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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001402 
 
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 
TUESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2008 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
High Military Council Chooses Basbug as New TGS Chief 
All news outlets report the results of the High Military Council 
(YAS) meetings which ended August 4.  YAS decided that General Ilker 
Basbug, commander of the Land Forces, will replace General Yasar 
Buyukanit as the chief of the military General Staff (TGS) who 
retires on August 30.  Basbug will serve a two-year term before he 
reaches the mandatory retirement age in 2010.  At that point, he 
will be replaced by the newly-appointed Land Forces Commander 
General Isik Kosaner.  General Avni Atilla Isik was named the new 
Gendarme Commander;  Ergin Saygun was named the First Army 
Commander; Hasan Igsiz was named the new Deputy Chief of the TGS, 
and Necdet Ozel was named the new commander of the Second Army. 
Naval Forces Commander Admiral Metin Atac and Air Forces Commander 
Aydogan Babaoglu's positions were extended for one year. 
 
Papers report the outcome of the meeting as a surprise because YAS 
did not expel anyone from the military on grounds of disciplinary 
and/or fundamentalist activities this year.  Papers speculate that 
decision was reached in response to speculations that military 
officers implicated in the 'Ergenekon' probe would be expelled.  A 
column in the Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak speculates the new 
Gendarme Commander, Atilla Isik, may be named the Land Forces 
Commander when General Kosaner takes over from Basbug, which is 
likely to make him next in line to be TGS chief.  The same column 
claims, "General Basbug has decided to give the control of the 
critical gendarme intelligence organization to his close aide Isik." 
 Mainstream papers expect Basbug to keep the military away from 
politics.  Papers, however, comment it would not be surprising to 
see Basbug flex his muscle in the event the "red lines" of the 
Turkish military, including secularism and the unitary structure of 
the republic, are crossed during his term. 
 
Editorial Commentary on the High Military Council (YAS) Decisions 
 
"The Process of Cooling and Restructuring Continues in the 
Military" 
Murat Yetkin comments in liberal Radikal (8/5):  "This year PM 
Erdogan only attended a couple of hours of the Supreme Military 
Council (YAS) meeting.  Erdogan passed his responsibilities to Chief 
of General Staff (TGS) General Buyukanit and did not attend the rest 
of the meetings.  The promotions and the assignments announced 
during the YAS meetings indicate that the process of cooling and 
restructuring continues in the military.  A new period is starting 
in the military - none of the new commanders actively lived through 
the May 27, 1960 military coup.  The new TGS Chief Ilker Basbug 
graduated from the war academy in 1962, which means he is the only 
commander who can remember the war academy during the 1960s.  During 
this process, we should all realize that the Turkish military will 
respond to accusations regarding the Ergenekon case and will try to 
cast away those who have created problems.  The new assignments also 
indicate that military is undergoing a vast restructuring.  Of 
course, these changes are not easy to implement." 
 
"Were there no expulsions on the YAS Agenda?" 
Mustafa Mutlu asks in mainstream Vatan (8/5):  "The Supreme Military 
Council meetings concluded yesterday and for the first time since 
1996, no one was expelled from the military.  Until now, YAS 
convened twice a year and at almost every meeting dozens of military 
personnel were expelled for fundamentalist activities or 
undisciplined behaviors.  There are two possible reasons for the 
decision not to expel anyone at this meeting.  First, expulsions 
from the military will, from now on, be decided by only the military 
courts.  Second, expulsions could lead to speculations of 
connections with the Ergenekon case.  No matter what the 
justification is, this YAS meeting signals a new era in relations 
between the military and the government.  I hope this will prove to 
be a positive development." 
 
 
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"YAS" 
Bekir Coskun wrote in mainstream Hurriyet (8/5):  "Because of the 
Constitutional Court's decision to keep the AKP open, everyone 
expects Erdogan will change, but why should he change now?  He 
hasn't changed during the last six years; he was elected PM twice 
and never changed; he carried Turkey into crisis maybe thirty times 
and never changed; his activities nearly resulted in the closure of 
his party and he never changed ... Why should a person change when 
his party is not closed?  While we were waiting for him to change, 
we missed other changes around us.  This year, no military personnel 
were expelled because of their fundamentalist activities.  Because 
of this decision, the PM, who has also been accused of 
fundamentalist activities, did not have to approve or disapprove any 
of the YAS decisions!  It is interesting to see that as 
fundamentalist activities are increasing in every corner of Turkey, 
fundamentalist activities have suddenly disappeared from the 
military.  While retired generals are in jail for supporting 
Ataturk's secularist principles, why don't you see any 
fundamentalist activities?  Well, this is the change we all missed 
while we were observing the PM and waiting for him to change." 
 
Forest Fires in Antalya under Control 
All news outlets report the forest fires which broke out in the 
Mediterranean province of Antalya on July 31 are now under control. 
These fires destroyed more than 4,000 hectares of woodlands and 
caused over 2 million YTL in damage.  The fires destroyed more than 
60 houses, dozens of farming buildings, a school and a mosque in the 
towns of Manavgat and Serik.  Six villages were evacuated.  Two 
people were killed in the fire which also destroyed livestock in the 
villages and millions of trees in the woodlands. 
 
Ahmadinejad's Turkey Visit Date Unclear 
Hurriyet, Sabah, Radikal, Taraf, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and others report 
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan held a joint press conference with 
visiting Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado in Ankara on Monday. 
 Asked about the prospective visit of Iranian President Mahmoud 
Ahmedinejad to Turkey, Babacan said details such as the time, place 
and format of the visit were "not important."  In addition, he said, 
"Attention should be put on the essence of the visit.  Such 
unnecessary details cast a shadow on the essence and success of the 
visit," said Babacan.  Press had speculated that Ankara was working 
to arrange a "working visit" for Ahmadinejad in Istanbul when the 
Iranian President declined to visit Ataturk's mausoleum in Ankara. 
Mainstream Sabah says on August 14, Ahmadinejad will go to Istanbul 
and depart on August 15 after performing Friday prayers in the city. 
 
 
Erdogan to Meet Assad in Bodrum 
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and others 
report on Tuesday, Prime Minister Erdogan and his wife Emine will 
meet Syrian President Bashar Assad in Turkey's Aegean coastal town 
of Bodrum where Assad is vacationing with his wife.  The two leaders 
will reportedly talk about regional problems, Iran, and Israel-Syria 
talks.  Islamist-oriented Zaman reports Erdogan's advisor Ahmet 
Davutoglu will join the meeting.  Later in the day, Erdogan will 
travel to the areas stricken by raging forest fires over the past 
five days in Antalya. 
 
TV News: 
CNN Turk 
 
Domestic News 
 
- The Health Ministry set up a special committee to investigate the 
deaths of newborn babies in a hospital in Ankara.  In the last 
month, 49 newborn babies have died in the hospital. 
 
- Security forces arrested 132 illegal immigrants -- most of them 
from Iraq, Georgia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Mauritania, Bangladesh, 
India and Burma -- in operations in the northwestern provinces of 
 
ANKARA 00001402  003 OF 003 
 
 
Edirne, Canakkale and Sakarya. 
 
- According to a report by the Prime Ministry's Human Rights Desk, 
7,183 children went missing in 2007 and the whereabouts of 833 
children are still unknown.  The report says missing children could 
be in the hands of the mafia or terror organizations. 
 
International News 
 
- Iran's official IRNA news agency quotes the chief of the 
Revolutionary Guards as saying Iran has tested a "new naval weapon" 
with a range of 300 km. 
 
- China's official Xinhua News Agency says an attack on a border 
patrol station on the country's western frontier killed 16 police 
officers. 
 
WILSON