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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 001054 
 
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 
FRIDAY, JUNE 6, 2008 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Turkey's Constitutional Court Overturns Headscarf Rule 
All news outlets report Turkey's Constitutional Court annulled a 
constitutional amendment that lifted the ban on wearing headscarves 
at universities.  The Court's decision concurred with the complaint 
filed by the opposition CHP and DSP in February, which charged that 
the headscarf changes were unconstitutional.  "The attempt to amend 
the constitution to lift the headscarf ban at universities has been 
annulled.   This decision is based on articles 2, 4 and 148 of the 
Constitution; in addition, the execution of the law has been 
stopped," the Constitutional Court said in a statement on Thursday. 
 
 
"Bad News For The AKP" (Radikal) 
All media outlets are almost completely focused on coverage of the 
Constitutional Court's decision to annul the headscarf reforms 
passed by parliament earlier this year.  While the opinions of 
nationalists and liberals are split, it comes as no surprise that 
the Islamists are united, almost in lock step, against the ruling. 
Those who support the Court's decision argue the AKP brought this on 
themselves and are now paying the price for pushing their headscarf 
agenda.  Those who oppose the court decision call it a judicial coup 
and an indication that Turkey is moving away from the rule of law 
and advancement of democratic freedoms.  All agree this is a sign 
the AKP will be closed down.  Liberal Radikal carries the headline, 
"Bad News For the AKP," as "The prosecutor used the headscarf 
reforms as proof the AKP violated secularism," and since "this will 
support the prosecutor's argument, the AKP is now likely to be 
closed."  Radikal columnist Murat Yetkin writes, "It was wrong for 
Prime Minister Erdogan to initiate the debate on freedoms by 
concentrating on the headscarf."  Meanwhile, Ismet Berkan of the 
same paper declares Turkey is now "ruled by judges," who have "ended 
parliament's power."  Ergun Babahan of mainstream Sabah writes, "The 
Court violated the Constitution," and "the decision is a clear 
indication the court will also ban the AKP."  Bulent Korkucu of 
Islamist-oriented Zaman calls the ruling, "a declaration from the 
Republic of Judges."  Mustafa Unal of the same paper writes, "Turkey 
is becoming a nation of fears and bans," as, "democracy, freedom, 
and human rights are being carried backwards."  Mustafa Karaalioglu 
of mainstream Star accused the Court of "usurping the authority of 
the parliament." Leftist Taraf carries the headline, "The Court 
Shows That Sovereignty Belongs to the Judiciary."  Islamist-oriented 
Yeni Safak carries the headline, "The Court Tramples on the 
Legislative Powers of the Parliament," in "A Judicial Coup," as "the 
Court expanded its own powers and changed the characteristics of the 
regime in Turkey."  Conservative Bugun's headline reads, "The Court 
Ignores the National Will."  Mainstream Milliyet says "The court 
opted for the harshest alternative in the case," and, "observers 
were expecting the court to reject the opposition's request."  Legal 
experts told Islamist-oriented Zaman the headscarf ruling was 
"politically motivated" and accused the Court of "violating the 
Court's legitimacy." 
 
 
Meanwhile, Guneri Civaoglu of mainstream Milliyet writes, "The 
decision proves Turkey is a secular and not a 'moderately Islamic' 
country."  Oktay Eksi of mainstream Hurriyet agrees with the Court's 
decision and says, "The Court one more time declared that it will 
not allow anything to undermine the basic principles of the 
Constitutional regime, whether directly or indirectly."  Yalcin 
Bayer of the same paper quoted a former judge who said, "This 
decision should be a lesson to politicians," and criticized the AKP 
for "labeling the decision 'political.'"  Columnist Mehmet Tezkan of 
mainstream Vatan points out, "The AKP was closed yesterday," and 
suggests "the Prime Minister should now resign," because, "While the 
AKP tried to remove headscarf bans, they managed to produce a 
situation where there will be tighter restrictions against the 
headscarf."  Columnist Rusen Cakir of the same paper notes, "The 
judiciary is acting like an opposition party," and "This is not the 
 
ANKARA 00001054  002 OF 004 
 
 
way to uphold republican values, secularism, and democracy." 
Columnist Cengiz Cadar, however, points to Barack Obama's example 
which shows, "no one can resist the dynamics of change," as "Obama's 
nomination is more important than the Constitutional Court ruling." 
 
On Friday, the AKP board will convene extraordinarily to discuss all 
options including calling early elections in the face of the 
Constitutional Court decision, according to papers. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Court Decision on Headscarf Reforms 
 
"Erdogan's First Political Defeat Came from The Judiciary" 
Murat Yetkin wrote in liberal-intellectual Radikal (6/6): "The 
Constitutional Court's decision emphasized secularism and referred 
to the Turkish Constitution's 'unchangeable' articles.  Thus, the 
Court decision sent a message to the government and the parliament 
that the Court does not want to see any more headscarf-related 
initiatives.  President Gul waited for 10 days before he signed off 
on the headscarf amendments.  At that time, he explained he was 
waiting for a consensus to be reached among all parties in the 
parliament, so there would not be a need to change the constitution. 
 Had he sent the proposed reforms back to parliament for a second 
debate, there would be no headscarf controversy in the 
Constitutional Court and possibly no closure case against the AKP. 
Nevertheless, Prime Minister Erdogan has lost this battle, which 
constitutes the biggest political defeat for Erdogan since the 
November 2002 elections.  This is a political defeat for Erdogan 
because the headscarf issue was one of his primary strategic goals, 
and this defeat comes from the judiciary and not the ballot box. 
Like President Gul suggested at the beginning of this debate, 
expanding headscarf freedoms at universities was possible through 
consensus, but Erdogan did not choose the way of consensus.  Now he 
is facing the consequences.  It remains to be seen whether the AKP 
and Erdogan will respond with even more fury.  They may attempt new 
constitutional changes or they may follow Gul's suggestions toward 
seeking consensus." 
 
"Worst Than the 367 Decision" 
Mustafa Unal wrote in Islamist-leaning Zaman (6/6):  "Frankly, 
nobody was expecting the Court to pave the way for wearing 
headscarves.  But nobody was expecting such a harsh decision either. 
 The Constitutional Court not only shaped the destiny of 
headscarf-wearing at universities, the Court also put itself a 
controversial position.  Many legal experts interpreted the Court 
decision as a direct intervention against parliament's legislative 
power.  Some even say that the Court exceeded the limits of its 
power.  With this decision, the Constitutional Court declared its 
role as protector of the regime, which is similar to the National 
Security Council.  The judiciary makes decisions on behalf of the 
Turkish people.  Oddly enough, the vast majority of Turkish people 
do not find the decision acceptable.  There are some commentaries 
that compare the decision to last year's 367 decision in which the 
Court determined the parliament needed a quorum of 367 to elected 
Gul president.  However, I think this decision is worse than that. 
The headscarf decision will undoubtedly affect the closure case 
against the AKP in a negative way.  The Court decision ignores the 
national will and ignores the parliament.  With this mentality, it 
is even possible to close the parliament.  I am worried about 
Turkey's future because the Ankara criteria prevails over universal 
criteria on democracy, freedoms, and individual rights.  Step by 
step, Turkey is becoming a country of fears and bans." 
 
Reactions to Constitutional Court's Annulment of Headscarf Reforms 
All papers covered the reactions to the Constitutional Court 
decision.  "AKP and MHP Fume over Court Decision," reads a headline 
in the leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet.  AKP MP Husrev Kutlu said 
there was an "oligarchy of judges." MHP leader Devlet Bahceli lashed 
out at the court decision, saying it was "politically motivated." 
Bahceli claimed the ruling would accelerate divisions in society. 
Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek said yesterday's decision was not 
 
ANKARA 00001054  003 OF 004 
 
 
linked to the lawsuit for closing down the AKP. 
Internal and reactions from abroad could be listed as follows: 
 
President Gul paused during his visit to Japan to say, "This is a 
legal procedure and I don't want to elaborate on it" 
 
CHP leader Deniz Baykal stated, "Those who run the country should 
act with the responsibility of not contradicting the Constitution." 
 
AKP Deputy Group Chairman Bekir Bozdag declared, "The court's 
decision is a political one. This decision is against the 
constitution." 
 
AKP Diyarbakir deputy Abdurrahman Kurt charged, "This is a judicial 
coup." 
 
MHP leader Devlet Bahceli emphasized, "This decision is not based on 
legal but on political premises.  This ruling could accelerate the 
division in Turkey." 
 
Chief of General Staff General Yasar Buyukanit said, "This Court 
decision is a declaration of what is obvious.  We all have to 
respect legal decisions.  Turkey is a secular and democratic state 
based on the rule of law."  Air Forces Commander Aydogan Babaoglu 
evoked the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rulings against 
complaints regarding the freedom to wear the headscarf, adding he 
expected this outcome. 
 
U.S. State Department Press Officer Chase Beamer told papers, "The 
Constitutional Court decision on turban is an internal matter of 
Turkey and the decision regarding whether to wear a headscarf or not 
is a personal choice for women to make." 
 
Turkey-EU Joint Parliament Commission co-chair Joost Lagendijk said, 
"Turkey needs a new constitution for the entire society." 
 
EP Turkey Rapporteur Ruijten agreed with Lagenijk when she said, 
"this decision indicates that Turkey needs a new constitution." 
 
Generals Buyukanit and Basbug Comments at "Mideast International 
Symposium" 
Sabah, Milliyet, Cumhuriyet, Radikal, Hurriyet, Turkiye and others: 
Chief of General Staff General Buyukanit gave opening remarks at an 
international symposium on the future of the Middle East organized 
by the General Staff's Strategic Research and Study Center in Ankara 
yesterday.  General Buyukanit said "Turkey is the only example in 
the Islamic world with its secular structure.  Legal bodies in 
Turkey will not allow any disruption of this structure.  No power 
will be able to make the Republic and its basic principles bow 
before them."  On Iraq, Buyukanit said "Iraq's territorial integrity 
is of vital importance to Turkey.  If the current structure in Iraq 
remains, Iraq will be the center of all kinds of instability."  On 
Iran he said, "Iran should only establish a nuclear program based on 
peaceful purposes."  In response to questions from journalists after 
his speech, Gen. Buyukanit said he opposed the use of the term 
"moderate Islam" to describe Turkey and said "there are efforts to 
launch Turkey as a model of moderate Islam.  How would we define the 
U.S. then?  Are we going to refer it as "moderately Christian'?" 
Such a thing is impossible.  I remember asking U.S. Vice-President 
Dick Cheney not to define Turkey as moderately Islamic." 
 
Meanwhile, speaking at the same symposium, Land Forces Commander 
General Ilker Basbug said "Turkey is cooperating with Iran on the 
fight against.  Both countries hold coordinated and synchronized 
operations against terrorists on our respective borders." 
 
Rice and Babacan Meet in Washington 
All papers report Secretary Rice held a joint press conference with 
visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan in Washington. 
Mainstream Sabah carries the headline, "Our Relations Are 
 
ANKARA 00001054  004 OF 004 
 
 
Excellent," and notes, "Secretary Rice characterized the relations 
between the U.S. and the Erdogan government as 'excellent.'" 
Islamist-oriented Zaman carries the headline, "Rice Praises The 
Government and Emphasizes Democracy," and notes, "Rice rained praise 
on Turkey."  Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet emphasized Rice's 
comment, "The U.S. hopes Turkey will undertake an active role in the 
Middle East."  In a related story, mainstream Milliyet writes, 
"Questions Rained on Babacan," as "Babacan faced lots of tough 
questions from members of the U.S. Congress regarding relations with 
Armenia, relations with Iran, and the closure case against the AKP." 
 
 
Iraqi Oil Minister: Turkish Companies Can Explore Oil in 78 New 
Areas 
Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak reports Iraq's Oil Minister Huseyin 
Sehristani said Turkish companies were excluded from oil exploration 
in the reserves in southern Iraq and Kirkuk due to their 
"insufficient capacities."  Sehristani said tenders would be 
announced for the newly explored 78 oil beds in Iraq, adding Turkish 
companies could join the competition over these regions.  He also 
said Iraq would connect its surplus natural gas to the pipelines 
with Turkey.  "We will transport to Turkey Egyptian natural gas via 
the Arab gas pipeline that terminates in Turkey.  We will also carry 
al-Mansuriye gas on a pipeline to be built parallel to the existing 
Kirkuk-Yumurtalik pipeline," emphasized Sehristani. 
 
TV Highlights 
NTV 
 
Domestic News 
 
- The ruling AKP government has submitted the law ratifying 1997 
Kyoto Protocol to the parliament. 
 
- Ankara prosecutor has initiated an investigation into two 
journalists for reporting about the wiretapping authorization given 
to the gendarme, the police and intelligence service MIT. 
 
- Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan says Turkey's imports of fuel oil 
means "importing inflation." 
 
International News 
 
- President Abdullah Gul, on a state visit in Japan, met the 
Japanese Emperor Akihito.  The Emperor told Gul that Turkey, like 
Japan, was modernizing while preserving its traditions.  Gul opened 
an Ottoman fashion exhibition in Tokyo later in the day. 
 
- The Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin gave Prime Minister 
Erdogan a phone call Thursday to discuss trade and economic ties, 
said Russia's Ankara Embassy in a statement.  Putin invited Erdogan 
to Russia. 
 
- The U.S. State Department's report on trafficking in persons calls 
on Turkey to step up efforts to preventing human smuggling. 
WILSON