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 003136

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,
MONDAY, JUNE 7, 2004

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

HEADLINES
BRIEFING
EDITORIAL OPINION

HEADLINES

MASS APPEAL
Reagan, the man who changed the world - Milliyet
The world won't forget Reagan - Turkiye
Bush lands in Normandy - Sabah
D-Day commemoration unites Europe - Milliyet
Bush, Chirac agree on peace for Iraq - Sabah 6/6
Karamanlis: Turkish culture will enrich EU - Milliyet
Joschka Fischer: Turkey the locomotive of modern Islam -
Hurriyet 6/6
Barghouti receives five life sentences - Sabah
Israeli cabinet approves disengagement plan - Aksam
Iraqi resisters hunt for collaborators - Turkiye

OPINION MAKERS
Reagan, the exemplary leader of the American right, dies -
Cumhuriyet
The actor who ended the Cold War exits the stage - Zaman
US mourns for the `Cowboy' - Radikal
Chirac thanks US, gives message of cooperation - Zaman 6/6
Bush challenges terrorism in Rome - Aksam 6/6
Thousands protest Bush in France - Cumhuriyet
Bush coming to Ankara with package of demands - Cumhuriyet
6/6
US blocks opening of new Turkish border gate with Iraq -
Cumhuriyet
Verheugen: A Turkish troop withdrawal from Cyprus will
please all - Radikal 6/6
G-8 Georgia Summit to reshape Middle East - Cumhuriyet
After Tenet, dark clouds over CIA - Radikal 6/6
Israeli minister sacked by Sharon goes missing - Referans
6/6
Richard Gere exhibits photos in Ramallah - Yeni Safak

BRIEFING

Washington blocks new Turkish border gate with Iraq: The US
has not responded to Turkey's long-standing request to open
a new border crossing into Iraq, Monday's "Cumhuriyet"
writes. The Turkish General Staff (TGS) and Turkish
government have long been working on the project in an
effort to end diesel smuggling and to deprive the KDP of
transit fees that amount to $350 million annually. The new
crossing would be a 50 km route from Turkey's Ovakoy to
Mosul. The US has not responded to the application made by
Turkey two months ago due to the close relationship the US
has with Kurdish peshmerge, "Cumhuriyet" claims.

Turkish, US `standoff' in northern Iraq: The TGS on
Saturday denied press reports claiming that US troops had
been detained by Turkish soldiers on the Turkish side of the
border with Iraq. The report, which appeared on Saturday in
the newly-established "Referans" newspaper, claimed that the
US troops had been hooded during their detention in revenge
for the incident involving Turkish special forces in
Suleymaniye on July 4, 2003. The TGS statement said that on
May 19, a team of US troops and Iraqi border guards
approached a Turkish military team stationed near the border
but inside Iraqi territory. The Americans talked with the
Turks for a while, then left the area. Press reports
claiming that American troops had been detained by the Turks
are false, TGS announced.

Turkey, Egypt at odds over OIC post: Egypt has rejected
Turkey's request to support the bid of the Turkish candidate
for the post of Secretary General of the Organization of
Islamic Conference (OIC) because of a disagreement with
Ankara over the Greater Middle East initiative. Egyptian FM
Ahmad Maher said last week that Egypt recognized only the
Greek Cypriot state as the legitimate representative of
Cyprus. FM Gul went to Cairo on Sunday to resolve the
disagreement. The OIC had been expected to upgrade the
Turkish Cypriot representation within the organization to
the `State of Turkish Cyprus' without granting official
recognition to the northern Cypriot enclave.

GME `institutionalizes': In the most recent draft of the
Greater Middle East (GME) initiative, the US has proposed a
`Forum for the Future,' a consultative structure to include
regional foreign ministers which will work as a permanent
forum for open dialogue. According to the draft, the GME
will be renamed as the `Broader Middle East and North
Africa.' Ankara will join the forum only if it invited as a
`democratic partner,' "Cumhuriyet" claims. G-8 members will
cooperate with GME countries under a proposed `Partnership
for the Future and Progress' in an effort to `redesign' the
region.

US wants to deploy F-16s in Incirlik AB: Weekend papers
cite a New York Times report in claiming that the Pentagon
wants to deploy 72 US F-16s currently in Spangdahlem,
Germany to Incirlik Airbase. Foreign Minister Gul said the
US has not made any such request. According to the NYT,
Secretary Powell and General Myers believe it is unlikely

SIPDIS
the Turks would allow unrestricted US military operations
from Incirlik. President Bush will discuss the issue in
Ankara during his upcoming visit in late June, papers
speculate. In his meeting with PM Erdogan, President Bush
is expected to press for acceptance of the US demands,
Sunday's "Cumhuriyet" claims, and to encourage the Prime
Minister to ensure that the demands are not put to the
Turkish Parliament for a vote.
State broadcasts in minority languages: Turkey's state
broadcaster TRT will begin regular programs in minority
languages on Monday in a reform long demanded by the EU.
The first program of news and sports is to broadcast in
Bosnian, with broadcasts in Arabic, Kurdish, Circassian and
Zaza to follow later in the week. Each broadcast, which
will include both news and cultural reporting, will last 30
minutes.
Turkey cancels Aegean exercise: Turkey will cancel its
regular `Sea Wolf' exercise in the Aegean Sea in a goodwill
gesture to Greece. Greece is expected to respond by
canceling the `Nikiforos' exercise held in cooperation with
the Greek Cypriots, weekend papers report.

EDITORIAL OPINION: Reagan Dies; Iraq/Mideast

"Reagan was a revolutionary"
Erdal Safak wrote in the mass appeal Sabah (6/7): "Ronald
Reagan's electoral victory in 1980 was not an unexpected
success. When he lost to Gerald Ford in the 1976 Republican
primary campaign, Reagan launched an ideological campaign
for the next four years. Thus the 1980 election victory
came as no surprise. It also led to an ideological
revolution in US politics. When Reagan took charge, he
found a symmetrical world with two competing superpowers.
When he left office eight years later, an asymmetrical,
unipolar world had been established. Reagan's team
contributed a great deal to his election victory, but also
helped to end the cold war. Today, we call them `neo-cons.'
But now the neo-cons are in despair as they try to find a
way out of Iraq, a problem created by the asymmetrical
nature of world politics today."

"Bush dreams of being Reagan"
Ali Aslan wrote in the Islamist-intellectual Zaman (6/7):
"When President Bush declared his mission for the
democratization of the Islamic world in November 2003, he
was drawing a significant parallel between his vision and
that of former President Reagan with regard to the Soviet
Union. Similar to Reagan's mission to democratize the
communist world, President Bush is determined to bring
democracy to the Islamic geography regardless of the
potential consequences. There is, however, one major
different between his time and the Reagan era. Western
Europe acted together with the Reagan administration to
fight against communism. At this point, Western Europe has
differences on how to fight against the fanatical terrorism
emanating from the region. The goals are the same, yet the
methods for addressing the problems are different. . The G-
8 summit and the NATO summit will be very important venues
what could help to shape the future of transatlantic
cooperation. It will take a long time to see whether
President Bush will be proven right in his policy choices as
Reagan was in his."

"Turkey, the US and the Middle East"
Coskun Kirca commented in the mass appeal Aksam (6/7):
"There is a belief among the majority of Americans that
democracy is the best regime for every country in the world.
In a democratic system, the opposition allows the government
to rule the country and continues its activities peacefully
with the aim of taking power in the future. The Iraqi
people do not have such an understanding. Moreover, this
American belief has another unrealistic corollary - the idea
that every democracy is in favor of peace. There are many
examples in history that show that democratic regimes have
not brought peace to their countries. We see such examples
even in 21st-century Europe, particularly in the Balkans.
That being the case, how can Iraq establish a democratic
regime with its primitive cultural level? It is not
possible for Iraq to become a democracy in the near future.
If the US withdraws from Iraq without leaving a military
force there to establish and maintain security, a real chaos
could erupt that would lead the country into a new Somalia.
The US should stop focusing its efforts on democracy and
find an international solution to the Iraq issue by seeking
the support of other countries in the region."

EDELMAN

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