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Viewing cable 07ANKARA1705, ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
07ANKARA1705 2007-07-03 12:43 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Ankara
VZCZCXRO2274
OO RUEHDA
DE RUEHAK #1705/01 1841243
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 031243Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2828
RUEKJCS/CJCS WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC//PA
RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU
INFO RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS 8197
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 2969
RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 2099
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 5993
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 5790
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2398
RUEUITH/DET 1 39LG ANKARA TU
RHMFIUU/USDOCO 6ATAF IZMIR TU
RHMFIUU/39OS INCIRLIK AB TU
RHMFIUU/AFOSI DET 523 IZMIR TU
RHMFIUU/39ABG INCIRLIK AB TU
RHMFIUU/AFOSI DET 522 INCIRLIK AB TU
RUEUITH/AFLO ANKARA TU
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001705 
 
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, JULY 3, 2007 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Hrant Dink Assassination Trial Starts 
All papers report a court in Istanbul decided during the first 
hearing on the case to release four of the 18 suspects accused of 
participating in the assassination of Hrant Dink, an Armenian 
Turkish journalist.  The prosecutor asked for life imprisonment for 
the main suspects Erhan Tuncel and Yasin Hayal on charges of 
inciting the murder, and demanded a prison sentence between 18-24 
years for the assailant Ogun Samast.  Prison terms ranging between 
7.5 and 35 years were requested for other suspects.  The trial was 
held behind closed doors because Samast is a minor.  The trial date 
was set for October 1. 
 
Some 1,000 people gathered in front of the courtroom yesterday, 
shouting "We are all Hrant Dink; we are all Armenians" and "We want 
justice."  "Go to hell, you're all Armenians," shouted Fuat Turgut, 
one of the lawyers of the defendants, to the crowd. 
Dink's widow Rakel submitted a petition to the court urging those 
responsible for the murder be brought to justice.  Rakel Dink 
criticized the court's reluctance to deepen the investigation over 
fears that links between the members of the judiciary and the murder 
would be disclosed.  Dink's lawyers have expressed concerns about 
the possible involvement of Turkey's so-called "deep state" in court 
proceedings. 
 
DP Unveils Election Manifesto 
Hurriyet, Sabah, Radikal, Zaman and others report the leader of 
Democrat Party (DP) Mehmet Agar, disclosing his party's election 
manifesto, which called for students to be allowed to wear the 
headscarf at universities; and an "expanded EU forum" with the 
participation of political parties, universities and NGOs to change 
to the method of "open-ended talks" between the EU and Turkey. The 
DP manifesto also called for a cooperation mechanism between Turkey 
and Iraq which would secure Iraq's territorial integrity, adding if 
it fails, Turkey will withdraw from the 1926 Ankara Agreement which 
had marked the border between the two countries.  Resolution of the 
problems stemming from unemployment, social security, and unbalanced 
wealth distribution will also help bring terrorism to an end, 
declared the manifesto. 
 
US Military Attach Found Dead in Cyprus 
All papers report the Greek Cypriot police yesterday found the body 
of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Mooney, the defense attach at the US 
Embassy in Nicosia, who had been missing since June 28.  Papers 
speculate Mooney's death could be related to nuclear smuggling, or 
could be an Iranian act of retaliation for the "abduction" of 
Iranian Ali Reza Asgari in Istanbul earlier this year, or that he 
could have been poisoned.  Papers also note Mooney was a graduate of 
the Turkish military academy and was a military anti-terror 
specialist. 
 
Turks Seize Uzans' USD 250 Million in Switzerland 
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and Yeni Safak 
report Swiss and Turkish officials have launched joint operations to 
track the assets of the Uzan family in Europe.  The officials have 
seized cash, gold and stock exchange certificates totaling USD 250 
million in Swiss banks.  State banking fund (TMSF) officials are now 
working to transfer the funds to Turkey.  The accounts had been 
frozen by an international court order on a telecommunications 
company controlled by the Uzan family.  The family is estimated to 
have at least USD 1 billion in Swiss banks. 
 
In 2004, Turkish financial authorities seized over 200 companies 
belonging to the Uzans for failing to repay debts of more than USD 
5.5 billion.  Arrest warrants have been issued for father Kemal 
Uzan, his brother Yavuz and Kemal's younger son Hakan, on charges of 
embezzlement, fraud and irregular off-shore transactions.  Another 
son of Kemal Uzan, Cem Uzan, is currently running for parliament in 
Turkey as the leader of the Genc (Youth) Party. 
 
ANKARA 00001705  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
Editorial Commentary on International Peacekeepers for Gaza 
Erdal Safak observes in the mainstream Sabah:  "As if Turkey doesn't 
have enough troubles, now, there is an attempt to push it into hell 
in Palestine.  PLO Secretary General Yaser Abed Rabbo recently 
suggested that deployment of an international force in Gaza 
consisting of troops from countries such as Turkey, Indonesia and 
Qatar, could establish security there.  Sending Turkish troops to 
Gaza would be a nightmare for various reasons: an international 
force in Gaza would be interpreted among both the Turkish and Arab 
publics as defending Israel against Hamas; Hamas already announced 
they would consider such a force an occupation force and promised to 
greet them with missiles; there are more radical organizations in 
Gaza than Hamas, like the "Islamic Army;" Israel is against the 
international force having only observer -coordinator status; and, 
as a last reason, this international force will indirectly be 
involved with Iran because Hamas gets its weapons and financial 
support from Tehran.  Just one of these reasons alone is enough for 
Turkey to keep away from this hell.  If a peace force is sent to the 
region, then, Egypt should contribute troops as a neighbor of the 
Gaza strip.  If Egypt doesn't have sufficient troops, then the EU 
countries should contribute. However, they are hesitant to send 
troops to such a dangerous region, even though they support an 
international force there." 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV, 7.00 A.M. 
 
Domestic News 
 
- Abdullah Demirbas, the Kurdish mayor of Sur municipality in 
Diyarbakir, has stepped down after the Council of State (Danistay) 
ruled to remove him from office for providing municipality services 
in languages other than Turkish. 
 
- In Antalya on Tuesday, the chief of the Turkish General Staff 
Yasar Buyukanit will deliver a speech at the Silk Road seminar held 
with the participation of defense ministers and army chiefs from 
NATO, Partnership for Peace, Mediterranean Dialogue and Istanbul 
Cooperation Initiative. 
 
- World Chambers Federation will hold a congress in Istanbul on July 
4-6 with the participation of 1500 businessmen from 140 countries. 
 
 
- State Minister Ali Babacan said electricity and natural gas prices 
will not increase this year. 
 
International News 
 
- The new EU term president Portugal reportedly plans to open two or 
three new chapters in accession negotiations with Turkey. 
 
- British police held seven people on Monday in their pursuit of a 
suspected al-Qaeda cell which rammed a fuel-packed jeep into the 
Glasgow airport and left two car bombs in London. 
 
- The US Ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad said the Taliban and 
other extremists try to use civilians as shields. 
 
- Iranian President Ahmadinejad and his Venezuelan counterpart 
Chavez broke ground Monday on a joint petrochemical complex south of 
Tehran. 
WILSON