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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001795 
 
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, JULY 13, 2007 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Bombs in Izmir, Istanbul Defused 
All papers report Turkish police, acting on a tip off from a scrap 
dealer, found a bomb in a tin box in the Bornova district of Izmir. 
The police defused the 30-kg explosive minutes before it went off. 
The bomb was placed on a road used by military vehicles.  Meanwhile, 
police also defused a pipe bomb found in the courtyard of the 
Kucukcekmece district governor's office in Istanbul.  Several papers 
say the timed bombs which would have killed dozens if they had gone 
off were reminiscent of the Hudson Institute scenarios on turmoil in 
Turkey before the forthcoming July 22 elections. 
 
In a related story, Zaman reports security forces have seized 794 kg 
of explosives in the first six months of this year. 
 
Party Leaders Involved in Heated Debates in Run Up to Elections 
All papers report tensions escalated among political party leaders 
in the run up to the July 22 general elections.  Prime Minister 
Erdogan criticized CHP leader Deniz Baykal for his inconsistency 
with regard to the opposition leader's statements on the election of 
Turkey's new president.  "Baykal has reached the age of 70, but he 
lacks political ethics," Erdogan said, stressing CHP would be 
"finished" after the elections.  Baykal fired back by saying Erdogan 
could not be trusted, and criticized the AKP leader for closing the 
doors of dialogue during the presidential election process in April, 
and now saying he was seeking compromise on the same issue.  MHP 
Chairman Devlet Bahceli said during a television interview that if 
his party takes power, he will reinstate capital punishment for war 
crimes and terror crimes.  On the possibility of a cross-border 
incursion into northern Iraq, Bahceli said Turkey should first 
explain the situation to the US and then occupy Mount Kandil if 
Americans decline to back Turkey. 
 
Turkish Businessmen Want Single Party Government 
Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak reports on its front page many leading 
businessmen in Istanbul said a coalition government emerging out of 
July 22 ballot would be "disastrous" for Turkey.  Businessmen said 
the recent single-party government in Turkey managed to lure USD 20 
billion in direct foreign investment, that the business community 
grew three-fold, and that exports and gross national product have 
soared.  They stressed Turkey needs a strong single party government 
if it wanted to continue growing. 
 
Turkish Armenians to Back AKP in Elections 
Aksam and Cumhuriyet report Turkish Armenian journalist Etyen 
Mahcupyan said in an interview with a weekly magazine that about 60 
percent of the Armenians living in Turkey would vote for the AKP, 
and that there was also support the independent leftist candidate 
Professor Baskin Oran in Istanbul.  Mahcupyan said Armenians favored 
the AKP for working for the return of non-Muslim foundations' assets 
confiscated by the state while the CHP and MHP wanted to block the 
return. 
 
Editorial Commentary on US Withdrawal from Iraq 
Sami Kohen observes in the mainstream Milliyet:  "Many observers 
believe that President Bush will never decide on withdrawal until 
the Iraqi Government gains the control, domestic clashes come to an 
end and security is established in the country.  Because of its 
energy resources and regional strategic importance, Iraq is not a 
place for Washington to give up on that easily.  That is why even 
the people supporting the pull-out, believe that the US military 
presence in Iraq and of course the political power should be 
continued somehow.  The US has vast interests in the region and also 
the US is aware of the possible regional problems that will occur 
after the US withdrawal.  Ankara, right from the beginning, wants 
the US invasion to come to an orderly end and supports Iraq's 
territorial integrity and national unity.  Turkish officials are 
concerned about the chaotic situation in Iraq after a disorderly 
 
ANKARA 00001795  002 OF 002 
 
 
troop withdrawal. In a chaotic situation, Northern Iraq could 
separate itself from the central government and the Kurdish 
establishment in the north could be strengthen.  There is one other 
possibility: during the pull-out, the US might deploy some of its 
troops in the safer Northern Iraq.  Such a development could limit 
Turkey's intervention in Iraq.  However, a full strength US 
withdrawal could give Turkey more freedom to intervene in Iraq." 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV, 7.00 A.M. 
 
Domestic News 
 
- Council of State (Danistay) has turned down an appeal, saying an 
investigation against Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir for 
distributing posters and invitations in the Kurdish language will 
move forward. 
 
- A Turkish jetfighter on a training flight crashed in the 
northwestern city of Balikesir on Thursday while it was landing. 
The two pilots ejected themselves and survived the crash. 
 
- The second International Orthodox Youth Conference will be held in 
Istanbul on July 14-16 with the participation of 788 clerics and 
laypeople from 37 countries. 
 
International News 
 
- The Iraqi government has sent a delegation to Kirkuk to see the 
preparations for a referendum concerning the status of the oil-rich 
city. 
 
- Remains of thirteen Turkish Cypriots who were executed and buried 
in a mass grave by Greek Cypriot armed groups after they were taken 
prisoners in Alaminyo village in July 1974 were laid to rest with a 
military funeral Thursday. 
 
- Turkish Cyprus leader Mehmet Ali Talat has annulled his meeting 
with Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos in reaction to 
Nicosia's blocking of a friendly game between Britain's Luton Town 
and Cetinkaya soccer teams in Turkish Cyprus. 
 
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the Turkish groups that 
boycotted a high-profile meeting to bolster the integration of 
immigrants "cannot give the government an ultimatum." 
 
WILSON