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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 005898 
 
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 
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2006 
 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Turkey Awaiting French Parliament Vote on Armenian Genocide Claims 
All papers focus on the French Parliament's discussion of a bill 
which will penalize the denial of the 'genocide' of Armenians by 
Ottoman Turkish troops between 1915-23.  Papers report Ankara has 
warned European capitals that the approval of the draft would be 
perceived by the Turkish people as a hostile act.  Foreign Minister 
Abdullah Gul said if the genocide bill is passed, Turkey will not 
lose anything but France will lose Turkey.  Cumhuriyet and Yeni 
Safak believe the French parliament will jeopardize ties with Turkey 
for the sake of pleasing 200,000 Armenian voters.  Several papers, 
however, note that the French government may choose to freeze the 
controversial draft by delaying its approval by the senate. 
 
EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn warned Paris that the bill 
would block dialogue between Turkey and Armenia, extending support 
to a Turkish proposal for discussing the issue by a joint commission 
of historians.  The EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Commission 
Co-chairman Joost Lagendijk said after working for years to boost 
free speech in Turkey, he found the French move, contradicting such 
efforts, as "unacceptable."  EU term president Finland's Parliament 
Speaker Paavo Lipponen also warned that the genocide bill has not 
helped Turkey-EU relations.  Milliyet reports US Ambassador to 
Turkey Ross Wilson said Washington had conveyed to Paris its 
concerns about the approval of the controversial bill.  Wilson noted 
the US deems important the Turkish proposal for establishing a joint 
committee of historians to investigate genocide claims.  Zaman 
reports the French ambassador in Ankara told Paris that if the bill 
is passed, bilateral economic ties would be harmed and anti-French 
sentiment would increase in Turkey.  The paper also reports the head 
of the Turkish-Armenian Businessmen's Association said the French 
bill, in fact, aimed to block Turkey's entry into the EU.  The 
Armenian Patriarch in Turkey, Mesrob II, has released a statement 
denouncing the bill. 
 
Murat Yetkin of the liberal-intellectual Radikal commented that the 
debate at the French Parliament today will not only damage the ties 
between Turkey and France, but will also allow the French system to 
be discussed again in France and in Europe.  "Obviously, France will 
continue to use Armenian genocide claims to pressure Turkey, 
especially on the issue of EU entry.  A commentary in yesterday's 
Financial Times claimed that many messages have been conveyed to 
Turkey from Europe already to warn the Turks that they are not 
wanted in the European Union.  Maybe, the goals of these initiatives 
are to force Turkey to abandon its EU aspirations.  At this stage, 
there two questions that should be asked:  Will Turkey make 
adjustments in Article 301 to block the genocide bill?  And also, 
could Turkey continue to walk on its path as if nothing has 
happened?  I think a train crash in Turkey's EU entry drive might 
offer everyone an opportunity to restart Turkey-EU relations". 
 
Ralston Visits Ankara 
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Aksam, Cumhuriyet, Radikal, Zaman, Yeni 
Safak and others  report that the US Special Envoy for Countering 
the PKK, retired General Joseph Ralston held a two-hour meeting with 
Turkish counterpart Edip Baser which was joined by officials from 
the Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA,) the Turkish General Staff (TGS,) 
and the intelligence service MIT.  The two envoys discussed a 
roadmap for combating the PKK.  Radikal says the Turkish side raised 
the issue of the closure of Mahmur camp in northern Iraq. 
Cumhuriyet reports Ralston told the Turkish side to 'take seriously' 
the PKK declaration of a ceasefire, pointing to the opportunity for 
the PKK to lay down its arms.  The Turks said the PKK should lay 
down its arms instead of merely declaring a ceasefire, according to 
Cumhuriyet.  With regard to the absence of the Iraqi envoy Shirwan 
al-Walily at the talks yesterday, MFA Spokesman Namik Tan said a 
three-party meeting had not been envisaged during yesterday's 
Ralston visit.  Milliyet claims the Iraqi coordinator had not been 
 
ANKARA 00005898  002 OF 003 
 
 
invited to Ankara in reaction to a recent statement of President 
Talabani that he had convinced the PKK to declare a ceasefire. 
Ralston will depart Ankara after meeting with Foreign Minister 
Abdullah Gul on Thursday. 
 
Papers expect the Iraqi envoy al-Walily to accompany the Iraqi Prime 
Minister Nuri al-Maliki on a state visit to Ankara next week.  At 
the October 16 talks the sides will discuss the PKK and Kirkuk 
before the forthcoming 2007 referendum on the status of the oil-rich 
northern Iraqi city. 
 
Buyukanit to Visit Athens 
Aksam reports Turkish General Staff (TGS) Chief General Yasar 
Buyukanit will pay a visit to Athens in November as the official 
guest of his Greek counterpart Admiral Panayotis Hinofotis.  The two 
generals will discuss the military aspects of confidence building 
measures on the Aegean and the evolving issue of illegal immigrants 
in the Aegean Sea. 
 
Minister Says Article 301 May be Changed 
Sabah and Radikal report Turkey's chief EU negotiator and State 
Minister Ali Babacan said the Turkish government had asked lawyers 
to work on possible amendments to Article 301 of the Turkish Penal 
Code.   Babacan said Turkey would not move to amend Article 301 
before seeing the French parliament's decision about the Armenian 
genocide bill.  The Turkish Justice Ministry, the General 
Secretariat for EU Affairs, and the Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) 
 
SIPDIS 
denied that there were preparations to amend the controversial 
Article 301 which restricts free speech. 
 
Report: Kurdish Education, Investment Needed in Southeast Turkey 
Yeni Safak reports the main opposition CHP lawmaker Bulent Tanla 
said in a report he drafted for the EU ambassadors in Ankara that 
Kurdish education must be allowed in east and southeast Turkey if 
the region is to be developed into a 'center of attraction' for the 
Middle Eastern countries.  A regional development bank must be 
established and USD 40 billion of investment is needed over the 
course of the next 20 years, according to the report. 
 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV, 7.00 A.M. 
 
Domestic News 
 
- Turkish troops to be deployed with UNIFIL will depart from the 
Mersin port on the Mediterranean for Lebanon on October 19. 
 
- The Turkish Parliament has approved a bill against money 
laundering which envisages the establishment of a special board for 
fighting financial crimes. 
 
- The Turkish General Directorate for Natural Disasters has 
announced that 70 percent of Turkish people live in high-risk 
earthquake zones. 
 
- The new domestic and international flights terminal at Esenboga 
Airport in Ankara will be inaugurated on October 13. 
 
International News 
 
- President Bush called for tough sanctions on Pyongyang for its 
reported nuclear test, asserting the US has no intention of 
attacking North Korea. 
 
- According to a controversial study by Britain's Lancet, the 
conflict in Iraq has killed 655,000 since the US-led invasion in 
March 2003. 
 
- The Israeli deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres said President 
 
ANKARA 00005898  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
Bashar al-Assad of Syria is welcome to come to Jerusalem for peace 
talks. 
 
- Two people were killed when a small plane slammed into a high-rise 
apartment building in New York on Wednesday.  Initial investigations 
indicated that the crash was not terror-related. 
 
 
  Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON