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 004217
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
THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2003
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE
THEMES:
HEADLINES
BRIEFING
EDITORIAL OPINION
--------------------------------------------- ------
HEADLINES
MASS APPEALS
Bob Kerrey: U.S., Turkey should organize Iraq summit in
Istanbul - Hurriyet
Iraq turning into Chechnya - Vatan
Saddam's $140 million sent to U.S. Treasury - Vatan
Ret. Gen. McCaffrey: U.S. will stay in Iraq for ten years -
Sabah
Gul: Repentance Law aims to end terror - Turkiye
Erdogan: Turkey's military favors EU - Milliyet
Portugal supports Turkey's EU drive - Hurriyet
OPINION MAKERS
Bush: We won't leave until Iraq is free - Radikal
Bush: Change in Iraq will take time - Zaman
Americans think Bush exaggerated facts on Iraq - Cumhuriyet
Powell: Elimination of Saddam removed a threat to Israel -
Zaman
British union: Blair a war criminal - Cumhuriyet
Labor unions parting ways with Blair - Radikal
Algeria releases FIS leaders - Yeni Safak
Berlusconi supports Turkey at European Parliament - Radikal
BRIEFING
Turkey, U.S., Iran cooperate against KADEK: Turkey is
cooperating with the U.S. and Iran in order to bring an end
to PKK/KADEK terror in Northern Iraq, papers report.
Following the advice of Washington, Ankara is about to pass
an `amnesty law' to convince PKK militants to lay down their
arms and return home. About half of the estimated 4,500 PKK
militants in Northern Iraq have not been involved in armed
attacks, and they will be allowed to return to their
families, a senior diplomatic source told the press. Turkey
has asked the U.S. and Britain to take action against KADEK,
and urged Iran to acknowledge that KADEK is a terrorist
organization. Militants who fled to Iran out of fear of a
possible U.S. operation engaged in clashes with Iranian
soldiers last weekend.
Scope of Repentance Law: "Cumhuriyet" suspects that the
`Repentance Law' drafted by the AKP government might pave
the way for pardoning fundamentalists as well. The paper is
concerned that fundamentalists who killed secular Turkish
intellectuals in Sivas in 1993 might benefit from the bill.
Cumhuriyet points to the fact that only 775 terrorists had
applied to benefit from similar laws passed since the 1980s.
Meanwhile, the Kurdish-based party DEHAP collected one
million signatures in a campaign for expanding the scope of
the draft law to a general amnesty for all PKK militants.
U.S. prefers Pole instead of Turk for NATO post: The U.S.
has decided to support the Polish candidate for the post of
NATO Deputy Secretary General instead of a Turk due to the
disagreement between Washington and Ankara over the Iraq
crisis, a "Hurriyet" columnist reports. The U.S. also backs
Greek Foreign Minister Papandreou as the new NATO Secretary
General in 2004. The article expects Turkey not to object
to Papandreou, a facilitator of problem-solving between
Turkey and Greece, as the new NATO chief.
New package of EU reforms: Dailies think that a 7th EU
adjustment package drafted by the government includes
`revolutionary' changes to make a `civilian and liberal'
society a reality. The new package envisages stronger
measures to prevent torture and expand freedom of
expression, and a more civilian National Security Council
(NSC). Foreign Minister Gul said details of the 7th package
would be disclosed next week.
EDITORIAL OPINION:
-Pakistan
-Iraq
"Pakistan and Israel"
Fikret Ertan wrote in the Islamist-intellectual Zaman (7/3):
"Pakistan finally felt the need to revise its Israel policy
in light of the new developments in the Middle East.
General Musharraf has made some important statements which
no previous Pakistani would have dared to make. .
Musharraf's encouragement of Pakistan's recognition of
Israel is open to two interpretations. One view is that
Musharraf sincerely feels the need for a change of policy.
The other possibility is that Musharraf is taking US
pressure into account. . The fact is that Pakistan's Israel
policy requires an urgent change, but Islamist groups in
Pakistan will not allow it to happen. The immediate
reaction has already been seen among opposition groups. In
fact, the Pakistani opposition must address the dilemma that
Pakistan is facing: India has strategic relations with
Israel, so how logical and sensible is it that Israel does
not exist for Pakistan?"
"Dancing with the US"
Soli Ozel commented in mass appeal Sabah (7/3): "Turkey has
missed the chance to have a say in northern Iraq by not
acting together with the US during the Iraq war. At the
same time, however, Turkey to a great extent has learned to
evaluate the Iraq issue beyond the narrow prism of
hypothetical scenarios about the Kurds. The Turkish Foreign
Ministry has finally started creating policies for all of
Iraq as opposed to limiting itself to a northern-Iraq
obsession. This will help Turkey not only in its relations
with the US but also in the formulation of a better foreign
policy. This step is long overdue."
PEARSON