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 005856
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 16, 2003
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER
THREE THEMES:
HEADLINES
BRIEFING
EDITORIAL OPINION
--------------------------------------------- ---------
HEADLINES
MASS APPEAL
Europe Closely Follows Trial of Former DEP Deputies -
Milliyet
US Guarantee to the Turkomen - Turkiye
FM Gul: "Iraqi People Are Very Warm Towards Turkey - Sabah
Iraq-Turkoman Front Elects the New Chairman - Sabah
Roth: "The EU Cannot Say No to Turkey - Hurriyet
OPINION MAKERS
Ankara's Controversial Iraq Policy - Cumhuriyet
Powell: "Iraqis Are Sensitive regarding Turks" - Cumhuriyet
Col. Mayville: "Turkomaen Will Have Equal Rights" - Radikal
FM Gul Trusts US on Terrorism Issue - Radikal
Washington Institute: "Time to Eradicate PKK/KADEK - Zaman
BRIEFING
DEP Deputies Trial: "Milliyet" reports that the European
Parliament speaker Pat Cox called FM Gul to say that the EP
was closely following the trial of former deputies of
Kurdish party DEP. Cox has reportedly told Gul that the
suit would affect the views of the EP about reforms in
Turkey, and, reminded him that Leyla Zana had recently
received the human rights award of the European parliament.
Gul on his part said he personally was in favor of releasing
DEP deputies, but added that the Turkish judiciary was
independent, and everyone has to respect the decisions of
the judiciary.
Turkoman Front Elections: "Radikal" reports that Faruk
Abdullah Abdurrahman was elected as head of the Turkoman
front at the end of a three-day meeting in Kirkuk. In a
speech at the meeting US forces commander in Kirkuk Colonel
William Mayville ensured the Turkomen that they would enjoy
equal rights with other ethnic groups in Iraq. "Zaman"
reports that Mayville abandoned his usual hard-line
approach and encouraged the Turkomean to join the national
debate about the future of Iraq.
FM Gul on PKK/KADEK: "Aksam" reports that FM Gul said that
Turkey and the US had made considerable progress in talks on
the fight against PKK/KADEK. Gul stated that the US would
make no distinction between terrorists threatening US
security and terrorists threatening Turkish security.
"Zaman" highlights Gul's statement that Iraqi people were
positive about the deployment of Turkish troops.
Washington Institute Report: "Zaman" draws attention to a
report prepared by the Washington Institute which highlights
the need for Turkey-US cooperation in the fight against PKK.
The report warns that a possible PKK attack against Turkey
from US controlled northern Iraq would lead to a
confrontation between Washington and Ankara.
EDITORIAL OPINION
"A turning point in the Turkomen cause"
Cengiz Candar opined in mass appeal Sabah (9/16): "Ankara's
Turkomen policy after 1993 was based on using the Turkomen
as a trump card against the Kurds in Iraq. The Iraqi
Turkoman Front (ITF) was formed as an umbrella organization
that had close ties with Turkey's intelligence
organizations, and particularly with our Special Forces. .
The Turkomen thus bore the brunt of deteriorating U.S.,
Turkey relations. Turkomen are underrepresented in the
newly formed Iraqi governing bodies, and since Washington
regarded the ITF as an affiliate of the military in Ankara,
the Turkomen community is excluded from Iraq's rebuilding
process. The ITF Congress held in Kirkuk has been a turning
point in the Turkomen cause. . The two leaders of the ITF,
Faruk Abdurrahman and Professor Sadetin Ergec have been
elected as Turkomen representatives for Baghdad and Kirkuk
respectively, and this time, not by instructions from
Ankara. The new ITF administration will not be Ankara's
pawn anymore. And also, the Shiite Turkomen, who have been
excluded by Ankara thus far, are being lured into the ITF by
the recent congress. After this turning point in Kirkuk,
the U.S. has got to change its view of the Turkomen."
"Israel, murder, America"
Ahmet Tasgetiren commented in Islamist intellectual Yeni
Safak (9/16): "Israel has turned its guns toward Sheikh
Ahmad Yasin and Arafat. This policy displays a will to
butcher the Palestinian people. A `road map' will become
meaningless on such a path of blood. . U.S. is merely
watching. Even Shimon Peres has displayed a clearer
reaction than Washington, and as have the Jewish
intellectuals in Israel sensitive to human rights. . It's
not difficult for Israel to kill Sheikh Yasin and Arafat.
But such murders will never bring peace to Palestine. .
U.S. cannot claim to be a world power by standing behind
Israel's murders. The world has a negative view of America
because of the images of Washington's bosses clearly visible
on Sharon's face."
EDELMAN