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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001161 
 
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, MAY 15, 2007 
 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
No Compromise on Alliance Reached by Center-Left Parties 
Sabah, Milliyet, Radikal, Zaman and others:  Talks on a party 
alliance ahead of the July 22 elections between the main left-center 
parties CHP and DSP hit a bottleneck because of disagreements over 
the distribution of seats in parliament.  Mainstream Sabah says 
while DSP is asking for at least 20 seats, CHP believes that 10 or 
12 seats would be sufficient.  Because of the disagreement, the two 
parties failed to make progress in their talks on unification. 
 
Gearing up for Elections 
Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak reports that a poll conducted by ANAR 
shows that the ruling AKP will get 38.3 %, possible left-leaning 
coalition CHP-DSP 14.7 %, right-leaning coalition party DP 7.9%, and 
nationalist MHP 5.5 % of the votes in the upcoming elections. 
Mainstream Vatan, on the other hand, gives front page coverage to a 
survey conducted by Estima polling company.  According to this 
survey four parties will pass the 10% election threshold: AKP 29.6 
%, CHP 19.2 %, DP 15.3 % and MHP 10.3 %. 
 
Meanwhile, leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet reports that the European 
Parliament will be sending a delegation to Turkey prior to the 
elections to observe the treatment of Kurdish candidates, mainly in 
the southeastern part of the country. 
 
Editorial Opinion: Turkish Elections and the US 
 
Haluk Ulman writes in the business and political daily Dunya: 
"Stories about the US position on the upcoming Turkish elections 
have started to appear in the press, with the main focus on 
speculation as to which party the US will support. One would think 
the elections will be held in the US, not in Turkey.  The US is 
undoubtedly the most powerful country in the world so its views 
regarding Turkey's elections are important to know, but believing 
that the US will have an influence over the voters' ballots is going 
overboard.  Any country's domestic politics are shaped by internal 
dynamics.  In Turkey, American neo-cons look for a Turkish 
government free from conflict with Washington's interests.  The 
ruling AKP seems to be the only one in that sense which stays away 
from nationalistic rhetoric.  In other words, there is no reason at 
the moment for Washington to look for alternate governments in 
Turkey.  In any case, Iraq will be the main issue for the period 
ahead regarding the future shape of Turkish-American relations." 
 
Operations against the PKK 
Mainstream Hurriyet and Milliyet report that Turkish security forces 
continued their operations against the PKK in the southeast, mainly 
in the rural parts of Sirnak Province, and Cudi and Gabar Mountains. 
 Milliyet says that Turkish troops now control the routes used by 
PKK terrorists to enter Turkey from Northern Iraq. 
 
Ambassador Wilson Addresses Anti-Terrorism Conference in Ankara 
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Cumhuriyet, CNN-Turk, Kanal 24 and some others 
cover Ambassador Wilson's remarks at the opening of the "Countering 
Ideological Support for Terrorism" conference sponsored by the 
George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, the 
NATO-Russia Council and the NATO Centre of Excellence - Defense 
Against Terrorism Center in Ankara. Milliyet quotes the Ambassador 
as saying that the US "supports the [current] operations against the 
PKK" and is "trying to find other ways to help." Cumhuriyet reports 
the Ambassador said the PKK is the "biggest terror problem facing 
Turkey" and that the US is "working jointly with Turkey to put an 
end to the PKK presence in northern Iraq." 
 
 
 TV Highlights 
NTV, 7.00 A.M. 
 
Domestic News 
 
ANKARA 00001161  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
- Lawyer Turgut Kazan filed a suit against the newly appointed 
Justice Minister Fahri Kasirga saying that he did not meet the 
constitutional requirements for the position. 
 
- Another rally in support of secularism will be held in Samsun on 
May 20. 
 
International News 
 
- Iranian President Ahmedinejad said that Iran will retaliate if the 
US strikes his country. 
 
- US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in Moscow to improve 
strained relations with Russia. 
 
WILSON