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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 006621 
 
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 
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2006 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Turkey Makes Surprise Cyprus Proposal 
All papers report Ankara told the Finnish EU presidency it would 
open one port and one airport provisionally for a year to traffic 
from Cyprus in exchange of the opening of Gazimagusa (Famagusta) 
port and the Ercan Airport in northern Cyprus.  Papers regard the 
Turkish offer as a "surprise" move to avert a partial suspension of 
its EU membership talks.  Sabah regards the Turkish offer as a 
"golden goal" scored one week prior to the summit of EU leaders. 
Dailies also note that the proposal was welcomed by Turkish markets, 
making the Turkish lira grow stronger against the dollar, and the 
stock exchange index rise. 
 
Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister George Lillikas downplayed the 
proposal, saying "It's a premeditated attempt to impress, and it's a 
mockery of the EU.  It is devoid of any serious content."  The Greek 
Cypriot government said it would never consent to opening Ercan 
airport to flights other than to Turkey.  On Friday, international 
wires report Lillikas told state radio "Nicosia will revert to a 
harder line if some in the EU attempt to use the Turkish offer to 
restrict the sanctions which should be imposed on Turkey for 
non-compliance." 
 
The European Commission, however, said the last-minute Turkish offer 
appeared to be an "important move" and that the commission was 
seeking further clarification and information on the issue.  EU 
Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said on Finnish television, "If 
Turkey's suggestion of opening one port has been made 
unconditionally, it is a very important step toward Turkey 
implementing the Ankara Protocol to the customs union," adding it 
should be discussed at the EU foreign ministers' meeting on December 
¶11.  Britain applauded Ankara's initiative as "really significant," 
with a British official stressing "It is essential that the EU 
responds."  Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik renewed her 
call for a freeze of accession negotiations with Ankara until 2008. 
 
 
The main opposition CHP leader Deniz Baykal said this was a "wrong 
step" since it would amount to recognition of the Greek Cypriot 
administration.  Baykal said the government was trying to make 
concessions before the forthcoming EU meetings.  "We are not 
informed about the bargaining because this decision was not 
discussed at the parliament," Baykal said.  Hurriyet reports the 
Turkish General Staff (TGS) Chief General Yasar Buyukanit alluded to 
the fact that the government had not asked the military's opinion 
about the offer.  "If we had been asked, we would have said the plan 
was a deviation from the official state policy.  This sudden move 
has not been right," Buyukanit said, adding the problem should be 
resolved on the UN platform. 
 
Speaking to reporters after meeting Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard 
Bot in his one-day working visit to the Netherlands, Turkish Cyprus 
leader Mehmet Ali Talat qualified the Turkish proposal as a "new and 
positive step." 
 
Iraq Study Group Report Describes Turkey as 'Sunni Muslim Country' 
Hurriyet and Cumhuriyet report that 'The Iraq Study Group "(ISG) 
report, defining Turkey as a 'major Sunni Muslim country", implies 
that the US Administration is leaning towards a Sunni block in the 
Middle East against the Shiite block. Although, it was stressed in 
the report that the violence in Iraq could not be stopped only by 
the military measures, the US Administration was not asked to end 
its policies in Iraq which supported religious and ethnic 
separatism.  Kirkuk is listed as a major trouble spot in the report, 
which highlights that a referendum to determine Kirkuk's future 
before the end of 2007 is a risk factor for the spread of violence 
in the region. 
 
Haluk Sahin commented in the liberal-intellectual Radikal:  "While 
 
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the ISG report is being debated, the Iraq issue seems like the bad 
ending to a cowboy movie.  Americans are not used to facing defeat, 
but this time the defeat is very obvious.  After all the human loses 
and trillions of dollars spent, the US faces a lost war and 
internationally weakened prestige.  As for the ISG report, it 
repeats the facts about Iraq which anyone sensible can see.  The 
situation in Iraq is critical and moves toward colossal chaos. 
There is no magic formula for the Iraq problem and the best thing is 
to pull out gradually and train the Iraqi forces at the same time. 
Dialogue with Iran and Syria is the most debated issue in this 
report but prominent figures of realpolitik, such as Henry Kissinger 
say, why not.  The situation for President Bush is exactly as an 
American idiom goes, to be caught between a rock (Iraq) and a hard 
place.   He is trapped right there, and has no idea how to find a 
way out." 
 
Sami Kohen noted in the mainstream Milliyet:  "The 142-page report 
used strong words to depict the situation in Iraq - words like 
'grave,' 'terrible' and 'horrifying.'   The report is a statement of 
defeat in Iraq for the US but also provides recommendations under 79 
titles even though it admits the difficulty in adopting them.  In 
fact the main difficulty is President Bush himself.  The report 
makes the right analysis and provides the right approach, but the 
question is whether or not President Bush will be able to accept 
reality and act accordingly.  The Baker-Hamilton report is the right 
thing to consider.  If the administration sets this report aside and 
does not take it into account, the situation will be even more 
'grave,' more 'terrible' and much more 'horrifying.'" 
 
PM Erdogan's Middle East Diplomacy 
Radikal reports that Turkey's efforts to mediate between Damascus 
and Beirut, started giving fruitful results.  Yesterday, PM Erdogan 
briefed Lebanese PM Fuad Siniora over the phone, about his trip to 
Damascus and his meeting with Syria's Assad.  Siniora, after being 
briefed by Erdogan, decided to send a representative of his country 
to Turkey within 48 hours.  Meanwhile, Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak, 
NTV and others quote Department Spokesman Sean McCormack as saying 
in response to a question on PM Erdogan's visits to Iran and Syria 
that the visits are "normal for neighboring countries" and that the 
"US appreciates Turkey's efforts for peace and stability in the 
region." 
US House Blocks Eximbank Funds for Railroad Project 
Yeni Safak reports US House of Representatives blocked the US 
Eximbank from providing funds for a railroad project which would 
connect Turkey, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.  New York Rep. Joseph 
Crowley (D) a supporter of the Armenian lobby in the US, stressed 
that the 258km-long railroad will not be supported because it 
by-passed Armenia.  Yeni Safak says it was no surprise that 
pro-Armenian resolutions were seen following the Democratic takeover 
of US Congress. 
 
Sezer Vetoes "Cargill Bill" 
Vatan and Cumhuriyet report President Sezer has vetoed a bill on 
land protection which was criticized as "covert amnesty" for the US 
food giant Cargill facilities operating in the Bursa province. 
Sezer justified his veto by saying the bill would be a violation of 
the equity principle by aiming at resolving problems of one or 
several foreign companies' industrial facilities established on 
farming land. 
 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV (6 a.m.) 
 
Domestic News 
 
- On Thursday night, skirmishes broke out between Turkish riot 
police and a group of supporters of the leftist terrorist DHKP-C, 
most of whom were wearing masks, in various districts in Istanbul. 
Around 100 supporters of the organization set fire to two cars, set 
 
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a fire in Gazi neighborhood, closed the street to traffic, and 
chanted slogans. 
 
- Istanbul prosecutor demands up to three-year prison sentences for 
25 demonstrators who prayed in Hagia Sophia museum to protest the 
visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Turkey late last month. 
 
- President Sezer has vetoed the appointment of Prime Ministry 
Deputy Undersecretary Ruhi Ozbilgic as general director of the 
state-owned TRT television. 
 
- A Turkish military Black Hawk helicopter crashed in the eastern 
province of Bingol when a remote controlled bomb was set off while 
it was landing, killing one military technician on board and five 
other soldiers. 
 
International News 
 
- White House Spokesman Tony Snow said the US will have no talks 
with Iran unless Tehran suspends enrichment activities. 
 
- The US Senate voted Wednesday to confirm Robert Gates as the 22nd 
Secretary of Defense. 
 
SIPDIS 
 
  Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON