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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000034 
 
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, JANUARY 8, 2008 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
President Gul in the US 
All papers report President Abdullah Gul spoke to Turkish 
journalists during his flight to the United States.  He stated that 
troubles between the US and Turkey are a thing of the past.  "We 
have restored the atmosphere of trust.  The progress concerning the 
Armenian issue, the new phase in the fight against the PKK, and the 
developments in Iraq show our troubles are over; a new period has 
commenced," said Gul.  "The US is no ordinary country -- it is 
Turkey's most important ally.  The two countries share the same 
determination in the fight against terrorism and pursue the same 
goals regarding Iraq," Gul noted. 
 
Gul continued, "Despite our differences over Iraq policies, the US 
has accepted the importance of Iraq's political unity and 
territorial integrity.  Turkey is the most experienced country in 
the region; now things have started to develop in the way Turkey 
wants," emphasized Gul.  Gul added that "if the PKK terrorists were 
taken out of northern Iraq, Turkey's contribution to Iraq would have 
been '10 times greater.'"  Gul recalled that Turkey was the only 
country that did not shut down its embassy in Iraq during the war. 
Gul also said Turkey played a major role in the Middle East peace 
process and Lebanon's democratization.  Gul noted that his program 
in the US was very important, underlining the fact that it would be 
the first official visit of a Turkish president to the US in twelve 
years.  "Secretary Rice is an old friend of mine, and I've accepted 
her invitation for breakfast.  Vice-President Cheney is very 
influential, especially regarding energy issues, and I've accepted 
his request for a meeting.  Turkey and the US deal with a number of 
common issues, including the fight against terror, therefore I will 
meet with the US Secretary of Defense as well," said Gul.  Papers 
say Gul is expected to discuss Pakistan during his meeting with 
Secretary Rice today. 
 
SIPDIS 
 
President Gul will return to Turkey on January 11 after wrapping up 
his talks in New York. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Gul Visit to the US 
Hasan Cemal wrote in mainstream Milliyet (1/8):  "A lot of things 
can be said about Turkish-American relations, yet both countries 
believe in the need to maintain good bilateral relations.  Despite 
some ups and downs over recent years, both the US and Turkey have a 
better appreciation of each other.  American policy interests cover 
vast territory -from the Balkans to the Caucasus to the Middle East. 
 Turkey has an undeniable influence in the region; Washington is now 
taking Turkey's regional influence seriously.  Developments 
concerning Iran, Iraq, Kirkuk, Syria and Palestine proved that 
Ankara was right in its assessments.  Now Washington is paying more 
attention to what Turkey thinks.  Of course, Turkey and the US do 
not have identical views on every issue, but their differences of 
opinions are softening.   More importantly, they are learning to 
live together despite their differences.  PM Erdogan's visit aimed 
at a single goal: a tangible result in the fight against PKK. 
President Gul's visit to Washington will contribute even more to the 
momentum established by Erdogan's earlier visit.  Both Turkey and 
the US will revive their spirit of strategic partnership." 
 
Rusen Cakir wrote in mainstream Vatan (1/8): "President Gul's visit 
carries symbolic importance.  By welcoming President Gul in 
Washington, the US administration is acknowledging its mistaken 
assessment concerning recent Turkish politics.  Officials from the 
very same administration tried to finish off Gul's career because he 
was held responsible for the parliamentary motion in 2003 that 
declined permission to American forces to pass through Turkey on the 
way to Iraq.  This anti-Gul campaign was initiated and pursued by 
Vice President Dick Cheney; we simply do not know whether President 
Bush was informed about Cheney's endeavors to discredit Gul.  In 
fact, it no longer matters.  What matters now is the fact that 
President Bush is welcoming Gul to his office.  Thus Gul's visit to 
 
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the US carries a very symbolic importance." 
 
 
Changes to Article 301 
All papers report Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin said the ruling 
AKP government will send a draft of article 301 reforms to 
parliament this week.  Article 301 of the penal code restricts free 
speech, which the European Union wants changed.  The draft suggests 
replacing the word "republic" with "Republic of Turkey," deleting 
the provision concerning penalties for violations of article 301 
committed abroad, and reducing the maximum penalty under article 301 
from three to two years in prison, which can be converted into a 
fine. The draft also suggests changing "Turkishness" in the first 
paragraph to "Turkish nation;" meanwhile, "insults on the Turkish 
nation" will be punished only if malice is demonstrated. Finally, 
any lawsuit opened on article 301 will be subject to the permission 
of the Justice Minister, which means prosecutors cannot open cases 
on their own. 
 
The opposition party CHP deputy chairman Suha Okay said that article 
301 cannot be lifted, stressing there were similar arrangements in 
EU countries.  MHP Deputy Group Chairman Oktay Vural said parliament 
should not pass such an amendment.  The pro-Kurdish DTP said they 
support the draft, provided it was in line with international legal 
norms. 
 
Liberal Radikal says most of the proposed changes to article 301 are 
cosmetic and the article should be abolished altogether.  A lawyer 
told Radikal that provisions designed to protect the state from free 
speech cannot be described as "reform." 
 
Parliament Speaker Toptan on Constitutional Amendments 
Mainstream Hurriyet reports Parliamentary speaker Koksal Toptan said 
on CNN Turk that he is feeling uneasy that constitutional amendment 
talks were reduced to discussions about the turban.  He noted that 
the turban problem cannot be resolved by a new constitution as "no 
constitution could include a provision saying 'wearing a headscarf 
is allowed in universities;' such a thing would be against the 
technique of constitution writing."  Responding to a question about 
whether a new constitution could include a provision on education in 
Kurdish language, Toptan said "Putting such provisions in the 
constitution is dangerous and wrong; it could cause divisions and 
separations." 
 
Iran Cuts Natural Gas Supply to Turkey 
Sabah, Hurriyet, Cumhuriyet, Vatan and others:  Leftist-nationalist 
Cumhuriyet reports that Tehran cut off the natural gas supply to 
Turkey and blamed harsh winter conditions in Iran as an excuse. 
Russia also reduced the amount of the gas it gives to Turkey. 
According to papers, Turkey is planning to request liquefied natural 
gas from Algeria and Nigeria.  Mainstream Vatan reports that Turkey 
has faced this problem with Iran for three years in a row and there 
is only a nine-day supply of natural gas left in stock. Energy 
Minister Hilmi Guler requested PM Erdogan to intervene in the 
issue. 
 
Children's Chorus Interrogated for Singing Kurdish March 
Sabah, Milliyet, Vatan and others:  Mainstream Sabah reports that 
twelve children from Diyarbakir Yenisehir Municipality Chorus were 
interrogated yesterday by the prosecutor for singing a Kurdish song 
at the International Culture and Art music festival in the US on 
October 3, 2007.  Vatan says the chorus performed songs in eight 
different languages at the festival.  One of the songs was the 
anthem of the Kurdish administration in northern Iraq. 
 
Youth Detained for Threatening to Assassinate Priest 
All papers report S. S., a 17-year old boy who threatened to 
assassinate Agepe Church priest Orhan Picaklar in the Black Sea port 
city of Samsun, has been captured.  Police detained the youth after 
he called the priest and threatened to kill him.  S. S. was released 
 
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after saying he phoned the priest only to scare him and that he was 
not linked to any organization. 
 
TV News: 
NTV 
 
Domestic News 
 
- The pro-Kurdish DTP has applied to the Constitutional Court for 
additional time to prepare its defense in the lawsuit for the 
closure of the party. 
 
- Police detained 19 suspected members of the PKK in Ankara on 
Monday.  The suspects, most of them university students, were 
allegedly preparing to stage terror attacks against the underground 
transport system, shopping malls and state buildings in the capital. 
 
 
- Abdulkadir Dilsiz, a high-level PKK official and a founder of 
Roj-TV, has been captured in the Mediterranean province of Antalya. 
Dilsiz allegedly traveled very often to Iraq. 
 
- Deputy PM and government spokesman Cemil Cicek said Monday Turkish 
people living in foreign countries will be able to cast votes in 
general elections, referendums and presidential elections. 
 
International News 
 
- Barack Obama is the front-runner in the New Hampshire Democratic 
primary. 
 
- Tensions between the US and Iran increased over the weekend.  Five 
assault motorboats belonging to the Iranian 'Guardians of the 
Revolution' approached and threatened to attack three US warships in 
the Hormuz strait. 
 
- Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak will brief President Bush on 
Israel's interpretation of intelligence information on Tehran's 
nuclear program. 
 
- Nechirvan Barzani will be in office for another two years as the 
leader of the Kurdish administration in northern Iraq. 
 
MCELDOWNEY