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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000910 
 
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, MAY 12, 2008 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Turkish Warplanes Strike PKK Positions in Iraq 
All papers report the Turkish General Staff's (TGS) announcement on 
May 10, which reports Turkish warplanes bombed PKK camps in the 
Avasin-Basyan region of northern Iraq.  Under the headline 
"Broadcasts From Kandil Are Cut," Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak 
claims Roj TV, known to be the mouthpiece of the PKK, was "silenced" 
when it was bombed and destroyed by Turkish forces.  The TGS 
statement said, "Following the operation, the majority of the 200 
terrorists who were on Mount Kandil have fled.  This development 
shows the organization was in a state of panic and its members' 
morale was very low."  The statement noted the PKK's armed wing 
commander Fahman Huseyin, known as "Bahoz Erdal," abandoned the Zap 
area and fled to the Sinaht-Haftanin area.  In addition, the 
statement said Murat Karayilan, had fled to the Mount Gara region. 
 
 
Meanwhile, papers report on their front pages six soldiers were 
killed on Friday night when the PKK attacked the Aktutun outpost, 
which is in Hakkari province on the border with Iraq.  The soldiers 
were laid to rest in their hometowns on Sunday.  Liberal Radikal 
writes, "On Mother's Day, mothers bury six sons killed in clashes 
with the PKK," as "tens of thousands joined the funerals."  Papers 
also report Prime Minister Erdogan said Turkey would not concede in 
its fight against terror.  The PM called on the terrorists to 
"disarm, return home, and benefit from the repentance law." 
 
In a related story, mainstream Hurriyet reported on Saturday that 
TGS shared intelligence with Iran regarding the whereabouts of the 
PKK's second in command Cemil Bayik.  According to this 
intelligence, Bayik fled to Iran with 200 of his men.  The Iranian 
authorities said military operations had been launched against Bayik 
and his team. 
 
Amb. Wilson: "The U.S. Supports Turkey's Democratic Values, 
Secularist Roots" 
U.S. Ambassador Ross Wilson spoke to mainstream Milliyet and 
leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet columnists over the weekend.  Under 
the front-page headline, "I Am Not Using the Term 'Moderate Islam,'" 
Milliyet quotes Ambassador Wilson as saying the U.S. supports 
"Turkey's democratic values and its secularist roots."  Wilson said 
the U.S. was happy to see contacts improving between Turkey and 
northern Iraq.  He stressed the U.S. "does not support or reject 
Fetullah Gulen's movement or his believers."  He added, "Gulen has 
acquired a U.S. visa; the U.S. does not apply ideological or 
religious tests for visa applicants."  Wilson also said Turkey and 
Armenia should face their past, but at the same time they should 
look toward the future. 
 
Cumhuriyet reports in "Moderate Messages from the U.S.," that Wilson 
said, "The U.S. is watching the closure case against the AKP 
carefully."  Wilson emphasized, "During the Cold War, Eastern Europe 
was the center of expected tensions, today these tensions are around 
Turkey."  Wilson noted the U.S. was in "harmonious cooperation" with 
the Turkish military, and that dialogue has helped solve the 
problems in the fight against terror.  On Iraq, Wilson said "A new 
president may change U.S. policy in Iraq, in order to be successful; 
we believe it will be necessary to work with Turkey." 
 
Editorial Commentary on Ambassador Wilson Interviews 
 
"The U.S. Position" 
Fikret Bila wrote in mainstream Milliyet (5/11): "Ambassador Ross 
Wilson, in a well-crafted manner, told Milliyet about Washington's 
positions on matters that are very important to Turkey.  Wilson 
detailed Washington's position regarding democracy, secularism, 
moderate Islam and PKK, which soothed worries in Turkish public 
opinion regarding those matters.  Ambassador Wilson clearly stated 
that Washington has no 'moderate Islam project' for Turkey.  He even 
 
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explained that Americans use the term 'moderate Islam' as an 
abbreviation.  He enhanced his message on this issue by emphasizing 
U.S. support for a democratic and secular Turkey.  The PKK issue 
undoubtedly is the most significant reason for the Turkish public 
opinion's skepticism about U.S. support for Turkey's fight against 
the PKK.  There was a strong perception the U.S. used to help the 
PKK and did not do enough to support Turkey's fight against the PKK. 
 Ambassador Ross Wilson clearly wanted to change this perception. 
He talked about the armed struggle against terrorism and steps 
toward eliminating the PKK terrorist organization's recruiting 
conditions.  According to Wilson, economic development will run the 
PKK out of business.  However, in the mean time, the U.S. will 
continue to keep Iraqi airspace available for Turkish air 
operations.  At the same time, KRG President Massoud Barzani made 
some encouraging statements regarding rapprochement with Turkey. 
All of these developments are justifications for Ambassador Wilson's 
depiction of U.S. efforts to support Turkey in the fight against the 
PKK." 
 
"An Ally?" 
Tamer Korkmaz wrote in Islamist Yeni Safak (5/12): "Milliyet and 
Cumhuriyet carried interviews with the U.S. Ambassador Ross Wilson. 
Known to be a pragmatic person, Ambassador Wilson was careful to 
give well-measured messages.  In his Milliyet interview, Wilson 
categorically denied speculations about U.S. support for PJAK.  He 
said, 'The U.S. has nothing to do with PJAK and does not support or 
work with PJAK."   Yet only a month ago, Osman Ocalan, a top PKK 
leader, told the LA Times, "The U.S. supports both the PKK and PJAK, 
but keeps this support on an unofficial level in order to be able to 
deny it when pressured.'  It is fair to ask why the U.S., Turkey's 
strong ally, did nothing for Turkey in its fight against PKK terror 
for 24 years.   The November 5th summit was presented as a big 
achievement for us; President Bush promised to provide intelligence 
assistance in the fight against the PKK.  However the share of 
intelligence, especially regarding terrorism, is a must among NATO 
allies.  The U.S. did not care about this obligation to Turkey for 
24 years.  The fact of the matter is for over two decades, the U.S. 
did not side with Turkey in its fight against terrorism; moreover, 
the U.S. supported the PKK.  When Turkey showed its full 
determination to finish off the PKK during cross-border operations, 
even without the support of the U.S., then Washington had no choice 
but to support Turkey in order to not to lose any further prestige. 
On this issue, the United States is the side who was obliged to 
provide support to Turkey's cross border operations into northern 
Iraq." 
 
PKK/PJAK Clash with Iran Forces 
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Taraf, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and 
others feature reports of intense fighting between the Iranian 
military and the PKK/PJAK along the Iraq-Iran border.  The fighting 
is situated in the Kaledize region on the Iraqi side, as well as the 
Serdest, Konemisk, Mahabat, and Piransar regions on the Iranian 
side.  Papers quote Jabbar Yawar, spokesman for the Peshmerge 
Forces, as saying heavy clashes were taking place in the Casusan and 
Doletuk regions on the Iranian side of Kandil.  "These clashes have 
been continuing sporadically since Sunday," said Yawar. 
 
PKK Attacks Civilians and Soldiers 
Saturday's mainstream Hurriyet and Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak 
report that the PKK detonated a remote-control land mine Friday 
morning, which hit a village minibus en route between Batman and 
Yuvalicay.  Four people died and another four were seriously injured 
in the attack.  Hurriyet reports that the minibus was carrying 
village guards, a village teacher and other local residents.  Yeni 
Safak reports, "PKK terrorists detonated a road-side explosive in 
Bingol while a military vehicle was passing by.  One 
non-commissioned officer and two soldiers were injured." 
 
Council of State (Danistay) Calls on the EU to Respect Turkish 
Judiciary 
 
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Sunday's papers reported on the comments of Danistay (Council of 
State) President Sumru Cortoglu at the 140th anniversary of 
Danistay's establishment.  Cortoglu said "We support constitutional 
amendment initiatives that are in line with the fundamental and 
irrevocable principles of our Republic and universal values that 
meet the needs of all segments of society, and that guarantee and 
improve human rights and freedoms.  Foreigners should show the same 
respect to the independent Turkish judiciary as they show to their 
own judicial organs, lawsuits and verdicts."  Cortoglu added, 
"Judicial decisions can be criticized, however the criticism should 
be made carefully and people should refrain from accusing judicial 
staff when criticizing."  Sumru Cortoglu will retire tomorrow. 
 
The Government's Security Test With the EU 
Liberal Radikal reports that the 24th chapter of EU membership talks 
signals problems.  The chapter is entitled, "Justice, Freedom, and 
Security," and requires Turkey to adopt a guide for police behavior, 
pass laws regarding police ethics, establish an autonomous committee 
to review reports of human rights violations by police, and 
establish an independent and effective system for dealing with 
complaints against the police.  These EU negotiations face 
difficulty as the police and gendarmerie oppose the idea of 
inspections by an autonomous committee related to civil rights 
violations. 
 
 
TV News: 
CNN Turk 
 
Domestic News 
 
- Turkey's special envoy to Iraq, Ambassador Murat Ozcelik, will 
meet with the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) President Massoud 
Barzani in northern Iraq this week. 
 
- A survey conducted by the Ankara Chamber of Trade says 15.4 
percent of Turkish people live below the poverty line. 
 
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a USD 3.65 billion 
loan to Turkey, the final segment of a three-year standby credit. 
 
International News 
 
- Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said Turkey would have decreased the 
number of its troops in Cyprus if the Greek Cypriots had backed the 
Annan Plan for reunification. 
 
- The Arab League will send a high-level delegation to Beirut in an 
effort to mediate a way out of Lebanon's civil strife. 
 
- Iraqi security forces launched a massive offensive against 
al-Qaeda militants in the city of Mosul over the weekend. 
 
WILSON