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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001675 
 
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 
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2008 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
New Detentions in the 'Ergenekon' Investigation 
All media outlets report 19 suspects, including six army lieutenants 
and a military academy student, were detained Thursday in police 
operations in the cities of Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, as part of 
the Ergenekon investigation.  Actress Nurseli Idiz, her manager 
Seyhan Soylu and lawyer Levent Temiz were taken into custody in 
Istanbul.  Papers report Idiz and Soylu were preparing a documentary 
about "the women of the republic."  Papers recall that Soylu, a 
transvestite, is believed to have organized a scheme which sparked a 
political scandal ahead of the "February 28" process in 1997, and 
led to the collapse of the government of the Islamist Prime Minister 
Necmettin Erbakan.  Temiz is the former chief of the 
ultra-nationalist youth clubs, "Ulku Ocaklari," affiliated with the 
far right MHP.  Five lieutenants and a military student also have 
been detained.  The military General Staff (TGS) released a 
statement yesterday to announce that the five lieutenants and the 
military student were detained in line with the prosecutor's 
instructions. 
 
90 suspects have been detained in relation to the Ergenekon 
investigation.  On October 20, suspects will appear before the court 
to face charges that include membership to an armed terrorist group, 
attempting to bring down the government, and inciting rebellions 
against the Turkish state. 
 
Calls for RTUK Chairman to Resign 
All papers refer to the controversial status of Zahid Akman, 
Chairman of Turkey's radio and television regulatory board, RTUK. 
Since his name was often mentioned during the Deniz Feneri fraud 
case in Germany, reports note "there is an increasing pressure from 
the opposition as well as from AKP members on Akman to resign from 
his position."   Taraf carries the headline "It is Time for Akman to 
Resign," and mentions that both Parliament Speaker Toptan and the 
board members of the ruling AKP have asked Akman to resign. 
Milliyet also reports the calls for his resignation and highlight 
today's RTUK meeting to discuss the current events "which will 
indicate the fate of Akman." 
 
Papers largely cover Parliament Speaker Toptan's statement during a 
television interview which he indirectly called Akman to resign by 
saying "We have no authority to impeach the chairman of RTUK. 
However given the current nature of events, everybody should act 
responsibly in order to help things to go smoothly." 
 
Meanwhile the RTUK Board, [an executive body with members appointed 
by AKP and CHP] today convenes to discuss allegation against 
chairman Akman.  RTUK was scheduled to meet on September 9 but 
because the AKP -affiliated board members failed to appear for the 
meeting, it was postponed until today. 
 
PM Erdogan Calls for Boycott Against Dogan Media 
Milliyet, Vatan, Hurriyet, Posta, Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Yeni Safak 
and others: Today's papers report on the remarks PM Erdogan made at 
the AKP Ankara provincial group Iftar dinner at the Bilkent Hotel. 
Mainstream Hurriyet says "Erdogan harshly criticized the media for 
reporting on developments related to the Deniz Feneri case and urged 
his party officials to start a campaign to boycott these papers." 
Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak says "Erdogan urged his party members 
not to buy Dogan Media papers."  Mainstream Milliyet's headline 
reads "This is the candidate country for full EU membership and the 
PM of the country is calling for a boycott against the media." 
 
Meanwhile, mainstream Vatan and liberal Radikal report that PM 
Erdogan also criticized NTV's Ankara rep Murat Akgun for asking AKP 
Deputy Chairman Dengir Mir Firat about allegations that Erdogan's 
wealth amounted to billions of dollars. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Deniz Feneri/Turkey 
 
ANKARA 00001675  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
Ferai Tinc wrote in mainstream Hurriyet: "Following the verdict on 
the Deniz Feneri case in Germany, the AKP rulers cannot afford to 
treat this issue as an individual crime.  The political implications 
of the Deniz Feneri case are very closely followed by the public in 
Turkey and abroad.  The more the government dares to deal directly 
with this case, the more it will gain credit for Turkey's influence 
in foreign policy issues." 
 
Ergun Babahan wrote in mainstream Sabah:  "Turkey is going through a 
two-way judicial test regarding the Deniz Feneri and the Ergenekon 
cases.  On one hand, there is the fraud case that exploits religion 
and on the other side there is a violation of laws in the name of 
patriotism.  These two cases are the biggest obstacles to Turkey's 
emergence as a country that values modernity, democracy, secularism, 
and the supremacy of law. A new era should start in Turkey in which 
those who commit illegal acts are punished.  Illegal acts cannot are 
not a matter of ideology." 
 
Editorial Commentary on New U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, DTP Closure 
Case 
 
Ozgen Acar writes in leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet: "U.S. Centcom's 
mandate extends along oil-rich countries from Iraq to Afghanistan 
and the Horn of Africa.  This means General Petraeus, as the head of 
Centcom, is now the 'oil commander' of the Middle East and Central 
Asia, while James Jeffrey is to be the new U.S. Ambassador to 
Ankara.  Jeffrey, a former soldier, once worked at Incirlik Airbase. 
 Following his assignment to Iraq, he became Secretary Rice's most 
efficient assistant.  One year ago, he was made a National Security 
Advisor to President Bush.  Jeffrey's assignment to Ankara does not 
only make him the new U.S. Ambassador in Turkey.  If you put one leg 
of a compass on Ankara, and use the other to draw an arc from Tehran 
to Damascus -- Jeffrey will become an 'indirect ambassador' for the 
'terror crescent' of Iran, Iraq and Syria.  In other words, Jeffrey 
is being assigned to Ankara as a 'regional ambassador,' because 
Ankara will be the 'capital of capitals.' If the arc is extended as 
far as the Caucasus, Petraeus will begin his new job as the 'oil 
chief commander' and Jeffrey as the 'chief diplomat.'" 
 
Mumtazer Turkone says in Islamist-oriented Zaman: "The closure of 
the pro-Kurdish political party DTP will only silence those who 
oppose terror.  We have two DTPs -- one glorifies terror and backs 
the PKK, while the other denounces terror and calls for a political 
solution.  Southeast Turkey is ready for local elections.  The 
outcome is not important.  What matters is Turkey should be able to 
hold just and non-partisan elections in this region.  The closure of 
the DTP will make those who seek political solutions go bankrupt. 
The DTP must not be closed." 
 
Turkey-Armenia Talks 
Hurriyet and Bugun report a second round of talks between Turkey and 
Armenia was held in Switzerland early this week between officials 
from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on both sides.  The upcoming 
meetings between Turkish and Armenian presidents at UNGA and efforts 
for arranging a trilateral mechanism between Turkey-Azerbaijan and 
Armenia were discussed, reports say. 
 
Rice's Harsh Warnings for Moscow 
Islamist-oriented Zaman calls U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza 
Rice's speech at the German Marshall Fund "harsh words of 
criticism."  Liberal Radikal reports, "Rice says to Moscow: You Are 
Isolating Yourselves, while Medvedev says to Rice 'You are 
Short-Sighted.'"  Mainstream Sabah writes, "Rice Warns Russia Not to 
Return to Darkness." 
 
Sabah, Radikal and Zaman mention that Secretary Rice made a 
reference to Turkey and praised cooperation for Caucasus stability 
"by working with our allies, like Turkey." 
 
 
ANKARA 00001675  003 OF 003 
 
 
"Russia began paying for isolating itself from the world through its 
actions.  We are deepening cooperation with the Caucasus countries 
and Turkey for energy independence from Russia, and we also try to 
resolve regional conflicts such as Upper Karabakh," stated Rice. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Global Economic Meltdown, Israel-Livni 
 
Haluk Sahin wrote in liberal-intellectual Radikal: "Everybody says 
nothing will ever be the same again, but there is no clarity about 
what is next either.  The primary reasons for the collapse of the 
global economic system are overly ambitious economic policies and 
rising debt.  The United States in particular preferred an excessive 
way of amassing debt which led to the current economic crisis. There 
will certainly be social and political consequences, and not only 
for Americans, but for all of us." 
 
Sami Kohen wrote in mainstream Milliyet:  "Will there be peace in 
the Middle East with Livni as Israel's Prime Minister?  Livni 
supports peace with Palestine.  Just like Olmert, she supports the 
"two-state" solution.  In contrast to her rival Netanyahu, she also 
supports bilateral talks with Syria.  It is very important for Livni 
to become Prime Minister, not only for her country but for the peace 
and calm in the region as well." 
 
TV News: 
CNN Turk 
 
Domestic News 
 
- A court in Diyarbakir has sentenced former pro-Kurdish lawmaker 
Leyla Zana to 60 years in prison for supporting the PKK in nine 
different speeches. 
 
- Heavy rains damaged many houses and work places, and claimed one 
life in Istanbul. 
 
- Turkish Energy Regulatory Board announced a 9 percent increase in 
electricity prices. 
 
International News 
 
- Russia threatens to block NATO from using its air space for 
operations in Afghanistan if member states did not stop their 
"hostile" policies. 
 
- Cyprus leaders Talat and Christofias held Thursday a new meeting 
to discuss the reunification of the divided island.  On October 8, 
the two leaders will meet again to continue debating the topics of 
"administration" and "power sharing." 
 
- Iran completes exercises staged to test its air defenses. 
 
WILSON