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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000636 
 
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, MARCH 20, 2007 
 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Calls for 'Common Sense' on Eve of Nevruz 
All papers report Justice Minister Cemil Cicek as saying security 
measures in 46 provinces around Turkey have been enhanced on the eve 
of Nevruz celebrations.  The leader of DTP, Turkey's main Kurdish 
party, Ahmet Turk, claimed some groups would attempt provocations 
during Nevruz, stressing they will not allow tensions during the 
celebrations.  Hundreds of Turkish NGOs and prominent intellectuals, 
including Professor Baskin Oran and Diyarbakir Bar Association 
chairman Sezgin Tanrikulu, issued a statement pointing to the rising 
tensions before Nevruz, and calling for "common sense" from the 
nation and security forces.  Businessmen from southeast Turkey also 
issued a call for "peaceful celebrations" during Nevruz. 
 
DTP Mayor Sentenced for PKK Propaganda 
Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and others report Metin 
Tekce, the mayor of the mainly Kurdish southeastern border province 
of Hakkari, has been sentenced to seven years and one month in 
prison for "publicly declaring" that the PKK is "not a terrorist 
organization."  Tekce, from Turkey's main Kurdish party DTP, had 
made the statement to a parliamentary commission which was set up to 
investigate the "Semdinli bombing" in the same province in November 
¶2005.  Tekce, reportedly currently visiting France, will appeal the 
decision. 
 
Troop Movement at the Iraqi Border 
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Vatan, Posta and others report on the 
tightened security at the Iraqi border by the military to prevent 
infiltration of terrorists before Nevruz celebrations.  Sabah 
reports that additional troops have been deployed at Sirnak's 
Uludere, Senoba, Balveren and Andac regions as well as Hakkari's 
Semdinli and Yuksekova regions.  Five thousand troops from the Bolu 
commando battalion are deployed at the region, as well. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Iraq War Anniversary 
Fikret Ertan writes in the intellectual Islamist-oriented daily 
Zaman:  "As the war enters its fifth year, the pain and agony of the 
Iraqi people continues to be a fact just like it was in 2003.  It is 
not easy to make an optimistic assessment regarding the future 
prospects of Iraq.  The Saddam regime is gone but the people of Iraq 
continue to suffer.  Along with the Shiite-Sunni conflict, the 
country is moving toward a sectarian-based separation.  Many Iraqis 
prefer to leave their country.  Those who cannot afford to leave are 
trying to cope with circumstances worse than they were before the 
war.  Both the US and Iraqi administrations are stumbling and seem 
to be in despair over finding a way to solve the problems." 
 
Okay Gonensin comments in the mainstream daily Vatan:  "All wars are 
dirty and all aggressors are guilty.  Nevertheless the latest one, 
the Iraq War, will be the dirtiest war of all in the history of 
humanity.  After four years of war, the death toll is 1 million 
people.  Given that the population of Iraq is 25 million, the death 
toll clearly indicates that every household lost at least one family 
member during the last four years.  It is unrealistic to expect a 
country called Iraq to exist after such a colossal loss of life. 
Trying to unite Shiites and Sunnis, at this stage, is nothing but a 
naove act.   And Kurds stand by Americans who killed both Sunnis and 
Shiites.  When the US started the war we were given two main 
reasons.  One was the weapons of mass destruction which proved to be 
a lie.  And the second was the threat posed by Saddam Hussein to his 
country as well as to the world.  It is not possible at this point 
to determine the magnitude of Saddam's potential damage.  However, 
that he would cause the loss of one million lives is quite 
unlikely." 
 
Survey: More Kurds in Istanbul than Diyarbakir 
Mainstream Milliyet carries a public opinion survey, conducted by 
Konda polling company on interviews with 48,000 Turks in 79 
provinces, indicating education and income levels in eastern Turkey 
 
ANKARA 00000636  002 OF 003 
 
 
are lower compared to the western provinces.  The survey revealed 
that Istanbul is the city with the highest Kurdish population in 
Turkey, with 1.57 million Kurds in the country's largest city of 
11.6 million, almost double the number of Kurds living in Diyarbakir 
(618,000).  Milliyet believes the result indicates a high level of 
integration of Turks and Kurds in Turkey. 
 
Turkish Commander, Turkish Cypriot 'PM' Clash 
Sabah, Cumhuriyet, Aksam and Zaman report the commander of Turkish 
troops in northern Cyprus, General Hayri Kivrikoglu, declined to 
shake hands with the major coalition party CTP leader and "prime 
minister" Ferdi Sabit Soyer at a dinner in Lefkosa, "chilling" other 
invitees.  Kivrikoglu said the Turkish national anthem was not 
played at CTP's party congress, and accused Soyer of holding the 
congress "on the day of martyrs."  An astonished Soyer asked whether 
Kivrikoglu "doubted Turkish Cypriots' Turkishness," to which the 
general responded, "You should prove it."  A CTP spokesman later 
told the press playing the national anthem during party congresses 
was "not stipulated by regulations." 
 
OECD Report on Money Laundering in Turkey 
Hurriyet reports that a report by the Organization for Economic 
Cooperation and Development (OECD) Financial Action Task Force 
(FATF) claimed that despite its noteworthy efforts in developing 
legislation against money laundering, Turkey still has several 
deficiencies in the field of prevention of money laundering.  The 
report says that in Turkey, the legal mechanism for prevention of 
money laundering crimes does not work well.  Many cases are referred 
to courts regarding money laundering crimes but no case ends in 
conviction.  The implementation aspect is very weak. 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV, 7.00 A.M. 
 
Domestic News 
 
- The AKP administration continues a series of surveys on the 
preferences of provincial party officials in the presidential 
elections. 
 
- Prime Minister Erdogan is to file a lawsuit against opposition CHP 
leader Baykal who has accused the PM of irregularities in spending 
for funds. 
 
- A delegation of Turkey's influential businessmen's group TUSIAD 
will meet in the US with Congressman Robert Wexler in an effort to 
counter the Armenian genocide resolution.  The delegation will also 
meet IMF officials during their stay in the US. 
 
- The Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler will join the 5th World 
Water Forum in Istanbul on Tuesday during which Turkey will take 
over the three-year presidency of the Forum from Mexico. 
 
International News 
 
- The US has granted Iranian President Ahmadinejad a visa, allowing 
him to address the UN Security Council with regard to his country's 
economic program.  State Spokesman Sean McCormack said the Iranian 
president should make good use of his visit to UN. 
 
 
- The wife of Ali Reza Asghari, former Iranian deputy defense 
minister who went missing in Istanbul, has accused Turkey of handing 
her husband over to Israel. 
 
- Norwegian deputy foreign minister Raymond Johansen met with Prime 
Minister Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza, easing a one-year-old diplomatic 
boycott of the Palestinian government. 
 
- A poll in The Financial Times says almost half of the European 
 
ANKARA 00000636  003 OF 003 
 
 
populace complained about the worsening living conditions since 
their countries joined the EU. 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON