US embassy cable - 03ANKARA6230

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 006230 
 
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 
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2003 
 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Powell: We've assured Turkey on PKK - Hurriyet 
Powell: We will terminate the PKK - Milliyet 
Amb. Black: No room for PKK in Iraq - Aksam 
Joint struggle against PKK/KADEK - Hurriyet 
Turkey, U.S. cooperation against terror - Turkiye 
Gen. Sanchez: Location of Turkish troops depend on 
their capability - Hurriyet 
Government pushes button for troops to Iraq - Sabah 
Khatemi gives warm messages to Turkey - Milliyet 
Saddam seen in Kirkuk - Sabah 
OIC's scandalous Cyprus report - Aksam 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Turkey, U.S. agree to eliminate PKK in N. Iraq - 
Radikal 
Mark Parris: U.S.-Turkey relations must be redefined - 
Yeni Safak 
Erdogan in Rome for EU: Iran visit canceled - Zaman 
Court OKs `Terrorist Bush' t-shirts  - Yeni Safak 
Greek Court's historic report on Muslims - Radikal 
600 new Israeli houses violate Roadmap - Zaman 
Aliyev withdraws candidacy in favor of his son - 
Cumhuriyet 
North Korean making six atomic bombs - Cumhuriyet 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Ambassador Black's Ankara meetings:  Papers report that 
the U.S. and Turkey have outlined a joint strategy for 
stability in Iraq.  U.S. State Department counter- 
terrorism coordinator Cofer Black said after meeting 
with MFA officials in Ankara on Thursday that there is 
no place for the PKK in Northern Iraq.  Black noted 
that the plan of action envisaged legal, diplomatic, 
and financial measures against the PKK/KADEK, and that 
top PKK leaders would be handed over to Turkey.  The 
Turks demanded that the Americans launch operations 
against PKK camps.  The U.S. will also support Turkey's 
appeal to the EU to cut the financial resources of 
KADEK and its affiliates in Europe.  The U.S. will 
press KADEK militants to apply to Turkish authorities 
to benefit from the amnesty law adopted by Ankara. The 
Americans are not very enthusiastic about joint 
military operations with Turkey.  Ankara has asked for 
written guarantees about the implementation of the 
action plan, but an anonymous American official said 
that his word should be regarded as a sufficient 
guarantee by the Turks, "Cumhuriyet" notes.  Ankara has 
demanded quick American action to eliminate the PKK, 
but the Americans prefer to wait until the deadline for 
the amnesty law passes. 
 
 
Turkey's defense minister outlines reasons for Turks to 
be in Iraq: Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul said that 36 
countries are currently backing the U.S. in Iraq, and 
that Turkey should send troops to further its national 
interests.  Supporting Iraq's territorial integrity is 
the main reason why we should send troops, Gonul said. 
If Turkey is in Iraq, he continued, it will be able to 
set up a buffer zone against the terror threat posed by 
the PKK.  A Turkish presence in Iraq will ensure the 
uninterrupted flow of oil from Kirkuk to Turkey's 
Yumurtalik terminal.  All ethnic groups will be given 
equal treatment once democracy is established in Iraq, 
Gonul stressed, iand we need to be there during this 
transition period. 
 
 
Turkish peacekeepers to Iraq:  Prime Minister Erdogan 
said on Thursday that his government would decide about 
deploying troops in Iraq within 10-15 days.  Papers 
expect the government to discuss the issue in the 
parliament on October 8 or 9. 
 
 
Greek court might recognize Western Thrace Muslims:  In 
a report to the Greek Supreme Court, Judge Kasavetis 
said that people have a right to decide on their own 
ethnic identity.  He asked for removal of restrictions 
on the use of expressions like `Western Thrace Turks.' 
Turkish dailies are hopeful that the Greek court might 
acknowledge the identity of over 100,000 Turks in 
Western Thrace.  Papers believe that Athens, in line 
with EU norms, will have to give Turks living in Greece 
the right to declare openly their nationality. 
 
 
Ankara angered at OIC over Cyprus:  Ankara is outraged 
by a `scandalous' Cyprus report submitted to the 
Organization for Islamic Conferences (OIC) by the OIC 
Secretary General, in which the Greek Cypriots are 
 
SIPDIS 
recognized as the legitimate government of Cyprus. 
Ankara had not been informed about the report in 
advance, and Egyptian diplomats allegedly briefed the 
Greek Cypriots about the event.  Apart from Pakistan 
and Azerbaijan, OIC members have remained indifferent 
to Turkey's objections.  Meanwhile, Ankara is making 
statements in support of Denktas on the eve of general 
elections in the Turkish Cypriot sector, "Cumhuriyet" 
notes. 
 
 
Minister Tuzmen in Tehran:  State Minister Kursad 
Tuzmen, in Tehran with a business delegation, said that 
Prime Minister Erdogan has not cancelled his visit to 
Iran.  Papers believe that Turkey and Iran are making 
efforts to improve bilateral relations.  Iranian 
President Khatemi warmly welcomed Tuzmen, and said he 
would accept Ankara's invitation to pay a visit to 
Turkey soon. 
 
 
AKP on the rise, GP declining - poll:  "Zaman" carries 
a public opinion poll carried out by the polling 
company ANAR in August.  The poll indicated an increase 
in public support for the AK Party, and a decline for 
the Genc Party.  The percentage of votes for political 
parties were reported as follows:  AKP 38, CHP 12.3, 
MHP 6.7, Genc Party 6.4, DYP 5.5, DEHAP 4.2, ANAP 1.6. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Iraq/US-Turkey 
 
 
"Joint Action with the US" 
Hasan Cemal commented in the mass appeal "Milliyet" 
(10/3): "The issue of PKK-KADEK has played a key role 
on the troop deployment issue.  Therefore, following 
the agreement on a joint action plan to eliminate the 
PKK-KADEK in Iraq, Turkey has come closer to sending 
its troops to Iraq.  . The US has never officially made 
a link between Turkey's sending troops to Iraq and US 
efforts to eliminate the PKK, yet according to my 
diplomatic sources, such a linkage actually makes 
sense.  . Nevertheless, Turkey should be realistic 
about its expectations from the US.  There are limits 
even for the US under the special conditions in 
Northern Iraq.  It goes without saying that these 
limits will be pushed back at some point, yet a 
realistic approach is best.  It is also very wrong to 
limit Turkey-US cooperation in Iraq to the PKK-KADEK 
issue." 
 
 
"The PKK?" 
Erdal Guven opined in the liberal-intellectual 
"Radikal" (10/3): "Talks in Ankara with the US about 
the fight against terrorism have moved into a strange 
context.  Ankara has raised the PKK once again as a 
military threat.  The fact is that Turkey is one of the 
very few places where a terrorist threat has been 
eliminated solely through military means (Peru's 
success against the Shining Path movement is another 
example).  But the military's progress against the PKK 
has not been continued in the socio-political field, 
despite some recent steps taken to fulfill EU 
conditions.  In its talks with the US, however, Turkey 
seems to be working to resurrect the PKK as a military 
threat. . The way Turkey has handled the issue gives 
the impression that Ankara is asking the US to make a 
choice between itself and the PKK.  This is a serious 
tactical flow.  It not only overlooks Turkish-American 
cooperation on the issue so far, but also pairs the PKK 
with Turkey in an odd way.  . This may be a domestic 
political game of the ruling AKP.  The government might 
be working on public opinion to give the following 
message:  `Turkey will send its troops to Iraq, and in 
return the US will eliminate the PKK from Iraq.'  It 
looks like this is the tactic that the government is 
trying to pursue." 
 
 
EDELMAN