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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 001595 
 
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 
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2008 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
President Gul Set to Visit Yerevan September 6 
All papers gave prominent coverage to the upcoming visit of Turkish 
President Gul to Armenia.  "By taking an historic step, President 
Gul made a brave decision which will melt ice between the two 
countries" fronts Hurriyet.  Reports mention Foreign Minister 
Babacan and a delegation of Foreign Ministry diplomats will 
accompany President Gul on this trip.  Both mainstream and 
Islamist-oriented media outlets' treatment of the decision is, for 
the most part, overwhelmingly positive.  Taraf daily referred to a 
recent poll conducted by "Metropoll."  The survey questioned people 
in 30 Turkish provinces, and 67.4 percent of respondents supported 
President Gul's trip to Yerevan.  Milliyet, Sabah, Zaman and 
Hurriyet provided some details about the trip. According to press 
reports, President Gul will arrive in Yerevan two hours before the 
soccer game.  There will a 'tte-`-tte' meeting between the two 
Presidents at the Presidential Palace, and then will proceed to the 
stadium to watch the game.  Once the game is over, President Gul and 
the accompanying delegation will return to Ankara. 
Islamist-oriented Zaman, in a sidebar, mentioned that the Armenian 
Football Federation made a gesture to Turkey's decision by changing 
its logo design.  Mount Ararat was replaced with another symbol 
design consisting of an eagle and a lion. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Gul's Yerevan Trip: 
 
Ertugrul Ozkok wrote in mainstream Hurriyet: "President Gul's 
decision (to attend the football match in Yerevan) is historic and 
brave and deserves whole-hearted congratulations.  A ping-pong game 
helped facilitate the breaking down of the walls between China and 
the United States, and today, football is likely to have the same 
impact on Turkish-Armenian relations.  Regardless of the score, the 
winners of this football match are the Turkish and Armenian 
people." 
 
Cengiz Candar wrote in liberal-intellectual Radikal: "The Armenian 
occupation of some Azeri territory was one reason Ankara has not 
normalized relations with Armenia.  This attitude hasn't produced 
anything positive, moreover, the Armenian occupation has hardened 
over the years.  Once Turkey and Armenia establish ties and start 
normalization, it will pave the way to ending the Armenian 
occupation of Azeri land.  Along with so many other reasons, this 
reason alone is a good enough one for President Gul to go to 
Yerevan.  I suggest Gul read Hrant Dink's book, Two Close People and 
Two Distant Neighbors, before he goes to Yerevan." 
 
Davut Dursun wrote in Islamist leaning Yeni Safak: "Yerevan's 
invitation to President Gul to attend the game is an indication of 
the Armenian Administration's intention to change its traditional 
policy toward Turkey.  President Gul is now going, and this will not 
be an ordinary 'watching the game' event.  It is a major step toward 
normalization of bilateral ties with Armenia.  There are problems, 
but they can all be resolved through dialogue and consensus in the 
course of time, once relations are proceeding in a normal way." 
 
Omer Taspinar commented in mainstream Sabah:  "This football 
diplomacy has one important mission besides improving ties between 
Turkey and Armenia, and that is to support stability efforts in the 
Caucasus and strategic initiatives in Georgia.  It will be a start 
for two nations, who were separated while living in the same land, 
to move closer to each other and heal their historic wounds 
together." 
 
Semih Idiz wrote mainstream in Milliyet:  "As anticipated, the 
nationalists in Turkey and Armenia are reacting to President Gul's 
upcoming visit to Yerevan.  A collective effort towards stability in 
the Caucasus requires a better relationship between Turkey and 
Armenia.  That is why President Gul wants to go to Armenia.  This 
will be a first step towards better relations and efforts to resolve 
 
ANKARA 00001595  002 OF 004 
 
 
long lingering problems.  It is not realistic to expect to find a 
solution to specific problems during this visit.  However, this 
visit will create trust between the two countries and leave 
resolution of the difficult issues to the future." 
 
Cuneyt Arcayurek in leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet: "Abdullah Gul is 
making moves that cast a shadow on the ambitious foreign policy 
goals of Prime Minister Erdogan.  Gul called President Bush although 
there was no urgent necessity to do so.  This call coincided with 
the time period in which Gul was deciding whether to go to Yerevan. 
And, of course, Bush approved Gul's visit to Armenia, which is 
happening after so much pressure from the United States.  Isn't it 
likely that Gul might have called Bush to remind the U.S. President 
that by going to Armenia, he's keeping a promise he made during his 
visit to Washington?" 
 
Ismail Kucukkaya in mainstream Aksam: "Gul's call on Yerevan is not 
a personal choice, but a requirement to demonstrate Turkey's 
maturity, tolerance and courage.  Our President should be able to go 
to Yerevan if our national team is playing there.  There will be 
protests, but that is a risk that must be taken.  The days we go 
through today will be the history of tomorrow; what will be 
remembered will be the pictures of Gul and Sarkisian watching their 
national teams together." 
 
TGS Organized Visit to the Two Generals in Jail 
Sabah, Milliyet, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Zaman, Vatan, Hurriyet and 
others:  Today's papers gave extended front page coverage to the 
visit of Kocaeli Garrison Commander General Galip Mendi, the highest 
military official in the region, to retired Generals Hursit Tolon 
and Sener Eruygur, who have been under detention in connection with 
the Ergenekon investigation.  TGS announced on its website that the 
visit was on behalf of Turkish Armed Forces (TAF).  Most media 
speculated that this very public announcement was meant to send a 
public message of support for their retired colleagues.  Mainstream 
Vatan reported that some circles supported Chief of General Staff 
General Basbug after the visit, arguing that TAF should have done 
this some time ago, while others criticized the visit as an 
attempted intervention towards the judiciary.  Meanwhile, PM Erdogan 
described the visit as a humanitarian move. 
 
 Editorial Commentary on the Visit to the Generals in Jail: 
 
Mumtazer Turkone in Islamist-oriented Zaman: "The TGS statement 
saying a general, on behalf of the Turkish military, visited two 
retired generals under custody in the Ergenekon investigation places 
the institutional support of the military behind the two suspects. 
This visit could also be perceived as an 'intervention' in an 
ongoing case.  The launch of the Ergenekon case took some pressure 
off of the military, and the arrest of two generals was perceived as 
the military's support of the elimination of gangs.  Now, how do you 
think the judges of the case should interpret this visit which was 
ordered by the military's leadership?" 
 
Ergun Babahan wrote in mainstream Sabah:  "The visit to Kandira 
prison yesterday on behalf of the Turkish Armed Forces(TAF), was a 
political visit.  This visit to the jailed retired generals could 
have been done, but without the need to announce on the TGS web site 
that it was done on behalf of the TAF.  The timing of the visit and 
its announcement was wrong.  Any initiative that could be seen as 
influencing the judiciary should be avoided." 
 
Melih Asik wrote in mainstream Milliyet:  "Generals could be tried 
also.  However, if the law is violated during the trial, it becomes 
a humanitarian duty to try to prevent this.  When (Ankara Chamber of 
Commerce Chairman) Sinan Aygun was detained, TOBB interfered and 
supported him.  But no comment came from the TGS at that time 
regarding the arrested generals.  Maybe the military remained quiet 
because of their respect for the judiciary.  However, the public 
interpreted this silence as "TGS believes as well that the Generals 
 
ANKARA 00001595  003 OF 004 
 
 
were involved in this case."  Yesterday's visit was important to 
eliminate this misperception.  Some interpreted yesterday's visit as 
interfering with the judiciary.  However, demanding respect for 
supremacy of law is not interference, but a humanitarian duty." 
 
 
Turkish Charity Case in Germany Charges AKP-Related Figures 
Media outlets report about the ongoing court case against the 
Islamist Deniz Feneri [Lighthouse] charity organization based in 
Frankfurt, which has been accused of forming a fraud network that 
allegedly swindled millions of Euro from Turks and other Muslims 
living in Germany.  The organization's accountant, Firdevsi Ermis, 
and two other suspects, Mehmet Gurkan and Mehmet Taskan, told a 
court in Frankfurt that from 2002-2007, Deniz Feneri raised 40 
million Euro, 18 million of which was then sent to various companies 
in Turkey, including the Islamist-leaning Kanal 7 TV.  Ermis said 
Turkey's Radio and Television High Council (RTUK) chairman, Zahit 
Akman, a former partner in the organization, was among the couriers 
who carried the money.  Akman denied the charges as "unfounded" in a 
press conference Wednesday, saying he had not engaged in Deniz 
Feneri business since becoming the head of RTUK three years ago. 
Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet, however, gives the dates Akman was 
appointed as RTUK head and the date he resigned from his duties in 
Deniz Feneri, showing Akman resigned four months after he began his 
job at RTUK.  In "Shadow of Deniz Feneri Falls on AKP," liberal 
Radikal points to the fact that all the suspects in the case were 
figures close to the ruling AKP and particularly to Prime Minister 
Erdogan. 
 
European Court Releases Alleged al-Qaeda Financier al-Kadi's Assets 
Islamist-oriented Zaman and Yeni Safak report the European Court of 
Justice has released the assets of Saudi businessman Yasin al-Kadi 
and his Sweden-based charity organization International al-Barakat. 
In 2001, the EU had frozen al-Kadi's assets for financing al-Qaeda. 
The European court said the EU did not respect al-Kadi's right to a 
defense while freezing his assets.  Yasin al-Kadi's investments in 
Turkey also had recently been a focus of controversy, but Prime 
Minister Erdogan defended the Saudi businessmen, who is a personal 
friend of the PM, by saying he would stand bail for al-Kadi.  Papers 
cite wire services' conclusions that the European court's decision 
could weaken the EU's sanctions regime. 
 
TV News: 
NTV 
 
Domestic News 
 
- A US navy vessel, the USS Mount Whitney, sails through the 
Bosporus Straits and into the Black Sea to deliver humanitarian aid 
to Georgia. 
 
- President Abdullah Gul said during a joint press briefing with 
visiting Bosnian Presidency Chairman Haris Silajdzic, "We support 
the multi-cultural structure in Bosnia-Herzegovina -- therefore, our 
relations with all ethnic groups are equal." 
 
- Two soldiers who were killed by PKK terrorists in the eastern 
province of Bingol while participating in an Iftar were laid to rest 
in their hometowns yesterday.  Four PKK terrorists were killed in 
the skirmish on Tuesday. 
 
International News 
 
- President Bush, in an address to the Republican National 
Convention via satellite, said that John McCain is ready to lead the 
nation in a "dangerous world" and will protect the US from 
terrorism. 
 
- Iraq plans to rebuild the notorious Abu Ghraib prison, which was 
closed in 2006 after a scandal over abuse of prisoners by US troops. 
 
ANKARA 00001595  004 OF 004 
 
 
 
 
- In Beslan, people will come together for three days of 
commemoration to honor the hostages and soldiers who were killed in 
a Chechen terrorist raid there on September 3, 2004. 
WILSON