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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001037 
 
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 
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4, 2008 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Wiretapping Mystery Solved by Cell Phone Records 
All papers report Turkey's GSM operator Turkcell confirms that there 
was a 44-minute call recorded between Vakit daily newspaper and the 
mobile phone of CHP Secretary General Onder Sav on May 24th.  Last 
week, the opposition CHP accused the AKP government of "monitoring" 
Sav's conversation with a former governor, and "servicing" the talk 
to the Islamist daily Vakit which published it almost verbatim in 
their newspaper the next day.  Vakit claimed Sav forgot to switch 
off his cell phone after he mistakenly answered the call and 
proceeded with his talk with the governor.The ruling AKP and 
Islamist media had blamed Sav for "falsely accusing" the government 
of having bugged the CHP party building and phones.  In "Turkcell 
Confirms 44-Minute Call Between Sav and Vakit," nationalist Turkiye 
and others report Vakit's claim was supported by a Turkcell document 
released yesterday.  On May 30, CHP filed a criminal complaint 
against Vakit, claiming illegal monitoring of Sav's office. 
 
CHP leader Deniz Baykal told his party group meeting yesterday, 
"Members of Islamist groups have been bugging almost the entire 
country and using the information obtained for blackmail or other 
political purposes."  In addition, Baykal charged, "No authority in 
Turkey should be given such mandates; we'll launch a legal fight 
against such practices." 
 
Mainstream Milliyet reports on its front page, "The Country is 
uneasy with reports that all personal communication is monitored by 
the Security Forces."  Cumhuriyet lashes out at the Justice Ministry 
for allowing police and the intelligence service MIT to monitor 
people, but turned down a similar request from the gendarme. 
 
Meanwhile, the Turkish Parliament adopted a motion on Tuesday to set 
up a parliamentary committee to investigate the CHP's allegations of 
wiretapping by the police and MIT. 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Iraq; Turkey's Efforts for Middle East Peace 
 
"Future of Iraq" 
Cuneyt Ulsever wrote in mainstream Hurriyet (6/4):  "It seems the 
upcoming presidential race will take place between Barack Obama and 
John McCain.  The U.S. election results will shape the future of 
Iraq.  With that in mind, the year 2009 will certainly be a fateful 
year for Iraqis.  On the surface, there seems to be a policy 
difference between the Republican Party and the Democrat Party as 
the former wants to stay in Iraq while the latter prefers an 
immediate withdrawal.  Given the current failure of the Bush 
administration's policy in Iraq, it is politically correct for 
Democrats to defend the policy of withdrawal in theory.  However in 
reality, I do not see a major policy difference between the two 
parties.  Moreover Democrats do not look as if they have a clear and 
solid Iraq policy.  Let's take Obama's remarks to the extent that he 
will not act hastily to withdraw from Iraq.  McCain says the same 
thing, so one can conclude that both parties are saying the same 
thing.  They both know an immediate pull-out will not serve Iraq's 
interests.  After all it is very important for the U.S., regardless 
of which party is in power, not to repeat the same 'Divide and Rule' 
mistake that the United Kingdom made by focusing on communities, 
instead of a national identity.  Using Iraqi tribes and communities, 
like Sunnis and Shiites, may appear to be work but in the end it 
only paves the way for a divided Iraq.  With its tribal-focused 
policy on Iraq, unfortunately the U.S. seems to be repeating the 
UK's mistakes." 
 
"Turkey-Syria-Israel" 
Soner Cagaptay wrote in liberal-intellectual Radikal (6/4):  "For 
sometime Turkey has been conducting diplomacy between Israel and 
Syria.  The efforts for a Syrian-Israeli peace agreement require 
some important aspects to keep in mind.  First of all, it remains to 
be seen whether Israel and Syria are genuinely ready to make 
 
ANKARA 00001037  002 OF 003 
 
 
compromises or are they just acting like peace advocates for show? 
If the efforts produce a peace agreement, the ruling AKP will 
undoubtedly gain enormous credit.  However there is also a serious 
risk here.  If the Syrian nuclear connection to North Korea is 
proven, Ankara will face a serious blow against its credibility. 
Moreover, such a development will harm the AKP's image vis-`-vis 
Washington.  As far as the peace effort is concerned, a positive 
atmosphere for the AKP in Washington can only be achieved if Syria 
signs a peace agreement with Israel and if it can distance itself 
from Iran and Hezbollah.  In other words, Turkey is gambling with 
politics as it takes a role in the Syrian-Israeli peace talks.  The 
gambling table has four actors, Ankara, Washington, Tel Aviv and 
Damascus.  Let's hope that Ankara acts with good knowledge of the 
cards in other players' hands." 
 
Human Rights Court Backs Headscarf Ban in Turkish Schools 
All papers report the European Court for Human Rights (ECHR) 
rejected yesterday a complaint from two Turkish teachers who were 
not allowed to wear the Islamic-style headscarf in the classroom. 
Fatma Karaduman and Sevil Tandogan from Theology High School 
(Imam-Hatip) in the city of Sakarya, complained that headscarf 
restrictions amounted to a violation of freedom of religious 
expression.  Tuesday's ruling was the ECHR's second rejection of a 
headscarf-related complaint, leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet says. 
Mainstream Hurriyet says the ECHR approved, once again, the 
headscarf ban in Turkey. 
 
Papers noted the ECHR ruling came hours before the Constitutional 
Court takes up the CHP's objection to controversial AKP-MHP 
sponsored headscarf reforms, which were passed by the Turkish 
parliament earlier this year.  The Constitutional Court is scheduled 
to consider the case against the reforms on Thursday. 
 
KRG Changes Stance Regarding Kirkuk 
Milliyet, Sabah, Zaman, Vatan, Bugun and others:  Papers report 
that, speaking to Reuters News Agency, Kurdish Regional Government 
(KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said "Regarding Kirkuk, as 
Kurds, we are ready for sharing power.  We are seeking a solution, 
not a referendum.  We have asked the UN to be technically involved 
because the situation is complicated."  The regional Kurdish 
Parliament voted in December for a six month delay in a proposed 
referendum, mainly to give the UN time to come up with solutions for 
the issue. 
 
U.S.-Turkey Nuclear Cooperation 
All papers report the nuclear energy production agreement (123 
Agreement) between the U.S. and Turkey is covered in a 
straightforward manner, but also reflects a sense of relief that the 
discussions have finally concluded with an agreement after eight 
years of discussions. In "A Peaceful Nuclear Agreement with the 
U.S.," mainstream Milliyet writes, "this agreement will make it 
easier for U.S. companies such as GE to proceed with plans to invest 
in Turkey's nuclear development program."  Mainstream Hurriyet 
points out, "This agreement is very important," as "Turkey's 
neighbor Iran experiences serious problems with the international 
community because of its nuclear efforts."  Leftist Taraf calls the 
agreement, "Praise from the U.S. for Turkey's Peace Efforts," 
because, "soon after Sean McCormack praised Turkey for its mediation 
efforts between Israel and Syria, the nuclear cooperation agreement 
was signed."  Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet writes in "On the March 
Toward Nuclear Cooperation," that "Bill Clinton was President when 
the agreement negotiations were first initiated in 2000," and "the 
agreement targets cooperation to exchange nuclear technology, 
material, and reactor equipment." 
 
Matt Bryza Emphasizes Close Ties 
Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet carried an interview with U.S. Deputy 
Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Matt 
Bryza under the headline, "Our Close Cooperation Will Continue." 
The article notes Bryza emphasized, "The U.S. has always appreciated 
 
ANKARA 00001037  003 OF 003 
 
 
Turkey's secular values," and, "The AKP closure case will not damage 
relations with the U.S."  He said the U.S. attributed significant 
importance to Turkey's secularism and democratic principles since 
the time of Ataturk, and "see it as the basis of our partnership 
with Turkey."  In addition, Bryza noted, "While it is necessary to 
fight against PKK terrorism, Turkey's cooperation with Iran on this 
topic is not perceived warmly by the U.S." 
 
NGOs against Gay Rights Group 'LambdaIstanbul's Closure 
Hurriyet, Radikal, Taraf, and Cumhuriyet report some 150 domestic 
NGOs backed by international organizations held a press conference 
in Istanbul on Tuesday to express support to Turkey's gay and 
lesbian rights organization, LambdaIstanbul, which was closed by the 
Governor's Office last week.  Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty 
International (AI) representatives told the press the closure was 
indicative of the official intolerance against diverse groups and 
minorities in Turkey.  "With this decision, the authorities have 
approved the prejudice in the Turkish public against marginalized 
groups," HRW representative Emma Sinclair-Webb told the 
leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet. 
 
Obama Reaches Necessary Delegate Count for Democratic Party's 
Nomination 
All papers cite the Associated Press (AP) report that U.S. 
Democratic Party Presidential candidate Barack Obama has reached the 
requisite delegate count for the Democratic Party's nomination. 
According to mainstream Sabah, Obama's rival, former first lady and 
New York Senator Hillary Clinton said "If it will help the Democrats 
win the elections, I am open to taking the vice-president 
position." 
 
TV - Morning News: 
NTV 
 
Domestic News 
 
- Four suspects accused of spying at the Turkish border for the 
northern Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) will face up to 
20-year prison sentences. 
 
- Opposition far right MHP leader Devlet Bahceli told his party 
group Tuesday preparations for Kurdish language broadcasts on 
state-owned TRT television were "a good-will gesture for the PKK." 
 
 
- "Turkey's growth performance over the last 20 years had been 
mediocre," said the elite business group TUSIAD member Ali Kibar. 
 
International News 
 
- Greek Cyprus has withdrawn some of its objections to EU financial 
support for Turkish Cyprus. 
 
- The European Court of Human Rights has called on Turkey to 
demonstrate "positive attitudes" in dealing with the Greeks living 
on Gokceada and Bozcaada islands. 
 
- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad announced to the world press, 
"Israel must be prepared to return all Syrian lands occupied in the 
1967 War as part of any peace deal between the two sides." 
 
WILSON