US embassy cable - 03ANKARA6854

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 006854 
 
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, NOVEMBER 3, 2003 
 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Turkish Engineer Taken Hostage by Taliban - Milliyet (11/1) 
Belgian PM: EU Stance toward KADEK May Change - Milliyet 
(11/2) 
Iraq's Neighbors Call for Cooperation in the Fight Against 
Terrorism - Sabah 
US Helicopter Downed in Iraq - Hurriyet 
Education Minister: Halki Seminary should be Re-Opened - 
Hurriyet 
Taliban Lifts Deadline for Turkish Engineer - Hurriyet 
Zebari Rejects Invitation to Damascus Summit - Milliyet 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Higher Education Council Delays Education Reform - 
Cumhuriyet (1/11) 
Peace Search for Minorities in the Aegean - Radikal (11/2) 
Iraq Will Become A New Vietnam - Radikal 
Summit Fiasco - Cumhuriyet 
Corruption Reports to be Debated in Parliament Tomorrow - 
Zaman 
Iraq: Just Like Vietnam - Yeni Safak 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Belgian Prime Minister in Ankara:  Sunday's "Milliyet" 
reports that prior to his visit to Turkey, PM Verhofstadt 
said that the position of EU countries with regard to the 
KADEK has changed.  About six months ago, many EU countries 
did not know much about KADEK.  As it was a new 
organization, many European countries wanted to give it a 
chance to show it is different from the PKK,  Herhofstadt 
said.  Now those countries have recognized that there are 
many ties between the PKK and KADEK.  PM Verhofstadt 
stressed that Turkish officials are determined to carry out 
EU reforms and called on the EU Commission to take positive 
action on Turkey's accession at the end of 2004. 
 
 
Turkish Engineer Kidnapped by Al-Qaeda:  Saturday's papers 
report that Turkish engineer Hasan Onal, who was working on 
the construction of the Kabul-Kandahar road in Afghanistan, 
has been kidnapped by Al-Qaeda terrorists.  The kidnappers 
insisted that 18 Taliban militants currently held by the 
United States be released in exchange for the engineer.  The 
kidnappers initially gave a 48-hour deadline for the 
prisoner release, but today's papers report that the 
deadline has been lifted.  Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Gul 
stressed that Turkey is taking necessary measures to secure 
the engineer's release. 
 
 
Damascus Summit:  Today's "Cumhuriyet" reports that the Iraq 
summit in Damascus was a fiasco.  Iraqi Foreign Minister 
Zebari refused to attend the summit, and announced his 
decision through the press.  "Hurriyet" says that FM Gul 
exerted strong pressure on Iran and Syria to convince them 
to invite Zebari to the summit.  By rejecting the last- 
minute invitation, Zebari put Gul in a difficult position. 
"Sabah" reports that the Foreign Ministers of the regional 
countries issued a call for Iraq to cooperate in the fight 
against terrorism. 
 
 
Halki Seminary:  "Milliyet" highlights Education Minister 
Huseyin Celik's positive comments on the reopening of Halki 
Seminary.  Celik said that `if we want equality and if we 
respect religions, then the opening of this school should be 
natural.' 
 
 
Higher Education Council (YOK) Versus the Government: 
Saturday's "Milliyet" reports that YOK has decided to move 
ahead with the printing of instruction books for the 2004 
university entrance exam despite the request from the 
Education minister to wait for the new education 
regulations.  Sunday's "Hurriyet" reports that Minister 
Celik was infuriated by the decision, and said he would not 
allow the books to be distributed. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
 
"The disparate seven" 
Fikret Bila wrote in the mass appeal Milliyet (11/3):  "The 
Damascus Summit has shown that the seven attendees will not 
be able take a joint position towards the US. .  The summit 
has made clear that in Baghdad, the reins are in the hands 
of the US -- not the IGC. .  Jordan and Kuwait have clearly 
been manipulated by the US, as they claimed that things are 
going well in Iraq and that there would not be any need 
again for such a summit.  The strain in US-Iranian relations 
is apparent.  It is known that Syria is the next target 
after Iraq.  Egypt seems like the leader of the Arab League, 
but cannot deviate even an inch from the course set out by 
the US. .  Giving the impression of having entered into an 
Arab bloc will bring no practical or political benefit to 
Ankara.  Instead, bilateral meetings with regional countries 
would be much more useful." 
 
 
"US, EU want a solution without Denktas" 
Semih Idiz wrote from Washington for the mass appeal Aksam 
(11/3):  "Officials in Brussels and Washington believe that 
the only option for a solution in Cyprus is the Annan Plan. 
They say that the sides in Cyprus will either discuss that 
plan, or will never sit at the negotiating table.  They 
regard some recent proposals and steps forward by Denktas as 
tactical moves intended to distract from the Annan Plan. . 
Not only the US and the EU, but all permanent members of the 
UNSC support the UN-sponsored peace plan.  The Islamic world 
is not fully backing Denktas either. .  What if the general 
elections in the Turkish sector in December end in a 
positive outcome for Denktas and the Cyprus hawks in Ankara? 
Officials in the EU Commission and the US State Department 
agree that in that case, Denktas would win -- but Turkish 
Cypriots and Turkey would lose.  They note that this 
assessment is not a threat, but rather an impartial 
evaluation." 
 
 
EDELMAN