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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 000259 
 
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 
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2009 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Erdogan Asks Kecioren Mayor Altinok to Resign 
Mainstream Hurriyet reports that Kecioren Mayor Turgut Altinok 
announced his withdrawal from municipal elections after 
disagreements with Ankara Mayor Melih Gokcek and the AKP 
Administration over the nominations for the Kecioren Municipal 
Assembly.  Leftist Taraf  says that Melih Gokcek leaked a video to 
the public showing Mayor Altinok together with a secret lover. 
Following the video, AKP vice-chair Huseyin Tanriverdi met with 
Altinok on Monday night and gave him the message that Erdogan 
expected him to withdraw from the elections. 
 
Baykal Urges AKP to Initiate Investigation into German Deniz Feneri 
Charity Irregularities Case 
Mainstream Vatan gives extensive front page coverage to CHP leader 
Baykal's party group meeting speech in parliament yesterday.  Baykal 
came to the podium with a file in his hand and said, "Here is the 
file related to the investigation in Germany.  Turks were involved 
in this corruption case and the siphoned charity funds were brought 
to Turkey.  The government should take immediate action against the 
Turkish suspects."  Baykal also criticized PM Erdogan and the AKP 
government by saying "Unemployment figures are quickly rising with 
every passing day.  Difficult economic conditions cause tremendous 
suffering.  Some people even commit suicide after they lose their 
jobs and face financial ruin.  PM Erdogan is speaking to people in 
different cities.  Unfortunately, no one can eliminate their hunger 
with the PM's lies." 
 
Editorials on Domestic Debates 
 
Oktay Eksi wrote in mainstream Hurriyet:  "PM Erdogan claims that he 
will never allow corruption and irregularities in Turkey.  However, 
he did not keep his promises to fight corruption in Turkey.  He did 
not even allow the draft law to fight t corruption to be finalized. 
Under these conditions, how can we, as the media, support the PM in 
his fight against corruption?" 
 
Bilal Cetin wrote in mainstream Vatan:  "As local elections 
approach, we see that the importance of municipal assembly 
membership increases.  When you ask the candidates why they want to 
be elected as members of the municipal assembly, they will tell you 
that they want to serve the people and increase the local quality of 
life.  But the main reason driving them is to get a position on the 
municipal public works commission, which is a perk enjoyed by 
elected municipal assembly members.  Billions of annuities are being 
distributed by municipal public work commissions in the big 
provinces like Ankara and Istanbul.  These annuities make municipal 
assembly positions very attractive." 
 
The PKK Seeks to Arouse Chaos Prior to Upcoming Municipal Elections 
 
Islamist-oriented Zaman reports intelligence units of the National 
Security General Directorate have said a large number of PKK 
terrorists have infiltrated Turkey's eastern and southeastern 
borders to stage provocative acts ahead of municipal elections 
scheduled for March 29. The National Security General Directorate 
intelligence report sent to the police departments of the country's 
81 provinces reports the terrorist group is planning clashes, 
sabotage, bombings and assassinations in order to create chaos and 
provoke clashes between citizens of Turkish and Kurdish origin prior 
to local elections. According to the report, the militants are using 
PKK camps in northern Iraq to train for these acts of terror and 
provocation. According to the police, the terrorist organization 
plans to create chaos through staging local demonstrations ahead of 
the elections, particularly on March 8, International Women's Day, 
and March 21, the spring festival of Nevruz, which is of symbolic 
significance to Kurdish nationalists. The terrorist organization has 
reportedly sent open threats to candidates of the ruling AKP, who 
are running for office in the cities of the Kurdish-dominated 
 
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Southeast and parts of the East. The police department's first 
reaction was to suspend all training activities. The police 
department will deploy a large number of special operations and riot 
police teams in the provinces affected. 
 
The Interior Ministry has also been on high alert since the 
intelligence report from the police department was released. 
Interior Minister Besir Atalay is holding a series of regional 
meetings with governors and local police chiefs to discuss measures 
to be taken against the PKK's election time strategy. So far, 
regional meetings have been held in the cities of Gaziantep, 
Diyarbakir, Erzurum and Trabzon. 
 
Incidents and clashes already took place over the weekend, which 
marked the tenth anniversary of PKK leader Abdullah Vcalan's capture 
in Kenya. The police will be deploying more officers in the cities 
of Diyarbakir, Hakkari, Van and Sirnak on the critical dates of 
March 8 and March 21. The National Security General Directorate 
released a directive this week announcing the suspension of all 
activities of the police department such as training courses, 
symposiums and conferences. "Great responsibility falls on our 
department to ensure that the municipal elections are conducted in a 
healthy and safe manner. In this regard, our department's units are 
taking the necessary precautions and making plans to prevent any 
unwanted situations in the leadup to local elections next month," 
the statement said. 
 
Baydemir: "The Diyarbakir People Saw a State of Tyranny on February 
15." 
Leftist Taraf reports Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir criticized 
police for using tear gas against the pro-Kurdish opposition party 
DTP office in Diyarbakir during weekend demonstrations marking the 
tenth anniversary of Abdullah Ocalan's capture. Mayor Baydemir said 
on February 15, "The people of Diyarbakir witnessed state tyranny" 
and added that "the place where the police threw tear gas was 
neither Palestine nor Hitler's gas chambers, but the DTP's 
provincial office."  Also, Baydemir said, "Women and children should 
not be forced to pay for what happened." Baydemir emphasized that 
they could forgive what happened to themselves but not what happened 
to children and to the elderly. DTP Diyarbakir Representative Aysel 
Tugluk said "People will show no interest in Prime Minister 
Erdogan's visit to Diyarbakir on February 21." 
 
Ocalan Sends a Letter to Kurdish Intellectuals 
Leftist Taraf reports Abdullah Ocalan sent a letter through his 
lawyers to Turkish Intellectuals regarding solutions to the Kurdish 
issue. In a letter dated February 11, Ocalan said the Kurdish issue 
could be solved through democratic and peaceful means.  He also 
noted that all the Kurds wanted was to make sure that the Turkish 
constitution reflects universal norms.  Ocalan claimed that 
intellectuals can play a role in this process. Ocalan said the 
claims by TGS that they killed X number of PKKers and the PKK's 
claims that they killed X number of soldiers would never be a 
solution to the issue and that such an approach would only lead to 
further enhance divisions. Ocalan said intellectuals could open the 
path for dialogue and that they should discuss this issue with PKK 
and, to the extent possible, with the government of Turkey as well. 
 
Kurdish Classes Begin in Istanbul's Bilgi University 
Leftist Taraf reports Kurdish language classes officially began 
yesterday for the first time in a Turkish university, at Bilgi 
University in Istanbul. Students expressed varying reasons for 
taking the Kurdish classes; one student said he was ashamed he was 
not able to communicate with his Kurdish neighbors.  Another student 
said the official ideology denies the existence of the Kurds, and 
therefore he wanted to learn Kurdish as a reaction to that ideology. 
A college senior studying international relations said "Recognizing 
Kurdish as an official language would contribute to peace and 
strengthen people's inclusion in the system." This student recalled 
that, as a high school student in Van, police found a Kurdish poem 
 
ANKARA 00000259  003 OF 004 
 
 
in one of his friend's notebooks and the police tore out the page 
and made his friend chew and swallow it. 
 
Obama's Call - Who was the one being warned? 
Today the story on Obama's telephone conversations with Gul and 
Erdogan has changed - yesterday the presidency and prime ministry 
touted Obama's praise for Turkey's efforts in the Middle East. 
Meanwhile, the White House's readout of the conversation stressed 
Turkey's role in NATO, which some media interpret as Obama's attempt 
to temper Turkey's approach to foreign policy in line with NATO 
goals.  Islamist-oriented Zaman headlines, "An April 24th Warning to 
Obama" and reports "Turkish leaders gave the message to the new 
president that it is important for the U.S. to uphold justice and 
objectivity towards Ankara's policies in the Middle East and Armenia 
to avoid damaging the bilateral relationship."  Columnist Sami Kohen 
of mainstream Milliyet notes, "The Armenian issue is high on Obama's 
agenda with Turkey; he has expressed support for the normalization 
in ties between Turkey and Armenia.  In turn, Erdogan warned Obama 
against recognizing Armenian genocide claims."   In "A NATO Strike 
From Obama," leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet reports "The White House 
read out of the phone call emphasized the importance of U.S.-Turkey 
relations within the framework of NATO operations in Afghanistan," 
and "this statement differs from the messages reported by the 
presidency and prime ministry, which highlighted Obama's praise for 
the AKP government's policy in the Middle East."  Mainstream 
Milliyet echoes Cumhuriyet's headline in the story, "A NATO Strike 
from The White House," and reports, "Obama wants Turkey to focus on 
NATO, not the Middle East," amid criticism from former Bush 
Administration Energy Envoy C. Boyden Gray who recently wrote in the 
Washington Times, "Turkey is blocking direct dialogue between the EU 
and NATO," and "Turkey's stance is the source of trouble in 
Afghanistan."  Finally, Milliyet says, "Obama has given the message 
that Turkey should stick to NATO views on issues such as Hamas and 
Iran." 
 
Editorial Commentary on Turkey-US Relationship; Economic Crisis 
 
Sami Kohen wrote in mainstream Milliyet:  "Obama's phone calls to 
President Gul and PM Erdogan confirm the importance attached by the 
new US administration to Turkey.  The phone calls also highlight the 
Obama Administration's determination to establish a real strategic 
partnership with Turkey.  Obama's positive image in Turkey and his 
positive global approach (i.e. his messages to the Muslim world) 
pave the way to a new era in the Turkey-US relationship." 
 
Mehmet Barlas wrote in mainstream Sabah:  "Media and economists 
highlight one development regarding the current economic crisis - 
As a result of the economic crisis in the world and in Turkey, the 
state is now the most powerful economic institution and the ruling 
leaders are the most powerful people. " 
 
TV News (CNN Turk) 
 
Domestic News 
 
- "Turkey may grow three percent, provided measures are taken to 
revive the economy; and we may overcome the crisis by April.  For 
that to happen, the domestic market and exports play a crucial 
role," said Mustafa Boydak, chairman of the Kayseri Chamber of 
Industry and the CEO of Boydak Group. 
 
- Turkey's unemployment levels are the third worst out of 52 
countries.  Only South Africa and Spain are worse than Turkey in 
this list, according to the Turkish employers' union, or TISK.  . 
 
 
- Former Kurdish lawmaker Leyla Zana is acquitted in a case for 
making "terror propaganda" in a June 2008 address to the British 
parliament. 
 
 
ANKARA 00000259  004 OF 004 
 
 
International News 
 
- UN Mine Action Team operating in Gaza says no cluster bombs were 
found and no evidence was found that Israel had used depleted 
uranium. 
 
- The Guardian writes the British government is considering plans 
that would lead to thousands more British Muslims being branded as 
extremists. 
 
- Georgian authorities arrest 25 Turkish fishermen charged with 
smuggling weapons to Abkhazia and illegal fishing. 
 
- Turkey's largest state-owned bank, Ziraat Bank, opens its first 
branch office in Athens. 
 
JEFFREY