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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002209 
 
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, AUGUST 27, 2007 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Gul Expected to Become President in Tuesday's Voting in Parliament 
All papers report Abdullah Gul will be sworn in as soon as he is 
elected president on the third round of voting in the parliament 
tomorrow, August 28.  Prime Minister Erdogan is expected to submit 
the new cabinet list to the new president on August 31, the same day 
on which the AKP will announce its government program.  On September 
3 the government program will be debated in the parliament, and the 
vote of confidence will be held on September 5 at the earliest.  The 
parliament will go into recess by October 1. 
 
Mainstream Milliyet reports a survey conducted by Konda polling 
company shows that following the July 22 general elections, the AKP 
has increased its support to 54.1 percent  (up from 47 percent) 
while support for the main opposition party CHP has fallen to 18.9 
percent (down from 21 percent).  According to the survey, 18.3 
percent of voters say Gul's blocked presidency affected their voting 
preference in the general election whereas 76.6 percent say the 
economic situation was influential in their decision. 
 
Maliki Accuses Turkey of Shelling Northern Iraq 
Milliyet, Cumhuriyet:  Mainstream Milliyet reports that, Iraqi PM 
Nouri al-Maliki, at a press conference on Saturday claimed that 
Turkey and Iran were shelling Northern Iraq.  Maliki was quoted as 
saying "Shelling Iraq is violation of its sovereignty.  We will not 
allow these violations to continue.  This issue should be resolved 
through diplomatic means."  Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet reports 
that the Regional Kurdish Administration Parliament announced on the 
Kurdistan Patriotic Union's website that it will convene 
extraordinarily next Tuesday to discuss the shelling by Iran and 
Turkey in Kurdistan border region in Iraq.  According to Kurdish 
Parliament sources, the parliament and government is planning to 
give a diplomatic note to Turkey and Iran to stop shelling. 
 
More Missing US Weapons on PKK Terrorists 
Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak and Zaman reported that new evidence 
was found strengthening claims to the effect that PKK were using the 
missing US weapons in Turkey.  After finding the US made M-16s on 6 
PKK terrorists who were killed in Tunceli on August 2, another M-16 
rifle was found on 10 PKK terrorists who were killed in Sirnak by 
Turkish security forces during operations.  Two Turkish soldiers 
were killed during these operations and their funerals were held in 
Mersin and Gaziantep on Saturday. 
 
US Withdrawing its "Collaborators" from Iraq 
Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet Saturday reported that the US is 
giving immigrant status to 700 Iraqis out of the 4,000 who took 
refuge in Turkey.  To discuss the issue, Washington sent Assistant 
Secretary of State responsible for immigrant issues Ellen Sauerbrey 
 
SIPDIS 
to Ankara.  Seven hundred Iraqi refugees will be taken to the US 
soon by planes the US administration will supply.  Reportedly, the 
US will also give immigrant status to widows with children, children 
without any families, aged and sick people and members of some 
ethnic and religious groups.  Cumhuriyet says that Sauerbrey will go 
to Jordan after Turkey to give the Iraqi "collaborators" who took 
refuge in Jordan immigrant status. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Turkey-Iraq Relations 
Ferai Tinc writes in the mainstream daily Hurriyet: "First of all, 
Turkey should not expect anything from Iraqi PM Maliki's promises 
regarding the PKK.  Maliki is having serious difficulties at the 
moment -- not only reactions from the US against him such as those 
from Senators Hillary Clinton and Carl Levin, but also the latest 
reports by American intelligent services indicating that Maliki's 
future is very uncertain.  There is an emphasis on his failure to 
form a national consensus.  It seems the general tendency is to hold 
Maliki responsible for every problem related to Iraq.  In fact given 
the current situation, no government in Iraq is capable of 
controlling anything any longer.  Even Iraqi intelligence services 
 
ANKARA 00002209  002 OF 003 
 
 
are hiding information from each other.  The issue is the US 
administration's attitude toward Iraq.  The fact of the matter is 
that the PKK presence in Northern Iraq is primarily the 
responsibility of the US.  And the American administration is also 
responsible for the failure of the Maliki government to cope with 
this problem.  Whatever the views of third parties, including 
Turkey, are, they will be void unless the issue of US responsibility 
is properly and clearly addressed." 
 
Peres Calls Erdogan on ADL Accepting Armenian Genocide 
Islamist-oriented Zaman cites the Israeli Ha'aretz as reporting 
President Shimon Peres assured Prime Minister Erdogan last week that 
Israel had not changed its position with regard to the mass killing 
of Armenians by Ottoman Turkish forces during World War I. 
 
President Peres told Erdogan that Israel does not control Jewish 
organizations in the US, which pursue their own agendas.  On 
Tuesday, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) announced it considered 
the killings to be genocide; ADL National Director Abraham Foxman, 
however, apologized for putting the Turkish people in a "difficult 
position" in a letter this weekend, according to Turkish media. 
 
Soli Ozel comments in the mainstream daily Sabah: "One thing is 
getting more obvious every passing day: Turkey is doomed to 
experience dilemmas until it manages to resolve its primary domestic 
issues and until it shows a cool attitude regarding its recent 
history.  Turkey is used to invoking its 'strategic importance' each 
time it faces troubles from outside, which only helps to create an 
impression of weakness.  Recent developments clearly indicate that 
Turkey has failed to have its official thesis and arguments 
recognized by the outside world.  Figuratively speaking Turkey has 
lost the match vis-`-vis world public opinion.  An Armenian Genocide 
Resolution will likely be passed in the US Congress by the end of 
¶2008.  US domestic political considerations will prevail when such a 
resolution is considered in Congress.  The elected president of the 
House certainly feels obliged to pass a resolution for the strong 
Armenian lobby in California.  In sum, Turkey has become a part of 
the American internal political game.  Turkey's policy on this issue 
after so many years has just collapsed.  This may be the obvious 
price of not opening a border gate with Armenia.  Turkey must take 
steps to open itself up and stop allowing itself to be a blackmail 
victim." 
 
EU: Greek Orthodox Patriarchate should be Free to Use 'Ecumenical' 
Title 
All papers report European Commission Expansion Commissioner Olli 
Rehn said, in response to a motion submitted by a Greek MEP, that 
the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Istanbul and Patriarch 
Bartholomew I should be allowed to use the title "ecumenical" 
freely.  Rehn also said Turkey must respect the freedom and rights 
of non-Muslim religious communities.  He added the European 
Commission was closely watching Turkey with regard to religious 
freedom according to the conditions and priorities set in the 
partnership document. 
 
TV News: 
(NTV, 6 A.M.) 
Domestic News 
 
- The Brussels-based think tank International Crisis Group (ICG) 
said the headscarf of Abdullah Gul's wife should not be seen as a 
problem. 
 
- Kurdish DTP acting chairwoman Selma Irmak said the presence of her 
party in the parliament was "a gift for democracy." 
 
- Turkish Central Bank predicts temporary increase in inflation in 
August. 
 
International News 
 
ANKARA 00002209  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
- The death toll in Greece's forest fires reached 62 over the past 
three days as international assistance arrived in the country. 
 
- Iraq's top Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish leaders announced Sunday they 
had reached consensus on some key laws vital to fostering national 
reconciliation. 
 
- The Israeli daily Ha'aretz reports President Peres assured the 
Prime Minister Erdogan that Israel has not changed its position on 
Armenian genocide issue. 
 
- Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Filipe Marques Amado said the EU 
cannot solve the Cyprus problem. 
 
MCELDOWNEY