US embassy cable - 04ANKARA1813

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001813 
 
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, 
THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2004 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEALS 
Greek Cypriots find pretext to block talks - Turkiye 
Denjtas: Ankara weakened my hand in Cyprus talks - Milliyet 
PM Erdogan signals he may cancel Israel visit - Hurriyet 
Rantissi vows bloodshed - Turkiye 
Rumsfeld praises Turkey's fight against terror - Turkiye 
Britain's Straw: Turkey a litmus test for EU - Sabah 
Bush team sweat before 9/11 commission - Milliyet 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
First day in Switzerland a fiasco - Radikal 
Crisis in Switzerland - Cumhuriyet 
Israel on domestic and worldwide alert - Cumhuriyet 
Sheikh Yasin's successor Rantissi the new target - Zaman 
Rantissi: Target is Israel, not the US - Cumhuriyet 
PM Erdogan: Israel's attitude has ruined Middle East - Yeni 
Safak 
Hundreds of Iraqi Shiites march for Yasin - Yeni Safak 
Clinton, Bush reject claims of 9/11 negligence - Zaman 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Cyprus:  The UN, under pressure from the Greeks, has gone 
back on its commitment to hold four-party talks.  The 
decision was announced by DeSoto on Wednesday in 
Switzerland.  DeSoto said that four-way meetings were not 
necessary, and opted instead for a UN-led shuttle diplomacy. 
The Turkish delegation is not happy with Greek efforts to 
undermine the four-party talks and move discussions to the 
bilateral format.  Furthermore, the Greek Cypriots objected 
to meeting with `TRNC' leaders Mehmet Ali Talat and Serdar 
Denktas, saying they were not authorized to make decisions 
on behalf of the Turkish Cypriots.  Dailies criticize the 
Greek Cypriots for attempting to block the peace 
negotiations.  Karamanlis and Erdogan are expected in 
Burgenstock on March 28 and 29 respectively.  Turkish 
Cypriot leader Denktas strongly criticized the Greek 
Cypriots and accused them of playing for time.  Meanwhile, 
EU enlargement chief Verheugen promised the Greek Cypriots 
that a Cyprus integration deal would not be accepted as 
primary law within the European Union, according to 
"Cumhuriyet."  Verheugen assured Greek Cypriot FM Iacovou on 
Tuesday that the derogations demanded by the Turks would not 
be permanently included in a Cyprus agreement.  Denktas said 
the Greek Cypriots were using the EU to gain control over 
the whole island.  He also criticized Ankara for `weakening 
the hand' of Turkish Cypriot negotiators during the earlier 
talks in New York and Nicosia.  Papers report that US 
Special Cyprus Coordinator Thomas Weston and some British 
diplomats would also attend the four-party conference. 
 
 
PM Erdogan, FM Gul may cancel visits to Israel:  "Hurriyet" 
claims that PM Erdogan and FM Gul might cancel prospective 
visits to Israel because of the killing of Hamas leader 
Sheikh Yassin by Israeli forces.  Erdogan criticized the 
killing as `an act of terror.'  The Prime Minister said that 
`nothing remains' of the US-sponsored roadmap for Middle 
East peace, and added that the killing of Yassin crushed 
Turkey's hopes for serving as a mediator in peace efforts 
between Israel and Palestine. 
 
 
Turk sues US police for torture under detention:  "Radikal" 
reports on the alleged mistreatment of Ismail Hakki Avci 
(42), a US resident Turkish citizen who was taken into 
police custody for drunk driving on Long Island in 1991. 
Avci said he was heavily beaten and chained by several 
policemen at the Long Island police station on April 11, 
1991.  After being hospitalized with a broken leg, Avci said 
he was tried on the spot without legal counsel, and received 
23 days in jail for beating the police.  He sued the police 
for torturing him, and received $60,000 in reparations. 
Avci later opened the `Al-Haq Turkish Food Store' in 2001. 
When his business began to deteriorate after September 11, 
the FBI took Avci to 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan for 
interrogation.  He was questioned over possible ties with Al- 
Qaida, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad, and was asked his opinion 
of Israel before being taken to a prison in New Jersey. 
Avci claims he was stripped naked, beaten put in chains, and 
placed in a small cell where he spent 23 days.  He was later 
released and extradited to Istanbul.  Avci applied to human 
rights organizations in Turkey, and was given a medical 
report confirming a psychological disorder caused by 
torture.  He has filed a lawsuit against US authorities, 
"Radikal" reports. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: 
Yassin Assasination/Campaign Against Terrorism/GME 
Initiative 
 
 
"The Gates of Hell" 
Soli Ozel commented in the mass appeal Sabah (3/25): "There 
is no longer any way that a Palestinian pro-peace movement 
can be successful.  There is even a strong possibility that 
Arafat and the Hizbullah leadership will be assasinated. 
The Palestinian authority has effectively collapsed.  Under 
current circumstances, it is likely that more Palestinians 
will leave their homeland, and those who remain will suffer 
from the lack of leadership. . The worst part is that there 
is almost no power in Israel that can stop the insanity. 
Israeli peace advocates have lost their voice completely 
following the rise in terrorism against civilians and due to 
Arafat's biased position.  The US, on the other hand, is 
acting very irresponsibly by staying out of the Israel- 
Palestine issue until the US presidential elections are 
over.  It is unbelievable that Bush continues to support 
Sharon, and even depicts him as a man of peace.  With this 
kind of policy, the US will find it impossible to bring 
order to the Middle East." 
 
 
"Israel conducts a state terror" 
Bugra Baskurt noted in the nationalist Ortadogu (3/25): "The 
world remains silent while Israel baldy conducts an act of 
terrorism and carries out a genocide against Palestinians. 
It seems that Israel's long-term goal is to eliminate 
Palestinians completely, despite the fact that the 
Palestinians happen to be the genuine owner of the land 
occupied by the Israeli state. . The rulers of the developed 
world owe us an answer to this question: How can we possibly 
label the Palestinian people as terrorists when they are 
standing against Israeli aggression and the state of Israel 
kills a spiritual leader. . If the world is not capable of 
calling this act `state terrorism,' then we should sit down 
and redefine the basic concepts." 
 
 
"Sheik Yassin" 
Yilmaz Altug observed in the conservative Turkiye (3/25): 
"Sharon's past record helps us understand his mentality.  He 
was not only responsible for massacres in two Palestinian 
refugee camps in Lebanon, he also did his best to sabotage 
PM Barak's conciliatory moves with the Palestinians.  Sharon 
always pursued a provocative stance toward the Palestinians, 
including an attack against the Mescid-al Aksa.  With 
constant support from the US, Sharon left all Israeli 
promises about a settlement with the Palestinians unmet. 
The assasination of Sheik Yassin will only help to aggravate 
the Palestinian dispute.  The war will unfortunately 
intensify and cost the blood of innocent thousands." 
 
 
"Greater Middle East Chaos" 
Zeynep Atikkan commented in the sensational-mass appeal 
Aksam:  "I wonder if the blowing up of any possible peace 
process in the region was considered in the US scenario for 
a Greater Middle East initiative?  Sharon and his supporters 
were well aware of the impact of the assassination of 
Yassin.  You cannot launch a terrorist attack using the 
excuse that you are doing it to fight against terrorism. 
How can democracy and stability in the Middle East be 
discussed under these conditions?  It is not possible to 
convince the Islamic world that Israel carried out the 
assassination without the knowledge of the US.  In other 
words, there is a lack of trust in the country that proposes 
the GME.  In the absence of such trust, the project is 
destined to be shelved.  Unfortunately, Turkey became a 
model for a project which will never get off the ground." 
 
 
EDELMAN