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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001295 
 
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 
FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2007 
 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
PKK Landmine Kills 6 Turkish Troops 
All papers report six Turkish soldiers were killed when a PKK 
landmine, perhaps detonated remotely, destroyed their vehicle in the 
southeastern border province of Sirnak.  Other sources told the 
press the landmine was triggered by pressure when the vehicle was 
driven over it.  After the attack, a sweeping operation against the 
terrorists was launched in the region. 
 
Ankara Suicide Attack -- the Aftermath 
All papers report Guven Akkus, the suicide bomber behind the 
explosion in Ankara which killed six people, became affiliated with 
the PKK while living in the Netherlands.  He moved there following 
his release from prison in Turkey in the late 90's.  Tuesday's 
bombing was the worst attack in Ankara in at least a decade. 
Authorities said it looked to be the work of the PKK.  The group has 
denied responsibility for the attack.  Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak 
says police are investigating whether the bomb Akkus was carrying 
was detonated by someone else via a mobile phone or laptop computer. 
 Mass appeal Vatan claims the terrorists initially wanted to stage a 
bomb attack during May Day protests in Istanbul, but their plan 
failed as a result of tight security measures in the city. 
Conservative-Islamist oriented Zaman reports 13 suicide bombers have 
been captured in Turkey over the last month. Intelligence reports 
say PKK suicide bombers were trained by foreigners in camps in the 
Kandil Mountains.  The paper warns that the attack in Ankara might 
be part of efforts to postpone the forthcoming parliamentary 
elections in Turkey.  Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet says PKK leader 
Duran Kalkan threatened in March that "thousands of PKK volunteers" 
were waiting to attack if Turkey, in the face of claims of poisoning 
of Abdullah Ocalan, does not allow the PKK's imprisoned leader to be 
examined by an impartial delegation of doctors.  The paper believes 
Ocalan made remarks last week claiming his health is "bad," urging 
"something to be done," and that could have triggered the Ankara 
suicide attack.  A woman terrorist captured in Adana over the 
weekend said she was planning to strike Turks in retaliation to the 
poisoning of Ocalan. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Ankara Bombing 
Ismet Berkan observed in the liberal-intellectual daily Radikal 
(5/25): "The aim of terrorism by definition is to spread fear and 
insecurity.  In this respect, the Ankara attack achieved its goal. 
Even the Chief of the General Staff could not control his anxiety 
and he was talking about the possibility of similar explosions in 
other big cities.  All of the recent developments, even before the 
TGS warning about threats actually created a climate of insecurity 
in people's minds.  The attack occurred at a time when Kurdish 
candidates are working on ways to get representation in the 
parliament.  Given the already tense atmosphere in Turkish domestic 
politics, the bombing in the capital city blew up the chance to 
solve the Kurdish problem through peaceful means.  The PKK is freely 
operating in US-occupied Iraq which is one of the main reasons for 
Turkey to turn increasingly inward.  The deep mistrust toward the US 
and US double standards in the fight against terrorism provoke 
anti-Western sentiment in Turkey.  In sum, the bombing in Ankara 
will aggravate anti-Western sentiment even more." 
 
Gungor Mengi criticized in the mainstream daily Vatan (5/25): "The 
heinous act was carried by the PKK which acts like a puppet of the 
Barzani administration.  And the US occupying Iraq under the pretext 
of the fight against terrorism, does nothing about it.  The US only 
watches the developments while its weapons are transferred from 
peshmerges to PKK terrorists and while terrorists cross the border 
for attacks in Turkey and return to their shelters in northern Iraq. 
 Where does 'the solidarity among allies and pledges for joint fight 
against terrorism' rhetoric fit into this picture?   What the US is 
doing right now is a sheer denial of its sacred values, displaying 
disgusting hypocrisy.  America is betraying the values that it has 
been proudly representing for over half a century, like courage, 
 
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justice, freedom and the right to live." 
 
Iraq Ready to Cooperate with Turkey against the PKK 
All papers report the Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) said in a 
statement Thursday that Iraq said it was ready to cooperate with 
Ankara against the PKK militants who use northern Iraq as a base. 
"In a reply on May 17, the Iraqi government expressed its intention 
to cooperate against PKK terrorism.  We continue to follow possible 
opportunities for cooperation in this matter," the statement said. 
Last month Turkey sent a diplomatic note to Baghdad asking Iraq to 
help force the PKK out of northern Iraq.  The conservative-Islamist 
oriented Zaman says Ankara, not satisfied by the Iraqi dipnote, 
expects more, such as concrete measures.  Turkey's Iraq Special 
Envoy, Ambassador Oguz Celikkol, is to lead a delegation to Baghdad 
for talks with the Iraqi leaders over the weekend. 
 
Al-Qaeda Threatens Turkey 
Sabah, Milliyet, Aksam, Vatan, Hurriyet and Cumhuriyet:  Mustafa Abu 
Al-Yazid, the new leader of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, said in a taped 
statement broadcast on al-Jazeera TV that Abd Al - Hadi Al -Iraqi, 
the top commander of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, was captured in Turkey last 
fall while he was trying to sneak into Iraq and handed over to US 
officials.  Al-Yazid, threatened Turkey that Al-Qaeda would take the 
revenge for the incident 
 
President Sezer Partially Vetoes Nuclear Power Plant Bill 
Sabah, Milliyet, Zaman, Cumhuriyet and others:  President Sezer 
partially vetoed the Nuclear Power Plants bill, which would 
establish nuclear power plants in the country because he considered 
three articles of the new law against the Constitution.  Sending the 
bill back to the Parliament, Sezer demanded Parliament to re-debate 
article 5, 6 and 7 of the bill. 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV, 7.00 A.M. 
 
Domestic News 
 
- The Turkish General Staff (TGS) chief Yasar Buyukanit and force 
commanders will observe the "Ephesus" offshore naval exercises in 
the Aegean city of Izmir on Friday.  Prime Minister Erdogan and 
President Sezer will also participate. 
 
- Prime Minister Erdogan held phone talks with Azerbaijani and 
Turkmen Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov, and 
invited the two leaders to Turkey.  Erdogan held another phone talk 
with French President Nicholas Sarkozy, urging him to avoid speaking 
through the media to overcome problems.  Sarkozy expressed deep 
sorrow over Tuesday's bomb attack in Ankara. 
 
- Opposition parties CHP and DSP will hold a rally in Mersin on 
Saturday whereas Prime Minister Erdogan will address supporters in 
Sivas. 
 
- The ruling AKP government will reportedly reduce value added tax 
in tourism sector and food sales. 
 
International News 
 
- EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said the EU had a "solid 
mandate" to continue membership talks with Turkey. 
 
- Muhammad al-Baradei, the head of the IAEA, said Iran may be 
between three and eight years away from producing nuclear weapons. 
 
 
- The Greek Foreign Ministry condemned in a statement Turkey's 
denial of Pontus genocide claims. 
 
- The Berlin-based Transparency International says corruption is 
 
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undermining justice in many parts of the world. 
 
WILSON