VZCZCXYZ0002
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #2045/01 2851911
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 121911Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9482
INFO RHMFISS/CDR USSOCOM MACDILL AFB FL//SCJ2//
RULGPUA/USCOMSOLANT

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 002045 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INR/R/MR, I/GWHA, WHA, WHA/PDA, WHA/BSC, 
WHA/EPSC 
CDR USSOCOM FOR J-2 IAD/LAMA 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO OPRC KMDR PREL
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION; ANKARA-WASHINGTON TIES; PRESS FREEDOM IN 
SOUTH AMERICA; 10/12/07 
 
 
¶1. SUMMARY STATEMENT 
 
Major international stories today are related to the US-Turkish 
relationship in view of a possible attack from Turkey against 
Kurdish rebels in Northern Iraq, thereby destabilizing even further 
the situation in the country; Ankara's denial of the Armenian 
genocide being equated to Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust; and 
increasing concerns over the press freedom situation in South 
America. 
 
¶2. OPINION PIECES AND EDITORIALS 
 
- "A friend that could become a threat" 
 
Hugo Alconada Mon, Washington-based correspondent for 
daily-of-record "La Nacisn," comments (10/12) "Turkey is a member of 
the White House 'special friends club.' Some of its few members are 
Israel, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, among others. They have a special 
bilateral regime, in which much is forgiven, little is questioned 
and almost everything is subject to negotiation. 
 
"Membership is granted based on several reasons... Given the 
interests involved, the White House overlooks 'pending issues' 
within the club, such as the Pakistani authorities' relationship 
with Islamic fundamentalists and the oppression to which Saudis have 
been subjected for decades. Using the same approach, the Bush 
administration believes that what the Ottoman Empire did to 
Armenians between 1915 and 1923 is something unimportant and belongs 
to the past. 
 
"In contrast, it is a hot current issue for both Turks and 
Armenians. Therefore, the US Congress's decision... could well alter 
the status quo on the border between the West and the East. 
 
"The situation is even more complicated for the White House because 
Turks also have a pending issue with Kurds..., who dream of their 
own country... In Ankara's view, more than 3,000 PKK rebels have 
attacked Turkey and then obtain refuge in Northern Iraq. 
 
"In this way, the US should mediate between Kurds and Turks, who 
want to enter the EU, endure the Kurds' 'provocations' although they 
do not hide their willingness to enter Iraq and take revenge. 
 
"In this context, Democrats have promoted a seemingly harmless 
statement, which in practice could complicate the US Pentagon's 
military plans in Iraq even further than any other draft legislation 
aimed at twisting Bush's arm for him to withdraw his 160,000 
troops. 
 
"Why? Because if the Ankara government, which is today led by an 
Islamic, although moderate party, breaks ties with Washington and 
enters Iraq, it could unleash a regional chaos of unpredictable 
consequences... If one day the US decides to leave Iraq, it will 
have to face up that land ways out are not abundant..." 
 
- "Denial" 
 
Marcelo Cantelmi, international editor of leading "Clarn," writes 
(10/12) "Although the removal of the Turkish Ambassador to the US 
may seem exaggerated, there is no room for exaggeration. 
 
"What happens is that the seriousness of Turkey's wound is as big as 
the unpredictable complication of this historic conflict. 
 
"One example is eloquent. Ankara has proposed to create a committee 
of experts to investigate whether the Armenian genocide really 
happened. Who in the West couldn't compare this proposal with 
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's irritating idea that the Jewish 
Holocaust did not occur? 
 
"Ankara's posture is the worst among its allies (Israel is not the 
least important one). Denial is a bad political ally (Latin America 
knows a lot about it) and it is a cost that very few would want to 
pay." 
 
- "A hard press freedom situation (in Latin America)" 
 
Daily-of-record "La Nacisn" editorializes (10/12) "Two documents 
that have been published these days reflect the increasing concern 
over the evolution of press freedom in the hemisphere. One was made 
public at the end of the annual assembly of the Argentine 
Journalistic Association (ADEPA), and the other one was the joint 
work from ADEPA and journalistic associations from Brazil, Colombia, 
Chile, Ecuador and Peru. 
 
"The wave of extreme populism in Venezuela threatens to spread to 
other countries as though South America was doomed to approach the 
 
brutal Cuban dictatorship... 
 
"... In addition to Cuba, no other case is as serious as that of the 
Venezuela of Chvez. Following the censorship imposed on the main TV 
station, the government has seized its technical infrastructure 
while chasing and attacking journalists and media corporations... 
 
"... The ADEPA report also acknowledges that press freedom prevails 
in Argentina, although it is being conditioned by the Government, 
which refuses to admit to its institutional role... 
 
"... We should underscore that ADEPA closed its declaration with a 
hopeful statement that dialogue could lead to strengthen the 
institutions of the country. Now that Argentina is on the eve of 
presidential elections.., we should highlight the permanent search 
for tolerance rather than confrontation, in which no one wins. 
History has left a lot of lessons in this regard." 
 
To see more Buenos Aires reporting, visit our 
classified website at: 
http://www.state.sqov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires 
 
WAYNE