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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001494 
 
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, AUGUST 18, 2008 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
President Ahmadinejad's Visit to Istanbul Creates Controversy 
All papers over the weekend gave extensive coverage to Iranian 
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's two-day visit to Istanbul last week. 
 On Saturday, papers carried a story by The Guardian which reports, 
"Because of U.S. pressure, Turkey withdrew from a profitable natural 
gas agreement with Iran, which humiliated the Iranian president." 
In addition, the paper reports, "A Western diplomat told The 
Guardian Washington did not object to Ahmadinejad visiting Turkey as 
long as no energy agreements would be signed with Tehran."  Sunday 
papers report President Abdullah Gul denied on Saturday the claims 
the United States put pressure on Turkey not to sign an energy deal 
with Iran.  "Turkey does not do anything just because someone asks 
them not to," Gul told reporters, saying "an energy deal was not 
signed with Iran because preparations were not completed yet."  Gul 
noted the energy ministers from both countries would "work to carry 
forward a memorandum of understanding signed earlier." 
 
Fatih Cekirge of mainstream Hurriyet writes, "Turkey is afraid of a 
new crisis with the U.S. regarding Iran, so Turkey exerted every 
effort to avoid a U.S. confrontation with Iran."  Hurriyet also 
reported President Gul warned Ahmadinejad, "I don't want to see 
Tehran become another Baghdad," and urged Iran to take steps to 
prevent a war with the U.S.  Sami Kohen of mainstream Milliyet 
writes, "Turkey has to balance its ties to the West with its ties to 
Iran," as "Turkey's and Iran's interests call for an improvement in 
ties," but, "Turkey and Iran have many differences."  Mainstream 
Vatan called attention to the enthusiastic crowds which greeted 
Ahmadinejad at Sultanahmet Mosque during Friday prayers in Istanbul 
by noting, "Istanbul residents greeted Ahmadinejad by saluting him 
with slogans they shouted against the U.S. and Israel."  Cumhuriyet 
notes the mosque "is a Sunni mosque and Ahmadinejad is a Shiite, 
which means it was a political gesture for the Islamic world."  Show 
TV over the weekend reported the Iranian leader's reception at the 
mosque as a "fundamentalist show."  In "Silent like a Mute," 
Cumhuriyet columnist Cuneyt Arcayurek slams the ruling AKP 
government for allowing Ahmadinejad to put on a political show by 
joining Friday prayers at Sultanahmet Mosque in Istanbul while 
downplaying his refusal to visit Ataturk's mausoleum.  "They first 
employed other methods to export Khomeini's regime, but failed. 
Ahmadinejad is now sowing the seeds of a new method."  Mainstream 
Hurriyet pointed out the Imam had to intervene and warn the crowd to 
be quiet during the prayers. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Ahmadinejad's Turkey Visit 
 
Mehmet Yilmaz observed in mainstream Hurriyet:  President Gul warned 
Iraq in 2003 to take measures to prevent a war with the U.S.  Now 
Gul has delivered the same kind of warning to Ahmadinejad.  However, 
Gul's advisors and Saddam Hussein believed in 2003 that if the U.S. 
was unable to open a northern front from Turkey, the U.S. would not 
start a war.  When the Turkish Parliament refused permission to 
launch a U.S. front against Iraq from Turkish territory in 2003, 
Saddam believed that the U.S. would not invade Iraq.  I really hope 
that Ahmadinejad will not make the same mistake." 
 
Erol Manisali writes in the leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet: "The AKP 
displayed its Islamist roots by welcoming President Ahmadinejad in 
Istanbul.  The AKP also shelved the natural gas agreement with Iran 
in an effort to please the U.S.  The loser in this scenario, 
however, is Turkey.  Ahmadinejad's visit took place under the shadow 
of U.S. and Israeli pressure against signing an energy agreement. 
Ahmadinejad's visit displayed Turkey's ties with the West and 
Ankara's contradictory position in the Middle East." 
 
Turkey-Africa Cooperation Summit to Begin Today 
Sabah, Turkiye, Hurriyet, Cumhuriyet:  The first Turkey-Africa 
Cooperation summit starts in Istanbul today with the participation 
of heads of state and foreign ministers from approximately 50 
 
ANKARA 00001494  002 OF 003 
 
 
African countries.  The three-day summit will also host 
representatives from around 20 international organizations such as 
the UN, the African Development Bank, and the Arab League.  The 
purpose of the summit is to seek new ways to improve ties between 
Turkey and African nations.  Sunday's Hurriyet reported that Human 
Rights Watch (HRW) warned Turkey against extending such warm 
welcomes to Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir, who faces 
charges of genocide in the International Criminal Court. 
 
Gul to The Guardian: "The U.S. Must Begin Sharing Power with Other 
Countries" 
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Radikal, Taraf, Cumhuriyet, Zaman and 
others reported Sunday President Abdullah Gul told The Guardian that 
from now on, the United States could no longer shape global policies 
on his own.  "The U.S. must begin sharing power with other 
countries," emphasized Gul. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Conflict in the Caucasus, 'the New AKP,' 
U.S.-Turkey 
 
Erdal Safak wrote in mainstream Sabah:  "Neo-Con Robert Kagan says 
'people who thought the world was reconciled after the end of the 
Cold War were very much mistaken.'  A new struggle between the 
democracies, led by the U.S. and the EU, and the authoritarian 
regimes, led by Russia and China, will begin.  The result of this 
struggle will determine global stability in the 21st century.  The 
U.S. and its European allies won the first Cold War.  I wonder who 
will win the 2nd Cold War, which was triggered by Russian 
intervention into South Ossetia and the U.S. missile shield 
initiative in Europe." 
 
Semih Idiz questioned in mainstream Milliyet:  "The Russian invasion 
of Georgia definitely activated "common threat" alarms in Europe 
against Russia.  The missile shield agreement signed between the 
U.S. and Poland is the expression of the need to take necessary 
measures against Russia.  The question is, what will Ankara do if 
NATO takes a harsher stance against Russia?  Will Turkey manage to 
stand next to NATO under any conditions? Or, will Turkey's relations 
with Russia push Turkey farther away from the alliance?  Under these 
conditions, Turkey must find a solution so it does not suddenly find 
itself outside all of its alliances." 
 
Ismail Kucukkaya writes in tabloid Aksam: "Turkey met the new AKP 
the day the Constitutional Court ruled against closing the party. 
The AKP's cadres, rhetoric and vision today are totally different 
from the political movement we saw in late 2001.  Erdogan is the 
only leader now and the AKP is a coalition comprised of diverse 
views, including strong elements which give the party its Islamic 
tone.  It's possible that national overtures may dominate the 
orchestration that harmonizes all those diverse approaches.  Such 
overtures would be conducted by Erdogan.  The AKP's transformation 
will change the opposition as well.  The CHP's Kemal Kilicdaroglu 
shows [by his corruption claims against the AKP's Saban Disli] how 
to conduct an effective opposition.  An opposition will grow when 
opposition leaders pursue corruption claims against the ruling party 
in a country like Turkey; that is the way to harm those who hold the 
power." 
 
Ali H. Aslan emphasizes in Islamist-oriented Zaman: "In Washington, 
there's an unprecedented and intense effort to understand Turkey. 
This is true not only for the existing administration, but for the 
presidential hopefuls as well.  For instance, a reliable source of 
mine said John McCain told his close friends, 'We must understand 
Turkey correctly.'  I'm sure Senator Obama, too, has advisors 
suggesting the same.  Turkey must continue, on the one hand, to 
inform its Western allies in a way to leave no room to suspicion 
regarding Ankara's intentions.  On the other hand, Turkey must 
continue its policy of getting along with all its neighbors in its 
region.  Turkey, also, must not take into account the chattering 
voices coming from the West." 
 
ANKARA 00001494  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
Turkey Denies Blocking U.S. Hospital Ships from Entering the Black 
Sea 
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Radikal, Cumhuriyet and others reported Saturday 
McClatchy news agency's report claiming Turkey declined to allow two 
American hospital ships destined for Georgia to enter the Black Sea 
through the Straits because the two ships' tonnage exceeds the 
limits set by the 1936 Montreaux Convention.  Mainstream Sabah 
reported Sunday the Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) denied the U.S. 
had made a formal request for the ships' passage.  Unidentified U.S. 
sources told Sabah Washington had not even made an official request 
from Turkey to that end. 
 
Turkish Military Hits PKK Target in northern Iraq 
Sabah, Milliyet, Hurriyet, Bugun, Yeni Safak and others:  The 
Turkish General Staff (TGS) posted a statement on its web site said 
that "a cave in the Avasin-Basyan region in northern Iraq was bombed 
by Turkish jets on August 16.  The cave was used by the PKK members 
as shelter before they staged attacks in Turkey." 
 
Meanwhile, mainstreams Hurriyet and Vatan report that during their 
regular checks, security forces seized 40 kg of "Anfo" type 
explosives on Tunceli-Erzincan highway.  Hurriyet notes that this 
type of explosive consists of ammonium nitrate and fuel-oil, which 
is why it is called "Anfo." 
 
TV News: 
CNN Turk 
 
Domestic News 
 
- On Sunday, Tuzla shipyard workers staged protests in Istanbul to 
protest the death of three colleagues in a lifeboat test accident 
last week. 
 
- Opposition CHP deputy group chief Kemal Kilicdaroglu said the AKP 
vice-chairman Saban Disli failed to make a convincing explanation in 
response to accusations he took USD 1 million in bribes in a real 
estate deal. 
 
- A prosecutor has demanded life without parole for the suspect who 
raped and killed Italian artist and peace activist Pippa Bacca in 
Gebze near Istanbul earlier this year. 
 
International News 
 
- Russia said its regular forces will begin withdrawing from the 
Georgian territories on Monday. 
 
- "Russia shows signs of returning to its authoritarian past," 
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said, adding its invasion of Georgia 
would require the U.S. to re-evaluate the strategic relationship 
between the superpowers. 
 
- Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf is under mounting pressure 
to resign as the ruling coalition said it would present the 
impeachment charges to the parliament as soon as Tuesday. 
 
SILLIMAN