US embassy cable - 04ANKARA2509

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002509 
 
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, 
TUESDAY, MAY 4, 2004 
 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Talat will urge Powell to remove TRNC sanctions - Milliyet 
Six American torturers to be dismissed from army - Hurriyet 
Suicide bomb plot against Bush -Aksam 
Terrorists were to bomb the Istanbul NATO Summit - Hurriyet 
Terror organization aiming at NATO summit broken up - 
Turkiye 
Sharon may change his withdrawal plan - Milliyet 
Tension high in Georgia, war looming - Sabah 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Papadopolous: Turkey is obliged to recognize us - Zaman 
Papadopoulos threatens Turkey as EU member - Yeni Safak 
Iraqi victim says US torture `worse than Saddam' - 
Cumhuriyet 
Torture official policy of US - Yeni Safak 
FM Gul: Abuse of Iraqi captives `shameful' - Radikal 
Annan: International peacekeepers may be deployed in Iraq - 
Cumhuriyet 
Sharon insists on withdrawal plan, won't resign - Zaman 
90 million evangelicals to determine outcome of Election 
2004 - Radikal 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Cyprus:  Turkish Cypriot `PM' Mehmet Ali Talat will call for 
an end to the international isolation of northern Cyprus 
when he holds a meeting today with Secretary of State Colin 
Powell.  Turkish Cypriot leader Denktas welcomed Powell's 
meeting with Talat for providing legitimacy to the existence 
of the `TRNC,' but was obviously upset that he was `pushed 
out' of the international arena.  Greek Cypriot leader 
Papadopolous warned that Turkey is obliged to improve its 
relations with the Republic of Cyprus, now an EU member. 
Otherwise, Papadopolous stressed, it will not be possible 
for Turkey to expect a better relationship with the EU. 
Responding to a question in Ankara on Monday, FM Gul said it 
was `too early' for Turkey to recognize south Cyprus, and 
added that his government would `wait to see developments.' 
 
 
Police foil fundamentalist bomb plot aimed at NATO summit: 
Turkish police detained 24 militants, all of them Turkish 
nationals, with suspected links to the Al-Qaida Islamic 
terror organization.  The men are suspected of preparing to 
carry out bomb attacks against the NATO summit in Istanbul 
in June.  The 24 suspects were detained in two separate 
operations in Istanbul and Bursa.  They allegedly had ties 
to the radical Islamist group Ansar al-Islam, which is 
believed to be linked to Al-Qaida.  After carrying out a 
`sensational' attack in Turkey, possibly including a bombing 
at the summit or an attack against a synagigue in Bursa, the 
suspects were planning to go to Iraq to fight against US 
forces.  CNN-Turk reported that 3 of the suspects had been 
planning a suicide attack against President Bush during the 
NATO summit.  Significant amounts of bomb-making material 
and equipment as well as Al-Qaeda training materials were 
seized during the police raids. 
 
 
Allegations of Iraqi prisoner abuse; Fallujah militia:  The 
U.S. military has reprimanded six officers in connection 
with the mistreatment of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison 
in Baghdad, according to a senior US military official.  FM 
Gul said the photographs of mistreated Iraqi captives were 
`shameful' images that would never be forgotten.  Gul added 
that it was `positive' that the claims were being 
investigated and that those responsible would be called to 
account for their actions.  A journalist for "Hurriyet" 
talked with a group of Fallujah fighters engaged in the 
resistance against coalition forces.  The fighters included 
engineers, architects, former military officers and doctors. 
They characterized themselves as freedom fighters, and 
rejected the notion that they are terrorists.  According to 
the report, the fighters are well-organized and well-armed. 
They operate in small groups.  The guerrillas say they have 
killed many Iraqi informants collaborating with the 
Americans, and added that they would continue striking at 
nationals of coalition forces in Iraq, including journalists 
and businessmen.  `We could never have toppled Saddam 
without the Americans,' says an unidentified Iraqi student 
of medicine.  At first he said, he and most other Iraqis 
welcomed the Americans.  They turned against the occupation 
because of the `treatment of the people' by coalition 
forces. `It will be easier to get rid of the Americans 
compared with Saddam,' he noted.  An Iraqi journalist in 
northern Iraq told "Cumhuriyet" that the Shiite and Sunni 
fronts have joined forces in fighting the Americans and 
their collaborators, the Kurds.  A US withdrawal from Kirkuk 
would cause great turmoil in the region, he stressed. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: Iraq Prisoner Abuse 
 
 
"Looking for America" 
Oktay Eksi opined in the mass appeal Hurriyet (5/4): "Let's 
be honest first of all: There is no way to interpret the 
awful pictures from Iraq as isolated incidents.  Thanks to 
George W. Bush, the US has lost its sense of values on human 
rights and the supremacy of law.  Thus the current picture 
is only a reflection of current American values.  If George 
Bush is sincere enough, the solution to this problem is 
simple: he should follow the example of General Patton, who 
was discharged from the US army for slapping an American 
soldier. . Turkey has taken its share of US abuse, as we 
still remember how Turkish soldiers were treated during a 
raid in northern Iraq on July 4, 2003.  Americans are very 
wrong if they believe that such memories can be forgotten. 
Neither Turks nor Iraqis can forget such humiliation." 
 
 
"Sadists are marketing democracy and human rights" 
Davut Dursun argued in the Islamist-opinion maker Yeni Safak 
(5/4): "There is no country in the world where democracy can 
be imported.  To begin with, it was impossible to expect or 
believe that occupation forces would bring democracy to 
Iraq.  However, the need for restructuring the Middle East 
region is real.  Historically, it was a region shaped by UK 
and French interests, where the peoples of the region had no 
input.  Today the US is following the same path by trying to 
reshape the Middle East based on its own interests. . It 
seems that the US and the Western world treat the Iraqi 
people and Muslims in general in a way that suggests they 
are taking revenge for the 9/11 attacks.  The humiliation, 
rape, abuse and torture of Iraqis are giving them a feeling 
of satisfaction in having achieved a kind of revenge.  The 
sad part of the story is that these criminals and sadists 
bill themselves as defenders of civilization, democracy and 
human rights throughout the world." 
 
 
"A Clean War" 
Okay Gonensin commented in the mass appeal Vatan:  "The 
photos of the mistreatment by coalition forces of Iraqi POWs 
have shocked the world.  Apparently, the coalition forces 
were torturing prisoners in the name of fighting for a just 
cause.  I am not surprised that the international public has 
been shocked by the photos.The world had been convinced that 
the US military was fighting a clean war after the horror of 
September 11.  People covered their ears before those who 
were screaming that this war was anything but clean. 
Moreover, they blamed those who claimed such things as being 
anti-American.  Remember how the US treated Japanese and 
Chinese Americans who were gathered in camps after the US 
was attacked by Japan.  Of course, these two cases are not 
the same.  But it is not shocking to see today's photos once 
we remember the treatment meted out to innocent US citizens 
just because of their color or ethnic origin. .There cannot 
be a clean war.  People who believe otherwise can only be 
called naive.  When there is a war, the more powerful side 
will torture, rape, kill and steal (Who robbed the museums 
in Iraq -- Saddam's men or the Americans?).  But thank God 
there is such a thing as the photograph.  Photos showed us 
that what happened in Nazi concentration camps and in 
Vietnam. And now, they are showing us what is happening in 
Iraq". 
EDELMAN