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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000725 
 
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 
THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2009 
 
IN TODAY'S PAPERS 
 
Continued Coverage of Ankara Court Decision that President Gul 
Should Stand Trial for 1990s 'Missing Trillions' Case 
Media outlets continue commenting on the ruling of Ankara's Sincan 
heavy penal court that President Abdullah Gul should stand trial for 
fraud over the "trillions" which went missing from the Welfare Party 
(RP) funds in the 1990s.  In a joint press conference with visiting 
Slovenian President Danilo Turk yesterday, Gul said that fraud 
charges were ten years old and stem from allegations from when he 
was the deputy chairman of the RP.  Gul noted that at that time, the 
RP had ten deputy chairs, and that he personally had nothing to do 
with the spending of party funds.  Gul noted that in the past the 
charges against him were taken up by the court.  "At that time, the 
court rejected the trial because it became clear that I had no 
responsibility over the missing party funds," he said.  Gul said he 
was "not afraid to stand trial," adding he was only concerned that 
the post of the presidency could be "harmed."  Prime Minister 
Erdogan said courts sometimes make "political" decisions, adding 
that according to the constitution, the president could only be 
tried for "treason." 
 
Mainstream Vatan says the Sincan judge's labeling of Gul as a 
"suspect" was not been good, adding the ruling has infringed on the 
spirit of the constitution. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Court Case against the President 
 
Mumtazer Turkone wrote in Islamist oriented Zaman: "The court 
decision against President Gul is a violation of existing laws 
regarding the president's immunity.  The judge of this decision is 
blindly ignoring the Constitution as he apparently takes some 
benefit for his personal career out of this controversy." 
 
Papers: Erdogan, Gul to Exchange Posts in 2014 
Media outlets report Prime Minister Erdogan sparked a heated 
controversy by saying he was planning to quit politics in 2015, when 
his duties as party chairman are due to end after three terms in 
accordance with the AKP regulations.  Papers speculate Erdogan plans 
to take the presidential post in 2014.  Leftist-nationalist 
Cumhuriyet claims Erdogan is planning to become president when 
President Gul's term in office ends in 2014.  Even if the president 
serves five years and leaves in 2012, Erdogan will still become 
president, and Abdullah Gul will take over the chairmanship of the 
AKP, according to Cumhuriyet. 
 
Turkish Intelligence Chief's Term to be Extended 
Mainstreams Hurriyet and Sabah report the ruling AKP government will 
extend the office term of Emre Taner, the undersecretary of Turkey's 
national intelligence agency (MIT) for six months as long as the 
National Security Council (MGK) agrees to it.  Leftist Taraf  says 
Taner has established a "critical dialogue" with the Kurdish 
regional leader Massoud Barzani, and will work for six more months 
to seek a settlement to Turkey's Kurdish question.  Another reason 
Taner's tenure was extended was that the MIT U/S supports the 
'Ergenekon' investigation, according to Taraf. 
 
Oskanyan: There Will be No Progress if Turkey Continues to Raise the 
Karabakh Precondition 
Papers report former Armenian foreign minister Vardan Oskanyan told 
Turkish journalists in Yerevan that the Turkey-Armenia relationship 
could be "moved forward" if the "Nagorno-Karabakh question is taken 
out of the equation."  On PM Erdogan's recent remarks that Turkey 
could send back some 40,000 Armenians working illegally in Turkey, 
Oskanyan said it was an "unfortunate statement."  "I was hopeful 
that a policy change could come until Erdogan raised the Karabakh 
issue.  If Turkey normalizes its ties with Armenia, the solution of 
the Karabakh question will be much easier," said Oskanyan. 
 
Iraq Asks Turkey for More Water from The Tigris and Euphrates 
 
ANKARA 00000725  002 OF 003 
 
 
Rivers 
Liberal Radikal says Iraq is facing a significant drought this 
summer if Turkey continues to retain waters from the Tigris and 
Euphrates rivers.  The paper says Iraq is pressing Turkey for more 
water.  Iraqi specialists have repeatedly asked Ankara to let the 
Euphrates to flow at 700 cubic meters a second instead of the 
current 230 cubic meters per second.  The situation is not yet that 
serious on the Tigris River, but Iraq is concerned that Turkey's 
Ilisu dam, when finished, will have a capacity of over 10 billion 
cubic meters.  Aoun Thiab Abdullah, director of the National Center 
for Water Resources, said at a recent seminar in Baghdad, "If the 
water level in the Euphrates continues to decrease, we will not be 
able to irrigate crops in July, which will be a disaster."  Iraqis 
complain that Turkey failed to meet the promises to double the quota 
of water for Iraq, which was made by President Gul during a visit to 
Baghdad in March, according to Radikal. 
 
President Rajapaksa Phones Gul on His Victory against Tamil Tigers 
Mainstreams Hurriyet and Sabah report Sri Lankan President Mahinda 
Rajapaksa phoned President Abdullah Gul to give details about the 
Sri Lankan government's victory against the insurgent terrorist 
group the Tamil Tigers.  Gul reportedly "welcomed" the developments, 
adding that Turkey was ready to provide humanitarian support if 
necessary.  Hurriyet says Rajapaksa asked Gul for help in blocking 
the activities of the Tamils against Sri Lanka on international 
platforms, since Turkey is a member of the UN Security Council. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Sri Lanka/Tamil and the PKK 
 
Ertugrul Ozkok wrote in mainstream Hurriyet: "Can we possibly take 
the Sri Lankan experience regarding the Tamils as a model against 
PKK?  With this method, Turkey can only finish off the PKK and still 
the Kurdish problem remains.  For us, the method should be winning 
the hearts and minds and work through democratization in order to 
reach a settlement." 
 
Oktay Eksi wrote in mainstream Hurriyet: "Ending a dispute with 
bloody methods cannot be something to be envious about.  This is not 
a healthy way and as far as the Sri Lanka example is concerned, it 
remains to be seen whether such a bloody end to the war will really 
put the Tamil question to an end." 
 
Turkish Command in Larissa Stirs Up Controversy in Athens 
Media report that the Greek media and political opposition are astir 
over a NATO decision made in early May in Brussels in which the NATO 
command on the Greek island of Larissa will be rotated between 
Turkey and Greece.  Mainstream Aksam reports, "The winds of peace 
are blowing in the Aegean," as, "NATO decided to rotate command in 
Larissa between Turkey and Greece," but, "Athens is enraged by the 
decision because there has not been a Turkish commander on Greek 
soil since 1821," and "the Greek media and opposition are 
protesting."  Mainstream Hurriyet calls the reaction in Athens "a 
brouhaha over the NATO base."  Liberal Radikal reports, "The NATO 
decision has created reactions in Athens."  Islamist-oriented Yeni 
Safak headlines, "The Turkish Command Shock." 
 
A 4X4 Decision from Obama (Yeni Safak) 
Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak reports, "Americans, who love big cars, 
were given a shock yesterday from Obama" as "He announced a new plan 
to limit gas mileage standards to 7 liters per 100 kilometers."  The 
paper calls the move "another blow to GM."  Islamist-oriented Zaman 
headlines, "Americans Are Shrinking Their Cars."  Mainstream Sabah 
reports, "Americans will use smaller cars," as "The Obama 
administration is seeking ways to reduce carbon emissions in 
American vehicles." 
 
U.S. To Try Guantanamo Suspect in New York 
CNN Turk reports, "An official announcement indicates that the man 
suspected of masterminding the 1998 attack against the U.S. embassy 
in Tanzania will be tried in a New York federal court." 
 
ANKARA 00000725  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
Editorial Commentary on NBC/Zardari Interview 
 
Tamer Korkmaz wrote in Islamist oriented Yeni Safak: "The recent 
developments regarding the Bush administration's dirty works strike 
a strong shock wave to the face of pro-Americans in the Turkish 
media.  What Seymour Hersh said, even though he backpedalled by 
saying he was misquoted, is not something we can simply ignore. 
Especially anyone who remembers Washington's pressure upon the 
Pakistani government at that time to announce that Al Qaeda carried 
out the Bhutto assassination.  Not to even mention that Al Qaeda 
itself did not claim any responsibility.  Similarly, Zardari claims 
that Osama Bin Laden was released by the U.S. after Pakistani 
authorities captured him three months after the 9/11 attack.  Yet 
again our pro-American embedded media will not even bother to deal 
with any of this and they will simply call all of it as 'a 
conspiracy' or 'insane.'" 
 
TV News (CNN Turk) 
 
Domestic 
 
- Israeli drones will be delivered to Turkey in August. 
 
- A parliamentary commission approved a draft bill for the 
establishment of a "security undersecretariat." 
 
- Former cabinet minister Adnan Ekmen said the PKK was not 
responsible for the killing of 11 villagers in an attack in 
Guclukonak in the province of Sirnak 13 years ago. 
 
- Police officer Oral Emre Atar has been sentenced to 25 months in 
prison for killing a young car driver who did not stop at a 
checkpoint.  The father of the victim denounced the "symbolic" 
penalty, saying he would appeal the verdict at the European Court of 
Human Rights (ECHR). 
 
- Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said a "big budget deficit" was 
expected this year, and added that Turkey needed radical measures. 
 
 
World 
 
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country was 
ready to open peace talks with Syria without preconditions. 
 
- French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner says the Mediterranean 
Union project has been deadlocked as a result of tensions between 
Israel and Palestine. 
 
- British member of the European Parliament, Robert Kilroy Silk, has 
filed a parliamentary motion which gives the false impression that 
female genital mutilation was common practice in Turkey. 
 
- The 28th annual Turkish Day Parade will take place in New York on 
May 23. 
 
JEFFREY