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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001080 
 
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, JULY 28, 2009 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Turkey-U.S.-Iraq Trilateral Mechanism Meeting Today in Ankara 
All papers:  A trilateral meeting between Turkey, Iraq and the U.S. 
is taking place today in Ankara.  The meeting is being hosted by 
Turkish Interior Minister Besir Atalay at the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs.  Mainstream Sabah says during today's meeting, Minister 
Atalay will urge the northern Iraqi administration and Baghdad to 
take effective security measures at the Makhmur refugee camp and 
around it.   Prior to today's meeting, there was an evaluation 
meeting at the Foreign Ministry yesterday and it was decided that 
Ankara would reiterate its demands to northern Iraqi administration 
to increase pressure on the PKK. 
 
Elections Break the Barzani-Talabani Political Monopoly in northern 
Iraq (Cumhuriyet) 
Media outlets report the parliamentary elections held in northern 
Iraq "broke the political monopoly of the Barzani-Talabani alliance 
over the region," according to leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet.  The 
two-party ruling alliance - Massoud Barzani's KDP and President 
Jalal Talabani's PUK - received 55 percent of the votes for the 
111-seat Kurdish parliament while Nawshirwan Mustafa's opposition 
'Change (Goran) Party' got 28 percent.  A commentary in mainstream 
Aksam advises Turkey to "hurry up" and resolve the Kurdish and the 
PKK question.  Aksam says Ankara should solve its own Kurdish 
problem before a new government is established in northern Iraq. 
Aksam believes the gains made by Mustafa, a Kurdish nationalist who 
enjoys good ties with the PKK as well as with the Kurds in Iraq, 
Iran and Syria, added on by the enhanced position of Mustafa, might 
lead to a crack in the PUK.  According to a deal between the KDP and 
the PUK, PUK member Barham Saleh is to become the new Prime Minister 
of northern Iraq.  Aksam says Mustafa, who "enjoys good ties with 
the PKK, might cause trouble in the Kurdish parliament if Saleh 
makes a deal with Turkey regarding the PKK question." 
 
President Gul: "Democracy is The Solution to The Kurdish Issue" 
Hurriyet, Sabah, Milliyet, Zaman, Yeni Safak and others:  Today's 
papers  report that President Gul, who earlier stated that good 
things would happen regarding the Kurdish issue, said that Turkey 
would solve its problems by elevating the level of democracy.  Gul 
said "Turkey's problems will be solved by us, not others.  The way 
to do this is to increase democratic standards.  When democratic 
standards are elevated problems are solved automatically." 
 
Editorial Commentary on Turkey-Iraq-the PKK 
 
Sami Kohen wrote in mainstream Milliyet: "For the first time a 
strong opposition emerged from recent elections in northern Iraq. 
The leadership of the Goran movement has the potential to change 
things in more positive ways especially regarding Kurdish-Arab 
tension and Turkey-Iraq dialogue to address the PKK problem." 
 
Enis Berberoglu wrote in mainstream Hurriyet: "There is so much 
speculation about whether to include imprisoned Ocalan of PKK into 
the Kurdish problem solving process.  It could had been possible to 
talk with someone from the PKK other than Ocalan, had anyone within 
PKK dared to be outspoken and be sincere enough to come up with 
self-criticism just like Iraqi Goran movement leader did within 
PUK." 
 
Mumtazer Turkone wrote in Islamist oriented Zaman: "There is an 
effort as well as speculation to name some figures as interlocutors 
in order to address Turkey's Kurdish problem.  From a general 
perspective, everyone and every sensible organization and 
institution should be part of the process.  Turkey applied an 
assimilation policy for years which did not work.  And PKK used 
violence which did not work at all.  At this point a new climate is 
needed. This can be possible once the military hands over the issue 
to the government and once the PKK hands over it to the political 
platform." 
 
 
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Erdal Safak wrote in mainstream Sabah: "President Gul has made an 
important observation by talking about the need for lifting up 
democratic standards in Turkey.  In order to address the Kurdish 
problem properly, we will have to think about education in Kurds' 
mother tongue and other related matters.  Eventually the efforts for 
lifting democratic standards will take us with the need for 
Constitutional changes." 
 
Deadlock Solved in Supreme Board of Prosecutors and Judges (Radikal) 
 
                    Papers report The Supreme Board of Prosecutors 
and Judges finally reach a solution to the row between the AKP 
government and the judiciary regarding the appointments of judges 
and prosecutors to critical places. A co-acting chief prosecutor, 
Olcay Seckin, was assigned next to Turan Colakkadi with equal powers 
in Istanbul. Mainstream Hurriyet says, "The crisis which has been 
going on in the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) 
meeting was solved through compromise," and, "Following Monday's 8.5 
hours long meeting decree which assigned 164 judges and prosecutors 
gave the impression that a middle ground solution was found for the 
Ergenekon probe."  Mainstream Vatan notes the following three things 
"were rather striking in the aftermath of the decree - the Ergenekon 
judges and prosecutors retained their positions, but complaints 
filed against them will be taken into consideration, and Olcay 
Seckin was appointed as the Chief Co-Acting Chief Prosecutor. 
 
Sabah Steps Back Charges of Modern-Day Slavery against SWT Program 
 
Mainstream Sabah follows up today on yesterday's criticism of the 
U.S. Summer Work and Travel Program.  Sabah says the U.S. Embassy in 
Ankara "denied the allegations" regarding yesterday's claims in the 
paper that the program amounted to "modern-day slavery" but the 
paper stopped short of correcting the story and instead said, "The 
mechanism to deal with problems regarding the Summer Work and Travel 
Program is insufficient." 
 
Obama's Men Are on A Peace Plan Tour (Yeni Safak) 
Media pay close attention to Defense Secretary Gates' and Special 
Envoy Mitchell's visits to the Middle East. In "Obama's Men Are on A 
Peace Plan Tour," Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak notes, "Mitchell and 
Gates are traveling from Syria to Egypt to Israel regarding the 
Arab-Israeli peace plan." Mainstream Hurriyet notes Defense 
Secretary Gates told Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, "President 
Obama is certainly anticipating or hoping for some kind of a 
response from Iran this fall, perhaps by the time of the annual UN 
General Assembly meeting in September."  Hurriyet says Gates 
"implied that the military intervention option against Iran is still 
on the table."  Mainstream Milliyet notes that after Israel, Gates 
went to Jordan and there he stressed that if Iran rejects talks 
about its nuclear program, then, "The U.S. will demand an increase 
in UN sanctions against Iran.  Several papers focus on Gates' 
comments as if they are an ultimatum from the U.S. to Iran. 
Mainstream Sabah headlines, "The U.S. Wants An Answer from Iran by 
September."  Islamist-oriented Zaman notes, "The U.S. Gives Iran 
Until the End of September."  Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet 
headlines, "The U.S. Expects An Answer from Iran by October," and 
the paper notes, "As Mitchell met with Egyptian President Mubarek, 
Gates delivered his message to Iran."  Cumhuriyet also notes 
Mitchell, after meeting Monday with Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak 
in Cairo, called on the Arab world "to normalize their ties with 
Israel."  Mitchell is expected to meet today with the Israeli PM 
Netanyahu and the Palestinian head of state, Abbas, reports 
Cumhuriyet. 
 
TV News (CNN Turk) 
 
Domestic 
 
- President Gul and PM Erdogan have released statements denying 
press reports that they indirectly requested the PKK leader Abdullah 
Ocalan to work on a settlement in the Kurdish issue. 
 
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- On Wednesday, Turkey's leading business grouping TUSIAD will hold 
a meeting with the pro-Kurdish DTP officials. 
 
- President Abdullah Gul is on vacation in Kayseri, and PM Erdogan 
in Antalya. 
 
World 
 
- Mirhossein Mousavi said anti-government protests will continue in 
Iran, in spite of press reports that pro-reform lawyers and other 
activists were being arrested. 
 
- Britain's Guardian says President Obama was ready to support 
Turkish mediating efforts in the Middle East. 
 
- The second-in-command of China's Xinjiang region has vowed to 
crack down on violence with an "iron hand." 
 
- An Indian court finds two Muslim men and a woman guilty in the 
2003 twin bombings that killed 52 people and wounded 100 in Mumbai. 
 
 
JEFFREY