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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 005569 
 
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 22, 2006 
 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Charges against Safak for "Insulting Turkishness" Dropped 
All papers report an Istanbul court on Thursday dropped charges 
against author Elif Safak for denigrating Turkish identity" in her 
latest novel, "The Bastard of Istanbul."  The ruling said 
substantial evidence was lacking.  "I'm very happy with the outcome 
but as long as Article 301 is out there, there will be many other 
cases like this," Safak said. 
 
Prime Minister Erdogan also welcomed the verdict, signaling that the 
government would consider amending Article 301 of Turkey's penal 
code which envisages up to three years in jail for "denigrating 
Turkish national identity."  The European Commission welcomed the 
decision to acquit Safak, but said Turkish law still threatened free 
speech.  Joost Lagendijk, co-chairman of the Turkey-European Union 
Joint Parliamentary Commission, said regardless of the outcome, 
every case filed was a victory for the opponents of the European 
Union in Turkey. 
 
After the hearing, a small group of protesters condemned Safak, 
forcing riot police to move in to stop scuffles between nationalists 
and leftists outside the courthouse. 
 
Writing in the Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak, Mehmet Ocaktan argues 
that the problem is not Article 301 itself but the nationalists and 
politicians who enable them to bring charges under the law: "It is a 
big relief to see Elif Safak's acquittal, but this doesn't guarantee 
that prosecutors won't file similar cases.  If Turkey was a normal 
democratic country, maybe this article would never be mentioned. 
Italy has a similar law but, so far, no one has ever been tried 
because of their opinions under this article.  This is mainly 
because Italians do not have lawyers like Kemal Kerincsiz, the 
nationalistic lawyer who initiated many such cases and follows the 
authors and poets around like a detective.  Of course, the greatest 
hurdle on the path to democratization and Article 301 is those 
politicians who have a Kerincsiz-like mentality.  It seems that a 
'nationalistic wave' is on the rise in Turkey's politics. 
Opposition party leaders Baykal and Bahceli are the political 
partners of Kerincsiz.  I believe the first thing to be done is to 
save Article 301 from the hands of Kerincsiz and his political 
partners." 
 
CHP Blocks Non-Muslim Schools Bill 
All papers say changes in a bill regulating education in non-Muslim 
minority schools have been suspended over complaints of the 
opposition CHP that the new regulations would be used to pave the 
way for the reopening of the Halki Seminary.  Earlier this week the 
ruling AK Party government made an attempt to change the definition 
of "minority schools."  Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) officials 
told Radikal that the regulation had been planned as a good-will 
gesture for 40,000 Armenians as well as foreign diplomats and 
businessmen living in Turkey.  The government was forced to pull 
back the motion when CHP lawmakers charged that the bill would pave 
the way for reopening Halki Seminary in Istanbul.  According to 
current regulations, only minority nationals of Turkey have access 
to minority schools in Turkey.  A decision regarding minority 
regulations will be made when Foreign Minister Gul returns home 
after wrapping up talks in the US. 
 
CHP leader Deniz Baykal warned the AKP government to respect the 
Lausanne Treaty, likening the planned reforms to the concessions 
demanded in the Treaty of Sevres for dividing Turkey.  Radikal slams 
the opposition for manipulating sensitivity over the Lausanne Treaty 
in an effort to oppose the reforms planned by the government. 
Several academics told the press that the Lausanne Treaty did not 
refer specifically to the Greek, Armenian and Jewish minorities, but 
to "non-Muslims" in Turkey, stressing that the treaty allowed 
non-Muslim schools and Halki Seminary. 
 
ANKARA 00005569  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
Al-Qadi Controversy 
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Yeni Safak and 
others: A US diplomat told Sabah on condition of anonymity that 
Washington had welcomed the Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) decision 
to appeal against the ruling of the Council of State (Danistay) on 
Saudi financier Yasin al-Qadi, but was equally disappointed with a 
later decision to withdraw the appeal.  During an upcoming meeting 
in early October, President Bush will express to Erdogan the US 
uneasiness with the Danistay decision to scrap a government decree 
freezing the assets of al-Qadi in Turkey, reminding the PM that the 
Saudi busnessman is on the UN terror list.  On Thursday, Ambassador 
Ross Wilson commented that UN decisions are binding for all members. 
 
 
Gul Meets Rice in New York 
All papers report Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, in New York to 
attend the 61st UN General Assembly meetings, met with Secretary 
Rice on Thursday to discuss peace in Middle East, Iran, Iraq, 
Lebanon and Turkey's EU process.  Gul told Rice that Kirkuk was not 
a "Turkish-Kurdish problem," adding that negative developments in 
Kirkuk would negatively affect all of Iraq.  Papers say Rice made 
Gul no new promises concerning fighting against the PKK.  On 
Thursday, Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) spokesman Namik Tan said 
the visits to the US of Turkish farming and state ministers, Mehdi 
Eker and Kursad Tuzmen, and the appointment of Ralston as the 
special US envoy for combating terrorism had been concrete moves 
coming out of the strategic vision document. 
 
Editorial Commentary: UN Reforms 
 
Columnist Sami Kohen, writing in the mainstream Milliyet, calls for 
UN reform:  "The structure of the UN is outdated.  The organization 
was established at the end of World War II by 50 countries, 
including Turkey.  Today, the UN has 192 members.  In recent years, 
we have seen several times that the UN has been unable to resolve 
international disagreements, and end attacks and clashes.  In many 
cases, the organization was even inefficient in extending 
humanitarian aid.  Everyone agrees that the UN needs reforms. 
However, there is no consensus over the kind of reforms that should 
be applied to the UN.  To put it another way, the UN is unable to 
unite even to decide its own future.   Last year, during the 60th 
anniversary of the UN, some basic agreements were reached regarding 
necessary reforms.  Priority should be given to the reforms to 
answer today's needs, as soon as possible." 
 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV (8 a.m.) 
 
Domestic News 
 
- UNHCR Turkey said Greek coastal security forces had violated 
international laws and EU norms by leaving illegal immigrants 
offshore from the Turkish coast, noting that Turkish officials 
sometimes had been acting in the same way. 
 
- Mehmet Ali Agca, the hitman who attempted to kill Pope John Paul 
II in 1981, warned Pope Benedict XVI in a letter not to visit Turkey 
because his life would be at risk. 
 
- Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas said car owners might be charged an 
annual fee of 100 lira for parking their cars on streets. 
 
International News 
 
- Iraqi President Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) said 
Turkish forces situated along the border had been shelling the town 
of Dohuk in northern Iraq. 
 
 
ANKARA 00005569  003 OF 003 
 
 
- An opinion poll commissioned by the Bertelsmann Foundation, a 
German think tank, shows 37 percent of those surveyed across the EU 
believe Turkey will join the EU in the next 15 years. 
 
- Kosovo parliament has adopted a proposal to make Turkish the 
official language in the southern municipality of Prizren. 
 
- Authorities found the beheaded body of Turkish engineer Mustafa 
Asimi who was abducted in Afghanistan last month. 
 
 
  Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON