UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 007610

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, DECEMBER 11, 2003

THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER
THREE THEMES:


HEADLINES
BRIEFING
EDITORIAL OPINION


HEADLINES


MASS APPEALS
Amb. Edelman: No military action against PKK in short term -
Hurriyet
US keeps the PKK, kicks out Mujahedeen from Iraq - Hurriyet
Turkey on list for Iraq rebuilding contracts - Turkiye
Iraqi war crimes court to try Saddam - Sabah
Serdar Denktas: EU has eyes on Cyprus oil - Sabah
Lots of human rights violations in schoolbooks - Milliyet


OPINION MAKERS
Amb. Edelman: Fine-tuning needed after elections in Cyprus -
Cumhuriyet
Edelman: We won't leave Incirlik - Cumhuriyet
Edelman assures no changes in demographic structure of Iraq
- Zaman
Washington perseveres on Cyprus - Cumhuriyet
TRNC opposition vows no coalition with status quo after
elections - Radikal
Weston to launch new Cyprus proposals after polls - Radikal
Iraq war opponents excluded from rebuilding contracts -
Radikal
Germans want Turks in EU - Yeni Safak
US killed 15 children in single day in Afghanistan -
Cumhuriyet
US bombs Afghan children twice in one week - Zaman




BRIEFING


Ambassador Edelman roundtable with press: At a roundtable
with national press representatives, US Ambassador Eric
Edelman underlined the significance of a new era between the
US and Turkey following last year's Iraq crisis. Ambassador
Edelman said the US had been pleased with Ankara's decision
to deploy troops to Iraq. US-Turkish cooperation in the
struggle against terror will continue, he stressed, adding
that the PKK/KADEK will not be allowed to use Iraqi
territory. Responding to a question, Ambassador Edelman
said the US is working on realigning its troops to meet new
threats around the world. "I don't think much will change
in the joint use of Incirlik Air Base," he emphasized.
Commenting on Cyprus, Edelman said the US will continue to
support the Annan Plan, and noted that all concerned parties
would have to make adjustments in their Cyprus policies
after the Turkish Cypriot elections. Edelman also said
reports about the Uzans hiding in the US have not been
confirmed, but that he had conveyed to Washington Turkey's

application for the extradition of some Uzan family members.
The US wants to add a more prominent economic aspect to its
strategic cooperation with Turkey, Edelman noted.
Ambassador Edelman also predicted that US-Turkish relations
would gain new momentum with the Washington visit of Prime
Minister Erdogan in late January and the attendance by
President Bush at NATO's Istanbul summit in late June.


Cyprus: The US Administration believes that if the
opposition wins the Turkish Cypriot elections, negotiations
within the framework of the Annan Plan will be resumed
swiftly, "Cumhuriyet" reports. Thomas Weston will be in
Ankara December 14, and will shape his talks with Turkish
officials in light of the election results. Weston will go
to the island on December 17 to meet with Papadopoulos and
Denktas to present new proposals for a settlement, the paper
claims.
Israeli capital financing bank loans for Kurds: The
Kurdistan Credit Bank is offering loans for Kurds willing to
buy property from Turkmen and Arabs in Northern Iraq,
"Milliyet" reports. Israeli sponsors have extended credits
amounting to $300 million via the Kurdistan Credit Bank in
Suleymaniye to ensure the transfer of Turkmen and Arab
property to Kurds, according to a Turkish intelligence
report. The loans can be used only for the purpose of
buying land or homes from Turkmen and Arabs living in Mosul,
Kirkuk, Irbil, Baquba, Fallujah and Salahaddin.
Turkey, Greece sign air corridor agreement: Turkey and
Greece have signed an agreement for the opening of five new
air corridors over the Aegean. The agreement aims to ease
intense air traffic in the Aegean during the 2004 Olympic
Games to be held in Athens.


Human rights violations in schoolbooks: In a project
sponsored by the Turkish Science Academy, the History
Foundation, Turkey's Human Rights Foundation, the EU
Commission and the Open Society Institute, 190 schoolbooks
used in elementary and secondary schools have been scanned
by 165 teachers and academics, 51 parents, and 71 students
from the viewpoint of the Universal Declaration on Human
Rights and other human rights documents. The researchers
have spotted 4,000 problems in the textbooks. The problems
are related mainly to gender, race and religious
discrimination, "Milliyet" reports.




EDITORIAL OPINION:
Global Defense Posture; Europe/Transatlantic Relations


"Global Defense Posture"
Fikret Ertan commented in the Islamist-intellectual Zaman
(12/11): "The need for a reorganization of American military
strategy in the post-cold war era has been a longstanding
issue. Yet the US waited too long to develop and implement
a plan. In the meantime, we have seen the events of
September 11 and the operation in Afghanistan. Today we see
a determination in the US about implementing a plan called
the Global Defense Posture (GDP). . The GDP makes it a
priority to reshape the US military presence in a cost-
effective and more functional way. There will be downsizing
of some military bases in Europe and the opening of some new
bases in countries such as Poland, Hungary, Romania and
Bulgaria. . The new American bases will be designed to cope
with the new enemy -- terrorism. The forces in these bases
will be capable of responding to a terrorist threat in the
shortest possible time. The notion of the `shortest time'
is no longer months, or even days. The US wants to react
instantly to any terrorist attack anywhere in the world.
The GDP is the strategy to realize this goal."


"Competition Between the EU and the US "
Akif Emre argued in the Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak
(12/11): "The rapprochement between Syria and the EU signals
a new phase in the polarization between the EU and the US.
It is a meaningful in itself that the EU agreed to establish
economic and strategic relations with Syria on the eve of a
possible US operation against Syria. Evidently the EU is
trying to exert its influence in areas abandoned by the US.
The EU does not support Sharon's policies and, unlike the
US, has taken the Palestine side by declaring Arafat a
legitimate leader. The US-EU difference was also clear
during the Iraq crisis and afterward. . The European Union
proved itself as a regional power and is ready to become
more influential through a global strategy. From the US
perspective, the EU may be a midget militarily speaking, but
is an economic and political giant. The polarization,
particularly on the Middle East, is similar to the
competition between the US and the USSR during the cold
war."


EDELMAN