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 02 ANKARA 004320

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, AUGUST 3, 2004

THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE
THEMES:

HEADLINES
BRIEFING
EDITORIAL OPINION
--------------------------------------------- -----

HEADLINES

MASS APPEAL
Turkish captive victim of Iraqi brutality - Aksam
Lowly killing of Turkish truck driver - Milliyet
Hooded cowards kill Turkish hostage - Hurriyet
Low-mindedness has no religion - Hurriyet
FM Gul: Relations with Iraq will continue - Aksam
Zarkawi behind attacks on Iraqi churches - Milliyet
Turkish connection disclosed in Al-Qaeda communications -
Hurriyet
Bush to build new intelligence team - Aksam

OPINION MAKERS
Turkish hostage killed in Iraq - Cumhuriyet
Turks on target in Iraq - Radikal
US denounces killing of Turkish hostage - Zaman
Attacks on Iraqi churches a threat for non-Muslims -
Cumhuriyet
`Orange' alert hikes oil prices - Cumhuriyet
`Terror panic' in US - Yeni Safak
US financial sector on alert - Radikal
Bush to assign `Intelligence Czar' - Zaman
Five Moroccans transferred from Guantanamo - Yeni Safak
Sharon expands settlements in West Bank before disengagement
- Zaman
Sudan regards UNSC resolution as a `declaration of war' -
Cumhuriyet

BRIEFING

Zarkawi group kills Turkish captive in Iraq: Turkish papers
give extensive front-page coverage to the killing of a
Turkish hostage in Iraq. In a videotape posted on Islamist
websites Monday, Turkish national Murat Yuce was shown being
shot three times in the head by his hooded kidnappers.
Yuce, a cleaner working for a Turkish catering company
transporting goods to US soldiers in Mosul, was kidnapped by
the "Tawhid wa al-Jihad" group affiliated with terrorist
leader al-Zarqawi. Following news of the killing, a major
Turkish truckers' organization (UND) announced that it would
stop transporting goods to US forces in Iraq. UND leaders
said their decision, which applied only to its own members,
would affect about five percent of overall trade between
Turkey and Iraq. However, Ro-Ro Ships Operators' and the
Combined Transporters' Association (RODER) said they would
not abide by the UND decision: `We have to be cautious
because there are nearly fifty thousand lorries and
drivers,' a statement by RODER said. `We will discuss the
issue with the Transportation Ministry.' The Turkish
Exporters' Assembly (TIM) said that the UND decision was
`premature.' FM Gul said that efforts were underway to
secure the release of other Turkish hostages in Iraq.
Declining to give the number of Turkish hostages being held,
Gul said that `many countries have faced problems in Iraq.'
`Thus far,' he added, `we have not suffered damage, but we
unfortunately lost one of our citizens today.' US State
Department spokesman Adam Ereli condemned the killing of the
Turkish captive as `a heinous and barbarous act.' `It shows
the true nature of the terrorists holding this hostage, and
it shows what they're about: they're not about progress,
they're not about working for the Iraqi people,' Ereli
stressed. `We will not let them succeed. We are resolute
in standing firm in the face of their terrorist threats,' he
added. A commentary in "Cumhuriyet" claims that the Iraqi
resistance, coordinated by al-Zarkawi, has recently
concentrated its attacks against `collaborators' rather than
US forces in an effort to `discredit' the new Iraqi
government.
Meeting of secret services: Intelligence services of
Turkish-speaking countries met in Astana, Kazakhstan to
discuss cooperation in the struggle against terrorist
organizations, "Cumhuriyet" reports. Russian and Ukrainian
intelligence officials attended the meeting as observers.
Participating countries included Turkey, Azerbaijan,
Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. The countries agreed on sharing
anti-terror intelligence and launching joint operations,
writes "Cumhuriyet."

EDITORIAL OPINION: Turk killed in Iraq/Terrorism
"First Turkish Victim in Iraq"
Sami Kohen wrote in the mass appeal Milliyet (8/3): "The
latest of the horrifying kidnap and murder scenes in Iraq by
Iraqi militants is about a Turkish citizen. He was executed
by some Al Zarkavi members linked to Al Qaida. His so-
called crime was to work for a Turkish company which does
business for the Americans in Iraq. ... The actions by Al
Zarkavi militants constitute only one part of the huge chaos
in Iraq where every kind of violence is practiced. Suicide
bombers, assassinations and other type of attacks have
become ordinary incidents in Iraq. The new Iraqi government
sponsored by the US occupation forces has shown weakness to
cope with security problems. Therefore the Al Zarkavi group
easily succeeds in planning and implementing its strategy.
... The militants are well aware of infuriating the
international community, yet their goal is to gain sympathy
from their own people. This process is seriously harming
the rebuilding of Iraq as well as efforts for establishment
of internal peace and stability. ... The Iraqi people are
forced into the hands of extremists. In a situation like
this, normal life and stability in Iraq will not happen for
a very long time."

"From Iraq to Sudan"
Ibrahim Karagul argued in the Islamist-opinion maker Yeni
Safak (8/3): "The recent terrorism alerts have created an
atmosphere where the occurrence of a terrorist attack has
become more than a possibility. It looks as if some circles
in Washington are waiting for this to happen. It looks as
if they are doing their best to make sure that `something is
going to happen' in the end. In any case we might expect
more `terror alerts' in the days to come. And who knows,
one of them might be even genuine. This is like investing
in terrorism, and it is not going to end after the
presidential elections. Regardless of the winner of the
November elections, the US administration will never abandon
`terror' as part of its foreign policy strategy. Terrorism
paranoia will be used as a pretext to launch further
interventions in Syria, Iran, Sudan and other strategic
locations."

DEUTSCH

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