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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000124 
 
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 
TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2007 
 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Hrant Dink Funeral to be Held in Istanbul Today 
All papers continue to have extensive front page coverage of Turkish 
Armenian journalist Hrant Dink's murder and his funeral to be held 
today in Istanbul.  Several papers criticize Istanbul Police Chief 
Celalettin Cerrah for saying "The murder has no political links or 
connection to any organization," and that "The suspect committed the 
crime out of nationalist feelings."  Cerrah, however, backpedaled 
two hours later, saying the police were probing the political and 
organizational dimensions of the killing. 
 
Several papers believe the murder of Hrant Dink was not the act of 
an individual, holding radical nationalist groups responsible for 
the murder.  Cumhuriyet comments that the killing of Dink was linked 
to two earlier attacks that targeted Christian culture, i.e. the 
2004 bombing of a McDonald's restaurant by Yasin Hayal and the 
murder of Roman Catholic priest Andrea Santoro in Trabzon last year. 
 The killing of Dink which followed was actually an attack against a 
newspaper (Agos) representing Christian culture. 
 
Papers report President Sezer, Prime Minister Erdogan, Parliament 
Speaker Arinc, Foreign Minister Gul, and CHP leader Deniz Baykal 
will not participate in the funeral in Istanbul.  The government 
will be represented by State Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin and Interior 
Minister Abdulkadir Aksu.  Erdogan is expected to visit the Dink 
family soon, extending his condolences.  Parliament Speaker Bulent 
Arinc offered his condolences to Armenian Patriarch Mesrob II and 
the family of Dink.  Arinc told the press after the visit he was 
positive about the amendment or abolishment of Article 301.  The 
mass-appeal Aksam says the politicians who had presented various 
reasons for rejecting Article 301 changes were now equally skillful 
in finding reasons not to attend Dink's funeral.  Columnist Cengiz 
Candar says in Referans that top level Turkish officials could have 
raised hope for changes in Turkey by attending the funeral.  By not 
doing so, they ended all hopes for changing the future of Turkey. 
 
Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian or his deputy Arman Kirak 
is expected to attend the ceremony.  Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, 
the spiritual leader of the Armenians in America, also accepted the 
invitation of Foreign Minister Gul to join the funeral.  Joost 
Lagendijk, co-chairman of Turkey-EU joint parliamentary commission, 
said Turkey should find those responsible for the murder of Dink. 
The chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe 
Ren van der Linden condemned the murder of Dink and welcomed the 
swift reaction of the Turkish government to the murder.  "A whole 
nation cannot be blamed because of a fanatic," van der Linden said. 
A delegation of the Committee for Coordination of Armenian 
Associations of France (CCAF) will attend the funeral. 
 
Papers also report the American Armenian organization ANCA called on 
the Bush Administration to drop efforts to prevent US Congress from 
formally recognizing the Armenian genocide.  Meanwhile, Yeni Safak 
reports Turkish Parliamentary Foreign Relations Commission Chairman 
Mehmet Dulger will lead a delegation to the United States in an 
effort to counter Armenian lobby attempts. 
 
Editorial Commentary on the Assassination of Hrant Dink 
Hasan Cemal questioned in the mainstream Milliyet (1/23):  "Why did 
this assassination happen?  Would Hrant Dink be alive today if we 
didn't have a problem called the 'Armenian Issue'?  Would he be 
alive today, if he wasn't an Armenian?  If we weren't so scared of 
the past, would he be with us today?  Would Dink still be alive if 
those who wanted to organize an Armenian conference under the roof 
of a university had not been prosecuted under Article 301?  Would he 
be alive if he was not accused of stabbing the nation in the back? 
Would his assassination take place if those who claimed that there 
was no genocide, and those who believed the contrary could have 
freely researched the history?  If politicians, journalists, public 
 
ANKARA 00000124  002 OF 003 
 
 
opinion leaders, academics and jurists had not allowed access to the 
culture of "concocting enemies", would our brother Dink be alive 
today? Rest in peace dear Hrant.  You are not alone.  My dear 
brother, I share your pain that stems from history and I understand 
your mourning." 
 
Fatih Altayli commented in the mass appeal Sabah (1/23):  "Although 
the Istanbul Security Chief announced that there isn't any 
organization behind the Dink murder, we should not believe it.  The 
Chief regretted his statement immediately and issued a correction 
statement.  Last year, Sabah newspaper covered lots of news about 
Trabzon, and its columnists warned everyone in their pieces that 
there more criminals would come out of Trabzon because of current 
economic and social problems.  We also warned the Trabzon Security 
Department many times.  Nevertheless, no in-depth investigations 
were conducted on these issues, nor were any preventing measures 
taken.  The authorities only buried their heads in the sand.  All 
these developments indicate the lack of political authority in this 
country.  Some provinces are becoming a paradise for criminals and 
the government is failing to take any effective measures.  Despite 
their weakness in fulfilling their duties, the government stubbornly 
insists on keeping their local administrators and security officials 
in their posts.  Let me warn that what has happened so far is a 
guarantee of what will happen in the future." 
 
Ilter Turkmen commented in the mass appeal Hurriyet (1/23):  "If 
Dink's murder encourages the public to be more tolerant, Dink will 
rest in peace.  The assassination of Dink will bring the Armenian 
Genocide issue onto some countries' agendas with a strong 
determination.  The possibility that the Armenian resolution will 
pass the US Congress this time is much stronger with the Democratic 
majority.  Diplomatic initiatives will no longer be good enough. 
There have to be immediate steps to obstruct such trends in the US 
and in Europe.  First of all, the Turkish-Armenian border should be 
re-opened on the basis of the 1921 Kars agreement and the border 
gate should be named after Dink.  Second, Article 301 should be 
changed immediately.  And, third, the foundations bill should be 
passed within the framework of the decision by the European Court of 
Human Rights.  The arguments concerning the Heybeliada Seminary 
should be overcome and the seminary should re-open.  We need to stop 
being afraid of the minorities in this country.  The biggest danger 
lies with the minorities who need foreign shelter. 
 
Gul on Iraq, US-Turkey Ties 
Sabah, Milliyet, Cumhuriyet and Yeni Safak report Foreign Minister 
Abdullah Gul told a gathering of the ruling AKP lawmakers in a spa 
town near Ankara that Operation Provide Comfort had played a 
significant role in breaking northern Iraq from the rest of the 
country.  Yeni Safak reports Gul said "[Turkish] governments 
supporting the extension of the mandate of the force also had a 
great role in the disconnection of northern Iraq from its mainland. 
We are now trying to reunite Iraq."  Gul also said, "We defend 
Iraq's territorial integrity, which is in the interest of both the 
Kurds and Turkmen.  The Kurds in northern Iraq are our brothers, 
just as the Turkmen are."  Cumhuriyet reports Gul, responding to a 
question from an MP whether the US was honest in supporting Turkey, 
said "Whenever we cannot convince the Europeans, we call the 
Americans, even in the middle of the night, asking them to warn the 
Europeans.  The US, supporting us honestly, does so.  Without 
support from Americans, we could not have recorded any progress." 
The FM also added, "The US approaches the Iraq problem with the 
mentality of a wholesaler; it's only recently that they have started 
to understand us.  We are helping them on details."  On the other 
hand, the Turkish Parliament will hold a closed session to discuss 
the issues of Kirkuk and cross-border incursions into northern Iraq 
at 19.00 on Tuesday. 
 
Gul Due to Visit the US 
Mainstream Sabah reports Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is scheduled 
to meet with Secretary Rice; Senator Murtha,who is known to be close 
 
ANKARA 00000124  003 OF 003 
 
 
to House Speaker Pelosi, and the leading names of the Jewish lobby 
during an upcoming visit to Washington on February 5.  Gul will also 
meet with UNSYG Ban Ki-Moon in New York to discuss Cyprus and 
Kirkuk. 
 
EU to Step up Work for Trade with Turkish Cyprus 
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Zaman and others report European 
Union foreign ministers have agreed to step up efforts to lift trade 
restrictions against Turkish Cyprus in line with earlier pledges 
made to Ankara.  The ministers said after meeting in Brussels that 
"Work toward the adoption of special conditions for trade with north 
Cyprus must resume without delay."  Papers are skeptical about the 
EU decision, saying the expression "direct trade" was not used by EU 
ministers adding that the future of the process depended on the 
attitudes of the Greek Cypriots.  Meanwhile, Turkish papers report 
visiting Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi saying he could mediate 
for a settlement in Cyprus. 
 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV, 6.00 A.M. 
 
Domestic News 
 
- A new regulation promulgated by the Turkish Justice Ministry 
permits inmates in F-type prisons to come together 10 hours weekly 
in ten-member groups. 
 
- The owner and editor of Evrensel newspaper defending the Kurdish 
cause will face trial for insulting the Turkish military in 
violation of the penal code's Article 301. 
 
- Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his Italian counterpart Romano 
Prodi will attend the opening ceremony of a tunnel through Bolu 
Mountain that will reduce the travel time between Ankara and 
Istanbul to 3.5 hours. 
 
- Italian Prime Minister Prodi said the EU needed Turkey if it 
wanted to become a "flexible and pluralistic" institution. 
 
International News 
 
- The leader of the Kurdistan regional government Massoud Barzani 
said Kirkuk was a Kurdish city, adding they were not afraid of 
Turkish threats regarding the matter. 
 
- Turkish novelist Elif Shafak wrote in The Wall Street Journal that 
the killing of Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was an act of 
individual madness. 
 
- Addressing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, 
Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I defended Turkey's EU 
membership process, but added that his Patriarchate was facing 
problems. 
 
- On Monday, 100 people were killed and over 200 wounded in bombings 
targeting the Shiite areas in and around Baghdad. 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON