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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 000641 
 
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 
MONDAY, MAY 4, 2009 
 
PM Erdogan Reshuffles the Cabinet 
Prime Minister Erdogan announced changes to his cabinet on Friday 
evening following a meeting with President Gul during which Gul 
approved of the cabinet changes.  Saturday's Islamist-oriented Zaman 
called Erdogan's cabinet changes 'radical' and mainstream Vatan said 
"Erdogan opened a new page."  Meanwhile, mainstream Sabah called the 
cabinet "the cabinet of change." Saturday's mainstream Hurriyet 
reported that eight ministers lost their seats at the Cabinet. 
According to the paper, those eight ministers "were held responsible 
for the AKP's defeats in the recent municipal elections." 
 
The new cabinet ministers are as follows: 
State Minister and Deputy PM   Bulent Arinc 
State Minister                           Cevdet Caglar 
State Minister                          Selma Aliye Kavaf 
Justice Minister                             Sadullah Ergin 
Foreign Minister                            Ahmet Davutoglu 
Public Works Minister                   Mustafa Demir 
Labor Minister                           Omer Dincer 
Industry and Trade Minister        Nihat Ergun 
Energy Minister                          Taner Yildiz. 
 
The ministers who are keeping their posts and/or who have been 
assigned to new posts include the following: 
State Minister and Deputy PM    Cemil Cicek 
 
State Minister                           Mehmet Aydin 
 
State Minister                           Hayati Yazici 
State Minister                           Nafiz Ozak 
State Minister                           Faruk Celik 
State Minister                           Zafer Caglayan 
State Minister and Chief Negotiator  Egemen Bagis 
Defense Minister                                Vecdi Gonul 
Interior Minister                              Besir Atalay 
Finance Minister                             Mehmet Simsek 
Education Minister                          Nimet Cubukcu 
Health Minister                          Recep Akdag 
Transportation Minister                     Binali Yildirim 
Agriculture Minister                        Mehdi Eker 
Culture and Tourism Minister             Ertugrul Gunay 
Environment and Forestry Minister           Veysel Eroglu. 
 
Former Foreign Minister Ali Babacan is now the State Minister and 
Deputy PM in charge of the economy. 
 
 
Editorial Opinion on Cabinet Reshuffle 
 
Mehmet Yilmaz wrote in mainstream Hurriyet: "The cabinet revision 
gives us no hope for the future.  The cabinet's composition 
basically indicates the current dominance of the Milli Gorus, or 
'The National View' which is the ideology that politicizes Islam 
within the government in Turkey.  The new cabinet remains far from 
being centrist, and this cabinet revision proves the AKP is not a 
centrist party." 
 
Tamer Korkmaz wrote in Islamist oriented Yeni Safak: "The cabinet 
reshuffle has provided enough fuel to reenergize the government. 
Especially after the elections, such a revitalized energy will 
launch efforts toward further democratization." 
 
Omer Taspinar wrote in mainstream Sabah: "Washington is paying close 
attention to the new Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu as part of the 
new cabinet.  He is a well known and appreciated figure, and his 
foreign policy priorities are known.  It will be very good if 
Minister Davutoglu begins his tenure by prioritizing Turkey's 
relations with the European Union." 
 
Kadri Gursel wrote in mainstream Milliyet: "The appointment of 
 
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Davutoglu as the new foreign minister simply makes something 
official that was de facto.  Davutoglu should give priority to EU 
relations, but that is unlikely.  Minister Davutoglu will continue 
to prioritize the Middle East and Africa while relations with the 
Western world will be carried out through Washington." 
 
Okay Gonensin wrote in mainstream Vatan: "The reshuffle has given 
two basic messages.  First, Prime Minister Erdogan has finally, 
albeit belatedly, acknowledged mismanagement during the current 
economic crisis.  On the other hand, the Islamist roots now dominate 
the cabinet, which shows that the AKP's major concern is the rise of 
the Islamist Saadet Party." 
 
Yasin Aktay wrote in Islamist oriented Yeni Safak: "With the revised 
list of the cabinet, the ruling AKP is now more capable of 
addressing the concerns of its party roots.  The cabinet design is 
good enough to energize this." 
 
Iraq's Shiite Leader Moqtada Al-Sadr Brought from Iran to Turkey 
Most weekend papers reported that the Turkish Foreign Ministry sent 
a plane to Iran to bring Iraq's radical Shiite cleric Moqtada 
al-Sadr to Turkey to meet with Turkish leaders and with some members 
of the Sadr movement living in Europe, who arrived in Istanbul 
seperately.  The members of the Sadr movement met in Istanbul to 
discuss the restructuring of the movement prior to Iraq's upcoming 
general elections.  Around 80 Iraqis attended the meetings. 
President Gul held an unannounced meeting with al-Sadr, while PM 
Erdogan also met with him, as did the MFA's Iraq Envoy Murat 
Ozcelik.  Media reported unnamed sources at Cankaya Palace described 
Ankara's invitation to Sadr as "part of Turkey's approach to being 
in touch with all Iraqi groups," as "The situation in Iraq has 
critical importance.  There are developments regarding controversial 
areas and there is also the issue of the oil law, which is very 
important for the Shiites."  Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak reports 
that the Iraqi Shiite leader extended full support to Turkey over 
the fate of Iraq's oil rich city, Kirkuk.  Sadr said "Any change in 
the status of Kirkuk would harm Iraq's territorial integrity." 
Mainstream Milliyet notes that "Shiite cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr, who 
is known for his anti-American stance, stayed at the Conrad Hotel 
during his visit to Istanbul" which meant he was staying at the 
hotel "at the same time as American military officials who were 
attending preparatory meetings ahead of the NATO Naval Commandants' 
Summit." 
 
US Warns Barzani Not to Disrupt Relations With Turkey 
There is straightforward coverage today of U.S. Ambassador to Iraq 
Christopher Hill's meetings in Salahaddin town of northern Iraq with 
Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government President Massoud Barzani.  NTV 
notes "The new ambassador told Barzani he does not want the KRG to 
abandon relations with Turkey."  Liberal Radikal reports, "Hill 
warned Barzani not to abandon ties with Turkey."  Islamist-oriented 
Yeni Safak reports "Barzani Received the U.S. Ambassador" to 
"discuss relations with Turkey." 
 
U.S. Releases Terrorism Report 
Mainstream papers on Saturday highlighted the Turkey section of the 
Annual Terrorism Report by focusing on the Ergenekon case. 
Hurriyet, Milliyet and Cumhuriyet noted that the report carried 
details about the ongoing Ergenekon investigation, but mentioned 
that "details are murky" and "the status of Ergenekon as a terrorist 
organization remains controversial." 
 
Turkey is on the U.S. Watch List for Religious Freedom 
During the weekend, all major papers reported that the U.S. 
International Religious Freedom Commission, for the first time, 
included Turkey on its watch list.  The report says the right to 
free worship is imperiled in Turkey and religious minorities' rights 
are restricted because of the way secularism is being interpreted. 
 
 
 
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The Swine Flu Battlefield.  (Milliyet) 
Media outlets note the likelihood that H1N1 flu could spread to 
Turkey, and some outlets stoke the fear by noting that an entire 
hotel in Hong Kong was quarantined because of the virus.  Mainstream 
Vatan headlines "This Is Not A Joke - Swine Flu Could Come to Turkey 
at Any Moment," and notes "If you develop symptom similar to flu 
symptoms, you should go to only one address - the hospital." 
Conservative nationalist Turkiye headlines "Swine Flu Is Not So Far 
Away from Us," as "Turkey is an international tourist destination" 
and "it is highly likely the virus will come to Turkey." They also 
note to readers that "the deadly virus is spreading quickly through 
kissing, sneezes, and shaking hands with others."  Islamist-oriented 
Yeni Safak headlines "A Hotel Is Quarantined" in Hong Kong where 
"300 people are being held like they are in prison."  Conservative 
Bugun reports "The World Health Organization is likely to raise its 
warning level from a 5 to a 6 after a case in Canada where the virus 
was spread from a person to a pig," and "currently there are 787 
cases of swine flu in 17 different countries." Mainstream Sabah 
reports "Despite the efforts of a number of countries to curb the 
spread of the flu, Egypt is culling pigs" and "those who do not want 
the pigs to be killed are taking to the streets and clashing with 
police."   Mainstream Milliyet calls the streets of Cairo, "The 
Swine Flu Battlefield." 
 
Civilians Caught in the Crossfire in Pakistan 
Media coverage of the clashes between the Taliban and Pakistan focus 
on the civilians that are being held hostage or killed by the 
Taliban as fighting with the Pakistani military rages on. 
Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet headlines "The Taliban Is Making a 
Shield Out of Civilians" as "2000 civilians are being held hostage 
by the Taliban against Pakistani forces," and "90,000 civilians are 
fleeing the fighting."  CNN Turk reports "Yesterday the Taliban 
beheaded two officials in Svat, out of revenge for the Pakistani 
military's killing of two of the Taliban's top commanders." Ceyda 
Karan of liberal Radikal writes "Looking at Pakistan, one is 
reminded of Cambodia" during the Vietnam war when Viet Cong leaders 
were accused of staging attacks against U.S. soldiers in Vietnam 
from bases in Cambodia.  Karan notes, "Taliban and Al Qaeda leaders 
are escaping across the Afghan border from U.S. forces and now 
civilians are being caught in the crossfire of drone attacks and the 
Taliban's clashes with Pakistani forces." 
 
Turkey Takes Over NATO's Anti-Piracy Command 
CNN Turk reports "Turkey Now Commands the Struggle Against Piracy." 
Islamist-oriented Zaman headlines "In Somalia, Turkey Takes Command 
of NATO Forces."  Far-right Ortadogu reports "The Command for the 
Struggle Against Piracy Lies With Turkey," as "Turkey takes over 
command of the International Sea Force" and thus "will command U.S., 
French, and other EU countries' ships." 
 
TV News (CNN Turk) 
 
Domestic 
 
- In order to protest recent security operations against their 
party, the DTP officials started a two-day hunger strike. 
 
- Rifat Hisarciklioglu, President of Turkish Union of Chambers 
(TOBB), criticized the government for its failure to undertake 
timely measures against the economic crisis. 
 
 
World 
 
-  Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said the country's Kurdish 
minority would not give up their bid for control of the disputed oil 
region of Kirkuk. 
 
- Iran bombed PJAK and PKK camps in the Qandil Mountains of northern 
Iraq. 
 
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JEFFREY