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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 006213 
 
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 31, 2006 
 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Turkey's EU Bid 
Sabah, Hurriyet, Milliyet, Cumhuriyet and others:   Hansjoerg 
Kretschmer, outgoing head of the European Commission Delegation to 
Turkey, said on his last day of duty that although the Turkish 
Government wants to keep up with the reform process, the military is 
resisting.  Speaking to CNN-Turk, Kretschmer touched on crucial 
issues in Turkey's path, such as the deadlock on Cyprus, the reform 
process and military-civilian relations.  On the Cyprus deadlock, 
Kretschmer stated that if Turkey insists on not opening its ports 
and harbors to the Greek Cypriots, the EU won't ignore it.  Milliyet 
reports that Cem Ozdemir, the European Parliament's German 
parliamentarian (Turkish origin), said that it is the right time for 
Turkey to amend the Turkish Penal Code, Article 301, which relates 
to freedom of expression.  By doing this, Turkey could teach Europe 
a lesson on the subject.  Meanwhile, in a speech yesterday at the 
opening of Foreign Trade week in Ankara, PM Erdogan fiercely 
rejected allegations that his government was selling out Turkish 
interests in Cyprus.  Milliyet quoted him as saying, "we have 
fulfilled our responsibilities in Cyprus.  We want our counterparts 
to meet their obligations too.  They should not come with extra 
demands until they fulfill their own obligations.  The Turkish 
government will never meet such demands." 
 
General Kosaner Comments on the PKK 
Hurriyet and Sabah quoted Gendarme Commander General Kosaner as 
saying that "we are talking to the families of PKK terrorists who 
are in the mountains, to get them to convince their children to lay 
down their weapons and come down from the mountains."  At an October 
29 reception, Kosaner said that the operations will continue without 
any interruption and the only solution is for the armed people to 
surrender without any conditions and face justice. He added that, 
the number of PKK members who had turned themselves in has 
increased. 
 
Turkey Plans to buy 100 F-35s from the US 
Sabah, Hurriyet, Cumhuriyet, Milliyet and others:  Papers report 
that Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul met with his American 
counterpart Donald Rumsfeld in Washington.  Reportedly, Rumsfeld 
expressed regret over the "unfortunate map crisis" and stressed that 
the map had nothing to do with the Pentagon [referring to the use of 
a map showing an independent Kurdistan, which included parts of 
Turkey, by a US military officer at a NATO seminar in Rome]. 
Meanwhile, papers quoted Minister Gonul as saying that Turkey is 
going to buy 100 F-35s from the US at a cost of $10 billion. 
 
Cargill Appeals against Court Ruling Halting Production 
Hurriyet and Milliyet report US Cargill Turkey CEO Murat Tarakcioglu 
told a press conference yesterday that a court ruling halting 
production at the US food giant's facilities in the Bursa province 
had a discouraging effect on their plans to invest in two other 
countries through Turkey.  "We employ 142 personnel here.  We 
purchased $50 million worth of corn from farmers last year.  There 
are 25 other operations in the same area in the Bursa province but 
only Cargill has been suspended.  We have appealed against the 
decision, and hope to be back in business again," Tarakcioglu said. 
Responding to a question, Tarakcioglu said he would give the key of 
the factory to any one who proves that Cargill pollutes the 
environment. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Northern Iraq 
Writing in the conservative Turkiye, Yilmaz Oztuna notes that the US 
appears to be "working" on the PKK issue, but warns that the US may 
have other plans if Turkey "fails to fulfill its obligations" as a 
strategic partner: "The anarchy and chaos in Iraq continues to grow 
every passing day, and nobody, including the US, can make an 
assessment about the future.  A pull out by the US is still unlikely 
regardless of the outcome of the Congressional elections -- simply 
because of the oil factor.  The US failed to comprehend the internal 
 
ANKARA 00006213  002 OF 002 
 
 
dynamics of Iraq from the very beginning, and in the end it had to 
make a strong commitment to the Iraqi Kurds.  Turkey also has made 
its share of mistakes by rejecting the movement of American forces 
through Turkey, which ended up in the creation of a Kurdistan state 
as well as a significant resurrection of the PKK.  Currently 
Talabani, despite his position as the president of Iraq, is working 
to divide Iraq and in the interest of Kurdistan.  As for Turkey, we 
continue to focus on the PKK problem but recently put high hopes in 
America and Iraq for solving the problem.  Washington seems to be 
working on it.  Nevertheless the US at the same time keeps some 
projects in its back pocket, like plans for Greater Kurdistan and 
Greater Armenia, for use if and when it thinks Turkey is failing to 
fulfill its obligations as a strategic partner." 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV (8 A.M.) 
 
Domestic News 
 
- Prime Minister Erdogan stressed Turkey will move ahead after 
renaming the Copenhagen Criteria if the EU does not allow Turkey to 
join the bloc. 
 
- The Turkish Union of Chambers (TOBB) President Rifat 
Hisarciklioglu warned public support for the EU had decreased, 
blaming the government for the fall. 
 
- The Turkish police have carried out 6,017 anti-drug smuggling 
operations in the last nine months in which 13,000 people have been 
detained and about eight tons of drugs have been seized. 
 
- Turkey's Human Rights Joint Platform has launched a campaign for 
the abolishment of Article 301 of the penal code and other 
provisions restricting free speech. 
 
International News 
 
- EU term president Finland's Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja has 
invited Greek Cypriot counterpart Lillikas, Turkish counterpart Gul 
and Turkish Cyprus leader Mehmet Ali Talat to meet behind closed 
doors in a town near Helsinki this weekend. 
 
- Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel plans to expand its 
military offensive in the Gaza Strip and will decide soon on what 
kind of operation it will conduct. 
 
- Iranian President Ahmadinejad said UN Security Council sanctions 
over Iran's nuclear program would only serve to further motivate the 
Iranian nation. 
 
- Pakistani helicopters destroyed an Islamic school used as an 
al-Qaeda-linked training camp near the Afghan border, killing some 
80 militants. 
 
  Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON