US embassy cable - 04ANKARA2154

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 002154 
 
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, 
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 2004 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Gen. Ozkok: "Military Will Always Defend Secularism" - 
Hurriyet 
Dervis Resigns From CHP - Hurriyet 
Gen. Ozkok: "Turkish Cypriots Will Decide Their Future" - 
Sabah 
President Bush Calls on Karamanlis to Urge a `Yes' - 
Milliyet 
Azerbaijani President Aliyev in Turkey - Turkiye 
First Call from US to TRNC - Aksam 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Cyprus Messages From General Ozkok - Radikal 
Ozkok: "Not Appropriate for me to Say `Yes' or `No' to Annan 
Plan - Cumhuriyet 
Foreign Companies and States Withdraw From Iraq - Cumhuriyet 
Ozkok: "We Act With Our Mind, Not With Our Heart, in Cyprus" 
- Zaman 
 
 
BRIEFING 
TGS Chief General Ozkok's Briefing:  All papers and TV 
extensively cover yesterday's press briefing by TGS Chief 
Gen. Hilmi Ozkok.  Ozkok said that `despite its positive 
aspects, the Annan plan does not meet all of our demands.' 
`We see serious problems in implementing the plan,' he 
added.  `Although the Treaty of Guarantee and Treaty of 
Alliance are preserved without changes,' Ozkok noted, `some 
adaptations will be made and additional responsibilities 
undertaken as necessitated by additional protocols.'  `We 
believe that these changes will not prevent us from using 
our rights as a guarantor power,' he said.  Ozkok 
acknowledged that the plan has positive aspects as well, 
particularly the fact that the Turkish military will remain 
on the island, albeit in reduced numbers, until Turkey 
decides to withdraw its forces.  He also mentioned positive 
steps toward preserving the bi-zonal structure of the 
island, but cautioned on the need for the EU to include the 
legal derogations in the plan as part of EU primary law. 
Ozkok noted that the military had expressed its views on the 
Cyprus issue to the government `at appropriate times' during 
the negotiations, but claimed that the government's 
negotiating tactics in the New York meetings `deviated from 
the agreement reached at the January 23 meeting of the 
National Security Council.'  Ozkok concluded that it would 
be inappropriate for him to advocate a `yes' or `no' vote on 
the Annan plan, and he noted that the Turkish Parliament and 
Turkish Cypriots will have the final word on the issue. 
Ozkok also discussed the importance of secularism and 
modernity as the principles that will take the Turkish 
Republic into the future, and cautioned that `no one should 
expect the military to remain neutral on these issues.' 
Ozkok denied speculation that he had been offered the 
position of President of the Republic, saying that his 
chairmanship of the General Staff would be the `final 
official position' of his career. 
 
 
Cyprus:  "Sabah" and "Aksam" report that US Secretary of 
State Colin Powell called `TRNC Prime Minister' Talat 
yesterday to thank him for his constructive efforts to solve 
the Cyprus issue.  "Milliyet" reports that President Bush 
called the Greek Prime Minister last Monday to ask for his 
support in convincing the Greek Cypriots to vote `yes' in 
the referendum.  "Radikal" notes that there are now no Greek 
Cypriot political parties willing to support the UN plan in 
the referendum.  Annan has indicated that a postponement of 
the referendum could be considered, but only if such a 
request is received from both sides. 
 
 
Azerbaijani President Aliyev in Turkey:  Azerbaijan 
President Aliyev arrived in Ankara yesterday on his first 
official visit to Turkey.  "Radikal" notes that Turkey 
supported the Azerbaijani proposal for opening the border 
gate with Armenia in exchange for Armenian withdrawal from 
part of the territory occupied by Armenia in Nagorno- 
Karabakh. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: 
"If the Greek Cypriots reject the Annan Plan, ." 
Ismet Berkan observed in the intellectual/opinion maker 
"Radikal" (4/14):  "The Greek Cypriots will join the 
European Union on May 1 even if they reject the Annan Plan. 
.  If Cyprus does not join the EU as a unified island, 
Turkey's future EU membership will be in danger.  For 
example, Greek and Greek Cypriot opposition will make it 
impossible for the EU to start membership negotiations with 
Turkey.  Such a development will have negative effects in 
the Eastern Mediterranean and in the European system. .  I 
don't think the EU countries are fully aware of the price 
they will have to pay together with the Cypriots, Greece and 
Turkey if that scenario becomes a reality." 
 
 
"Verheugen must take action" 
Mehmet Ali Birand commented in the mass appeal "Posta" 
(4/14):  "The EU has made a big mistake by promising 
Southern Cyprus full EU membership as the sole 
representative of Cyprus even in the event that the Greek 
Cypriots reject the Annan Plan. .  The EU must not just 
watch these developments , but rather find a way to convince 
the Greek Cypriots. .  Verheugen's greatest achievements in 
his professional career have been attaining a solution to 
the Cyprus issue and bringing Turkey into the EU.  Verheugen 
must take the initiative and prevent Greek Cypriot leaders 
from causing disorder in the region through their domestic 
political tricks.  Otherwise, relations between the EU and 
Turkey will face enormous problems that might prove 
impossible to solve." 
 
 
"US sinks in the mud" 
Tufan Turenc wrote in the mass appeal "Hurriyet" (4/14): 
"The Iraq swamp will bring the end of President Bush along 
with Rumsfeld and his gang. .  The Americans have made a 
strategic mistake in Iraq by taking the Kurds on their side 
and bringing themselves into confrontation with the 80 
percent of the Iraqi population that is Arab. .  The 
violence will increase, making it tougher for the Americans 
to leave Iraq.  Over 800 Iraqi civilians have killed and the 
coalition's losses have reached 80 in clashes since April 1. 
.  This is the cost of following the violence-loving 
policies of the Rumsfeld gang." 
EDELMAN