ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002457 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, APRIL 15, 2003 THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE THEMES: HEADLINES BRIEFING EDITORIAL OPINION -------------- HEADLINES MASS APPEAL U.S.: Syria a rogue state - Hurriyet U.S. preparing sanctions on Syria - Aksam U.S. getting tough on Damascus - Sabah Bush Administration: Syria tests chemical weapons - Vatan Tension rising in Kirkuk - Milliyet Kirkuk a powder keg - Turkiye Turkish liaison report: Kurds pulled back, nothing to worry about - Hurriyet Shalom pressures Ankara on Syria - Sabah Life normalizing in Baghdad - Turkiye Cultural heritage looted - Aksam OPINION MAKERS U.S. implies a new occupation - Cumhuriyet U.S. stepping up tension with Syria - Zaman Gul: We don't want a new war - Yeni Safak General Franks: Syrian mercenaries in Iraq - Yeni Safak Gul: U.S. wouldn't have let us into Northern Iraq - Radikal U.S.: Saddam's last stronghold Tikrit under control - Radikal Tikrit falls, occupation completed - Yeni Safak Barzani implies long U.S. stay may bring resistance - Zaman Cultural heritage is destroyed - Cumhuriyet FINANCIAL JOURNALS Turkish businessmen roll up sleeves for Iraqi market - Dunya Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline project could be shelved - Finansal Forum BRIEFING Iraq: Dailies continue reporting on the U.S. Administration's accusations that Syria supports terrorism, has tested chemical weapons, and is harboring high-level Iraqi fugitives. Papers agree that Syrian President Bashar Assad is the new target of the U.S. Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom held a joint press conference in Ankara with Turkish FM Abdullah Gul. Shalom asserted that Damascus Airport has been a center for transferring arms and ammunition to the Hizbullah. Disagreeing with Shalom, Gul said that a new war in the region should be avoided, and added that greater stability would serve everyone, including Israel. Papers report that Ankara has decided to attend a six-country summit meeting of Iran, Syria, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon to be hosted by Saudi Arabia to discuss the reconstruction of Iraq. Dailies also give extensive coverage to peshmerge attacks against Turkomen in Kirkuk. The Turkomen appealed to American officers after a 12-year old Turkomen boy was killed by Kurdish militiamen, but to no avail. "Milliyet" reports the Turkomen are arming themselves anc claim that they will soon recruit 10,000 armed Turkomen. However, the MFA has found that Turkomen claims conflict with reports provided by Turkish intelligence officers in the area. KDP leader Barzani has accused PUK leader Talabani of provoking widespread looting by allowing his militia to enter Kirkuk, papers report. TGS and MFA have warned the U.S. about the incidents in the region. Foreign Minister Gul told "Radikal" that the Americans would have objected to deployment of Turkish troops in Northern Iraq even had Turkey opted for full cooperation with the U.S. and the Kurds. The fact that Turkish forces would not have been allowed to approach Mosul and Kirkuk is the main reason that parliament rejected full cooperation on March 1, according to Gul. Meanwhile, papers report KDP leader Barzani as saying that the U.S. should transfer Iraq's administration to federal rule as soon as possible. `No people would choose to live under constant occupation,' Barzani said. Israeli FM Shalom in Ankara: After receiving Israeli Foreign Minister Shalom, President Sezer said that Turkey could serve as a mediator for establishing peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Foreign Minister Gul advised his Israeli counterpart that Israel should refrain from opening new settlements on Palestinian land, and proposed a broad summit meeting on the Palestine-Israel conflict to be held in Istanbul. Gul and Shalom also discussed joint investments, tourism, and commercial cooperation between the two countries. A Turkish-Israeli agreement on the sale of Manavgat water is expected to be signed in May. EDITORIAL OPINION: Is Syria next? "What's America doing?" Yilmaz Oztuna observed in conservative-mass appeal Turkiye (4/15): "It seems that the US intends to topple the Syrian Baath regime without the use of force. In the event of resistance from Damascus, US forces will enter Syria. . Next on the US priority list will be the Palestinian issue. Once this issue and other related problems are settled, the US will target Iran sometime next year. For that plan, the US needs both Turkey and Russia on its side. . US forces might remain in Iraq for a year or two. The American withdrawal from Iraq will take place after a friendly administration is established in the country. It is likely that the US will not intervene in the domestic politics of Iraq as long as the new Iraqi regime is pro-American and supportive of the US's oil and other interests. In the wake of this reshaping of the Middle East, Ankara needs a talented and capable team to handle the situation and make sure that Turkey will not be left out of the scene." "Is Syria the next target?" Fehmi Koru argued in Islamic-intellectual Yeni Safak (4/15): "Even before the restructuring of Iraq, hawks in the US have launched another campaign for the implementation of the US global empire plan which was designed before the 2000 presidential elections. The philosophy of this plan is based on the US capability of conducting more than two wars simultaneously. Therefore we have started to see ultimatums and threats issued to other countries, including Syria. . Being threatened by the US does not necessarily happen because a country possesses weapons of mass destruction. Saddam, for instance, did not have WMD, and would not have been able to use them even if he had. But the US, despite the fact that the pretext for the Iraq war has proven false, continues to threaten Syria and Palestine. There will certainly be many others on that list. The helplessness and silence of the international community at this point is indeed horrifying." PEARSON