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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000319 
 
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 27, 2009 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
5 Turks, 4 Americans Killed in THY Plane Crash in Amsterdam 
Media outlets report the nationalities of the nine passengers killed 
in the Turkish Airlines (THY) passenger jet crash in Amsterdam on 
Wednesday were disclosed as "five Turks and four Americans."  Dutch 
officials said the names of the victims would not be released until 
the bodies have been "identified," and unless their families approve 
the names to be made public.  Experts suspect engine trouble might 
have caused the crash.  In "A Lesson from Dutch Authorities," 
mainstream Hurriyet reports that following the THY plane crash in 
Amsterdam, Turkey's prime minister, transportation minister and THY 
director general made some contradicting statements on the numbers 
of casualties.  Dutch officials, however, did not issue any 
statements hastily, and they plan to hold a meeting Saturday with 
the relatives of those killed in the crash, says Hurriyet. 
 
Editorial Commentary on THY Plane Crash in Amsterdam 
 
Yasemin Congar wrote in leftist Taraf:  "The Turkish Airlines 
accident in Holland demonstrates the great differences in how the 
Turkish government functions differently from the Dutch government. 
After the crash, the Council of Ministers for the Netherlands called 
an emergency meeting to ensure coordination in dealing with the 
catastrophe and to initiate an investigation into the crash.  Thus, 
the main concern of the Dutch government in this situation is to 
serve its people. In Turkey, the government does not care about the 
feelings or honor of the people. Turkish officials do not care about 
the devastating impact of incorrect statements about a plane crash. 
 Instead, Turkish officials only care about themselves in such 
emergency situations." 
 
George Mitchell Visits Ankara to Discuss Mideast Peace 
Media outlets report U.S. Middle East Envoy George Mitchell visited 
Ankara this week in order to discuss the Middle East peace process 
with Turkish leaders.  Most of the coverage focuses on the messages 
Turkish leaders gave to Mitchell.  Mainstream Milliyet headlines, 
"Erdogan Delivers a Hamas Message to the U.S."  Mainstream Sabah 
reports, "Erdogan told Mitchell that Hamas has changed due to 
Turkey's influence," because Erdogan emphasized,  "Turkey's messages 
to Hamas have had a positive impact."  Sabah also notes, "Erdogan 
noted that there is uncertainty regarding the peace negotiations 
after the result of the Israeli elections, but that Turkey would 
fulfill its responsibilities."  Meanwhile, leftist-nationalist 
Cumhuriyet criticized Erdogan for advocating for Hamas in, "Erdogan 
Said 'Hamas' Again."   Liberal Radikal and mainstream Aksam both 
headline with one of Erdogan's messages to Mitchell, "Don't Leave 
Out Hamas."  Radikal notes Erdogan emphasized, "You cannot leave out 
Hamas, who was brought to power with one million votes." 
Islamist-oriented Zaman quotes Mitchell in the front-page headline, 
"We Expect Turkey's Leadership on the Topic of Gaza," but the paper 
also carries a report entitled, "Experienced Mediators Says that 
Hamas Must Sit At the Table."  However, Zaman also notes that 
Mitchell told Erdogan "Turkey should exert efforts for the 
continuation of peace talks between Syria and Israel."  Far Right 
Ortadogu headlines, "Hamas Is The Key to The Deadlock between Israel 
and Palestine" but notes, "The U.S. wants to be close to Turkey when 
it comes to the topic of the Middle East."  Mainstream Hurriyet 
quotes Hamas Leader Meshal in their banner headline, "Hamas Must Be 
Included," in Mideast Peace negotiations. 
 
Editorials on Mitchell Visit to Ankara 
 
Ferai Tinc wrote in mainstream Hurriyet: "Mitchell emphasized the 
importance of Turkey's good relations with countries in the region, 
but he put particular emphasis on the situation between Israel and 
Palestine.  This is a key aspect for Turkey's role in Middle East 
peace efforts.  However we see the two different approaches when it 
comes to Ankara's relations with Israel.  The Turkish President is 
sending a messenger to pave the way for a state visit to Israel in 
 
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late 2009, while the country's PM is using anti-Israeli rhetoric as 
a key note of his election campaign." 
 
Hasan Cemal wrote in mainstream Milliyet: "George Mitchell's 
continuing efforts, including his visit to Ankara, demonstrate the 
Obama administration's emphasis and priority for efforts toward a 
stable and peaceful Middle East.  On Iran, diplomacy will prevail 
over tension-building efforts.  In that regard, Iraq's stability is 
also very important for Washington. Therefore the 
Washington-Ankara-Erbil cooperation has begun in order to deal with 
the PKK issue.  This is good momentum for Turkey to address the PKK 
issue through political determination in line with taking steps 
toward reform.  Unless the government shows this determination, this 
trilateral cooperation between Ankara, Washington, and Erbil will be 
in vain." 
 
Ahmadinejad, Talabani, Assad to Join World Water Forum in Istanbul 
Media outlets report Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will 
participate in the World Water Forum (WWF) to be held in Istanbul 
from March 16-22.  The heads of state of 15 countries, 200 cabinet 
ministers and about 20,000 "water experts" are expected to join the 
meeting.  Iraq's President Jalal Talabani, Syrian Head of State 
Bashar Assad and Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman will also 
partake in the talks.  Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet reports 
Ahmadinejad plans to spend a couple days in Istanbul for a brief 
vacation after the forum talks are wrapped up. 
 
Jewish Community Head Warns President Gul on Rising Anti-Semitism in 
Turkey 
Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet and mainstream Sabah report the head 
of the Jewish congregation in Turkey, Silvyo Ovadya, met Wednesday 
with President Abdulllah Gul in Ankara.  Ovadya reportedly warned 
Gul about the "rising anti-Semitism" in Turkey, as seen in the 
increasing number of anti-Semitic reports in the media over the last 
two months.  Ovadya asked Gul for "increased penalties" for the 
anti-Jewish reports and columns in the papers.  "What we see in 
Turkey is not isolated incidents; and there is clear hostility. 
Insulting expressions targeting the Jews should be regarded crime. 
New legal arrangements could be made like that of Austria, Germany 
and France," said Ovadya.  He noted such media reports put Turkey in 
a difficult position in the international arena.   Gul gave Ovadya a 
positive response, and said the Jewish community in Turkey was 
"right" in displaying sensitivities on the matter, reports 
Cumhuriyet. 
 
President Gul's Upcoming Foreign Travels 
Zaman, Radikal, Vatan, Sabah, Hurriyet:  Mainstream Vatan reports 
that  President Gul will travel to Tehran on March 10 to attend the 
Economic Cooperation Organization  (ECO) summit on March 11. 
Mainstream Hurriyet  cites Israeli daily Haaretz and reports that 
during his recent visit to Israel, Turkish-Jewish businessman Jak 
Kamhi gave the message that President Gul is planning to visit 
Israel sometime this summer.  The paper noted that the presidential 
sources also confirmed that President Gul is planning a visit to 
Israel this summer.  Liberal Radikal reports that President Gul is 
planning to go to Iraq in March. 
 
Risk Management Summit: 'Economic Meltdown will Deepen in Turkey' 
Hurriyet, Milliyet, Cumhuriyet, Radikal and Zaman report an Istanbul 
gathering of the '3rd International Risk Management Summit' warned 
the economic crisis in Turkey could "deepen," making the ongoing 
crisis "worse than the economic downturn in Turkey in 2001." 
"Turkey will face a growing unemployment problem; new jobs must be 
created," said the World Bank Turkey Director Ulrich Zachau.  IMF's 
Turkey representative Huseyin Sami pointed to the diminishing growth 
rate in Turkey.  "Turkey's gross national product will continue to 
decrease.  Year-end inflation could happen lower than expected. 
Turkey must refrain from expensive rescue programs, it can increase 
its performance considerably by finding new markets," emphasized 
Sami. 
 
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Worldopinion.org Survey on Anti-Americanism in Some Muslim Countries 
 
Mainstream Milliyet reports that www.worldopinion.org web site 
conducted a survey among six thousand people in Turkey, Egypt, 
Indonesia, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Azerbaijan and Palestine. 
This survey, clearly showed once again the levels of 
anti-Americanism in Turkey.  89 percent of Turks said "the U.S. is 
seeking to rule the oil producing regions;" 82 percent of Turks said 
"the U.S. is trying to divide the Islamic World;"  and 79 percent 
said "the U.S. is trying to spread Christianity."  53 percent of 
Turks said "Yes" to when they were asked if Islamic groups should 
form a political party and join politics, while 30 percent said 
"No." 
 
Obama Announces Iraq Withdrawal Policy Today 
Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak calls today "The Decision Day for U.S. 
Soldiers," in Iraq as "it is expected that the U.S. will withdraw 
its troops within nineteen months."  Leftist Taraf carries the 
headline, "A Military Withdrawal from Iraq Will Decrease the U.S. 
Military Budget." 
 
TV News (CNN Turk) 
 
Domestic 
 
- Turkey's Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) head 
Tevfik Bilgin said Turkish people have USD 60 billion "in only one 
bank in northern Europe."  Bilgin said some Turks who were not given 
loans by Turkish banks could easily borrow money from outside the 
country, thanks to their assets in Europe. 
 
- Turkey's Constitutional Court rejects an application for the 
annulment of two legal provisions envisaging heavy penalties for 
child molesters. 
 
- Police detained Thursday 16 suspects, mostly university students 
in Ankara, for trying to organize "youth branches" for the PKK on 
the eve of 'Nevruz' celebrations in late March. 
 
- Japanese car producer Honda plans to reduce its production 
capacity in Turkey. 
 
World 
 
- A UN war crimes tribunal acquitted Serbia's former President Milan 
Milutinovic on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in 
Kosovo. 
 
- The Financial Times reports France, Germany and Britain propose 
additional sanctions to be imposed on Iran over its nuclear program. 
 
 
- A report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) says the laws prohibiting 
female teachers from wearing the Islamic headscarf in parts of 
Germany violate the rights of Muslim women. 
 
- In Pakistan, thousands of angry supporters of the main opposition 
party protested the government over a ban on former PM Nawaz Sharif. 
 
 
JEFFREY