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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001348 
 
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, JULY 28, 2008 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Bomb Attack in Istanbul Kills 16 
All news outlets report 16 people were killed and more than 150 
others were injured in two bomb blasts in Istanbul's Gungoren 
neighborhood Sunday night.  Mainstream Milliyet writes in "Terror 
Horror in Istanbul," that "two bombs exploded one after the other in 
the space of 10 minutes.  The first one was a percussion bomb that 
attracted onlookers and then the second deadly one exploded." 
Mainstream papers Hurriyet, Vatan and Aksam suggest yesterday's 
attack could be retaliation for the latest Turkish air attacks on 
the PKK targets in northern Iraq.  Mainstream Sabah says the 
RDX-type bomb used in the attack was similar to the bombs used in 
earlier PKK attacks in Ankara and Diyarbakir.  Mainstream Sabah 
writes "We Know the Murderers," noting "terror targeted civilians in 
a critical period, in which the Ergenekon indictment was accepted by 
the court on Friday, and today the Constitutional Court will hold 
its first hearing in the suit for banning the AKP. 
 
Constitutional Court to Hear AKP Closure Case July 28 
All papers report the Constitutional Court begins deliberations in 
the closure case against Turkey's ruling AKP today.  Under the 
Constitution, at least seven out of 11 justices must vote in favor 
of closure in order to close the party.  The Constitutional Court 
can also order a cessation of Treasury financing to the party 
instead of ordering its dissolution.  In his indictment, the chief 
prosecutor also called for the banning from party politics of 71 
politicians, including President Abdullah Gul, former Parliament 
Speaker Bulent Arinc, and Prime Minister Erdogan.  Several 
commentators expect the court decision to come after August 4, 
following the conclusion of the High Military Board (YAS) meetings 
which appoint new commanders, including the Chief of the Turkish 
General Staff. 
 
'Ergenekon' Indictment Unveiled, First Hearing October 20 
All news outlets reported over the weekend and today that on Friday 
a court in Istanbul agreed to take up the "Ergenekon" indictment, 
and set the first hearing for October 20 at a prison complex in 
Silivri town in Istanbul.  In the indictment, prosecutors accuse 86 
defendants of forming an illegal organization which is accused of 
planning bloody, provocative acts that would pave the way for a 
military takeover to oust the AKP government.  The indictment 
charges the suspects, including retired military officers, 
anti-government journalists and intellectuals, with "forming of and 
membership to a terrorist organization."  Forty-seven suspects were 
detained within the scope of the "Ergenekon".  Among the suspects 
are retired generals including Veli Kucuk, Mehmet Fikri Karadag, 
Fikret Emek and Muzaffer Tekin, politicians, journalists and 
writers.  An additional indictment is to be prepared for those 
detained on July 1, including retired Generals Sener Eruygur and 
Hursit Tolon, and Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO) head Sinan Aygun. 
 
 
Weekend papers say the indictment underlines the Ergenekon network 
was not linked to the military General Staff (TGS) or the National 
Intelligence Organization (MIT,) but that it had access to top 
secret military and MIT documents.  The indictment claims Ergenekon 
had ties with terror organizations such as the PKK, DHKP-C and 
Hizbullah.  The suspects had plans to assassinate Prime Minister 
Erdogan, Chief of the TGS Yasar Buyukanit, novelist Orhan Pamuk, 
journalist Fehmi Koru, Armenian Patriarch Mesrob Mutafyan, Greek 
Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I, and Jewish businessman Ishak 
Alaton, as well as Kurdish politicians Ahmet Turk, Osman Baydemir 
and Sebahat Tuncel.  Ergenekon is also blamed for a number of 
sensational assassinations including the killings of Armenian 
Turkish journalist Hrant Dink in Istanbul, Roman Catholic Priest 
Andrea Santoro in Trabzon, and three Christian Bible publishers in 
Malatya.  The network was also planning attacks on the NATO 
facilities in Izmir and on an enclosed passenger overpass near the 
TGS Headquarters in Ankara, according to the indictment. 
 
ANKARA 00001348  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
Monday's Cumhuriyet says the accusations were "ridiculous and 
ungrounded," and comments the case might take long years and was 
unlikely to be finalized.  Many questioned in Turkey whether the 
operation was being used to suppress the opponents of the ruling. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Ergenekon Case 
 
Turker Alkan wrote in liberal-intellectual Radikal (7/27): "The 
accusations in the Ergenekon indictment deserve to be taken 
seriously.  The indictment includes many high ranking names from 
state posts who are accused of creating anarchy and chaos to pave 
the way for a military coup.  We cannot afford to characterize the 
whole thing as absurd because Turkey has lived through just such 
chaotic situations in the past.  Even if a small portion of this 
indictment is true, it still makes this a crucial case.  " 
 
Cengiz Candar wrote in business daily Referans (7/28):  "It is not 
possible to predict the outcome of the Ergenekon case.  However, one 
thing is very clear: This case is the most serious legal 
investigation of our recent history and it is an important 
cornerstone for Turkey's struggle towards democratization." 
 
Mehmet Y. Yilmaz wrote in mainstream Hurriyet (7/28): "At least now 
that the court has decided to take on the Ergenekon indictment, we 
no longer have to worry about this odd situation where the Prime 
Minister claims to be a prosecutor and the opposition leader claims 
to be a lawyer.  Now, the court will have its say and we should 
leave this process to run its natural.  A fair and fast court 
process will be ideal since we all know the longer a case is 
prolonged, the less able we are to find the truth.  Most 
importantly, the Ergenekon case should no longer be used as a 
polemical tool between the government and the opposition." 
 
Fehmi Koru wrote in Islamist leaning Yeni Safak (7/27): "With start 
of the Ergenekon case, some light is shed on a dark picture of 
Turkey's past.  In the last 50 years of the Republic, we have had a 
long list of unresolved assassinations and other crimes.  Those who 
have no desire to settle the accounts of the past 50 years will not 
be happy with this indictment.  In fact the Ergenekon indictment is 
about only one illegal organizational structure, but maybe it will 
shed some light on other crimes and illegal acts as the court case 
progresses." 
 
Bartholomew I, Alexi II Conduct Mass in Kiev 
Hurriyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and others report 
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and Moscow Patriarch Alexi II 
together conducted a mass in Kiev over the weekend, marking the 
1020th anniversary of the Slavic world's conversion to Christianity. 
 Mainstream Milliyet writes "Opponent Patriarchs Conducted a Mass," 
saying "the Moscow Patriarch and the Fener Greek Patriarch conducted 
the mass together following the crisis."  Islamist-oriented Yeni 
Safak writes in "Patriarchs Joined," that "the visit of the Fener 
Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew to Ukraine melted the ice 
between him and the Moscow Patriarch," adding "earlier there had 
been a crisis because Russia wanted the Moscow Patriarch to preside 
over the events while the Ukrainian President invited Patriarch 
Bartholomew to do the job." 
 
TV News: 
CNN Turk 
 
Domestic News 
 
- The Turkish General Staff says in a statement posted on its 
webpage 12 PKK targets were destroyed in air operations on Mount 
Kandil in northern Iraq. 
 
- Three civilians in a pickup van were killed when a landmine 
believed to have been planted by the PKK terrorists went off in 
 
ANKARA 00001348  003 OF 003 
 
 
Semdinli in southeast Turkey. 
 
- Turkey's High Military Board (YAS) is to hold its annual meeting 
from August 1-4. 
 
International News 
 
- Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani says Iran and the major 
powers should draw a new model for nuclear talks. 
 
- Nearly three-quarters of Irish voters are against holding a second 
referendum on the EU's key reform treaty, according to an opinion 
poll. 
 
WILSON