ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002491 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, APRIL 16, 2003 THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE THEMES: HEADLINES BRIEFING EDITORIAL OPINION -------------- HEADLINES MASS APPEALS Powell: Disappointed with Turkey, now it's history - Aksam 2004 Elections oblige Bush to suspend war with Syria - Vatan Syria rift: Bush vs. Rumsfeld - Turkiye Opposition rolls sleeves for new Iraq - Sabah Turkish builders eye $20 billion Iraqi market - Milliyet Athens aims to by-pass Denktas - Hurriyet Turkey's 50-year Cyprus policy now bankrupt - Tercuman EU pressures Turkey on `political criteria' - Aksam Nasiriyah summit disappoints Garner - Aksam Iraqis oppose to U.S. troops in Mosul, 10 civilians killed - Turkiye U.S. troops fire on Mosul civilians, 10 dead - DB-Tercuman ONW to leave Turkey - Tercuman OPINION MAKERS EU puts focus on NSC, torture in Turkey - Radikal Greek Cypriots in EU: Ankara should be proud - Radikal Greek Cypriots in EU: Cyprus problem deepened - Zaman Gul won't attend EU signing ceremony - Cumhuriyet U.S. troops massacre protesters in Mosul - Yeni Safak Kurds force Arabs out of villages - Yeni Safak Iraqi Shiites expect sovereignty - Zaman FINANCIAL JOURNALS Turkish businessmen lobby in U.S. for Iraqi market - Dunya Turkey still hopeful for tourism season - Finansal Forum BRIEFING Iraq: Dailies give extensive coverage to SecState Powell's meeting with the foreign press at the FPC on Tuesday. The U.S. was disappointed by the Turkish parliament's rejection of the foreign troops decree, but was also pleased by the Turks' opening an air corridor to support the campaign against Iraq, Powell said. He noted that consultation with Turkey would continue on regional issues, and that the U.S. has been taking into account Ankara's sensitivities regarding Northern Iraq. Powell added that he had not yet decided on the Congress-approved $1 billion grant for Turkey, which was tied to Turkish troops' not going into Northern Iraq, and stressed that he would consult the U.S. Treasury and international financial institutions before releasing the money. Papers comment that U.S. sources' view that these remarks as meaning that the U.S. would review Turkey's economic policy and discuss it with the IMF. Meanwhile, papers report that PUK peshmerges, through looting and intimidation, are forcing Arabs in Kirkuk to leave their homes. KDP leader Barzani has called on Kurds exiled during the Saddam regime to return to their homes. The Turkomen complained about Turkish liaison reports from the region which implied that conditions in Mosul and Kirkuk are stable. The Turkomen claim that peshmerges have destroyed deed records and aimed to cleanse the region of Turks. The TGS announced on Tuesday that 1,166 U.S. troops deployed in Turkey within the framework of the ONW mandate have started to leave. EU: Mainstream papers find it `sad' that Turkey, after having waited for 44 years to join the European family, will today have to merely watch the accession of ten countries that had no democracy or free market economy until the 1990s. EU leaders agree that Turkey's EU membership will be extremely difficult if a solution to the Cyprus problem is not reached before 2004. Launching the fiercest criticism of Ankara's policies on the EU and Cyprus, "Radikal" carried front-page photos of Turkish Prime Ministers since 1974, saying (sarcastically) that they should be `proud' of the pain Turkey is suffering today. All papers are pessimistic on Cyprus, pointing out that Ankara will have to debate the Cyprus issue with the EU once the Greek Cypriots are admitted to the union. The EU has approved a new Accession Partnership Accord with requirements for Turkey: Ankara should support efforts for a solution in Cyprus; more is expected in the government's fight against torture; prison conditions should be improved; the National Security Council (NSC) should be put under civilian control; freedom of expression should be expanded and restriction on the press should be removed; the right to education and broadcast in mother tongues, including Kurdish, should be guaranteed. If Turkey meets these requirements, accession negotiations with the EU will begin in December 2004. The Greek government said that Greek Cypriots would not attempt to block Ankara's EU accession if the Cyprus problem is resolved. Cyprus: "Hurriyet" reports that in an effort to by-pass Denktas, Greek Prime Minister Simitis has invited Turkish Cypriot opposition leaders to a meeting in Southern Cyprus to discuss the future of the island. Three opposition parties have accepted the invitation. Simitis is expected to highlight the benefits of EU accession for Cyprus, and also offer the issuance of Greek Cypriot passport to Turks. Denktas strongly criticized the Simitis initiative. On the other hand, Denktas said that Foreign Minister Gul, in order to protest the Greek Cypriots' accession drive, should not have gone to Athens at all. The AKP leadership condemned Denktas' statement, saying that the Turkish Cypriot leader had `gone too far.' EDITORIAL OPINION: a) Post war scenarios b) Cyprus and Turkish foreign policy "Transformation and Pax Americana" Cengiz Candar wrote in the conservative "DB-Tercuman" (4/16): "This is the beginning of a grand transformation process. It is also clear that the building of a `Pax Americana' is in the works and the initial steps are being taken in the Middle East. .. As British writer William Shawcross stated in one of his King's College speeches, the US is the only power capable of preserving and developing the liberal, democratic world. The US is a driving force for progress also in the Islamic world. I know this might be upsetting for many, including Arabs and the Europeans, but this is the reality and it cannot be changed." "Syria is next, but." Hasan Cemal opined in mass appeal Milliyet (4/16): "It is for sure that the Syrian regime is the next target, but it is also unlikely that a military operation against Syria is imminent. The US seems to be giving priority to diplomatic pressure. In fact, Washington has already started pushing the Damascus regime to end its support for terrorist organizations. It remains to be seen whether the Syrian regime is going to change voluntarily. . If Syria manages to change by itself without the use of force, and if Palestinian-Israel peace is achieved, these developments might even create pressure on Iranian fundamentalists and encourage the reformists." "To look and to see" Semih Idiz observes a major failure of Turkish foreign policy in mass appeal Aksam (4/16): "Turkish foreign policy is experiencing an utter failure at this point. Turkey has turned into a loser both at the UN and the EU -- not only on the Cyprus issue, but on the Iraq issue as well. This fact does not mean that Turkey should start whining with a `nobody wants me' sentiment. Turkey better be thinking about the reasons for its alienation in the international arena, and come up with a rational solution. Yet this approach requires vision - discerning eyes that can not only look, but also can see. However, current developments on both Cyprus and Iraq clearly prove that Turkey is suffering significantly from a lack of vision." PEARSON