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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002473 
 
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, OCTOBER 4, 2007 
 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Gul Addresses PACE on EU Membership, New Constitution, Kurds 
All papers report that addressing the Parliamentary Assembly of the 
Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg on Wednesday, President 
Abdullah Gul said Turkey "is really changing, with myself and my 
party leading the way" while describing Turkey's aspiration to join 
the European Union.  Gul insisted that real progress has been made 
in human rights.  "All forms of discrimination have been banned," 
Gul told PACE, insisting that there is now the right of free 
association in Turkey.  He noted no one was in prison in Turkey 
today for expressing their ideas.  Gul later told reporters he 
wanted to see article 301 changed, stressing that it was damaging to 
Turkey's image as it negotiates for EU membership. 
 
Questioned by European parliamentarians, Gul said Turkey's Kurds had 
achieved more freedoms in the past few years.  "We see cultural 
differences as an asset, but they cannot justify separation," he 
said.  Gul noted a new constitution prepared by the government would 
further bolster individual rights and freedoms in Turkey.  "Religion 
will continue to be kept out of state affairs.  Nobody should worry 
about Turkey's direction," said Gul.  The President also said that 
partition of Iraq would be "the worst scenario for the people of 
Iraq and the whole region." 
 
Debates, Ambiguity Ahead of October 21 Referendum 
All papers report that if the October 21 referendum on 
constitutional reforms is approved by the voters, the presidency of 
Abdullah Gul could be in question.  There is speculation that since 
the reforms to be submitted to referendum pertain to the election of 
Turkey's 11th president, a position held by Gul, he might have to 
step down.  Last week, the President's spokesperson has said that if 
deemed necessary, Gul was willing to resign and run again for the 
post.  Some argue that it won't be possible because according to the 
current constitution, a president cannot run for office for a second 
time.  Prime Minister Erdogan said yesterday the reforms, if 
approved, would apply to the election of Turkey's 12th president, 
and urged the nation to vote for the reforms.  CHP leader Deniz 
Baykal, however, said the reforms aimed to elect Turkey's 11th 
president by a popular vote, and that the presidential elections 
could be annulled if the changes are approved by the referendum. 
Baykal said to avoid a new crisis, the clause on the "election of 
the 11th president" should be changed before the referendum. 
Turkey's High Election Council (YSK) has not clarified its position 
on these articles. 
 
Babacan on Middle East Tour, May Visit Baghdad 
Islamist-oriented Zaman reports that over the weekend, Foreign 
Minister Ali Babacan is to kick off a Middle East tour of Syria, 
Israel, Palestine, and Jordan.  The tour is seen as a preparation 
for the expanded meeting of Iraq's neighbors to take place in 
Istanbul next month.  In Damascus on Saturday, Babacan is expected 
to meet his Syrian counterpart Walid Moallem and President Bashar 
Assad.  On Sunday Babacan will go to Israel to discuss bilateral 
ties and the situation in Palestine, and move on to Palestine on 
Monday to meet President Mahmoud Abbas.  Babacan will visit Amman on 
Tuesday on the last leg of his tour, reports Zaman. 
 
Meanwhile, all-news channel NTV reports "high-level diplomatic 
sources" said Babacan could pay a "surprise" visit to Iraq on his 
tour of the Middle East.  The FM could meet his Iraqi counterpart 
Hoshyar Zebari and President Talabani in Baghdad, but will not visit 
northern Iraq, sources told NTV. 
 
Turkey May Face Iraqi Refugee Crisis 
Mainstream Hurriyet warns that Turkey could face a serious refugee 
crisis after Ramadan when Syria closes doors to incoming Iraqi 
refugees.  Iraqi refugees have started to leave Syria following a 
government announcement that visas would be required for Iraqi 
nationals.  Official data says Turkey currently hosts 4,355 Iraqi 
 
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refugees. 
 
Iraqi Kurds: If there is no Kirkuk Referendum, Kurds will Secede 
from Iraq 
Liberal Radikal reports that the commission working on the Kirkuk 
referendum decided that, as the first step in referendum process, 
the census should take place in November 15.  Meanwhile, Regional 
Kurdish Administration leader Mesud Barzani's spokesman Kadir Aziz 
said that Kurds will secede from Iraq if the referendum doesn't take 
place.  Aziz also stressed that the Shiite-majority Iraqi government 
signed a security agreement with Turkey to get Ankara's support 
because Ankara always supports the Sunnis.  "Turkey's aim is to 
legalize a possible cross-border operation into Northern Iraq.  The 
Iraqi government is unable to control even Baghdad, so how would 
could they pursue the PKK in the Kandil Mountains?" spokesman Aziz 
added.  Meanwhile, the commission decided to return the properties 
given to Arab population during the Baath regime to the Turkmen 
population. 
 
Editorial Commentary: Armenian Genocide Resolution, US-Turkey 
Relations 
Yilmaz Oztuna observes in the conservative daily Turkiye: "Eight 
former Secretaries of State recently sent a joint letter to the 
Speaker of the US House of Representatives.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi 
has obviously committed herself to being sympathetic to Armenians 
and to defending their lies.  Her first step after becoming the 
Speaker of the House was an effort to pass a resolution to recognize 
the 1915 events as Turkish genocide against Armenians.  She 
received, in return, warnings as high as from President Bush as well 
as others but she seemed not to care.  Given the situation, I am not 
very sure if the joint letter by US Secretaries will do any good. 
In normal conditions, such a letter should be strong enough to give 
politicians a wake up call, but it seems 'being wrong' is not a 
phrase in a politician's vocabulary.  However it is very important 
that Secretaries with different views and from different parties 
have stood together to warn of the negative consequences of a 
resolution on the future of Turkish-American relations.  It was 
Armenians who started mass murders in 1915 against the Turkish 
population and later Turks had to respond.  Why is it so difficult 
to find out this fact?" 
 
Dogan Heper writes in the mainstream daily Milliyet: "It seems to me 
that there are three reasons for anti-Americanism in Turkey: the 
Armenian Genocide Resolution in the Congress; the situation in Iraq 
in its current and future form; and the US's treatment of the PKK. 
There is no way to see sympathy for Americans among the Turkish 
people as long as these three issues remain on the agenda. 
Particularly the PKK issue is something for which Turks will never 
forgive Washington.  The level of anti-Americanism can only decrease 
when and if the US engages in a serious struggle against the PKK, a 
group the US, too, has declared a terrorist organization. 
Washington lost Turkey due to its wrong policies and it will not be 
easy to gain back hearts and minds." 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV 
 
Domestic News 
 
- French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner will pay an official 
visit to Ankara on Thursday to meet FM Babacan, Prime Minister 
Erdogan and President Gul to discuss EU-Turkey and the PKK leaders 
in France before leaving Turkey on Friday evening. 
 
- Foreign Minister Ali Babacan will travel to northern Cyprus on 
Thursday for meetings including one with "President" Mehmet Ali 
Talat. 
 
- An unidentified gunman shot at the Kurdish party DTP HQ in Ankara 
and escaped in a car, shouting "Traitors."  DTP said the attack had 
 
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commonalities with the killing of 12 civilians in Sirnak and 
Tuesday's bomb blasts in Izmir. 
 
- Interior Minister Besir Atalay said in response to a motion by 
Kurdish DTP MP Hasip Kaplan that in east and southeast Turkey, 
151,000 displaced people have returned to their homes and received 
aid totaling 57 million Turkish Lira. 
 
International News 
 
- Poland's ambassador to Iraq was wounded as explosions targeted his 
diplomatic convoy in Baghdad Wednesday. 
 
- Myanmar's junta has released 80 monks who were rounded up last 
week in a crackdown on the biggest anti-government protests in 
nearly 20 years. 
 
- North Korea has agreed to declare all its nuclear programs and 
disable its main atomic reactor under US supervision by the end of 
the year. 
 
- The Dutch government plans to spend 2.3 million Euro to fight 
"honor killings" in the country. 
 
 
WILSON