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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000495 
 
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 31, 2009 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Papers Comment on March 29 Local Elections Results 
Media outlets report Prime Minister Erdogan assessed the results of 
the March 29 municipal elections with his cabinet ministers in a 
meeting Monday.  Government spokesman Cemil Cicek told the press 
after the meeting, "We will evaluate the results together with 
scientists and research institutions.  We will assess each region 
separately." 
 
Nationwide support for the ruling AKP in the local elections 
declined by eight points in comparison to the 2007 general 
elections.  Mainstream Vatan says "around one million voters 
withdrew their support from the AKP." Mainstream Hurriyet notes the 
AKP has received support from voters across the country which proves 
the AKP appeals to voters all over Turkey.  The decline seen in the 
support for the AKP in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Antalya shows 
that the AKP has started to face problems in major cities. 
 
 
Despite the decrease in its votes, says Hurriyet, the AKP is still 
the strongest party in Turkey and the election results prove the 
government will carry on until the next elections.  Liberal Radikal 
says voters sent messages to all parties that the AKP was "not 
unbeatable."  Voters behave "normally" when the regime is not 
threatened by the military, says Radikal, stressing the elections 
showed that Turkish voters were "mature enough not to be bribed." 
Mainstream Milliyet says the reasons for the decrease in the AKP 
votes were: The Deniz Feneri charity fraud and corruption in some 
municipalities, the AKP government's failure to ease the concerns 
over secularism; the PM's underestimation of the economic crisis; 
Erdogan's criticism of businessmen hit by the crisis as 
"incompetent" and people with credit card debts as "dishonest;" 
voters' reaction to the ruling party threats that the projects of 
the municipalities controlled by the parties other than the AKP 
would be blocked; and the mainly Kurdish areas' perception of food 
and household aid as well as the television broadcasts in Kurdish as 
mere "election-oriented moves." 
 
Papers on Political Parties' Performance in March 29 Elections 
Mainstream Hurriyet suggests that the far right MHP leader Devlet 
Bahceli's approach to refrain from tensions and fighting has managed 
to transform his party into a center-right party.  Papers also 
underline Felicity Party's (SP) success in winning over 5 percent of 
the vote, and thus emerging as a serious rival to the AKP.  Hurriyet 
notes the elections also underlined once more the Kurdish factor in 
east and southeast Turkey, and have shown that Turkey should find a 
formula to live with its Kurdish reality.  Mainstream Milliyet says 
the DTP's landslide victory in the mainly Kurdish east and southeast 
Turkey highlights the mistakes of the AKP in approaching the Kurdish 
question.  Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet observes the CHP owes the 
increase in its votes not to its headscarf and veil initiatives, but 
to the influence of Kemal Kilicdaroglu.  A former CHP lawmaker, 
Kilicdaroglu's reputation began climbing after raising corruption 
claims against high-level AKP officials and mayors.  Opinion polls 
prior to the elections showed the rising support for Kilicdaroglu 
stemmed from the voters' view of him as an "honest politician." 
Another interesting result is that in Istanbul, the pro-Kurdish DTP 
candidate Akin Birdal received over 300,000 of votes, representing 
around 4.6 percent of the total. 
 
Turkish Businessmen Urge the AKP for More Measures on Economy 
Papers report that following the elections, the business world wants 
the government to concentrate on the economic crisis, with the 
leading business conglomerate Sabanci Group chair Guler Sabanci 
urging the government to take medium and long term measures for 
coping with the economic crisis.  Turkey's elite business grouping 
TUSIAD called on the government to launch new monetary and fiscal 
policies to revive domestic demand as well as increase the 
investments.  The president of Turkish Union of Chambers (TOBB), 
 
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Rifat Hisarciklioglu, said now the government should focus on 
economic problems and structural reforms.  The pro-government, 
mainstream Sabah expects the AKP government to strike a new deal 
with the IMF in April, covering the period until 2012.  The AKP is 
also expected to speed up EU reforms, make constitutional changes 
and adopt new policies for the mainly Kurdish areas. 
 
Papers expect Prime Minister Erdogan to reshuffle his cabinet after 
the 8-point decrease in his party votes.  Mainstream Haberturk 
claims six cabinet ministers will be changed. 
 
Editorial Commentary on the Aftermath of March 29 Elections 
 
Sahin Alpay wrote in Islamist oriented Zaman: "The AKP is the winner 
of this election but they are losing some of their power.  PM 
Erdogan's comments right after the election indicates that he 
acknowledges this fact and he will take measures accordingly to 
change the trend in favor of his party." 
 
Erdal Sen wrote in Islamist oriented Zaman: "There are some major 
factors played in the weakening support for the ruling AKP 
especially in certain districts. PM Erdogan used an aggressive 
language during the election campaign which apparently did not 
appeal to the masses.  Local branches relied on the party leader's 
charisma instead of attempting to downplay their own incompetence. 
The economic crisis also played a main role." 
 
Rusen Cakir wrote in mainstream Vatan: "Looking at PM Erdogan's 
reaction to election outcome, it is now a stronger possibility than 
before there can be a cabinet reshuffle; there will be a newly 
revised party board as well as new names at the parliamentary 
group." 
 
Mehmet Yilmaz wrote in mainstream Hurriyet: "The powerful outcome 
for DTP in the southeast does not necessarily indicate growing 
separatism.  However it is obvious that Kurdish issue is political 
in its nature and should be resolved accordingly.  The government 
should consider declaring a general amnesty right after the Obama 
visit." 
 
Hasan Cemal wrote in mainstream Milliyet: "The AKP has got the total 
votes of CHP and MHP.  We still cannot call it an absolute success 
though.  There is a serious warning from the voters.  Overall 
support for AKP was given during the 2007 general elections due to 
hope for change.   However during the last two years the AKP did not 
pursue this ambition.  Insensitivity regarding different lifestyles 
and secularism as well as the impact of economic crisis and 
mishandling of it are among the main reasons for voters have chosen 
to warn the ruling party." 
 
Calls Made to Boost Relations Between Turkey and Armenia Instead of 
Using the Word 'Genocide' 
CNN Turk, mainstream Milliyet and mainstream Hurriyet are reporting 
today that U.S. think thank CSIS has issued a report regarding "The 
Changing Dynamics in Turkey" that suggests President Obama "not 
recognize genocide claims or use the word 'genocide' to describe the 
events of 1915."  In a related story, Milliyet also reports that the 
U.S.-Turkey Friendship Group in the U.S. Congress, led by 
Congressman Wexler, has sent a letter to President Gul and to 
President Sarksyan to "call for normalization of relations and for 
efforts toward positive dialogue in the Caucasus."  Rep. Ike 
Skelton, Rep. John Murtha, and Rep. Alcee Hastings also signed 
Wexler's letter. 
 
TV News (CNN Turk) 
 
Domestic 
 
- On Tuesday, the funeral of the far right BBP leader Muhsin 
Yazicioglu, who died in a helicopter crash last week, was be held in 
 
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Ankara. 
 
- DTP leader Ahmet Turk says the elections' outcome shows Kurdish 
people "took back their votes that they lent to the AKP." 
 
- High Election Board (YSK) president Muammer Aydin says the 
municipality elections held on Sunday were "orderly, impartial and 
reliable." 
 
- Ian Micallef of the Council of Europe Congress of Local and 
Regional Authorities condemned in a statement the violence which 
killed six people and injured up to a hundred during the March 29 
local elections in Turkey. 
 
World 
 
- Kemal Dervis, the former head of the UNDP, is named vice-president 
and director of the Global Economy and Development program at the 
Washington-based think-tank the Brookings Institution. 
 
- Remzi Kartal, a former Turkish lawmaker from the banned 
pro-Kurdish Democracy Party (DEP) who was detained in Madrid on 
March 24, is released by a Spanish court on probation.  Kartal is 
the head of the PKK-linked Kurdish Parliament in Exile. 
 
- Arab leaders meeting in Doha, the Qatari capital, have rejected 
the ICC arrest warrant for the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. 
 
- Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi storms out of the Arab League summit 
in Qatar after denouncing the Saudi king for his ties with the West. 
 
 
JEFFREY