US embassy cable - 03ANKARA6880

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 006880 
 
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, NOVEMBER 4, 2003 
 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Gul: Turkey To Take Necessary Steps in case of Threat in N. 
Iraq - Milliyet 
Holbrooke Asks Turkey Not to Send Troops to Iraq - Milliyet 
Reforms of Public Administration - Sabah 
EU Report to be Released Tomorrow - Sabah 
Public Administration Reform Draft is Ready - Hurriyet 
Bush's Rating Drops - Hurriyet 
Gul: If Any Threat Comes, We Will Enter Iraq - Turkiye 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
American People Do Not Believe President Bush - Cumhuriyet 
Corruption Report To be Discussed in Parliament Today- 
Cumhuriyet 
Public Administration Reform Gives PM Increased Authority - 
Cumhuriyet 
Belgian PM: Cyprus is not a Pre-Condition for Turkey's EU 
Accession - Yeni Safak 
`Diet Prescription' for the Bloated State - Radikal 
Iraq Discussed at Planning and Budget Meeting - Radikal 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Public Administration Reforms:  All papers today cover the 
details of the Government's draft reform of the public 
administration laws.  The draft will be sent to parliament 
for approval in coming days.  At a press conference 
yesterday, Deputy PM Mehmet Ali Sahin gave details of the 
draft.  Sahin claimed that the reforms would result in a 
downsizing of Turkey's `bloated' bureaucracy and a transfer 
of authority from Ankara to local administrations.  Sahin 
added that with the reforms will introduce pluralism, 
transparency, and accountability into public administration. 
"Cumhuriyet" says that the public administration reforms 
will increase the authority of the Prime Minister.  "Yeni 
Safak" claims that the reforms will eliminate the cumbersome 
structure of the Turkish State and open a new era in public 
administration.  "Turkiye" reports that under the proposed 
reforms, the bloated state mechanism will be replaced by a 
smaller but more effective and powerful state. 
Implementation of the reforms will result in a savings of 
about 500 trillion TL. 
 
 
Parliament To Discuss Corruption Report:  A report prepared 
by the Parliamentary Corruption Investigative Committee will 
be discussed in parliament today.  The report is expected to 
lead to investigations and possible trials of 25 former 
ministers including former prime ministers Bulent Ecevit and 
Mesut Yilmaz. 
 
 
EU Entry:   "Milliyet" gives details of the Strategy 
Document of the EU enlargement report that will be released 
tomorrow.  According to "Milliyet," while the Cyprus issue 
is covered very briefly in the enlargement report, the 
strategy document directly links the start of accession 
negotiations with the Cyprus issue.  "Vatan" writes that the 
report praises the Turkish Government for passage of reforms 
and shows the military and the bureaucracy as the major 
obstacles for implementation.  "Vatan" adds that the report 
contains some warnings to Turkey on the Cyprus issue and 
highlights that not finding a solution to the Cyprus issue 
could affect Turkey's EU entry. 
 
 
Holbrooke Comments:   "Milliyet" reports comments by former 
US Deputy Secretary of State and Cyprus Special Envoy 
Richard Holbrooke at a conference sponsored by the 
Washington Institute.  Holbrooke said that it had been `an 
unbelievable mistake' by the US administration to ask Turkey 
for troops without first consulting the Iraqis.  At this 
point, due to Iraqi sensitivities and objestions, it would 
be best for Turkish troops not to be sent to Iraq.  The US 
Administration should accept the October 7 decision as a 
goodwill gesture to improve Turkish-American relations and 
postpone the troop deployment.  Alternatively, Holbrooke 
said, the Turkish troops could play a role in Afghanistan. 
Holbrooke remarked Denktas' `stubbornness' on the Cyprus 
issue.  He said that Denktas' position would have a negative 
effect not only on the 200,000 Turkish Cypriots, but also on 
the interests of 70 million Turks in Turkey. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
 
"Cyprus is next" 
Mehmet Ali Kislali wrote in the mass appeal Milliyet (11/4): 
"Marc Grossman has served twice in Turkey. .  I remember 
telling him, using examples, how the US was making erroneous 
evaluations of a multi-faceted issue like Cyprus.   Grossman 
first misguided Clinton by telling him that he could solve 
the Cyprus issue easily before his term in office expired. 
Clinton was eventually embarrassed after he got himself into 
a problem that could not be resolved by the Grossman 
formula.  Now he is attempting to do the same thing with the 
same staff under the Bush administration.  He has not been 
able to evaluate the reality of the situation in Turkey. 
They have sent the former secretary of state of the 
unsuccessful team, Madeleine Albright, to Istanbul in an 
attempt to use her in their Cyprus campaign through 
manipulated questions on television.  The US and the EU are 
striving to ensure that the Turkish Cypriot opposition 
emerges victorious from the general elections.  We will see 
what those who have been unsuccessful in the first two 
covert operations will do this time." 
 
 
"AKP is missing the Bartholomeos opportunity" 
Mehmet Ali Birand observed in the mass appeal "Posta" 
(11/4):  "The official state ideology in Turkey has long 
regarded the Patriarchate as an empire of evil. .  However, 
Archbishop Bartholomeos has now become an advantage for 
Turkey.  The Patriarch in Athens as well as the Orthodox 
churches in the US and Russia, in an effort to consolidate 
power, are trying to take away Bartholomeous' ecumenical 
authority.  The only way out for Bartholomeous in this power 
struggle is through the reopening of Halki Seminary. . We 
have so far repudiated Ecumenism and kept the seminary 
closed.  We are reading the Lausanne Treaty incorrectly, 
asking for some progress regarding the ethnic Turks in 
Western Thrace in exchange for reopening the seminary. . 
Meanwhile the Patriarch, a Turkish citizen, is providing 
support for Turkey at the international level.  His support 
for Turkey will grow even more if Ankara backs his request. 
Ankara should loosen its grip on the Patriarch's Ecumenical 
title, and open the theology school. .  If the AK Party is 
realistic, it can pull Bartholomeos to our side, making him 
a spokesman for Turkey and strengthen his hand against the 
Vatican and his Orthodox rivals. .  Are we really afraid 
that our 2,000 Greek-origin citizens will convert an 
overwhelmingly Muslim country to Orthodoxy?" 
 
 
EDELMAN