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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000969 
 
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 
WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2009 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Labor Unions and Government Reach Agreement 
All papers: Mainstream Hurriyet reports the AKP government and the 
major labor unions for public sector workers reached an agreement in 
a wage raise bargain on Tuesday after Turk-Is, Turkey's largest 
labor unions confederation, went on a one-hour strike through out 
the country.  The parties reached an agreement on a three percent 
wage increase for public workers during the first half of the year 
and a 5.5 percent rise during the second half of the year.  For 
salaries lower than 1100 TL, they also agreed on an extra payment of 
60 TL.  Mainstream Milliyet headlines, "A One-Hour Protest And A 
Speedy Compromise," as "The government makes an emergency deal with 
workers who went on strike in 81 provinces."  Extreme right Tercuman 
headlines, "Workers Prevail in Fight With Government." 
 
European Partners Withdraw From Ilisu Dam Project 
Milliyet, Hurriyet, Radikal, Vatan:  Today's papers report that the 
German, Swiss and Austrian financial institutions withdrew their 
loan support for the Ilisu Dam; construction of the dam would flood 
80 percent of the historic Hasankeyf town of Batman province. 
Mainstream Vatan says this development is the result of Turkey's 
failure to take the necessary measures to protect the antiquities 
and monuments of Hasankeyf that date back 10,000 years.  Papers note 
that the European investors have pressured Turkey for years to take 
the necessary steps to protect Hasankeyf's historical treasures, but 
the investors withdrew their support from the project due to 
Turkey's unwillingness to heed their warnings.  All papers note that 
the Ministry of Environment and Forestry issued a statement and 
reiterated the government's determination to move forward on the 
construction of the dam. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Ilisu Dam 
Metin Ilisu wrote in mainstream Milliyet: "Foreign financers have 
withdrawn from the Ilisu project and the Turkish government has lost 
the chance to award the project to a company without holding a 
tender. But Turkey ignored the standards placed on the project 
regarding environmental protection and funding. Now the government 
will have to hold a tender to use state loans to fund the project 
and government officials are not willing to hold tenders." 
 
PM Erdogan Interviewed by Italian daily Corriere della Sera 
Mainstream Sabah reports that prior to his visit Italy for the G-8 
summit, PM Erdogan gave an interview to Italian daily Corriere della 
Sera on domestic and foreign politics.  Responding to a question 
regarding the draft bill allowing military personnel to be tried by 
civilian courts, PM Erdogan said "There are no conflicts with the 
armed forces.  No one wants to try soldiers on charges related to 
their professions."  Erdogan also said that Turkey was "tired of 
waiting for the EU."  On Armenia, the PM stressed that there wasn't 
a single document proving the so-called Armenian Genocide and 
DQQ!) cQreminded that there were still 40,000 Armenians living in Turkey. 
 
Government Sends Report to Presidency in Support of Draft Bill 
Conservative Turkiye reports the Turkish government said in a report 
it had sent to the Turkish president that a bill allowing civilian 
courts to try military personnel conformed to the constitution, 
citing previous rulings of the Constitutional Court as a 
justification. The report also said the bill was approved by the 
parliament by a sufficient number of deputies, rejecting any 
irregularities. The report underlined a ruling by the European Court 
of Human Rights which said that "military courts cannot act 
independently." Islamist-oriented Zaman reports, "As the civilian 
society wants President Gul to approve the bill, the government in a 
report it presented to Cankaya backed the bill which was passed by 
the Parliament."   Meanwhile, mainstream Vatan reports in "Erdogan 
Insists," that in a report it sent to the Presidential Palace 
regarding the "midnight law", the government, unlike the army, said 
that the law was "not against the constitution and EU standards" and 
asked for its approval. The report claimed that the law was not in 
breach of Article 145 of the constitution and it was in line with 
 
ANKARA 00000969  002 OF 003 
 
 
EU's Accession Partnership document and progress reports. 
 
Editorial Commentary on Domestic & Foreign Politics 
Ruhat Mengi wrote in mainstream Vatan: "While the military should 
not interfere in politics, the military should not be portrayed as 
the only power that could damage democracy.  Damage can come to 
democracy through the implementation of democracy, as we have 
experienced frequently in our country and the world." 
 
Tufan Turenc wrote in mainstream Hurriyet: "It's not right in 
diplomacy to say 'Turkey's been waiting for the EU for fifty years 
and Turkey is tired of it.' The PM has to be determined on the EU 
and should not talk in such a desperate manner.  He says Turkey 
wants openness and consistency. But it's a pretty late warning. His 
comments to Italian daily Corriere della Sera clearly shows that 
it's not easy to jump on the EU train anymore." 
 
UNICEF Interested in Fate of Jailed Children 
Sabah gives extensive front page coverage to UNICEF's interest in 
children in Turkey who have been convicted and sentenced to jail on 
charges of  throwing stones at police during demonstrations.  The 
children have been convicted under the anti-terror code and 
currently, there are more than 300 children between the ages of 12 
and 18 in Turkish jails.  UNICEF demands details about the 
definition of terror and terror acts in the code by August 4. 
 
The Border will be Opened Up for Sarksian 
Mainstream Hurriyet reports that Armenian MP Stepan Safaryan claimed 
that the Turkey-Armenia border would be open for a short period in 
October when Armenian President will travel by road to Istanbul to 
watch the Turkey-Armenia soccer game. 
 
Halki Seminary Will be Opened As Vocational High School 
Hurriyet says that Halki Seminary might be reopened as a "minority 
vocational school."  A preliminary consensus has been reached on 
renaming the seminary "The Heybeliada Minority Vocational School" 
should the seminary be reopened.  The school will be controlled by 
the Education Ministry and the students graduating from the school 
will receive high school diplomas. 
 
Ethnic Clashes Between Han Chinese and "Uighur Turks" Stir Up 
Turkey 
The violence in Xinxiang makes front-page headlines today alongside 
gruesome photos of corpses in the streets of Urumqi.  Turks commonly 
refer to the Xinxiang province as "East Turkistan" and the media 
reflects the public sympathies for the Muslim Turkic Uighurs' plight 
in China.  Mainstream Milliyet reports "The tension in Xinxiang 
grows," as "Chinese civilians hunt Uighurs," while, "one Uighur Turk 
woman threw herself in front of a police vehicle, which reminded 
everyone of the student uprising in Tiananmen Square," and, "The 
Chinese are spreading terror against the Uighurs throughout the 
capital (Urumqi)."  Mainstream Haberturk carries the front-page 
headline, "This Is The Uighur Tiananmen," and the paper reports, 
"The streets of Urumqi are filled with the bodies of the dead and 
remind of the Tiananmen events of 1989," and "The Uighurs want real 
autonomy."  In, "This Time The Hans Are In The Streets for Revenge," 
liberal Radikal notes its not only the Chinese security forces who 
are clashing with the Uighurs, but now Chinese civilians are "on the 
hunt" for Uighurs.   Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak headlines, 
"Horror" and the article says, "There are dead people all over the 
streets of Urumqi. Hundreds of women were raped and killed," and 
"The world just stands by and watches as the horror unfolds in 
China." Far right Ortadogu headlines, "The Chinese Have Begun 
Pillaging," as "The streets are filled with corpses."  Mainstream 
Sabah headlines, "The Chinese Tell The Uighurs: 'We Will Exterminate 
You.'"  Mainstream Hurriyet notes on its front page, "Most of the 
Uighurs who were killed were shot in the head by security forces," 
as "even yesterday, Chinese police behaved mercilessly toward the 
Uighurs." 
 
Islamist-oriented Zaman carries the front-page headline, "The 
 
ANKARA 00000969  003 OF 003 
 
 
Tension Continues in Xinxiang (and) Ankara Is Worried," and the 
article notes, "despite the curfew, the protests continue," and 
"Turkish Foreign Minister Davutoglu summoned the top Chinese 
diplomat in Ankara to the MFA in order to express his concern over 
the situation in Xinxiang."  Liberal Radikal also notes, "Turkey 
conveyed its concerns to China." 
 
This photo appears on many front pages today depicting what 
mainstream Sabah calls "a Uighur Turk" who "reminded of Tiananmen 
when she stopped in front of a police vehicle."  In Sabah, the photo 
appears under the headline, "The Chinese Tell The Uighurs: 'We Will 
Exterminate You.'" 
 
Obama Seeks Change in Relations with Russia 
Media draw some attention to U.S. President Barack Obama's speech in 
Moscow yesterday and his meeting with Russian PM Putin yesterday. 
However, the stories are mostly carried in either a straightforward 
or a critical manner.  CNN Turk reports, "U.S. President Obama 
offers to scrap plans for a missile defense shield in Eastern Europe 
if Russia helped to stop Iran from developing a nuclear bomb." In "A 
Call from Obama to Russia for The Development of A Real 
Partnership," far right Ortadogu reports "Obama said that if Russia 
joins the U.S. in stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and in 
preventing North Korea and Iran from further developing their 
nuclear weapons, then there would no longer be a need for U.S. 
missile defense installations in Eastern Europe."  Islamist-oriented 
Zaman reports in "A Deliberate Approach to The Historic Summit," 
that "President Obama is positioned himself so he could highlight 
the historic nature of his visit to Moscow to the Russian people," 
but "many experts say that only small steps were taken to improve 
bilateral relations."  Mainstream Haberturk reports in "The Ice 
Didn't Melt at The Caviar Breakfast," that, "Obama wanted to melt 
the ice with Putin but he was not successful." 
 
Editorial Commentary on U.S-Russia Ties 
Bulent Aras wrote in mainstream Sabah: "Russia has many traps for 
Obama. It is not possible for President Obama to satisfy all 
expectations. He did that in various levels and he is welcomed with 
cautious optimism in Russia. It was good start, with mainly 
technical dimensions highlighted at the meetings.  However, it was 
only few steps taken along a very long road." 
 
 
 
TV News (CNN Turk) 
 
Domestic 
 
Q PM Erdogan said at a ceremony at the Police Academy: "Turkey is 
neither a police state nor a state controlled by the military. 
Turkey is a democratic, secular and social state that respects the 
rule of law." 
 
Q A 4.5 magnitude earthquake is reported in Malatya. 
 
Q An Ankara Court ruled that CHP leader Baykal must pay 10,000 TL to 
PM Erdogan for calling him a "bully "at a party rally in Sinop on 
February 28, 2009. 
 
World 
 
Q A Serbian Military fighter jet crashed at a military airport near 
Belgrade. 
 
Q A Court in Germany has filed a suit against a German citizen of 
Turkish origin who is charged with membership in Al-Qaeda network. 
"JEFFREY