US embassy cable - 04ANKARA2577

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002577 
 
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, MAY 6, 2004 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEALS 
 
 
Bush addresses Arabs, does not apologize - Hurriyet 
Talabani: Torture `shouldn't be exaggerated' - Turkey 
Powell: Turkey a very, very secular country - Milliyet 
Powell calls Talat `Mr. Prime Minister' - Aksam 
US won't wait for EU to remove `TRNC' sanctions - Milliyet 
Erdogan's Greece visit may turn Aegean into a `peace lake' - 
Turkiye 
Karamanlis to urge Erdogan to open Halki Seminary - Sabah 
Erdogan's Western Thrace visit makes Athens nervous - 
Hurriyet 
Michael Moore's anti-Bush film censored by Disney - Sabah 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
 
 
Talat like a `PM,' `TRNC' like a state - Zaman 
Erdogan, Karamanlis to start `win-win' dialogue - Zaman 
MFA: Ankara should not be expected to recognize Greek Cyprus 
- Yeni Safak 
Papadopoulos to UN: Annan Plan favored Turks - Radikal 
Bush finds torture `disgusting,' does not apologize - Zaman 
Bush, US officials move to soothe Arabs - Cumhuriyet 
Turkish NGOs rally for end to brutality in Iraq - Yeni Safak 
Rice, Gen. Miller apologize for abuse of Iraqis - Radikal 
CHP: Torture is imperialism's dirty face in Iraq - 
Cumhuriyet 
Sen. Kennedy: Torture widespread in Iraq, Afghanistan - Yeni 
Safak 
Talabani regards allegations of torture as `exaggeration' - 
Zaman 
US won't reduce troops in Iraq - Cumhuriyet 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Cyprus:  In a rare meeting with the `PM' of the Turkish 
Cypriots, Mehmet Ali Talat, Secretary Powell said he will 
look for ways to reduce the isolation of northern Cyprus. 
Talat expressed a desire for the `TRNC' to work with the 
World Bank and to have direct flights from the US.  A US 
official said on condition of anonymity that Washington had 
accepted Talat as the new leader of the Turkish Cypriot 
community.  In a speech he delivered at the CSIS in 
Washington, Talat renewed calls for ending international 
sanctions on the northern Cypriots.  Talat said that 
financial aid alone is not enough, because the private 
sector in northern Cyprus has little prospect for 
improvement under the current embargo.  Turkish dailies 
claim that the Americans are looking for ways to extend 
financial aid to the Turkish Cypriots.  The US might move 
unilaterally to ease sanctions without necessarily waiting 
for the EU to take action. 
 
 
PM Erdogan due in Greece:  PM Erdogan will visit Athens on 
Thursday in the first official visit to Greece by a Turkish 
leader in 16 years.  Erdogan will discuss with Greek leaders 
the Aegean continental shelf, the status of the 
Patriarchate, the reopening of Halki Seminary, and Cyprus. 
Athens will probably not block Turkey's EU bid if a 
compromise can be reached on Aegean disagreements.  The two 
countries will also discuss suspending military maneuvers in 
the Aegean before the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in 
Athens.  On Saturday, Erdogan will become the first Turkish 
leader in more than 50 years to visit western Thrace in 
northern Greece.  The region is home to about 120,000 
Turkish-speaking Muslims.  PASOK leader Papandreou 
criticized PM Karamanlis for allowing Erdogan to visit 
Western Thrace, on the grounds that the Turkish PM's 
meetings with local Muslim leaders could spark unrest. 
 
 
Allegations of Iraqi prisoner abuse:  AKP Deputy Mehmet 
Elkatmis, Chairman of the parliamentary committee for human 
rights, said the committee would condemn the mistreatment of 
Iraqi captives by the Americans at an extraordinary session 
today.  Elkatmis criticized the international community for 
not reacting more strongly to the abuse of Iraqis, and said 
that a parliamentary delegation could visit Iraq to 
investigate the issue.  Opposition CHP said in a statement 
on Wednesday that the Americans' torture of Iraqi prisoners 
constitutes a `crime against humanity.'  Turkish NGOs and 
human rights organizations rallied in Ankara and Istanbul on 
Wednesday to denounce the abuse of Iraqis. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Iraq Prisoner Abuse 
 
 
"American Torture" 
Cengiz Candar stated in the conservative-sensational DB 
Tercuman (5/6): "The torture pictures in Iraq's Abu Gharib 
prison create a black mark for America.  Yet there are 
certain facts that should not be ignored.  The Abu Gharib 
prison used to be the worst of them all in Iraq during the 
Saddam era.  Saddam used to carry out the most brutal 
methods of torture in this prison, and none of these events 
ever became an issue in the international media.  Bearing 
this in mind, I see an international hypocrisy here - 
including in Turkey - by those who are criticizing the 
American torture so harshly.  These are crocodile tears. 
When Saddam massacred women and children, used chemical 
weapons against his people, and buried more than 300,000 
bodies in mass graves, I don't remember seeing such a harsh 
reaction denouncing shameless acts against humanity. 
Nevertheless, this does not dilute the horror of the 
American crime.  The Abu Gharib pictures will remain part of 
America's image for years to come.  Unlike Saddam, US 
officials acted in a democratic manner by denouncing the 
events and opening an investigation.  It seems that the 
magnitude of the incidents will lead to an even more 
extensive investigation that will not be limited to 16 
individuals." 
 
 
"The Tradition of Torture" 
Zafer Atay wrote in the economic-political Dunya (5/6): "If 
you remember what happened during the Vietnam war or after 
WWII, these torture pictures do not come as a surprise. 
American and British soldiers have a bad record on torture, 
so the treatment in Iraqi prisons is not something new.  It 
is wrong to blame the entire military and call every 
American or British soldier as a torturer.  But the fact of 
the matter is that torture is a widely implemented act in 
certain professions.  . Thanks to brave journalists, we have 
been provided information about the torture cases in Iraq. 
It is also interesting to see that General Myers has 
admitted trying to censor the CBS broadcast.  Apparently the 
free press concept was not deemed valid under the 
circumstances.  It will also be interesting to see what kind 
of reaction will come from the Council of Europe, the EU the 
British Foreign Office, and the American State Department, 
which persistently advocate the anti-torture line for other 
countries, including Turkey." 
 
 
"The Ugly American" 
Guneri Civaoglu commented in the mass appeal Milliyet (5/6): 
"The recent photos of the crimes in Iraq have encouraged 
people to curse the US presence in the region.  Of course, 
it would be wrong to consider every single person in the US 
forces as a pervert.  One can see this kind of sadist filth 
in every community.  However, the issue cannot be considered 
only as a statistical fact.  These handful of perverts, with 
their photos reflected in the media, will become the symbol 
of the US presence in Iraq.  From now on, the US must 
struggle with the resistance, which is spreading 
continuously and rapidly in Iraq.  With these photos, the US 
will be labeled as insulters of Islam.  With the help of 
these few perverts, plenty of good recruiting material were 
passed to terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda.   US forces 
are looking like `crusaders' against Islam.  That is how 
they will be presented. .And as the numbers of American 
lives taken by the resistance or terrorist organizations 
increase, the Vietnam syndrome will become more widespread 
among the American people.  Even the White House won't be 
able to resist this trend." 
 
 
EDELMAN