ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 003108

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, JUNE 4, 2004

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


HEADLINES
BRIEFING
EDITORIAL OPINION


HEADLINES


MASS APPEAL
US: PKK has never stopped terror - Milliyet
Division within PKK - Turkiye
Erdogan assails Sharon in Israeli newspaper - Aksam
Erdogan reiterates Israeli `state terrorism' - Hurriyet
9/11, Iraq war hit CIA chief - Aksam
CIA director resigns - Hurriyet


OPINION MAKERS
Ankara happy with Annan report on Cyprus - Yeni Safak
Annan slams Papadopoulos for `fooling' Greek Cypriots -
Zaman
US State Department: PKK will be removed from northern Iraq
- Yeni Safak
Iran's Hamanei: New Iraqi government puppet of Americans -
Yeni Safak
Bush likens 9/11 to Pearl Harbor - Cumhuriyet
Personal ties with Bush family cannot save Tenet -
Cumhuriyet
Kremlin: Putin to visit Turkey this fall - Yeni Safak
EU urges Turkey to fully implement EU reforms - Zaman
French socialists urge Turkey to recognize ARMENIAn genocide
- Radikal




BRIEFING


PKK/Kongra-Gel: PKK leaders Osman Ocalan, Nizamettin Tas
and Hidir Yalcin have left the organization and sought
shelter with the Patriotic Union Of Kurdistan (PUK),
"Cumhuriyet" reports. They are expected to form a new
organization. An unidentified US official from the State
Department said the PKK declaration ending the unilateral
cease-fire would not change the position of the US. `In
fact, the PKK has never stopped its terrorist activities,
the official said, adding that `the organization will be
eliminated in northern Iraq.' PKK/Kongra-Gel leader Zubeyir
Aydar told "Yeni Safak" that the organization supports
Turkey's EU membership through implementation of the
Copenhagen Criteria. `The Kurds have waited patiently for
six years, but Turkey has taken no step forward to resolve
the Kurdish problem,' Aydar said. `During that time,' he
added, `Turkey has never ended military operations against
us.' Aydar welcomed AK Party policies on the EU and Cyprus,
but said the government had failed to take positive steps
forward on the Kurdish question. `As with previous
governments, the AK Party has left the solution of the
Kurdish problem to the military,' Aydar concluded.


PM Erdogan on "Haaretz": In an interview with Israel's
Haaretz daily on Thursday, PM Erdogan accused Israel of
killing innocent Palestinians indiscriminately and failing
to contribute to the peace process. `The Jews were the
victims during the Spanish inquisition, but today the
Palestinians are the victims,' Erdogan said. `Unfortunately
the people of Israel are treating the Palestinians as they
were treated 500 years ago," he added. Erdogan told Haaretz
that he had no problem with the Israeli people, only with
its present government. `The government of Israel has not
contributed to our efforts for peace,' Erdogan charged.


Turkish lawmakers cancel trip to Palestine: A parliamentary
delegation has canceled its trip to Israel and Palestine
after receiving a warning from the MFA that the visit would
further strain ties between Turkey and Israel. The
delegation was scheduled to go to Tel Aviv to observe the
final hearing in the trial of Palestinian lawmaker Marwan
Barghouti on June 6 before moving on for meetings in
Palestine.


Cyprus: UN Secretary-General Annan said after meeting Greek
Cypriot President Papadopulos that the Greek Cypriot
leadership owed an explanation to the world for the missed
opportunity in Cyprus. Annan urged Papadopulos to help the
world to end the isolation of the northern Cypriots. `Such
a move will contribute to efforts for the reunification of
the island in the future,' the UN Secretary General said.
The Annan report praised the Turkish side for its
constructive aapproach. `TRNC PM' Talat welcomed the report
as a significant move toward ending the international
isolation of the Turkish Cypriots. Meanwhile, the pro-EU
Peace and Democracy Movement (BDH) led by Mustafa Akinci
will likely join the coalition government led by Talat and
Serdar Denktas.


Kurdish broadcasts due soon: Turkey's public broadcaster
TRT will begin broadcasts in Kurdish on June 7, papers
report. TRT will air 30-minute morning programs of news and
music from Monday to Friday in Kurdish, Arabic, Bosnian and
Circasian. Dailies regard the move as part of the AK Party
government effort to implementation EU harmonization laws.


EDITORIAL OPINION: Iraq/Terrorism/New Government


"Test of US sincerity in fight against terrorism"
Murat Birsel commented in the mass appeal Vatan (6/4): "One
wonders how come the PKK is able to make calls from northern
Iraq for a renewal of armed conflict even though US
President Bush has defined the PKK as a terrorist
organization. Following the PKK announcement, a State
Department official tried to answer this conundrum by noting
the PKK's ongoing terror acts and underlining the US goal to
eliminate the PKK from the north of Iraq. . The statement is
nice and comforting. However, isn't it time to question the
gap between words and deeds? During the Iraq war, the US
asked Turkey to stay away from northern Iraq and made a
pledge to fight against terrorist groups. . In fact, the PKK
declaration of an end to the cease-fire is a declaration of
war not only on Turkey but also on the US."


"The PKK and the US"
Yilmaz Oztuna commented in the conservative-mass appeal
Turkiye(6/4): "The PKK has recently intensified its
activities. The organization has changed its name twice,
and both new names were added to the terrorist lists of the
US and the EU. The PKK established its headquarters on the
top of a mountain in northern Iraq. The US, in announcing
its global war against terrorism, didn't do anything about
the PKK, apparently believing that they might need their
services some day. Some of the terrorist organization
members have already come down from the mountains and
settled in Mosul and Kirkuk in an effort to scare away
Iraqis of Turkish and Arab origin. We don't believe that
the PKK could have continued its activities and threats had
the US intervened. Washington should not be hurt by these
criticisms. Instead, it should prove -- not with words, but
with action -- that our perception on this issue is wrong.
I feel sorry that I was compelled to put the superpower's
name next to the officially accepted terrorist organization
PKK as the title of this column. If I am convinced that I
am wrong, I will gladly change my headline for the next
time."


"The US did not keep its promise to Ankara"
Sedat Ergin observed in the mass appeal Hurriyet (6/4): "The
new interim government in Iraq constitutes an important step
toward the political restructuring of the country.
According to the calendar, the IGC is to end as of June 30
and Ambassador Negroponte will be the US representative in
Iraq. It remains to be seen to what extent we will see a
genuine transfer of authority from Americans to Iraqis. The
US occupation will continue. Therefore, the interim
government will not have any control authority over US
military forces. . The interim government is also a
disappointment for the Turkmen. British Prime Minsiter
Blair acknowledged two weeks ago the need for a fair and
comprehensive representation of Turkmen during the
transition period. Yet there has been no significant
positive change in this direction. More importantly, the
Bush administration made a pledge to Ankara to increase the
Turkmen representation in the new government, but did not
keep its promise. The only Turkmen representative in the
cabinet is not even a member of the International Turkmen
Front (ITF). This shows the continuation of the US policy
to keep the ITF out of the political scene. The whole thing
also shows how little credibility Turkey has with
Washington."


EDELMAN