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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001309 
 
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, SEPTEMBER 8, 2009 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Gerceker: Trust in Judiciary on Decline 
Media outlets report the Court of Appeals (Yargitay) President Hasan 
Gerceker delivered Monday a speech on the opening of the new 
judicial year.  Speaking obliquely, Gerceker issued warnings about 
the ongoing Ergenekon case, saying some mistakes were harming the 
impartiality of the judiciary.  Gerceker said the public was 
following with concern the wrong implementations, and the prolonged 
detention of suspects.  He added that trust in the judiciary was 
declining.  Gerceker also criticized the planned changes in the High 
Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), and stressed that the 
legislative and executive organs should not be authorized to elect 
the members of the board.  "Otherwise," noted Gerceker, "the 
parliament will pave the way for the politicization of the 
judiciary."  He said the government was trying to transform the 
members of the judiciary into bureaucrats, and thus create a 
"biased" judiciary.  Gerceker also voiced objections to reforms in 
the judiciary, saying that Turkish democratic consciousness was 
"below European standards." 
 
AKP Wants 'Closed Parliamentary Session' on Kurdish Initiative 
Mainstream Vatan and Islamist-oriented Zaman report the ruling AKP, 
in an effort to convince the opposition regarding the Kurdish 
"democratic initiative," wants to hold a "closed session"  in the 
parliament with opposition parties after the month of Ramadan is 
over.  The AKP is expected to tell the opposition that the Kurdish 
move was not a matter of the government, but that it was a matter of 
the state.  Papers also expect PM Erdogan to ask for an appointment 
with CHP leader Baykal after Ramadan. 
 
Turk: DTP is Not the PKK's Political Wing 
Milliyet and Radikal report Kurdish DTP leader Ahmet Turk said his 
party was "not the political wing of the PKK."  Turk said the ruling 
government's "Kurdish initiative" could not succeed without 
convincing the PKK, and that the DTP would support the elimination 
of violence from Turkey's agenda.  "The DTP is not the political 
wing of the PKK.  We want a solution to the Kurdish problem under 
Turkey's unity," said Turk.  He added if a solution was not found, 
the clashes would begin again, and the Kurds would suffer again. 
Turk also criticized opposition CHP's leader Deniz Baykal for 
"provoking" people to take to the streets in protest. 
 
Editorials on Debate Over Government Efforts: Reforms, and Kurdish 
and Armenian Initiatives 
 
Okay Gonensin wrote in mainstream Vatan: "The gap between deeds and 
words is one of Turkey's main eternal problems.  Just like political 
initiatives on certain problems, we constantly talk about reform in 
the judicial system yet real action never follows the rhetoric. 
Given the current judicial reform draft designed by the government, 
there is no hope for the future either.  The Turkish judicial system 
will remain under political structure's clout." 
 
Emre Kongar wrote in leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet: "Turkey has the 
capacity as well as the power to address both its internal and 
external problems, and normalization with Armenia is certainly one 
of those.  The Armenian issue, however, comes along with several 
complexities including the Diaspora, Azerbaijan, the US, Minsk Group 
and Russia.  The question is whether the ruling AKP has the 
experience and knowledge of diplomacy to handle the intensity of the 
problem?  One wonders how come the AKP will proceed on the Armenian 
initiative which requires reconciliation and dialogue, especially 
given a few past records of its own, such as intolerance to any 
voice of opposition, imposition of its values and its effort to turn 
an Armenian church to a mosque." 
 
Ali Bayramoglu wrote in Islamist oriented Yeni Safak: "The current 
debate in Turkey stems from the strong need for change.  Turkey is 
going under a process of significant changes which will redefine the 
relationship of individuals with state and political structures. 
 
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That is something long overdue." 
 
Erdal Saglam wrote in mainstream Hurriyet: "Interestingly enough, 
neither Minister of Economy nor the Central Bank were successful in 
convincing Prime Minister Erdogan on the need for a loan agreement 
with the IMF.  The Prime Minister did not want it from the very 
beginning and given the recent statement at high levels, including 
by the Central Bank Governor, Ankara is getting ready for a no-IMF 
period in the economy.  However, a successful outcome of this policy 
requires both the announcement as well as the immediate application 
of a series of fiscal discipline measures - something we do not have 
now and possible we will not have." 
 
'Peace Road' Project to Link Europe and the Caucasus (Sabah) 
Mainstream Sabah reports the parliament was preparing to debate 
before approving a project for the construction of a 7,000 km of 
highway linking the Caucasus to Europe.  The project had been 
developed in April 2007, when Turkey joined 12 BSEC countries in 
signing a related memorandum of understanding for the construction 
of the highway.  The highway will pass through 12 countries and 24 
cities (including Edirne, Istanbul, Batumi, Baku, Yerevan, 
Bucharest, Sofia, Belgrade), and 1,985 km of it will pass through 
Turkey. 
 
CB Governor Yilmaz: Turkey Doesn't Need the IMF 
Papers report that at a G-20 meeting in London, Central Bank 
governor Durmus Yilmaz said Turkey will not need the support of the 
IMF as long the government maintains "tight fiscal discipline." 
Business daily Referans reports the AKP government expects the 
current deficit gap to narrow to less than USD 10 billion this year 
from USD 41.7 billion in 2008.  Turkey and the IMF have been 
discussing a possible loan of between USD 20-40 billion for over a 
year. 
 
Death of Afghan Civilians Put Two States At Odds (Sabah) 
Mainstream Sabah reports, "a recent airstrike on a pair of hijacked 
fuel tankers killing as many as 70 civilians in Kunduz, Afghanistan, 
has put Germany and the US at odds: the German troops ordered the 
bombing and the US side took the action."  While the US military 
officials stated that the order came from Germany, German Prime 
Minister Angela Merkel called for a NATO investigation and an urgent 
Afghanistan summit.  Sabah also notes, "given that German people are 
already not happy with the military deployment of German forces in 
Afghanistan, the strike in Kunduz will put PM Merkel in trouble 
during the September 23rd elections. "  Meanwhile, 
leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet headlines, "NATO Fills the Shoes of 
Taliban," and reports, "Afghan people think the foreign forces are 
as dangerous as the militants." 
 
US Doubled Weapons Sales At Crisis (Zaman) 
Mainstream Hurriyet, Islamist-oriented Zaman, leftist-nationalist 
Cumhuriyet are today carrying straightforward coverage on the US 
increasing 50 percent of its weapon sales in 2008 despite the 
economic crisis.  Based on a New York Times report, papers note the 
US has increased the sales level to 37.8 billion dollars.  In "US 
Carries its Leadership with 37.8 Billion Dollars," mainstream 
Hurriyet notes, "new customers from the Near East and Asia are the 
source of this increase as well as previously made contracts." 
Islamist-oriented Zaman also notes, "US Exports to Middle East 
states are striking," while mainstream Hurriyet notes, "Arabs Are 
the Best Customer of the US." 
 
TV News (CNN Turk) 
 
Domestic 
 
- The trial of Ergenekon suspects continues in Istanbul's Silivri 
district. 
 
- Foreign Minister Davutoglu visits Georgia for the settlement of 
the disputes between Georgia and its separatist region of Abkhazia. 
 
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- Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said at a fast-breaking Ramadan 
dinner in Manisa that Turkey would "take off" if it manages to solve 
its Kurdish question. 
 
- Prime Minister Erdogan chaired Monday a meeting of government 
officials in which medium term economic program was debated. 
 
World 
 
- The European "Independent Committee on Turkey" says in a report 
"outside pressures" to make Turkey accept Armenian 'genocide' claims 
have backfired, and says the two sides should resolve their 
differences among themselves. 
 
- Turkey declines to sign an EU declaration upholding press 
freedoms. 
 
- An Iranian commander says Iran has developed a new system that can 
detect and destroy cruise missiles. 
 
- A Swedish aid agency says that American soldiers raided one of its 
hospitals in Afghanistan last week. 
 
- A Sudanese woman put on trial for wearing trousers escapes the 
lash but is jailed after refusing to pay the fine imposed for 
"indecency." 
 
SILLIMAN