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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 006510 
 
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, NOVEMBER 27, 2006 
 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Pope Benedict XVI to Visit Turkey 
All papers report Pope Benedict XVI will pay a landmark visit to 
Turkey on Tuesday. 
Benedict XVI will meet with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and the 
head of religious affairs directorate (Diyanet) Professor Ali 
Bardakoglu in Ankara tomorrow.  On Wednesday, the Pope will visit 
Virgin Mary's Church in Ephesus near Izmir in western Turkey before 
traveling to Istanbul to join a liturgy with the Greek Orthodox 
Patriarch Bartholomew I.  The pontiff will also visit Hagia Sophia 
Museum and Sultanahmet Mosque, and meet with the Armenian Patriarch 
Mesrob II.  Dailies report the Pope said before beginning his visit 
"I want to send a cordial greeting to the dear Turkish people, rich 
in history and culture.  To these people and their representatives I 
express feelings of esteem and sincere friendship." 
 
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told the press on Sunday that the 
"Turkish government considers the visit of the spiritual leader of 
the Catholic world, Pope Benedict XVI, as an important opportunity 
to overcome many prejudices."  Recalling that the Pope's visit 
coincided with the NATO Riga Summit, Gul said the pontiff and 
Erdogan "will probably meet at the airport."  "We will of course 
show hospitality and we hope that this visit will be a way of ending 
misunderstandings between Muslims and Christians.  His message will 
be very important," Gul said. 
 
On Sunday, more than 20,000 in Istanbul held the biggest protest 
rally so far against Pope Benedict's controversial visit.  The rally 
was organized by the Islamist Felicity Party (SP). The deonstrators 
chanted slogans demanding that he Hagia Sophia museum, where the 
Pope is supposed to visit, be turned into a mosque.  The crowd 
carried placards which were mostly in Englih saying that Islam is 
respectful of Christianity and Jesus Christ, and that the Pope 
should also respect Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.  Addressing the 
rally via videoconference, Turkey's banned Islamist leader Necmettin 
Erbakan claimed the Pope was coming to Turkey "to revive Byzantium," 
and asked the ruling AKP government to block the visit.  Mainstream 
papers note that although one million demonstrators were expected 
only about 20,000 showed up.  Papers also speculate the main purpose 
of Pope Benedict's visit is to meet the Istanbul-based leader of the 
world's Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, in 
an attempt to seek unity between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox 
churches. 
 
Editorial Commentary on the Papal Visit to Turkey 
Gungor Mengi observed in the mass appeal Vatan:  "Pope Benedict's 
recent remarks during the Sunday mass demonstrate his intention to 
extend warm messages to Turkey and the Turkish people which make him 
deserve Turkey's respect and hospitality.  A visit to a mosque, 
Sultanahmet, is also a good indication of the Vatican's peaceful 
message and sincerity.  Defining his visit to Turkey as a pilgrimage 
provided good support from the Pope for religious tourism in Turkey. 
 The protest organized by a political party was not able to attract 
big crowds and failed to meet the expectations of the protest 
organizers.  This shows that Turkey remains a balanced country with 
people of common sense.  Given the recent developments, both the 
Vatican and Turkey are ready for this visit." 
 
Kursat Bumin wrote in the Islamist-opinion maker Yeni Safak: "The 
main motive during the anti-Pope protest in Istanbul was to stand 
against the 'Crusaders Alliance.'  This shows that the organizers 
somehow are unaware of the differences between Christian churches. 
There is no use in turning a Papal visit to Turkey into a clash of 
civilization.  This does not necessarily mean that Pope's remarks on 
Muslims are not disturbing, but representing his Turkey visit in the 
context of a crusade is also unnecessary.  In today's world, the 
Pope does not have that much power contrary to common belief.  He 
was not successful in including Christianity in the EU constitution, 
for instance.  We are overrating his influence even over the 
 
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Catholic world.  Reality says that all these protests and other 
anti-Papal stances give more power to the Pope than actually he 
has." 
 
Turkey's EU Process and Cyprus 
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and others: 
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told the press yesterday before 
traveling to Finland that he would not meet with the Greek Cypriot 
Foreign Minister George Lillikas at the Euro-Mediterranean Process 
(EuroMed) foreign ministers' meeting.  Several Turkish papers say 
that despite the intensive efforts for a breakthrough regarding the 
Cyprus question, hopes for reaching a deal are dim.  Papers note the 
Cyprus government has also denied any meeting will take place 
between Lillikas and Gul.  Reports quote diplomats as saying they 
will use the summit to push for a deal allowing Turkey to open its 
ports and airports to Cyprus. 
 
Turkey's chief EU negotiator Ali Babacan is to kick off a tour on 
Monday covering some EU countries.  Babacan will travel to London on 
Monday to attend the Turkey Political Group Round Table Meeting at 
Chatham House on November 28, followed by meetings in Warsaw and 
Prague later in the week.  "Actors in the markets closely pursue the 
developments on Cyprus because it is a matter of profit and loss," 
Babacan said.  He added, "An agreement on the Finnish plan will be 
the best probable result," indicating that, "we don't expect a 
negative outcome in relations with the EU with regard to the Cyprus 
issue.  Even Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration do not want 
Turkey to break off from the EU process." 
 
Erdogan Attends Young Arab Leaders Forum in Jordan 
Sabah, Vatan, Hurriyet and others:  Speaking at the Young Arab 
Leaders Forum in Jordan, PM Erdogan said that Turkey has a 
"historical responsibility" towards the Middle East and is ready to 
play a more active role in the region.  Erdogan noted that Turkey 
was suffered the biggest losses in Iraq after the US, having lost 
150 people. On the Palestinian issue, Erdogan said that the peace 
process should be resumed and that there should be more efforts to 
upgrade the living standards of the Palestinian people.  On global 
terrorism, Erdogan said that the funds spent in the defense industry 
last year reached $1 trillion, that the amount was used for killing 
people and that if the money had been used to boost the economy and 
education, global terrorism would not have threatened the world. 
Speaking to the journalists on his return from Jordan, PM Erdogan 
said "We do not want Lebanon to turn into another Iraq.  Therefore, 
we have some responsibilities as neighboring countries.  Turkey is 
ready to take necessary steps immediately." 
 
NGOs Urge President Sezer to Veto 'Cargill Bill' 
Hurriyet, Cumhuriyet, Sabah:  Chairman of the Turkish Environmental 
NGO TEMA, Prof. Dr. Celik Kurtoglu, asked President Sezer to veto 
the passage of a controversial bill, allegedly meant to enable 
illegally built industrial facilities to continue their operations. 
Prof. Kurtoglu voiced his concern about the bill, which changes the 
law on the protection and use of land, by saying "the passage of the 
bill shows the determination to allow multi-national agri-giant 
Cargill to continue operations despite several known illegalities." 
 
 
 
TV News: 
(NTV, 7.00 A.M.) 
 
Domestic News 
 
- Prime Minister Erdogan said he could meet with President Bush on 
the sidelines of the NATO summit in Riga to discuss the situation in 
Iraq. 
 
- Turkish Foreign Ministry said a recent attack on Turkish students 
in southern Cyprus was a result of the hatred fed by the Greek 
 
ANKARA 00006510  003 OF 003 
 
 
Cypriot leadership. 
 
- Turkish Cyprus leader Mehmet Ali Talat said that they have 
formally applied to British civil aviation authorities to launch 
direct flights between northern Cyprus and the UK. 
 
- CHP deputy chairman Onur Oymen claimed there was a regime crisis 
in Turkey, adding the government was likely to collapse soon. 
 
International News 
 
- Italian daily La Repubblica said a group of terrorists plotting to 
assassinate Pope Benedict XVI had been captured a few weeks ago. 
 
- Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister George Lillikas said he was not 
optimistic about the efforts exerted by EU term president Finland to 
avert a crisis between Turkey and the EU. 
 
- Russia reportedly has begun delivering Tor M1 air defense systems 
to Iran. 
 
- On Sunday, a car bomb killed five people and wounded 23 in a 
crowded market in Haswa, south of Baghdad. 
 
  Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON