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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002019 
 
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, AUGUST 7, 2007 
 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Uncertainty Continues on Parliament Speaker, Presidential 
Nominations 
All papers report Prime Minister Erdogan has a tough task ahead of 
him in the next few weeks: the selection of the parliament speaker, 
the formation of the new cabinet and the nomination of the AKP 
candidate for president.  Erdogan said following a five-hour AKP 
leadership meeting yesterday he wanted a "stronger" cabinet, causing 
speculation in papers that it indicates a radical reshuffle in the 
cabinet.  Hurriyet says Prime Minister Erdogan may not submit his 
new cabinet list to President Sezer for approval on the grounds that 
Sezer's mandate has expired.  Cumhuriyet and Milliyet claim Erdogan, 
fearing Sezer may veto some names in his list, may wait for a new 
president to be elected before submitting his cabinet list to the 
head of state for approval. 
 
On Thursday, the Turkish Parliament is due to elect its speaker. 
Former justice minister Cemil Cicek and senior AKP lawmaker Koksal 
Toptan are leading contenders for the post. 
 
Vatan sees the possibility of Abdullah Gul withdrawing from the 
presidential race increasing, quoting sources close to both Gul and 
to Erdogan.  Some in the AKP now want a compromise figure to take 
the presidency, says the paper.  Cumhuriyet as well as the 
Islamist-oriented Zaman and Yeni Safak disagree, saying Gul will not 
pull out of the race. 
 
Maliki Visits Turkey 
All papers report that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, due in 
Ankara Tuesday, will be given a "final warning" by Ankara which is 
actually "directed against the US," to "either take action against 
the PKK or we will."  Maliki will meet with Erdogan and also be 
received by President Sezer.  Papers expect Maliki to pledge 
cooperation on security, saying he may agree to classify the PKK as 
a terrorist organization.  Ankara will urge Maliki to close down PKK 
offices in Iraq, hand over PKK leaders, cut off weapons and food 
supplies to the rebels, and block television and radio broadcasts by 
the group in northern Iraq.  Ankara will also urge Maliki to put off 
a planned referendum on the future of the oil rich northern Iraqi 
city of Kirkuk, say papers. 
 
Ali al-Dabbagh, the spokesman of the Iraqi government said in an 
interview with Turkish TV station NTV on Monday that Iraq sees the 
PKK as a terrorist organization and will not allow such an armed 
group to function in Iraq.  Dabbagh said that a unilateral military 
Turkish incursion into Iraq will not be good for bilateral ties, 
calling on Turkey "not to take a unilateral step that can threaten 
Iraq's sovereignty."  Turkey, Iraq and the USA should cooperate on a 
solution of the issue, Dabbagh said.  He also stressed that a fair 
solution should be found through consensus for all the groups living 
in Kirkuk. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Maliki Visit to Turkey 
Cengiz Candar writes in the business and political daily Referans: 
"There is no way Turkey can get results regarding the PKK without 
establishing direct contact with Iraq's Kurdish president as well as 
Iraqi Kurds.  Diplomacy on the issue requires direct contact with 
Iraqi Kurds.  This is something that has to happen eventually. 
Otherwise Turkey will have to deal with the issue by itself which 
means a controversial cross-border operation.   Turkey will realize 
soon after the Maliki visit that insisting on old-fashioned politics 
and declining to recognize Kurdish legitimacy is not going to work 
any longer.  However it is not possible to move away from the old 
policy before electing a new president.  Thus, electing the new 
president and forming the new government are two important things 
for Turkey's security policy in the immediate future." 
 
Gungor Mengi writes in the mainstream daily Vatan: "Iraqi PM Maliki 
is visiting Ankara.  It is no secret that during this visit Turkey 
 
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will warn the Baghdad administration for the last time to take 
concrete action against the PKK.  In the meantime, former Ambassador 
Abramowitz has come out with an interesting comment in the 
Washington Post, advising Washington to force Kurds to take action 
against the PKK.  Yet the Commander of American Forces in Iraq 
General [sic] Fallon has said something which seems to be providing 
guidance to Maliki on what to say in Ankara.  General Fallon said 
that he does not want a new front in Iraq, because 'Kurds in the 
Iraqi army could leave and join the other side in large numbers.' 
Comparing the two statements from the US, one might conclude that 
the American diplomacy machine is trying to fool its friends." 
 
GAO Blames Pentagon for Missing US Arms in Iraq 
Mainstream Milliyet and Islamist-oriented Zaman continue reporting 
on the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on 190,000 
missing US weapons in Iraq.  Zaman headlines "GAO Blames Pentagon 
for Missing Weapons," saying the majority of the missing weapons may 
have fallen into the hands of Iraqi insurgents.  Milliyet reports 
Turkey has decided to ask NATO to investigate the issue. 
 
MFA Delegation to Visit the US 
Liberal Radikal reports a Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) team headed 
by Undersecretary Ertugrul Apakan is to travel to Washington later 
this month to hold talks on the PKK and Iran issues.  The Apakan 
delegation, invited by Undersecretary Nicholas Burns, will also meet 
with NSA Stephen Hadley.  Diplomatic sources say talks continued 
between the sides for a possible visit of Prime Minister Erdogan to 
the US in autumn.  In addition to Iran and the PKK, Erdogan will 
discuss with Americans the Armenian Genocide Resolution as well. 
The US-Turkey "Strategic Vision Document" could be renewed during 
the visit of Erdogan, according to Radikal. 
 
EU Delegation to Visit Ankara, Diyarbakir 
Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak reports Council of Europe's Local and 
Regional Assemblies Congress will send a fact-finding team to Ankara 
and Diyarbakir from August 6-10 to meet with Kurdish mayors, 
government officials and NGOs.  The team will make their 
observations public in a report to be issued September 17. 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV, 7.00 A.M. 
 
Domestic News 
 
- Turkish Naval Forces took over the command of Black Sea Naval 
Cooperation Task Force (BLACKSEAFOR) from Russia in a ceremony held 
at Golcuk Naval Base in the northwestern province of Kocaeli on 
Monday. 
 
- Twenty four people died when a minibus conveying workers to the 
Black Sea region collided with a lorry in Sivas province. 
 
- More than 12,000 workers at Turkish Airlines (THY) will vote over 
four days on whether to hold a strike over pay and work conditions. 
 
 
- The EU presses Turkey to introduce EU standards in taxation for 
the Turkish national brew "raki." 
 
International News 
 
- A truck packed with explosives blew up in a Shiite neighborhood in 
Tal Afar in northern Iraq, killing 33 people, including 12 children 
and five women. 
 
- Greek Cypriot administration claims Turkish preparations for oil 
exploration in the eastern Mediterranean violates international 
laws. 
 
- The US and Iran held the first meeting Monday of a new 
 
ANKARA 00002019  003 OF 003 
 
 
sub-committee set up to cooperate on ending Iraq's sectarian 
violence. 
 
- Tens of thousands of elderly survivors of Hiroshima, children and 
dignitaries gathered Monday at the city's Peace Memorial Park to 
remember more than 250,000 people who died from the nuclear blast. 
 
 
MCELDOWNEY