ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 007397 SIPDIS 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, DECEMBER 16, 2005 THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE THEMES: HEADLINES BRIEFING EDITORIAL OPINION -------------- -- HEADLINES MASS APPEAL Majority of Iraqi Sunnis Participate in Elections - Hurriyet FM Gul: FBI and CIA did not Interrogate Anyone in Turkey - Hurriyet Wilson Reassures on US-Turkey Partnership - Milliyet PM Erdogan Receives US Ambassador - Star Visit From US Ambassador to PM - Vatan Assistant Secretary Dan Fried: US-Turkey Cooperation Improves - Turkiye President Bush: Iran is a Serious Threat - Milliyet General Buyukanit: NATO Should Add PKK to its Terrorist List - Milliyet Olli Rehn: Today not only Orhan Pamuk but Turkey will be Tried - Milliyet Europe Follows Orhan Pamuk Case Closely - Vatan US Praises Buyukanit - Sabah American Iraqi Kurds Happy in the US - Hurriyet Moody's: Turkey's Economic Crisis is Over - Turkiye OPINION MAKERS Strong Turnout for Iraqi Elections - Cumhuriyet Iraqi PM Jafari: PKK Will Either Stop Fighting or Leave Iraq - Zaman NATO to US: We Don't Want to be Involved in US Interference in Iraq - Yeni Safak Ambassador Wilson: 2006 Will be the Year of Results - Radikal Ambassador Wilson's Priority is a More Liberal Turkey - Yeni Safak BRIEFING Ambassador Wilson's Meetings with PM Erdogan and FM Gul: "Milliyet", "Vatan", "Star", "Radikal" and "Yeni Safak" reported that the new US Ambassador Ross Wilson was received by the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister yesterday. "Milliyet" draws attention to the fact that Ambassador Wilson was received by PM Erdogan within a very short time after the Ambassador's arrival in Turkey while the previous Ambassador Edelman had to wait for an appointment for five weeks. Ambassador Wilson gave the message to FM Gul that `Turkey is an important strategic partner of the US.' The Ambassador listed the areas where he will seek closer cooperation with Turkey as Iraq, Syria, Iran, Cyprus, Caucasus, and the Middle East. In return, Foreign Minister Gul, reportedly, reiterated Turkey's expectations regarding the PKK and drew the Ambassador's attention to allegations of irregularity in Iraqi elections. Orhan Pamuk Trial: All papers report that the world's attention is focused on Turkey because of today's trial. "Milliyet" quotes EU Commissioner Olli Rehn as saying that `it is not only Orhan Pamuk who stands trial but all of Turkey'. Rehn warned Turkey that this case would cast a shadow over Turkey's EU accession. A/S Dan Fried Comments: "Turkiye" and "Yeni Safak" quote US Assistant Secretary of State Dan Fried as saying that `Turkey and the US had some misunderstandings in the past regarding Iraq, but cooperation between two countries has ANKARA 00007397 002 OF 002 improved. The US considers the PKK a terrorist organization and our cooperation with Turkey to eliminate the PKK has increased as well.' Relocated Kurds Happy in the US: "Hurriyet" and "Yeni Safak" report on the status of a number of Kurds who collaborated with the CIA in 1996 against Saddam Hussein and were taken to the US for their safety. One of those immigrants, Hikmet Piromavi said `we were considered to be CIA agents in those days. Our only goal then was to bring down the Saddam regime. The Halepce massacre was proof of Saddam's brutality against Kurds. The US saved us from these massacres and brought us all to the US, where we have jobs and are doing very well financially. Now we are American citizens - Kurdish- Americans - earning money and paying taxes.' EDITORIAL OPINION: Iraq Elections "Is It That Simple?" Okay Gonensin observed in the mass appeal "Vatan" (12/16): "The Bush administration's attack against Iraq opened a Pandora's box, unleashing Arab nationalism, radical Islam, Kurdish nationalism and Shiite fanaticism. Even though Sunnis participated in the elections, the fact of the matter is that every group in Iraq seemed attached to its nationalistic as well as religious identity. Recent remarks from President Bush contained two important confessions. One of them was slightly innocent: that the amount of oil revenue from Iraq was not as much as the US had anticipated. But the other confession was quite disturbing: he admitted that intelligence reports about Saddam possessing weapons of mass destruction were wrong. This clearly means that the US reason for attacking Iraq was false. A war which continues to claim lives to this day was started with faulty intelligence. President Bush's confession will be written of as the biggest scandal in political history." "The Iraqi Elections" Kamuran Ozbir commented in the nationalist "Ortadogu" (12/16): "The Iraqi elections are over but certain conditions have to be met in order to achieve a united, stable and peaceful Iraq in the post-election period. The immediate priority is to bring the violence to an end by making insurgent groups ineffective. Once the invasion is over and as soon as the coalition forces start pulling out, Iraq undoubtedly will go back to normal life. At this point, it is absolutely crucial for the new Iraqi administration to pursue a balanced policy as envisaged in the constitution, in other words a federal Iraq, territorially intact. A serious challenge is ahead of Iraq when the election results become available. The new administration will have to deal with political structuring while establishing democracy and stability at the very same time. It remains to be seen if Iraq will actually be successful in the challenges to come." WILSON