ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 005727

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, SEPTEMBER 29, 2005


THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE
THEMES:

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

HEADLINES

MASS APPEAL
Hughes Asks Gul for Turkish Support to Restore US Image -
Hurriyet
Hughes: Democracy, Human Rights Shared by US, Turkey -
Hurriyet
Turkish Women to Hughes: War Cannot Bring Democracy - Sabah
Hughes: PKK Absolutely the Same as al-Qaida - Aksam
Women's Criticism of Iraq War Demoralizes Hughes - Tercuman
EU: Turkey Must Accept `Genocide' for EU Membership - Sabah
Erdogan: EU Decision Won't Affect Turkey's Aspirations -
Sabah
Ankara: Any Deviation from EU Membership Unacceptable -
Milliyet
Bombings in Tal Afar, Najaf Kill 13 - Star
`Torturer' Private England Receives 3-Year Prison Term -
Star
Two PKK Terrorists Killed in Diyarbakir - Sabah

OPINION MAKERS
Gul to Hughes: Handle Cyprus, PKK Issues to Win Our Hearts -
Yeni Safak
Ankara Urges Hughes on Concrete Steps against the PKK -
Cumhuriyet
Hughes: Turkey an Inspiration on Religious Tolerance - Yeni
Safak
Hughes Listens to Koran Recital at Topkapi - Yeni Safak
Erdogan: EU Must Prove It's Not a Christian Club - Yeni
Safak
Turkey to Buy 172 Used German Tanks - Cumhuriyet
Straw: Operation against Iran Out of the Question -
Cumhuriyet
Israeli Attacks Continue in Gaza, West Bank - Yeni Safak
Russia Enhances Cooperation with Central Asian States - Yeni
Safak
New Mass Grave Found in Srebrenica - Yeni Safak

BRIEFING

Hughes Visits Ankara, Istanbul: Karen Hughes,
Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy, met with
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and Turkish Foreign Ministry
(MFA) Undersecretary Ali Tuygan in Ankara yesterday. `We
are aware that US policies in Iraq have created reactions in
the region. That's why President Bush has asked me to learn
about the feelings in the region's countries,' Hughes
reportedly told Gul. FM Gul emphasized that US steps to
fight the PKK and remove international sanctions on northern
Cyprus can help overcome the disappointment Turks feel about
the US. Hughes responded to Gul by saying that all
institutions of the US Government have been mobilized to
address PKK terrorism. `We see the PKK as a terrorist
organization and condemn it as much as we do al-Qaida.
Turkish nationals are being killed every week.' Hughes
added that the US deemed it important that Turkey contribute
to the bid to improve the image of the US in the region. In
a press conference after the meeting with Tuygan, Hughes
stressed that Turkey and the US, united by common values
such as democracy, respect for human rights, and women's
rights, need each other. Hughes later met with
representatives of women's NGOs in Ankara. Most of the
women who spoke at the meeting with President Bush's `image
guru' focused on the Iraq war. `This war is really bringing
all the positive efforts by the US to naught,' said one
woman activist. She said it is difficult to talk about
cooperation between women in the US and Turkey as long as
Iraq is under occupation. `In every photograph that comes
from Iraq,' she added, `you can see the look of fear in the
eyes of the women and children. This needs to be resolved
as soon as possible.' A Kurdish women's rights activist
said that war caused a situation in which the rights of
women are ignored, and that poverty is increased. She also
criticized the arrest of US anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan
at a protest in front of the White House earlier this week.
Hughes defended the decision to wage war against Iraq,
saying it was a difficult moment for President Bush, but was
necessary to protect the US. `No one likes war,' Hughes
said, `but to preserve the peace, sometimes it is necessary
to go to war.' She also claimed that women in Iraq are
better off now than they were under the rule of Saddam
Hussein, saying that women had been tortured, raped, and
killed in saddam's Iraq. Hughes later flew to Istanbul for
meetings with religious leaders as part of an effort to
promote interfaith dialogue. In Istanbul, Hughes toured the
Topkapi Palace, where she held an `interfaith dialogue' with
Muslim, Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Jewish leaders.
Hughes told the press before the meeting that President Bush
had specifically asked her to meet with religious
representatives. `This is because religious leaders can
offer a hand to thousands and can contribute to an
atmosphere of tolerance,' she said. Hughes noted that she
was impressed by the `warmth and hospitality' of the Turkish
people. `We are identical in many ways. Our people give
high priority to democracy, family life, and religion,' she
said. Hughes added that the American people appreciated the
aid sent to the US from Turkey in the aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina. Istanbul Director of Religious Affairs Mustafa
Cagrici commented that Turkey and the US are similar
societies that value democracy and family life. Patriarch
Mesrob Mutafyan underlined that the clash of civilizations
between West and East is a matter of concern for his church.
`We have to discuss ways to prevent clashes. For this
reason, I find it highly essential to continue meetings of
religious leaders,' Mutafyan said. The Vatican's Turkey
Representative George Marovich noted that Turkey is like a
garden of different flowers. `In the 1800s, the Ottoman
Sultan ordered the construction of a mosque, a synagogue,
and a church next to each other. Such a practice did not
exist in Europe then. This tolerance comes from the Holy
Koran.' Hughes said after the meeting that Turkey could be
a source of inspiration for tolerance for the rest of the
world.

EU Parliament Asks Turkey to Recognize Cyprus, Accept
Armenian Genocide: The EU Parliament yesterday postponed a
vote to approve Turkey's extended customs union with the EU,
and passed a non-binding resolution saying that Turkey must
recognize Armenian `genocide' claims after entering into
full membership negotiations with the European bloc. Papers
agree that the decisions adopted by the European Parliament
a couple of days before the scheduled opening of EU
accession negotiations with Turkey will trigger a serious
crisis between Ankara and Brussels. Europe is testing
Turkish patience, trying to persuade Ankara to accept a
`second-class' membership status, papers argue. Many
writers warn that Ankara's reluctance to recognize Cyprus
may lead to a suspension of accession negotiations. The
European Parliament also drew attention to the charges filed
against prominent Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk as an example
of problems with freedom of expression in Turkey, and
demanded changes to the Turkish penal code. The EU
legislature also called on the EU to abide by its promises
to end the isolation of Turkish Cypriots. The Islamist
media claim that the EU is inclined to reject Turkey because
of its Muslim identity. `If the EU is not a Christian club,
then it should prove it,' Prime Minister Erdogan told a news
conference in Abu Dhabi, where the Turkish PM is on a state
visit. `EU membership for Turkey, with its predominantly
Muslim population, will set up a bridge between the EU and
the Muslim world,' Erdogan stressed, `and it will be the
beginning of an alliance of civilizations.' The decision of
the European Parliament is not binding, Erdogan noted.
`What matters more for Turkey is the decision of EU foreign
ministers on the framework document,' the PM said.

AKP Reacts to Washington Times Article: On Wednesday, the
ruling AK Party reacted to a claim by Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.
in the "Washington Times" that the AKP is taking Turkey down
the path of `Islamofascism.' In an interview with the semi-
official Anatolian News Agency, Egemen Bagis, an advisor to
the PM, said that the allegations by Gaffney were nothing
but `slanders and denigration.' `Such an imaginary term
like Islamofascist does not suit Turkey,' Bagis said. PM
Erdogan said in response to the WT op-ed that no one had the
right to `defame Turkey and its prime minister.' The
Gaffney article, published in the WT on Tuesday, charged
that 'Prime Minister Erdogan is systematically turning his
country from a Muslim secular democracy into an
Islamofascist state governed by an ideology anathema to
European values and freedoms.'

Iraqi Turkmen Party Criticizes ITF call to Boycott
Referendum: Iraqi lawmaker and the Secretary-General of the
Turkmen Brotherhood Party, Walid Shirkah, criticized a
statement by the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) calling on the
Turkmen not to take part in the constitutional referendum on
October 15. Shirkah said that the ITF should stop
`imposing' its will on the Turkmen and reconsider its failed
policies, according to a daily published by the Patriotic
Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

Barzani: Kurds May Open Representation in Ankara: Iraqi
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Chairman and the regional
President of Kurdistan, Massoud Barzani, said that the Kurds
had the right to open a representation office in Turkey as
part of the Iraq Embassy `when Kurdish interests so
require,' according to "Cumhuriyet." In a statement to the
"Kirkuk-Kurdistan" webpage, Barzani said that the new Iraq
constitution gives the Kurds the right to open official
representations at Iraqi embassies in Ankara, Damascus, and
Tehran. Barzani also claimed that the draft constitution
will pave the way for Kirkuk to be included in the Kurdish
region through a referendum. Barzani noted that the `time
has not come' for the second option of establishing a
separate Kurdish state.

Turkey to Buy German Leopard-II Tanks: Turkey began
bargaining with Germany to buy 172 used Leopard-II tanks
after Berlin scrapped its condition that the German weapons
not be used in southeast Turkey, "Cumhuriyet" reports. The
few remaining `rough edges' have been smoothed over at the
talks after the German Defense Ministry approved the sale.
On the other hand, talks with the US for the sale of
Abrahams-I tanks have ended due to the `technical
inadequacy' of the tanks.

Police Kill Two PKK Terrorists: Turkish troops killed two
PKK fighters on Wednesday after a tip-off that they were
about to launch an attack in two towns in the southeastern
province of Diyarbakir. Security forces shot dead two PKK
militants in a suspicious car that did not stop at a
roadblock. Three policemen were wounded. Two Kalashnikov
rifles, some ammunition, and two hand-grenades were found in
the car.


EDITORIAL OPINION:

"This is not Binding Either, But."
Sami Kohen commented in the mainstream daily "Milliyet"
(9/29): "Just as we said about the EU counter-declaration,
we can say that yesterday's decision by the European
Parliament is not legally binding on Turkey. But the EU
Commission and the EU Council of Ministers will be affected
by the Parliament's decision. So even though the decision
isn't binding, we would still be wise to consider it
seriously. Among yesterday's decisions there are both
pleasing and disturbing elements. For example, the call to
end the isolation of TRNC is a positive development.
Likewise, the rejection of the `privileged partnership'
thesis is something that Turkey is pleased with. The
negative decisions center around the Armenian and Cyprus
issues. We need to study carefully the reasons why Turkey
is facing such a hard time in international platforms, even
though these platforms may not have any legal effect in
Turkey's relations with the EU."

"Why Do Americans Keep Coming to Turkey"
Mustafa Balbay wrote in the leftist-nationalist "Cumhuriyet"
(9/29): We started the year 2005 with a flood of official
visitors from the US. It seems that we'll be ending the
year with a similar flood. Deputy Assistant Secretary of
State Matt Bryza came to Turkey twice within a month, and
revealed that he is going to marry a Turkish girl. CENTCOM
Deputy General Lance Smith and EUCOM commander General James
Jones came on the same day some time ago. Bush's National
Security Advisor Stephen Hadley said he visited Ankara on
his first trip abroad as a way to show how important Turkey
is to the US. The latest visitor was State Department
Undersecretary Karen Hughes. All of these people are
welcome, but why did they come? Each visitor talked about
the PKK, said the time had come to deal with it, etc. We
believe that the US, instead of fighting against the PKK, is
trying to draw Turkey closer to itself under the guise of
doing something about the PKK. During all these visits,
Turkey has repeated its concerns about the huge PKK presence
along the Turkey-Iraq border. US officials have said they
will fight against the PKK, but also presented certain
demands from Turkey behind closed doors. What are these US
demands? In short the answer is: the same things they were
demanding before March 1. The US wants to expand the use of
Incirlik air base; to use Turkey's infrastructure for its
regional operations; to use at least two ports on the Black
Sea; and free passage from the straits in contravention of
the Montreux Convention. They insist that these demands be
met without approval by the Turkish Parliament. The US
views Turkey as an aircraft carrier in the region, and seeks
to use it for its various purposes. That is why the US
doesn't want Turkey to sink, or to change its course to
thwart US intentions."

MCELDOWNEY