US embassy cable - 04ANKARA1379

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001379 
 
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, MARCH 8, 2004 
 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Grossman to discuss GME with Turks in Washington - Milliyet 
3/7 
US to deploy 10,000 troops in Cyprus after peace - Aksam 
Karamanlis vows to support Turkey - Sabah 
Turkey's national income lags behind EU members, candidates 
- Milliyet 
Bush considers economic sanctions on Syria - Milliyet 3/7 
Bloody operation by Israel: 14 dead - Turkiye 
Headscarf divides French women - Aksam 3/7 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Sezer warns against political exploitation of headscarf - 
Radikal 
FM Gul assures de Soto that Cyprus will be resolved - 
Radikal 3/7 
Center-right government in Greece - Cumhuriyet 
Second Karamanlis period in Greece - Yeni Safak 
Papandreou urges Karamanlis to resolve Cyprus - Zaman 
Bloody Israeli attack in Gaza - Cumhuriyet 
Israel's bloody Gaza massacre - Yeni Safak 
Bush determined to bring democracy to Iraq - Cumhuriyet 3/7 
Controversial Iraq constitution to be signed unchanged - 
Zaman 
Nader will determine outcome of U.S. Election - Zaman 3/7 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Greater Middle East initiative:  US State Department 
Undersecretary Marc Grossman was forced to cancel the Ankara 
leg of his regional tour for discussing the Greater Middle 
East initiative last week.  Instead, Grossman will meet with 
Turkish officials in Washington on Monday to discuss the 
project, "Zaman" reports.  US Ambassador Eric Edelman 
briefed Turkish lawmakers and academics on the GME last 
Thursday.  Edelman said that the American initiative was not 
a `Greater Israel Project,' and is not being launched to 
further US control in the region.  The US alone cannot make 
the project a reality, Edelman stressed, and he noted that 
Turkey, a significant example for the region, has a large 
responsibility for contributing to the project. 
 
 
Cyprus:  UN Special Cyprus envoy Alvaro de Soto held 
meetings with MFA officials in Ankara last Friday.  De Soto 
proposed lowering the number of Greek Cypriots allowed to 
return to the North if Turkish Cypriots hand over more land 
to the Greek side.  That would leave Turkish Cypriots with 
23 percent of the island's territory, significantly less 
than the current UN proposal of 28.5 percent, "Cumhuriyet" 
reports.  The Turks have reiterated their demand for 
strengthening bi-zonality, drawing an acceptable borderline, 
and continuation of Turkey's status as a guarantor power. 
The MFA has blamed the Greek Cypriots for attempting to 
deadlock the negotiations by rejecting all Turkish 
proposals.  The UN and EU are aware of the uncompromising 
Greek attitude, papers speculate, and Turkey expects 
increased pressure on the Greek Cypriots.  Three recent 
public opinion surveys conducted in south Cyprus indicate 
that the Greek Cypriots are inclined to reject the Annan 
Plan. 
 
 
International Women's Day:  In a message to mark 
International Women's Day, President Sezer warned against 
attempts to exploit the headscarf issue for political 
purposes.  Sezer's message is an indirect response to 
Secretary Powell's criticism in a recent letter to Foreign 
 
SIPDIS 
Minister Gul, in which Powell criticized the ban on 
religious attire at presidential receptions, "Hurriyet" 
speculates. 
 
 
"Radikal" reported Monday the results of various surveys 
compiled by a women's NGO in Turkey.  Among the findings of 
the survey:  79 percent of Turkish women are victims of 
physical violence, and 29 percent are subjected to emotional 
pressure.  45 percent of Turkish men said they had the right 
to beat their wives when necessary.  Domestic violence in 
Turkey is higher than in countries like Bangladesh, 
Ethiopia, India and Egypt, according to the survey.  Women 
have been victims of physical violence everywhere, "Yeni 
Safak" notes, pointing out that 4,000 women are beaten to 
death every year in the United States. 
 
 
DEHAP, Ocalan split over local elections:  Diyarbakir Mayor 
Feridun Celik, who allegedly had the backing of jailed PKK 
leader Abdullah Ocalan to run against the DEHAP candidate in 
the March 28 local elections, has withdrawn his candidacy. 
Saturday's "Hurriyet" regards the withdrawal of Celik as a 
victory for Kongra-Gel over Abdullah Ocalan and his brother 
Osman, who were recently forced to leave Kongra-Gel.  Osman 
Ocalan was denied the protection he sought from US forces in 
northern Iraq, but was given protection by Davud Bagistani, 
a close friend of KDP leader Barzani, "Hurriyet" claims. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Iraq; Greater Middle East Initiative 
 
 
"A model for the Middle East" 
Mehmet Barlas opined in the mass appeal Sabah (3/8): "It 
would be absolutely wrong to oppose the US goals for the 
Middle East, i.e. bringing democracy and human rights to the 
region.  Instead, Turkey should evaluate and analyze its 
role in this project.  The effort to establish an ethnic and 
sectarian balance among different groups has complicated the 
situation in Iraq.  However, attempts to bring democracy to 
the greater Middle East should not be hindered by such 
considerations.  For instance, it would be very wrong to 
take Turkey as an example of moderation and modern Islam. 
From the very beginning, the Turkish Republic has always 
pursued a segregation of state and religion, and to a great 
extent this approach has succeeded.  The Turkish people are 
predominantly Muslim, but the state model is secular. 
Turkey is on its way to join the EU but not with its 
`moderate Islamic' identity, but rather with its `secular 
and democratic' identity.  The US should have a clear vision 
about these concepts before working toward its goals for the 
Middle East." 
 
 
"Stability In Iraq Slips Away" 
Zafer Atay wrote in the economic-political Dunya (3/8):  "It 
was noteworthy that the attacks against Shiites happened the 
same day that the interim constitution draft was approved. 
The draft includes an agreement on a federal system for 
Iraq.  As the majority group in Iraq, the Shiites will be 
the most important component of the federation.  It seems, 
though, that the federation is not going to provide full 
satisfaction to Barzani and Talabani even though Kurdish 
domination will continue in northern Iraq.  For years, the 
Sunnis, which constitute just over 40% of the population, 
were the sole authority in Iraq.  The Kurds and Shiites 
always stayed in the background.  Now, the Sunnis are 
annoyed about changing conditions and are resentful against 
the Kurds and the Shiites.  The Turkmen population has been 
given no place in this document which is intended to bring 
freedom to the country.  If the coalition forces are unable 
to stop the Al-Qaida-inspired attacks, a civil war is 
inevitable.  The US should take Iraq to elections as soon as 
possible and should then leave responsibility for the 
country to a UN Peace Force and an administration 
established by the Iraqis.  Washington will not be cope with 
a civil war in Iraq." 
 
 
EDELMAN