Cablegate: Ankara Media Reaction Report

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002700

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
SUBJECT: ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT
FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2003

THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE
THEMES:

HEADLINES
BRIEFING
EDITORIAL OPINION
--------------------

HEADLINES

MASS APPEAL
Ankara's Garner pain - Turkiye
Saddam's best man, Tarik Aziz, turns himself in to U.S. -
Hurriyet
`Eight of Spades' in U.S. hands - Aksam
Rumsfeld: We won't leave Iraq to mullahs - Sabah
White House: Hope Iraq will take Turkey's democracy as model
- Vatan
U.S. might close Incirlik AB - Milliyet
Fox TV members `embedded looters' - Sabah
`Uncle Sam TV' for Arab world - Sabah
U.S. happy with free movement in Cyprus - Milliyet
More Greek Cypriots go North than Turks to South - Hurriyet
Denktas did it - Turkiye
Verheugen: Turkey might join the EU in 2011 - Milliyet

OPINION MAKERS
Ankara angered at Garner's Kirkuk remarks - Zaman
Garner unease in Ankara - Yeni Safak
May 5 key Washington meeting for Iraqi reconstruction -
Radikal
Washington warns Tehran not to interfere in Iraq -
Cumhuriyet
Greek Cypriots queue up to enter Turkish side - Cumhuriyet
Old friends meet in Cyprus - Cumhuriyet
Smiling faces in Cyprus - Radikal
Greek Cypriots ahead of Turks on visits - Zaman
NSC to discuss `National View' fundamentalist activities in
Germany - Cumhuriyet
8 Turks in Guantanamo prison camp - Zaman

FINANCIAL JOURNALS
FM Gul: Turkish businessmen will benefit most from Iraq -
Dunya
OECD skeptical about AKP: 2.5 percent growth - Finansal
Forum

BRIEFING

Iraq/Garner: Dailies expect Ankara to present a diplomatic
note to the U.S. about the remarks of the head of the
interim Iraqi administration, retired general Jay Garner.
The note says that Kirkuk is not a Kurdish town, and reminds
about the joint declaration by the U.S., Turkey and Kurdish
groups on March 19, in which it is confirmed that Mosul and
Kirkuk do not belong to a particular ethnic group. Foreign
Minister Gul said that Garner's remarks were against the
guarantees given by SecState Powell during his recent visit
to Turkey. Gul said that Garner must have made a mistake.
A "Hurriyet" column claims that Garner is influenced by a
map drawn the White House advisor Edward Mortimer, in which
Sulajmanija is shown as the Kurds' capital. The op-ed
claims that the U.S. is considering three states with
separate assemblies in Iraq, and a national parliament in
Baghdad to supervise the distribution of oil revenue among
the entities. Meanwhile, Gul denied on Friday press reports
that five Turkish liaison officers in Northern Iraq were
expelled for providing arms to the Turkomen.

Cyprus: On the second day of the free passage implementation
between the Turkish and Greek sides in Cyprus, 2,090 Greek
Cypriots made a day trip to the north, while 741 Turkish
Cypriots visited the Greek sector. Dailies report that the
Greek Cypriot administration and press are unhappy about the
high number of their citizens traveling to the Turkish side.
A Greek Cypriot government spokesman reportedly said that
the sides were still far from a settlement, and that free
travel could not bring a solution. All papers believe that
the free passage implementation is welcomed by both peoples
on the divided island following 29 years of separation.
Thousands are enjoying freedom of movement by crossing to
the `other side' to see their homes and old friends, papers
report.

Disciplinary amnesty for fundamentalist activities: The AKP
has submitted to parliament a motion to pardon public
employees -- including judges and prosecutors -- who have
been disciplined for involvement in fundamentalist
activities, "Hurriyet" reports. Disciplinary punishment for
state employees' fundamentalist activities since 1999 will
be declared null and void, and will be removed from official
documents and evaluation reports.

Amnesty on illegal construction: The government hopes to
raise $15-20 billion in new revenue by declaring an amnesty
on illegal construction, "Sabah" reports. The plan would
allow owners of illegally-built houses or rooftop flats
("gecekondu") to pay a sum to purchase a license for the
structures. There are 700,000 such constructions in
Istanbul alone, according to the report. AKP officials
voiced hope that such revenues would help Turkey emerge from
its economic stagnation, thus enabling the government to
raise significantly the salaries of public employees.

EDITORIAL OPINION: Post Saddam governance

"Islamic revolution in Iraq with US support"
Sedat Ergin opined in mass appeal Hurriyet (4/25): "The
Shiite reality in Iraq seems to be a big surprise for the
US, particularly the active role Shiites play in the society
and their effective organization. Pentagon generals are
receiving a series of briefings about the Shiites, and
American officials acknowledge that they were caught
unprepared on the dimension of the Shiite factor. . There is
a great similarity between Iran's post-Shah era and Iraq's
post-Saddam era. The Mullahs are rapidly assuming a
leadership role and taking charge within the collapsed state
structure in Iraq, and the Shiites are becoming a driving
force to fill the existing power vacuum. Like the Iranian
Shiites, the Iraqi Shiites stand against the US, and their
priority is Islam. . It seems very likely that the Islamist
factor will play a determinative role during Iraq's
transition to democracy."

"The transitional administration in Iraq"
Mustafa Balbay argued in social democrat-intellectual
Cumhuriyet (4/25): "Watching Jay Garner in Iraq gives a
clear picture about the intention of the US for the future
of Iraq. Iraq will be divided among three major groups:
Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds. There will be some other
contributing groups, such as the Turkmen. This is the only
way for the US to be able to control the groups and
manipulate them as needed. . The US is not interested in
disagreements or disputes between the Iraqi groups, as long
as the oil business remains secure and under US control. US
policy for Iraq can be summed up as follows: The new Iraqi
administration should be as fragmented as possible, and the
US should take the biggest chunk from both the oil and the
reconstruction process."

PEARSON

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