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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001377 
 
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, JULY 31, 2008 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
AKP Not Closed, Received Serious Warning 
All papers, TV channels:  The Constitutional Court announced 
yesterday the verdict over the AKP closure case.  The Court decided 
not to close down the AKP, but to cut fifty percent of its Treasury 
assistance.  Mainstreams Milliyet and Vatan headlines read "No 
Closure, but Serious Warning" and reports that six of 11 judges 
voted for closure of the party, four concluded that the party should 
be deprived of half of its state funding and one judge (the Court 
President, Hasim Kilic) voted for rejection of the case.  Because 
the Court couldn't achieve the seven votes needed to impose a ban, 
the AKP was not closed.  However, ten of eleven judges agreed that 
the AKP was responsible for anti-secular acts and decided to impose 
the financial sanction.  Liberal Radikal headline reads "Turkey 
Releaved"; Islamist-oriented Zaman and Yeni Safak headlines read 
relevantly "Closing AKP Rejected" "Turkey Wins"; leftist-nationalist 
Cumhuriyet headline reads "Court Fines AKP". 
 
Reactions to the Constitutional Court Verdict 
All papers:  Following the announcement of the Court decision, PM 
Erdogan held a press conference at 21.00 hrs at his party 
headquarters.  Erdogan said "we will value the decision of the court 
as best we can and our priority is to enhance social peace." 
Mainstream Vatan quotes PM Erdogan saying "Turkey has survived a 
major hardship.  We will continue on our path with a responsibility 
to make sure that the country cannot be dragged into a similar 
position in the future.  The AKP, which has never been a center of 
anti-secular activities, will continue to uphold the basic 
principles of our Republic."  Cumhuriyet quotes main opposition 
party CHP leader Deniz Baykal as saying "the Constitutional Court 
did not solve the crisis, but diagnosed the crisis.  The AKP has the 
duty and responsibility to lead Turkey out of this crisis."  MHP 
leader Bahceli said "Everyone should respect the court decision.  PM 
Erdogan and the AKP Administration should derive necessary lessons 
from the process that the country went through."  DTP chairman Ahmet 
Turk said "the Supreme Court passed an important test of democracy 
however this does not mean that AKP has not made mistakes." 
Responding to journalists' questions at a reception, Chief of 
General Staff General Buyukanit said "the Constitutional Court made 
its decision, how would you expect me to interpret it?"  General 
Buyukanit underlined the view of the Turkish Armed Forces on 
secularism will not change.  Sabah reports that TUSIAD issued a 
written statement saying that Turkish democracy came out of a test 
of maturity successfully. 
 
Meanwhile, the western world welcomed the Constitutional Court 
decision.  US State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said "we 
trust in Turkish democracy and the Turkish people.  We have been 
working well with the Turkish government and will continue doing so. 
 We encourage Turkey to use this opportunity to activate its efforts 
for the EU."  Radikal reports that EU Commissioner Oli Rehn said 
that "with the Constitutional Court decision, Turkey should focus on 
reforms with a broad consensus and based on dialogue with all 
sections of Turkish society." 
 
Editorial Commentary on Court Decision 
 
Ismet Berkan wrote in liberal-intellectual Radikal (7/31): "Since 
the beginning of the closure case, for 3 and a-half months, 
political polarization has increased and economic indicators have 
worsened.  There should not have even been a court case if Turkey 
had a mature democracy.  Or at least the majority of justices should 
not have found the party guilty.   On the contrary, 10 out of 11 
justices asked for some kind of sanction against AKP.  In the 
aftermath of the Constitutional Court decision, it will not easy to 
move forward because the entire process was traumatic for both the 
people and for the politicians.  Neither the AKP, nor the parliament 
should pretend as if nothing has happened, or claim that all is well 
 
ANKARA 00001377  002 OF 003 
 
 
after the court case.  This was not a small scale road accident. 
This parliament, unfortunately, has expired and there is a need to 
merge new general elections with the local elections in March 2009. 
We have to understand that Turkey's current democratic system has 
run its course.  We will not have real democracy until we achieve a 
greater social reconciliation to support our democratic system and 
to make sure that cases like the party closure do not happen again." 
 
 
Mehmet Barlas wrote in mainstream Sabah (7/31):  "In the aftermath 
of the Court's decision, Turkey is now stronger and more stable than 
before.  It provided a relief for everyone who worries about 
Turkey's future development.  At the same time, the court decision 
provides an important warning to the ruling AKP which should be 
considered seriously.  The Justices did not close the party, but 
gave a kind of warning concerning the party's future character. 
Today, we should move forward with Turkey's targets for democracy 
and progress, including the EU harmonization process and efforts for 
reconciliation." 
 
Cuneyt Arcayurek wrote in leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet (7/31): 
"The party should have been closed.  The decision does not make much 
sense because 4 judges actually joined the other 6 members in 
agreeing that the charges in the indictment were accurate, but they 
also stood against the closure.  With this decision there is no 
obstacle to PM Erdogan to achieve his goals.  All we can expect from 
him and from the AKP is no different than the election aftermath. 
He promised to be everyone's PM, but deliberately pursued policies 
to favor his party roots.  That's exactly what we will get from now 
on.  Can a leopard change its spots?" 
 
Fehmi Koru wrote in mainstream Yeni Safak (7/31):  "This is an 
important decision for democracy because the AKP -- which garnered 
support from half of the voters'-- will be able to continue ruling. 
We should not expect any political system-related problem because 
none of the AKP members got punished.  The court's decision only 
serves as a warning which the AKP should not have received in the 
first place.  During its 6-year term, the ruling party showed enough 
attention to the country's sensitivities.  Let's not forget that the 
controversial headscarf decision was not solely an AKP initiative; 
it was approved by all the parties in parliament except the CHP. 
From now on the best thing is to include the people dynamic into the 
decision process.  When there is an effort to make some fundamental 
change on a controversial issue, a referendum may be the proper 
method." 
 
Sukru Kucuksahin wrote in mainstream Hurriyet (7/31):  "The court 
decided to cut off financial aid instead of closing the AKP.  The 
decision provided a warning on secularism, but at the same time 
prevented a shame such as closing a political party.  From now on it 
is very important the way both Prime Minister Erdogan and the AKP 
stand.  It remains to be seen whether they will continue to act as 
they did before, or act in accordance with the court's message and 
focus on social reconciliation." 
 
14 Illegal Immigrants Found Dead in Istanbul 
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Taraf, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and 
others report 14 illegal immigrants, most of them from Pakistan, 
Bangladesh and Burma, were found dead on Wednesday in the 
Kucukcekmece neighborhood in Istanbul.  Local eye witnesses said the 
bodies were dumped by human traffickers.  Around 150 immigrants had 
reportedly been transported from the eastern province of Van in the 
container of a truck.  Police captured 78 immigrants, some of whom 
said they paid the traffickers USD 4,500 each to go to Greece from 
Iran through Turkey.  Islamist-oriented Zaman says some 35,000 
illegal immigrants have been detained in Istanbul over the last 
three years. 
 
US Senate Approves Yovanovitch as Ambassador to Armenia 
Hurriyet, Sabah, Radikal, Taraf, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and others report 
 
ANKARA 00001377  003 OF 003 
 
 
Maria Yovanovitch, President Bush's nominee to be the U.S. 
Ambassador to Yerevan, was voted out by the Senate Foreign Relations 
Committee.  Liberal Radikal writes "First Approval to the U.S. 
ambassador to Yerevan," saying "President Bush who couldn't fill the 
space for the Yerevan Ambassador because of the Armenian lobby's 
reactions, jumped an obstacle in the Congress."  Mainstream Sabah 
writes in "Despite Obama, Ambassador Approved," that "despite Barack 
Obama's efforts to push Yovanovitch to use the word "genocide", the 
committee approved her candidacy."  Mainstream Hurriyet writes the 
approval came after Deputy Assistant State Secretary Matthew 
Reynolds sent a letter to Foreign Relations Committee Chairman 
Joseph Biden.  Reynolds says, "The U.S. Administration recognizes 
the mass killings, ethnic cleansing and forced deportation of over 
1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Ottomans.  We actually see 
the Ottoman officials as responsible for these crimes." 
 
TV News: 
CNN Turk 
 
Domestic News 
 
- Nine suspects have been taken into custody in connection with 
Sunday's twin bomb blasts in Istanbul that killed 18 people and 
wounded dozens of others. 
 
- A prosecutor demanded a five-year prison sentence for Kurdish 
activist Leyla Zana on charges of spreading terror propaganda in a 
speech she delivered in the British parliament. 
 
- The judicial holiday begins August 1. 
 
International News 
 
- Radovan Karadzic is transferred to the International Criminal 
Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague on charges of 
ordering genocide in the 1992-95 Bosnia war. 
 
- Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) official Bahros Ghalali said 
Turkey could send a delegation to Kirkuk to investigate Monday's 
bomb attacks in the city that killed 32 Kurds and wounded hundreds. 
 
 
- Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said Washington prefers to 
apply economic and political pressures against Iran, but a military 
strike against the country is still possible. 
 
WILSON