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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001745 
 
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, JULY 9, 2007 
 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Forest Fires Rage in Tourist Towns 
All papers report a blaze that started Sunday morning in the 
Manavgat area of the Mediterranean resort of Antalya spread to a 
larger area, threatening residents.  Also on Sunday, a fire broke 
out in the northwestern Adapazari district.  Forest fires broke out 
in three districts of the Aegean port city of Izmir the same day.  A 
fire that broke out on the outskirts of Bodrum early Saturday was 
brought under control on Sunday, but not before destroying some 300 
hectares of forest and farmland and forcing some locals and 
holidaymakers to be evacuated from the area.  Forestry General 
Directorate said the cause of the blaze was still being 
investigated.  News reports over the weekend said the fires which 
broke out almost simultaneously around tourist towns may have been 
acts of arson by terrorists. 
 
Weekend Activity Shows Election Campaign in Full Force 
All papers continue reporting on the campaigns of the political 
party leaders in the run up to the July 22 parliamentary elections. 
On Sunday, Prime Minister Erdogan is welcomed by 50,000 supporters 
in Izmir, known as a stronghold of the main opposition party CHP. 
"We will strengthen the nation's desire for coexistence in a 
democracy," said Erdogan, stressing Turkish citizens' personal 
preferences will be respected.  During an AKP rally in CHP leader 
Baykal's hometown of Antalya the same day, Erdogan criticized the 
main opposition leader for "doing nothing" for the Mediterranean 
tourist resort. 
 
Addressing a rally in the southeastern city of Adiyaman on Saturday, 
CHP leader Deniz Baykal said that the state-owned oil refiner Petkim 
was sold in a hurry just two weeks before the general elections, 
adding that the identity of the buyers was not clear.  Baykal vowed 
to stop the sale if CHP gains power after the elections.  Baykal 
recalled during a TV interview on Sunday night there were 200 
lawsuits including ones concerning the PM and other cabinet 
ministers waiting at the parliament, and maintained that once in 
power, CHP would remove the immunity for lawmakers.  Answering a 
question on whether CHP would form a coalition with the nationalist 
MHP, Baykal said, "such a thing is out of the question, all parties 
are trying to come to power alone.  But depending on the future 
circumstances of the country, we will do whatever is necessary to 
remove obstacles in the way of Turkey." 
 
MHP leader Devlet Bahceli addressed some 40,000 supporters in 
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul's hometown and AKP stronghold Kayseri, 
criticizing Erdogan for fueling tensions during the presidential 
elections.  Bahceli also said Erdogan constituted a "security risk" 
for Turkey, and lashed out at the PM for fighting against terrorism 
under the direction of the US. 
 
Iraqi Turkmen Injured in Bomb Attack Flown to Turkey 
Al papers report 21 Turkmen injured in a bomb attack Saturday in the 
northern Iraqi Turkmen town of Tuzkhurmatu were flown to Turkey for 
medical treatment.  Two military air ambulances departed on Sunday 
from Ankara for the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk to extend a 
helping hand to those wounded when a suicide truck bomber struck 
Tuzkhurmatu on Saturday, killing about 150 people.  Iraqi officials 
have blamed al-Qaeda for the attack.  The Turkish Foreign Ministry 
(MFA) said in a statement released late on Saturday, "We harshly 
condemn the terror attack and wish these violent incidents to come 
to an end.  Our country will continue giving all kind of support to 
efforts to maintain national harmony and peace in Iraq without any 
discrimination on the basis of religion, sect or ethnic roots." 
 
Ankara Protests to Athens over "Kurdistan Map" 
All papers report the Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) has protested 
to Greece after a map showing Turkey's southeast as part of a 
Kurdish state was displayed at a seminar organized by the Greek 
General Staff.  Greek Ambassador in Ankara George Yennimatas was 
 
ANKARA 00001745  002 OF 002 
 
 
summoned to the MFA over the incident.  The seminar took place July 
3-7 in Athens.  A participant, Professor Mazis, displayed a map of 
Turkey and the Middle East, showing Turkey's southeast as part of a 
"Free Kurdistan."  Turkey's military attach in Athens, Colonel 
Atilla Sirin, reportedly walked out of the meeting to protest the 
presentation.  The same map had caused strains in the past when it 
was shown at a NATO seminar. 
 
Editorial Commentary: Turkish Cross-Border Operation into Northern 
Iraq 
Semih Idiz comments in the mainstream daily Milliyet:  "All 
conditions which would enable Turkey to launch a cross-border 
operation into Northern Iraq are in place.  However, there is an 
international angle to the issue.  As an example, Turkey entered 
Cyprus based on a legal right.  But, even that right couldn't 
prevent the UN from labeling Turkey an occupier.  This label is 
still used and Turkey stands on its own on the Cyprus issue.  Today, 
too, the international community believes that Turkey has not 
exerted the necessary peaceful means regarding the elimination of 
the PKK in Northern Iraq.  Iraqi Kurds as well, use this argument in 
the international arena.  Is it definite that such an operation will 
be successful?  First of all, if there are such plans, they don't 
need to be announced openly.  As Israel successfully did in the 
past, an operation can be launched unexpectedly and at targets well 
determined beforehand.  As many analysts pointed out, there is 
another serious angle to a possible operation, which is, in case of 
a cross-border operation, the PKK could increase its bloody 
activities in Turkey and Turk-Kurd separation could speed up.  The 
Turkish government and military officials stress that every plan is 
made and every possibility considered regarding the cross-border 
operation.  I hope they are right because the risk of deepening the 
already open wound is at a level that cannot be ignored." 
 
TV News: 
(NTV, 8 A.M.) 
Domestic News 
 
- Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) representative in Turkey Bahros 
Galali said a Turkish cross-border into northern Iraq before the 
July 22 elections was unlikely. 
 
- The Council of Ministers will hold a meeting on July 9 to discuss 
terror and other problems at the Iraqi border. 
 
- Security officials in Nusaybin have seized 36 Glock handguns which 
have been smuggled through the Habur border gate between Turkey and 
Iraq. 
 
- Turkey's High Election Board has begun preparations for a 
referendum on October 21 on whether the president should be elected 
by popular vote. 
 
International News 
 
- The Israeli cabinet, aiming to strengthen the Abbas government in 
the West Bank, has approved the release of 250 Palestinian prisoners 
from the Fatah Party. 
 
- President Talabani said Iraq could have been more successful in 
ending the insurgency and sectarian violence if it had received full 
support from Iran and Syria. 
 
- US military sources in Baghdad said Sunday radical Iraqi Shiite 
cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has gone back to neighboring Iran. 
 
- Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders Mehmet Ali Talat and Tasos 
Papadopoulos might come together in ten days, according to Greek 
Cypriot papers. 
 
WILSON