VZCZCXRO2146
OO RUEHDA
DE RUEHAK #1895/01 2061450
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 251450Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3117
RUEKJCS/CJCS WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC//PA
RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU
INFO RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS 8247
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 3067
RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 2167
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 6026
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 5841
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2437
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 001895 
 
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 
 
 
WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2007 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Parliamentary Presidential Election 
All papers:  Mainstream Milliyet says, following the general 
elections, PM Erdogan announced that his party will seek compromise 
in the presidential elections.  Since the party has only 340 seats 
in the parliament, and needs a quorum of 367 to elect the president, 
seeking compromise is the only alternative for AKP.  Mainstream 
Vatan gives extensive coverage to the presidential election issue 
and questions whether FM Gul will withdraw his candidacy or not. 
All papers report that FM Gul will hold a press conference today and 
among other issues he will disclose his views on the presidential 
elections. [Note: At a noon press conference Gul declined to say 
whether he would be a candidate, but did not rule out the 
possibility.] 
 
CHP Leader Baykal Appears Before Press, Declines to Resign 
All papers:  CHP leader Deniz Baykal appeared before the press for 
the first time after the elections and claimed that the party has 
been increasing its votes and that he is not considering resigning 
from the party chairmanship.  Meanwhile, the opponents of Baykal 
held a meeting yesterday and announced that Baykal's resignation 
from party chairmanship would not be enough and that he should leave 
politics.  Former CHP chairman Hikmet Cetin, Mayor of the Istanbul 
district of Sisli Mustafa Sarigul, Onur Kumbaracibasi, Adnan Keskin, 
Mehmet Mogultay, Celal Dogan were among those who attended the 
meeting. 
 
Answering questions of NTV, DSP leader Zeki Sezer said that the Left 
should not give the image that they are fighting among themselves 
and should instead discuss what they need to do together. 
 
KONDA Polling Results 
Liberal Radikal reports that according to Konda Polling company 
economic concerns were the main factor shaping the preference of 
voters.  Concerns over secularism and democracy, which were the main 
debates among the political elite of Turkey before the elections, 
did not constitute a major factor in the electorate's voting 
preferences. 
 
Editorial Opinion: West Has Superficial View of Turkey's Election 
Sami Kohen writes in the mainstream daily Milliyet: "The Western 
public and press pay attention to Turkish elections with a 
preconceived notion as well as with worries about Islam.  The 
elections are presented as if it is a choice between Islam and 
secularism.  As a result, the results are misinterpreted: [according 
to Westerners] Turkish elections ended with a victory for Islamism 
and a defeat for secularism.  Religion has certainly played a role 
in shaping people's opinions however it did not play a dominant 
role.  Moreover it would be very wrong to depict AKP voters as 
entirely religious.  The main motives for this election were 
practical reasons like economic and social factors and were not 
ideological.  The foreign press is also often making another mistake 
by evaluating the election results in terms of civilian-military 
relations, and concluding that the military is the loser.  The 
election result cannot be interpreted as a 'response to the 
military' as surveys indicate that the military's e-warning was not 
a dominant factor in shaping people's choices.  Facts about Turkish 
politics are much deeper than they appear to be according to the 
shallow interpretations, such as just looking at the 
secularism-religion or military-civilian angles." 
 
 
Ibrahim Karagul writes in the Islamist-oriented daily Yeni Safak: 
"The Turkish people's message is very clear.  The election results 
call for an atmosphere of no tension, reconciliation and 
unification.  Turkish rulers got those messages, while the EU and 
the US continue to misread the whole situation.  Western press 
insists on making assessments based on 'internal conflict' 
 
ANKARA 00001895  002 OF 002 
 
 
scenarios.  They present the election results with a 
tension-building psychology.  Turkey is very tired of tension 
builders and conflict seekers.  For instance, the statement by 
Franco Frattini of the EU Commission talking about the 
[post-election] need to protect the 'secular minority' is absolutely 
dangerous and provocative.  These words have the potential to cause 
conflict in Turkey.  Another example is the statement from former US 
Ambassador Mark Parris, as he talked about how the Turkish army lost 
the elections, which is utterly provocative.  Some circles in the US 
have been disseminating lies about the AKP, saying that it works 
toward the goal of an Islamic state, and somehow they still continue 
in making those untrue arguments.  The essence of the election 
results is this:  Turkish voters rejected ethnic nationalism, 
inward-looking policies and anti-democratic practices, and voted in 
favor of the supremacy of law." 
 
President Bush Calls PM Erdogan to Congratulate 
Milliyet, Sabah, Zaman, Vatan, Hurriyet and others:  Papers report 
that President Bush called PM Erdogan yesterday afternoon to 
congratulate him for the success of the AKP in the elections. 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV (7 A.M.) 
 
Domestic News 
 
In an interview with La Republica retired General Edip Baser said 
the military might intervene again if the presidential election 
process is derailed. 
 
A van carrying bread for a gendarmerie station in Tunceli was set on 
fire by PKK terrorists after the driver was moved away from the van 
 
Turkish Airlines has decided on a lockout to cope with a possible 
strike of its workers 
 
 
International News 
 
Iraqi Kurdish Administration President Barzani expressed hope that 
the election results in Turkey would lead to improvement of 
relations between Iraq and Turkey. 
 
Bulgarian medics were freed after Libya and the EU reached a deal 
 
The US and Iran met in Baghdad to discuss the Iraq issue 
 
 
WILSON