ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001946 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, MARCH 25, 2003 THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE THEMES: HEADLINES BRIEFING EDITORIAL OPINION -------------- HEADLINES MASS APPEAL Gen. Ozkok tours leaders for national consensus - Hurriyet Gen. Ozkok: No hurry for Northern Iraq - Sabah U.S. troops toward Baghdad swamp - Milliyet U.S. puzzled by unexpected resistance - Turkiye Medical crisis in Baghdad - Turkiye Americans debate U.S. war strategy - Hurriyet Black Oscars - Aksam OPINION MAKERS Northern Front opened by Kurds - Radikal Iraqi towns closed to U.S. troops - Radikal Saddam urges Iraqis to resist - Yeni Safak Guerrilla warfare slows down U.S. troops - Zaman U.S., UK suffer heavy casualties - Cumhuriyet Oscar ceremony: Shame on you, Bush! - Cumhuriyet FINANCIAL JOURNALS TOBB to government: Turkey must sit at Iraq negotiating table - Dunya Government to pursue tight fiscal policy - Finansal Forum Nightmare returns: US$ to TL1.8 million, interest rates 75 percent - Finansal Forum BRIEFING Iraq: Dailies draw attention to TGS Chief General Ozkok's remarks that the Turkish military sees no urgent need to enter Northern Iraq, but might do so at an appropriate time. Gen. Ozkok and army commanders called on Prime Minister Erdogan and opposition leader Baykal on Monday. The meetings came after Erdogan and Baykal issued statements urging intervention in the region. Ozkok reportedly said that deploying Turkish troops despite warnings by the U.S. would be perceived as declaration of war on the U.S.-led coalition. According to papers, the military believes that the U.S. might seek cooperation with Turkey to avoid problems encountered on the Southern Front, that a Turkish air corridor might be used to transfer troops to Northern Iraq, that the U.S. might need Turkish military support to place heavy weapons in Northern Iraq, and that the U.S. may seek the use of Turkish airbases. Military commanders see an incursion into Iraq as unnecessary for the time being, but they say that deployment of a peacekeeping force might be considered. General Ozkok is expected to hold a press conference in the border town of Silopi on Tuesday (Note: the press conference was subsequently canceled and rescheduled for tomorrow in Diyarbakir. End note.) "Radikal" reports an anonymous high-level government official as saying that a new motion for cooperation with the U.S. might be in the offing. The U.S. conveyed to Turkey on Sunday a request for access to Turkish bases -- namely Incirlik, Diyarbakir, Batman, and Malatya -- and the government and TGS are examining the technical aspects of the issue. Papers report that U.S. envoy for Iraq Khalilzad and General Colby Broadwater held meetings with MFA officials to discuss the conditions for Turkish military action in Northern Iraq. Khalilzad said that the U.S. would not object to `cooperating' with Turkish military action in the region. He warned Turkey not to set up closed security zones that would give the impression of military occupation, and insisted that any troops be withdrawn as soon as the refugee and security threats are over. Kurdish groups are against such a deal between the U.S. and Turkey, and the search for an acceptable agreement continues. Greek Foreign Minister Papandreou said Iraq's neighbors should not get involved in the war, while a Greek government spokesman voiced Athens' concern about Turkish efforts to `occupy Northern Iraq.' In a front page story, "Radikal" says that U.S. forces are landing in Northern Iraq to fight together with KDP peshmerge stationed near Mosul, and PUK fighters near Kirkuk. JP Morgan on Turkey: "Hurriyet" carries a JP Morgan investment report claiming that Turkey has sufficient resources to handle its debt repayment in the next six months without U.S. financial assistance. The report estimates one percent growth for Turkey in 2003, and three percent in 2004, and stresses that the AKP government still has a chance to secure macroeconomic and structural discipline. JP Morgan also warned that a possible 25 decrease in tourism revenues and border trade due to the Iraqi war might adversely affect the 2003 growth target. EDITORIAL OPINION: War in Iraq "Law is patience" Oktay Eksi wrote in mass appeal Hurriyet (3/25): "President Bush calls on the Iraqi regime to comply with the Geneva Conventions on treatment of POWs. He is very right by referring to the Geneva Conventions on this issue. Yet something is just not right. President Bush remains at the top of the list of `leaders who blatantly violate international law.' However, he now calls on others to comply with international law and regulations. . One wonders if the Geneva Conventions are binding for Iraq and not for the US." "Shock and horror" Erhan Basyurt wrote in the Islamic-intellectual Zaman (3/25): "The US operation in Iraq has been named `shock and horror.' However, the course of the action shows that the `shock' part went to the coalition forces due to an unexpectedly stiff resistance. . There are two major reasons why the Iraqis resist despite the US intention of freeing the Iraqi people and bring democracy. The US conducted a well-prepared psychological war campaign in the media prior to the operation, but none of the messages got through to the people of Iraq. A people living without satellite dishes or internet access does not know anything about the real world. The Iraqis still believe that they are fighting against British colonial forces, which they fought for independence, or against the new superpower, which is after oil. It seems that Saddam's regime has successfully managed to inject this psychology into the minds of the Iraqi people." "Northern Iraq" Sami Kohen noted in mass appeal Milliyet (3/25): "The northern Iraq issue has become a problem not only for Turkey, but also on the international agenda. . In an effort to clarify misunderstandings, Turkey should be persuasive and clear about its long-term policies in northern Iraq. Turkey's insistence on deploying troops in northern Iraq is interpreted as part of an effort to control the Kurds. . There is speculation about Turkey's strategy for the Kurds in the region, with some saying that Turkey would not object to a federal structure where Iraqi Kurds can enjoy a certain degree of autonomy. We just don't know whether this is true or not, however, because the northern Iraq issue has not been clarified by Ankara policy-makers." PEARSON