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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000569 
 
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: MEDIA SUPPORT PARALLEL STEPS BETWEEN 
TURKEY-ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN; KURDISH CONFERENCE POSTPONED 
 
FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2009 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Azerbaijan: The Turkey-Armenia Process Should Run Parallel to the 
Process Between Azerbaijan and Armenia 
Media outlets report Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, en route to 
Yerevan, told reporters that Turkey is seeking a "comprehensive 
solution" to "the full normalization of ties with Armenia."  Babacan 
added "The road to a solution must run parallel to talks between 
Azerbaijan and Armenia."  In Yerevan, Babacan met with the Armenian 
President Serzh Sargsian, Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard 
Nalbandian, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Azerbaijan's 
Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammad Guliev on the sidelines of the 
Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) talks.  Babacan reportedly 
asked Lavrov to "urge Yerevan to speed up its efforts toward the 
resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict."  Following the BSEC 
summit, Nalbandian told a joint press conference with Babacan and 
Guliev, "We think we can soon arrive at that point where we can 
resolve this question in the near future."  Guliev said the 
establishment of relations between Armenia and Turkey was tied to 
finding a resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.  He noted Baku 
wants the rapprochement between Turkey-Armenia to run parallel to 
relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia.  Guliev added he believed 
Turkey would address Azerbaijan's concerns and protect its 
interests. 
 
Mainstream Milliyet and leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet claim 
Azerbaijan's President Aliyev seeks closer natural gas cooperation 
with Russia in reaction to Turkish rapprochement with Armenia. 
Mainstream Hurriyet reports Aliyev will be in Moscow on Friday at 
the invitation of President Medvedev.  Hurriyet says Russian papers 
Kommersant and Vedomosti expect Aliyev to offer all the gas 
Azerbaijan extracts from the Caspian Sea to Russia, disregarding the 
Nabucco project, in return for Russian support on the Karabakh 
question. 
 
Meanwhile, papers report the Russian Embassy in Ankara said in a 
statement yesterday "Russia is committed to the development of a 
good neighborhood between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia." 
 
Editorial Commentary on Turkey-Armenia-Azerbaijan 
 
Fehmi Koru commented in Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak:  "If 
Azerbaijan wants the Armenian occupation to come to an end in 
Karabagh, then, instead of crying and screaming, the Azeri 
Administration should help Turkey develop a new diplomatic message 
that will strengthen its regional importance." 
 
Mustafa Unal wrote in Islamist-oriented Zaman:  "As I listened to 
Foreign Minister Babacan's remarks during his travel to Yerevan, I 
realized that we are at a critical point in our normalizing process 
with Armenia and the Azerbaijan factor in this process will never be 
neglected." 
 
Kurdish Conference in Erbil Postponed 
Papers report an international conference on the Kurdish question 
that was to be held this month in Erbil in northern Iraq has been 
postponed, mainly due to the failure to convince the PKK to lay down 
its arms.  Mainstream Milliyet reports the conference was postponed 
until the end of this year after Turkish Interior Minister Besir 
Atalay participated in an April 11th meeting regarding the Turkey, 
Iraq and the U.S. trilateral counter-terror mechanism in Baghdad. 
Turkey was to participate in the Erbil conference as an observer. 
Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet reports Turkey's main Kurdish party 
DTP lawmaker Hasip Kaplan said the DTP "would join the conference 
without putting forth preconditions." 
 
Obama Was Given a Letter from Abdullah Ocalan (HaberTurk) 
Mainstream HaberTurk's front page banner headline today is "Ahmet 
 
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Turk Gives a Letter from Ocalan to Obama," and claims "when U.S. 
President Barack Obama met with Ahmet Turk," the leader of the 
largely pro-Kurdish opposition party DTP, "Turk gave Obama a 
three-page report on 'Suggestions to Solve the Kurdish Problem' 
which included a letter from (jailed PKK leader) Abdullah Ocalan." 
HaberTurk says Obama handed the contents of the file over to 
Ambassador James Jeffrey, who then handed over to another diplomat 
so he could hear Obama's speech in parliament.  The article notes 
neither the U.S. Embassy nor Ahmet Turk commented on the incident. 
However, the paper claims Ocalan wrote his lawyers on April 1st and 
asked them to deliver a letter to Obama, and these lawyers met again 
in Istanbul on April 8th. 
 
Editorial Commentary on General Basbug's Annual Speech, 'Ergenekon' 
Case 
 
Mehmet Barlas questions in mainstream Sabah whether the speeches 
delivered by President Obama and General Basbug have similarities. 
"Obama is a political authority and Basbug is a military authority. 
Turkey will reach the level of a contemporary civilization when such 
nuances are understood, as they are in the US." 
 
Hasan Cemal wrote in mainstream Milliyet:  "I wish speeches like 
Basbug's, which obviously was prepared after long and hard 
revisions, would be delivered by the Prime Minister.  Because Basbug 
delivered so many political messages, it would be more appropriate 
to hear such messages from the Prime Minister." 
 
Ismet Berkan wrote in liberal Radikal:  "In the beginning, many 
people in Turkey were pleased to see the Ergenekon operations and 
thought that, through these operations and court cases, real 
democracy could be brought to Turkey.  But in order for such a court 
case to strengthen democracy, it should not violate human rights and 
human dignity.  The way this case is now being conducted reminds me 
of our country's prior history when we were ruled by martial law." 
 
Ferai Tinc wrote in mainstream Hurriyet:  "I learned that many 
members of The Contemporary Life Supporters Association (CYDD) who 
were detained and questioned in the Ergenekon case were asked 
whether they sought police reports regarding their scholarship 
recipients and whether the scholarship recipients were asked about 
their political choices.  Why should youngsters' education be 
supported based on their political choices?  And, if CYDD 
scholarships managed to steer youngsters toward education and away 
from joining the terrorist organization in the mountains, everyone 
should be pleased about it.  Unfortunately, today in Turkey, whoever 
opposes the government and supports the opposition is immediately 
labeled as a coup plotter." 
 
The Taliban Declares Rasmussen 'The Enemy of Islam' 
Media outlets feature the Taliban's declaration of war against 
NATO's new Secretary General, former Danish PM Rasmussen.  Some 
outlets note that Turkey tried to prevent Rasmussen from getting the 
post due to his refusal to apologize for defending a cartoon that 
caused global outrage over its depiction of the Muslim Prophet 
Mohammed as a terrorist.  Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak reports "The 
Taliban Declares Rasmussen The Top Enemy," due to "his defense of 
cartoons depicting Mohammed, which created world-wide tensions." 
Islamist-oriented Zaman reports "The Taliban Has Started to Play 
Games with Rasmussen" by calling him "Islam's Chief Enemy."  Leftist 
Taraf headlines "Islam's Chief Enemy" and notes "Rasmussen, who 
defended a cartoon depicting the Prophet Mohammed as a terrorist, 
has been deemed Muslims' 'top enemy.'"  Taraf also notes "Turkey, 
the only Muslim nation in NATO, had vetoed Rasmussen's candidacy for 
Secretary General," but "the decision was later abandoned." 
Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet headlines, "The Taliban Declares War 
on Rasmussen," and notes "Turkey threatened to veto Rasmussen's 
candidacy because he refused to apologize for defending the Mohammed 
cartoon, but at the last moment at the NATO Summit Rasmussen was 
selected."  Mainstream Milliyet reports the Taliban insists 
 
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"Rasmussen Will Intensify the Jihad's Violence." 
 
An End to the War on Terror in Chechnya 
Reporting on Russia's end to operations in Chechnya is largely 
straightforward at this point. Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak 
headlines, "The Chechnya Invasion Is Brought to An End," as "Russia 
officially ended its ten-year occupation" by "withdrawing 20,000 
Russian forces."  Far right Ortadogu reports "Russia has ended its 
ten-year struggle against terror in Chechnya."  Leftist Taraf 
headlines, "Russia Ends Its Ten-Year Chechen Operations." 
Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet reports "Medvedev has brought Putin's 
initiative against terror to an end in Chechnya." 
 
A "Fitna" Sequel 
Media report Dutch Parliamentarian Wilders has received permission 
to shoot a sequel to his film "Fitna", which particularly alarms 
Islamist media outlets.  Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak headlines 
"Wilders, Islam's Enemy, Is Preparing a Second Fitna." 
Islamist-oriented Zaman reports, "Wilders, whose first film targeted 
the Koran, is again arousing anger and indignation in the Muslim 
world."  Mainstream Sabah reports "The Fitna Representative Gets 
Approval to Shoot His Second Film," and the paper says "this film 
will criticize and incite enmity against Islam and against 
immigrants from Muslim countries to countries in the West." 
 
TV News (CNN Turk) 
 
Domestic 
 
- The prosecutor formally charged the Ankara Baskent University 
President Mehmet Haberal, Samsun 19 Mayis University President 
Professor Ferit Bernay, Bursa Uludag University President Professor 
Mustafa Yurtkuran, and Malatya Inonu University President Professor 
Fatih Hilmioglu, under the Ergenekon investigation. 
 
- Child Psychiatrist Dr. Ayten Erdogan resigned from the Forensic 
Science board that acquitted Huseyin Uzmez, a writer for the extreme 
Islamist Vakit daily, for the rape of a 14-year old girl.  Dr. 
Erdogan said she resigned when the board put pressure on her to 
claim the child victim was "not affected psychologically" when she 
was raped by Uzmez. 
 
- IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn says talks with Turkey continue 
and a stand-by deal was possible in the coming weeks. 
 
- A survey conducted in October before Turkey was hit by the global 
economic meltdown shows that in Turkey, 52.5 percent say they face 
significant hardship in trying to make the ends meet every month 
whereas only 10.5 percent say they have no financial problems. 
 
- On Saturday, Prime Minister Erdogan will travel to Hannover to 
join the birthday party of former German Chancellor Gerhard 
Schroeder.  Russian PM Putin and former French President Jacques 
Chirac are also expected to join the party. 
 
World 
 
- US envoy George Mitchell is in Israel, meeting with officials to 
press for a two-state solution with the Palestinians. 
 
- Pakistan is seeking a Marshall Plan to fight poverty and militancy 
in the country.  The plan will be discussed at a meeting of donors 
in Tokyo on Friday. 
 
- President Obama arrives in Mexico to show support for the 
country's battle against drug cartels and to heal rifts in bilateral 
ties. 
JEFFREY