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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 006730 
 
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 22, 2006 
 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Erdogan and Gul to go to Turkmenistan for Niyazov's Funeral 
All papers report that PM Erdogan and FM Gul will attend the funeral 
ceremony of the Turkmenistan President Saparmurad Niyazov on Sunday. 
 It is not yet clear whether President Sezer will attend the 
ceremony.  Some Turkish officials expressed concerns that the death 
of the Turkmen leader could cause chaos in the country. 
 
Turkey Linked to Enfal Massacre in Northern Iraq 
Sabah, Cumhuriyet, Hurriyet, Zaman and others report that a document 
linking Turkey to the massacre of 180,000 Kurdish civilians in 1998 
in Anfal, was read by a Shite prosecutor in the Iraqi court trying 
Saddam Hussein.  The prosecutor claimed that Saddam Hussein wrote to 
Turkey and asked for the extradition of a group of Kurdish leaders. 
FM Gul said that Turkey always stood with Iraqi Kurds and gave 
instructions to the MFA to look into the allegation.  Meanwhile, 
Koksal Sonmez, Turkish Ambassador to Baghdad in 1986-1990, said that 
Saddam was planning to force Kurds towards Turkey and catch them 
between two fires to liquidate them.  Turkey, however, immediately 
rejected the plan and Saddam pushed the button for the Anfal 
massacre. 
 
Commentary on Iraq 
Haluk Ulman, writing in the economic-political daily Dunya, is 
pessimistic about prospects for peace in 2007:  "The New Year always 
comes with hopes for a better future for humanity.  Looking at 2006, 
unfortunately there is no way to be hopeful about 2007.  Moreover, 
the coming year seems to be even more difficult for the course of 
international politics.  This year has been marked by the total 
failure of President Bush's dream to eradicate international 
terrorism and to create a pro-American Middle East.  The American 
intervention started with the goals of creating a peaceful and 
democratic Middle East and ended with sheer chaos and civil war. The 
year 2006 has also become the year where the Bush administration 
finally admitted its failures in Iraq.  Listening to what Rumsfeld 
and Bush are saying now on Iraq demonstrates that even the strongest 
supporters of the war in Iraq have awakened.  However, in the new 
period to come, there is no way of turning a negative picture into a 
better one.  The sectarian conflict in Iraq has already become 
regional.  When you add the situation in Lebanon as well as in 
Palestine, it is obvious that the year 2007 will be even more 
disastrous." 
 
Intellectuals Issue a Joint Declaration on the Kurdish Issue 
Hurriyet, Milliyet and Radikal wrote that 100 academics and 320 
intellectuals issued a joint declaration and called for a "civilian 
solution" to the Kurdish issue.  They invited the public to think 
about the reasons that led to violence and suggested making 
arrangements for the youngsters hiding in the mountains to legally 
come down. The declaration said violence did not help to solve the 
problem, but that, on the contrary, violence was harmful for 
everyone.  Among those who signed the declaration, were Yasar Kemal, 
Adalet Agaoglu, Prof. Baskin Oran and Prof. Dogu Ergil. 
 
Operations against Corruption in 14 Provinces 
All papers reported over fifty contractors, including two 
bureaucrats from the Health and Public Works Ministries and Ankara 
Metropolitan Municipality and were detained under allegations of 
corruption in tenders.  The police were tipped off by Metropolitan 
Mayor Melih Gokcek. 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV (6 a.m.) 
 
Domestic News 
- ANAP Leader Erkan Mumcu has to pay 10,000 YTL compensation to 
Prime Minister Erdogan for insulting the Prime Minister in a speech 
in Parliament 
 
 
ANKARA 00006730  002 OF 002 
 
 
- New Political Initiative, a new party headed by Ertugrul Gunay and 
Mehmet Bekaroglu, has released a written statement to reject 
allegations that it was an Islamic Left party. 
 
- A 4.8 magnitude quake was been reported in the Aegean. 
 
- PM Erdogan kicked off the construction of a tunnel under the 
Bosphorus 
 
 
International News 
- 13 people were killed and dozens injured when a suicide bomber 
blew himself up among a crowd of police volunteers in Baghdat 
 
- Europeans have offered to ease a proposed travel ban on Iranian 
officials in an effort to get Russian support for a UN resolution 
barring Tehran from importing dangerous nuclear materials. 
 
  Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON