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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001783 
 
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 
THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2007 
 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Party Leaders Continue Debate over Presidential Election 
All papers report Prime Minister Erdogan said the CHP leader Deniz 
Baykal was acting "like a spoiled child" with his refusal to 
compromise on the presidential candidates picked by the AKP and 
stressed the best way to solve the issue is to "go to the people." 
Erdogan urged Baykal not to "shut the doors" on compromise, and 
called on the CHP leader to nominate someone.  Baykal had said the 
day before that the new president should be someone free of 
political party links and who is not a member of the parliament. 
 
On the other hand, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul implied in an 
interview with yesterday's Milliyet that he will run for president 
if support for the AKP increases in the elections, drawing 
speculation in today's papers that the FM disagreed with Erdogan who 
had said the new candidate would be nominated according to the new 
post-election balance in parliament.  Mainstream papers speculate 
that Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, State Ministers Mehmet Aydin and 
Besir Atalay, AKP candidate for parliament Prof. Zafer Uskul, and 
Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener are among the candidates 
being considered by Erdogan. 
 
Turkey's US Ambassador on the PKK 
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and others report the 
Turkish Ambassador to US Nabi Sensoy told defense writers in 
Washington that Massoud Barzani's KDP and other Kurdish groups were 
providing the PKK shelter, arms and explosives.  Sensoy also accused 
Iraqi Kurdish leader Barzani of supplying the PKK with US-made 
weapons which were used in terror attacks in Turkey.  He added he 
did not believe the US supplied arms to the PKK.  Sensoy also noted 
Ankara wanted the US to press the Iraqi administration to declare 
the PKK a terror organization. 
 
Iraqi Delegation to Visit Turkey 
Sabah, Cumhuriyet and Yeni Safak report a high-level delegation from 
the Iraqi Foreign Ministry is expected to visit Turkey soon to 
discuss the PKK problem and Turkish military buildup along the Iraq 
border.  Iraqi Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Dr. Muhammad Haci 
Hamed told PUK Media website that the Iraqi delegation would seek a 
peaceful solution to the PKK problem with Turkey.  Hamed stressed a 
Turkish incursion into Iraq would cause humanitarian and economic 
devastation in the region.  Turkish Foreign Ministry officials said 
that they did not have any information about an upcoming Iraqi 
delegation. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Turkey's Iraq Policy 
Semih Idiz observes in the mainstream Milliyet:  "There are heated 
debates taking place in the US Senate regarding troop withdrawal 
from Iraq.  Turkey should pay close attention to the Democrats' 
proposals for withdrawal.  A US troop withdrawal from Iraq could be 
interpreted as a positive development by the Turkish public who are 
full of anti-US sentiments, but among the plans there are items that 
would not be to Turkey's benefit.  For example, dividing Iraq 
according to its natural ethnic structure is one of the Democrats' 
proposals.  Political observers who know Iraq well believe that 
there are many drawbacks to dividing Iraq into three regions based 
on ethnicity. One other possibility that Democrats propose is 
pulling the remaining US troops to the safe Kurdish region in 
Northern Iraq.  The Turkish military has already stressed openly 
that this will not be a favorable solution to Turkey.  So what is 
the best choice for Turkey?  Definitely, closer coordination with 
the Bush Administration is the answer.  Unfortunately, recently 
increased anti-American sentiment in Turkey doesn't allow for full 
coordination.  Of course, the PKK issue is another obstacle to 
coordination.  Nevertheless, the developments prove that the Iraq 
problem doesn't only consist of the PKK issue.  Whatever the outcome 
of the elections, the new government should develop broader policies 
on Iraq." 
 
 
ANKARA 00001783  002 OF 002 
 
 
Polls Predict AKP Victory in July 22 Elections 
Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak carries the results of two election 
surveys.  According to a survey conducted by Kaf Agency in 17 
provinces through interviews with 2635 Turks from June 28-July 2, 
the distribution of votes among the parties will be: AKP 43.7%, CHP 
21.1%, MHP 9.4%, GP 6.1%, Independent 6.2%, and others 5.8%, meaning 
that only AKP and CHP will be represented in the new parliament. 
Another survey carried out by MIR Co. on July 1-7 in 18 provinces 
with 5100 people predicts the following vote distribution: AKP 
40.4%, CHP 21.1%, MHP 10.1%, and others 12.1%, meaning that MHP 
would also cross the threshold and have representation in 
parliament. 
 
Mainstream Vatan carries a public opinion survey conducted in 17 
provinces in the first week of July by GENAR Co. for the Turkish 
investment company AkYatirim.  It predicts the following 
distribution of votes in July 22 elections: AKP 39.4% (302 seats,) 
CHP 21.8% (137 seats,) and MHP 12.4% (74 seats). 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV 
 
Domestic News 
 
- Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told NTV that Turkey would take the 
necessary measures against the PKK attacks originating from northern 
Iraq if the Iraqi administration declines to do so. 
 
- One PKK terrorist has been killed in security operations in the 
eastern province of Tunceli on Wednesday. 
 
- The head of the UN Development Program (UNDP) Kemal Dervis said 
the UN was not successful in the fight against poverty. 
 
- Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener said he plans to teach 
"institutional economy" at Ankara's Hacettepe University after the 
July 22 elections.  Sener was an associate professor of economy 
before he joined politics. 
 
International News 
 
- An estimated 30,000 people, including chief UN war crimes 
prosecutor Carla del Ponte, gathered in Srebrenica to commemorate 
the 12th anniversary of the killings of about 8,000 Muslim men and 
boys. 
 
- US military spokesman Brigadier General Kevin Bergner said 
al-Qaeda killed or wounded more than 4000 Iraqis in suicide attacks 
over the past six months. 
 
- US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Tuesday the 
country faced a heightened chance of a terrorist attack this summer. 
 
 
- OSCE and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe 
(PACE) are to send observers to Turkey to monitor July 22 elections. 
 
 
WILSON