ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 006183

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 11, 2005

THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE
THEMES:

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

HEADLINES


MASS APPEAL
Earthquake Wiped Out a Generation in Pakistan - Aksam
Musharraf: We Need Money, Not Rescue Workers - Hurriyet
10/10
World Bank to Give 20 Million USD to Pakistan - Tercuman
10/10
The Merkel Era in Germany - Milliyet
Condi Saved Syria - Milliyet
Gul Due in Kosovo, Montenegro -Turkiye
Zabari: Anarchy Will Prevail if Constitution is Rejected in
Iraq - Sabah 10/10
Iran: All Nuclear Arms Must be Destroyed around the World -
Sabah 10/10
Three PKK Terrorists Killed in Tunceli - Star

OPINION MAKERS
World Rushes to Help Pakistan - Zaman
Turkish Rescue Teams in Pakistan - Yeni Safak
Turkey Sends 4 Planes Full of Aid to Pakistan - Cumhuriyet
10/10
Over 30,000 Killed in Kashmir Alone - Radikal 10/10
Newsweek: US Plans to Set up Military Base in Erbil -
Cumhuriyet
Bush Invites Barzani to US after October 13 - Yeni Safak
10/10
Merkel Germany's First Woman Chancellor - Yeni Safak
Rice Blocked US Attack against Syria - Yeni Safak
US Looks for a New Leader for Syria - Radikal
Only 32 Percent of Americans Support Bush's Iraq Policy -
Radikal
White Policemen Beat Old Black Man in New Orleans - Yeni
Safak
Hurricane Stan Death Toll Rises in Central America - Yeni
Safak
Mossad on the Decline since 2002 - Zaman 10/10


BRIEFING

Turkey Sends Rescue Teams, Aid to South Asia Earthquake
Victims: Papers report over the weekend and on Monday that
Turkey sent three military planes carrying search and rescue
teams to Pakistan following the powerful 7.6-magnitude
earthquake that rocked South Asia on Saturday, killing
thousands of people and injuring hundreds in Pakistan, India
and Afghanistan. The prime minister's office said that the
planes carried 21 rescue workers, 30 medical personnel, 11
tons of aid material, two ambulances and rescue vehicles,
and that the Turkish Red Crescent (Kizilay) will take more
aid to the victims on three separate planes to the
Muzaffarabad region, which was stricken worst by the
earthquake.

Turkey Fights Avian Flu, EU Bans Bird Imports: Ankara over
the weekend confirmed an outbreak of the highly contagious
`avian flu' and culled about 3,000 turkeys and chicken at a
farm in Manyas near the Marmara and Aegean seas, papers
report. The slaughtered animals were buried in lime-
drenched pits and a 3 km area around the affected farm was
quarantined. Turkish experts said the outbreak of disease
is not an epidemic. The Health Ministry announced on Sunday
that the recent bird flu outbreak in Turkey has no
connection with the global avian influenza. The EU
Commission said the results of bird flu tests in Romania and
Turkey should be known by October 12. The EU Commission,
Greece, Croatia, Kosovo and Ukraine suspended imports of
poultry from Turkey.
Erdogan Seeks Bush Support on Cyprus: Sunday "Zaman"
reports that Prime Minister Erdogan asked President Bush to
support efforts aimed at lifting the international isolation
of the Turkish Cypriots during a telephone conversation the
two leaders had last week. Sources said that Bush backed
the idea and expects Erdogan to have a meeting with UN
Secretary General Annan with regard to the Cyprus question.

SIPDIS

Dardari on Ties with Turkey, US: The semi-official
"Anatolian Agency" (AA) reports Abdullah al-Dardari,
visiting Syrian deputy PM for economy, as saying on Saturday
that Syria needs investments of 10 billion USD for
infrastructure projects over the next decade. Dardari
pointed out that Damascus wanted to increase the trade
between Turkey and Syria to two billion USD by the end of
2007 from the existing 800 million USD. Dardari said that
the free trade agreement among the two countries will be
endorsed by the Turkish parliament in the next three months.
`We want to set up a joint tourism zone and also forge a
partnership to explore oil,' he said. Dardari noted that
Damascus appreciated Turkey's stance in the face of the
pressures put on by the US: `Anyone who underestimates
American pressures is not clever. However, we will not
yield to pressure from the United States and our economic
and political reforms will continue.' Dardari rejected
accusations of Syria's role regarding the terror in Iraq.
Dardari noted that he brought a message from President Assad
to PM Erdogan about the political impact of the UN-led
investigation into the assassination of the former Lebanese
PM Hariri. Dardari also criticized the US for denying
President Assad a visa to attend the 60th Summit of the UN
in New York.

Turkish Terror Suspects Admit Ties to Sakra: Burhan Kus and
Sadettin Akdas, Turkish suspects in the 15-20 November
bombings in Istanbul, said that Louai Sakra, the al-Qaida
linked terrorist of Syrian heritage who was captured in
Turkey earlier this year while preparing to stage bomb
attacks against Israeli cruise liners, hid some of the
perpetrators of the said bombings in his house in Syria,
Monday papers report. Kus and Akdas, currently under
detention in the Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq, admitted ties to
Sakra to a special team of security officials sent from
Ankara.

Ben-Eliezer Due in Ankara: Israel's Infrastructure Minister
Binyamin Ben-Eliezer is to meet with Prime Minister Tayyip
Erdogan and Energy Minister Hilmi Guler during an official
visit on Wednesday, the "Israel National News" (INN)
reports. Ben-Eliezer will discuss the proposal of an Israel-
Turkey `infrastructure corridor' which will help Israel
break its regional isolation, Infrastructure Ministry
officials said.

Dink Sentenced to Six Months, Term Deferred: Hrant Dink,
the chief editor of the Armenian daily "Agos," was sentenced
by a court in Istanbul to six months in prison for
`insulting' Turkish identity, papers report over the
weekend. The sentence was deferred due to Dink's good
behavior during the trial. Dink denied any wrongdoing and
said that he had in fact called on the Armenian diaspora to
leave aside their hatred of Turkey for events which happened
90 years ago. Dink faces another trial for a speech he
delivered at a panel meeting on terrorism and human rights
in February 2002. The trial is to be held at a court in the
southeastern province of Urfa on February 9. Acclaimed
Turkish author Orhan Pamuk will also stand trial for
`denigrating the Turkish identity' at a court in Istanbul on
December 16.

Rehn Meets with Pamuk: EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli
Rehn, in Turkey to mark the opening of EU membership talks
with Ankara, met with the renowned Turkish novelist Orhan
Pamuk in Istanbul, weekend papers report. `Free speech and
free expression are core values of the European Union,'
Rehn's spokesperson quoted him as saying after meeting
Pamuk, who was charged in connection with claims that some
1.5 million Armenians were killed at the hands of Ottoman
forces during World War I. Rehn stressed that any country
to become a full member of the EU should respect freedom of
expression. Rehn met Turkish leaders in Ankara on Thursday
and told them their country would now come under closer
scrutiny as it tries to bring its laws and standards into
line with those of the 25-nation EU.

Poll on Turkish University Students' EU Perceptions: An
opinion research conducted among 1,776 state and private
university students in Ankara in late September showed that
62 percent of those surveyed believe that Turkey will be
unable to integrate into the European Union, the English-
daily "Turkish Daily News" (TDN) reports on Sunday. Thirty-
eight percent believe that Turkey will join the bloc, and 10
percent said that the EU will no longer be seen as a
Christian club after Turkey's membership. If it cannot join
the EU, 27 percent of students said Turkey can turn to the
`Turkic world,' and 26 percent said it can move closer to
the `Russia, China and Iran' trio. Only 18 percent think
that Turkey has no alternatives other than the EU. Turkey
is considered a European country by 57 percent while 43
percent disagree. Half of those surveyed see France as the
biggest obstacle to Turkey's full membership, and 82 percent
find the EU of having `double standards' when it comes to
Turkey.

Anti-Terror Drills in Turkish Cities: Monday "Zaman"
reports that anti-terror drills will be conducted in all
Turkish provinces as part of a new strategy by the Turkish
police to counter attempts of sabotage by the outlawed PKK
using C-4 and A-4 explosives. The report also says that the
PKK is preparing to stage `al-Qaida inspired' attacks by
using makeshift bombs that contain ammonium nitrate and
sugar.

PKK Abducts Policeman: A group of PKK terrorists abducted a
police officer near the Idil town of the southeastern city
of Sirnak, papers report today. On Monday, security forces
killed three PKK militants in the eastern province of
Tunceli. Two PKK members were captured with 5.6 kg of
plastic explosives in Istanbul over the weekend.


EDITORIAL OPINION: US-Turkey; Iraq

"How the Washington-Ankara Line Was Restored?"
Asli Aydintasbas wrote in the mass appeal "Sabah" (10/11):
"It is no longer a secret that the US conducted a huge
lobbying effort with the EU to ensure a negotiation date for
Turkey. Moreover, Secretary Rice was personally involved
during the critical final 48 hours of the process. An
official who was an active participant in the discussions
admitted that `things would have been a lot different if the
US did not exert pressure.' . Shortly before the October 3
EU date, Karen Hughes, a close advisor of President Bush,
included Turkey in her public diplomacy tour. Prior to this
visit, US National Security Advisor Steve Hadley visited
Turkey on his first trip abroad and had an extensive meeting
with Prime Minister Erdodan. In recent months Deputy
Assistant Secretary Bryza visited Turkey twice. All this
busy diplomatic traffic must mean something. Circles in
Washington talk about a new courting, a sort of second
honeymoon, in the Turkish-American relationship . The US
administration decided to restore its ties with Turkey even
before the visit of Prime Minister Erdodan to the US in
June. This strategic decision was based on the view that
achieving American objectives in Iraq and in the region
would be easier with the support of Turkey. Although Turkey
is not currently making any concrete contributions to US
interests in the Middle East, the US understands that
tension with Turkey could be costly. On the other hand,
Turkey also took important steps to repair its ties with the
US. Turkish officials such as advisor Ahmet Davutoglu, who
was not well received by Washington, are now given a low
profile. As of June, Ankara is more careful on the Syrian
issue than before. Syrian leader Assad was not able to
visit Turkey for his summer holiday. Syrian Deputy Prime
Minister Dardari was not received by Prime Minister Erdogan
or FM Gul during his recent Ankara tour. In addition,
there are some important political and economic developments
related to Israel that have had a positive impact in
Washington. Ankara played a mediating role to initiate a
dialogue between Pakistan and Israel. All these
developments indicate that one can now talk about a new era
in Turkish-American relations."

"While Iraq Disintegrates"
Haluk Ulman commented in the economic-political "Dunya"
(10/11): "During the Iraqi constitution process, Sunnis
were completely left out. The draft constitution looked as
if administration and oil reserves were left to the Kurds in
the north and to the Shiites in the south. The whole
process transpired as Kurd-Shiite bargaining, establishing a
legal basis for dividing the country between two ethnic
groups. If the draft constitution overcomes Shiite
opposition and is accepted, Iraq will be divided into states
ruled by powerful local administrations. Under the
constitution, regions can be comprised of more than one
state, and two or more regions can join together to form one
larger region. For example, Kurdish regions can merge into
one Kurdish state and Shiites can merge into another state.
This means that Iraq will be divided between the American
collaborator Kurds and the Shiites, who will definitely
cooperate with Tehran in the future. In the name of
democracy, the Bush Administration is creating a second
`Shiite Islamic Republic' in Iraq."

MCELDOWNEY