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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001229 
 
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, MAY 21, 2007 
 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Opposition's Baykal, Sezer Attend Republic Rally in Samsun 
All papers report tens of thousands of Turks rallied in the streets 
of the Black Sea city of Samsun on Sunday in support of the secular 
republic ahead of the July 22 parliamentary elections.  Deniz Baykal 
and Zeki Sezer, the leaders of the main opposition CHP and the 
smaller left-wing DSP, attended the demonstration without addressing 
the crowd themselves.  "Our people asked us to unite and we did; now 
we are expecting unity displayed at the ballot box," CHP leader 
Baykal told the press.  The crowds, chanting "Turkey is secular and 
will remain secular," carried Turkish flags and posters of Ataturk. 
 
Like in previous rallies, women played a leading role in the rally 
in Samsun, papers report. 
 
Baser May Quit in June 
Hurriyet, Sabah and Star report Turkey's counter-terrorism 
coordinator Edip Baser Sunday told all-news broadcaster NTV, "We 
expect a forward step from the US regarding the PKK.  If we don't 
see it, I personally think that there's no sense in pushing the 
mechanism any further."  Mainstream Sabah reports Baser said he will 
resign in June after seeing that "last move."  The paper speculates 
the last move Baser anticipated could be the handing over of a 
senior PKK figure to Turkey, a joint strike against the PKK in Mount 
Kandil, US operations against the PKK, or the cutting of the 
financial flow to the organization from Europe. 
 
Emin Pazarci writes the nationalist Bugun: "The Turkish army has 
been seriously concerned over the PKK in Northern Iraq.  During a 
recent high level meeting with US officials, Turkey reacted harshly 
when Americans complained that Turkey was being unfair to them. 
Turkish officials apologized saying, "Imagine if Turkish troops in 
Afghanistan supported the Taliban.  What would you think and how 
would you feel about that?  That's exactly how we feel about US 
activities in Iraq."  Moreover, Turkish troops are currently 
engaging in military operations in northern Iraq.  PKK targets are 
hit via artillery.  Turkish troops are stationed within 8 to 10 
kilometers of the border, some of them permanently.  As for the 
Americans there, they are just watching and photographing the 
developments.  Recently a Fox TV crew visited the site and filmed 
the areas, formerly controlled by the PKK and destroyed by Turkish 
army.  The conclusion is this: a military operation can be conducted 
against the PKK in northern Iraq despite US objections, and it is 
happening." 
 
Turkey's Election Board to decide if Kurdish MPs can Run in 
Elections 
Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and others report former 
Kurdish lawmakers Orhan Dogan and Selim Sadak said Turkey's High 
Election Board (YSK) is to decide whether five former deputies of 
the banned Democracy Party (DEP), convicted in 1991 of supporting 
terrorism, will be allowed to run as independent candidates in the 
July 22 general elections.  Turkey's main Kurdish party DTP chairman 
Ahmet Turk told CNN-Turk over the weekend that Kurdish candidates 
have to be represented in parliament, "the place where problems are 
solved."  "Incidents similar to those that took place in 1991 will 
not happen if we enter the parliament," Turk said commenting on the 
crisis that was created by the former DEP MPs when they took the 
oath in Kurdish during the swearing in ceremony in the parliament. 
Turk stressed, "We will adopt a mature and not a chauvinist 
approach."  Turk said YSK will rule whether former lawmaker Leyla 
Zana and her colleagues will run in the elections or not. 
 
Report Predicts Four Parties in Parliament 
Mainstream Vatan carried on Saturday an elections forecast in a 
report released by CitiGroup, warning foreign investors to prepare 
for a coalition government in a four-party parliament.  The report 
predicts the distribution of votes among parties as follows: AKP 
37.0 percent, CHP+DSP 20.2, DYP+ANAP 13.1, MHP 10.1, GP 6.4, DTP 
 
ANKARA 00001229  002 OF 002 
 
 
4.3, Others 8.8, and Undecided 16.9. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Wolfowitz, Blair 
Ali H. Aslan writes in the Islamist-oriented daily Zaman: "President 
Bush must be feeling very bad nowadays.  No, not because of the 
suffering he caused for Iraqis and Americans, but because of the 
fate of his two beloved friends, Tony Blair and Paul Wolfowitz, both 
of whom are leaving.  Interestingly enough, the timing of 
Wolfowitz's resignation coincided with the visit of Tony Blair to 
the White House who was there to bid farewell to President Bush.  In 
sum, two main figures of the Iraq war will fade from history, and I 
should add, not with a record of success.  President Bush never 
wants to hear a word of criticism against Blair or Wolfowitz, even 
though these two misled him.  This is simply because President Bush 
even today is unaware of being misled.  He maintains his style of 
unilateral decision making and pursues an attitude which leaves no 
room for any cross questioning.  That unilateral attitude was very 
obvious in the Wolfowitz case as well.  When the World Bank scandal 
occurred, Wolfowitz avoided hearing any criticism against himself 
while the White House continued to back him up.  There is a lesson 
to learn: he who acts unilaterally or ignores laws and regulations, 
using the end goals as an excuse, is doomed to face colossal 
failure.  President Bush was dreaming of being a world emperor and 
he is now even unable to use his clout in his party.  He became an 
unpopular lame duck.  His primary team is dissolving, as Wolfowitz 
and Blair are the last in the chain.  Let's hope that these lessons 
are also taken by neo-cons in Turkey who dream of ruling Turkey with 
in a fascist style." 
 
TV News: 
(NTV, 8 A.M.) 
Domestic News 
 
- Turkey-Greece natural gas pipeline will be inaugurated on July 14 
with the participation of Turkish and Greek Prime Ministers Erdogan 
and Karamanlis. 
 
- The main opposition CHP MP Sezai Onder died of lung cancer on 
Sunday. 
 
- Sixty-one illegal migrants have been captured in the eastern 
province of Van over the weekend. 
 
- The latest Turkish letter of intent submitted to the IMF shows 
that electricity prices might be increased soon. 
 
International News 
 
- Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said the Cyprus issue 
cannot be solved in 2007, adding a new window of opportunity might 
be opened in 2008. 
 
- Former US Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad said Iraq's main 
creditors, including Saudi Arabia, will not write off billions of 
dollars in debt unless the country moves forward on national 
reconciliation, economic reform, and improving security. 
 
- European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso warned Russia 
not to try to create divisions within the European Union. 
 
- Six US soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter were killed by a roadside 
bomb in west of Baghdad on Saturday. 
 
WILSON