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 007729
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
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2003
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER
THREE THEMES:
HEADLINES
BRIEFING
EDITORIAL OPINION
HEADLINES
MASS APPEAL
Bush, Blair say Saddam Should be Executed - Hurriyet
Saddam denies leading resistance in Iraq - Milliyet
Bush's popularity rising - Milliyet
Shiites celebrate Saddam's capture, Sunnis saddened -
Milliyet
Saddam's daughters demand a fair trial - Aksam
Saddam might be tried in Spring - Zaman
US violated Geneva Convention on POWs - Aksam
CIA to interrogate Saddam - Sabah
PM Erdogan: Saddam's end should be a lesson for other
dictators - Hurriyet
Ankara to disclose Cyprus plan next week - Hurriyet
PM Erdogan: Cyprus needs new politicians - Sabah
PM Erdogan: Turkish Cypriot voters demand new policies -
Zaman
OPINION MAKERS
Bush's hope for reelection strengthened - Radikal
US troops fire on rally of Saddam supporters - Cumhuriyet
West believes Turkish Cypriots want a solution - Radikal
Denktas, Ankara working on separate Cyprus plans -
Cumhuriyet
Verheugen disappointed by TRNC elections - Cumhuriyet
Swiss parliament recognizes Armenian Genocide - Radikal
BRIEFING
Cyprus: Following the formation of a new government in the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), the Turkish and
TRNC prime ministers are expected to disclose a new plan for
a peaceful solution in Cyprus. The Turkish side wants some
changes to the Annan Plan. Ankara favors four-party talks
including Turkey, Greece, the TRNC and the Greek Cypriots.
Prime Minister Erdogan has interpreted the election results
as an indication of Turkish Cypriots' aspiration to join the
EU while preserving their existing rights on the island.
Turkey might approve territorial concessions, EU membership
for Turkish Cypriots, and implementation of the Annan Plan
in exchange for a bi-zonal structure in which sovereignty of
the Turkish Cypriots and Ankara's status as a guarantor
country are recognized. Meanwhile, Denktas will hold talks
with leaders of the parties in the TRNC parliament beginning
on Wednesday. CTP leader Talat said he might consider
forming a national unity government within the framework of
an EU vision for the TRNC. US Special Cyprus Coordinator
Thomas Weston will be in the TRNC today to meet with
Denktas. Turkish papers report EU enlargement commissioner
Verheugen as saying that chances have declined for the
accession of a unified Cyprus to the EU.
Iraq: Prime Minister Erdogan told his party group on
Tuesday that tyrants around the world should draw lessons
from the plight of Saddam Hussein. Saddam will pay for his
cruelty, Erdogan said. `Such systems are in conflict with
democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. They have to
change themselves in a way to benefit their own people,'
Erdogan stressed. Turkey will support all kinds of
democratic initiatives in Iraq following the capture of
Saddam, Erdogan noted.
UNICEF schooling project: 640,000 girls in Turkey are not
sent to school, and 6 million of the country's 7 million
illiterate population are women, according to a survey by
UNICEF. UNICEF Turkey representative Edmond McLoughney said
that a schooling project for girls, carried out in
coordination with the Ministry of Education, has noticeably
increased the schooling rate among female students in ten
provinces in east and southeast Turkey. 250,000 female
students are denied education in eastern Turkey, the UNICEF
report claims.
EDITORIAL OPINION:
Saddam's Capture and the Future of Iraq
"The End of Saddam -- and a New beginning?"
Sami Kohen observed in the mass appeal Milliyet (12/17):
"The dramatic finale for Saddam marks the end of his 35-year-
long era. This is a victory for the Bush administration,
but it does not necessarily ensure the realization of US
goals for Iraq more generally. First of all, as Bush
mentioned, the violence and social unrest might continue.
Following the capture of Saddam, US forces in Iraq will have
a better sense about the nature of the attacks coming from
within the Sunni triangle. . The legal process will also
have an impact on Iraq's transition. If Saddam is to be
tried in Iraq, it would be best that the UN or another
international organization be given a supervisory status.
Otherwise the trial will be controversial and will provide
an opportunity for pro-Saddam groups in Iraq to make it into
a political show. There are ways to prevent more negative
developments from occurring in the post-Saddam era. The US
as well as the IGC have most of the responsibility at this
point. Iraq is still waiting to return to normal daily
life. The people of Iraq continue to suffer from daily
problems. Security is still lacking. These are the
immediate issues for the coalition forces to deal with. The
Iraqi administrators are supposed to fill in the political-
ideological gap in the post-Saddam period with a new vision
and the establishment of a new Iraqi identity."
"The end for a dictator"
Kamuran Ozbir observed in the nationalist Ortadogu (12/17):
"The capture of Saddam marks the end of a 24-year
dictatorship. Saddam is now expected to be charged with
crimes committed against his own people. This event also
sends a message to other oppressive regimes in the Arab and
Islamic world. Western circles tend to believe that the
capture of Saddam will pave the way for democratization in
the Middle East. It was also important to see
congratulatory messages to the Bush administration from
France and Germany, which both stood against the Iraq war. .
Following the capture of Saddam, the coalition forces should
consider giving a greater role to the Sunni people as well
as former Baath Party members in the formation of a new
Iraq. It is important to note that British Prime Minister
Blair mentioned this in his remarks as well."
EDELMAN