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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000889 
 
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, APRIL 16, 2007 
 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
"Republic Rally" and its Aftermath 
All papers over the weekend and today report that more than 300,000 
people marched in Ankara on Saturday to protest against Prime 
Minister Erdogan's aspirations to become Turkey's next president. 
Tens of thousands of people traveled to Ankara from around Turkey to 
attend the rally held by non-government groups led by the Ataturk 
Thought Association.  Academics, retired military officers, 
representatives of the judiciary, students and artists were among 
the participants in the rally that took place two days before the 
start of the presidential nominations.  Many opposition politicians 
attended the demonstration, including Republican CHP leader Deniz 
Baykal and DSP leader Zeki Sezer. 
 
"Turkey is secular and will remain secular," "Mullahs cannot sit in 
Cankaya, [the presidential residence]" and "We don't want imams in 
Cankaya," shouted protesters as they waved Turkish flags and banners 
with Ataturk's picture.  Papers note it was the biggest political 
rally ever held in Ankara, seen by many as a determined show of 
force by the secularists.  The demonstration came on the heels of a 
statement by the chief of the Turkish military, General Yasar 
Buyukanit, saying that the president must have secular values "not 
only in words but also in deeds."  Outgoing President Sezer said on 
Friday that the regime "is under unprecedented threat" from 
Islamists since the founding of the republic in 1923.  Prime 
Minister Erdogan said about the rally he was glad no violence broke 
out, adding the demonstrators exercised their democratic rights. 
Mainstream papers comment the rally showed the majority of Turks 
oppose the mentality of the ruling AKP, and that they want to live 
in a secular, democratic regime.  Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet 
editorialized on Monday that it would be a mistake to regard the 
demonstration solely as a protest against Erdogan becoming 
president.  "It was also an interesting warning to the US, which has 
already made incorrect assumptions about the Middle East.  This 
demonstration gave Washington the opportunity to think that a 
'moderate Islamic state' is not a realistic model for Turkey." 
 
Erdogan on Presidency 
All papers: Mainstream papers say Prime Minister Erdogan, on board 
his plane with journalists en route to Germany, gave some "signals" 
that he will run for the presidency. Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak, 
however, evaluated Erdogan's comments as "mixed signals." 
 
"The new president will bring together the values of the republic 
and the values of Turkish people," Erdogan said.  Erdogan said NGOs 
and the ruling AKP branches across Turkey supported his candidacy. 
He added that the mass rally held in Ankara over the weekend will 
not affect his decision, and that his "consultations" with civic 
organizations will continue.  Responding to a question, Erdogan 
stressed his "brotherly ties" with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul 
will continue whether he becomes president or not.  The PM also said 
if a party leader is elected president, he should leave party 
politics behind.  Erdogan has not yet said whether he will run for 
president, and has only hinted that he would wait until April 25, 
the last day candidacies are accepted, before making an 
announcement. 
 
Barzani Meets Crocker 
Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Yeni Safak and others report 
the president of the regional Kurdish administration in northern 
Iraq, Massoud Barzani, told the US Ambassador in Iraq, Ryan Crocker, 
that Kurds did not want tensions in ties with Turkey, and that the 
Kurds' problems with Iraq would be resolved according to Iraq's 
constitution.  A statement released after the meeting said Barzani 
did not threaten Turkey, and the Kurds will not accept threats 
directed against them.  The statement added Ambassador Crocker said 
Kurdish leaders should continue their "constructive" mission in 
Iraq. 
 
 
ANKARA 00000889  002 OF 003 
 
 
Volker on the PKK, Cyprus 
Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak reports on page one that Principal 
Deputy Assistant Secretary Kurt Volker said to the Greek daily To 
Vima that "our goal is to work together with the governments of 
Turkey and Iraq and encourage close cooperation on finding a 
solution to the PKK problem."  On Cyprus, Volker said the US 
supports the efforts of the UN, and that the demolition of the 
barricade in the green zone in Nicosia was an opportunity for the 
sides to come together. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Possible Turkish Incursions into Iraq 
Yilmaz Oztuna warns against a Turkish incursion in the conservative 
daily Turkiye:  "The policies of Iraqi Kurds rely on US protection 
and the fundamental goal is to ensure the continuation of American 
support for the Kurds.  The northern Iraqi Kurds are very well aware 
of the fact that they will be punished by Turkey, Iran and the Arabs 
once the American forces pull out of Iraq.  Turkey can use its 
strategic alliance with the US to its advantage.  As soon as Turkey 
adopts a policy line parallel to Washington's, the US will have to 
abandon the Kurds as a reflection of realpolitik.  On the other 
hand, a Turkish intervention into Northern Iraq will create a gap 
between Turkey and both the US and Europe.  It will push Turkey into 
alienation and isolation." 
 
In the intellectual Islamist-oriented Zaman, Washington-based Ali 
Aslan considers Washington's reactions to a possible Turkish action: 
 "Americans are preoccupied with the following question: What if the 
Turkish army goes ahead with the incursion plan and undermines the 
stability in the north?  American diplomacy does not want this to 
happen.  They see a Turkish incursion bringing a series of 
consequences, including problems with the Baghdad administration, 
providing another advantage to the Bush opponents in American 
politics.  Therefore they are working really hard to eliminate those 
possibilities by giving clear messages to Ankara.  The message can 
be summed up as 'General Buyukanit's remarks are worrying.  A 
unilateral Turkish intervention in northern Iraq might cause very 
dangerous consequences.  We should resolve this issue via diplomacy 
and dialogue.'  The ideal solution, Washington believes, is for the 
PKK issue to be resolved between Ankara, Baghdad and Erbil even 
without Washington's direct involvement.  It seems the northern Iraq 
issue and the Iraq issue in general will remain to be a hot topic on 
the Ankara-Washington line in the days ahead." 
 
TV News: 
(NTV, 8 A.M.) 
 
Domestic News 
 
- Thousands of people attended funerals held in Izmir for 18 of 33 
school students and teachers killed over the weekend during a trip 
to the tourist region of Cappadocia.  A bus carrying the students 
and teachers collided with a truck on the Aksaray-Konya highway on 
Saturday, killing 33 people, injuring another thirty. 
 
- Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc dismissed the warnings of 
President Sezer that the secular regime in Turkey was under threat. 
Prime Minister Erdogan said Turkish people don't share the concerns 
of Sezer over secularism in Turkey. 
 
- The AKP presidential candidate will be announced after Prime 
Minister Erdogan meets with the AKP executive board on April 25. 
 
- A woman has been detained in Adana for plotting a bomb attack. 
 
International News 
 
- Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said the number of Turkmen in 
Northern Iraq was well below 5 million. 
 
- Nechirvan Barzani, the prime minister of the regional government 
 
ANKARA 00000889  003 OF 003 
 
 
in northern Iraq, said Turkey is a very important country for the 
Kurds. 
 
- US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Turkish military operations 
against the PKK in northern Iraq will not help solve the PKK 
problem. 
 
- Two British military personnel died and another five were injured 
when two transport helicopters crashed near a US air base in Taji 
near Baghdad. 
 
WILSON