US embassy cable - 03ANKARA5856

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 005856 
 
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, Press Summaries 
SUBJECT: ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT 
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2003 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Europe Closely Follows Trial of Former DEP Deputies - 
Milliyet 
US Guarantee to the Turkomen - Turkiye 
FM Gul: "Iraqi People Are Very Warm Towards Turkey - Sabah 
Iraq-Turkoman Front Elects the New Chairman - Sabah 
Roth: "The EU Cannot Say No to Turkey - Hurriyet 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Ankara's Controversial Iraq Policy - Cumhuriyet 
Powell: "Iraqis Are Sensitive regarding Turks" - Cumhuriyet 
Col. Mayville: "Turkomaen Will Have Equal Rights" - Radikal 
FM Gul Trusts US on Terrorism Issue - Radikal 
Washington Institute: "Time to Eradicate PKK/KADEK - Zaman 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
DEP Deputies Trial: "Milliyet" reports that the European 
Parliament speaker Pat Cox called FM Gul to say that the EP 
was closely following the trial of former deputies of 
Kurdish party DEP.  Cox has reportedly told Gul that the 
suit would affect the views of the EP about reforms in 
Turkey, and, reminded him that Leyla Zana had recently 
received the human rights award of the European parliament. 
Gul on his part said he personally was in favor of releasing 
DEP deputies, but added that the Turkish judiciary was 
independent, and everyone has to respect the decisions of 
the judiciary. 
 
 
Turkoman Front Elections:  "Radikal" reports that Faruk 
Abdullah Abdurrahman was elected as head of the Turkoman 
front at the end of a three-day meeting in Kirkuk.  In a 
speech at the meeting US forces commander in Kirkuk Colonel 
William Mayville ensured the Turkomen that they would enjoy 
equal rights with other ethnic groups in Iraq.  "Zaman" 
reports that Mayville  abandoned his usual hard-line 
approach  and encouraged the Turkomean to join the national 
debate about the future of Iraq. 
 
 
FM Gul on PKK/KADEK:  "Aksam" reports that FM Gul said that 
Turkey and the US had made considerable progress in talks on 
the fight against PKK/KADEK.  Gul stated that the US would 
make no distinction between terrorists threatening US 
security and terrorists threatening Turkish security. 
"Zaman" highlights Gul's statement that Iraqi people were 
positive about the deployment of Turkish troops. 
 
 
Washington Institute Report:  "Zaman" draws attention to a 
report prepared by the Washington Institute which highlights 
the need for Turkey-US cooperation in the fight against PKK. 
The report warns that a possible PKK attack against Turkey 
from US controlled northern Iraq would lead to a 
confrontation between Washington and Ankara. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
 
"A turning point in the Turkomen cause" 
Cengiz Candar opined in mass appeal Sabah (9/16): "Ankara's 
Turkomen policy after 1993 was based on using the Turkomen 
as a trump card against the Kurds in Iraq.  The Iraqi 
Turkoman Front (ITF) was formed as an umbrella organization 
that had close ties with Turkey's intelligence 
organizations, and particularly with our Special Forces. . 
The Turkomen thus bore the brunt of deteriorating U.S., 
Turkey relations.  Turkomen are underrepresented in the 
newly formed Iraqi governing bodies, and since Washington 
regarded the ITF as an affiliate of the military in Ankara, 
the Turkomen community is excluded from Iraq's rebuilding 
process.  The ITF Congress held in Kirkuk has been a turning 
point in the Turkomen cause. .  The two leaders of the ITF, 
Faruk Abdurrahman and Professor Sadetin Ergec have been 
elected as Turkomen representatives for Baghdad and Kirkuk 
respectively, and this time, not by instructions from 
Ankara.  The new ITF administration will not be Ankara's 
pawn anymore.  And also, the Shiite Turkomen, who have been 
excluded by Ankara thus far, are being lured into the ITF by 
the recent congress.  After this turning point in Kirkuk, 
the U.S. has got to change its view of the Turkomen." 
 
 
"Israel, murder, America" 
Ahmet Tasgetiren commented in Islamist intellectual Yeni 
Safak (9/16): "Israel has turned its guns toward Sheikh 
Ahmad Yasin and Arafat.  This policy displays a will to 
butcher the Palestinian people.  A `road map' will become 
meaningless on such a path of blood. .  U.S. is merely 
watching.  Even Shimon Peres has displayed a clearer 
reaction than Washington, and as have the Jewish 
intellectuals in Israel sensitive to human rights. .  It's 
not difficult for Israel to kill Sheikh Yasin and Arafat. 
But such murders will never bring peace to Palestine. . 
U.S. cannot claim to be a world power by standing behind 
Israel's murders.  The world has a negative view of America 
because of the images of Washington's bosses clearly visible 
on Sharon's face." 
 
 
EDELMAN