Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05ANKARA3385
2005-06-14 14:18:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Ankara
Cable title:  

ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

Tags:  OPRC KMDR TU 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 003385

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
TUESDAY, JUNE 14, 2005


THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE
THEMES:

HEADLINES
BRIEFING
EDITORIAL OPINION
-------------- --------------
HEADLINES

MASS APPEAL
PKK Calls for Barzani's Support - Milliyet
Military Operations Continue Against PKK - Sabah
Iranian Police Interrupts Work of `Reporter' Sean Penn -
Hurriyet
Settlers' Fury in Jerusalem - Hurriyet
General Aoun Defeats Jamblaat - Sabah
Michael Jackson Not Guilty of Child Molestation - Milliyet

OPINION MAKERS
Iran Claims Tehran, Ahvaz Bombers Trained by US - Yeni Safak
General Aoun Returns to Political Arena in Lebanon - Yeni
Safak
El-Baradei Reelected IAEA Chief - Yeni Safak
EU Postpones Membership Talks With Croatia - Cumhuriyet
Saddam's Interrogation Footage Released - Radikal
Iranian Candidates Strive to Impress Youth - Radikal
Conservative Candidates May Unite Against Rafsanjani - Zaman
Torture Methods Documented at Guantanamo - Cumhuriyet
NYT: US Army Can't Recruit New Members - Cumhuriyet


BRIEFING

Erdogan's Lebanon Visit Will `Anger' Washington: Prime
Minister Tayyip Erdogan will `anger' Washington by his
upcoming visit to Syria tomorrow, the leftist-nationalist
"Cumhuriyet" reports. The paper argues that the visit comes
despite repeated warnings from the Bush Administration
against close ties with Damascus. Erdogan will meet pro-
Syrian President Lahoud, Parliamentary Speaker Berri, and
moderate Prime Minister Mikati during his visit. Diplomatic
sources said the timing of the visit was `extremely bad':
`Syria pulled out of Lebanon, but its influence persists.
The final result of the country's first democratic elections
is not yet known,' the sources said, adding that Erdogan's
meetings with Lebanese politicians close to Damascus will
create a `wrong impression.' Erdogan will also participate
in the Arab Economic Forum meetings in Beirut, where he is
expected to discuss the US-led Broader Middle East and North
Africa Initiative (BMENAI). "Cumhuriyet" notes that while
PM Erdogan announced Turkey's support for the BMENAI in
Washington, he has also made criticisms of the initiative.

Erdogan `Briefs' Bush on Syria: A member of the Erdogan
delegation visiting the US last week told "Hurriyet"
columnist Fatih Altayli that the Turkish prime minister's
visit had been `very successful,' and that all of Turkey's

goals -- conveying Turkey's position regarding Iraq, the
PKK, Syria and Iran - had been achieved. The source blamed
`certain circles' for lobbying against Turkey's proposals to
the Washington Administration. Erdogan told President Bush
that, unlike the situation in Iraq where Saddam Hussein was
the problem, in Syria the system is problematic but its
leader is not. Erdogan proposed efforts to change the
totalitarian regime into a more democratic and peaceful one
by helping Assad, and warned that all other approaches would
increase tension in the region. `President Bush listened to
Erdogan's suggestions, and he seemed impressed,' the AKP
source said.

EU Approves Additional Protocol With Turkey: The EU General
Council on Monday approved the additional protocol extending
the customs union with Turkey to cover the 10 new members,
including Cyprus, papers report. The additional protocol is
expected to be signed by all EU member states, including
Turkey, by the end of June. When it signs the document,
Turkey will also issue a declaration making clear that the
protocol does not amount to recognition of the government in
Cyprus.
PKK Asks for Barzani's Help: "Milliyet" quotes "Copenhagen
Roj TV" as reporting that PKK/Kongra-Gel leader Zubeyir
Aydar called on `president-elect' of `south Kurdistan,'
Masud Barzani, to support the struggle in `north Kurdistan.'
(Kurdish-owned "Copenhagen Roj TV," which supports the PKK,
broadcasts in Turkish from Copenhagen.) Aydar pointed to
`certain improvements' with regard to the Kurdish question
in northern Iraq and the rest of the country, and noted that
the `war' continued in Syria, Iran, and Turkey - the
remaining `three parts of Kurdistan.' `Unless the Kurdish
question is resolved as a whole, gains in south Kurdistan
will be jeopardized. We are at war with Turkey,' Aydar
reportedly said. Atdar, a former DEP parliamentarian, urged
Barzani to support the Kurds' struggle in `north Kurdistan'
(east and southeastern Turkey). `If a settlement is not
reached in the north, the settlement in south Kurdistan will
remain limited. The Kurds need to gather around a common
strategy,' Aydar said, adding that he supported `federalism'
in northern Iraq.

Turkey-Iraq Transportation Security Talks Postponed: A
transportation security meeting to be held on June 13 in
Ankara between the Iraq and Turkish foreign ministries has
been postponed, papers report. Turkish Foreign Ministry
(MFA) officials said the meeting will be held in about 10
days, after the Iraqi side wraps up preparations for the
technica- level discussions. Meanwhile, MFA sources said a
second meeting on the opening of consulates in both
countries will be held on June 16 as scheduled.

Turkish Military Organizes Bosnia, KOSOVO Press Tour: The
Turkish General Staff (TGS) has organized a press tour to
Bosnia and KOSOVO from June 14-17 in an effort to show
Turkish peacekeepers' contribution to regional stability,
"Hurriyet" reports. TGS Operations Chief, General Metin
Yalcin, will lead a large group of Turkish journalists for
talks with high-level officials and an inspection of Turkish
troops in the region.

General Ozkok Travels to Kazakhstan, Mongolia: Turkish
General Staff Chief General Hilmi Ozkok left for Kazakhstan
on Monday, from where he and his delegation will move on to
Mongolia for official visits and talks with their military
counterparts, the semi-official Anatolian News Agency (AA)
reported. Ozkok will return to Turkey on June 17.

Erdogan Prevent Staff From Visiting Cyprus: Prime Minister
Tayyip Erdogan warned his staff members against traveling to
south Cyprus after the main Greek Cypriot opposition DISI
invited AK Party leaders to Nicosia, papers report. The
Greek Cypriots will not allow foreign visitors coming in
from northern Cyprus to cross into the south part of the
island, and Erdogan is concerned that visiting Cyprus before
the signing of the accession protocol with the EU could be
interpreted as recognition of Cyprus.

Mothers With Headscarves Banned from Graduation Ceremony:
Mothers wearing headscarves have been blocked from joining
graduation ceremonies of their children at Ataturk
University in Turkey's eastern province of Erzurum, Turkish
media report. Conservative media joined families in their
protests against the ban, saying parents who had traveled
hundreds of miles for the graduation were denied the
pleasure of sharing their children's happiest day.
Landmines on Turkey-Syria Border to be Removed: The Turkish
Ministry of Finance is to offer a contract for the sweeping
of some 50 million landmines along the 850-km Turkey-Syria
border, an area of 3.5 million acres, "Yeni Safak" reports.
After the mines are removed, the land will be distributed
among local farmers.

`Pig' Interrogation at Gitmo: Turkish dailies cite a "TIME"
report on the alleged abuse of a Guantanamo Bay prison
inmate, Muhamad al-Kahtani, during his time in the US-run
prison. Kahtani was forced to listen to the US national
anthem in a room garnished with US flags, watch a puppet
show mocking al-Qaeda, bark at terrorists' pictures, and
snort like a pig. Kahtani was also stripped naked and his
hair and beard were cut, the report claims.


EDITORIAL OPINION: Debt Erase/G-8 Summit; US-Turkey

"The G-8 Summit"
Meliksah Utku wrote in the pro-government/Islamist oriented
"Yeni Safak" (6/14): "The G-8 summit is to convene under
three major agenda items -- Africa, environmental issues,
and the Middle East. The Middle East issue includes both
anti-terrorism efforts and the comprehensive reform process
in the region. In fact, the summit will heavily focus on
the entire Middle East and Africa region within the
framework of the BMENAI project. A message from the G-8
summit that would address the immediate concerns of the
people of the Middle East is unlikely. The fact is that the
US wants to pursue its current policy on the Middle
East/Africa, and is looking for other countries to sign on
to the US approach. . Tony Blair, in his capacity as host,
took the initiative to eliminate 40 billion dollars of
foreign debt for a number of developing countries. But the G-
8 finance ministers failed to reach a consensus on the
issue, despite the fact that the IMF and the World Bank have
already eliminated their portion of the debt. . One of the
objections to the elimination of debt is that debt reduction
should go hand in hand with more `ethical spending' by the
developing countries. Developed nations argue that poor
countries suffer from a lack of ethics when it comes to
spending, so debt forgiveness will only enable them to spend
more irresponsibly and unethically. In fact, the US has
already connected the debt forgiveness proposal to a series
of social, economic, and political reforms in those
countries. . This approach has been criticized as more
evidence of the hypocrisy of developed countries. The UK-
based movement `Make Poverty History,' which includes
Muslims and other NGOs, argues that Western nations are
using ethical issues as a political tool. The group clearly
rejects any suggestion of a link between poverty and
corruption in these countries. The G-8 summit will be very
interesting to watch."

"Should Turkey be on the Side of the EU or the US?
Sami Kohen opined in the mainstream daily "Milliyet" (6/14):
"Let me respond to this question with a question - `does
Turkey really face such a choice?' I don't think so. There
are two developments which drew people's attention to this
question. The first is that the campaign in Europe against
Turkey's membership has intensified. The second is
Erdogan's visit to the US and the effort to improve the
weakening Turkey-US relationship. Some circles have linked
these two issues, and believe that Turkey needs to make a
choice between the US and the EU. In my opinion, these are
exaggerated and premature evaluations. Prime Minister
Erdogan stressed in his interview with the `New York Times'
that good relations with the US and the EU have equal
importance for Turkey. It is not realistic to believe that
PM Erdogan went to the US to move Turkey closer to
Washington because he is skeptical about the EU. While
speculation continues in certain circles in Turkey that the
government can put distance between Turkey and the EU while
getting closer to the US, high-level US officials including
Secretary Rice continuously call for the EU to open its

SIPDIS
doors to Turkey. The US administration believes that
Turkey's EU vision overlaps with its strategic relationship
with the US. In other words, Washington believes that there
is no need for Turkey to make a choice between the EU and
the US, nor to use one against the other."

MOORE