ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 005985

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, OCTOBER 4, 2005

THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE
THEMES:

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

HEADLINES

MASS APPEAL
Turkey on EU Train, Target is Full Membership - Sabah
Turkey's EU Dream Becomes a Reality - Hurriyet
A New Europe, A New Turkey - Milliyet
Vienna Falls - Milliyet
Erdogan: Turkey Takes Giant Step on Historic EU Path - Sabah
Gul: Turkey Steps into New Era - Milliyet
`Condi' Resolves Crisis, Backs Turkey at EU - Vatan
Condi's Call Saved Turkey's EU Bid - Aksam
US: Turkey Belongs to Europe - Milliyet
Straw: EU Will Grow Stronger with Turkey - Sabah
Talabani-Jafari Tension Over Kirkuk - Hurriyet
Palestinian Police, Infuriated by Hamas, Raid Parliament -
Sabah

OPINION MAKERS
Happy Ending: Turkey, EU at Negotiating Table - Radikal
Both EU and Turkey Win - Radikal
Erdogan: Hopes Strengthened for Global Peace - Zaman
Rice Calls Erdogan to Express Support - Cumhuriyet
Rice: We Won't Take Greek Cypriots into NATO - Yeni Safak
US Intervenes on Turkey's Behalf - Zaman
Rice Warns EU against Involvement in NATO Decisions -
Radikal
Straw: Turkey a Muslim, Secular, European Country -
Cumhuriyet
US Uneasy with Israeli Activities in Northern Iraq - Yeni
Safak
Kurdish-Shiite Power Struggle in Baghdad - Yeni Safak
Amnesty Warns Russia on Human Rights Violations - Cumhuriyet
31 Taliban Fighters Killed in Afghanistan - Yeni Safak


BRIEFING

Turkey, EU Open Landmark Accession Talks: Turkey opened
historic membership negotiations with the European Union
early Tuesday, 42 years after it was first offered
membership in the European bloc. After tough negotiations
that began Sunday evening and lasted late into Monday
afternoon, Austria withdrew its demand that Ankara be
offered a `privileged partnership' as an alternate to full
EU membership. EU members reached a settlement over the
negotiation framework document, and Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul arrived in Luxembourg after midnight to be
greeted by British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and other
top-level EU officials. In an opening statement, Straw
urged Turkey to press ahead with reforms, strengthen the
independence of the judiciary, beef up basic freedoms,
assure civilian control of the military, and improve the
situation in the mainly Kurdish southeast of the country.
`This is a truly historic day for Europe and for the whole
of the international community. We are showing that it's
not about religion or religious differences. It's about
being bound by the same set of values,' Straw said. Gul
said that `we have come to a historic point today, and that
is the point of beginning talks for full membership.' Gul
told the press before departing Ankara for Luxembourg that
the `win-win' situation with the EU that emerged yesterday
would add to Europe's diversity. `Turkey is determined to
carry on with reforms. 10 years from now, Turkey will be a
very different from the Turkey of today. Some of the
concerns that are seen in European public opinion will not
exist in 10 years' time,' Gul said. Prime Minister Tayyip
Erdogan said in a statement that Ankara had reached an
agreement that is `in line with Turkey's expectations.'
`Turkey has taken a giant step forward on its historic
march. At the beginning, every negotiation process is open-
ended. But a target has been established, and that is the
achievement of full membership,' the Turkish PM added.
Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel said that if Turkey
does not fulfill the conditions, the alternative will be the
establishment of `the strongest possible bond' with Ankara.
Schuessel told the `citizens of Europe' that opening
accession talks with Turkey will not lead to an automatic
mechanism that cannot be stopped. German Foreign Minister
Joschka Fischer said that the eastern Mediterranean will be
crucial for peace in the 21st century --- not only for
Turkey or the region, but for Europe as well. `Europe is
the winner today,' Fischer said. Mehmet Dulger, head of the
Turkish Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, acknowledged
that this will be a `very long process.' `We want to turn
confrontation into collaboration. Turkey will not destroy
the architecture of the EU. Quite the contrary. We want to
contribute by bringing our dynamism to the EU,' Dulger
stressed. Onur Oymen, deputy chairman of the main
opposition CHP slammed the AK Party government for not
informing the nation and opposition about the deal before
accepting it. `We fear that the agreed text will be even
tougher on Turkey than the outcome of the EU Council
meetings last December, which mentioned an open-ended
negotiation process and permanent restrictions on the free
movement of Turkish labor. We also fear that the text may
lead Turkey to an outcome other than full EU membership,'
Oymen said.

US Intervenes in on Time to Rescue Turkey at EU: Turkish
papers and television stations praised the United States for
`stepping in' at just the right time to help save Turkeys'
bid to join the European bloc. On Monday, Secretary Rice
called PM Erdogan and convinced him that the set of rules
for joining the EU could not oblige Turkey to drop
objections to Cyprus' membership in NATO, papers report.
Papers quote State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack as
telling reporters that `EU processes shouldn't affect or be
brought into NATO processes.' `I will reiterate that we
believe a Turkey firmly anchored in Europe will be an even
more reliable partner for the transatlantic family and a
positive force for advancing peace, prosperity and
democracy. The US has long supported Turkey's European
aspirations, but we don't have a vote in this process. We
have lent our diplomatic and rhetorical support to their
aspirations, but ultimately this is a matter for the EU to
decide,' McCormack said. McCormack noted that Rice also had
a discussion with Foreign Minister Gul over the weekend,
before speaking with PM Erdogan yesterday. According to
another State Department official, Washington wanted to send
a signal that NATO is independent from the EU. `What we are
saying to Turkey is not to worry that the deal it cut with
the EU ties its hands at NATO. Because we don't think it
does,' said the unidentified official. Many papers hailed
the US intervention as key to solving yesterday's impasse in
Luxembourg: "Aksam" claimed that "Condi's Call Saved the
Day," while "Vatan" said "Condi Calls at the Most Critical
Time."

PUK Congratulates Ankara on Accession Talks with EU: The
Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) said on Monday that
it supported the opening of accession talks between Turkey
and the EU, the semi-official Anatolian News Agency (AA)
reported. `We consider Turkey's accession talks with the EU
very important and useful not only for Turkey, but for the
democratization and economic development of all Middle
Eastern countries,' PUK Ankara representative Behruz Galali
told AA.

Turkey, Israel Can Cooperate in Advanced Technology: AA
also reported that Mose Kamhi, an Israeli Foreign Ministry
official for special projects, said on Monday that Turkey
and Israel can cooperate in the manufacturing and marketing
of advanced technology. In a statement to mark the tenth
anniversary of the free trade agreement between Turkey and
Israel, Kamhi said that bilateral trade between Turkey and
Israel increased to 2 billion USD last year from 45.7
million in 1980, but that it was far from reflecting the
true potential of the two countries. Kamhi noted that
authorized institutions in both countries can form joint and
autonomous funds for business, as Israel has done with the
United States and the UK. Kamhi recalled that the framework
document signed between Ankara and Tel Aviv during PM
Erdogan's visit to Israel in March called on the Turkish and
Israeli businessmen to make `joint entry' into new markets.

Ankara Condemns Bali Bombings: Ankara strongly condemned
terrorist bomb attacks which killed 32 and injured 101 in
Bali, Indonesia on Sunday. The Turkish Foreign Ministry
(MFA) said in a statement yesterday that the bombings were
`crimes against humanity,' and stressed the need to carry
out an effective international fight against terrorism.


EDITORIAL OPINION:

"We Cannot Digest Either"
Sami Kohen opined in the mainstream daily "Milliyet" (10/4):
"We are over the most tense 36 hours. Of course, both
Turkey and Europe have gone through two very exciting days.
From the US to the Arab world, the officials of many other
countries followed these developments with great curiosity.
Everyone was shocked that the position of Austria, a rather
small country, shook the EU so profoundly. Although the
ostensible issue in Luxembourg was Turkey's membership, the
real debate concerned the obvious weakness in the structure
of the EU. After Austria adopted its anti-Turkish position,
some commentators described Austria as `the sick man of
Europe,' a label previously reserved for the Ottoman Empire.
It is clear that if the EU doesn't put itself in order soon,
a crisis will become inevitable. Developments over the last
36 hours have had a negative effect on Turkey's desire for
EU membership. Now it is up to the EU to take some measures
that will improve Turkey-EU relations. The word
`digestion,' which the Austrians were so insistent on
inculding in the text of the framework document, has been
repeated too often in recent days. It is a remote
possibility that the EU will have problems in `digesting'
Turkey after a minimum10-year negotiation process. But for
Turkey, `digesting' this word as a condition for EU
membership was not easy at all."

"Now, the Negotiation Process Becomes Important"
Selcuk Gultasli commented in the Islamist-intellectual
"Zaman" from Luxembourg (10/4): "Once again, the EU has
made a decision on Turkey in a crisis atmosphere and at a
late hour. Once again, the US had to intervene to convince
the EU. Ut in the end, the EU agreed to keep the commitment
that it gave on December 17. We cannot ignore Austria's
success on the Croatia issue and its insistence on a
`privileged partnership.' Although the EU did not go along
with `privileged partnership' language for Turkey as Austria
had insisted, few changes were made in the framework
document. Austria was also successful in securing the start
of the negotiations with Croatia. Since it was not possible
that Austria could resist the other 24 members of the EU on
its own, it is correct to say that some other EU members
were giving implicit support to the Austrian position.
First among these countries is France. After long hours of
discussion, if the `privileged partnership' language had
been included in the final document, the EU would be have
been viewed as an institution not to be trusted. But
despite the crisis, the negotiations with the EU have been
launched. Now the important thing is how the talks will
continue to play out. Turkey, Europe and the rest of the
world will benefit from a successful outcome."

"The Journey Begins."
Ismet Berkan wrote in the liberal-intellectual "Radikal"
(10/4): "Let us all forget the last 36 hours of arguments
and crisis. Let us even forget the struggle that has lasted
so many years. These things are no longer important. Now
Turkey is sitting at the negotiation table for full
membership in the European Union. All of that struggle was
waged with a single goal -- to enter the door of Europe.
Now we have entered. But believe me, the rest of the trip
will be even more difficult. We will face many more crises.
Each new crisis will be a test of endurance for Turkey.
Turkey now begins its long and critical journey."

MCELDOWNEY