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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000248 
 
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 PREL KPAO
SUBJECT: ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT 
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2009 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
"Erdogan's Davos Walkout Raises Armenian Hopes for April 24" 
(Hurriyet) 
Media outlets report AKP lawmakers Suat Kiniklioglu and Cuneyt 
Yuksel as well as MHP's Mithat Melen returned home yesterday from a 
trip to the US.  While there they held meetings on Turkey-Israel 
ties in light of the Erdogan-Peres row in Davos and a prospective 
Armenian genocide resolution in the US Congress.  In "Erdogan's 
Davos Walkout Raises Armenian Hopes for April 24," mainstream 
Hurriyet reports the lawmakers said they told the Jewish community 
in the US that Prime Minister Erdogan's criticism in Davos was not 
directed at Jewish society or the Israeli state, but to the existing 
Israeli administration.  "We also told the Jewish groups about the 
normalization trend in Turkey-Armenia ties, warning them that 
adoption of the AGR would waste an historic opportunity," said 
Kiniklioglu. 
 
President Gul in Moscow 
Media outlets report President Abdullah Gul flew to Moscow yesterday 
for a four-day state visit.  Gul is accompanied by a delegation of 
150 cabinet ministers and businessmen.  Gul said while in Russia, he 
would meet with President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin to 
discuss "recent developments in our geography."  Papers expect the 
two sides to discuss the Blue Stream II pipeline, the first nuclear 
power plant to be built in Turkey, and the problem of Turkish trucks 
being delayed at Russian border crossings. 
 
TGS Rejects Ex-Police Chief's Allegations 
Media outlets report that in a statement released Thursday, the 
Turkish General Staff (TGS) rejected allegations coming from former 
police special operations chief Ibrahim Sahin, who claimed at 
hearings in the 'Ergenekon' court case that TGS Information Office 
head Brigadier General Metin Gurak told him to command a new 
anti-terror task force to be composed of 150-300 policemen and 
military officers.  "It is ridiculous that an army of 700,000 
personnel would be in need of a 300-member illegal organization," 
said the TGS, adding, "The Turkish military has no connections with 
illegal organizations or criminals."  in the statement, the TGS 
expressed concern that Sahin's testimony had been given in court 
about a month ago, but was now published again on February 11 "in a 
newspaper," implying the daily Radikal. 
 
TUSIAD Sees 'Serious Progress' in IMF-Turkey Talks 
Media outlets report Turkey's business organization TUSIAD paid a 
courtesy call on Prime Minister Erdogan on Thursday.  TUSIAD chair 
Arzuhan Dogan Yalcindag said after the meeting there had been 
"significant progress" in Turkish talks with the IMF.  "Our 
proposals are parallel but we need to make more progress," Yalcindag 
added.  Islamist-oriented Zaman comments the PM "comforted" the 
delegation which wants an agreement with the IMF urgently. 
 
Kurdish Party MP Wants 'Tunceli' Renamed 'Dersim' 
Papers report Serafettin Halis, a pro-Kurdish lawmaker from the 
eastern province of Tunceli, submitted a proposal to the parliament, 
asking his province's name be changed to 'Dersim.'  Halis said the 
Tunceli name was a symbol of assimilation efforts in the region. 
"The trauma caused by the forced migration in 1937-1938 continues; 
returning to the original name, Dersim, will alleviate the trauma," 
he said.  Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin reacted yesterday by 
calling Halis' proposal a "separatist move," saying renaming Tunceli 
was an attempt to destroy Turkey's unity.  Dersim province was 
established in the Tanzimat period during the decline of the Ottoman 
Empire.  In 1935, it was renamed "Tunceli" as part of an effort to 
"Turkify" local names.  Today, it has a population of 84,000 and is 
mostly populated by Kurdish Alevis. 
 
ASALA Threatens Gakavian for Apology Campaign from Turks 
Hurriyet, Radikal and Cumhuriyet report Dr. Armen Gakavian of 
Sydney's Macquarie University received "death threats" from the 
 
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Armenian terror organization ASALA after his attempt to launch a 
Armenian apology campaign to apologize to Turks for murders 
committed by Armenian gangs in the early 1900s as well as ASALA 
attacks on Turks and Turkey's interests.  Papers cite the Armenian 
daily Azg reporting that Gakavyan sent a retraction to Armenian 
media, saying his approach was 'distorted' and that he hadn't 
apologized in any way. 
 
Editorials on Turkey-Russia; US Foreign Policy Based on 'Smart 
Power' 
 
Erol Manisali writes in the leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet: "Turkey 
and Russia have joint interests in the Black Sea and the Caucasus as 
well as overlapping demands on the Istanbul-based Greek Orthodox 
Patriarchate.  Turkey's need for natural gas and the Russian market 
is indispensable for our business groups.  Expansion of Turkey's 
ties with Russiacause discomfort for the US and the EU, both 
entities who want Turkey to carry on under their protection alone. 
In 2002, the AKP got their chance to assume power when the Ecevit 
government was crushed by a 'civilian coup' for refusing to back 
American plans to invade Iraq, and trying to strike a balance by 
improving ties with Russia.  Now, President Gul visits Moscow. 
Could the visit be a new step for the type of 'balanced policies' 
that were blocked by the US and the West in 2002?  If so, everyone 
in Turkey, except for American supporters, will back it, since 
Turkey's standing up in one piece depends on such efforts." 
 
Mehmet Yilmaz writes in the Islamist-oriented Zaman: "Obama and his 
team have begun exchanging ideas with their counterparts around the 
world, including Joe Biden's meetings at  the Munich Security 
Conference as well as George Mitchell and Richard Holbrooke's visits 
to their regions.  The new US administration aims at using its 
military and diplomatic powers concurrently with the concept of 
'Smart Power,' a term coined by Secretary Clinton.  The question is, 
how do you think the US will act if it cannot persuade its 
counterparts?" 
 
Editorial Commentary on Turks-Iraqi Kurds Panel in Northern Iraq 
 
Amberin Zaman writes in the leftist Taraf: "On Sunday, an important 
meeting titled 'Searching Together for Peace and a Future' will be 
held in Erbil in northern Iraq.  This panel meeting, organized by 
the Abant Platform, is a very important effort because a healthy 
dialogue will serve the interests of both Turkey and the Kurdish 
regional administration in several aspects -- be it Kirkuk, the PKK, 
or transporting Iraqi oil and gas to the West through Turkey.  It 
will increase Ankara's influence on Baghdad and balance Iran's 
rising influence in the region.  It will also strengthen Turkey's 
ties with the Obama administration, which has made a goodwill 
gesture by putting PJAK on the terror list.  If press from both 
sides can manage to report the discussions without any distortion, 
they'll have strengthened the Turkish government's dialog efforts 
with northern Iraq, and will have helped draw  Turkey and the Iraqi 
Kurds, two natural allies, closer together." 
 
TV News (CNN Turk) 
 
Domestic 
 
- On February 15, workers affiliated to Turk-Is, DISK and KESK labor 
unions will rally against the ruling AKP government policies in 
Kadikoy in Istanbul. 
 
- Applications in Turkish cities for unemployment pay increased by 
94.11 percent in January.  Applications for new jobs increased by 
94.9 percent in the same period. 
 
- International direct investments in Turkey plunged 19.6 percent in 
¶2008. 
 
 
ANKARA 00000248  003 OF 003 
 
 
- On Saturday, February 14, the Justice Ministry will allow inmates 
to meet with their relatives on Valentine's Day in prison. 
 
World 
 
- Hamas says a ceasefire with Israel on the Gaza Strip would most 
likely be announced in the next three days. 
 
- The New York Times reports the International Criminal Court (ICC) 
would issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese leader al-Bashir for 
genocide in Darfur.  The UN Security Council could put off the 
ruling for one year since the African Union, the Arab League and 
China oppose such a sanction on Bashir. 
 
- Pakistan acknowledges for the first time that the November attacks 
in Mumbai, in which 179 people died, were partly planned in 
Pakistan. 
 
- A manuscript of an 1864 Abraham Lincoln speech sold Thursday for 
USD 3.44 million at Christie's in New York City, the highest price 
paid for an American historical document. 
 
JEFFREY