US embassy cable - 04ANKARA1854

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001854 
 
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 29, 2004 
 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
AKP gets 57 provinces - Hurriyet 
AKP's second election victory - Turkiye 
AKP takes CHP strongholds - Milliyet 
Baykal suffers heavy defeat - Sabah 
CHP strongholds fall, Baykal silent - Sabah 
PM Erdogan: The Nation has voted for stability - Turkiye 
Erdogan, Gul to send `SOS' to Washington on Cyprus - 
Milliyet 
Rantisi: Bush an enemy of God, Islam - Aksam 
Bribery charges threaten Sharon - Hurriyet 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Turkey pulls to the right - Radikal 
Government renews confidence, opposition sinks - Zaman 
Nation gives AKP vote of confidence - Yeni Safak 
CHP collapses - Yeni Safak 
Critical three days in Switzerland - Radikal 
Historic expansion in NATO - Cumhuriyet 
Richard Clarke strikes at confidence in Bush - Cumhuriyet 
Bribery causes deep trouble for Sharon - Radikal 
Hamas, Hizbullah declare solidarity - Yeni Safak 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
AK Party triumphs in municipal elections:  In local 
elections on Sunday, the ruling AK Party increased its votes 
by 10 percentage points over the general elections in 2002, 
winning mayoral races in 57 provincial capitals.  The AK 
Party easily won mayoral races in Ankara and Istanbul, but 
failed to oust the CHP in Izmir.  Early, unofficial results 
showed the Justice and Development Party (AKP) winning 42.2 
percent of the municipal vote, far ahead of its nearest 
rival, CHP, which was projected to win 21.4 percent. 
"Radikal" concludes that Turkey's political left continues 
to weaken, as the political center of gravity shifts 
rightward.  CHP leader Baykal is expected to face pressure 
to give up the party leadership after the poll results 
produced disappointment at party headquarters.  Some 30 CHP 
lawmakers are expected to submit a petition to Baykal on 
Tuesday urging him to step down.  The extreme rightist 
Nationalist Action Party (MHP) and center-right True Path 
Party (DYP) recovered some of their voting base from Cem 
Uzan's Youth Party (GP).  Uzan's GP lost almost all of the 
7.2 percent of the vote it won in the 2002 elections, 
finishing the night with just 2.6 percent of the municipal 
vote.  The Social Democratic People's Party (SHP) benefited 
from an election alliance with pro-Kurdish DEHAP party to 
win five provinces in southeast Turkey.  However, the 
`Democratic Unity' movement of the two parties won just 4.7 
percent of the vote, a significant decline from 2002, when 
DEHAP won 6.2 percent of the national vote bu itself.  The 
AKP grabbed four of the seven municipalities in the 
southeast that were previously held by DEHAP.  "Vatan" 
speculates that while Turkish nationalism remains strong, 
Kurdish nationalism is weakening.  Observers predict that 
the divide in DEHAP will grow.  The results on Sunday are 
expected to strengthen PM Erdogan's position in meetings 
with other officials during the UN-backed Cyprus peace talks 
set to take place Monday in Switzerland. 
 
 
Cyprus:  UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is expected to 
submit a fourth plan for resolving the Cyprus issue to the 
Turkish and Greek prime ministers in Burgenstock, 
Switzerland on Monday.  The plan reportedly includes 
amendments intended to satisfy the concerns of both sides. 
Papers say that the Turkish Cypriots want Turkey's guarantor 
country status to be continued, and want to preserve a 
separate parliament, government and court system.  The 
Turkish Cypriots have also insisted that fewer Greek 
Cypriots be allowed to move to the north, and have shown a 
willingness to cede some territory to achieve this goal. 
Cyprus negotiators from the US and Britain attended the four- 
way talks in Switzerland on Saturday.  Concerned bt Greek 
moves to stall the talks, FM Gul phoned Secretary of State 
Powell Saturday evening to urge greater US support for some 
of Turkey's `crucial' demands.  Powell promised Gul to 
discuss the issue with EU foreign ministers at meetings in 
Berlin and Brussels.  PM Erdogan has been told in bilateral 
meetings with EU officials that it will not be possible to 
make the Cyprus agreement part of EU primary law, according 
to EU diplomatic sources.  The Turks have signaled that the 
scheduled April 20 referendum in Turkish Cyprus could be 
canceled if the EU does not provide sufficient guarantees on 
this point. 
 
 
"Powell letter brought four convictions":  Four policemen 
blamed for killing a university student, Birtan Altinbas, 
while he was in police custody in 1991 were convicted by a 
Turkish court on Friday and sentenced to 4.5 years in 
prison.  "Hurriyet" writes under a banner headline that `the 
Powell letter brought four convictions.'  The paper was 
referring to the fact that Secretary Powell raised the 
Altinbas case in a letter to FM Gul in late February. 
Powell urged that the case be resolved before the statute of 
limitations expired. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Elections in Turkey/US-Turkey Relations 
 
 
"US views on a new period in Turkey" 
Yasemin Congar wrote from Washington in the mass appeal 
Milliyet (3/29): "Washington considers the March 29 date 
[the day after Turkey's local elections] as the beginning of 
a new period.  This is because the ruling AKP has emerged 
with a resounding victory, far outdistancing its rivals on 
both the left and the right.  US observers expect that the 
AKP will become more energetic and more courageous in the 
wake of the election results.  It remains to be seen when 
and where this energy will be exercised.  A US diplomat 
speaking right before the elections sketched out an ideal 
scenario for Turkey and Turkey's ruling party.  The scenario 
keeps the focus on Turkey's  EU prospects and more decisive, 
concrete steps toward Turkey's full accession to the EU.  In 
sum, Washington's expectation about Turkey after the local 
elections is very much indexed to Brussels." 
 
 
"Reflecting on the elections" 
Asli Ayditasbas wrote from Washington in the mass appeal 
Sabah (3/29): "Washington is preoccupied with the ongoing 
Cyprus negotiations more than with the AKP victory in 
Turkey's local elections.  The US has been following every 
minute of the Cyprus negotiations and has been even more 
involved in the process through a recent phone call from the 
Turkish FM to Secretary Powell.  . The election results did 
not bring any surprise for the Washington administration. 
However, the US believes that a political opposition has an 
important role to play in any democracy.  The US 
administration thinks that a single-power authority without 
an effective opposition makes for an unhealthy democracy. 
This same argument applies to Turkey. . In any case, nobody 
in Washington is upset about the opposition CHP's poor 
showing in the election.  The general observation about CHP 
is that it has persisted in its anti-American rhetoric and 
shown an inability to establish a constructive opposition 
that addresses the country's fundamental issues." 
EDELMAN