US embassy cable - 03ANKARA7972

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 007972 
 
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, DECEMBER 29, 2003 
 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
First US plane in Iran after 23 years - Sabah 
US extends a helping hand to Bam - Milliyet 
Iran rejects Israel, accepts US help - Hurriyet 12/28 
Mullah regime shaken: Iran receives aid from `great Satan' - 
Sabah 
Turkish rescue teams heroes of Bam - Sabah 
Earthquake aid pours into Iran - Aksam 
FM Gul: No alternative other than the Annan Plan - Hurriyet 
Attacks cause delay in US reform plans for Iraq - Hurriyet 
Iraqi resisters strike a heavy blow against coalition forces 
- Milliyet 12/28 
Blair Britain's least trusted leader - Aksam 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Third day in Bam quake, hopes diminishing - Zaman 
Official, civilian Turkish organizations arrive in Bam - 
Radikal 12/28 
Rescue efforts halted in Bam - Cumhuriyet 
Bombs shake Karbala - Cumhuriyet 12/28 
Kurds, Turkmen seek Arab support in Egypt - Zaman 
Barzani wants Arab League support for federal Iraq - Radikal 
Iraqi resistance doesn't slow down - Cumhuriyet 
Suicide bombers caught in Riyadh - Cumhuriyet 
Blair's fall continues - Zaman 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Cyprus:  Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots have no alternative 
but to negotiate on the basis of the Annan Plan to find a 
solution to the Cyprus problem, Foreign Minister Gul said on 
Sunday.  The MFA will submit to Prime Minister Erdogan on 
Tuesday a report outlining the advantages and disadvantages 
of the UN-sponsored plan.  Meanwhile, the 50 new lawmakers 
in the TRNC parliament took their oath of office last 
Friday.   TRNC leader Denktas said he would wait to see 
developments in Turkey before designating a new prime 
minister on Monday.  Outgoing prime minister Dervis Eroglu 
said his party, the UBP, would not join a coalition 
government led by Mehmet Ali Talat's CTP. 
 
 
MFA reaction to Iraqi Constitution proposal:  The MFA said 
in a statement last Friday that a new Iraqi constitution 
drafted by the Kurds did not represent all ethnic groups in 
Iraq, and that it was a violation of the Ankara agreement 
signed by the US, Iraq and Turkey on March 19, 2003.  Iraqi 
territorial integrity and the security of all the Iraqi 
people are the main concerns for Turkey. 
 
 
Turkey's EU envoys on reforms:  Turkey's ambassadors to EU 
countries met with MFA officials last Friday to discuss 
implementation of EU reforms in 2004.  The envoys reportedly 
said that if all necessary reforms are enacted by June 2004, 
the EU will have no pretext for delaying accession talks 
with Ankara.  They also stressed that a breakthrough on 
Cyprus would be a catalyst for Turkey's EU drive. 
 
 
Israel reiterates significance of ties with Turkey: 
Israel's Ambassador to Ankara, Pinhas Avivi, said after 
meeting with MFA U/S Ugur Ziyal that Israel would not risk 
its good ties with Turkey for the sake of improving 
relations with Northern Iraq.  Avivi reportedly told Ziyal 
that Ankara would be informed immediately of any Israeli 
activities in Northern Iraq.  Ambassador Avivi also conveyed 
to Ziyal the official Israeli view supporting the 
territorial integrity of Iraq. 
 
 
CHP wants top bureaucrat sacked:  Opposition party CHP's 
leader Deniz Baykal said that Omer Dincer, Undersecretary of 
the Prime Ministry, should be sacked.  Dincer said in a 
speech in 1995 that Turkey's secular and republican regime 
should be replaced by an Islamic administration.  Dincer 
recently said that his views had not changed since that 
time.  Baykal regards the appointment of Dincer as the top 
bureaucrat in the prime ministry as a plot against Turkey's 
secular and democratic system. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Iraq and Us-Turkey Relations 
 
 
"Waiting for Erdogan" 
Asli Aydintasbas evaluated the upcoming Turkish PM's visit 
to Washington in the mass appeal Sabah (12/29): 
"Interestingly enough, Turkish PM Erdogan will start the new 
year with an official visit to Washington and end it with 
the EU summit.  At this point, his Washington visit does not 
have a full agenda.  Part of the reason is due to 
Washington's expectation from Ankara on the Cyprus issue. 
The US hopes to see some progress on Cyprus prior to the 
Erdogan visit.  A concrete plan and a strongly expressed 
political will for negotiations will be considered progress, 
yet there are no clear signs to validate such an 
expectation.  In case there is progress on the Cyprus issue, 
Erdogan will find the Bush administration offering 
significant support on Cyprus and the EU.  If Erdogan comes 
to Washington without having made any progress on Cyprus, we 
might see a weak, non-committal outcome on both sides. . On 
the Iraq issue, the US administration is ready to listen to 
Turkish concerns, because the federal structure proposed by 
the Kurdish groups in northern Iraq has infuriated 
Washington.  A federal structure seems to be the right 
approach for the future of Iraq, yet Washington will not 
tolerate a de facto division of Iraq under the guise of a 
federation." 
 
 
"Iraq's Future in Jeopardy" 
Zafer Atay commented in the economic-political Dunya 
(12/29): "It seems that Barzani and Talabani not only agreed 
to form a government together, but also to shape the future 
of Iraq.  It is going to be a federal republic of Iraq, as 
they prefer to call it.  However, neither Sunni Arabs nor 
Shiites -- who constitute the majority in Iraq -- were asked 
about their preferences for the future model of Iraq. 
Nobody cared whether this majority accepts the `borders' 
drawn by the Kurds.  In fact, the US does not like the 
federation formula for Iraq as proposed by the Kurds. 
Washington would prefer a state system based on the US 
model.  Yet the Arabs are dealing with their own ethnic and 
tribal problems.  In the midst of this infighting, the Kurds 
have managed to have a strong say over the oil-rich areas 
even though they are a small minority of the Iraqi 
population.  If all goes according to the Kurdish design, 
Iraq will be dragged into a very bloody dilemma." 
 
 
EDELMAN