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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000444 
 
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 
TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2009 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
A Turkish President, For The First Time, Pronounces 'Kurdistan' 
(Hurriyet) 
Media outlets report Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Iraqi 
President Jalal Talabani held a joint press conference after their 
meeting in Baghdad.  Gul said, "Terror is a plague that must be 
defeated," and he emphasized the importance of "cooperation with the 
Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government in the fight against PKK terror." 
Gul added, "We have decided to end the security problems between our 
countries." Talabani said the PKK was "poisoning the ties between 
Turkey and Iraq," and was "blocking the return of Iraqis to 500 
villages in northern Iraq."  The Iraqi President set an ultimatum 
for the PKK, "Disarm or leave Iraq." 
 
En route to Baghdad, President Gul spoke with journalists aboard his 
plane.  Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak writes Gul issued important 
messages on his way to Iraq, saying "The bloodshed will end and 
brotherhood will be strengthened."  "The 'Kurdistan Regional 
Administration' in Iraq is the main actor in efforts to end the 
terror activities against Turkish territory," said Gul, becoming the 
first Turkish official to use the word 'Kurdistan' to define the 
northern Iraqi administration.  "Gul breaks another taboo, and 
refers to the regional administration of northern Iraq as 
'Kurdistan,'" says the leftist Taraf.  In "Gul Names It," liberal 
Radikal writes on its front page that Gul has pronounced, for the 
first time, 'Kurdistan' in reference to the administration in 
northern Iraq. 
 
Papers also report that in April, the Kurdish groups based in 
Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Europe will gather in Erbil at an 
international Kurdish conference.  The Kurdish groups to participate 
in the conference are expected to call on the PKK to disarm.  The 
conference will be organized by the KRG, and the conference is also 
expected to urge Turkey to declare a general amnesty for the PKK. 
Turkey's main pro-Kurdish political party DTP will be invited to the 
talks.  Mainstream Aksam says the PKK would be represented 
"indirectly" at the conference by the northern Iraq-based 'Kurdistan 
Democratic Solution Party."  "Talabani and Barzani promised the 
conference would not produce anything that would anger Turkey," says 
Aksam. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Gul Visit to Iraq 
 
Murat Yetkin wrote in liberal-intellectual Radikal: "It was 
important that President Gul made a call to everyone to do his or 
her part in finding a solution to the Kurdish problem.  That message 
is relevant for Turkey as well as the Iraqi Kurds." 
 
Fehmi Koru wrote in Islamist oriented Yeni Safak: "President Gul's 
trip to Baghdad opened a new era for relations between Turkey and 
Iraq; it also paved the way toward the elimination of the PKK 
problem.  Turkey and Iraq are very determined and do not want to 
sacrifice bilateral ties on account of the PKK.  Obviously every 
possible method is on the table to solve the problem." 
 
Colonel Detained in Connection to "Death Wells" Investigation 
Sabah, Bugun, Star, Posta, Vatan, Milliyet,Aksam,  Hurriyet and 
others:  The Commander of the Kayseri Provincial Gendarmerie 
Regiment Colonel Cemal Temizoz was detained yesterday in connection 
with the ongoing investigation into human remains found in wells in 
Cizre town of Sirnak province.  Mainstream Sabah notes that Colonel 
Temizoz was Cizre's Gendarmerie commander during 1992-1994 while 
tabloid Aksam in turn says that he was in the region from 1993 to 
¶1996.  Temizoz has been sent to Diyarbakir for interrogation. 
 
Erdogan: "Only Incompetent Businessmen Were Affected by the Economic 
Crisis" 
Hurriyet, Sabah, Taraf, Referans, Milliyet, Vatan:  Speaking at the 
election rally in Bolu yesterday, PM Erdogan dismissed the 
 
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allegations of opposition leaders that many factories and the 
businesses were forced to shut down during the crisis.  Erdogan said 
"These allegations (of a financial crisis) are exaggerated.  There 
is no truth in this.  Only incompetent businessmen might have been 
affected by the crisis and forced to shut down their businesses." 
 
Turks Not Keen on Rasmussen 
Leftist Taraf reports, "Ankara Is Not Warm To Rasmussen's 
Candidacy."  Liberal Radikal reports, "Ankara is concerned about the 
approach Denmark took during the 'Mohammed Cartoon' controversy when 
the government supported the cartoonists under the umbrella of 
'freedom of thought.'"  Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet calls for "A 
Veto Against the Man Who Gave Prime Time to Terror," by allowing Roj 
TV, a television broadcast station with connections to the PKK, to 
be broadcast in Denmark despite the protests from Turkish leaders. 
Mainstream Sabah, a paper known to be close to the government, calls 
Rasmussen, "The man who embraces Roj TV with open arms and who drew 
world reactions to the way he handled the Mohammed cartoon crisis." 
Sabah also says "The U.S. supports Rasmussen, but Turkey is clearly 
against him," because "he makes Ankara feel uncomfortable." 
 
Turkey is Preparing to Send More Troops to Afghanistan (NTV) 
Media outlets expect U.S. President Barack Obama will ask Turkish 
leaders for additional troops for the NATO mission in Afghanistan. 
NTV is already reporting that "The Turkish General Staff is 
preparing to send more troops to Afghanistan," with the caveat that 
the Turkish troops "serve in the Kabul command unit." In "New 
Turkish Troops to Kabul," mainstream Milliyet reports "The TGS is 
preparing to send an additional 700 soldiers to Kabul in August," 
and "If Turkish troops are asked to serve outside of Kabul, TGS 
prefers that they serve under the command of Uzbek General Rashit 
Dostum, who commands an area in the north." 
 
Meanwhile, Islamist papers take note of Obama's statements regarding 
the NATO operations in Afghanistan during his interview with 60 
Minutes.   In "Civil and Military Signals from Obama," 
Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak reports, "Obama came to office on the 
slogan of 'change' and now he is changing NATO."  Islamist-oriented 
Zaman highlights Obama told 60 Minutes, "The situation in 
Afghanistan cannot be solved through military force alone." 
 
Editorial Commentary on Afghanistan 
 
Fikret Ertan wrote in Islamist oriented Zaman: "During this past 
Sunday's edition of CBS' 60 Minutes, President Obama gave a clear 
indication of his major policy focus on Afghanistan.  More attention 
must be placed on the issues concerning the Federally Administrated 
Tribal Areas (FATA), which have not been dealt with properly to 
date.  These FATAs are the root of the problem and these problems 
must be addressed through military, political and social actions." 
 
TV News (CNN Turk) 
 
Domestic 
 
- The second indictment in the Ergenekon investigation will be 
announced Wednesday and will seek life without parole sentences for 
retired generals Sener Eruygur and Hursit Tolon on charges of 
leading a criminal organization to topple a civilian government. 
 
- Six employees at the Swiss UBS bank's Singapore HQ, who were 
responsible for managing the USD 300 million-worth assets of Turkish 
investors, have been fired, prompting speculation over whether there 
was fraud in the bank's transactions. 
 
- The state-run TRT television is preparing to launch radio 
broadcasts in the Armenian language prior to the visit of President 
Obama to Turkey. 
 
- Turkey and Canada signed a civil aviation agreement March 13, 
 
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according to which Turkish Airlines and Air Canada will make three 
scheduled passenger flights and three cargo flights a week between 
the two countries. 
 
World 
 
- An explosion in a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon 
kills senior Fatah official Kemal Medat and three of his bodyguards. 
 Medat was working for reconciliation between Hamas and al-Fatah. 
 
- Turkish Cyprus leader Mehmet Ali Talat will pay a visit to the 
United States at the end of March. 
 
- Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir traveled to Eritrea Monday on his 
first trip abroad since the ICC sought his arrest on charges of war 
crimes in Darfur. 
 
- In an article in the Financial Times, the former UNDP chief Kemal 
Dervis lists proposals for economic recovery as the global crisis 
deepens. 
 
- President Obama has held talks with Mikhail Gorbachev, a spokesman 
for the former Soviet leader says. 
 
JEFFREY