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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001006 
 
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, MAY 29, 2008 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Baykal: There's a Wiretapping Network Within the State 
All news outlets report the main opposition CHP leader Deniz Baykal 
said Wednesday security officials were tapping the office of the 
party Secretary General Onder Sav.  Baykal said police bugged Sav's 
office and gave excerpts of his talk with a former governor to the 
Islamist daily Vakit.  On May 23, Vakit published the conversation 
almost verbatim.  AKP deputy chairman Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat denied 
Baykal's claims.  "We will carry the allegations to the court, and 
the CHP will be pronounced as a slanderer if it fails to prove the 
claims," Firat said.  Interior Minister Besir Atalay said he asked 
for an investigation into the allegations.  The CHP is to submit a 
censure motion to parliament against the government in connection 
with the scandal.  Papers report opposition far right MHP leader 
Devlet Bahceli has warned party officials to be careful as they, 
too, might have been bugged. 
 
Liberal Radikal says Baykal believes the ruling AKP government is 
behind the wiretapping scandal.  "There is a wiretapping network 
within the state," Baykal said, adding the state uses advanced 
technological equipment for systematic bugging.  Baykal blamed the 
police, saying "All in Turkey are aware of the 'F-type groups' 
within the police," which is a direct reference to government 
appointees in the Security Directorate of police officers who are 
reputed to support Islamic sect leader Fethullah Gulen. 
 
Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet and mainstream Milliyet write 
"Turkey's main opposition party has become a victim of wiretapping 
that has also targeted representatives of the judiciary, military 
officials, rectors and journalists."  Cumhuriyet says, "wiretappings 
increased after the AKP came to power."  Wiretapping allegations 
were first raised when Cumhuriyet's chief editor Ilhan Selcuk was 
taken into custody in connection with the "Ergenekon" gang probe. 
Selcuk was asked a number of questions about his private life. 
Recently, Constitutional Court vice-president Osman Paksut voiced 
suspicions that he was being followed and wiretapped. 
 
Editorial Opinion on 'Turkey's Watergate': Who Bugged the 
Opposition? 
 
"Is There A Special Unit?" 
Murat Yetkin implies a link with the Fethullah Gulen sect in 
liberal-intellectual Radikal (5/29):  "The bugging of the main 
opposition party CHP's Secretary General created a scandal in 
Ankara.  Not only was the CHP Secretary General being monitored, but 
a complete transcript of the conversation he had with a former 
governor was published in the Islamist daily Vakit.  CHP Leader 
Deniz Baykal dubbed the scandal 'Turkish Watergate' and claimed 
surveillance units within the security forces are being directed 
against government opponents.  Along with previous events of this 
nature, there are some serious questions waiting to be answered. 
Has the ruling AKP established a special unit within the police 
force that monitors political dissidents?  Has this unit been 
provided with high-tech devices?  And does this unit have a separate 
organizational scheme that is related to a certain sect?  These and 
more questions can only be answered by top government figures. 
Let's hope that the investigation into the surveillance against the 
opposition CHP will end up bringing some convincing answers to those 
questions.  Healthy answers will not only serve democracy well, but 
will be good for the fate of the AKP government." 
 
"The Bugging Scandal" 
Taha Akyol writes in mainstream Milliyet (5/29):  "Bugging is a very 
serious thing and main opposition CHP leader Baykal's reaction is 
fully justifiable.  In this country, being bugged, unfortunately, is 
a common concern.  We keep hearing similar fears from top level 
Constitutional Court members to cabinet ministers.  First of all, 
living with such fears and concerns seriously harms stability.  It 
is the utmost duty of the government and public institutions to 
 
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eliminate worries of this nature.  Yesterday, the Interior Minister 
asked the Ankara Governor to take action in this matter.  This is 
procedurally correct, but politically incorrect.  The Interior 
Minister should have immediately opened internal investigations 
within intelligence units and relevant police offices.  The AKP, 
which claims to be the defender of liberal rights, should have been 
more responsive than this." 
 
Babacan: Muslims Not Free to Practice Their Religion in Turkey 
All papers report Foreign Minister Ali Babacan addressed Wednesday 
the members of Foreign Relations Committee of the European 
Parliament.  On a question regarding religious freedoms in Turkey, 
Babacan said not only non-Muslim minorities but the "Muslim majority 
in Turkey experienced religious freedom problems as well." 
 
In "Babacan Poured Out His Sorrows to EU Countries," 
leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet writes "Babacan complained about 
Turkey," which will "trigger controversy."  Islamist-oriented Zaman 
claims Babacan's actual words were, "The majority of Muslims have 
problems exercising their religious freedoms," and calls the Foreign 
Minister's words, "A new opening in the topic of religious freedom." 
 Mainstream Vatan notes Babacan insisted to the committee that 
because of Turkey's Muslim majority, "Turkey's accession to the EU 
will strengthen the influence and depth of the EU." 
 
Secretary Chertoff Emphasizes Coordination Against Terror 
Hurriyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Taraf, Zaman and others report 
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff met with 
Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin, Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, 
Interior Minister Besir Atalay, and with the military General Staff 
(TGS) during his one-day visit to Ankara on Wednesday. 
Islamist-oriented Zaman writes on its front page, "The U.S. Invites 
Turkey To Join Intelligence Sharing Network," noting, "Turkey was 
asked to join the U.S. and European countries like England and Italy 
who have implemented security screening measures at their borders 
that link up with FBI records."  Leftist Taraf carries the headline, 
"Come, Let's Talk about This Al-Qaeda Threat," and reports Chertoff 
told reporters, "While Turkey may not have specific threats from 
al-Qaeda, we are all in the same boat in the war on terror and we 
want to continue our cooperation in the war against terror." 
 
Amnesty International Report 
Mainstream Sabah, liberal Radikal, leftist Taraf, Islamist Yeni 
Safak, and mainstream Hurriyet report that in its 2007 report, 
Amnesty International suggests that the increasing political 
uncertainty and increased clashes between the PKK and Turkish 
military led to an increase of violations against human rights and 
violence in Turkey.  Hurriyet notes that the report covered 
increased violence, torture, ill-treatment and limitations on the 
freedom of speech in Turkey, but did not mention the turban issue. 
 
Second Round of Israel-Syria Talks to be Held on June 5 
Sabah reports that the second round of indirect talks between Israel 
and Syria will be held in Istanbul on June 5.  Prime Ministry Chief 
Advisor Ahmet Davutoglu and Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary 
Feridun Sinirlioglu will mediate the meeting.  During the second 
round of talks, the parties will decide on the format of the talks, 
the frequency of them and the type of commissions to be formed. 
 
Telecom Board Board Blocks 433 Websites in 6 Months 
Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak reports Turkey's "Telecommunications 
Board" has blocked access to 433 websites over the past six months. 
Board Director Tayfun Acarer said blocking access to websites such 
as YouTube was done in accordance with court orders blocking 
websites according to the "catalogue crimes" defined in Law No: 
¶5651. 
 
A New Administration and A New Foreign Policy 
 
Liberal Radikal carries an op-ed by retired Ambassador Ozdem Saberk, 
 
ANKARA 00001006  003 OF 003 
 
 
who writes, "Now is the time to establish fundamentally new 
relations with a new America."  Saberk notes, "Now is the time when 
the presidential campaigns are formulating their plans for foreign 
policy during their administrations.  Turkey needs to reach out and 
open the lines of communication with all sides so Turkish-American 
relations are not limited to coordination against the PKK and the 
debate over Armenia." 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV 
 
Domestic News 
 
- Mustafa Birden, a high court justice who was wounded in the 2006 
attack on the Council of State in 2006, has been elected the head of 
the Council of State. 
 
- Chief of the Greek military General Staff General Dimitrios 
Grapsas visited the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Istanbul on 
Wednesday. 
 
- The pro-Kurdish DTP MP Hasip Kaplan defended Diyarbakir Mayor 
Osman Baydemir for not joining PM Erdogan in Diyarbakir.  "Erdogan 
refuses to shake hands with the DTP members; he cannot expect our 
mayors to accompany him," Kaplan said. 
 
International News 
 
- President Bush's former spokesman Scott McClellan claims in a new 
tell-all book that Bush relied on propaganda to sell the Iraq war. 
 
 
- Turkish Cyprus Foreign Minister Turgay Avci said the joint 
military exercises planned by France and South Cyprus was "not a 
well-intentioned move." 
 
- In a new video, al-Qaeda calls on jihadists to use biological, 
chemical and nuclear weapons in attacks against the West. 
 
WILSON