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Viewing cable 09ANKARA1762, TURKISH MEDIA REACTION

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09ANKARA1762 2009-12-11 11:43 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Ankara
VZCZCXRO3577
OO RUEHDA
DE RUEHAK #1762/01 3451143
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 111143Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1443
RUEKJCS/CJCS WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC//PA
RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU
INFO RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS 0187
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 6636
RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 4324
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 7685
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 7592
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 4189
RUEUITH/DET 1 39LG ANKARA TU
RHMFIUU/39OS INCIRLIK AB TU
RHMFIUU/AFOSI DET 523 IZMIR TU
RHMFIUU/39ABG INCIRLIK AB TU
RHMFIUU/AFOSI DET 522 INCIRLIK AB TU
RUEUITH/AFLO ANKARA TU
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001762 
 
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 
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2009 
 
Media Highlights 
 
A Warning Like A Quake to Israel From Erdogan (Sabah) 
All papers today had banner headlines similar to mainstream Sabah in 
reporting Prime Minister Erdogan's response to a question by an 
Egyptian journalist regarding the allegations that Israel violates 
Turkish air space in order to watch Iran.  Mainstreams Sabah and 
Hurriyet  cite Israeli Jerusalem Post and quotes Prime Minister 
Erdogan as saying "No violations have occurred until now.  If such a 
thing happens, consequences will be grave.  Our response will be 
like an earthquake."  Meanwhile, intellectual/Islamist-oriented 
Zaman and Hurriyet Daily News report that an Erdogan-Netanyahu 
summit is in the making with plans for Israeli Defense Minister Ehud 
Barak to visit Turkey soon, both citing official Israeli sources. 
Gungor Mengi opines in mass appeal Vatan: "Prime Minister Erdogan's 
'earthquake' warning against Israel is not a healthy sign.  Turkey's 
foreign policy has no tradition of threats, it's only the style of 
Arab countries.  Could the reason for the warning be that Erdogan 
tried to distract Turkish people and make them look outside in the 
face of the worsening situation in Turkey?" 
 
PKK Admission on Tokat Attack Rocks DTP / TGS Gives Details / PKK 
Returns to War / More PKK Returns 
NTV, CNN Turk and all other TV channels last night and all media 
today report that PKK claimed responsibility for the terror attack 
in Tokat. Sabah says the attack rocked the DTP and notes that DTP 
leader Ahmet Turk, who had condemned the attack earlier, was 
astounded by the PKK statement and said "we do not approve attacks 
that target lives."  In breaking news, CNN Turk is reporting that 
the TGS has announced that the PKK's regional Tunceli official gave 
the orders to attack the soldiers in Tunceli's Resadiye.  During a 
TGS weekly press briefing, TGS Intelligence Chief General Ismail 
Hakki Pekin said "a 5-6 people group came to Tokat from Tunceli, 
launched the attack and reported it to their headquarters in 
Northern Iraq."  General Pekin added that the attack was launched 
from four different positions and lasted for one minute. 
Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet reports the PKK-aligned Firat News 
Agency announced that "the attack was carried out by one of our 
teams on their own initiative, without orders from the command 
center."  Cumhuriyet notes that following PKK statement, main 
opposition CHP leader Baykal criticized the government for producing 
conspiracy theories.  Mainstream Hurriyet notes that the PKK 
statement criticized the Turkish military's ongoing operations, the 
death of a university student during the protests in Diyarbakir and 
the prison conditions of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.  In "PKK 
Returns to War," liberal Radikal  alleges that by launching the 
attacks in Tokat, the PKK has ended its cease fire and is hinting 
that fresh attacks are in the offing in their Firat News statement. 
In a related story, mainstreams Hurriyet and Vatan report that nine 
PKK members were killed during Turkish Military operations in Mardin 
and Hakkari and during joint operations with Iranian military at 
Turkey-Iran and Iraq border.  And Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak 
claimed that nine PKK members, including one female, entered Turkey 
yesterday from Habur gate and surrendered to security forces. 
 
Turkish Pundits Consider the Democratic Initiative vs the PKK 
 
Mehmet Ali Birand writes in mass appeal Posta: "The experts in 
Washington believe recent incidents that have been seen in Turkey is 
nothing but a fight put up by the PKK and Abdullah Ocalan to secure 
themselves.  The experts point to the disagreements within the PKK, 
and think that the government's Kurdish 'Democratic Initiative' has 
shaken the organization, and took it to the point of losing control. 
 Likewise, they say Ocalan is provoking the incidents out of fear of 
being put aside.  'The PKK and Ocalan do not know what to do."  The 
experts' overall evaluation is that the PKK aims to put off for some 
time the Democratic Initiative, and in the meantime, try to resolve 
internal disagreements.  The Americans say the 'Initiative' has 
shaken the PKK deeply, and stress that Erdogan should not halt the 
process." 
 
ANKARA 00001762  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
Cengiz Candar emphasizes in liberal Radikal: "The real problem 
between Washington and Ankara is the words and actions which feed 
bloodshed in Turkey.  If you stop the 'Democratic Initiative' and 
weaken the PM, you can disrupt the balance in US-Turkey ties, and 
it's not important whether it's done by the PKK, CHP or MHP.  The 
real problem within the context of Turkey-US relationship lies not 
in Washington but in Turkey." 
 
Rusen Cakir observes in mass appeal Vatan: "With the PKK, you don't 
need other provocateurs in Turkey to derail the Kurdish 'Democratic 
Initiative.'  The Tokat raid is another sign that the PKK did not do 
its part, and it doesn't give a picture that it will change from now 
on.  We will soon see how high the cost will be for the PKK and the 
entire Turkey." 
 
Warrior Obama Gets Nobel Prize" is how leftist-nationalist 
Cumhuriyet and most Turkish media characterize President Obama's 
Nobel Peace Prize.  CNNTurk and mainstream Hurriyet focus on Obama 
the "war president"  and intellectual Islamist-oriented Zaman in 
"Obama Argues for War," underlines Obama's emphasis that  "sometimes 
war is necessary."  Mainstream Sabah plays up the President's 
comments, noting "you cannot stop people like Hitler or Al Qaeda by 
negotiations. . . unfortunately sometimes using force becomes 
necessary."   In "Embarrassing Nobel," mass appeal Milliyet 
challenges Obama's Iran nuclear emphasis, with "Obama's first words 
were about war . . this peace prize should have been embargoed and 
given to Obama at the end of his presidency." 
 
"Warrior Obama Gets Nobel Prize (Cumhuriyet) 
"Warrior Obama Gets Nobel Prize" is how leftist-nationalist 
Cumhuriyet and most Turkish media characterize President Obama's 
Nobel Peace Prize.  CNNTurk and mainstream Hurriyet focus on Obama 
the "war president"  and intellectual Islamist-oriented Zaman in 
"Obama Argues for War," underlines Obama's emphasis that  "sometimes 
war is necessary."  Mainstream Sabah plays up the President's 
comments, noting "you cannot stop people like Hitler or Al Qaeda by 
negotiations. . . unfortunately sometimes using force becomes 
necessary."   In "Embarrassing Nobel," mass appeal Milliyet 
challenges Obama's Iran nuclear emphasis, with "Obama's first words 
were about war . . this peace prize should have been embargoed and 
given to Obama at the end of his presidency."  Derya Sazak comments 
in mass appeal Milliyet: "In Oslo, Nobel Peace Prize recipient 
President Obama's anti-torture statement and his decision to close 
down Gitmo has received applause.  In his speech, Obama spoke 
against Iran's nuclear program and voiced support to the masses that 
took to the streets in protest of the non-democratic elections in 
Iran.  Thus, Prime Minister Erdogan's recent statement after meeting 
with Obama in Washington earlier this week that the US President 
backs Turkey's Iran policy has been left up in the air now.  It's 
clear that Obama does not put Iran, North Korea and Israel in the 
same basket.  This peace prize should have been embargoed and given 
to Obama at the end of his presidency." 
 
Gordon: "No Preconditions" for Normalization for Armenia-Turkey 
In straight forward reporting mainstream Hurriyet and 
Islamist-oriented Zaman both report on AS Philip Gordon's  comments 
at the Council on Foreign Relations on 12/10  that the United States 
supports the "normalization process between Armenia and Turkey and 
we asked both governments to approve the protocols as soon as 
possible without any preconditions."  In "Armenian Reflections on 
Erdogan's US Trip" CNNTurk Online notes Gordon's remarks and offers 
an Armenian perspective on the speech quoting  Armenian FM 
Nalbandyan saying "we started the dialogue based on the mutual 
understanding that there were no preconditions." 
 
19 Miners Killed in Explosion 
All TV channels at this time are reporting in breaking news that 19 
miners killed in the mine collapse in the northwest province of 
Bursa's Mustafa Kemal Pasa town.  A methane gas  explosion occurred 
in the local mine last night at 19.30 while 32 people were working 
 
ANKARA 00001762  003 OF 003 
 
 
in the coal mine.  13 of the 32 workers were immediately rescued but 
19 others were trapped after the blast that caused a collapse in the 
mine, reports mainstream Milliyet. 
 
TGS Warns Police on 'American Agents' (Aksam) 
Mainstream Aksam and Gazeteport website report the Turkish General 
Staff (TGS) sent a 'top secret' note to the Turkish Interior 
Ministry to warn the police against American spies working in 
Turkey.  According to Aksam, the TGS said that the US Air Force 
Office of Special Investigation (AFOSI) members were exceeding their 
normal duties, and asked the police to not meet with AFOSI personnel 
without first obtaining permission.  According to Aksam, the TGS 
made the same warning before President Obama visited Turkey in 
April, pointing out that Americans were meeting with local 
municipality people.  Gazeteport adds that an AFOSI officer at the 
Incirlik Airbase met with some people in Giresun and Trabzon, 
inquiring about the fate of weapons that disappeared in Iraq, some 
of which were used in mystery killings in Turkey. 
 
Reform Opponents Aligned Against Opening:  Islamist-oriented Zaman 
OnLine reports that "Turkey's three main opposition parties, the 
Republican People's Party (CHP), Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) 
and the Democratic Society Party (DTP) hold the same position as the 
outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on the government's efforts 
for a reform package that could settle the country's decades-old 
Kurdish question, though they differ drastically on many other 
national issues."  Zaman OnLine cites Deputy Prime Minister B|lent 
Aring's statement that "the opposition of the CHP and the MHP to the 
reform package is the same as that of the pro-Kurdish DTP" and they 
are all "seeking ways to make ... gains" following  the Tokat 
terrorist attack.  He accused the MHP and CHP in particular of 
making the funerals for the slain soldiers occasions for 
"psychological abuse." 
 
 
TV News (CNN Turk) 
 
Domestic 
 
-  Education Minister Nimet Cubukcu warned that children throwing 
stones to the security forces during protests might be taken from 
their parents and send to orphanages 
 
- Supporters of various sports clubs attack DTP branch in Izmir. 
Seven assailants were taken into custody 
 
- Council of State rejects the objections of the Higher Education 
Board (YOK) regarding a decision suspending adjustments in 
university entrance exam regulations. 
 
- The Chief Prosecutor makes preparations for filing a new suit for 
closing of AKP 
 
 
World 
 
- A Kuwaiti detainee held in prison in Guantanamo for almost eight 
years was sent home after a federal judge order of freedom 
 
- Russia claimed that Azerbaijan and Armenia are close to a deal to 
end the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh 
 
- US Defense Secretary Robert Gates was in Iraq Thursday to meet 
with Iraqi officials amid a wave of bombings 
 
SILLIMAN