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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 006771 
 
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 29, 2006 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
A Message from the NSC to the EU 
All papers:  National Security Council (NSC) for the first time 
relayed the message that negotiations may not continue if the 
European Union (EU) continues to make Cyprus a condition in Turkey's 
negotiation process.  The NSC statement said the EU employed a 
"double standard" and noted that "Turkey does not expect obstacles 
which have nothing to do with the membership process."  This was 
interpreted by the press as a warning to the EU, saying "remove the 
Cyprus condition from the table."  The NSC also stressed that Turkey 
was devoted to the EU process.  Other important NSC agenda items 
were terrorism and Iraq. 
 
Presidential Debate 
All papers:  In an interview with NTV, Speaker of the Parliament 
Bulent Arinc commented that comments by others about the number of 
vote necessary for the presidential election process "were extreme 
views" and that the rules were "very clear for the Presidential 
elections," adding that on the day of the election he would allow 
voting to begin as long as there were 184 MPs in the General 
Assembly.  When asked whether he would run, Arinc responded that he 
would make an announcement on April 16.  Meanwhile, following the 
leade of main opposition party CHP, opposition party ANAP also 
announced that they will not participate in the voting if PM Erdogan 
decides to run for the Presidency.  The Turkish Confederation of 
Employers Union chairman Tugrul Kutadgobilik reacted to the 
possibility of Erdogan's candidacy for President saying that "the 
president should be objective, above all the parties and should 
represent all of Turkey." 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:   Turkish Diplomacy in 2006 
Calling 2006 a year of challenges, Sami Kohen commented in the 
mainstream Milliyet: "The year 2006 has been very active for Turkish 
diplomacy, including challenges as well as engagements.  Even though 
we cannot talk about success in every field in which attempts were 
tried, the overall performance rating was good enough.  In 2006 
Turkish diplomacy dealt with four main topics.  They are, EU, US, 
Cyprus and the Middle East.  Turkish diplomacy made the EU accession 
process a priority but the current situation can be defined as a 
love-hate relationship.  The negotiation process still continues 
under the Greek Cypriot shadow.  Turkey and the US intensively 
worked on repairing the bilateral relationship during 2006.  There 
is a strategic vision document, but the PKK issue remained a major 
concern as well as a source of disappointment vis-`-vis the US.  The 
appointment of a 'coordinator' has not brought any concrete results 
yet.  Regarding Cyprus, 2006 has become a period of wait and see. 
Greek Cypriots managed to a certain degree to push the EU to get 
involved in the issue by pushing the UN aside.  In today's picture, 
the unification of Cyprus has only become a dim chance and the 
division of the island has become almost an accepted reality.  The 
situation in Iraq and the Middle East in general was one of the most 
important issues for Turkish diplomacy.  Turkey went through some 
tension with the Kurdish administration in northern Iraq and failed 
to establish a working dialogue with it.  Regarding Iran, Syria, 
Lebanon and Palestine, Ankara developed some new strategies which 
were different from US policy.  Those approaches were criticized by 
the western world but Turkey continued to pursue them." 
 
Controversy Over F-16's Modernization 
Radikal reported that AKP deputy Vahit Erdem criticized the F-16 
modernization agreement signed with Lockheed-Martin as saying that 
modernization of  the F-16s should be done in Turkey rather than in 
the US for a very high price. 
 
Meanwhile, Turkish wire service Anatolian Agency (AA) carried a 
statement, issue by Turkish Ministry of Defense addressing some 
press reports that the modernization contract was awarded to a 
company that retired General Joseph W. Ralston, the US Special Envoy 
for countering the PKK, is managing. AA covered the Defense Ministry 
 
ANKARA 00006771  002 OF 002 
 
 
statement saying that "There is not a direct agreement between 
Lockheed Martin and Turkish National Defense Ministry regarding 
modernization of 216 F-16 war jets," said a statement of the 
Ministry. The statement continues, "The mentioned project is being 
carried out with the US government within the scope of foreign 
military sales, and the related agreement was signed by the U.S. 
government and Turkish government on April 26th, 2005. This 
agreement was signed by National Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul and 
then US ambassador Eric Edelman," it said. "The agreement mentioned 
in the media was between the US government and Lockheed Martin firm, 
and related with the modernization of jets. So, there is not any 
direct agreement between Lockheed Martin firm and Turkish National 
Defense Ministry. The U.S. government signed a contract with 
Lockheed Martin, the only producer of F-16 planes and the only place 
for their modernization. Therefore, it is not right to associate the 
mentioned project with retired general Ralston, who is a member of 
the Executive Board of this company. The intergovernmental agreement 
was signed 16 months before Ralston was assigned to this position 
(August 28th, 2006)," the statement pointed out. 
The statement noted that Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) is also 
a sub-contractor of the project. 
 
Dog Fight in the Aegean 
Radikal reports that Greek F-16s harassed Turkish F-16s flying over 
the Aegean International air space during training flights. 
 
Experts Report Alarming increase of Drugs in Schools 
Cumhuriyet reports that Green Crescent Association presented the 
Parliamentary Commission to Research Violence in Schools with a 
report saying that the use of ecstasy in the high schools of 
Istanbul increased by %300 and the use of heroin increased by %100, 
during last three years. 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV (6 a.m.) 
 
Domestic News 
- The Parliament  yesterday adopted the draft bill on Intellectual 
Property Rights 
- A group of  100 people gathered yesterday in Beykoz-Istanbul to 
protest illegal construction in forests 
- 15 suspects, including teachers, doctors and lawyers, have been 
taken to custody in operations against child pornography in seven 
provinces 
- 6.4 million counterfeit dollars were seized yesterday in Istanbul 
 
 
International News 
 
- US soldiers serving in Iraq are posting videos and photos of the 
war on Internet sites like YouTube, Liveleak, military.com and 
GreenMarines. 
- 27 people were killed and many others injured in three bomb blasts 
in Baghdad on Thursday 
  Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON