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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000078 
 
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, JANUARY 15, 2010 
 
Highlights 
US Embassy Ankara - Turkey Media Reaction - January 14, 2010 as 
prepared by the Public Affairs Information Office 
 
Breaking news:  CNNTurk is reporting a "last minute" development as 
Mehmet Simsek, Minister of the Economy, has decided not to attend 
the upcoming Davos meetings.   Earlier, PM Erdogan confirmed his 
decision not to go but that he was naming Simsek to represent the 
Cabinet. 
 
How the US is Playing 
 
U.S. Spokesman Praises Turkey's Role In Middle East:  The semi 
official Anatolian Agency reports that U.S. State Department of 
State Spokesman PJ Crowley praised Turkey's role in issues related 
to Middle East.   "Turkey has played an important role as an 
intermediary in working through issues related to Middle East 
peace," Crowley told a daily press briefing on Thursday when 
responding to a question over a recent diplomatic tension between 
Turkey and Israel.  "We value that interaction, value Turkey's role 
in trying to help countries work through these issues. And I would 
expect that to continue," he said, adding that Turkey and Israel 
were two important allies and friends of the United States. 
 
Commentary Lauds US-Turkey ME Cooperation:  Hasan Bulent Kahraman 
opines in mainstream Sabah:  "Turkey always wanted to be the key 
actor in the Middle East.  With its new position, Turkey came to a 
different spot in the field of international relations as well.  For 
the first time, Turkey is acting in the Middle East, together with 
the US, in cooperation and agreement.  In the past, Turkey went to 
the region to put distance between itself and the US.  Today, 
however, Turkey's good relations with the US works as a factor to 
strengthen Turkey's power in the region.  In short, Turkey benefits 
from Israel's mistakes and strengthens its hand in the Middle East." 
 
 
Pakistan "Payback" Bombings: In "Payback Strike from the US," 
mainstream Milliyet reports that the US pinpointed Taliban leader 
Hakimullah Mehsud in yesterday's bombing raid, noting "the top 
Taliban leader in Pakistan,  who was recently seen with CIA bomber 
Al Balawi in a video after the attack, might be among 15 militants 
killed in a US missile strike in a religious school in northwest 
Pakistan."  Islamist Yeni Safak  headlines "Drones Strike Taliban 
Leader," and believes "the continued US  pounding on key militant 
targets in Pakistan's tribal areas shows that the US is determined 
to keep up the pressure on the Taliban."  Meanwhile, 
leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet in "Taliban Leader Escapes US Missile 
Attack," says "the leader of the Pakistani Taliban was apparently 
the target of a US missile strike but Pakistani officials reportedly 
said he escaped unhurt." 
 
Jewish Lobby in the US Accuses Turkish Government of Supporting 
Anti-Semitism 
In an exclusive, mainstream Hurriyet reports that American Anti 
Defamation League Chairman Abraham Foxman claimed that Turkish 
society is obviously becoming anti-Jewish, anti-Israel and accused 
the Erdogan government of promoting anti-Semitism.  Foxman also 
accused Turkish media for being anti-Jewish and was quoted by 
Hurriyet as saying  "we are very much worried about the general 
climate in Turkey which is becoming anti-Israel and even promotes 
being anti-Israel." 
 
In the Headlines 
 
Russia Rejects Links to Nagorno-Karabakh on Protocols:  Hurriyet and 
other online sites reported Russian FM comments on Nagorno-Karabakh 
during a 1/14 press conference with Armenia's Nalbandian in Moscow. 
Lavrov called on Armenia and Turkey to move forward quickly on 
stalled efforts to ratify the protocols, according to press reports, 
noting  "we are interested in ties being normalized . . . The 
quicker this happens, the better it is for the entire region." 
 
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Lavrov backed the Armenian stance in the dispute, but also rejected 
any links between the Turkey-Armenia normalization process.  Lavrov 
said Russia was ready to assist both countries with infrastructure 
projects, including electricity and rail links, once they agree to 
establish ties and open their border.  Islamist Yeni Sefak called 
the Moscow meetings "For Karabakh - A Critical Threshold," while 
HaberNews proclaimed "Russia's Reveals Its Armenian Moves." 
Turkey- Armenia: PM Erdogan: "The Steps are Obvious if Armenia 
Withdraws" 
Major papers carry an on-board interview with PM Erdogan on his way 
from Moscow to Istanbul.  Aksam, Zaman and Yeni Safak highlight 
Erdogan's comments that "Turkey should be ready and accustomed to 
referendums" while Hurriyet's editor-in-chief Enis Berberoglu fronts 
PM's remarks on the Turkey-Armenia normalization process and 
Ankara's expectations from Russia in the Minsk Group. 
 
Turkey-Armenia:  Hurriyet quoted Erdogan as saying "Whatever is 
said, the normalization process between Turkey and Armenia is 
definitely connected with Karabakh issue.  Closing the border gates 
started with the problems between Armenia and Azerbaijan.  If this 
problem is resolved, and the occupation of Karabakh is ended, 
Turkey-Armenia issue will relax.  If Armenia has any good-will, 
then, it can start by pulling out from the sections.  Positive 
developments will occur as soon as they pull out.  In this process, 
the steps Turkey will be taking are obvious:  There are doors in 
front of us.  We have shouldered some risks.  We already started the 
Cargo flights and Yerevan-Istanbul commercial flights.  We opened 
our air space but opening the border gate is completely a different 
issue. . . We also discussed this issue with Medvedev and Putin in 
an open manner.  Russia is the most influential country within the 
Minsk Group.  It will be difficult to obtain result if Russia acts 
leisurely on this matter." 
 
Nuclear deal with Russia: Media report that Erdogan commented 
"Danistay cancelled the nuclear tender, and we have started a new 
process.  Studies are underway on this matter.  There will be 
inter-governmental agreements [between Turkey and Russia].  Once the 
technical studies are completed Turkey and Russia will meet again to 
discuss and we will submit it to the parliaments. It will be a 
matter of international agreement and Danistay will not be in the 
loop.  This is not happening for the first time, there are examples 
of this kind in the past.  Russia prefers Siemens here as a partner. 
 This is about two units with 2400-2500 megawatts in 7 years." 
 
Turkey-Israel Crisis:  "Sultan Erdogan" (Milliyet) Turkish media 
continue their coverage of the Turkish-Israel rift and focus today 
on foreign press reaction.   In "Sultan Erdogan," mainstream 
Milliyet replays coverage in Lebanese daily El Ekber and excerpts 
reports from Israeli Haaretz ("Turkish people never tolerate insult 
to their representatives") and British The Times ("Israel had to 
issue an apology following the recent damaging bilateral ties 
quarrel")  Similarly, mainstream Vatan and Islamist/pro-government 
Zaman use reports from Arab press to conclude that "once again" 
Turkey taught Israel a lesson, "especially after the Davos crisis 
when PM Erdogan blasted Israeli President Peres for murdering 
Palestinians."  Carrying an expert from Lebanese El-Akhbar ("Israel 
only understands Turkish"), Islamist oriented Yeni Safak reports in 
bold headlines that "The world's media wrote about Turkey's winning 
a diplomatic quarrel with Israel." 
Commentary: US-Turkey ME Cooperation Lauded; Anti-Israel Sentiments 
on the Rise 
 
Fikret Bila in Milliyet observes a serious wound in bilateral ties: 
"Turkey-Israel normalization efforts been obstructed by the fact 
that Israeli government is a fragile coalition government.  With the 
recent incidents, Turkey-Israel relations have been heavily wounded. 
 Responsibility to heal the wounds depends fully on Israel. 
Anti-Israel sentiments will increase in Turkey after the recent 
incident, just like the anti-Americanism had increased in the past 
following the Suleymaniye incident, where Turkish officers were 
hooded by the Americans."  Mainstream Aksam's foreign affairs 
 
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commentator Deniz Aribogan observes a shift of the foreign policy 
axis in Israel: "Even though Israel is accusing Turkey for shifting 
toward the Middle East axis, in reality, it moves toward being out 
of the Middle East equilibrium.  The Middle East is going through a 
transformation under a new world order and Israel resists to change 
itself according to new parameters." 
 
Poll -- Political Parties in Decline: In a front page story, 
Cumhuriyet reports that Metropol's January survey on the "Political 
Situation in Turkey" shows that 65.8 percent of Turks say they are 
pessimistic about the future of the country, and that 30 percent say 
2010 will be worse than 2009.  If elections were held in 2010, the 
pollster predicts that the distribution of votes would be as 
follows: AKP 32.3 percent, CHP 16.2, MHP 14.4, DTP 5.3, and 
Undecided 11.1.  The poll was conducted by 1614 respondents in 31 
provinces. 
Human Rights Committee to  Inspect Military Prisons 
 
 
Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet reports that a parliamentary 
committee on human rights has decided to put together a group to 
inspect military prisons. The decision, which would be the first 
civilian inspection of military prisons in Turkey, also received 
support from the opposition parties. 
Herons to Come in March  Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak reports that 
controvery over the non-delivery of the Heron drones, which caused a 
crisis between Turkey and Israel, will be solved. First delivery of 
the unmanned aircrafts, with upgraded capacity, will arrive in 
March. 
 
Haiti is In Pain (Radikal).  Citing American Earthquake Institute 
sources, Turkey's mainstream Vatan compares the Haitian quake to 
Turkey's devastating 1999 earthquake and says the high death toll 
was the result of poor quality construction and lack of building 
codes.  In "Life and Death In Haiti," leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet 
 says, "corpses litter the streets while thousands of people are 
still trapped in flattened buildings in the quake-hit Haitian 
capital more than 48 hours after the catastrophe."  In "Haiti is In 
Pain" liberal Radikal thinks "even if international relief efforts 
reach the region, it won't be enough; the death toll is rising and 
survivors are in miserable condition."  Islamist Yeni Safak  in a 
pessimistic line, "Devastated, Hungry, Thirsty," says "the death 
toll could reach to 50,000 in the wake of the Haitian earthquake," 
and notes "the UN confronts the largest single loss of life of its 
own personnel in its 65 year history."  Mainstream Milliyet's front 
page headline reads, "The Corpse Island," and warns that "as water, 
food and medicine remain limited, and dead bodies continue to 
accumulate in public areas, Haiti is particularly at risk for 
epidemic outbreaks of infection in the aftermath of such a natural 
disaster." 
 
TV Spotlight (CNN Turk) 
 
Delivery of Israeli drones to Turkey is expected to begin in March. 
 
 
On January 18, Prime Minister Erdogan will go to Abu Dhabi to join 
the Third World Energy Summit. 
 
The AKP government will hold its last Alevi workshop on January 28 
in Kizilcahamam near Ankara, which will outline a roadmap for 
addressing the problems of the Alevis. 
 
The Red Cross estimates there have been 45,000-50,000 deaths in the 
Haitian earthquake. 
 
China will reportedly send a lower-level representative to a meeting 
of six world powers on Iran's nuclear program. 
 
JEFFREY