ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002646 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 24, 2003 THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE THEMES: HEADLINES BRIEFING EDITORIAL OPINION -------------- HEADLINES MASS APPEALS Garner nonsense: Kirkuk a Kurdish town - Hurriyet Garner: Kirkuk to Kurds - Turkiye Iraqi Shiites pose a problem for U.S. - Sabah Shiites protest U.S. in Karbala - Turkiye Bush calls to thank Erdogan - Aksam Bush promises not to mention Armenian `massacre' - Sabah Dream becomes reality: Two sides of Cyprus wall meet - Vatan Second Berlin Wall down after 29 years - Sabah Peoples unite Cyprus - Milliyet EU pleased by free travel in Cyprus - Milliyet Erdogan angered at Arinc for turban row - Vatan OPINION MAKERS Garner is Kurds' merchant of hope - Radikal Kurds seize Iraqi army weapons in Kirkuk, Mosul - Cumhuriyet Erdogan complains: Europe has abandoned Turkey on Iraq - Yeni Safak White House corrects Powell: France won't be punished - Zaman Weapons manufacturers real winner of war - Cumhuriyet `Day without frontiers' in Cyprus - Cumhuriyet Turkish, Greek Cypriots happy with free travel - Zaman Green Line becomes Open Line - Radikal Unnecessary row over headscarf - Radikal Erdogan calls for common sense against reception boycott - Zaman FINANCIAL JOURNALS Turkish food exporters in Iraq - Dunya Industry Minister: Turkey must get rid of IMF, WB - Finansal Forum BRIEFING Iraq: Wednesday's papers report that Turkey notified the U.S. of its willingness to send 1,400 troops for a peacekeeping force in Iraq, and to contribute to health, humanitarian aid, and construction efforts as well. Ankara insists that the flow of Iraqi oil from Kirkuk to Yumurtalik should begin as soon as possible. Turkey and the U.S. have agreed to use the port of Iskenderun as a key shipping point in the reconstruction of Iraq, papers report. Uneasy with the attitude of KDP leader Barzani, Ankara is preparing to open a new border gate to Iraq, close to the border with Syria, to by-pass the Kurdish-controlled Habur crossing, thus depriving Barzani of a major source of revenue, Thursday's "Zaman" reports. Kurds have been alarmed by the proposal, and have voiced hope that the UN would not allow such a move. Papers highlight `Iraqi Governor' Jay Garner's remarks about Kirkuk being a Kurdish city after he was given a cheerful welcome by the Kurds. Garner was given a king's welcome by Kurds in Kirkuk and Irbil, where he said the U.S. would stay in Iraq until a democratic regime is established. The U.S. has a strong relationship with Turkey, Garner said, and voiced hope that Ankara would get along well with the new administration in Iraq. Turkish Cypriot government allows passage to South: Papers continue extensive coverage of Turkish Cypriot leader Denktas' decision to bring down the wall dividing the island by opening border checkpoints so the island's ethnic Greeks and Turks can cross over for day trips. Thursday's papers report that 2,000 Turkish and 1,300 Greek Cypriots crossed the border on the first day of the implementation of unrestricted passage. All papers hail the end of travel ban, particularly highlighting the warm welcome given to Greek Cypriots returning to the Turkish sector. `Turban' crisis at reception: President Sezer, opposition party CHP, and the military boycotted the April 23 Children's Day reception in a dispute over the possibility that the wife of parliamentary speaker Arinc would wear a headscarf. The incident highlights tensions between the ruling AKP and secularists. In an effort to reduce the tension, Arinc and Prime Minister Erdogan opted not to bring their wives to the reception. However, about a half dozen spouses of parliamentary deputies did turn up in scarves. AKP officials said that the boycott was an insult to the parliament. Erdogan criticized the president and military commanders, saying they had no right to boycott the national holiday. Arinc's announcement the day before the reception that his wife would not attend the event was not enough to convince Sezer and the TGS, papers note. Mainstream media believe that the headscarf tension has exacerbated a rift between the government and the state. "Vatan" claims that Prime Minister Erdogan was uneasy with the attitude of Speaker Arinc. Erdogan dreams of becoming president by introducing a presidential system to Turkey, and wants to avoid tension with key national and international actors, according to "Vatan," while Arinc is trying to increase his power in the AKP by taking advantage of his post. EDITORIAL OPINION: Post War Iraq "The US strategy for Iraq" Umit Kardas commented in Islamic-intellectual Zaman (4/24): "The post-war situation has proved that none of the arguments for the Iraq war was real, but only served to justify the genuine intention: the invasion of Iraq. The US is not worried about the democratization of Iraq. The US is clearly trying to establish a puppet regime to serve its interests in the post-Saddam era. . It also seems that the US will continue to promote more military spending and implement serious cuts in the social security budget. The US focus will be to encourage global rearmament under the guise of the war against terrorism. The reelection campaign of President Bush could run into serious opposition. As Noam Chomsky put it, we will either have a world without war, or we won't have a world." "The Shiite lessons for Washington and Ankara" Cengiz Candar noted in the conservative Dunden Bugune Tercuman (4/24): "In the post-war Iraq, there are two new major players on the Iraqi political scene that the US will have to deal with: Iraqi Shiites and Iraqi Kurds. . It seems that due to the Iraqi Shiite factor, the US will be even more sympathetic toward the `secular-democratic-federal Iraq' thesis of the Kurds. The US will definitely not tolerate a sympathetic approach from Turkey toward the possible establishment of an Islamic Republic of Iraq. The lesson for Ankara is that since there is no way of bringing back Saddam to power, Turkey better make its policy clear about what type of Iraq it wants to see." PEARSON