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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000110 
 
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, JANUARY 19, 2007 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Burns Meets Erdogan on First Day of Ankara Visit 
All papers report US Under Secretary of State Nicolas Burns met 
Thursday with Prime Minister Erdogan in Ankara.  Erdogan told Burns 
that Turkey has been supporting the Americans' struggle against 
terrorism everywhere, complaining, however, that the US was not 
extending sufficient support to Turkey in northern Iraq.  Burns gave 
Erdogan details about the Makhmour camp raid in northern Iraq, 
stressing that the US would always be on Turkey's side against the 
PKK.  Burns said the raid on Makhmour was the first step toward 
closure of the camp.  Burns also said Kirkuk was Iraq's internal 
affair, and that the matter would be left up to Iraq. 
 
Burns told the press after the meeting that the US would continue to 
stick to its pledges regarding PKK terrorism, and that further steps 
would be taken to close down PKK bureaus in Iraq.  Burns said with 
regard to the Mahmur camp raid that it was a positive step toward 
blocking the PKK attacks against Turkey. 
 
Responding to Erdogan's warning that a US Congressional approval of 
a possible Armenian genocide bill would damage ties between Turkey 
and the US, Burns maintained that the US administration would exert 
every effort to avoid a crisis. 
 
Turkish Parliament Debates Iraq, Kirkuk 
All papers report that a censure motion filed by the opposition 
Anavatan Party against Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul for "breach of 
duty" in conducting Turkey's northern Iraq policy was rejected by 
the parliament on Thursday.  Defending his government's Iraq policy, 
Gul said if the Turkmen are under pressure, Turkey will take a close 
interest in them.  "We have no border dispute with Iraq, but we 
cannot remain indifferent to the fate of our kinsmen there.  Kirkuk 
is a small Iraq; the sectarian and ethnic peace in Iraq depends on 
the solution of the Kirkuk problem," Gul emphasized. 
 
Mainstream Sabah expects, after a closed parliamentary session on 
Tuesday, the AKP government will announce a new plan on Kirkuk which 
is likely to suggest establishing UN control in the oil-rich 
northern Iraqi city for a ten-year period.  The plan will ask that 
the planned referendum in Kirkuk this year be postponed until after 
changes in the Iraqi constitution, that a nationwide referendum with 
regard to the future of Kirkuk be held, and that the demographic 
structure and land registry records of Kirkuk be reviewed by an 
international commission.  The plan will be submitted to the 
opposition parties in the Turkish parliament and to the US 
administration, says Sabah.  The paper also expects Foreign Minister 
Abdullah Gul to warn Secretary Rice during his planned visit to the 
US in February that a referendum held in Kirkuk in the absence of 
compromise would upset balances in the region. 
 
On the Kirkuk issue, commentators called on the US to take action 
and warned about the seriousness of the issue, saying it would harm 
bilateral ties between the US and Turkey in the end. 
 
Ferai Tinc, commenting in the mainstream Hurriyet, recommends Turkey 
take a different approach to the Kirkuk issue in its diplomatic 
dealings: "The demographic changes in Kirkuk in favor of the Kurdish 
population started right after the American soldiers arrived in 
Iraq.  When the Turkmen population expressed concern about it at 
that time, their voices unfortunately not heard much.  It is natural 
for Turkey to take ownership of this issue for the sake of Iraq's 
good and for the sake of human rights but certainly not with 
expansionist intentions.  Regarding the future of Iraq, Kirkuk and 
Baghdad are equally important to ensure stability.  The UN recently 
issued a humn rights report about Kirkuk and has warned agaist a 
terrifying upcoming regional crisis. In fact Turkey was the first to 
warn the interational community about the nature of this crisis 
which everybody seems to have finally realized.  Because of Turkey's 
 
ANKARA 00000110  002 OF 003 
 
 
Kurdish problem; however, Ankara's concerns on Kirkuk were not taken 
seriously as it was immediately linked to the opposition against a 
Kurdish state in Iraq's north.  Turkey should deal with the Kirkuk 
issue from the points of ethnic cleansing and risk of genocide.  If 
we can succeed to take up the Kirkuk issue with proper politics we 
might have a chance for effectiveness in the region." 
 
Washington-based Hasan Mesut Hazar, writing in the 
conservative-nationalist Turkiye,  urges the US and Turkey to 
cooperate as partners in Iraq, but warns that that will be difficult 
if the US fails to take action in the Kirkuk issue and demonstrate 
concrete steps against the PKK: "Given the current situation, it is 
very hard to ensure that Iraq's territorial integrity will be 
maintained and a civil war will be prevented.  Iraq is moving toward 
a process of division. The signals from Iraq are all grave and 
require Turkey to implement an active foreign policy.  Turkey has to 
plan a more engaging diplomacy on Iraq by working together with the 
US as two strategic partners, not in conflict with the US.  There 
are however some serious obstacles to achieving an effective spirit 
of cooperation between Turkey and the US.  It will be very hard for 
the US to increase cooperation with Turkey unless some satisfactory 
steps are taken on the PKK and dangerous games over Kirkuk as well 
as over the Turkmen population are prevented.  The means and the 
ways should be worked out in order not to harm the strategic 
partnership between the US and Turkey.  The recent developments make 
the upcoming visits to Washington by Turkey's Foreign Minister Gul 
and Chief of General Staff Buyukanit more important than ever. 
During these visits, Washington will either prove and persuade 
Ankara about its sincerity for taking concrete steps over Turkey's 
concerns or reinforce the common belief that this was all about 
gaining time.  The absence of concrete steps to address Turkey's 
concerns on Iraq will actually be more damaging to the bilateral 
ties than the possibility of a genocide resolution passing in the 
Congress." 
 
Green Light to PKK from the European Court of Justice 
Sabah, Hurriyet, Vatan, Zaman and others:  The European Court of 
Justice (ECJ) ruled that appeal by terrorist PKK members against 
putting the group on the EU's terror list must be heard and the 
lower court was wrong in 2005 to dismiss the case by Osman Ocalan, 
brother of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, to challenge the 
group's position on EU's terrorist list.  The ECJ ruled out that if 
a terrorist group can be subject to ban, it also has right to 
contest it. 
 
Miracle Survivor of Baghdad Plane Crash to Return to Turkey 
Sabah, Hurriyet:  Abdulkadir Akyuz, the only survivor of the 
Moldovan cargo plane which crashed near Baghdad last week, will be 
brought back to Turkey within a few days.  Hurriyet reports that the 
Ambulance-Plane belonging to Red Star company was prepared to be 
sent to Baghdad to bring Akyuz back, however, the US officials did 
not give permission for the plane to go there saying that the plane 
did not have all the necessary medical equipment.  Responding to a 
question about whether the US objected to having the Turkish plane 
go to Baghdad for Akyuz, transport minister Binali Yildirim said 
"our wounded worker is having medical treatment in Iraq at the 
moment.  He will be brought to Ankara when his medical condition 
allows him to do so.  We are in continuous touch with the US 
officials on the issue.  Any information or news other than this 
does not reflect the truth."  Meanwhile, ANKA news agency claimed 
that Akyuz is suffering from memory loss. 
 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV (6 a.m.) 
 
Domestic News 
 
- A small group of Iraqi Turkmen have staged a protest in front of 
the US Embassy in Ankara, calling on the Turkish army to enter 
 
ANKARA 00000110  003 OF 003 
 
 
northern Iraq to stop the massacre of the Turkmen. 
 
- Turkey's elite business grouping TUSIAD will present its annual 
Prize for European Understanding to the former EU enlargement 
commissioner Gunther Verheugen in a ceremony in Ankara on Friday 
which will be joined by Prime Minister Erdogan.  TUSIAD in Istanbul 
will also release a report on democratization perspectives in 
Turkey. 
 
- EU permanent representatives agreed in Brussels yesterday to 
invite Turkey to accession negotiations in statistics. 
 
- Van prosecutor demands life in prison for the murder of Naile 
Ertas, 15, killed by her relatives to "cleanse" family honor. 
 
- Turkish workers are preparing for collective bargaining with the 
ruling AKP government in February. 
 
- Prime Minister Erdogan has released a circular calling for new 
austerity measures in state institutions. 
 
International News 
 
- The EU commissioner for enlargement Olli Rehn said there were 
misperceptions about one another in both the EU and Turkey. 
 
- Saddam Hussein's Baath party supporters marched in Baghdad to 
protest against the former leader's execution and show support for 
his fugitive deputy, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, who is believed to have 
taken command of the insurgency. 
 
- Last week China has successfully tested a system that can destroy 
spacecraft. 
 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON