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 003405

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, JUNE 15, 2004

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

HEADLINES
BRIEFING
EDITORIAL OPINION

HEADLINES

MASS APPEAL
OIC gives green light for `Turkish Cypriot State' - Sabah
OIC suffers secretary-general crisis - Aksam
Iraqi FM promises to prevent PKK activities in new Iraq -
Sabah
Gen. Ozkok: Struggle against terror, fundamentalism to
continue - Hurriyet
President Sezer calls for democratization in Islamic world -
Milliyet
Former US diplomats, generals warn Bush on Iraq - Milliyet
Michael Moore: Minors have a right to see what's happening
in Iraq - Aksam

OPINION MAKERS
`Turkish Cypriot State' at OIC - Cumhuriyet
OIC issues tough messages on Israel - Yeni Safak
President Sezer: Reforms essential in Islamic world -
Radikal
PM Erdogan: Muslim world needs a successful OIC - Yeni Safak
Iraqi FM: Turkey a good model for the region - Zaman
PKK rejects calls for cease-fire - Cumhuriyet
Europe vote a warning to ruling parties - Radikal
European Parliament elections a defeat for governing parties
- Yeni Safak
US to withdraw troops from Germany - Yeni Safak
Iraqi FM: Saddam to be given to new Iraqi authorities -
Cumhuriyet
Two Turks abducted in Fallujah - Radikal

BRIEFING

OIC Istanbul Summit: President Sezer made an historic call
on the Organization for the Islamic Conference (OIC) to take
stock of what has gone wrong in the Islamic world.
Delivering the opening speech of the OIC Istanbul Summit on
Monday, Sezer stressed that the process of democratization
of the Middle East is irreversible. The OIC draft final
communique says that Turkish Cypriot representatives would
henceforth attend OIC meetings under the name `Turkish
Cypriot State' -- the attribution used in the UN-backed plan
for the reunification of Cyprus. The draft communique urges
OIC member states to establish direct transportation, trade,
and tourism relationships with the northern Cyprus enclave.
Ankara is lobbying to gain support for the bid of the
Turkish candidate, Mr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, for the post of
OIC Secretary General. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar and the
United Arab Emirates are not represented at the OIC at the
foreign ministerial level due to their opposition to a
Turkish candidate for the OIC post, Turkish papers
speculate. Egypt's foreign minister is expected to attend
the closing sessions on the last day of the summit.

PKK rejects call for cease-fire: PKK/Kongra-Gel has turned
down calls for a cease-fire by former DEP lawmaker Leyla
Zana and the pro-Kurdish party DEHAP. Kongra-Gel official
Murat Karayilan said the calling off of the cease-fire
should not be perceived as a declaration of war. `We
attribute importance to the peace calls made by Zana and
DEHAP,' said Karayilan, adding that Kongra-Gel was only
using its right to self-defense. Karayilan noted that he
expected the AK Party government to take some concrete steps
such as ending the isolation of Abdullah Ocalan and
declaring a cease-fire. "Cumhuriyet" speculates that by
ending the cease-fire, the PKK aims to push Kurds in
Turkey's southeast to migrate to northern Iraq after June
30, the date for the transfer of authority to the new Iraqi
government. Chief of the General Staff Hilmi Ozkok said on
Monday that the military would continue to battle the PKK.
Meanwhile, Abdullah Ocalan's lawyer presented to the
parliament 177 petitions asking for the release of the
former PKK leader. The petition urged the Turkish state to
protect the social, cultural and political rights of the
Kurdish people.

Mosque-hospital disparity in Turkey: There is one hospital
for every 60,000 people, compared to one mosque for every
353 people in Turkey, according to separate research
conducted by the Ministry of Health and theology faculties,
"Sabah" reports. Turkey has 76,000 mosques, but only 1,156
hospitals. While 20,848 doctors are employed, 76,445 imams
are at work. Official plans envisage the construction of
1,140 mosques and just 50 hospitals and health care centers
over the next two years, "Sabah" claims.

EDITORIAL OPINION:

Iraq/UNSC Resolution
b) BMENAI

"The UN Resolution"
Haluk Ulman wrote in economics-politics Dunya (6/15): "The
most important element in the new resolution comes from the
fact that the new political structure of Iraq will not be in
the hands of the US and the UK after the transfer of
sovereignty to Iraqis. This marks an important concession
by Washington and shows that the Bush administration has
finally agreed to accept UN authority in Iraq. . The new UN
resolution provides hope for the salvation of Iraq, but only
in a theoretical way. History shows many examples of plans
that look good on paper but prove very difficult in the
implementation. Unfortunately, Iraq seems to be another
such example. The UN resolution has three stages of
implementation, and each step includes potential traps that
could result in endless resistance and power struggles
between ethnic and religious groups. The struggle between
the Shiites and the Kurds is only one of many potential
pitfalls."

"GME, Israel and Turkey"
Yilmaz Oztuna editorialized in the conservative Turkiye
(6/15): "It is an unrealistic expectation to see the
transition to democracy in Muslim countries include the
Turkic republics in the short run. In fact, this will
probably never happen at all. Turkey stands as the only
exception. First of all, democracy is not the only possible
regime. Second, advocates of democracy in the Middle East
either know little about genuine democratic regimes or tend
to design a democracy tailored for the Middle East through a
couple of cosmetic reforms. Most probably, the strong push
by western states is not about bringing democracy to the
Middle East as much as it is about oil reserves. . Creating
a peaceful atmosphere with Israel is another unrealistic
goal. It is not possible to achieve this in the foreseeable
future because Israel will not agree on peace unless threats
from Iran, Iraq and Syria are eliminated. . At this point,
Turkey should be able to discuss in detail the Greater
Middle East initiative with the United States, Turkey's
strategic ally. Turkey should be able to be part of this
process. If Turkey refuses to take part, this will not
change anything but will harm the possibility of finding
solutions to these problems."

EDELMAN

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