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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000961 
 
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 
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 2007 
 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Erdogan Nominates Gul as Turkey's Next President 
All papers report Prime Minister Erdogan, in meeting with the AKP 
group at the parliament Tuesday, nominated Foreign Minister Abdullah 
Gul as the ruling party's presidential candidate.  In a press 
conference after the announcement, Gul stressed he wold uphold the 
nation's moral values and the Republic's principles. 
 
Following the announcement, CHP leader Deniz Baykal said after a 
meeting with Gul that his party would not take part in the 
parliamentary voting for the next president.  Mustafa Ozyurek, a 
senior CHP lawmaker, told reporters his party would appeal to the 
Constitutional Court if fewer than two-thirds of MPs (367) attend 
the first round of voting.  Intellectual Islamist-oriented Zaman is 
confident that opposition parties Anavatan and DYP will participate 
in the first round of the presidential elections on Friday, echoing 
the AKP administration's expectation of the participation of at 
least 370 MPs. 
 
Several mainstream papers highlight Gul's wife Hayrunnisa would be 
the first "first lady" who wears a headscarf and note that in 1998, 
she filed a complaint at the European Court of Human Rights against 
headscarf restrictions in Turkey, but pulled back her complaint when 
Gul became Prime Minister in 2002.  Gul responded to questions on 
the issue by saying that wearing the headscarf was an "individual 
right." 
 
Asked about the candidacy of Gul,  deputy chief of the Turkish 
General Staff (TGS) General Ergun Saygun recalled remarks by TGS 
chief Yasar Buyukanit who expressed hope earlier this month that the 
next president would be "loyal to the principles of the 
secular-democratic republic, not just in words but in essence." 
Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet says the military has reissued a 
covert warning to Gul that he must respect secularism in deed, not 
only in words.  The paper quotes Gul as saying in the 1990s when he 
was the deputy-chairman of the now disbanded RP (Welfare Party) that 
"In Turkey, the Republic has come to an end.  We definitely want to 
change this secular system." 
 
The Turkish business community welcomed Gul's candidacy as "a 
positive development."  Guler Sabanci, chairwoman of a leading 
Turkish conglomerate, Sabanci Holding, congratulated Erdogan for the 
"maturity" and "exemplary democratic attitude" the PM displayed. 
 
Hurriyet says Erdogan signaled he has plenty more work to do in 
reforming Turkey when he turned down the presidency for himself. 
"Historic self-sacrifice" reads a page one headline in the 
Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak, praising Erdogan for renouncing the 
presidency and proposing his close ally Gul.  The 
leftist/nationalist mainstream papers also note Erdogan, hoping for 
a sweeping victory in the upcoming parliamentary elections, expects 
to become strong enough to change the constitution and introduce a 
presidential system. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Gul's Nomination 
A commentary in liberal Radikal says Gul's presidency obtained 
without 367 votes might be carried to the Constitutional Court, and 
the ensuing process will inevitably stoke tensions in Turkey.  The 
paper adds, however, that the resulting tense atmosphere will have 
an adverse effect on CHP's chances in the general elections.  A 
commentary in mainstream Vatan argues the struggle over power within 
the AKP will continue since Gul did not want the presidency but was 
hoping to take back the post of Prime Minister he handed over to 
Erdogan on March 2003, four months after the AKP came to power in 
November 2002. 
 
Oktay Eksi, writing in mainstream daily Hurriyet, believes PM 
Erdogan made a "great and unexpected sacrifice" by introducing Gul 
as the AKP candidate, and concluded that "even though 
 
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presidential-candidate Gul is no different than Erdogan in essence, 
Gul has a smoother style. About the headscarf of Mrs. Gul, it will 
certainly be a controversial topic.  But she now has a chance to 
prove being a contemporary woman of modern Turkey and to embrace the 
entire nation which will help to eliminate worries." 
 
Melih Asik writing in the mainstream daily Milliyet worries that 
"one political party now controls the system with only 25 percent of 
the votes by taking over the presidency, prime ministry and the 
parliamentary speaker role -- that is impossible to fit in with the 
idea of a democracy.  There is no hope for secularism either.  The 
headscarf will be at the highest state rank for the first time. 
Erdogan is the head of executive branch, and his very ideas are at 
the presidency.  It all means that moderate Islam project is 
proceeding in a determined fashion." 
 
Optimistic about the future, Sami Kohen writes in Milliyet:  "Gul's 
Presidency will be a plus for international relations.  Gul is 
expected to engage more in foreign affairs, so both the Presidency 
and the government will be in tune.  Through his active style of 
diplomacy, Gul also can play a facilitating role in resolving issues 
such as relations with the EU and northern Iraq." 
 
Bush's Armenian Remembrance Day Message 
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Vatan, Radikal, Zaman and others report that in 
his annual April 24 Armenian Remembrance Day message, President Bush 
"softened" the statement and, "once again did not use the word 
genocide."  "Each year on this day, we pause to remember the victims 
of one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century, when as many 
as 1.5 million Armenians lost their lives in the final years of the 
Ottoman Empire, many of them victims of mass killings and forced 
exile.  The world must never forget this painful chapter of its 
history," papers quote from the statement. 
 
Samsun-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline 
All papers report that the groundbreaking of the Samsun-Ceyhan oil 
pipeline, also called the Trans-Anatolia Project (TAP), was held in 
the Mediterranean coastal town of Ceyhan near Adana.  The pipeline 
will carry crude oil from Central Asia and the Caspian Basin to the 
Mediterranean through Turkey.  Papers report the US Embassy in 
Ankara, backing the project, issued a statement congratulating 
Turkey and the developers of the project.  The statement said the 
project has "great potential for enhancing global energy security as 
an alternative to the congested Bosporus," report papers. 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV (6 A.M.) 
 
Domestic News 
 
- Abdullah Gul's presidential candidacy was enthusiastically 
welcomed in his hometown of the central Anatolian city of Kayseri. 
 
 
- Turkish Cyprus "prime minister" Ferdi Sabit Soyer welcomed 
Abdullah Gul's candidacy for president, stressing the Turkish 
Cypriots were pleased to see democratization and 
institutionalization taking place in Turkey. 
 
- EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana is to meet Wednesday with 
Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani in Ankara to discuss 
Tehran's nuclear program. 
 
- British Air Chief Marshall Sir Jock Stirrup paid a visit to 
Turkish General Staff chief General Yasar Buyukanit in Ankara. 
 
International News 
 
- Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani said they have no hostile 
intentions towards Turkey, adding problems in northern Iraq stem 
 
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from the reluctance of Turkey to accept the PKK problem as an 
internal one. 
 
- European lawmakers of Turkish heritage have sent a letter to 
German Chancellor Angela Merkel to press for a solution in Cyprus. 
 
 
- Turkey is reportedly pressing for the sacking of UNSYG special 
representative for Cyprus Michael Moller, saying Moller is not 
impartial. 
 
- The armed wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement has said it is 
ending a five-month truce with Israel. 
 
- Iran's President Ahmadinejad has proposed public talks with 
President Bush on a wide range of issues. 
- 
WILSON