US embassy cable - 03ANKARA7729

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 007729 
 
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 17, 2003 
 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Bush, Blair say Saddam Should be Executed - Hurriyet 
Saddam denies leading resistance in Iraq - Milliyet 
Bush's popularity rising - Milliyet 
Shiites celebrate Saddam's capture, Sunnis saddened - 
Milliyet 
Saddam's daughters demand a fair trial - Aksam 
Saddam might be tried in Spring - Zaman 
US violated Geneva Convention on POWs - Aksam 
CIA to interrogate Saddam - Sabah 
PM Erdogan: Saddam's end should be a lesson for other 
dictators - Hurriyet 
Ankara to disclose Cyprus plan next week - Hurriyet 
PM Erdogan: Cyprus needs new politicians - Sabah 
PM Erdogan: Turkish Cypriot voters demand new policies - 
Zaman 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Bush's hope for reelection strengthened - Radikal 
US troops fire on rally of Saddam supporters - Cumhuriyet 
West believes Turkish Cypriots want a solution - Radikal 
Denktas, Ankara working on separate Cyprus plans - 
Cumhuriyet 
Verheugen disappointed by TRNC elections - Cumhuriyet 
Swiss parliament recognizes Armenian Genocide - Radikal 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Cyprus:  Following the formation of a new government in the 
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), the Turkish and 
TRNC prime ministers are expected to disclose a new plan for 
a peaceful solution in Cyprus.  The Turkish side wants some 
changes to the Annan Plan.  Ankara favors four-party talks 
including Turkey, Greece, the TRNC and the Greek Cypriots. 
Prime Minister Erdogan has interpreted the election results 
as an indication of Turkish Cypriots' aspiration to join the 
EU while preserving their existing rights on the island. 
Turkey might approve territorial concessions, EU membership 
for Turkish Cypriots, and implementation of the Annan Plan 
in exchange for a bi-zonal structure in which sovereignty of 
the Turkish Cypriots and Ankara's status as a guarantor 
country are recognized.  Meanwhile, Denktas will hold talks 
with leaders of the parties in the TRNC parliament beginning 
on Wednesday.  CTP leader Talat said he might consider 
forming a national unity government within the framework of 
an EU vision for the TRNC.  US Special Cyprus Coordinator 
Thomas Weston will be in the TRNC today to meet with 
Denktas.  Turkish papers report EU enlargement commissioner 
Verheugen as saying that chances have declined for the 
accession of a unified Cyprus to the EU. 
 
 
Iraq:  Prime Minister Erdogan told his party group on 
Tuesday that tyrants around the world should draw lessons 
from the plight of Saddam Hussein.  Saddam will pay for his 
cruelty, Erdogan said.  `Such systems are in conflict with 
democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.  They have to 
change themselves in a way to benefit their own people,' 
Erdogan stressed.  Turkey will support all kinds of 
democratic initiatives in Iraq following the capture of 
Saddam, Erdogan noted. 
 
 
UNICEF schooling project:  640,000 girls in Turkey are not 
sent to school, and 6 million of the country's 7 million 
illiterate population are women, according to a survey by 
UNICEF.  UNICEF Turkey representative Edmond McLoughney said 
that a schooling project for girls, carried out in 
coordination with the Ministry of Education, has noticeably 
increased the schooling rate among female students in ten 
provinces in east and southeast Turkey.  250,000 female 
students are denied education in eastern Turkey, the UNICEF 
report claims. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: 
Saddam's Capture and the Future of Iraq 
 
 
"The End of Saddam -- and a New beginning?" 
Sami Kohen observed in the mass appeal Milliyet (12/17): 
"The dramatic finale for Saddam marks the end of his 35-year- 
long era.  This is a victory for the Bush administration, 
but it does not necessarily ensure the realization of US 
goals for Iraq more generally.  First of all, as Bush 
mentioned, the violence and social unrest might continue. 
Following the capture of Saddam, US forces in Iraq will have 
a better sense about the nature of the attacks coming from 
within the Sunni triangle. . The legal process will also 
have an impact on Iraq's transition.  If Saddam is to be 
tried in Iraq, it would be best that the UN or another 
international organization be given a supervisory status. 
Otherwise the trial will be controversial and will provide 
an opportunity for pro-Saddam groups in Iraq to make it into 
a political show.  There are ways to prevent more negative 
developments from occurring in the post-Saddam era.  The US 
as well as the IGC have most of the responsibility at this 
point.  Iraq is still waiting to return to normal daily 
life.  The people of Iraq continue to suffer from daily 
problems.  Security is still lacking.  These are the 
immediate issues for the coalition forces to deal with.  The 
Iraqi administrators are supposed to fill in the political- 
ideological gap in the post-Saddam period with a new vision 
and the establishment of a new Iraqi identity." 
 
 
"The end for a dictator" 
Kamuran Ozbir observed in the nationalist Ortadogu (12/17): 
"The capture of Saddam marks the end of a 24-year 
dictatorship.  Saddam is now expected to be charged with 
crimes committed against his own people.  This event also 
sends a message to other oppressive regimes in the Arab and 
Islamic world.  Western circles tend to believe that the 
capture of Saddam will pave the way for democratization in 
the Middle East.  It was also important to see 
congratulatory messages to the Bush administration from 
France and Germany, which both stood against the Iraq war. . 
Following the capture of Saddam, the coalition forces should 
consider giving a greater role to the Sunni people as well 
as former Baath Party members in the formation of a new 
Iraq.  It is important to note that British Prime Minister 
Blair mentioned this in his remarks as well." 
 
 
EDELMAN