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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000091 
 
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 
THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2007 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
US, Iraqi Forces Raid Makhmour Camp in Northern Iraq 
All papers report US troops and Iraqi forces raided on Wednesday the 
Makhmour refugee camp known to be a stronghold of the PKK in 
northern Iraq.  Makhmour governor Abdulrahman Pelaf is quoted as 
saying that the raid was carried out on a tip off that the refugees 
had weapons in the camp.  The Turkish anti-terrorism special envoy, 
retired general Edip Baser, said the operation would lay the 
groundwork for other operations.  "Our expectation is that this 
camp, home to some 10,000 people, be dismantled.  You cannot of 
course call all of them terrorists.  We have said before that the 
PKK is using the camp as a shelter and training area as well as a 
recruiting ground.  This was a search operation, we must understand 
that a deep-rooted problem like this cannot be settled in one day," 
Baser said. 
 
 
Tom Casey Statement on Kirkuk 
All papers covered State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey's 
statement that "there are mechanisms in the Iraqi constitution for 
determining the status of Kirkuk and we expect the Iraqi Government 
to continue with those plans."  Cumhuriyet and Radikal say that 
Washington ignored Turkey's objections to holding a referendum in 
Kirkuk this year.  The Casey statement was made in reaction to a 
recent statement of Prime Minister Erdogan that Turkey cannot remain 
indifferent to developments in Iraq and Kirkuk, wrote the both 
papers.  Today's papers also report that the Turkish Parliament will 
gather today for the first Kirkuk session, during which FM Gul will 
brief deputies.  Both the ruling party and the main opposition 
submitted petitions for the Kirkuk sessions after the government 
faced tense requests to hold a parliamentary session to discuss the 
future of Kirkuk and several possibilities about Turkey's role, 
including military invention. 
 
Meanwhile, Turkish ambassadors to Middle East countries held 
yesterday a meeting to discuss developments in the region in 
preparation for parliamentary debates on Iraq today. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Kirkuk 
Gungor Mengi comments in the mass appeal Vatan: "The Turkish 
parliament is starting a general debate on Iraq which is a correct 
but belated step.  Turkey continues to pretend that the conditions 
are still the same as they were when the parliament rejected the 
American transfer of troops through Turkey.  The fact of the matter 
is that things have changed dramatically since March 1st and we 
couldn't even become a side player in the Iraq game.  The Prime 
Minister has finally spoken out, warning that the events in Kirkuk 
are moving toward a dangerous path and underlined that Turkey cannot 
sit and watch the developments.  However, Washington has already 
turned down this warning if you look at what the State Department 
spokesman has just said.  On the PKK issue, spokesman Casey did not 
go further than the 'we are in cooperation' rhetoric either.  All 
the parties in the parliament have to realize the current facts 
about the Iraq situation and brainstorm for rational ways to handle 
it.  We must understand that our current position, staying opposed 
to an independent Kurdish state process and asking for their 
cooperation to eliminate the PKK, is not realistic at all." 
 
Zafer Atay writes in the economic-political Dunya: "The Kirkuk issue 
has a historical and political background which makes Turkey unable 
to remain aloof to the developments there.  On the other hand, 
threatening a cross border operation to control Kirkuk and asking 
Turkey to do nothing about the Kirkuk issue are equally unrealistic. 
 Even American thinkers, including in the Baker-Hamilton report, are 
warning about the importance of Kirkuk as well as its potential for 
causing further conflicts in Iraq.  All of this does not necessarily 
call for a cross border action by Turkey.  Yet we cannot afford to 
say this is not our business.  Turkey has to exert all possible 
diplomatic ways and means till the bitter end.  When doing that we 
 
ANKARA 00000091  002 OF 002 
 
 
should keep in mind that the Iraqi Turkmen population does not have 
anybody else but Turks as their protectors.  Turkey has to bear in 
mind the vitality of the Kirkuk-Yumurtalik pipeline as well -- that 
it is too precious to leave entirely in the hands of Kurdish 
tribes." 
 
FM Gul, Defense Minister Gonul and TGS Chief General Buyukanit to 
Visit US 
Hurriyet, Radikal, Posta and others:  Hurriyet reports that Foreign 
Minister Abdullah Gul will meet with his American counterpart 
Condoleezza Rice in Washington on February 6 and will explain the 
importance of the special status for Kirkuk and will urge Washington 
to give special status to Kirkuk. HE is expected to urge that 
Kirkuk's natural resources be used by the whole of Iraq, not only by 
certain groups.  Radikal reports that Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul 
will travel the US on January 22nd to sign the agreement document on 
the production of Joint Strike Fighter project.  Gonul will meet 
with his counterpart Robert Gates on January 26.  NTV reported that 
the TGS Chief General Buyukanit will visit Washington on February 11 
and meet with General Pace and top US military leaders. 
 
Historic Self-Criticism 
Milliyet reports that former MIT (National Intelligence 
Organization) deputy undersecretary Cevat Ones confessed that Turkey 
was unsuccessful in finding a solution to the PKK and Kurdish 
issues.  Ones said "PKK terrorism occurred as the result of the 
historical Kurdish issue.  We have to eliminate the mistakes made in 
the past.  Military martyrs are our own people, so are the PKK 
supporters in the mountains.  Whether we call them militant, 
guerilla or something else, they are all Turkish citizens.  If there 
are wrong systems in the country, such sorrows definitely occur as a 
result.  We have to learn lessons from past mistakes.  The PKK issue 
will not end if we eliminate about 3000 militant in Northern Iraq. 
The main thing is, to be able to eliminate the problems through 
democratic and legal ways." 
 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV, 6.00 A.M. 
 
Domestic News 
 
- Turkish Interior Ministry has approved an investigation against 
Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir for sending to Turkish officials 
invitations in the Kurdish language for the opening of a culture and 
arts festival held by the municipality in May. 
 
- Housing Minister Faruk Ozak has announced that foreigners acquired 
181 million square meters of properties in Turkey. 
 
International News 
 
- A suicide bomber driving an explosives-laden truck hit a police 
station in Kirkuk killing 30 people and wounding dozens of others. 
The blast occurred in a Turkmen quarter of the city center. 
 
- EU Foreign Ministers will meet January 22 in Brussels to discuss 
regulations for direct trade with Turkish Cyprus. 
 
- Senators Carl Levin and Fred Upton campaign to block the 
extradition of suspected PKK militant Ibrahim Parlak to Turkey, 
saying he has been living in the US as an exemplary immigrant and 
businessman for years. 
 
  - Californian Governor Schwarzenegger has called for a US troop 
pullout of Iraq by the end of this year. 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON