US embassy cable - 04ANKARA2623

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 002623 
 
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, MAY 10, 2004 
 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
US military wants Rumsfeld's head - Hurriyet 
Torture orders given by Gen. Miller - Milliyet 5/9 
Rumsfeld warns of more `sadistic, ruthless' photos - Sabah 
5/9 
Karamanlis, Erdogan agree to turn a new page - Hurriyet 5/9 
Erdogan given joyous welcome in Komotini - Milliyet 5/9 
Greek Cypriots prefer division in Cyprus - Milliyet 
Mass assassination in Chechnya - Milliyet 
LA Times warns: Al-Qaeda may strike at NATO Summit - Sabah 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Torturers of Iraqis denounced - Yeni Safak 
Pvt. Harman: `I was ordered to turn Iraqis' lives into hell' 
- Cumhuriyet 5/9 
British government disregards report on systematic torture 
in Iraq - Zaman 
Sadr militia aims to seize Basra - Zaman 5/9 
`TRNC PM' Talat calls for world to do business with Turkish 
Cypriots - Zaman 5/9 
Kadirov had been a target for being `Kremlin's puppet' - 
Cumhuriyet 
Bomb attack kills Kadirov - Yeni Safak 
Bush steps back: Palestinian state in 2005 a dream - Zaman 
5/9 
Sharon cancels US visit - Radikal 
Chirac: Turkey's integration into EU will be long, difficult 
- Radikal 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
PM Erdogan's Greece visit:  Weekend papers regard PM 
Erdogan's visit to Greece as a turning point in relations 
between historic rivals Turkey and Greece.  Erdogan and 
Karamanlis vowed to bury the tensions of the past by 
agreeing to establish a strategic partnership between Ankara 
and Athens.  Karamanlis said that many problems between the 
two neighbors would be resolved once Turkey joins the EU. 
The two leaders agreed to increase the trade and to open new 
border gates.  Erdogan told Karamanlis that the Turkish 
government is working on the reopening of Halki Seminary. 
On Saturday, Erdogan met with representatives of Turkish- 
speaking Muslims in western Thrace.  He was the first 
Turkish leader to visit the region in more than 50 years. 
Erdogan listened to the problems faced by ethnic Turks in 
the region, especially in the areas of education and 
religion.  He urged the Turks not to lose their Turkish 
ethnic identity, but `to work to strengthen the country in 
which you are citizens.' 
 
 
Mistreatment of Iraqi captives:  Several thousand 
demonstrators protested the abuse of Iraqi prisoners in 
rallies organized by an Islamist aid foundation in Ankara 
and Istanbul over the weekend.  Footage of maltreatment of 
Iraqi detainees has been a `diplomatic Pearl Harbor' for the 
image of the United States, Turkish papers report.  Defense 
Secretary Rumsfeld warned on Friday that hundreds more 
 
SIPDIS 
photographs of US soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners could 
worsen the situation.  Bush's presidential challenger, John 
Kerry, and several other US lawmakers have called on 
Secretary Rumsfeld to resign over the scandal, but national 
 
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security advisor Condoleezza Rice said that Rumsfeld has the 
strong support of President Bush.  Members of the US 
Congress are increasingly insistent that more senior members 
of the military and administration must be held responsible. 
 
 
Higher education bill:  Education Minister Huseyin Celik 
says the government will decide this week whether to press 
on with the education reform bill that would ease 
restrictions on religious vocational schools (Imam Hatip) 
students wishing to enter university.  Turkey's military 
fears that proposals to ease restrictions on Imam Hatip 
students will increase the influence of Islam in education. 
The ruling AK Party says easing restrictions on students 
from state-funded religious schools entering university is a 
matter of fairness.  The Turkish General Staff, backed by 
opposition parties and most university rectors, regards the 
reform as an attempt to increase the influence of Islam in 
education.  If the government does press ahead with the 
changes, it will sharply raise tensions with the army.  AK 
Party leaders will decide at a party group meeting on Monday 
whether to submit the bill to the parliament this week or to 
withdraw or modify it. 
 
 
Parliament approves key constitutional changes:  Turkey's 
parliament approved a package of constitutional amendments 
last Friday by a vote of 457-8.  Most lawmakers from the 
opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) also voted for 
the reforms.  The package abolishes the state security court 
system and removes military representatives from boards 
supervising higher education and radio and television 
broadcasting.  The changes give parliament full control over 
the military budget. Under the amendments, international 
agreements will take precedence over domestic law.  All 
residual references to capital punishment have now been 
removed from the constitution. 
 
 
Cyprus:  Monday's papers, citing the Greek daily `Ta Nea,' 
report a shift in the position of Greek Cypriot leader 
Papadopolus with regard to the Cyprus issue.  According to 
the Greek paper, Papadopolus is willing to accept the 
official division of Cyprus in return for small territorial 
concessions by the northern Cypriots.  Meanwhile, 
"Cumhuriyet" reports that the Turkish Cypriot government is 
working for unilateral implementation of the Annan Plan in 
the Turkish zone.  One third of the property belonging to 
Greek Cypriots will be returned to its original owners as 
envisaged by the UN-backed plan. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Iraq Prisoner Abuse 
 
 
"Is It Necessary to See The Photographs?" 
Emre Akoz commented in the mass appeal Sabah (5/10):  " I 
find it rather odd that people are shocked by the torture 
photos in Iraq.  It is strange from two different angles. 
First, how quickly we all forgot about the torture experts 
the US had sent to dictatorships in Latin America!  Their 
main duty was to teach the details of torture, such as how 
to give more pain without killing, how to torture without 
fingerprints, and how to find a person's weak points. 
.Second, people wrongly believe that as the technology and 
education levels in a country increase, torture decreases 
and, in the end, vanishes completely.  This is wishful 
thinking!  The only way to stop torture is to take concrete, 
serious and determined decisions to prevent it.  One other 
thing that confuses me is the vitriol that has surfaced in 
Turkey now that these photos have been published.   This is 
fine as far as it goes, but hundreds of thousands of people, 
from leftists to rightists, faced torture in this country as 
well.  Some of them wrote books or told of the suffering 
they went through during interviews.  Also, some of the 
torturers have confessed to their crimes.  Some were even 
charged.  Where was this vitriol then?  Is it necessary to 
see photos of torture for people to accept the existence of 
torture and to despise it?  There is no doubt that some of 
our torturers are among those criticizing the torturers in 
Iraq.  Some live across the road in official quarters, and 
some are our next door neighbors!" 
"This Account Must Be Settled" 
Oktay Eksi wrote this front page op-ed in the mass appeal 
Hurriyet (5/9): "President Bush, who was supposed to bring 
democracy to Iraq, has flunked.  As of now, he will either 
continue to pursue the lawless policies that he began when 
Al-Qaeda terrorists destroyed the Twin Towers, or he will 
understand that Texas culture should remain in Texas and 
will agree to comply with the rule of law -- a principle 
that constitutes the most important gain of civilization. 
In other words, he will learn that the era of unquestionable 
authority is over, and that the power of even the most 
powerful state may not be adequate for certain things. 
Here, we refer particularly refer to things such as ignoring 
international law, violating human rights, and doing or 
having others do whatever he wants by disregarding world 
public opinion. It is true that the world may not be 
powerful enough to bring a US President to his senses. 
Thanks God, however, that the United States' internal 
democracy has finally begun to function. The US media and 
the Congress, which had seemed blind and deaf after 9/11, 
have finally woken up and begun to search for answers about 
whether the US has the right to engage in such arrogant 
acts.  . The fact that President Bush publicly defended 
Rumsfeld, and the fact that he will not ask for Rumsfeld's 
resignation show that his mentality has not changed at all. 
. If President Bush and his administration had respected 
concepts such as the rule of law and respect for human 
rights, they would not have covered up this disgrace that 
came to light in January.  Furthermore, they would have 
punished the criminals in a most severe manner, and would 
have announced it to the world. Well, it was Mr. Bush who 
not refused to implement a legitimate legal process for the 
foreigners detained as enemy combatants long before the Abu 
Ghraib disgrace.  Can anyone claim that those who are 
imprisoned in Guantanamo without any proof and who face 
interrogations without any legal representation are luckier 
than those in Abu Ghraib prison?  All of this means we are 
not talking about just a few rotten apples. We are looking 
at systematic acts of torture engaged in by US military 
personnel at the instruction of the US Administration.  We 
must accept this fact.  Then, we should check whether or not 
these acts constitute crimes against humanity, and we should 
hold discussions on who is responsible for these incidents." 
 
 
"Settling Accounts with Torturers" 
Oral Calislar noted in the social democrat-opinion maker 
Cumhuriyet (5/9): "The Rumsfeld testimony in the Congress 
illustrates certain lessons.  First and foremost, we see 
lessons about the sensitivity of the American public to the 
torture allegations.  This outrage has helped to create an 
atmosphere in which questions are asked about what really 
happened.  Rumsfeld and high-ranking generals of the US Army 
were embarrassed by the tough questions they faced.  The 
representatives of the US people were able to question them. 
. The Defense Secretary of the world's most powerful 
country, and the senior commanders of the world's most 
powerful army were trying to explain and justify their 
actions.  And they were doing the explaining to the 
country's elected representatives. . The US has a system 
that allows the highest level officials to be called to 
account.  In the case of Abu Ghraib case, both Republican 
and Democratic senators were eager to make this happen. 
Rumsfeld is a Republican, but this did not seem to matter at 
all in this process.  Questions asked by Republican senators 
were just as tough as those asked by the opposition 
Democrats. . While watching the testimony of Rumsfeld and 
the American generals, I could not help but dream about the 
possibility that our own torturers will someday face a 
similar situation." 
 
 
EDELMAN