ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 001508 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, MARCH 10, 2003 THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE THEMES: HEADLINES BRIEFING EDITORIAL OPINION -------------- HEADLINES MASS APPEAL Erdogan in full power - Milliyet Erdogan to U.S. envoy: Turkomen problem must be solved - Sabah Grossman: Turkey can't enter northern Iraq alone - Aksam 3/8 Grossman surprises Ankara: Can't go to Iraq without decree - Turkiye 3/8 Jimmy carter: Unjust war - Hurriyet Blix: No evidence - Vatan 3/8 Irak extradites Kenneth O'Keefe - Hurriyet 3/9 Turkey will reject Annan plan at The Hague - Milliyet 3/9 OPINION MAKERS Bush disregards world, will strike Iraq without UN - Cumhuriyet 3/8 Bush: Don't need permission for our security - Radikal 3/8 U.S. stance encourages Kurdish groups - Cumhuriyet 3/9 Turkomen: Northern Iraq might become Bosnia - Yeni Safak Denktas: The Hague not the last station - Cumhuriyet Erdogan: Annan deceived us - Radikal Turkish military buildup, 500 vehicles on Iraqi border - Zaman 3/8 FINANCIAL JOURNALS IMF, Turkey bargaining to continue in Washington - Dunya EU to send 32 million Euro for unemployed - Finansal Forum BRIEFING Erdogan's path cleared: AKP won all three seats in the Siirt election, clearing the path for Tayyip Erdogan to assume the post of Prime Minister. AKP won 84.75 percent of the vote. There was a 62.31 percent turnout, largely due to the election boycott by pro-Kurdish DEHAP. President Sezer will task Erdogan on March 13 or 14 to form a new government, according to press reports. The new distribution of seats in parliament is: AKP 365, CHP 177, DYP 2, and 6 independents. Iraq: Monday's dailies say U.S. Ambassador to Ankara, Robert Pearson, reminded Erdogan about the U.S. ultimatum to Iraq to fully disarm by March 17, and urged him to submit a new decree for deployment of foreign troops in Turkey to the parliament by that date. Erdogan in turn brought to the agenda Ankara's concern about the status of the Turkomen, and asked for solid guarantees against a prospective Kurdish state in Iraq. Speaking to a TV channel on Sunday, Erdogan called on the U.S. to take some steps forward which would enable Ankara to `soften the atmosphere,' and thus convince renegade deputies. Sunday's papers claim that visiting U.S. Congressmen pressed Ankara to pass the motion on Monday. Monday's "Cumhuriyet" reports on the February 8 `secret agreement' on base modernization between the U.S. and Turkey. According to the report, the agreement allows for the transfer of U.S. military personnel to the Southeast, including the establishment of a logistical base in Mardin, where 600 American technicians and 200 military personnel will settle. Sunday's papers highlight parliamentary speaker Arinc's complaint about the ongoing transfer of U.S. equipment from the port of Iskenderun to the Southeast. CHP is about to submit a bill to the parliament requesting a parliamentary inquiry regarding the U.S. military mobilization in the region. Saturday's papers report PUK leader Talabani's representative Barham Salih's meetings with the MFA on Friday, after which Salih said he received guarantees from the Turks that northern Iraq will not be occupied. U/S of State Grossman warned Ankara again on CNN- Turk on Friday to refrain from intervention in northern Iraq. Reports highlight Grossman's remarks that the U.S. is capable of opening a northern front without Turkey's assistance. Saturday's "Hurriyet" reports on its front page that Mersin port's operations director Bekir Kucuksahin was sacked for clearing the port facilities to enable the unloading of U.S. military equipment from the Panama-flagged Cec Meridian vessel. Hurriyet says Kucuksahin was sacked by the harbor management for `weakening their hand' in the bargaining with Americans about the rental fee. The Cec Meridian, waiting at the Mersin harbor since March 5, was not allowed to unload. Cyprus: AKP leader Erdogan criticized UN Secretary General Annan on Sunday for `deceiving' Ankara after having promised changes in the third plan regarding the sovereignty and migration issues. The changes were allegedly not made. `We cannot accept the plan in its current shape. However, Turks will go to The Hague. We will not burn bridges,' Erdogan said. Denktas flew to The Hague on Sunday to reject the Annan plan. Meanwhile, 15,000 Turkish Cypriots rallied against Denktas on Sunday. Turkish Cypriot opposition parties have decided to boycott the parliament until March 30, and said they would carry out the referendum on the scheduled date even if the parliament decides against the Annan proposal. EDITORIAL OPINION: a) Iraq/US-Turkey b) Cyprus "This is the last week" Yasemin Congar wrote in mass appeal Milliyet (3/10): "It seems very unlikely that the war can be stopped at this stage. The Bush administration is not going to change its policy, even though the French-led split at the UNSC signals a potential risk of polarization within the Western world. It also seems very unlikely that Saddam Hussein will take a significant step which might change the course of events. Talking to US officials in Washington, I have come to the conclusion that nothing can possibly prevent the war. . The US will use the next couple of days in efforts to convince the six `undecided' members of the UNSC. There are some members who clearly stand against a new resolution. Yet the fact of the matter is that Washington's focus is not on the opposition at the UNSC anymore, but is more concerned about the war and post-war possibilities. President Bush is well aware of the fact that this war is to play a determinative role in his political future. . The administration in general is very optimistic about a short and effective war in Iraq which, as they predict, will lead to a quick restructuring of Iraq. In the end, they believe, the Iraqis will treat the US as a savior. The optimism goes even further. Washington believes that a newly restructured Iraq will stand as a model to other Arab countries, and that an Iraq operation will be the way to establish peace and stability in the Middle East. In the event that this very optimistic scenario comes true, we might see George Bush as the new Harry Truman." "The strategic mistrust between Turkey and the US on the Kurdish issue" Ali Aslan writes from Washington in the Islamic-intellectual Zaman (3/10): "It is interesting to observe the strong opposition to a Turkish incursion in northern Iraq among both the `hawks' and `doves' in Washington. The American press, right after the parliamentary vote, joined the chorus with a series of articles signaling a potential clash between Turkey and Kurdish groups. . The strangest part of the story comes with the fact that in the event of parliamentary approval, the Turkish military would have been in northern Iraq anyway. How would those Kurdish groups with strong anti-Turkish sentiment have reacted then? Most of these Kurdish leaders take every step by consulting with Washington first. How could they speak so much against Turkey? Why is Washington unable to stop them? . Since the US has assumed the role of Iraq's restructuring, and since the US is close enough to both the Turks and the Kurds, all of the potential risks can be eliminated if Washington handles the events with common sense. That means being objective and impartial. There is a potential risk of deepening Turkish-American strategic mistrust in the event that Washington loses its objectivity." "Search for a settlement on Cyprus" Erdal Guven opined in the intellectual-liberal Radikal (3/10): "The Turkish Cypriot side suffers from a lack of political will for a solution, and the Greek Cypriot side demonstrates significant uncertainty about its policy. In the meantime, the clock is ticking toward the deadline. By remembering the previously-imposed yet unimplemented deadlines, we can expect that there might be another date -- March 25, for example -- to reach a settlement. . However, there is not much hope, at least from the meeting today in the Hague. . The outcome of the Hague process, as a matter of fact, will not only affect Cyprus but also will affect a large number of things, predominantly Turkish-Greek relations, stability in the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkish- American relations, and Turkish-EU relations. It is a fact that a mistake during the Hague process will not be easily corrected." PEARSON