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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000188 
 
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 30, 2007 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Police Did Not Protect Dink Despite Early Warnings 
All papers report two more suspects have been arrested in Istanbul 
and Trabzon in connection with the murder of Turkish-Armenian 
journalist Hrant Dink.  Sabah reports that on February 17, Trabzon 
police officials sent letters to colleagues in Ankara and Istanbul 
to warn that there were preparations for the assassination of Dink. 
The warning came only 12 days after the murder of Roman Catholic 
priest Andrea Santoro last year.  Erhan Tuncel, one of the suspects 
arrested in the murder and who was, in fact, a police informant, has 
warned the police many times that McDonald's restaurant bomber Yasin 
Hayal was plotting to kill Dink.  The police did nothing to probe 
the warnings of the informant or to secure the safety of Dink. 
Despite the warnings received by the police on February 19, eleven 
months later Dink was killed by Ogun Samast trained and sent to 
Istanbul by Yasin Hayal.  Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu declined 
to comment, saying the investigation continued. 
 
Meanwhile, in response to a question, Prime Minister Erdogan 
described yesterday the "deep state" as gangs within institutions 
and said Turkey has paid a heavy price for not tackling the shady 
formation.  Erdogan said to deal with the "deep state" the 
judiciary, executive and legislature must work together.  He 
stressed Hrant Dink's murder will be solved and that the file on 
Semdinli, where two military officers have been convicted of bombing 
a bookstore, was not closed. 
 
AKP, NGOs Discuss Changing Article 301 
All papers report the ruling AKP government and non-governmental 
organizations blame each other with regard to delays in reforming 
Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code.  Suleyman Celebi, the head of 
labor union DISK, said NGOs had already expressed support for 
changes to Article 301, adding their proposals to the government to 
revise the penal code's article 301 have been shelved.  Turkish 
Journalists' Association said AKP members had to work out their own 
disagreements about Article 301 first if they wanted to end the 
controversy.  Labor union KESK said the government never consulted 
the NGOs before passing reforms.  Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Ali 
Sahin told the press yesterday the government would not hurry to 
change Article 301.  Cumhuriyet speculates the AKP government is 
reluctant to take risks in the face of upcoming elections by 
changing the controversial article. 
 
'Oil Crisis' between Turkey-Iraq Intensifying 
All papers report Turkey on Monday rejected demands from the Iraqi 
national oil company SOMO that its firms should deal with Kurdish 
authorities when doing business in northern Iraq.  Ankara insists on 
dealing only with the central Baghdad government and halted 
transport of refined oil products to Iraq over the weekend via the 
Habur border crossing.  State Minister for foreign trade Kursad 
Tuzmen told a press briefing, "We have never seen such an 
irregularity in Iraq.  We expect the Iraqi central government to 
honor its contracts.  Nobody should test Turkey."  Tuzmen stressed 
Turkey would review its oil trade policy with Iraq if Baghdad did 
not comply with existing agreements.  He said trade with Iraq 
amounted to only one percent of Turkey's foreign trade, signaling 
that Turkey was ready to cut all trade ties with its neighbor if the 
crisis continues.  Papers see Tuzmen's remarks as a message that 
Turkey could close the Habur bordergate.  The shipment of oil to 
Iraq from Turkey's Mediterranean ports of Mersin and Iskenderun was 
suspended on Friday.  Papers report a 40-km long queue of trucks has 
built up at Habur bordergate since the decision over the weekend. 
The Turkish Truckers' Association said Iraq also suspended meat 
imports from Turkey. 
 
General Ralston's Visit to Makhmour Camp 
Sabah, Milliyet, Aksam, Radikal and others:  Prior to his visit to 
Turkey today, US Special envoy for countering terrorism Joseph 
Ralston visited Makhmour camp yesterday in northern Iraq.  The 
 
ANKARA 00000188  002 OF 003 
 
 
Makhmour refugee camp was established in the 1990s when thousands of 
Kurds from Turkey crossed the Iraqi border.  During his two hour 
visit to the camp, Ralston met with the camp representative Huseyin 
Seyhan and talked about the situation in the camp.  Ralston asked 
Seyhan whether they would consider going back to Turkey.  Seyhan 
said that they would return if a general amnesty is declared and 
full democracy is established in Turkey.  Sabah says that General 
Ralston was instructed by Secretary Rice to meet with Foreign 
Minister Gul and TGS Chief General Buyukanit, prior to their 
upcoming visits to the US. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Iraq, the Special Envoy Mechanism 
Okay Gonensin calls for a new attitude toward relations with 
northern Iraq in the mass appeal Vatan:  "If we analyze the current 
situation, we should realize the obvious fact that Turkey's policy 
on Iraq and northern Iraq has collapsed.  Ankara has always been 
clear about its negative position on a separate Kurdish state in 
northern Iraq even though the Kurdish administration there is taking 
every possible step toward a de facto independent state.  Turkey 
also did everything it could to prevent Kirkuk from coming under the 
Kurdish administration's control, yet the American stance on this 
issue never changed.  Then Ankara asked for the deferral of the 
referendum in Kirkuk and that goal was not achieved either.  The 
referendum will be held this year and it make Kirkuk's Kurdish 
status official.  All of this means the failure of Ankara's official 
policy.  Ankara should come up with a new policy based on the 
realities in Iraq.  The official rhetoric so far did not work and it 
was obvious that it would not work.  But Ankara was not able to see 
that for some reason.   At this point Turkey's Iraq policy should 
turn to a different direction -- to establish a brotherly 
relationship with a Kurdish state in the north and to use it as a 
facilitating tool in order to settle Turkey's internal Kurdish 
issue." 
 
Kubilay Celik warns in the ultra nationalist Tercuman that the 
mission of US Special Envoy is not to "counter" the PKK but to 
"legitimize" it:  "Once again the US Counter Terrorism Coordinator 
Ralston is arriving in Turkey.  The purpose of the visit is 
presented as countering PKK terrorism, although the fact is that 
there will be no substance.  Ralston will make his usual 
presentation, using the usual rhetoric.  He will leave the main 
topics untouched, including dissolving PKK terror camps in northern 
Iraq.  The reality is that the US has started a census in the 
Makhmour camp which is a stronghold terror camp run by the PKK.  The 
US is supporting the northern Iraqi elements -- US Ambassador Wilson 
dared to advise Turkey 'to cooperate with northern Iraqi 
administration for border safety.'  Ralston's mission is to set the 
ground for legitimizing the PKK and politicize it rather than 
countering it.  The census in Makhmour camp and US-Kurdish 
collaboration are part of the steps toward recognizing Kurdistan and 
the PKK.  We should be very careful of the traps set against 
Turkey." 
 
Operations against Al-Qaeda in Turkey 
All papers report that in security operations conducted in six 
provinces yesterday, 47 people including three top leaders of 
Al-Qaeda in Turkey in charge of establishing the organizational 
structure were detained.  All three leaders were captured in Konya. 
Milliyet says CIA closely follows the operations against Al-Qaeda 
through the US Embassy in Ankar. 
 
Baydemir Travels to Israel 
The Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak reports Osman Baydemir, the ayor 
of the mainly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, traveled to Israel to 
participate in the "International Tourism, International Relations 
and Peace Initiatives" conference to be held in Eilat from January 
30-February 1.  Baydemir will move on to Jericho after meeting with 
the Israeli and Palestinian mayors in Eilat to discuss resolution of 
conflicts through dialogue between cities. 
 
 
ANKARA 00000188  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV, 6.00 A.M. 
 
Domestic News 
 
- Musa Cam, secretary general of labor union DISK, said the slogans 
"We are all Armenians" at the funeral of slain journalist Hrant Dink 
were meant as a reaction to chauvinism and discrimination. 
 
- Turkish Cyprus leader leader Mehmet Ali Talat said "We are 
partners in everything that goes on in Cyprus and will not allow our 
interests to be harmed," in connection with Greek Cypriot attempts 
for joint oil exploration with littoral states in Mediterranean. 
 
- A public opinion survey conducted in Turkish Cyprus shows that 65 
percent of the Turkish Cypriots want a solution based on two 
separate states in the island, with only 20 percent preferring a 
federation. 
 
International News 
 
- On Monday, a suicide bomber killed three people in an attack on a 
bakery in the southern Israeli city of Eilat. 
 
- Vice President Dick Cheney said the recent deployment of a second 
aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf delivered a strong signal of 
the United States' commitment to confront Iran's growing influence 
in the region. 
 
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told Le Figaro that a military 
operation against Iran would be a catastrophe for the whole region. 
 
 
- The German EU Term Presidency plans to open accession talks with 
Turkey in three chapters by the end of June. 
 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON