ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001946

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 2, 2004


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


HEADLINES
BRIEFING
EDITORIAL OPINION


HEADLINES


MASS APPEAL
EU to pressure Greek Cypriots to approve UN plan - Hurriyet
Decision left to Cypriot people - Hurriyet
South Cyprus inclined to reject Annan Plan - Milliyet
Verheugen: No more isolation for Turks if Greeks reject UN
plan - Sabah
World regards Burgenstock as victory for the Turks - Turkiye
EU, Turkey joint operation against DHKP-C - Sabah
Hunt for terrorists in Turkey, Europe - Turkiye


OPINION MAKERS
Bush congratulates Erdogan on Cyprus - Zaman
Bush lauds Ankara, pressures Athens - Radikal
Powell, Blair happy with Cyprus outcome - Radikal
Erdogan warns Denktas against obstruction of UN plan -
Cumhuriyet
Denktas sees `no point in accepting Annan Plan' - Cumhuriyet
EU warns Greek Cypriots of division, international sanctions
- Zaman
Greek press sees the Annan Plan as a trap - Zaman
International operation against DHKP-C - Yeni Safak
European Parliament report fully supports Turkey - Yeni
Safak




BRIEFING


Cyprus: EU enlargement chief Verheugen praised Turkey's
`positive contribution' to the UN-backed Cyprus peace talks.
President Bush called PM Erdogan to congratulate him on the
efforts by Turkey to reach a solution. `History will not
forgive attempts to block a solution in Cyprus,' Erdogan
said in an indirect reference to Turkish Cypriot leader
Denktas, who said on Thursday that the Annan Plan would only
bring further conflict. `This is the best possible text for
the Turkish side,' Erdogan said. The EU has warned the
Greek Cypriots against refusal of the UN blueprint, and said
international economic and political sanctions could be
imposed on Nicosia. Although Turkey's National Security
Council (NSC) issued a favorable statement concerning the
plan, the Council is concerned that failure to make Turkish
derogations part of EU primary law could cause problems in
future, dailies report. The NSC is also reportedly worried
that the high number of Greek Cypriot migrants expected to
move north could severely harm the bi-zonal structure of the
island. The NSC will hold another meeting on April 5 to
discuss Cyprus.


EU crackdown on `Dev-Sol': Germany, Italy, the Netherlands,
Belgium and Turkey staged a coordinated crackdown on
Thursday against DHKP-C (Dev-Sol) members in various
European and Turkish cities. The operations resulted in the
detention of 16 suspects in Europe, and 38 in Turkey. DHKP-
C leader Dursun Karatas, long sought by Interpol, was not
among those detained. Fehriye Erdal, who is suspected in
the murder of Turkish industrialist Ozdemir Sabanci, was
briefly detained by Belgian authorities, but was later
released. Papers regard the crackdown as part of security
preparation in advance of the June NATO Summit in Istanbul.


European Parliament's Turkey report: A European Parliament
report drafted by Dutch parliamentarian Arie Oostlander
praises Ankara's reform process on democratization and human
rights, and urges Turks to press ahead with implementation.
The report draws attention to the existing `authoritarian
Constitution,' a legacy of the 1980 military takeover. The
report states that further limitations are necessary on the
enormous authority wielded by Turkey's military in politics.
Turkey's position on the Cyprus question, the report
stresses, echoes the political might of the Turkish
military. The EP report also urges that the ten percent
election threshold for general elections in Turkey be
reduced.


DEP trial: The former Kurdish parliamentarians from the
Democracy Party (DEP) -- Leyla Zana, Hatip Dicle, Orhan
Dogan and Selim Sadak -- are not expected to appear before
the court at the 13th hearing in the retrial of their case
today. The defendants are expected to boycott the session
as a protest against the legal process and recent remarks on
the case by the Justice Minister. Defense lawyers have
accused the court of biad, and have said that their
defendants would appeal to the European Human Rights Court.




EDITORIAL OPINION:


a) NATO-Fight against terrorism
b) Cyprus


"The Dilemma of Changing NATO"
Etyen Mahcupyan commented in the Islamist-intellectual Zaman
(4/2): "It was obvious that the US would not sit and watch
the demise of NATO in the rapidly changing world. There has
been a search for a new threat for NATO to address, and
recent developments have served to shape that new threat --
terrorism. The terrorism concept, however, is not enough to
justify NATO's mission for decades on end. But now the
meaning of terrorism has been expanded to include all sorts
of violence. NATO is now ready to act as the global
policeman to prevent any act of violence that might threaten
the world order. . The demise of the Soviet Union and the
acceleration of globalization led the US to try to
legitimize its hegemony over a vast geographical area. This
brings us to NATO's expansion project. The upcoming NATO
summit in Istanbul will make official the fact that NATO
will now function on a broader international basis. Yet
there seems to be a dilemma: NATO's new mission requires
rapid action and a fast decision mechanism. It remains to
be seen how this will be achieved with the participation of
new members in a NATO organization that has become more
cumbersome."


"The role that US and UK Played on the Cyprus Issue"
Mehmet Ali Birand wrote in the mass appeal-sensational Posta
(4/2): "The UN has been in the forefront during the Cyprus
negotiations, yet there have also been some hidden actors.
They did not make any public statements, and always
preferred to remain in the background. Chief among these
actors were the US administration and the British cabinet.
The person who prevented any last-minute problems for the
Turkish side, resolved many disagreements, and intervened in
every deadlock, was Secretary Powell. Whenever Tom Weston
called him, Powell was there to take the call. . President
Bush, Prime Minister Blair, and the duo of EU Commission
President Prodi and Verheugen kept their promises to Turkish
PM Erdogan. When you ask UN officials, they say that PM
Erdogan's sincere desire to produce a solution played an
important part in reaching the end result. Let's see who
will help who at the referenda."


"It All Depends on How You View It"
Sami Kohen opined in the mass appeal Milliyet (4/2): "One
should accept that the Annan plan has more pluses than
minuses for the Turkish side. Moreover, the fourth Annan
plan contains many positive items compared with the previous
plans. Progress has been made on issues such as bizonality,
equality, security, and Turkey's guarantor status. . The
debate will continue until the referendum on April 24.
Until then, those who think that the plan is acceptable and
others who consider it as a dangerous trap will try to
influence the Turkish Cypriots, who will have the last word
on the issue. Considering it from a wider angle, some
believe that, with time, integration will take place on the
island, and the problems associated with the integration
will ease. If that were to happen, both Turkey and the
Turkish Cypriots would benefit immensely."
EDELMAN