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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 005746 
 
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 
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2006 
 
 
ISSUE FOCUS: 
President Bush Meets Prime Minister Erdogan at the White House 
 
On Monday October 2 President Bush met with Turkish Prime Minister 
Erdogan at the White House for one hour and forty minutes. All 
papers report that during the joint press conference between 
President Bush and Prime Minister Erdogan after the two leaders' 
meeting, Bush described Erdogan as "a friend and a man of peace." 
Bush praised Erdogan's economic policy by saying "I congratulate the 
prime minister and his government on the economic reforms, which are 
for the good of the Turkish people."  Turkish papers find it 
surprising that Bush did not refer to the terrorist organization, 
PKK, by name during the press meeting.  On Iran, President Bush 
stressed that talks would cease if Tehran produces nuclear weapons; 
Erdogan agreed saying such a development would adversely affect 
Turkey too.  Papers also report Bush asked Erdogan to make use of 
his good ties with Syrian leader Bashar Assad to warn Damascus 
against complications in Lebanon.  A "surprise" issue raised at the 
meeting was Darfur, according to papers.  Bush told the press 
Erdogan conveyed his impressions of the ongoing tragedy in the 
region, calling on the UN to work on the issue. 
 
After the meeting Erdogan told reporters the US President had no 
doubts with regard to the strategic partnership with Turkey: "Every 
step we take in the Middle East is the result of a strategic 
partnership between our two countries.  We are allies in NATO. 
President Bush repeatedly thanked Turkey for the logistic support it 
has been providing in Iraq.  He noted that Turkey has suffered the 
greatest number of casualties in Iraq after the US --- "only 
strategic partners speak like that," Erdogan emphasized.  On the 
rising anti-American sentiments in Turkey, Erdogan said he believed 
the situation was not serious, and that "the elimination by the US 
of the PKK will eliminate the anti-Americanism in Turkey."  Erdogan 
noted he also had a chance to discuss Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, 
Cyprus and Turkey's EU drive with President Bush.  On early Tuesday, 
Erdogan flew to London to meet British Prime Minister Blair before 
returning home in the afternoon today. 
 
Ekrem Dumanli writing in the Islamist oriented-intellectual Zaman 
says that the meeting provided a chance for both countries to "renew 
their trust" in each other: "Washington seems to care for the ruling 
AK Party even more than before because there is no other strong 
right wing party, and there is also the fact that the US 
administration feels uneasy about the opposition party, CHP.  The 
Bush-Erdogan meeting sends a clear message to Turkey.  Mutual trust 
between the US administration and the ruling AKP has reached its 
peak in spite of many internal debates in Turkey.  This meeting will 
undoubtedly reflect considerable progress for Turkey's expectations 
from the US, such as the fight against terror, economic cooperation 
and democratization.  The visit of Erdogan to the White House 
provided the chance for both countries to renew their trust in each 
other." 
 
Writing in the mainstream daily Milliyet, Washington-based Yasemin 
Congar thinks that the meeting cannot be called a success due to the 
lack of concrete action against PKK:  "Reliable Turkish and American 
sources confirm that both leaders have different opinions on 
regional issues and there are unfulfilled expectations on each side. 
 The main unfulfilled expectation for Turkey is clear action against 
the PKK in Iraq, and the meeting at the White House did not change 
this picture.  Had Erdogan been able to get a solid promise from 
Bush regarding the PKK and make this public, then this meeting could 
have been regarded as a success.  This did not happen.  Furthermore, 
Bush, who reportedly spoke in decisive terms about the PKK during 
the meeting, was not equally resolute before the journalists.  The 
US President's failure to mention the PKK by name, the 
organization's presence in Iraq or the losses to terrorism sustained 
by Turkey created a serious gap in the message." 
 
 
ANKARA 00005746  002 OF 003 
 
 
Mustafa Karaalioglu, commenting in the Islamist-opinion maker Yeni 
Safak, believes a big success came out of the Bush-Erdogan meeting: 
"The meeting at the White House provided a venue for a warm dialogue 
where everything related to bilateral ties was brought to the table 
for discussion.  There was ongoing speculation prior to the meeting 
that Washington does not care about the ruling AKP any longer.  The 
truth came out during the actual Bush-Erdogan meeting which was 
extended beyond the scheduled time.  President Bush introduced PM 
Erdogan as 'his friend and a man of peace' which was also a strong 
indication of the harmony between the two leaders on serious issues. 
 After the event, Foreign Minister Gul was characterizing the 
meeting as genuinely extraordinary.  It seems Turkey and the US 
talked about everything that they were supposed to.  Besides, the 
discussions went on amidst a warm and sympathetic atmosphere.  At 
some point, President Bush noted that only strategic partners can 
engage in such a comprehensive dialogue.   During the press event, 
PM Erdogan started his remarks by calling Bush 'the president of our 
strategic partner' which was a clear signal of a new state of 
Turkish-American relations." 
 
In the Papers 
 
Buyukanit Warns against Islamist Threat in Turkey 
All papers:  The head of the Turkish General Staff (TGS) General 
Yasar Buyukanit addressed the Istanbul War Academy yesterday, saying 
that Turkey's secular regime faces a fundamentalist threat.  "There 
is a reactionary threat in Turkey, and every kind of measure must be 
taken against this threat," Buyukanit said.  Turkish military 
support the country's EU aspirations, but has the right to defend 
itself against EU criticism, he noted. 
Buyukanit referred to recent comments by the European Commission 
representative in Turkey, Hansjorg Kretschmer, sharply criticizing 
the Turkish military's habit of expressing its views on civilian 
issues.  "The Turkish military is trying to stay out of politics.  I 
am a soldier doing his duty as defined in the constitution," 
Buyukanit said, rejecting criticism he was threatening democracy. 
 
Turkish markets showed little reaction to the speech.  Cumhuriyet 
speculates the Buyukanit statement will prompt visiting EU 
Commissioner Olli Rehn to issue in response strong warnings to 
Turkey.  Mainstream papers comment that Buyukanit, the hardliner new 
chief of TGS, made clear he shared the fears of other military top 
brass and of President Sezer over the alleged Islamist activities in 
Turkey.  Cumhuriyet says the ruling AKP refrained from responding 
with strong statements to Buyukanit's remarks, with a party leader, 
Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat, merely disagreeing with the TGS chief by 
saying fundamentalism constituted no threat in Turkey. 
 
Iraq Names Special Envoy for Countering the PKK 
Zaman and Yeni Safak report the Iraqi government has appointed the 
Iraqi minister for security, Shirwan al-Waaily, as the special envoy 
for countering the PKK.  Al-Waaily is a Shiite with military 
background and close ties to Prime Minister al-Maliki. 
 
Kurdish Party Wants to Discuss with Erdogan the PKK Ceasefire 
Milliyet reports following the PKK call for a ceasefire, Turkey's 
main Kurdish party DTP Chairman Ahmet Turk and his deputy Aysel 
Tugluk asked for an appointment with Prime Minister Erdogan to 
suggest a declaration of general amnesty, change of the election 
system and further democratic openings in order for the organization 
to lay down arms completely.  Serafettin Elci, a former 
Kurdish-descent cabinet minister, and the influential anti-PKK 
Kurdish politician Abdulmelik Firat welcomed the PKK ceasefire 
declaration, stressing the organization should totally cease armed 
struggle.  DTP said it will also ask for meetings with cabinet 
ministers and other political parties in the parliament to discuss 
the matter. 
 
 
TV Highlights 
 
ANKARA 00005746  003 OF 003 
 
 
NTV (8 A.M.) 
 
Domestic News 
 
- Professor Ali Bardakoglu, Turkish religious directorate Diyanet 
chief, said he deemed important the warnings of President Sezer for 
combating fundamentalism. 
 
- Turkey's main Kurdish party DTP's Diyarbakir branch and 12 other 
NGOs have announced that the ceasefire declared by the PKK was a 
chance for the organization to lay down all weapons. 
 
- EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn visits Ankara to meet with 
Parliament Speaker Arinc, Prime Minister Erdogan, Justice Minister 
Cicek, and chief EU negotiator Babacan.  Rehn will also take part in 
"European Social Model and Union Rights" gathering to be held by 
Turkish and Finnish labor confederations. 
 
- In a meeting today the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is to 
discuss objections to compulsory religious education in Turkish 
schools. 
 
- Twelve have been injured in an explosion in the Aegean port city 
of Izmir. 
 
International News 
 
- Ankara told Brussels it was ready to discuss the Finnish EU term 
presidency proposal for launching direct trade between the EU and 
Turkish Cypriots in exchange for approval of the customs union 
protocol by the Turkish parliament.  The Finnish proposal also 
envisages the handing over of the ghost-town of Maras (Varosha) to 
the UN. 
 
- International Herald Tribune comments the main purpose of Pope 
Benedict's forthcoming trip to Turkey in November is to discuss with 
the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew a Catholic-Orthodox union 
rather than seeking dialogue with Islam. 
 
- Georgia, acting to defuse its worst crisis with Russia for years, 
said on Monday it would hand over to European intermediaries four 
Russian military officers detained on espionage charges. 
 
 
  Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
MCELDOWNEY