Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04ANKARA1674
2004-03-19 14:58:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Ankara
how-toThis record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001674
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, MARCH 19, 2004
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER
THREE THEMES:
HEADLINES
BRIEFING
EDITORIAL OPINION
HEADLINES
MASS APPEAL
Karamanlis can't escape Lucerne talks - Hurriyet
Denktas: Lucerne talks actually a `funeral service' -
Milliyet
Annan urges Denktas to keep promise - Milliyet
Bin-Ladin's Deputy Zawahiri Under Siege - Sabah
Serbs go wild - Turkiye
31 dead in KOSOVO - Hurriyet
New bloodbath in the Balkans - Aksam
Terrorists prefer Bush over Kerry - Hurriyet
Bush al-Qaeda's favorite - Aksam
Evangelist Bush Spreading his faith in Baghdad - Sabah
OPINION MAKERS
Terror Comes to Spain - Cumhuriyet
Iraq war anniversary: Occupation front disintegrating -
Cumhuriyet
Washington warns Damascus not to pressure Kurds - Cumhuriyet
US support for Syrian Kurds - Yeni Safak
Al-Qaeda expands target country list - Cumhuriyet
European Muslims timid after Madrid bombings - Zaman
Bombs again target Iraqi civilians - Zaman
Amnesty International: 10,000 civilians killed in Iraq -
Yeni Safak
Kerry: Bush's Iraq policy caused allies to Jump Ship - Yeni
Safak
BRIEFING
Cyprus: Denktas reportedly complained that the Greek
Cypriots are leaving no room for bargaining in the ongoing
Cyprus negotiations. The UN-sponsored talks have become a
`funeral service' for burial of Turkish Cypriots, Denktas
lamented. Denktas said he resented the fact that the
Republic of Cyprus, founded in 1960, will join the European
family on May 1, and that the EU is now calling on the
Turkish Cypriots to join that accession. The EU views south
Cyprus as representative of the whole island, and wants the
Turkish Cypriots to become a part of the Greek state,
Denktas said. "Aksam" expects Denktas to resign his
position as negotiator before April 1 and to launch a public
campaign against the Annan Plan. Papers report that Ankara
and Athens have agreed to attend the Lucerne talks at the
Prime Minister level. The GOT is still trying to convince
Denktas to attend the negotiations in Lucerne.
AKP votes on the rise: A poll by the respected polling
agency A and G in advance of the March 28 local elections
indicates that the ruling AK Party will obtain more than 50
percent of the vote in both Istanbul and Ankara. AKP
candidates are predicted to get an average 56.7 percent of
votes cast in municipal elections in Istanbul, Ankara and
Izmir. The survey suggests, however, that the opposition
CHP is likely to hold off the AKP challenge to its secular
stronghold in Izmir. If general elections were to be held
today, the survey reports, the AK Party would receive 58.2
percent to CHP's 19.1 percent of votes in the three major
Turkish cities. The opposition Republican People's Party
(CHP) has lost the support of much of its base, while the AK
Party has roughly doubled its strength since the November 3,
2002 general elections. In a hypothetical general election,
ANAP, DSP, MHP, DYP and Cem Uzan's Genc Party (GP) would
fall short of the 10 percent threshold required to gain
seats in parliament.
EDITORIAL OPINION: Campaign against terrorism
"Terror and Moderate Islam"
Ahmet Tasgetiren commented in the Islamist Yeni Safak
(3/19): "The King of Jordan has made a plea to the Muslims
by suggesting that moderate Muslims should stand against the
fanatics. This approach, in fact, has been circulating
within the Islamic world for quite some time, and it has
been gaining support. There is another speculation which
considers the Greater Midle East project as an initiative to
create an internal war in the Islamic world; i.e. a conflict
between moderate Islam and radical Islam. . It goes without
saying that both Europe and the US will gladly accept
resistance against the fundamentalist version of Islam. Yet
there are some points which need clarification: What are
the possible ways to fulfill the concept of `moderate Islam'
so that the Western world will be satisfied? What are the
ways to create a moderate Islam which can be acceptable to
both the vast Islamic geography and the US and EU? . Let's
look at the results of a recent survey by an American
company. The PEW opinion poll results clearly indicate an
ongoing mistrust about US intentions in the Islamic world.
The general perception is that the US goals are not really
freedom and democracy, but about oil and domination. It is
true that Islam is a religion of peace, and that Islam
envisions a peaceful world. But the Islamic world is under
severe outside pressure, and we should think about the
psychology of those who are being pushed around. . I agree
with the need to deepen the roots of moderate Islam, but not
through a US filter. Putting Islam in the proper context
must be done within Islam itself and must fit the priorities
of the Islamic world."
EDELMAN
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, MARCH 19, 2004
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER
THREE THEMES:
HEADLINES
BRIEFING
EDITORIAL OPINION
HEADLINES
MASS APPEAL
Karamanlis can't escape Lucerne talks - Hurriyet
Denktas: Lucerne talks actually a `funeral service' -
Milliyet
Annan urges Denktas to keep promise - Milliyet
Bin-Ladin's Deputy Zawahiri Under Siege - Sabah
Serbs go wild - Turkiye
31 dead in KOSOVO - Hurriyet
New bloodbath in the Balkans - Aksam
Terrorists prefer Bush over Kerry - Hurriyet
Bush al-Qaeda's favorite - Aksam
Evangelist Bush Spreading his faith in Baghdad - Sabah
OPINION MAKERS
Terror Comes to Spain - Cumhuriyet
Iraq war anniversary: Occupation front disintegrating -
Cumhuriyet
Washington warns Damascus not to pressure Kurds - Cumhuriyet
US support for Syrian Kurds - Yeni Safak
Al-Qaeda expands target country list - Cumhuriyet
European Muslims timid after Madrid bombings - Zaman
Bombs again target Iraqi civilians - Zaman
Amnesty International: 10,000 civilians killed in Iraq -
Yeni Safak
Kerry: Bush's Iraq policy caused allies to Jump Ship - Yeni
Safak
BRIEFING
Cyprus: Denktas reportedly complained that the Greek
Cypriots are leaving no room for bargaining in the ongoing
Cyprus negotiations. The UN-sponsored talks have become a
`funeral service' for burial of Turkish Cypriots, Denktas
lamented. Denktas said he resented the fact that the
Republic of Cyprus, founded in 1960, will join the European
family on May 1, and that the EU is now calling on the
Turkish Cypriots to join that accession. The EU views south
Cyprus as representative of the whole island, and wants the
Turkish Cypriots to become a part of the Greek state,
Denktas said. "Aksam" expects Denktas to resign his
position as negotiator before April 1 and to launch a public
campaign against the Annan Plan. Papers report that Ankara
and Athens have agreed to attend the Lucerne talks at the
Prime Minister level. The GOT is still trying to convince
Denktas to attend the negotiations in Lucerne.
AKP votes on the rise: A poll by the respected polling
agency A and G in advance of the March 28 local elections
indicates that the ruling AK Party will obtain more than 50
percent of the vote in both Istanbul and Ankara. AKP
candidates are predicted to get an average 56.7 percent of
votes cast in municipal elections in Istanbul, Ankara and
Izmir. The survey suggests, however, that the opposition
CHP is likely to hold off the AKP challenge to its secular
stronghold in Izmir. If general elections were to be held
today, the survey reports, the AK Party would receive 58.2
percent to CHP's 19.1 percent of votes in the three major
Turkish cities. The opposition Republican People's Party
(CHP) has lost the support of much of its base, while the AK
Party has roughly doubled its strength since the November 3,
2002 general elections. In a hypothetical general election,
ANAP, DSP, MHP, DYP and Cem Uzan's Genc Party (GP) would
fall short of the 10 percent threshold required to gain
seats in parliament.
EDITORIAL OPINION: Campaign against terrorism
"Terror and Moderate Islam"
Ahmet Tasgetiren commented in the Islamist Yeni Safak
(3/19): "The King of Jordan has made a plea to the Muslims
by suggesting that moderate Muslims should stand against the
fanatics. This approach, in fact, has been circulating
within the Islamic world for quite some time, and it has
been gaining support. There is another speculation which
considers the Greater Midle East project as an initiative to
create an internal war in the Islamic world; i.e. a conflict
between moderate Islam and radical Islam. . It goes without
saying that both Europe and the US will gladly accept
resistance against the fundamentalist version of Islam. Yet
there are some points which need clarification: What are
the possible ways to fulfill the concept of `moderate Islam'
so that the Western world will be satisfied? What are the
ways to create a moderate Islam which can be acceptable to
both the vast Islamic geography and the US and EU? . Let's
look at the results of a recent survey by an American
company. The PEW opinion poll results clearly indicate an
ongoing mistrust about US intentions in the Islamic world.
The general perception is that the US goals are not really
freedom and democracy, but about oil and domination. It is
true that Islam is a religion of peace, and that Islam
envisions a peaceful world. But the Islamic world is under
severe outside pressure, and we should think about the
psychology of those who are being pushed around. . I agree
with the need to deepen the roots of moderate Islam, but not
through a US filter. Putting Islam in the proper context
must be done within Islam itself and must fit the priorities
of the Islamic world."
EDELMAN