ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002700 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 FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2003 THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE THEMES: HEADLINES BRIEFING EDITORIAL OPINION -------------- HEADLINES MASS APPEAL Ankara's Garner pain - Turkiye Saddam's best man, Tarik Aziz, turns himself in to U.S. - Hurriyet `Eight of Spades' in U.S. hands - Aksam Rumsfeld: We won't leave Iraq to mullahs - Sabah White House: Hope Iraq will take Turkey's democracy as model - Vatan U.S. might close Incirlik AB - Milliyet Fox TV members `embedded looters' - Sabah `Uncle Sam TV' for Arab world - Sabah U.S. happy with free movement in Cyprus - Milliyet More Greek Cypriots go North than Turks to South - Hurriyet Denktas did it - Turkiye Verheugen: Turkey might join the EU in 2011 - Milliyet OPINION MAKERS Ankara angered at Garner's Kirkuk remarks - Zaman Garner unease in Ankara - Yeni Safak May 5 key Washington meeting for Iraqi reconstruction - Radikal Washington warns Tehran not to interfere in Iraq - Cumhuriyet Greek Cypriots queue up to enter Turkish side - Cumhuriyet Old friends meet in Cyprus - Cumhuriyet Smiling faces in Cyprus - Radikal Greek Cypriots ahead of Turks on visits - Zaman NSC to discuss `National View' fundamentalist activities in Germany - Cumhuriyet 8 Turks in Guantanamo prison camp - Zaman FINANCIAL JOURNALS FM Gul: Turkish businessmen will benefit most from Iraq - Dunya OECD skeptical about AKP: 2.5 percent growth - Finansal Forum BRIEFING Iraq/Garner: Dailies expect Ankara to present a diplomatic note to the U.S. about the remarks of the head of the interim Iraqi administration, retired general Jay Garner. The note says that Kirkuk is not a Kurdish town, and reminds about the joint declaration by the U.S., Turkey and Kurdish groups on March 19, in which it is confirmed that Mosul and Kirkuk do not belong to a particular ethnic group. Foreign Minister Gul said that Garner's remarks were against the guarantees given by SecState Powell during his recent visit to Turkey. Gul said that Garner must have made a mistake. A "Hurriyet" column claims that Garner is influenced by a �00A;map drawn the White House advisor Edward Mortimer, in which Sulajmanija is shown as the Kurds' capital. The op-ed claims that the U.S. is considering three states with separate assemblies in Iraq, and a national parliament in Baghdad to supervise the distribution of oil revenue among the entities. Meanwhile, Gul denied on Friday press reports that five Turkish liaison officers in Northern Iraq were expelled for providing arms to the Turkomen. Cyprus: On the second day of the free passage implementation between the Turkish and Greek sides in Cyprus, 2,090 Greek Cypriots made a day trip to the north, while 741 Turkish Cypriots visited the Greek sector. Dailies report that the Greek Cypriot administration and press are unhappy about the high number of their citizens traveling to the Turkish side. A Greek Cypriot government spokesman reportedly said that the sides were still far from a settlement, and that free travel could not bring a solution. All papers believe that the free passage implementation is welcomed by both peoples on the divided island following 29 years of separation. Thousands are enjoying freedom of movement by crossing to the `other side' to see their homes and old friends, papers report. Disciplinary amnesty for fundamentalist activities: The AKP has submitted to parliament a motion to pardon public employees -- including judges and prosecutors -- who have been disciplined for involvement in fundamentalist activities, "Hurriyet" reports. Disciplinary punishment for state employees' fundamentalist activities since 1999 will be declared null and void, and will be removed from official documents and evaluation reports. Amnesty on illegal construction: The government hopes to raise $15-20 billion in new revenue by declaring an amnesty on illegal construction, "Sabah" reports. The plan would allow owners of illegally-built houses or rooftop flats ("gecekondu") to pay a sum to purchase a license for the structures. There are 700,000 such constructions in Istanbul alone, according to the report. AKP officials voiced hope that such revenues would help Turkey emerge from its economic stagnation, thus enabling the government to raise significantly the salaries of public employees. EDITORIAL OPINION: Post Saddam governance "Islamic revolution in Iraq with US support" Sedat Ergin opined in mass appeal Hurriyet (4/25): "The Shiite reality in Iraq seems to be a big surprise for the US, particularly the active role Shiites play in the society and their effective organization. Pentagon generals are receiving a series of briefings about the Shiites, and American officials acknowledge that they were caught unprepared on the dimension of the Shiite factor. . There is a great similarity between Iran's post-Shah era and Iraq's post-Saddam era. The Mullahs are rapidly assuming a leadership role and taking charge within the collapsed state structure in Iraq, and the Shiites are becoming a driving force to fill the existing power vacuum. Like the Iranian Shiites, the Iraqi Shiites stand against the US, and their priority is Islam. . It seems very likely that the Islamist factor will play a determinative role during Iraq's transition to democracy." "The transitional administration in Iraq" Mustafa Balbay argued in social democrat-intellectual Cumhuriyet (4/25): "Watching Jay Garner in Iraq gives a clear picture about the intention of the US for the future of Iraq. Iraq will be divided among three major groups: Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds. There will be some other contributing groups, such as the Turkmen. This is the only way for the US to be able to control the groups and manipulate them as needed. . The US is not interested in disagreements or disputes between the Iraqi groups, as long as the oil business remains secure and under US control. US policy for Iraq can be summed up as follows: The new Iraqi administration should be as fragmented as possible, and the US should take the biggest chunk from both the oil and the reconstruction process." PEARSON