US embassy cable - 04ANKARA1946

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001946 
 
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, 
FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 2004 
 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
EU to pressure Greek Cypriots to approve UN plan - Hurriyet 
Decision left to Cypriot people - Hurriyet 
South Cyprus inclined to reject Annan Plan - Milliyet 
Verheugen: No more isolation for Turks if Greeks reject UN 
plan - Sabah 
World regards Burgenstock as victory for the Turks - Turkiye 
EU, Turkey joint operation against DHKP-C - Sabah 
Hunt for terrorists in Turkey, Europe - Turkiye 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Bush congratulates Erdogan on Cyprus - Zaman 
Bush lauds Ankara, pressures Athens - Radikal 
Powell, Blair happy with Cyprus outcome - Radikal 
Erdogan warns Denktas against obstruction of UN plan - 
Cumhuriyet 
Denktas sees `no point in accepting Annan Plan' - Cumhuriyet 
EU warns Greek Cypriots of division, international sanctions 
- Zaman 
Greek press sees the Annan Plan as a trap - Zaman 
International operation against DHKP-C - Yeni Safak 
European Parliament report fully supports Turkey - Yeni 
Safak 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Cyprus:  EU enlargement chief Verheugen praised Turkey's 
`positive contribution' to the UN-backed Cyprus peace talks. 
President Bush called PM Erdogan to congratulate him on the 
efforts by Turkey to reach a solution.  `History will not 
forgive attempts to block a solution in Cyprus,' Erdogan 
said in an indirect reference to Turkish Cypriot leader 
Denktas, who said on Thursday that the Annan Plan would only 
bring further conflict.  `This is the best possible text for 
the Turkish side,' Erdogan said.  The EU has warned the 
Greek Cypriots against refusal of the UN blueprint, and said 
international economic and political sanctions could be 
imposed on Nicosia.  Although Turkey's National Security 
Council (NSC) issued a favorable statement concerning the 
plan, the Council is concerned that failure to make Turkish 
derogations part of EU primary law could cause problems in 
future, dailies report.  The NSC is also reportedly worried 
that the high number of Greek Cypriot migrants expected to 
move north could severely harm the bi-zonal structure of the 
island.  The NSC will hold another meeting on April 5 to 
discuss Cyprus. 
 
 
EU crackdown on `Dev-Sol':  Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, 
Belgium and Turkey staged a coordinated crackdown on 
Thursday against DHKP-C (Dev-Sol) members in various 
European and Turkish cities.  The operations resulted in the 
detention of 16 suspects in Europe, and 38 in Turkey.  DHKP- 
C leader Dursun Karatas, long sought by Interpol, was not 
among those detained.  Fehriye Erdal, who is suspected in 
the murder of Turkish industrialist Ozdemir Sabanci, was 
briefly detained by Belgian authorities, but was later 
released.  Papers regard the crackdown as part of security 
preparation in advance of the June NATO Summit in Istanbul. 
 
 
European Parliament's Turkey report:  A European Parliament 
report drafted by Dutch parliamentarian Arie Oostlander 
praises Ankara's reform process on democratization and human 
rights, and urges Turks to press ahead with implementation. 
The report draws attention to the existing `authoritarian 
Constitution,' a legacy of the 1980 military takeover.  The 
report states that further limitations are necessary on the 
enormous authority wielded by Turkey's military in politics. 
Turkey's position on the Cyprus question, the report 
stresses, echoes the political might of the Turkish 
military.  The EP report also urges that the ten percent 
election threshold for general elections in Turkey be 
reduced. 
 
 
DEP trial:  The former Kurdish parliamentarians from the 
Democracy Party (DEP) -- Leyla Zana, Hatip Dicle, Orhan 
Dogan and Selim Sadak -- are not expected to appear before 
the court at the 13th hearing in the retrial of their case 
today.  The defendants are expected to boycott the session 
as a protest against the legal process and recent remarks on 
the case by the Justice Minister.  Defense lawyers have 
accused the court of biad, and have said that their 
defendants would appeal to the European Human Rights Court. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: 
 
 
a)   NATO-Fight against terrorism 
b)   Cyprus 
 
 
"The Dilemma of Changing NATO" 
Etyen Mahcupyan commented in the Islamist-intellectual Zaman 
(4/2): "It was obvious that the US would not sit and watch 
the demise of NATO in the rapidly changing world.  There has 
been a search for a new threat for NATO to address, and 
recent developments have served to shape that new threat -- 
terrorism.  The terrorism concept, however, is not enough to 
justify NATO's mission for decades on end.  But now the 
meaning of terrorism has been expanded to include all sorts 
of violence.  NATO is now ready to act as the global 
policeman to prevent any act of violence that might threaten 
the world order.  . The demise of the Soviet Union and the 
acceleration of globalization led the US to try to 
legitimize its hegemony over a vast geographical area.  This 
brings us to NATO's expansion project.  The upcoming NATO 
summit in Istanbul will make official the fact that NATO 
will now function on a broader international basis.  Yet 
there seems to be a dilemma:  NATO's new mission requires 
rapid action and a fast decision mechanism.  It remains to 
be seen how this will be achieved with the participation of 
new members in a NATO organization that has become more 
cumbersome." 
 
 
"The role that US and UK Played on the Cyprus Issue" 
Mehmet Ali Birand wrote in the mass appeal-sensational Posta 
(4/2): "The UN has been in the forefront during the Cyprus 
negotiations, yet there have also been some hidden actors. 
They did not make any public statements, and always 
preferred to remain in the background.  Chief among these 
actors were the US administration and the British cabinet. 
The person who prevented any last-minute problems for the 
Turkish side, resolved many disagreements, and intervened in 
every deadlock, was Secretary Powell.  Whenever Tom Weston 
called him, Powell was there to take the call. . President 
Bush, Prime Minister Blair, and the duo of EU Commission 
President Prodi and Verheugen kept their promises to Turkish 
PM Erdogan.  When you ask UN officials, they say that PM 
Erdogan's sincere desire to produce a solution played an 
important part in reaching the end result.  Let's see who 
will help who at the referenda." 
 
 
"It All Depends on How You View It" 
Sami Kohen opined in the mass appeal Milliyet (4/2):  "One 
should accept that the Annan plan has more pluses than 
minuses for the Turkish side.  Moreover, the fourth Annan 
plan contains many positive items compared with the previous 
plans.  Progress has been made on issues such as bizonality, 
equality, security, and Turkey's guarantor status. . The 
debate will continue until the referendum on April 24. 
Until then, those who think that the plan is acceptable and 
others who consider it as a dangerous trap will try to 
influence the Turkish Cypriots, who will have the last word 
on the issue.  Considering it from a wider angle, some 
believe that, with time, integration will take place on the 
island, and the problems associated with the integration 
will ease.  If that were to happen, both Turkey and the 
Turkish Cypriots would benefit immensely." 
EDELMAN