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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 001336 
 
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, SEPTEMBER 10, 2009 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
Heavy Floods Kill 24 in Istanbul, 31 Total in Turkey 
All media outlets report 24 people were killed in Wednesday's floods 
in Istanbul, increasing the death toll over the last two days to 31 
with seven others killed in the province of Tekirdag the day before 
yesterday.  More than 10 people are still missing.  Seven female 
factory workers were drowned yesterday morning inside a van carrying 
them to work.  The road to Ataturk Airport, one of the busiest in 
the world, was heavily flooded.   Papers and television channels 
also report widespread looting from factories and shops.  Blackouts 
and cuts in the natural gas supply are reported in Istanbul after 
the heavy rains.  Istanbul Governor Muammer Guler described the 
floods in Istanbul as the largest disaster seen in recent years. 
Transport Minister Binali Yildirim said illegal construction was 
damaging nature, and added that state officials and citizens were 
equally responsible for the tragedy in Istanbul.  Prime Minister 
Erdogan announced that his government was going to spend 2 million 
lira in Istanbul and 250,000 lira in Tekirdag to compensate for the 
damages. 
 
The Istanbul Chamber of Commerce said the damage caused by floods 
amounted to USD 90 million, adding textile companies, depots and 
customs companies in the area suffered the heaviest damage. 
Business daily Referans says floods that hit the same area in 1995 
has caused USD 30 million of damage.  Over the 14-year period since 
1995, the Istanbul Municipality has neglected to take measures to 
prevent a new disaster, according to Referans.  Mainstream Milliyet 
calls to account those responsible for the disaster which was 
triggered by constructions on river beds and water basins in 
Istanbul.  Mainstream Aksam says heavy rain, insufficient 
infrastructure and improper urbanization led to the calamity. 
Mainstream Vatan says officials blamed illegal constructions and the 
changes in natural balances for the disaster.  Meteorology officials 
expect torrential rains in Istanbul to continue Friday and over the 
weekend. 
 
Editorial Commentary on the Flooding in Istanbul 
 
Gungor Mengi wrote in mainstream Vatan: "What happened was an act of 
nature but we managed to create a disaster out of it.  It was 
shameful to listen to what municipality figures as well as the 
Minister of Environment had to say about this.  They either blamed 
nature for global warming or accused citizens of constructing houses 
in river beds, as if government officials had nothing to do with any 
of those constructions." 
 
Atilgan Bayar commented in mainstream Aksam: "Military search and 
rescue teams did their best to save lives during this terrible 
flooding.  However those scenes indicate something about Turkey's 
democracy standards as well.  If Turkey is still in dire need of 
military helicopters during natural disasters, this shows the 
inadequacy of the government's concept of civil defense and housing 
policies which are directly related to the level of democratic 
standards." 
 
Mehmet Seker wrote in Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak: "Listening to 
the remarks from officials as they express their sadness is not good 
enough.  Acts of nature can be prevented for turning into acts of 
natural disaster.  It is an open invitation to disaster if houses 
are constructed in river beds and if depots are built in next to 
water canals.  It is as simple as this." 
 
Murat Yetkin wrote in liberal-intellectual Radikal: "Water takes its 
share from the soil, as the common engineering motto goes.  Oddly 
enough, it was again a bunch of engineers working for municipalities 
who issued licenses and granted permission to people for the 
construction of houses in river beds and on technically improper and 
potentially dangerous soil.   All of this occurred as a result of 
administration official's vote-seeking policies." 
 
 
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PKK Landmine Kills Two Soldiers in Van 
Media outlets report two soldiers were killed Wednesday when a 
PKK-planted landmine went off in Baskale in the province of Van. 
Security forces continue operations in Hakkari and Siirt provinces 
following the killing of eight soldiers by the PKK earlier this 
week.  On Thursday, funeral services will be held for the soldiers 
killed in clashes with the PKK terrorists in Hakkari and Siirt.  CNN 
Turk reports Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said the government 
should abstain from giving emotional responses to press reports over 
the deaths of Turkish soldiers in fighting with the PKK, and that it 
should not abandon its democratic initiative process. 
 
Baykal Lashes Out at AKP for Heavy Tax Fine on Dogan Group 
Media outlets report the main opposition CHP leader Deniz Baykal 
slammed the ruling AKP government over the USD 2.5 billion of tax 
fine imposed on Dogan Group.  Baykal said the fine did not target a 
group, but democracy and the rule of law.  He noted the judicial 
system and military have also been under constant pressure.  "No tax 
regulation can explain why an unprecedented fine of billions of 
dollars was imposed on a corporation that pays a record amount of 
taxes in Turkey," said Baykal.  Baykal also stressed it should be 
investigated at length who the tax auditors were who imposed the 
fine and who chose them. 
 
Davutoglu Attends Arab League Summit Talks in Cairo 
Papers report Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told the meeting of 
the Foreign Ministers Council of the Arab League in Cairo that 
Turkey wants the Arab League to open a representation office in 
Ankara as soon as possible.  Davutoglu said trade volume between 
Turkey and the Arab League countries rose to USD 37 billion in 2008. 
 On Palestine, Davutoglu said concepts like temporary borders, 
temporary measures and limited sovereignty could not be accepted. 
He said a Palestinian state should be founded at once within the 
borders of 1967, and called on the U.S., the EU and Russia to 
display "constructive policies and determination" regarding this 
issue.  Davutoglu moved on to Jordan on Wednesday after 
participating in the Arab League ministerial meetings in Cairo. 
 
Papers also report Davutoglu has rejected reports in the Israeli 
media that he cancelled his trip to Israel when he was denied 
entrance into Israel from Gaza.  Davutoglu has been invited to join 
a Jerusalem conference to be held by the Israeli President Shimon 
Peres in October.  Mainstream Haberturk says Davutoglu wanted to 
combine the trip to Jerusalem with a visit to Gaza, but Israel 
rejected the plan, over concerns that it could Hamas could abuse it 
to make a show of force. 
 
GMF Report - "An Obama High" (Radikal) 
Media outlets cover the release of the German Marshall Fund's 2009 
Transatlantic Trends report, with most outlets noting that Turks 
agree with Europeans on their support for U.S. President Barack 
Obama, but disagree with Europeans regarding topics such as Iran and 
Afghanistan.  Islamist-oriented Zaman reports, "Turks Love Barack 
Obama, But Are Opposed to America's Leadership," as "The latest 
Marshall Fund survey shows Turks do not trust American policy on 
topics such as Afghanistan and Iran," and, "Turks think differently 
than other Europeans about Iran and Afghanistan," because, "29 
percent of Turks support a nuclear-armed Iran while 53 percent of 
Europeans support diplomatic measures to pressure the Iranian 
administration to give up their nuclear weapons program." 
Mainstream Milliyet reports, "A significant portion of the EU does 
not want Turkey to become a member of the EU, while Turks largely do 
not believe they will ever become part of the EU."  Liberal Radikal 
headlines, "Despite the EU, Turks Want the EU," and the paper 
reports, "The percentage of Turks who want Turkey to join the EU has 
risen six points from last year to 48 percent," while, "Only 4 out 
of 27 EU members support Turkey's EU membership." 
Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet headlines, "Turks Are Cold to NATO," 
and the paper notes, "only 35 percent of Turks see that it is 
necessary for Turkey's security to be tied to NATO," while, "69 
percent of Turks are pessimistic about the situation in 
 
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Afghanistan." 
 
Editorial on TransAtlantic Trends/ Turkey-Iran 
 
Kadri Gursel wrote in mainstream Milliyet: "Nuclear 
non-proliferation and Iran's nuclear program will dominate the 
agenda at the upcoming UNGA.  As far as the Turkish MFA is 
concerned, Tehran's proliferation of nuclear weapons is a matter of 
serious concern for Ankara, and thus Turkey takes part in 
international efforts in this regard.  At the same though, Turkey's 
Prime Minister presents a totally different attitude when he said 
last November that Iran has been forced to defend itself because 
"those who tell Iran not to produce nuclear weapons all have nuclear 
weapons."  This was a clear statement of support for the Iranian 
nuclear weapons program which has also affected Turkish public 
opinion.  The TransAtlantic Trends 2009 survey shows that those who 
accept a nuclear-armed Iran has risen from 16 to 29 percent in 
Turkey.  It seems FM Davutoglu will have to work very hard to deal 
with this situation since the issue is a litmus test for the ruling 
AKP government." 
 
Human Rights Group Finds Israel Underestimated Civilian Deaths 
during Operation Cast Lead 
Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet reports in, "252 Children Died in 
Gaza," that, "Human Rights Group B'Tselem has found that Israel 
underestimated the numbers of civilian deaths during Operation Cast 
Lead earlier this year."  Islamist-oriented Zaman headlines, "Israel 
Is Censoring Civilian Death Tallies in Gaza," and the article says, 
"It has come to light that there were more civilian deaths during 
Israel's 22-day attacks in Gaza than previously stated," as, " 
figures now indicate that 1400 civilians died, including 252 
children under the age of 16."  Mainstream Sabah reports, "The 
majority of the deaths in Gaza were civilians." 
 
Iraqi Shoe-Hurler to Be Released from Prison 
Mainstream Milliyet reports in, "The Shoe Brings Good Luck," that, 
"the Iraqi journalist hailed throughout the Arab world as a hero for 
throwing his shoe at former U.S. President George Bush is expected 
to be released from prison next Monday."  Mainstream Sabah 
headlines, "He Threw A Shoe at Bush, And He Returns," as, "Support 
for El Zaydi has come in the form of a new four-bedroom home which 
was constructed for him," along with, "countless women from Morocco 
and Palestine who called into a television show that offered to look 
for a wife for El Zaydi," and one person in Saudi Arabia has 
"offered him $10 million for the other shoe he was wearing" when he 
threw his shoe at Bush on December 14, 2008. 
 
TV News (CNN Turk)  Domestic 
 
- CHP leader Deniz Baykal said it wouldn't be appropriate to turn 
down Prime Minister Erdogan's request for a meeting with the CHP, 
but adds that his party would never become part of the government's 
Kurdish 'democratic initiative.' 
 
- The Financial Times says Turkey deserves more EU support, but that 
there was little political incentive in backing EU membership in 
Ankara. 
 
- Observers expect the Turkish economy to report 8 percent of 
shrinking in the second quarter of the year. 
 
World 
 
- Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders Talat and Christofias will meet 
today for the second round of Cyprus peace talks. 
 
- Prime Minister Erdogan will travel to the U.S. toward the end of 
this month to join UN General Assembly meetings in New York and the 
G-20 summit in Pittsburgh. 
 
- A car bomb kills at least eight people from the same family in 
 
ANKARA 00001336  004 OF 004 
 
 
Kirkuk in northern Iraq. 
 
- Iran's chief of Joint Armed Forces said President Obama was more 
of a "realist" than his predecessor, George W. Bush, in handling 
Tehran's nuclear case. 
 
SILLIMAN