US embassy cable - 03ANKARA6728

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 006728 
 
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 
MONDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2003 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Washington's strongest man [Wolfowitz] narrowly escapes 
attack - Sabah 
Rockets miss Wolfowitz by two floors - Hurriyet 
Rockets make `the Hawk' tremble - Aksam 
Wolfowitz: Turks in Iraq would be risky - Hurriyet 
Bremer warns Washington on Turks to Iraq - Sabah 10/25 
Powell: We Don't want to rule Iraq forever - Hurriyet 10/26 
Turkey will give $50 million for Iraq - Milliyet 10/25 
Tens of thousands of Americans march against war - Milliyet 
Protesters urge White House to `bring boys back home' - 
Hurriyet 
US soldiers given training on Ramadan - Milliyet 10/26 
`Second Berlin Wall' in Palestine draws protests - Sabah 
CHP grassroots back Dervis - Hurrriyet 10/26 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Missiles rain down on Wolfowitz - Cumhuriyet 
`Ramadan missiles' delivered to Wolfowitz - Radikal 
Wolfowitz emerges from rocket attack unhurt - Zaman 
WP claims Bush `hiding' coffins from Iraq from public - 
Cumhuriyet 
Talabani: Turkey is our friend - Cumhuriyet 
Iraq Donors' Conference results disappointing - Radikal 
10/26 
IGC member al-Hakeem opposes Turkish troops in Iraq - Yeni 
Safak 
Tens of thousands protest Bush - Yeni Safak 
Rectors march under placards calling for military coup - 
Zaman 10/26 
Turks on the march against fundamentalism - Cumhuriyet 
Washington DC, Virginia declare October 29 `Turkey Day' - 
Zaman 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Turkish troops to Iraq:  Commentators in the leading 
mainstream papers believe that Washington, for the time 
being, has shelved the issue of Turkish peacekeepers to 
Iraq.  Monday's "Sabah" says that Washington is working to 
find a formula for transferring sovereignty to the Iraqi 
people.  Turkish diplomatic sources expect the peacekeeping 
issue to be discussed again after Ramadan, acording to 
"Milliyet."  Saturday's "Hurriyet" claims that the US is 
concerned by Ankara's insistence on sending its troops to 
Salahaddin instead of to the Al-Anbar region.  US supervisor 
Paul Bremer agrees with Kurdish leaders Barzani and Talabani 
that Turkish troops should not be allowed into Iraq, 
according to "Hurriyet."  Bremer has reported to Washington 
that Iraq's neighbors' object to Turkish soldiers, and has 
voiced concern that the Turks might be engaged in fighting 
instead of stabilization activities.  Weekend papers also 
report that Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz 
considers a Turkish troop deployment in Iraq to be `very 
risky.' 
 
 
Weekend papers report a strong response from Prime Minister 
Erdogan to Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) officials who have 
objected to a Turkish presence in the region.  `The IGC is 
not a legitimate administration that is backed by all 
Iraqis,' Erdogan said.  Erdogan noted that talks with the US 
over the dispatch of troops have not been cut off, but that 
the US has asked Turkey for a pause of 10-15 days before 
resuming discussions. 
 
 
Mass demonstration supporting secularism:  Over 20,000 
people attended a mass rally by university staff and 
students in Ankara in support of secularism on Saturday. 
Almost all newspapers, especially the Islamist-oriented 
press, criticized protesters for walking with banners urging 
the army to `do its duty' amid a dispute over education 
reforms that the protesters believe undermine the principle 
of secularism.  "Yeni Safak" strongly criticized the media 
owned by the Dogan and Uzan groups for applauding such calls 
for military intervention. 
Dervis now stronger in CHP:  Opposition politician and 
former economy minister Kemal Dervis won more support than 
CHP party leader Deniz Baykal in voting for the CHP Party 
Council at last week's Republican People's Party (CHP) 
convention.  Dervis was elected to the council by the votes 
of 1,021 delegates, while Baykal carried only 973 votes in 
being re-elected as CHP party chairman.  (Note: Baykal ran 
as the only candidate for party chairman.  End note.) 
AKP lawmakers may boycott Republican Day reception: 
Monday's "Vatan" claims that the AKP administration is 
advising lawmakers not to attend the Republican Day 
reception to be hosted by President Sezer on October 29. 
The AKP deputies are expected to boycott the reception to 
protest Sezer's decision not to invite their wives who wear 
headscarves. 
Ankara turned down Vatican request on churches:  A column in 
the weekend "Hurriyet" says that Ankara has turned down a 
request by the Vatican to allow the repair and renovation of 
Catholic churches in Turkey.  The GOT also will reportedly 
not allow the construction of new churches.  The Vatican has 
submitted similar requests to Egypt and Tunisia, both of 
which were met with a swift, positive response.  The Vatican 
has taken the issue to the European Union. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Iraq 
 
 
"Time for making a decision in Washington" 
Mass appeal Milliyet's Washington correspondent Yasemin 
Congar observed (10/27): "The current phase of the decline 
in President Bush's popularity might end up costing him the 
election.  Therefore, Republicans have concentrated their 
efforts on reversing the current trend to Bush's benefit. 
That means a series of revisions, including to the 
administration's Iraq policy. .  The Iraq issue, however, 
poses a serious dilemma for Washington because of the 
growing public opposition and the increasing need for more 
soldiers and more money to ensure security.  It remains to 
be seen when and how this serious dilemma will be resolved 
by the Bush administration. . Given the circumstances, 
Washington is now close to a decision to change its earlier 
decision about dissolving the Iraqi national army.  There is 
growing speculation in Washington that the US will ask the 
Iraqi army to return to the barracks.  Such a decision would 
not include Saddam's Republican Guards.  . The coming weeks 
will determine the Bush administration's vision.  But in 
questions regarding the timing about these decisions, the 
most common answer is `sometime after Ramadan.' 
 
 
"Whirlpool" 
Asli Aydintasbas wrote in mass appeal Sabah (10/27): "The US 
administration is following an uneven path in its Iraq 
policy, which remains indecisive.  Things in Iraq, at least 
on the `micro' scale, are not too bad.  There are many 
things visibly improved as far as social life is concerned. 
But the fact is that the big picture is not encouraging. 
The growing danger of instability is serious enough to cast 
a shadow over the accomplishments in other fields.  The Iraq 
issue is the number one priority on the agenda for 
Washington.  Policy makers have intensified their thinking 
to do something about Iraq so that President Bush can win 
the 2004 election.  It seems that whatever the details of 
the new policies will be, their essence will be to give more 
sovereignty to the Iraqis." 
 
 
EDELMAN