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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 006488 
 
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 
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2006 
 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Turkish Economic & Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) Survey 
All papers gave extensive coverage to a poll carried out by TESEV in 
which 1,492 people in 23 cities were surveyed on a wide range of 
social issues. Papers highlight that while the rate of those who 
define themselves as Muslim rose to 44.6 percent, the rate of women 
wearing headscarves fell to 11.4 percent and the rate of those who 
want Sharia (Islamic law) declined to 9 percent, down from 21 
percent in 1999 and 16 percent in 2002. Seventy-three percent saw no 
threat to secularism and 61.3 percent rejected allegations that 
fundamentalism is on the rise.  At the same time, 20.3 percent of 
those surveyed define themselves as secular, and 48.5 define 
themselves as "Islamist."  The percentage of people who prefer a 
President whose wife does not wear a headscarf is 50.8 percent. 
According to the survey, people see unemployment and inflation as 
the most important problems in Turkey. 
 
EU Negotiations and the Cyprus Issue 
Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Yeni Safak and others:  Yesterday, PM 
Erdogan, FM Gul and State Minister Babacan held a meeting to discuss 
the Cyprus issue.  FM Gul said that making concessions regarding 
Cyprus it is out of question to problem on the road to EU.  Gul said 
that issues like Cyprus cannot be solved using "deadlines or 
blackmails."  Gul stressed that Turkey has fulfilled its 
responsibilities concerning the Cyprus issue and now it is the EU's 
turn to keep its promises and begin direct trade with Turkish 
Cypriots.  Gul will go to Finland for the EuroMed Foreign Ministers 
meeting which will be held on November 27-28. 
 
Columnist Murat Yetkin wrote in Radikal that, although the official 
rhetoric says differently, Turkey is moving forward on finding a 
settlement to the Cyprus question before the deadline.  Yetkin says 
there has been a series of talks between the EU presidency and 
Turkish government which were not made public.  The basis of the 
Turkish government approach is to open ports for Greek Cypriots 
simultaneous with an EU action to end the trade isolation against 
Turkish Cypriots.  Along with Finland, France is also working on 
this formula which would keep Varosha/Maras off the table to allow 
the UN to make a deal as part of a lasting settlement for the long 
run. 
 
Nationalist MHP and Opposition leader CHP Moving Closer? 
Milliyet reports on the improving relations between the nationalist 
MHP and leading opposition party CHP. Responding to CHP leader 
Baykal's comments praising the MHP yesterday, a warm message to CHP 
and its leader Baykal came from MHP, saying that "the past tensions 
are over.  Now MHP and CHP share many common values and it is 
possible that Turkey will have a CHP-MHP coalition government in the 
future." 
 
Metin Ozkan, a columnist in Tercuman believes that the MHP-CHP 
rapprochement became clear during the recent MHP convention, noting 
that leader MHP Bahceli did not make any negative references to CHP 
in his overlong party address.  Ozkan thinks that closeness between 
the right and left wing might harm the MHP since it may confuse the 
voters.  There is also a possibility according to Ozkan, that the 
MHP-CHP coalition may be able to reach a broader conensus on some 
controversial issues, includingthe presidential election and the 
headscarf debate. 
 
University Rectors Criticized Education Convention Decisions 
Cumhuriyet reports that the Rectors' Committee issued a declaration 
in which it criticized the recommendatory decision aiming to 
eliminate the differences between the graduates of ordinary and 
vocational high schools when entering the universities.  Higher 
Board of Education (YOK) chairman Tezic said that they heard that 
during the Convention, the National Education Council would discuss 
paving the way for graduates of the Imam Hatip high schools to 
university education in fields other than theology, and therefore 
 
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they did not participate in the council meeting. 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV (7 A.M.) 
 
Domestic News 
- The trial of 56 Mayors who had sent a letter to Danish Prime 
Minister Rasmussen to give support to ROJ TV continued yesterday in 
Diyarbakir 
- National Education Council decisions trigger tensions in the 
Parliament.  CHP deputies walk out during debates on the proposal in 
Parliament's Budget Commission. 
 
 
International News 
- Greek Cypriot Administration has approved a bill envisaging seven 
year prison sentences for people who acquire, sell or use property 
belonging to Greek Cypriots in Northern Cyprus 
- Lebanese Christian cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel, an outspoken 
critic of Syria and Hezbollah, was assassinated near Beirut on 
Tuesday. 
- UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said the United States was trapped 
in Iraq 
- Iraq restores diplomatic relations with neighboring Syria 
 
  Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON