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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000182 
 
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 
MONDAY, JANUARY 29, 2007 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Trabzon Governor, Police Chief Sacked over Dink Murder 
All papers report Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu removed from 
office Governor Huseyin Yavuzdemir and police chief Resat Altay in 
Trabzon province, home of the suspects in the murder of the 
Turkish-Armenian editor Hrant Dink.  Istanbul's chief prosecutor 
Aykut Cengiz Engin charged a sixth suspect, Erhan Tuncel, on Friday 
with being a member of an armed gang.  Papers speculate that Tuncel, 
mentioned as one of the key actors behind the murder, was in fact an 
informant working for the police and that his warning that there was 
a plot to kill Dink was ignored. 
 
Meanwhile on Sunday a ferryboat which sails between Lapseki and 
Gelibolu in the Dardanelles Strait was hijacked by Nihat Acar. 
Acar, a former soldier removed from duty, was angered by 
pro-Armenian slogans chanted at the funeral of Hrant Dink, 
passengers said.  He threatened to blow up the ferry and held the 
captain of the ship hostage for almost two hours before 
surrendering. 
 
Controversy Continues on Article 301 
All weekend papers, Cumhuriyet, Milliyet, Radikal:  Sunday's Radikal 
quoted FM Gul as saying that "changes in Article 301 could come to 
the agenda at any time.  PM Erdogan attaches big importance to this 
issue.  Nobody has ever been jailed under Article 301, but I am for 
the amendment of the provision because it overshadows reforms in 
Turkey."  Speaking to the press prior to his departure to Ethiopia 
for the African Union summit, PM Erdogan said that "we don't plan of 
a complete annulment of article 301.  Items included in the first 
and second paragraphs should be assessed properly.  One can not 
disregard them.  On the other hand we are open to any proposal on 
amendment.  I had talks with NGOs on this matter, but we saw that 
there are disagreements among NGOs.  If they reach a compromise and 
make a proposal, we will assess it."  Milliyet reports that 
government spokesman-Justice Minister Cemil Cicek said that Article 
301 is not a top priority in Turkey's agenda.  Saturday's Radikal 
carried the remarks of EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn saying 
"Turkey has to annul or amend article 301; this is the best way to 
honor Hrant Dink, who devoted his life to freedom of expression." 
 
Patriarch Mesrob II on the Situation of Armenians in Turkey 
In an interview with the Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak, Mesrob II, 
the Patriarch of Armenians in Turkey, said the assassination of 
Hrant Dink was actually a message to the Armenians in the country to 
"keep their voices down."  "Dink's paper Agos and some Armenian 
priests still receive email threats, and hate slogans have been 
written on the wall of our church.  The Istanbul Governor's Office 
has assigned a guard to protect me.  You cannot call all these 
normal," said Mesrob II.  He expressed hope that the Armenian 
government proposal for establishing with Turkey ties without 
preconditions will lead to a new opening.  "Judging, however, by the 
messages issued we can say that the Turkish government has been 
caught unprepared," added Mesrob II.  He noted that the 
democratization process speeding up in Turkey will reduce the 
hardships Turkey's Armenians have been encountering: "We don't have 
any problems with the Turkish people, except for times when 
provocations are made around the world or when some press members or 
politicians lead the nation toward a certain end.  We can resolve 
disagreements through dialogue.  It's true that we have expectations 
from the state regarding our foundations, schools, and churches. 
Our biggest problem is, we don't have an authority in Ankara for 
dealing solely with our problems," emphasized the Patriarch. 
 
Turkey-Armenia Business Chief Calls for Opening Bordergate 
On Sunday the mass-appeal/sensationalist Star interviewed Kaan 
Soyak, the cochairman of Turkey-Armenia Business Development 
Council.  Soyak said the idea to invite Armenian diaspora members to 
the funeral of Hrant Dink came from Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. 
Soyak said a 70-year old Armenian coming to Turkey for the first 
 
ANKARA 00000182  002 OF 003 
 
 
time for the funeral said it was "the shock of his life" to hear 
"hundreds of thousands of Turks shouting 'We're all Hrant Dink, 
We're all Armenians.'"  "If Turkey wants a solution to the Armenian 
problem," Soyak noted, "It will be with Armenia, not in 
international platforms.  We should initiate dialogue for a 
solution, which will be supported by the majority of Armenians. 
Since there is no dialogue between the two capitals, NGOs such as us 
strive for the establishment of such a channel."  He also said 
keeping the bordergate with Armenia closed helped nothing but served 
to radicalize neighboring Armenians, increasing the aid flowing into 
Armenia from the diaspora.  "We continue trade ties with Armenia 
through Georgia, which amounts to about USD 100 million.  We have 
suggested the friendship caucuses in the US Congress pass 
legislation for establishing qualified industrial zones among 
Turkey-Armenia-US, which will enable Armenian and Turkish textile 
products to enter the US without customs duties," said Soyak, 
underlining that leading Armenians predict Armenian lobbies will 
shift to Turkey's side for support once the ties smoothen.  "If the 
border crossing opens, at least 100,000 diaspora Armenians will 
visit their homeland through Turkey.  They want to stay in Turkey 
for a couple of days.  Armenians have a longing for Turkish land, 
but not for settlement, just for seeing their villages and towns," 
said Soyak. 
 
Iraq Angers Turkey by Referring Oil Trade to Kurds 
All papers report Turkish companies carrying refined petroleum to 
Iraq have been told by Iraq's national petroleum company SOMO to 
discuss business details with Kurdish officials in northern Iraq. 
The shipment of oil to Iraq via the Habur border gate has been 
suspended.  SOMO has sent a letter to Turkish companies saying that 
their deals for the shipment of oil and oil products expired on 
December 31.  SOMO has refused to renew the contracts of Turkish 
companies, saying they should get in touch with authorities in 
northern Iraq if they wanted their agreements renewed.  State 
Minister Kursad Tuzmen stressed that Turkey recognizes a united 
Iraq, and that would deal only with the Iraqi government in Baghdad 
with regard to oil issues.  In reaction, Ankara halted refined oil 
products transport to Iraq, say papers. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Iraq 
Rusen Cakir, writing from Washington in the mass appeal Vatan, 
argues that the US maintains a double standard when it comes to the 
PKK and Iran: "The President's State of the Union address was a 
clear indication of the losing situation in Iraq.  Bush is asking 
for one more chance.  The fact of the matter is that if the 
situation in Iraq is a matter of chances, then it means it's 
finished.  An optimistic American on the fate of Iraq is very hard 
to find nowadays.  On the fight against terrorism the US is still 
maintaining a double standard.  The US always gives two reasons for 
the lack of an effective fight against the PKK presence in northern 
Iraq: 1) The US has other priorities in Iraq and forces cannot be 
divided; 2) The US insists that Turkey has to convince Iraqis, 
especially the Kurds, on this issue first. Yet when it comes to 
Iran, the US does not listen to what Iraqis are saying and opens new 
fronts without hesitation." 
 
Huseyin Bas, writing in the leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet, 
maintains that the US has plans for permanent bases in Iraq: 
"President Bush's new strategy is designed to finish the job with an 
additional 21,000 soldiers and it is being implemented even though 
Democrats oppose it.  Financing the new strategy will be the hardest 
goal to achieve, yet it is not impossible in the long run. 
Democrats remain opposed to the new strategy and they can control 
the financing process.  However they cannot maintain their 
opposition until the bitter end because public opinion will not be 
sympathetic to cutting off financing for American soldiers serving 
in Iraq.   The new plan is basically aimed at establishing gradual 
stability, using the Iraqi army along with US troops.  This will end 
up with the permanent presence of the US in Iraq.  The total of 55 
military bases, some under construction, around Iraq will provide 
 
ANKARA 00000182  003 OF 003 
 
 
enough facilities for the US to remain in Iraq for good." 
 
Greek Cypriot Plans to Search for Oil 
Milliyet (1/28), Cumhuriyet:  The Greek Cypriots' attempt to search 
for oil in 2001 was stopped by the arrival of a Turkish frigate in 
the island and the crisis was kept secret from the public.  However, 
recently, Greek Cypriots took initiative openly by signing an 
agreement with Egypt and Lebanon for oil and gas exploration. 
Turkish Cypriot "President" Mehmet Ali Talat said that the resources 
in Cyprus should be used by the two communities of the island and 
warned that contrary developments would fuel tensions in Cyprus. 
Greek-Cypriot Foreign Minister George Lillikas said that Cyprus has 
every right to exploit any and all resources that rightfully belong 
to it, and it is not obliged to share these with anyone else. 
 
 
TV News: 
(NTV, 7.00 A.M.) 
 
Domestic News 
 
- Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul warned at the World Economic Forum 
meeting in Davos that a fragmentation of Iraq would have grave 
consequences for the region. 
 
- Syria's Foreign Minister Walid Muallem will visit Turkey this 
week. 
 
- Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan rejected charges that he 
threatened an inspector investigating the business dealings of Saudi 
financier Yasin al-Qadi in Turkey. 
 
- World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz said Turkey's economic 
development was "a story of success." 
 
- The Bolu Mountain tunnel between Ankara and Istanbul, which was 
opened last week, has been closed after two accidents. 
 
International News 
 
- Saddam Hussein's cousin Ali Hassan al-Majeed, known as "Chemical 
Ali," told a court trying him for genocide he had ordered 20 Kurdish 
villages cleared in the 1988 Anfal campaign. 
 
- US Congressman Joseph Crowley (D-NY) is expected to introduce a 
bill condemning the murder of journalist Hrant Dink, also asking 
Turkey to protect free speech and abolish the controversial Article 
301 of the Turkish Penal Code. 
 
- Britain's Sunday Times reported a former senior Iraqi minister 
said most of the leaders loyal to the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada 
al-Sadr had fled to Iran. 
 
- An Iranian nuclear agency official has denied claims made by a 
senior legislator that the Islamic Republic had begun installing 
3,000 centrifuges at an uranium-enrichment plant. 
 
- 18 civilians have been killed in two car blasts in Kirkuk in 
northern Iraq. 
 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON