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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000953 
 
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 24, 2007 
 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Erdogan Names Gul as Presidential Candidate 
Breaking News:  Prime Minister Erdogan announced Foreign Minister 
Abdullah Gul would be the AKP candidate for president before noon on 
Tuesday at an extraordinary session of the party's decision board. 
 
 
Today's papers were reporting Erdogan said the new president would 
be a member of the ruling AK Party and also a member of parliament. 
He also said the party's candidate would be a "conciliatory figure." 
 On Sunday, Erdogan had met Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc and 
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul separately to decide who would be 
their presidential candidate. 
 
Abdullah Gul, 56, is a former economics professor known to be a 
capable and reform-minded politician who has overseen Turkey's drive 
to join the European Union.  A fluent English speaker, Gul has 
studied at British universities.  His wife wears the Muslim 
headscarf. 
 
Parliament chooses the president in a series of up to four votes. 
In the first and second rounds, a candidate must receive 367 votes, 
or two thirds of all deputies, to win.  In the third round, only a 
simple majority of 276 votes is needed.  If no candidate can secure 
support in the third round, a fourth and final vote is held.  In the 
unlikely event of no candidate winning in the final round, 
parliamentary elections are called.  The AKP candidate is expected 
to win in the third round.  The first round of voting will be held 
April 27 and the new president will be sworn in on May 16. 
 
Turkey Calls for Joint Historian Commission 
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and others 
report Turkey placed advertisements in major US newspapers (New York 
Times, Washington Post, Washington Times, LA Times, International 
Herald Tribune, and Roll Call) inviting Armenia to establish a 
Turkey-Armenia joint historian committee to examine facts regarding 
the claims of the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turkish 
troops in 1915. 
 
Larijani-Solana to Meet in Turkey 
Hurriyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Yeni Safak and others report 
EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Iran's chief nuclear 
negotiator Ali Larijani will meet in Ankara.  Turkey will not join 
the meeting.  Hurriyet reports the meeting will happen April 25. 
Cumhuriyet says during a visit last week to Ankara, Iranian Foreign 
Minister Mottaki asked Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul to arrange a 
meeting between Solana and Larijani.  Cumhuriyet sees it as another 
Iranian effort to soften the pressure of UN sanctions through 
dialogue with EU.  The Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) said in a 
statement Tuesday that Larijani and Solana "will be holding talks in 
Ankara on April 25 and 26 regarding the Iranian nuclear issue." 
 
Zebari May Visit Turkey before Iraq's Neighbors Conference 
The intellectual/Islamist-oriented Zaman reports Iraq's Foreign 
Minister Hoshyar Zebari wants to call on Ankara after traveling to 
Tehran on Wednesday in an effort to seek Iranian support for an 
upcoming expanded Iraq's neighbors conference in Egypt.  Zebari is 
expected to visit Damascus as well.  Turkish diplomatic sources 
confirmed the Zebari request, says Zaman, adding no date was set 
yet. 
 
Ambassador David Satterfield Visits Ankara 
The liberal daily Radikal reported Saturday the US special Iraq 
coordinator Ambassador David Satterfield paid a visit to Ankara to 
meet with Turkey's Iraq envoy Oguz Celikkol, Turkish Foreign 
Ministry (MFA) Undersecretary Ertugrul Apakan, and the second chief 
of the Turkish General Staff (TGS) Ergin Saygun.  Satterfield told 
the Turks the US respects TGS chief General Yasar Buyukanit, but 
maintains hope that there will be no need for military operations 
 
ANKARA 00000953  002 OF 003 
 
 
against the PKK in northern Iraq.  "The responsibility for taking 
forward steps in the Kurdish region falls on the Kurdish leaders, 
and no one else," said Satterfield in an interview on CNN-Turk.  He 
stressed the US is not responsible for the statements made by the 
regional Kurdish administration president Barzani.  With regard to 
demands for putting off a planned referendum on Kirkuk, Satterfield 
said the ways to resolve the problem were mentioned in the Iraqi 
constitution.  Satterfield also noted the decision to hold the 
expanded Iraq's neighbors' foreign ministers meeting in Egypt 
instead of Istanbul was made by the Iraqi government, says Radikal. 
 
 
Editorial Commentary on Satterfield Meetings in Ankara 
Murat Yetkin wrote in the liberal-intellectual daily Radikal: 
"Americans seem to realize that the rhetoric of 'PKK is a terrorist 
organization and let's resolve this issue through dialogue' has lost 
its influence over Ankara during the last two years.  In this 
context, Satterfield told a group of reporters in Ankara, referring 
to the Kurdsh regional government, that 'if you claim control over a 
region, then you cannot just say that you are responsible for 
certain things and not responsible for some others.'  The US stands 
opposed to a military operation by Turkey but its stance has also 
shifted toward giving a chance to the Iraqi Kurdish leadership to 
prevent PKK activities rather than advising Ankara to talk to the 
Iraqi Kurds.  When Satterfield was asked whether Barzani would keep 
his promises, he emphasized that the 'Kurdish leadership will prove 
their leadership.'  Satterfield listed the closure of PKK offices, 
shutting down the PKK leadership and stopping PKK activities as 
examples of concrete developments in the foreseeable future. 
 
Since he used 'as soon as possible' to define the time limit, 
reporters asked him to be more specific.  He did not want to answer 
this question directly but answering another question he said, 'as 
soon as possible does not mean months.'  Given the nature of our 
conversation, we tend to believe that he refers to a couple of 
weeks.  Let's wait and see then." 
 
Fehmi Koru wrote in the Islamist-intellectual Yeni Safak: "American 
officials have heard many times both from civilians and from the 
military messages related to the need for cross-border operations 
against PKK.  It seems the US has finally got the point.  David 
Satterfield, after having a series of meetings in Ankara, told four 
journalists that 'We understand and accept Turkey's sensitivities 
completely.  The Northern Iraqi administration should fulfill its 
responsibility.' 
 
The US is very well aware of the need to conquer hearts and minds in 
Turkey.  Now it remains to be seen to what extend those big goals 
vis-`-vis the Iraqi Kurds will be achieved.  Will the US be able to 
make Iraqi Kurds end the PKK's presence there?  Satterfield was 
talking about weeks.  It is now the time to wait and see." 
 
TV News: 
(NTV, 8 A.M.) 
 
Domestic News 
 
- Celebrations have been held across Turkey to mark April 23, 
Children's Day and National Sovereignty Holiday. 
 
- US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has refrained from meeting with a 
Turkish parliamentary delegation visiting the US to discuss Armenian 
genocide charges, but last week Turkish Ambassador in Washington 
Nabi Sensoy had an opportunity to meet Pelosi to discuss the matter. 
 
 
- One Turkish soldier has been killed in Sirnak and another one in 
Hatay during clashes with PKK terrorists. 
 
- Turkey kicks off test runs between Ankara and Eskisehir of an 
 
ANKARA 00000953  003 OF 003 
 
 
Italian-made high-speed train. 
 
- Over the last ten years, the share of EU countries in Turkish 
exports has increased from 49.7 percent to 51.6. 
 
International News 
 
- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has ordered the US military 
in Baghdad to stop the construction of a controversial wall built 
around the Sunni neighborhood of Adhamiya. 
 
- Secretary Rice said she wants Iran to attend an upcoming 
international Iraq meeting in Egypt. 
 
- Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh rejected the resignation of 
Palestinian security chief who wanted to step down citing lack of 
progress in implementing his new security plan. 
 
- Three car bombs killed 15 in the Sunni stronghold of Ramadi on 
Monday. 
 
WILSON