Ahmadinejad in 
 
ANKARA 00005264  003 OF 003 
 
 
his first state visit to Iran.  The two leaders issued messages for 
cooperation. 
 
- Kurdish students burned an Iraqi flag during protests in front of 
the regional Kurdish Parliament in Erbil. 
 
- Addressing the nation on the anniversary of 9/11, President Bush 
made it clear that he would not allow a nuclear-armed Iran. 
 
- Many of the NATO countries have ignored an urgent NATO request for 
reinforcement in fighting a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan. 
 
  Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON