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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000141 
 
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 
WENESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2007 
 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Tens of Thousands Attend Hrant Dink Funeral in Istanbul 
All papers report about 100,000 people have turned up for the 
funeral of Turkish Armenian writer and activist Hrant Dink, the 
editor-in-chief of the bilingual weekly Agos, who was shot to death 
on Friday in front of the paper's offices in Istanbul.  Participants 
carrying placards reading "We are all Armenians" paused and 
applauded as they passed by where he was shot.  Hrant Dink's widow 
Rakel delivered an emotional speech in tears, in which she said, 
"Seventeen or 27, whoever the killer was, I know he once was a baby. 
Unless we can question how this baby grew into a murderer, we cannot 
achieve anything, my brothers.   We cannot have a great future by 
supporting hatred."  Following the speech, the family released white 
doves symbolizing peace.  Mourners, holding signs "We are all Hrant" 
and "We are all Armenians," walked eight kilometers to the Armenian 
Virgin Mary Church where a religious ceremony was conducted by 
Armenian Patriarch Mesrob II before Dink was buried in the Armenian 
Balikli Cemetery.  "It's mystical that Hrant Dink's funeral brought 
together Armenian and Turkish officials.  He would have been happy 
to see this turn into dialogue," Patriarch Mesrob II told mourners. 
He added, "We still hope Turks will accept that the Armenians are 
Turkish nationals who have been living on this land for thousands of 
years and are not foreigners or potential enemies."  Hurriyet says 
Armenian diaspora representatives who came to Istanbul for the 
funeral did not hide that they were impressed that thousands of 
people from different religions were "united" at the ceremony.  The 
conservative/opinion maker Zaman says the funeral showcased that 
Turkey respects diversity and is determined to ensure the 
coexistence of different people.  Aksam says Muslims, Christians, 
and Jews walked shoulder to shoulder yesterday for more than four 
hours behind the coffin of Dink during such a funeral never seen 
before in Istanbul. 
 
Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin and Interior Minister 
Abdulkadir Aksu represented the Turkish government in the funeral 
which was also attended by 
Kurdish party DTP chairman Ahmet Turk, the French Parliament's 
Deputy  Speaker Christophe Masse, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister 
Arman Kirakossian, US Ambassador Ross Wilson, US Istanbul 
Consul-General Deborah Jones, German Ambassador Eckart Cuntz, and 
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, primate of the Eastern diocese of the 
Armenian Church of America. 
 
"The nation is here, where are you?" asks Vatan on its front page, 
referring to President Sezer, Prime Minister Erdogan, Foreign 
Minister Gul, and opposition CHP leader Deniz Baykal, who did not 
show up at the funeral.  "Tens of thousands marched behind Hrant 
Dink's coffin, and millions of others watched the funeral on TV, but 
Turkey's leaders were absent, likely because they were afraid of 
possible public reaction as well as concerned not to scare away 
nationalist votes," says the paper. 
 
Prime Minister Erdogan was expected to visit the family of Hrant 
Dink and Patriarch Mesrob II to extend his condolences Tuesday 
evening. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Hrant Dink 
Yalcin Dogan observed in the mass appeal Hurriyet:  "The Dink 
funeral was one of the biggest funerals I have seen in recent years. 
 Those marching silently held posters reading 'We all are Armenian, 
we all are Hrant Dink' and 'Murdered by 301' [referring to article 
301 of the Turkish penal code, under which Dink was prosecuted for 
'insulting Turkishness'].  This was not just an ordinary funeral. 
The silent majority is no longer remaining silent.  I appeal to the 
Parliament, the President, the PM, the NSC and state administrators, 
to watch the tapes of the funeral over and over and then decide what 
to do next.  Do whatever you can do as soon as possible, whether 
that should be amending Article 301, changing text books, revising 
 
ANKARA 00000141  002 OF 003 
 
 
state policy, eliminating all dark organizations.  This was not an 
ordinary funeral.  I saw a Turkey that everybody wants to live in, 
at this funeral." 
 
Ismet Berkan commented in the intellectual Radikal:  "There were 
100,000 people, including Turks, Kurds, Armenians, Jews, Arabs, 
Muslims, Christians, without differentiating among their religions, 
marching behind Hrant Dink yesterday.  Unfortunately, we could not 
manage to demonstrate such unity when Dink was alive.  Nevertheless, 
at least we managed.  This demonstration proves that Hrant Dink was 
not alone in this world, as a nation we were not so quiet, repressed 
or scared.  This shows that we were very powerful in our silence. 
We can manage to do more.  Let us work together to make Turkey a 
better country." 
 
Hasan Cemal observed in the mainstream Milliyet: "A genuine 
politician is what we need who can go beyond the stereotypical 
rhetoric on important issues and can take action bravely.  Hrant 
Dink was a precious figure who tried to go beyond clichs and 
slogans on the Armenian issue.  He was trying to change the common 
rhetoric on both sides; his goal was to reach beyond the imposed 
official rhetoric in Turkey as well as to overcome the fanaticism in 
the Armenian diaspora.  He wanted to search for ways to build a 
Turkish-Armenian relationship based on friendship instead of 
hostility.  It sounds like wishful thinking but, Turkey, from now 
on, should be able to open a friendship door with Armenia and should 
be able to handle the Armenian issue without slogans and the usual 
rhetoric." 
 
Controversy over Article 301 Continues 
Hurriyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman, Yeni Safak and others 
report although the ruling AKP government has signaled readiness to 
review the infamous Article 301, which the EU says restricts free 
speech, thus far there has been no concrete attempt to that end. 
Justice Minister Cemil Cicek yesterday advised "discussing it later" 
when he was asked by the press about prospects for the abolishment 
of the article.  Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc had said earlier in 
the week he was positive about changes to it.  The main opposition 
CHP deputy chairman Mustafa Ozyurek said CHP would oppose any 
attempt coming from the AKP to change or scrap Article 301.  Another 
leading figure in the party, Onur Oymen, said "It's wrong to link 
the Dink murder to Article 301, a provision penalizing insult.  Such 
provisions are currently enforced in several European countries". 
 
Turkish Parliament Holds Closed-Door Debate on Iraq 
All papers report the Turkish Parliament held a closed session 
Tuesday to discuss security threats originating from northern Iraq 
and prospects for Kurdish control over Kirkuk amid growing strains 
with the Baghdad government which accused Turkey of fueling division 
in its north.  According to the law, the records of a parliamentary 
closed session are sealed and stored in a vault without being made 
public for ten years.  The participants are not allowed to talk or 
write about the discussions for the same duration.  Meanwhile, 
papers report that responding to the Turkish Parliament's move, the 
regional Kurdish assembly in northern Iraq reportedly decided to 
hold an extraordinary session Wednesday to discuss Turkey. 
 
Iraqi Kurds Hold Kirkuk Conference in London 
The leftist/nationalist Cumhuriyet reports Kurdish groups held an 
"Kirkuk and Article 140 of Iraq Constitution" conference in London, 
attended by the regional Kurdish parliament deputy speaker Kemal 
Kerkuki, the regional administration's education minister Dilsad 
Abdurrahman, and the Iraqi Parliament lawmaker Mahmud Osman, known 
to be supportive of the PKK.  The conference, held by the "Support 
Committee for Kirkuk in London," is seen as an act of "retaliation" 
against the "Kirkuk: 2007" panel meeting held January 15 in Ankara. 
The conference, in line with Kurds' policies, called for the 
enforcement of Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution regarding 
Kirkuk, warning Turkey to stay away from northern Iraq. 
 
 
ANKARA 00000141  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV (6 A.M.) 
 
Domestic News 
 
- The lawyer of slain writer Hrant Dink is to reportedly request a 
bone test to find the real age of the assailant, Ogun Samast.  At 
age 17, Samast will be tried at a minors' court which could reduce 
any prison term. 
 
- Turkish and Italian prime ministers inaugurated Tuesday the Bolu 
Mountain tunnel that will reduce the travel time between Istanbul 
and Ankara to 3.5 hours, resulting in an annual savings of USD 40 
million. 
 
- President Sezer and visiting Polish President Lech Kaczynski have 
signed a join declaration envisaging cooperation between the two 
countries. 
 
- Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul will travel to Paris Wednesday 
evening to attend a donor's conference for Lebanon.  On January 
26-27, Gul, accompanied by State Minister Ali Babacan, will 
participate in World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. 
 
- Fifty-six mayors from Turkey's Kurdish party DTP face trial for 
sending a letter to Danish Prime Minister Rasmussen in a campaign 
against the closure of the Copenhagen-based Kurdish broadcaster Roj 
TV. 
 
International News 
 
- On Tuesday, the Hezbollah-led opposition cut roads in Beirut and 
across Lebanon to enforce a strike aimed at toppling the Lebanese 
government, paralyzing the country and cornering officials ahead of 
an international aid conference to be held in Paris. 
 
 
- US forces in Iraq have detained over the past 45 days some 600 
militants loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. 
 
- A poll commissioned by the BBC World Service says the US image has 
deteriorated around the world in the past year because of issues 
such as Iraq and the captives at Guantanamo Bay.  In Turkey, 69 
percent believe US influence on world affairs is mainly negative. 
 
- A secret document says former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko 
accused Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi of being "a friend of 
the KGB." 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON