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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001580 
 
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, NOVEMBER 3, 2009 
 
Media Highlights:  Gul Warns Iran, Says Israeli Ties Strong; 
Secretary Clinton in Middle East; Israel- Turkey Normalization; 
Afghanistan Election Coverage; Turkey-Northern Iraq; Bill Clinton in 
Istanbul; Baykal Postpones Iraq Visit. 
 
Gul Warns Iran: "It's Dangerous to Play with Nukes."  All papers 
carry statements made by Turkish  President Gul regarding Iran and 
Israel,  made enroute to Slovakia.  In "We Don't Want Nuclear 
Weapons in the Neighbor"  mainstream Hurriyet gives front page 
coverage to Gul's remarks that  Turkey did not want nuclear weapons 
in the region, especially in Iran.  "Tehran needs to be more 
transparent in order to eliminate the concerns about Iran's nuclear 
aims," said Gul.  Islamist-oriented  Zaman, in  "It is Dangerous to 
Play with Nukes,"  said Gul emphasized that problems with Iran 
should be solved with diplomacy,  and that Iran "first must be 
transparent and open to the IAEA's inspection, in order to overcome 
suspicions."   On the current shape of ties between Turkey and 
Israel, Gul said, "What matters is that the essence of Turkey-Israel 
ties is strong.  But this doesn't mean we will turn a blind eye on 
wrongdoings." 
 
On a question whether Turkey was shifting to the East, Gul said such 
claims stemmed from jealousy.  "They are jealous because they see 
that Turkey is a rising star and becoming a model.  They also see 
that their area of influence is shifting to Turkey," emphasized Gul. 
 On Turkey's EU bid, Gul said, "When we reach the EU standards, we 
might decide to act like Norway and abstain from joining the EU." 
 
Commentary: Gul's Remarks on the Middle East 
 
Columnist Sedat Ergin wrote in mainstream Hurriyet under the 
headline "Nuanced Stance from Gul to Iran and Israel:"  On his way 
to Bratislava, President Gul said "to be able to participate in the 
Middle East Peace Process, Turkey's ties should be strong with 
Israel and all Muslim countries.  There is no problem in the essence 
of the ties.  However, this doesn't mean that mistakes and unfair 
behavior should be ignored."  Ergin noted that President Gul's 
comments were parallel to US Ambassador Jeffrey's comments in 
Radikal last week, quoting Ambassador Jeffrey as saying "we hope 
that problems will be resolved between Turkey and Israel.  Turkey 
was very successful in reaching to all parties in the region. 
However, if you have diplomatic problems with one country, your 
ability to talk all the other parties for solution will be 
interrupted."  Ergin summed up that, compared to PM Erdogan's 
comments, President Gul's comments "were more moderate and stable." 
 
Secretary Clinton in Middle East:  "Clinton Says Israel Must Show 
Gesture for Abbas' Efforts" (Hurriyet)  Mainstream Hurriyet today 
reports that Secretary Clinton called on Israel to make greater 
efforts to ease tensions with Palestinians as she tried to overcome 
Arab anger over Jewish settlements. In a related story, in "Reaction 
to Clinton in Palestine," leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet says, 
"Palestinians protested Secretary Clinton's statements praising the 
Israeli government's offer to 'restrain' settlement growth.  In 
protests in Ramallah, Palestinians accused President Obama of 
lying."  Regarding US foreign policy in the region, Sahin Alpay 
wrote in Intellectual-Islamist oriented Zaman:  "If Obama wants to 
protect the US interests in the critical Middle East region, he has 
to do this through diplomacy.  Turkey's Middle East policy presents 
an excellent model for such a diplomacy." 
Israel Seeks Normalization of Ties with Turkey (Zaman) 
Islamist-oriented Zaman reports President Shimon Peres, in a message 
to congratulate the 86th anniversary of the founding of Turkey, has 
invited President Gul to Israel.  In his Republic Day message, Peres 
draws attention to the historic roots of ties between the two 
countries despite the problems seen time to time.  Zaman says Ankara 
sees the message as a "positive development" in bilateral relations. 
 Diplomatic sources said work was launched for a possible visit of 
the Turkish president to Israel, but did not give a clear date. 
Analysts believe "positive developments" were needed in the region 
to clear the way for Gul's visit to Israel, says Zaman.  Mainstream 
 
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Sabah says Turkey, just like Israel, believes the ups and downs in 
ties would not be lasting, and views the invitation as "positive." 
 
 
 Afghanistan Elections:  "Second Karzai Term in Afghanistan" 
(Milliyet) Media continue their coverage on the latest developments 
on the Afghan elections.  Papers note, "Afghan election officials 
cancelled the presidential run-off vote after Karzai's only rival, 
former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, withdrew citing serious 
concerns about the election."   Mainstream Hurriyet headline reads, 
"Karzai Declared Winner," while leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet 
writes, "Karzai President Again."  In "Elections Cancelled, Karzai 
President," mainstream Sabah notes UNSG Ban Ki-Moon said "disputed 
presidential elections were the toughest elections that UN has ever 
supported."  Liberal Radikal writes, "Again and Again President 
Karzai," highlighting, "President Obama admonished officially 
reelected Karzai to tackle corruption." Islamist-oriented Zaman 
headline reads, "Afghanistan Doesn't Go for Second Tour," and 
believes "after a period of political uncertainty, Afghanistan will 
face a legitimacy problem." 
Turkey-Northern Iraq:  Commentary on Kurdish Democratic Overture: 
Cuneyt Ulsever commented in Hurriyet under the headline "If This is 
Not Northern Iraqi Opening, What is it Then?" that "there are no 
concrete developments regarding the Kurdish opening since last May. 
As a matter of fact, the only concrete thing was the PKK members 
coming back to Turkey.  Can someone tell me, could all recent 
developments be called a 'Kurdish Opening' or, as the part of the US 
plan to withdraw from Iraq, a 'Northern Iraqi Opening?' 
 
Fikret Bila assessed in mainstream Milliyet: "There is no doubt that 
the US decision to withdraw from Iraq has a vital importance for the 
Northern Iraqi Regional Kurdish Administration.  If the US withdraws 
and leaves the region unprotected, Northern Iraq will become a 
target for the Arabs, especially Sunni Arabs.  And a big security 
problem will occur in the region.  The most important reason for the 
US and the Northern Iraqi Administration to intensify their efforts 
to improve ties with Turkey is this US decision of pulling out of 
Iraq.  There is no doubt that this issue is one of the legs of the 
AKP government's democratic opening." 
 
Bill Clinton: "I Knew Turkey Would Put Its Mark on the World" 
All papers report former US President Bill Clinton addressed Monday 
the "Leadership for Sustainable Success" conference in Istanbul. 
Mainstream Hurriyet reports Clinton "apologized" for the 
"US-sourced" economic crisis that spread around the globe.  Clinton 
stressed "games with multiple winners" must be built.  "For 
instance, welfare is rising in Turkey, but this is not the case 
everywhere around the world," said Clinton.  On the current shape of 
politics in Turkey, Clinton said what Prime Minister Erdogan has 
done cannot be underestimated.  He warned it was important to mix 
the secular republic built by Ataturk with "faith freedom."  Clinton 
also said during his presidency, he knew that Turkey would put its 
mark on the world.  The former US President also voiced support for 
Turkey's EU bid, and predicted Turkey's efficiency within the G-20 
would increase.  He noted, "Islam must be understood well; for that 
to happen, religion and politics must be kept away from each other. 
In this context, it's important that Turkey enters the EU." 
Conservative Star quotes Clinton on the 1996 Kardak (Imia) crisis 
between Greece and Turkey.  "I thought my aides were joking when 
they said Turkey and Greece would engage in war over rocks on which 
none but sheep live.  I held phone calls with the leaders of both 
countries, and convinced them to not go to war over the rocks that 
inhabited mostly 20 sheep," said Clinton, who had also observed the 
success of Greece-Turkey earthquake diplomacy. 
 
Baykal Postpones Visit to Iraq 
Papers report opposition CHP leader Deniz Baykal's visit to Iraq, 
which was scheduled to take place on November 8-9, has been put off 
to a future date.  Mainstream Hurriyet says Baykal believes the 
"outcome" of the government's "Democratic Initiative" must be seen 
before he pays a visit to northern Iraq.  Leftist-nationalist 
 
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Cumhuriyet reports the CHP said the visit was postponed due to the 
"intensity of the domestic agenda." 
 
Upcoming events: 
 
Q November 3: President Gul is in Slovakia. 
Q November 3: Prime Minister Erdogan will address the AK Party group 
meeting in the parliament. 
Q November 5-9: The 25th session of the Standing Committee for 
Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the OIC (COMCEC) will be held 
in Istanbul. 
Q November 8-9: Iranian President Ahmadinejad will visit Istanbul to 
attend the OIC meeting. 
Q November 6: Foreign Minister Davutoglu will go to Paris for an 
official visit. 
Q November 10: The government will take to parliament for debate the 
"Democratic Initiative." 
Q November 11-12: Afghanistan Reconstruction Summit will be held in 
Istanbul. 
 
TV News (NTV) 
 
Domestic 
 
Q Health Ministry said the swine flu death toll in Turkey increased 
to nine.  On Monday, a mass swine flu vaccination campaign has been 
kickstarted around Turkey. 
Q The military General Staff (TGS) says Anatolian Hawk military 
exercises will be held in Istanbul and Iskenderun from November 
2-20. 
Q The 2010 budget has been opened to debate in the parliament. 
 
World 
 
Q Foreign Minister Davutoglu, in Malaysia, will attend the D-8 
Council of Ministers' meeting and meet with Foreign Minister Anifah 
Aman. 
Q Former Bosnian Serb leader Karadzic says he will appear at his 
trial in The Hague on genocide and war crimes charges. 
Q The UN says it is stopping long-term development work in 
northwestern Pakistan because of security concerns. 
 
JEFFREY