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.

151417Z Jun 05

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 003410

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, JUNE 15, 2005

THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE
THEMES:

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

MASS APPEAL
Edelman Puts Final Signature in Turkey on PSI - Sabah
AKP's Torun: Saddam, Bush Are Both Tyrants - Posta
Verheugen: Turkey Indispensible for EU - Hurriyet
European Press Pessimistic About Turkey's EU Membership -
Vatan
Greek Cypriots Want to Open Embassy in Turkey - Sabah
Barzani Takes Oath for `Kurdistan Presidency' - Milliyet
Pentagon Confirms Iraqi Government Dialogue With Insurgents
- Aksam
US Senate Apologizes for Racial Segregation - Sabah

OPINION MAKERS
Turkey-US to Cooperate Against WMD Proliferation - Zaman
AKP's Torun: Bush a Tyrant - Cumhuriyet
Erdogan to Advise Arabs on `Democratic Reform' - Zaman
EU at Breaking Point - Yeni Safak
Germany's Fischer: Exclusion of Turkey Will Cost EU - Yeni
Safak
Bush Congratulates Kurds on Regional Government - Radikal
Bombs Strike Bank Queue in Kirkuk: 22 Killed - Zaman
Bloody Attacks in Northern Iraq: 29 Killed - Yeni Safak
Robert Fisk: US No Better Than Saddam - Yeni Safak
US, Russia Block Investigation of Andijan Incidents -
Cumhuriyet
Russia Withdraws From Afghan Border - Zaman

BRIEFING

Erdogan Addresses AKP Group on US Visit: On Tuesday, Prime
Minister Tayyip Erdogan told the ruling AK Party group that
his government has not been pursuing a policy that would
make Turkey `bow' before other countries. `My five-day
working visit to the United States last week was very
productive and significant, not only in terms of the
historical ties between the two allies, but also in terms of
discussing regional problems and stressing our joint
perspectives. Our alliance with the US is not only a
military one, but one of economic and strategic
significance,' Erdogan said. He added that during meetings
with US Congress leaders Bill Frist and Harry Reid, Senator
Frist defined Turkey as a `loyal and reliable ally.'
`Senator Frist called on the US Administration to carry out
a more active fight against the terrorist PKK,' Erdogan
noted. Erdogan said that both President Bush and UN
Secretary General Annan thanked Turkey and the Turkish

SIPDIS
Cypriots for showing a will to achieve a settlement in
Cyprus at last year's referendum on the Annan Plan. Erdogan
thanked the US Congressmen who had visited north Cyprus
before his trip to the US, and added that while he was in
the US, he urged the American side to initiate direct
flights between Turkish Cyprus and Washington. Erdogan also
added that in talks with US officials, he had the
opportunity to explain Turkey's plans, highlight its
progress in democratization, its economic possibilities, and
its EU aspirations.

Erdogan on US, Iraq, Syria, Armenia: Prime Minister Tayyip
Erdogan told the all-news channel NTV on Tuesday that Turkey
will continue cooperating with the United States within a
framework of partnership. Syria will not cause a problem in
Turkey-US relations, according to Erdogan: `A new term has
started in relations with Syria now that Bashar al-Assad is
in power. We are exchanging views on democracy, the fight
against global terrorism, human rights, the rule of law, and
the expansion of freedom. We are also exchanging
intelligence. It will take some time to have better
relations with Syria,' Erdogan said. `The Sezer-Assad
meetings have been helpful,' Erdogan said, pointing out that
the Syrians pulled out of Lebanon following the Turkish
President's visit to Damascus in April. Erdogan noted that
the Turkish government is supporting coalition forces in
Iraq, adding that some 5,000 trucks go into and out of Iraq
every day carrying food, medicine, water, and oil. Erdogan
added that Incirlik Airbase continued to provide logistical
support. He stressed that Turkey expected action and
cooperation from its allies in the fight against the PKK.
Erdogan also pointed out that to date, Turkey has hosted
eight international summits on Iraq. Erdogan called on
Yerevan to examine documents in the Turkish archives on the
alleged massacre of Armenians by Ottomans during World War
I. `All the documents we have disprove the theses put forth
by the Armenian diaspora,' he claimed, adding that Turkey
had given permission for charter flights between Istanbul
and Yerevan. Erdogan also said that renovation work has
started on the Armenian church on Akdamar Island in Lake
Van. The Turkish Prime Minister noted that on July 3, he
will attend the opening of construction on a natural gas
pipeline that will extend from Karacabey in Turkey's Thrace
region to Greece.

AKP Lawmaker Compares Bush, Saddam: Cavit Torun, a lawmaker
from the ruling AK Party, said in a meeting on Tuesday with
representatives of the German Protestant Church that Turkey
has in the past extended support to the victims of Saddam
Hussein's tyranny. `Today,' he continued, `those Iraqis who
were fleeing the tyranny of Saddam are fleeing the tyranny
of the United States. Tyranny never changes, no matter if
its name is Saddam Hussein or George Bush,' Torun said.
Papers comment that Torun's statement has put PM Erdogan in
a difficult position, and predicted that Torun's words will
`infuriate' Washington.

US, Turkey Sign Agreement on Non-Proliferation Cooperation:
Several dailies report that Ambassador Edelman and Foreign
Ministry Undersecretary Ali Tuygan signed an agreement
yesterday to cooperate in efforts to prevent the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and related
technologies. "Sabah" described the agreement as
`accelerating the pace' of US-Turkish cooperation following
PM Erdogan's recent meeting with President Bush in
Washington.

Erdogan Visits Lebanon: Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan
traveled to Lebanon on Wednesday to open the 11th Arab
Economic Forum in Beirut. Papers expect Erdogan to urge the
Arab world to undertake democratic reforms and integrate
with the international community. Erdogan will tell the
Arabs that Turkey has removed domestic obstacles to the flow
of foreign capital, and will discuss possibilities for joint
investments in third countries. "Cumhuriyet" speculates
that Washington believes the Erdogan government's policy of
rapprochement with Damascus - and his state visit to the pro-
Syrian regime in Lebanon - are inconsistent with
international efforts to isolate Syria.

Erdogan, Gul React to Headscarf Ban at University: Prime
Minister Erdogan said he is ready to hold a referendum on
whether to allow women in Islamic-style headscarves to enter
public places. Erdogan was reacting to news that mothers of
students were barred from attending graduation ceremonies at
Ataturk University in Turkey's eastern province of Erzurum
because they wear headscarves. Foreign Minister Gul said
his government would do something to remove such a
`shameful' practice in Turkey.

Erdogan Meets Soros: Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan met
Tuesday with a delegation from the International Crisis
Group (ICG) led by US financier George Soros. The
delegation handed the Prime Minister a draft ICG report on
Cyprus. Erdogan said they discussed Iraq, Syria, and the
Middle East with the group, and praised the ICG for
supporting the Turkish position on the Cyprus issue. Soros
and his delegation praised Turkey's `constructive' stance in
regional crises, and voiced interest in further cooperation,
"Zaman" reports. Former US Ambassador Morton Abramowitz
also attended the meeting.

Turkey Condemns Suicide Attack in Kirkuk: Turkey condemned
the suicide attack in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk that
killed at least 22 people on Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry
(MFA) said in a statement yesterday. MFA strongly condemned
all attacks on civilians in the past few weeks in Iraq, and
said Turkey would continue to provide health care and
assistance to victims of terror.

Turkey-US Cooperation in Iraq: Dailies cite the British
"Jane's Defense Weekly" (JDW) as reporting that the Deputy
Chief of the Turkish General Staff (TGS), General Ilker
Basbug, said at the annual conference on US-Turkey ties in
Washington earlier this month that Turkey is planning to
host 30 Iraqi military officers for training. Major General
Cengiz Arslan, TGS director of strategy and planning, said
Turkey is in discussions with the US about either expanding
the Habur border gate or adding a second crossing nearby.
Turkey prefers the latter solution, Arslan said. `This is
under discussion among Iraq, Turkey, and the US, but our
main interlocutor is the US,' Aslan told JDW.

Talat: Turkey Won't Open Ports to Greek Cypriot Vessels:
Turkish Cypriot `President' Mehmet Ali Talat said on Tuesday
that it was not possible for Turkey to open its ports to
Greek Cypriot vessels while Nicosia's boycott on Turkish
Cypriot ports and airports is still in effect. Talat said
the upcoming signing of an additional protocol to extend
Turkey's Customs Union agreement to new EU members,
including Cyprus, does not mean that Turkey will open its
ports. Talat also said the Turkish Cypriots have launched a
diplomatic initiative against Russia for blocking its
nationals from visiting the northern part of the divided
island.

Draft Minority Foundations Bill `Disappointing': The
European Union is closely monitoring a draft law on
religious foundations currently under discussion in the
parliament, "Radikal" reports. The bill includes provisions
for the return of properties previously seized by the
Turkish state from non-Muslim minority foundations in
Turkey. The draft contains no provisions for easing the
transfer of such properties to third persons, "Radikal"
notes, and reports Foreign Ministry (MFA) officials as
warning that if enacted in its present form, Ankara may have
to pay heavy compensations to minority foundations applying
to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in lawsuits
against Turkey.

EDITORIAL OPINION: EU Summit

"The EU Summit"
Kamuran Ozbir wrote in the nationalist "Ortadogu" (6/15):
"The rejection of the European Constitution by two founding
members of the EU has effectively terminated efforts to
reorganize the fundamental structure of the Union. The
current legal basis for the EU, as defined by the Nice
Treaty in 2001, been turned upside-down. It is now obvious
that the concept of Europe for the French and the Germans is
no different than for the other member nations. In this new
period, Turkey will still be treated as a member-to-be. But
Russia should eventually be given European status as well.
. Turkey, on the other hand, still suffers from a lack of
knowledge about EU-related issues. Unfortunately, this
ignorance is perpetuated by the Turkish media. Some
opinions expressed in the media are based on wrong
information. These incorrect assumptions have led some to
claim that the EU will never ever accept Turkey as a
member."

"Enlargement Becomes Highly Difficult"
Tamer Korkmaz noted in the Islamist oriented-intellectual
"Zaman" (6/15): "The EU summit will convene in an effort to
heal the serious wounds resulting from the referenda in
France and the Netherlands. The summit will be a platform
to discuss the future of the EU constitution, which many
believe is already dead. . Following the referenda, the
enlargement process of the EU has also been put at serious
risk. The initial sign of this has already been seen, as
the EU foreign ministers decided to delete the reference to
enlargement from the final communiqu. That means that, for
the first time, a summit of EU member countries does not
have the enlargement issue on its agenda. The current
approach, expressed in the EU foreign ministers meeting,
shows that from now on enlargement of the Union will be
highly difficult, if not almost impossible."

"A Summit to Determine the European Union's Future"
Sami Kohen opined in the main stream daily "Milliyet"
(6/15): "EU leaders will discuss various problems at their
summit in Brussels tomorrow. Europe's identity crisis will
be at the top of the agenda. No efforts will be exerted at
the summit to revive the constitution. As a result of the
recent referenda, the members will seek a new arrangement in
a direction more in line with the inclinations of the
European public. This is not an easy issue, and cannot be
solved within two days. Considering that the member
countries worked for five years to develop the EU
constitution, this project will need much longer to be
completed and implemented. The work done on the
constitution was mainly a loss of time for the EU, but at
least a sound analysis of the referenda results will point
the EU to a more viable path. The Turkish public is
interested only in the impact of these analyses on Turkey's
EU membership process and the Cyprus issue. Prior to the
summit, the EU Council of Ministers decided to start
negotiations with Turkey as was decided at the December 17
summit. But it is not clear how much interest EU officials
will show in the Cyprus issue while they are dealing with
the vital questions that will determine the Union's future."

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