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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000611 
 
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: TURKISH MEDIA REACTION 
 
TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2009 
 
Ambassador Jeffrey Invited to MFA on Obama Remarks; Bahceli-Jeffrey 
Meeting 
Media outlets report Ambassador James Jeffrey was invited Monday to 
the Turkish Foreign Ministry (MFA) to be told about Ankara's Anxiety 
with President Obama's April 24 speech to commemorate the events of 
¶1915.  The MFA told Ambassador Jeffrey some of the expressions used 
in the statement were "unacceptable," and added Obama's speech did 
not mention the hundreds of thousands of Turks killed in 1915. 
 
Papers continue reporting about Ambassador Jeffrey's call last 
Friday on the opposition MHP leader Devlet Bahceli.  According to 
papers, Bahceli warned Ambassador Jeffrey by saying, "The Turkish 
nation don't want to live an 'April 24 syndrome' every year.  This 
syndrome heightens the anti-American sentiments.  Every year, 1.2 
million children are born in Turkey, to be raised with anti-American 
feelings.  I hope the U.S. won't make a mistake of sacrificing a 
Turkey of 70 million for a couple hundred thousand of its Armenian 
citizens."  Ambassador Jeffrey thanked Bahceli for his "open and 
clear" remarks, and praised the "bold decisions" of Turkeys' 57th 
government, in which the MHP was a coalition partner, which helped 
Turkey's economy to recover and today are helping the economy to be 
less affected by the global crisis, say papers. 
 
Armenian Nationalist Party Quits Government in Yerevan 
Media outlets report the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, or 
Dashnaktsutyun, left the coalition government in Yerevan over the 
'agreement' Turkey and Armenia have reached on the normalization of 
ties.  The Armenian nationalist party condemned the agreement as 
"unacceptable."  Papers note Dashnak party's departure from the 
coalition with its 16 seats will not affect the government's ability 
to rule. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Turkey-Armenia Normalization 
 
Hasan Cemal wrote in mainstream Milliyet: "An act of statesmanship 
requires steps to create empathy towards the agonies of the past and 
take the appropriate steps.  Only by doing so can we be assured that 
the country's future won't be taken hostage by past agonies." 
 
Sahin Alpay wrote in Islamist-oriented Zaman: "Both Ankara and 
Yerevan deserve appreciation for concluding a road map for 
normalizing ties.  We better focus on this process instead of what 
the U.S. President said or should have said." 
 
Cengiz Candar wrote in liberal-intellectual Radikal: "It is hard to 
understand the harsh reaction against Obama's use of Meds Yeghern. 
There is no rational explanation to object to 'great disaster' as 
opposed to genocide." 
 
Fehmi Koru wrote in Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak: "President Obama's 
message can be interpreted in two different ways.  Based on the way 
one looks at it, this could be a chance to normalize ties with 
Armenia or it could be a further American threat to corner Turkey. 
It remains to be seen which direction the Prime Minister will have 
to take." 
 
Ilhan Selcuk wrote in leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet: "Turkish 
rulers are so clearly acting under American directives that they are 
irrational.  Nowadays, the talk is normalizing with Armenia by 
opening the border.  Armenia does not even officially recognize 
Turkish borders.  Where is the logic in opening a border to someone 
who does not even recognize it?" 
 
Terrorist Killed in Shootout with Police in Istanbul 
Media outlets report that early Monday, police raided 60 places in 
Istanbul suspected as hideouts for terrorists who were planning to 
stage bloody attacks on May 1, and detained more than 40 people.  In 
one of the raids, Orhan Yilmazkaya, a member of the terrorist group 
Revolutionary Headquarters, was killed in the Bostanci residential 
 
ANKARA 00000611  002.3 OF 003 
 
 
area on the Asian side of Istanbul at the end of a bloody skirmish 
involving some 600 policemen.  A police officer and a 16-year old 
boy were killed, and seven policemen and a cameraman were wounded in 
the clashes.  Yilmazkaya threw 12 hand grenades at security forces 
in the six-hour shootout.  Liberal Radikal says it was "scandalous" 
that televisions were allowed to broadcast the shootout live, giving 
information to the terrorist inside about the location of policemen 
around the house, and that police also let curious passers-by watch 
the scene. 
 
Scores Detained in Operations against Fundamentalist Groups 
Media outlets report over 150 people have been detained in 
anti-terror operations held simultaneously against fundamentalist 
terror organizations in the eastern and southeastern provinces of 
Adana, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Sanlirfa, Osmaniye, Elazig, 
Erzurum, Malatya, and Bitlis.  Thirteen members of the 
Gaziantep-based Vasat organization were arrested in Sanliurfa. 
Several members of Turkey's other radical Islamist organizations 
such as Hizbullah, Ihya-Der and the Federal Islamic State of 
Anatolia were also detained in the operations.  The Islamist 
organization Vasat first appeared after a bomb attack on a Bible 
stand in Gaziantep in September 1998 that killed a four-year-old 
child. 
 
Israel Expresses 'Unease' with Turkey-Syria Military Exercise 
Papers report Israel expressed "uneasiness" Monday over a joint 
Turkish-Syria border troop exercise, with Defense Minister Ehud 
Barak describing it as a "disturbing development." 
Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet reports the Debkafile website claims 
the joint exercise, "which has the approval of Washington," was 
considered a new sign of the "tripartite military alliance between 
Turkey, Syria and Lebanon." 
 
Growing Concern Over Swine Flu 
Media outlets are alarmed by the fast-spreading swine flu which has 
killed more than a hundred in Mexico and infected many in the US, 
and call for immediate steps to stop the virus from entering Turkey. 
 Mainstream Sabah reports a 'Nightmare at the Door,' with new cases 
in Europe, and says the entire world is on alert. 
Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet headlines, 'Panic in Europe' and 
notes, 'as the swine flu spreads, Turkey is alarmed.'  Mainstream 
Hurriyet speculates that it might be a biological weapon referring 
to 'the archeologist who shook hands with President Obama during his 
Mexico trip and later died of swine flu symptoms.'   Mainstream 
Haberturk reports, 'World Health Organization called on EU health 
ministers to convene an emergency meeting.'   The paper notes, 
'Turkish Health Ministry has also taken steps against the virus,' 
although no specific measures are reported. 
 
Pakistan Pushes the Button for Taliban (Haberturk) 
Mainstream Haberturk reports, 'Pakistan, the only Muslim country 
with nuclear power, after raising concerns in the US and Europe 
because of their peace talks with the Taliban, has now launched a 
military offensive on Taliban forces.  Mainstream Milliyet writes, 
'Huge Operation against the Taliban in Pakistan,' and notes 
'President Zardari said Pakistan's nuclear capabilities are in "safe 
hands," but called for additional foreign aid to assure its nuclear 
arms remain in safe hands.  Liberal Radikal reports, 'because of 
pressure from the US, Pakistan launched military operations against 
Taliban,' adding, 'the Taliban has broken off peace talks in 
Islamabad.' 
 
TV News (CNN Turk) 
 
Domestic 
 
- Airports in Istanbul and Ankara went on high alert as health 
officials around the world race to tackle the swine flu outbreak. 
 
- The Education Ministry has changed the regulations for secondary 
and high school students, eliminating the practice of expelling 
 
ANKARA 00000611  003 OF 003 
 
 
students who become engaged to be married. 
 
- Turkey's National Security Council (MGK) will hold on Tuesday a 
meeting chaired by President Abdullah Gul.  Prime Minister Erdogan 
and the military General Staff Chief General Ilker Basbug will 
participate in the meeting. 
 
- State Minister Mehmet Simsek says Turkey submitted an economic 
plan to the IMF, but added that he cannot give a clear time 
regarding the approval of an IMF program. 
 
- Moody's says it expects Turkey's economy to shrink four percent in 
2009, but notes Turkey's rating could be upgraded if the government 
demonstrates stronger capacity to generate revenues. 
 
World 
 
- Germany insists that the visa ruling of the European Court of 
Human Rights (ECHR) was valid only for the Turkish truck drivers 
carrying goods from Turkey to the EU.  EU jurists disagree, saying 
the court ruling does not leave much room for interpretations. 
 
- On May 7 in Strasbourg, the European Parliament will debate the 
democratic process in Turkey. 
 
- The US Fifth Fleet will transfer the command of the counter-piracy 
international naval force CTF 151 to the Turkish Navy on May 3. 
 
- French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said in an interview with 
a Spanish newspaper that Turkey was a bridge between Christian 
Europe and the Islamic world. 
 
- In Kyrgyzstan, a couple hundred strong mob damaged the houses and 
vehicles of Kurds in the Petrovka village over allegations that a 
four year old Russian child was raped.  More than 30,000 Kurds live 
in Kyrgyzstan. 
 
JEFFREY