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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 005442 
 
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 
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2006 
 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Pope Remarks Cause Strong Reaction in Turkey 
All papers report Pope Benedict XVI said on Sunday that he was 
''deeply sorry'' about the Muslim anger caused by his recent remarks 
regarding the concept of holy war (jihad) in Islam and the Prophet 
Muhammad which he made in a university lecture on Tuesday.  "I am 
truly sorry for the reactions caused by a brief passage of my 
speech.  These were quotations from a medieval text that do not 
express in any way my personal opinion," the Pope said.  Turkish 
papers say the Pope has expressed regret, but stopped short of 
apologizing for his statement.  Turkish Religious Directorate 
(Diyanet) head Ali Bardakoglu rejected the Pope's remarks, calling 
them a "third-rate apology."  Radikal says instead of apologizing, 
the Pope merely said his remarks were a quotation.  The 
Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak says the Pope will apologize on 
Wednesday in a detailed statement issued by the Vatican.  Cumhuriyet 
claims the Pope's statement was a "provocation" designed to spark a 
clash of civilizations, opening the way for the US Greater Middle 
East Project. 
 
The Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I said he expected Turkish 
nationalists and Islamic activists to continue pushing for the trip 
the Pope is scheduled to make to Istanbul in late November to be 
cancelled.  However, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told the press on 
Sunday before heading to New York to attend the annual UN General 
Assembly, "From our point of view, there is no question of any 
change in the visit."  Sunday papers reported that Gul had written 
to Benedict XVI urging him not to cancel his visit to Turkey, saying 
it was an important opportunity to foster dialog between different 
cultures. 
 
Columnist Mehmet Barlas, writing in the mass appeal Sabah, says the 
Pope's remarks reflect his "intolerance" and "lack of comprehension" 
of world affairs: "Pope Benedict's recent remarks deserve more pity 
than anger because they reflect his lack of comprehension of world 
affairs and his intolerance.  It is a pathetic situation because he 
became the Pope at a time when the entire world is in most immediate 
need of consensus between civilizations and different cultures. 
However he seems even unaware of the most recent Danish cartoon 
crisis.  Therefore his attempt to express 'regret' does not change 
anything.  The whole thing can be summed up by the slogan: as long 
as the Pope lives in Rome, tolerance lives in a coma." 
 
Writing in the mass appeal Hurriyet, Mehmet Y. Yilmaz comments that 
the Pope's remarks should not be surprising, and that they must be 
"happy news" for President Bush: "The recent incident and growing 
reaction against the Pope proved once again that the Islamic world 
is very vulnerable to provocations.  Let's not forget that the Pope 
is the leader of Catholic Christians and it does not require 
research to learn his basic approach to Islam.  In fact whatever 
Muslim religious figures think of Christians, the same is valid for 
the Pope about Muslims.  In other words there is nothing to be 
surprised about here.  At this point transferring a theological 
argument to the political arena will harm everybody.  Meanwhile the 
growing reaction against the Pope in the Islamic world must be happy 
news for President Bush.  President Bush's strategy to reshape the 
world is melded into the conflict of civilizations argument, and the 
recent controversy only serves this purpose." 
 
Ralston Meets Barzani 
Cumhuriyet, Radikal, Bugun, Zaman and others reported on Sunday 
Joseph Ralston, US special envoy for countering the PKK, has met 
Massoud Barzani, the leader of Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and 
president of the Kurdish Regional Government in northern Iraq, to 
express US uneasiness over the PKK activities in northern Iraq. 
Papers said Ankara had been discomfited by Barzani's offer of 
intermediation to Ralston for resolving the problems with the PKK. 
The main opposition CHP said the Barzani remarks marked the start of 
negotiations with the terror organization. 
 
ANKARA 00005442  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
Rusen Cakir, commenting in the mass appeal Vatan, points out that PM 
Erdogan may come to regret his upcoming trip to Washington if he 
"fails to get something tangible" from President Bush in the fight 
against the PKK: "The US has not taken any concrete step to 
eliminate the PKK presence in northern Iraq despite the ongoing, 
never-ending terrorist acts in Turkey.  This has caused a serious 
and growing anti-Americanism as it comes with three preconceived 
arguments.  First, most believe that Washington has no intention to 
resolve the PKK issue and its main focus is to work for an 
independent Kurdish state in Iraq.  Second, to many the US has no 
intention of making the PKK give up violence by using military 
force.  It is believed that the US wants to achieve this goal by 
forcing the PKK through the political system which, in the end, will 
come to Ankara in the form of some unacceptable demands from 
Washington, such as the release of PKK leader Ocalan from prison. 
Finally, there is a belief that the US intends to push Turkey for 
more radical reforms with the pretext of solving the Kurdish issue 
-- which may lead to a crack in territorial integrity.  If PM 
Erdogan fails to get something tangible from President Bush in the 
fight against PKK, his visit to Washington will be a trip to regret. 
 It is no secret that there are many anti-AKP figures in the US 
capital and they seem to be close to the President." 
 
Sezer Stresses Secularism on First Day in School 
All papers report President Ahmet Necdet Sezer stressed in a message 
in connection with the opening of the new education year the 
importance of honoring Ataturk's principles and secularism in 
education.  Sezer called for the closure of illegal Koran courses in 
Turkey, saying they can damage children with "dogmas and false 
beliefs."  Some 14 million primary and secondary school children go 
back to school today, the first day of a new academic year. 
 
 
TV News: 
(NTV, 7.00 A.M.) 
 
Domestic News 
 
- Turkish Land Forces Commander Ilker Basbug expressed determination 
to eradicate the PKK at a funeral in Van for security officials 
killed in clashes with the terrorist organization. 
 
- Osman Baydemir, the mayor of the mainly Kurdish Diyarbakir, 
rejected charges that  the wireless devices used in early last 
week's deadly Diyarbakir bombings had been similar to the devices 
found in the car of his brother two years ago. 
 
- TUSIAD chairman Omer Sabanci said current deficit and inflation 
levels were very critical indicators for the Turkish economy. 
 
- Guler Sabanci, the chief of Sabanci Holding, told The Observer 
that the West has the wrong perception about her country - that 
women have always been highly regarded in Turkey. 
 
International News 
 
- The Knesset has authorized a war inquiry into the way the Israeli 
government and military handled the Lebanon war. 
 
- Coalition talks between Palestinian President Abbas and the Hamas 
party have stalled over Hamas' refusal to recognize Israel. 
 
- Six bomb attacks across the oil-rich northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk 
killed 25 and wounded another 70. 
 
- Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said Turkey's EU membership 
will be possible only after the recognition of Cyprus. 
 
- Some 7,000 US and Afghan troops launched a renewed push, 
 
ANKARA 00005442  003 OF 003 
 
 
"Operation Mountain Fury," against the Taliban in central and 
eastern Afghanistan. 
 
- The summit meeting of 118 Nonaligned Movement nations in Havana 
urged unconditional talks with Iran to solve the nuclear dispute and 
condemned the Israeli offensive on Lebanon. 
 
  Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON