ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002335 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 THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 2003 THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE THEMES: HEADLINES BRIEFING EDITORIAL OPINION -------------- HEADLINES MASS APPEALS U.S. scores a clear victory on 21st day - Hurriyet Saddam under Iraqis' feet - Vatan Saddam throws in towel on 21st day - Milliyet Saddam, statue toppled - Milliyet U.S. tank `executes' Saddam statue - Vatan Looting, lynching and joy in Baghdad - Hurriyet Baath regime's heart Baghdad under U.S. control - Turkiye End of the dictator - Sabah Rumsfeld: Saddam's end like Hitler, Stalin - Sabah Iraq's UN envoy: Game over - Sabah U.S. our `neighbor' - Aksam U.S. troops comfortable as tourists in Baghdad - Aksam Northern Iraq crisis looming - Turkiye U.S. doesn't expect resistance in Tikrit - Hurriyet Baghdad's voice, Al-Sahaf silenced - Hurriyet British Commander: Al-Sahaf's day off - Vatan OPINION MAKERS Baghdad in invaders' hands - Cumhuriyet Baghdad falls in 21 days - Radikal Saddam Hussein era ends - Zaman U.S.: Saddam missed opportunity for peaceful exile - Zaman Cheney: Regime collapsed, war not over yet - Zaman Invasion in Baghdad, massacre in south - Yeni Safak U.S. troops kill 1000 civilians in Najaf - Yeni Safak Pride and breakdown of Arab press - Zaman Kurds at Mosul doorstep - Cumhuriyet Kurds joyful in N. Iraq - Cumnhuriyet Looting, lynching in Basra - Radikal Door still open for Cyprus - Zaman FINANCIAL JOURNALS Baghdad falls, Saddam disappears - Dunya Saddam regime collapses - Finansal Forum BRIEFING Iraq: U.S. troops met no resistance at all in Baghdad, and the Iraqi capital fell on the 21st day, bringing the 24-year reign of the Baath regime to an end. U.S. soldiers and Iraqis pulled down a 15-meter bronze statue of Saddam in the city center. "Yeni Safak" says American tanks made a `show of force' in the heart of Baghdad, and, citing Reuters, adds that coalition forces carried out terrible massacres in southern Iraq. Almost all papers drew a parallel between the overthrow of Saddam's rule and the collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe. "Sabah" says everyone was wrong: The allied operation in Iraq has disproved several views, including the idea that Saddam would not be easily toppled, that Baghdad would not fall without a siege, and that the war couldn't be won without a northern front. American and British rule has begun in Iraq, and the process of reshaping the Middle East has started, dailies report. Papers highlight the U.S. Administration's warning to Iran, Syria, and North Korea that Iraq should serve as a lesson to all. Now Ankara turns its eyes to the Americans and the Kurdish groups advancing on Kirkuk and Mosul. Citing American papers, "Zaman" sees a Turkish military intervention in Northern Iraq as unlikely, but notes that the U.S. is closely following the reaction of TGS Chief General Ozkok and political leaders in Ankara. "Turkiye" reports that KDP forces are near Mosul, and that the KDP has surrounded Kirkuk. The paper claims that a crisis is looming in Northern Iraq. "Aksam" reports the TGS has sent five officers to Northern Iraq to discuss with U.S. officers the position of KDP forces around Mosul. Ankara has asked the KDP to end pressure on Turkomen towns. President Sezer said on Wednesday that Turkey wants Mosul and Kirkuk, eyed by the Kurds, to remain within a united Iraq. Meanwhile, the MFA stated that Ankara would not accept the condition on the $1 billion grant offer by the U.S. that Turkey would refrain from entering Northern Iraq. Prime Minister Erdogan said it was the Americans' decision to provide financial aid to Turkey, so that Washington should refrain from giving the impression that there is ongoing bargaining with Ankara. Cyprus: Prime Minister Erdogan, who met with his Greek counterpart Simitis at the Balkan Summit in Belgrade, said that the UN peace plan for Cyprus should be reviewed, and that bilateral talks for a compromise should continue. Simitis reportedly said the Annan plan offered grounds for on agreement, and that negotiations should continue within the UN framework. Both leaders agreed that the Cyprus problem must be resolved as soon as possible, and that they must find a way to move the process forward. EDITORIAL OPINION: Fall of Baghdad "He did not even fire one honorary bullet" Editor-in-Chief of mass appeal Hurriyet, Ertugrul Ozkok observed (4/10): "The Saddam era has ended and the future of the Iraqi people is now brighter than ever before. In the next 5 to 10 years, we are going to see the proper use of oil money - that is, for the welfare of the people as opposed to building kitsch palaces for dictators or producing chemical weapons. It is sure that in the years ahead, we will observe the domino-effect on other `Baath- like' regimes in the region. . Yet it is also the time for us to get rid of the `Third world rationale' and `Saddam- like' mentality in Turkey. It is just the right time to lift Turkey up to become a full member of the modern western community." "Iraq is only the beginning" Erdal Safak editorialized in the mass appeal Sabah (4/10): "The fall of Baghdad not only signified the end of Saddam, but also the end of the Eisenhower doctrine, which had served as a protective shield for regimes in the Middle East since 1956. . Following the 9/11 attacks, the US has begun to shape a new doctrine. As Paul Wolfowitz defined it, `the US cannot possibly be safe and secure unless the Middle East is democratized.' . The Iraq war is just the beginning. Dictatorships and other backward regimes in the Middle East are next on the list, and it is certain that the most immediate concern is Syria. . Turkish Foreign Minister Gul should urgently cancel his upcoming trip to Damascus, which will only serve to increase misunderstandings between Turkey and the US." "Toward the end" Fehmi Koru argued in the Islamic-intellectual Yeni Safak (4/10): "The planners of the Iraq war did not conceal their intention to move toward other countries once Iraq is finished. It will also be interesting to see what kind of administration is to be formed in post-war Iraq. .The world is rapidly moving toward a new era, and it will most likely be formed based on the `superiority of power.' From now on, the US might target any country in the world by using `magical' terms such as liberation and freedom." PEARSON