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Cablegate: Ankara Media Reaction Report

Published: Tue 9 Sep 2003 02:42 PM
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 005701
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
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2003
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER
THREE THEMES:
HEADLINES
BRIEFING
EDITORIAL OPINION
--------------------------------------------- -
HEADLINES
MASS APPEAL
Bush asks money from Congress, divides Iraq into three -
Hurriyet
Ankara reacts to Bush's Northern Iraq remarks - Sabah
Bush vows not to withdraw from Iraq - Milliyet
Bush asks for $87 billion for Iraq - Aksam
Bush asks for $87 billion, a brigade, and UN support for
Iraq - Vatan
Northern Iraq corridor a rough spot between U.S., Turkey -
Sabah
Iraqi interim government delegation in Turkey September 11 -
Milliyet
More sabotage on Kirkuk-Yumurtalik oil pipeline - Hurriyet
Iraqi tribes want Turkish troops - Sabah
Shiites turn down U.S. order to abandon arms - Turkiye
Ocalan's brother threatens Syria - Vatan
OPINION MAKERS
Bush admits defeat - Cumhuriyet
Bush asks for patience, money - Radikal
Ankara angry at U.S. emphasis on Northern Iraq - Radikal
Bush praises autonomy of Northern Iraq - Zaman
Bush signals Kurdish state - Yeni Safak
Mukhtada Al-Sadr militia refuses to give up weapons - Yeni
Safak
UK to deploy 1,200 additional troops in Iraq - Cumhuriyet
Arab League to welcome Zebari - Radikal
Uzan family owes $7 million to Jordan - Zaman
Ilham Aliyev asks Erdogan for support in Azeri elections -
Zaman
BRIEFING
Ankara uneasy with Bush address: Ankara is upset with
President Bush for referring to increasing `self-governance'
in Northern Iraq in his speech Sunday night. Papers expect
the MFA to warn Washington about Turkey's concerns.
Nationalist and Islamist papers view the President's comment
as a signal for the establishment of a Kurdish state.
Foreign Minister Gul said President Bush did not imply a
separate state, but was only referring to the various
sectors in Iraq. Dailies interpret the Bush statement as a
message to Turkey to speed up the process for a troop
deployment in Iraq. Papers quote American sources as
reassuring Turkey about the strong guarantees that had been
given by the U.S. regarding Iraq's territorial integrity.
Iraqi delegations to Ankara: Representatives of the Council
of Iraqi Tribes as well as a delegation from the interim
Iraqi government are due in Ankara later this week for talks
with the MFA about a possible Turkish peacekeeping mission
in Iraq. "Aksam" reports that tribal leaders and Sunni
clerics in Iraq are expressing gratitude for the
humanitarian aid extended by Turkey. Tribal chiefs would
welcome Turkish troops within the framework of an Iraqi
peacekeeping mission, according to "Aksam."
Turkish troop deployment in Iraq: The U.S. is favorable
toward a Turkish proposal for a Turkey's peacekeepers to
work in a separate zone in Iraq, under Turkish command.
However, the U.S. is uncomfortable with Ankara's suggestion
that it will deploy additional troops to safeguard the
transit of peacekeepers through Northern Iraq. "Sabah"
writes that the U.S. will soon send a delegation to Ankara
to discuss the PKK/KADEK presence in Northern Iraq. The
U.S. has offered three different zones to Turkey, papers
report. Ankara is not willing to deploy troops in and
around Baghdad under American command. "Radikal" quotes
diplomatic sources as saying that the areas near Al-Ambar
and Ninova are the most likely destinations for Turkish
peacekeepers.
PKK/KADEK threatens Syria: PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan's
brother Osman has threatened the Syrian Administration for
the recent handing over of eight senior PKK officials to
Turkey, "Hurriyet" reports. Ocalan said that the Syrian
Kurds would not remain silent to the arrests. In a
statement to the PKK/KADEK media outlet Medya TV, Ocalan
said the organization would wait for three months for
another cease-fire proposal from Turkey. Ocalan denounced
the repentance law for PKK defectors, saying his group is
not seeking an amnesty.
EDITORIAL OPINION: State of the Union/Iraq
"State of the Union"
Fehmi Koru evaluates the President's speech in the Islamist-
intellectual Yeni Safak (9/9): "President Bush acknowledged
the failure of the war-mongering lobby in Washington. He
basically called on Americans to be prepared for more
troubled days ahead. . Despite Turkey's picking on the part
of the speech mentioning northern Iraq, Bush has actually
made more important remarks, including the US intention to
give the UN a greater role in Iraq. Moreover, President
Bush for the first time touched on the subject of `leaving
Iraq.' . In the US public, the fiscal burden of the Iraq
operation and the additional USD 87 million will be the main
factor to cause growing disappointment. . Bush is losing
serious ground because of his handling of the Iraq issue.
President Bush's State of the Union address also proved once
again the correctness of Turkey's decision to stay out of
the war, which was based on lies and false claims in the
first place."
"A dual game"
Zafer Atay criticized in economic-politic Dunya (9/9): "The
anti-Turkish, pro-Kurdish remarks by northern Iraqi Kurdish
figures are not just ordinary comments. Turkey should not
underestimate these remarks, because they could not be
possible without US backing. The US is very much aware of
Iraqi Kurdish sentiment about Turkey. On the one hand the
US overlooks the anti-Turkish statements by Iraqi Kurds, and
on the other hand Washington knocks on Turkey's door for the
deployment of Turkish troops in Iraq. . There are two ways
to explain this odd situation. Either the US administration
is not influential enough on the Kurds, or the US is playing
a double game by working with Turkey and giving concessions
to the Kurds at the same time. Both possibilities are very
bad."
EDELMAN
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