VZCZCXRO9071
OO RUEHDA
DE RUEHAK #5604/01 2681433
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 251433Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8965
RUEKJCS/CJCS WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC//PA
RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU
INFO RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS 7463
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 1340
RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 1138
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 5461
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 5181
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1835
RUEUITH/DET 1 39LG ANKARA TU
RHMFIUU/USDOCO 6ATAF IZMIR TU
RHMFIUU/39OS INCIRLIK AB TU
RHMFIUU/AFOSI DET 523 IZMIR TU
RHMFIUU/39ABG INCIRLIK AB TU
RHMFIUU/AFOSI DET 522 INCIRLIK AB TU
RUEUITH/AFLO ANKARA TU

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 005604 
 
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 25, 2006 
 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Turkish Peacekeepers Due in Lebanon October 20 
Cumhuriyet reports Turkey is to deploy on October 20 a military unit 
to participate in the international force for Lebanon.  The Turkish 
force will be made up of 200-270 military engineers for construction 
of roads and bridges and a 700-strong navy unit for patrolling off 
the Lebanese coast.  Two Turkish majors will command the units and a 
colonel will serve at UNIFIL headquarters in Beirut. 
 
Writing in the conservative Bugun, Cengiz Candar notes that the 
UNIFIL mission will be to rebuild Lebanon without the involvement of 
Iran: "Observing the situation in South Lebanon, there has to be a 
serious effort to reestablish the daily lives of the people with a 
fast rebuilding process.  It certainly looks like the people of 
South Lebanon have no power to engage in a war with Israel at this 
point, and that shows Hezbollah cannot stop UNIFIL in this area. 
Then there is one other question that needs an answer: What will 
Iran do?  Will Tehran give up its influence and power in South 
Lebanon?  Time will show to what extent Lebanon will be rebuilt 
without Iran and without Iran-Syria influence." 
 
Turkish Parliament Delegation to Visit Northern Iraq 
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and others:   A 
Turkish Parliamentary delegation comprised of the ruling and main 
opposition AKP and CHP lawmakers will travel to northern Iraq on 
Tuesday for talks with the Iraqi, American and British officials to 
discuss the status of Kirkuk and developments in Iraq.  AKP MP 
Turhan Comez said that the delegation will meet with the American 
and British consuls general and the governor in Kirkuk, and the 
speaker of the Turkmen Assembly where a Turkmen Friendship Group 
will be established during the three-day visit. 
 
Forced Marriages, Traditions Claim Lives in SE Turkey 
A front page report in liberal/intellectual Radikal says nine 
teenaged girls in the mainly Kurdish southeastern city of Batman 
held a march to protest the death of their friend, the 18-year old 
Saliha Demir, who committed suicide when she was forced to marry a 
60-year-old man who already had two wives.  The group called for an 
end to forced marriages and honor killings which makes Batman "the 
city of women suicides victims." Fifteen women there have killed 
themselves over the past nine months.  On Sunday, NGOs in the border 
city of Hakkari made a joint statement to denounce violence against 
women, saying three girls between the ages of 13 and18 have 
committed suicide due to pressures coming from family and 
traditions. 
 
 
US Senate Blocks US Funding for Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey Railroad 
Sabah, Milliyet, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and others report the US 
Senate Banking Committee has approved a bill prohibiting American 
loans for the construction of a new railroad from Azerbaijan to 
Georgia and Turkey that will by-pass Armenia.  The Armenian lobby in 
the US managed to convince the Senate Banking Committee to ban 
Eximbank and other US finance institutions from providing funds to 
the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project. 
 
Editorial Commentary: UNGA and Anti-Americanism 
Writing from Washington in the Islamist oriented-intellectual daily 
Zaman, Ali Aslan argues that the UNGA "demonstrated the growth of 
anti-American feelings since 9/11":  "The strong anti-American 
remarks by the usual suspects, such as the Iranian and Venezuelan 
leaders were not the surprising part of UNGA.  The unexpected 
development was the fact that those speakers received hearty 
applause from the UNGA participants.  At this point, the 
international community can only find some relief if the issue 
between the US and Iran is resolved peacefully.  A Congressional 
majority of Democrats after the November elections might also send a 
signal to President Bush to stop acting unilaterally." 
 
ANKARA 00005604  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
One Out of Every Five Turks Jobless 
Cumhuriyet reports on its front page the number of young people who 
have stopped looking for a job because they have lost hope of 
finding one rose to 623,000, in which 39.8 percent are in the 14-25 
age group.  With the addition of 2.9 million jobless Turks, who had 
not been included in the data for the jobless, to the official 
figures for the unemployed, the percentage of jobless in Turkey 
climbs to 18.8.  Opposition CHP lawmaker Professor Yakup Kepenek 
said new employees joining the total work force were below 50 
percent, a level far too low when compared with OECD countries. 
Kepenek blamed ruling AKP policies for killing peoples' hopes to 
find a job. 
 
 
TV News: 
(NTV, 7.00 A.M.) 
 
Domestic News 
 
- This week the Turkish Parliament will continue discussing EU 
harmonization reforms, including the issue of minority schools. 
 
- 56 Kurdish mayors from Turkey's eastern and southeastern provinces 
will appear before the court tomorrow on charges of aiding the PKK. 
The prosecutor demands 15-year prison sentences for the mayors who 
have sent a letter to Danish Prime Minister Rasmussen to campaign 
against the closure of the Copenhagen-based pro-Kurdish Roj TV. 
 
- Seventeen people, including five policemen, were injured when a 
bomb-laden truck exploded in front of a police building in the 
eastern city of Igdir over the weekend. 
 
- The number of foreign tourists visiting Turkey has increased by 
1.6 percent in August. 
 
International News 
 
- Iraq's Prime Minister al-Maliki called for peace and unity during 
the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.  Sectarian violence claimed 20 
lives across the country over the weekend. 
 
- Several British soldiers who have served in Iraq are being 
investigated on charges of smuggling guns confiscated from 
terrorists out of the country and exchanging them for drugs. 
 
- Turkish Cypriot Republican Turkish Party (CTP) and Freedom and 
Reform Party (ORP) will submit their joint cabinet list to President 
Talat for approval on Tuesday. 
 
- Forty Taliban insurgents have been killed in clashes with Afghan 
and NATO forces in Afghanistan. 
 
- The leaders of Thailand's military coup have closed more than 300 
community radio stations in the country. 
 
 
  Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON