US embassy cable - 03ANKARA7580

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 007580 
 
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 
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2003 
 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Grossman: Turkey a center in the fight against terror - 
Cumhuriyet 
Grossman stresses solidarity against terror - Milliyet 
Grossman: US, Turkey both victims of terror - Turkiye 
Grossman: Cyprus must be solved by May 2004 - Sabah 
Ankara to Grossman: Turkey a state of law, not an emirate - 
Hurriyet 
Denktas: Turkey has a right to interfere in TRNC elections - 
Hurriyet 
New YOK Chairman: Headscarf a political symbol - Milliyet 
Terror hits Iraq, Russia, Greece on Tuesday - Turkiye 
Chechen suicide bombers' real target was Duma - Sabah 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
US preoccupied with Incirlik, Cyprus - Radikal 
US Administration wants to use Incirlik base - Zaman 
US presses for urgent solution based on Annan Plan - Zaman 
Grossman: We want Incirlik - Yeni Safak 
Bombs shake Iraq - Yeni Safak 
Israel, US launch joint operations against Iraqi resisters - 
Yeni Safak 
PM Erdogan: We want fair elections in TRNC-Cumhuriyet 
AKP steps back on Koran courses - Cumhuriyet 
Bombs target Putin's election victory - Radikal 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Undersecretary Grossman in Ankara:  US Undersecretary of 
State for Political Affairs, Marc Grossman, visited Ankara 
on Tuesday to discuss the future of Incirlik Air Base, 
dailies report.  `We would like to see our cooperation with 
Turkey continue regarding the use of Incirlik base,' 
Grossman said after meting with Foreign Minister Gul in 
Ankara on Tuesday.  Ankara responded positively to the 
adjustments proposed by the US, according to "Zaman." 
Papers believe that Grossman's visit has shown Turkey as a 
center in the fight against terror, and that Turkey is seen 
as a key country for realignment of US forces overseas. 
Grossman asked Ankara to display flexibility regarding the 
use of Incirlik.  The Turkish side reminded Grossman that 
parliamentary approval is essential for the transportation 
of military equipment and deployment of troops abroad.  The 
Turks told Grossman that Turkey is a state of law, `not an 
emirate,' according to "Hurriyet."  Grossman also underlined 
the necessity of a joint struggle against terrorism.  `Both 
the US and Turkey have been the victims of terror,' Grossman 
said, noting that the bombings in Istanbul should not be 
linked to developments in Iraq.  Grossman also signaled 
possible changes to conditions on the $8.5 billion US loan 
for Turkey, "Aksam" reports.  Dailies say that the US is 
waiting for a response to the US proposal for expanding 
Incirlik base and launching joint military exercises. 
 
 
Asked about Cyprus, Grossman said the US is hopeful that the 
December 14 elections in the TRNC would create an 
opportunity for resuming negotiations within the framework 
of the Annan Plan.  "Cumhuriyet" claims that Washington has 
promised Turkey to extend every possible support for a 
solution in Cyprus before May 2004.  Ankara and the Turkish 
Cypriots are working on changes to the Annan Plan, according 
to "Cumhuriyet." 
 
 
Cyprus:  Turkish Cypriot opposition leader Mehmet Ali Talat 
said the visit to Cyprus by Turkey's deputy Prime Minister 
Abdullatif Sener had cast a cloud over the December 14 
elections.  Sener announced over the weekend a financial aid 
package amounting to $160 million for the TRNC economy. 
Turkish Cypriot leader Denktas criticized Talat, saying that 
Ankara was not interfering in the elections even though it 
had a `right' to do so due as a guarantor of the Cyprus 
agreement.  Prime Minister Erdogan said on Tuesday that his 
party was neither supporting the status quo in TRNC nor 
abandoning the Cyprus cause. 
 
 
Turkey, Syria:  A Turkish parliamentary group for friendship 
with Syria met with  Syrian President Bashar Assad during 
its four-day visit to Syria.  Assad pointed to the close 
historical, political and cultural relationship between 
Syria and Turkey, and assured the delegation that it would 
help prevent terrorist attacks from Syrian territory to 
Turkey.  Assad wants to turn a new page in Syria's relations 
with Ankara. 
 
 
AKP government soft on Hizbullah:  In a front-page report, 
"Cumhuriyet" slams the ruling AK Party government for 
attempting to punish police chiefs who carried out 
successful operations against the fundamentalist terror 
organization Hizbullah in Turkey's southeastern provinces of 
Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Adana and Hakkari.  The government is 
assigning terrorist experts with experience in fighting 
against Hizbullah to less responsible posts.  This has 
provided Hizbullah with more room to maneuver.  Official 
figures indicate that there are 10,000 Hizbullah militants 
involved in underground activities throughout Turkey. 
 
 
AKP pulls back on Koran course regulation:  Religious 
Affairs (Diyanet) Director-General Prof. Ali Bardakoglu 
announced after a meeting with President Sezer that a 
controversial regulation removing restrictions on Koran 
courses would be withdrawn.  The president and the military 
have conveyed their anxiety over the new regulation to 
Bardakoglu and urged changes.  The Diyanet's new regulation 
would have allowed Koran courses to be open all year round, 
including during evening hours.  The mainstream media have 
strongly criticized the regulation for attempting to attract 
working and needy children to Koran courses. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: Campaign against terrorism; Russian 
Elections 
 
 
"NATO's role in the fight against terrorism" 
Sami Kohen wrote in mass appeal Milliyet (12/10): "Generally 
speaking, there is a consensus about giving NATO a primary 
role in the fight against terrorism.  The arguments are good 
enough to justify this mission for NATO, given NATO's 
influential role in local conflict resolution and the fact 
that it is more flexible than the UN.  Yet the goal of using 
NATO in the fight against terrorism requires a restructuring 
within the alliance.  The current organizational model is 
not conducive to reaching the anti-terrorism goal.  NATO and 
the UN should go through a simultaneous restructuring in 
order to recast themselves as global security organizations. 
. There is also a lack of international consensus about the 
concept and definition of terrorism.  The terrorism threat 
has become global, but NATO and the EU have not yet reached 
a consensus about its definition.  It is expected that NATO 
will eventually be able to show a capability to respond to 
terrorism in a determined and speedy way, just like it did 
against global military threats in the past." 
 
 
"The Russian Elections" 
Hadi Uluengin wrote in mass appeal Hurriyet (12/10): "The 
elections in Russia will not change anything.  The results 
indicate a victory for Putin's `Unified Russia' Party, which 
is responsible for the Chechen problem.  Moreover, 
Jirinovski's party has become stronger than before.  In 
reality, the result achieved by modern and liberal parties 
in Russia constitutes only 5 percent of the total vote. . 
It seems that Russians are still supportive of their 
autocratic tradition and are not yet taken by the idea of a 
civilian democracy.  The election results also indicate a 
guaranteed victory for Putin in the upcoming presidential 
elections. The fact of the matter is that societies with 
heavy authoritarian traditions tend to resist change even if 
it may be good for them.  In the Russian example, the 
society has apparently favored despotism and autocracy at 
the expense of democracy." 
 
 
EDELMAN