US embassy cable - 04ANKARA2695

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002695 
 
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, MAY 12, 2004 
 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEALS 
Education reform duel between government, YOK - Aksam 
UN to discuss division in Cyprus - Milliyet 
Gen. Taguba reiterates systematic torture in Iraq - Sabah 
Bush loses support over torture photos - Aksam 
Bush losing support for backing Rumsfeld - Hurriyet 
Popular support for Bush falling - Turkiye 
Amnesty: UK troops killed 37 civilians in Iraq - Sabah 
Washington to impose sanctions on Syria - Aksam 
OECD predicts 5.2 percent growth for Turkey - Milliyet 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Education bill shows AKP's `twisted' view of democracy - 
Cumhuriyet 
EU warns against blocking reforms in Turkey - Yeni Safak 
Annan seeking two-state formula in Cyprus - Yeni Safak 
Al-Qaeda takes `revenge of torture' - Radikal 
Al-Qaeda beheads American civilian - Zaman 
Support for Bush at lowest level - Yeni Safak 
One third of Americans approve torture in Iraq - Yeni Safak 
`Ordinary' day in Iraq: 5 killed - Cumhuriyet 
Blood and horror in Palestine - Radikal 
Hamas kills 6 Israeli soldiers - Cumhuriyet 
Israel moves to get bodies of Isareli soldiers in Gaza - 
Zaman 
OECD report boosts morale in Turkey's economy - Yeni Safak 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Tension over education reform bill:  The ruling AK Party 
(AKP) is determined to see through legislation aimed at 
reforming universities, despite strong criticism by the 
military that the bill is against Turkey's secular system. 
PM Erdogan said at his party group meeting on Tuesday that 
the government had been `deceived' by university rectors 
during the negotiation process.  Erdogan also tacitly 
criticized the military for pressuring parliament on the 
issue.  Erdogan said the parliament will have the final word 
on the university reform bill.  The president of YOK 
criticized Erdogan's statement, sating that a majority in 
parliament does not represent a majority of the nation. 
First Army Commander General Yasar Buyukanit said the TGS 
would evaluate the `indirect reference' made by PM Erdogan 
to a the TGS statement issued last week.  `The TGS has made 
important assessments on this issue,' Buyukanit said, and 
warned the government to `act accordingly.'  Members of the 
Higher Education Board (YOK) visited the main opposition 
party CHP and said that religious vocational schools (Imam 
Hatip) should be shut down.  The European Union 
representative in Turkey entered the debate as well, 
criticizing the military for involving itself in politics. 
EU Commission Ambassador Kretschmer called the military's 
statement `a step backward' for Turkey.  The education 
reform bill will be discussed in parliament on Wednesday. 
Once it is approved, it will be submitted to the president 
for signature.  President Sezer is expected to veto the 
reform. 
 
 
Cyprus:  The British Commissioner in south Cyprus, Lynn 
Parker, said after calling on `TRNC PM' Mehmet Ali Talat in 
Lefkosa that he would work with EU partners to end the 
isolation of the Turkish Cypriots.  On Tuesday, the EU 
Commission Representative in Ankara, Hans-Jorg Kretschmer, 
said Turkey would not be given a date for accession talks if 
Ankara does not recognize the Greek Cypriot state. 
Kretschmer also suggested that Ankara make at least a 
symbolic withdrawal of some Turkish troops from Cyprus 
before December.  Ankara is reluctant to withdrawal troops, 
saying that such moves would mean rewarding the Greek 
Cypriots, who have rejected the UN-backed plan for the 
reunification of Cyprus. 
Mistreatment of Iraqi captives:  President Bush's popularity 
has fallen from 52 percent to 48 percent in the wake of 
disclosures about the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners.  The 
percentage of Americans supporting the war in Iraq has 
dropped to 44 percent from 73 percent a year ago.  A letter 
circulated by the Kerry campaign calling for the resignation 
of Defense Secretary Rumsfeld has been signed by over 
275,000 Americans during the past week.  Turkish dailies and 
TV stations report the beheading of an American civilian in 
Iraq by Al-Qaeda militants in what was said to be revenge 
for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners.  Americans have recently 
released half of the captives in Abu Ghraib prison.  Almost 
90 percent of Abu Ghraib inmates were arrested by mistake, 
according to an ICRC report presented to the US and UK 
administrations last February. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: 
 
 
a)  Iraq Prisoner Abuse 
b)  Chechnya 
 
 
"Criticism of US Mistakes in Iraq" 
Cengiz Candar noted in the conservative-sensational DB 
Tercuman (5/12): "The US administration failed to place Iraq 
on the road to democracy.  There has been a lack of effort 
to pave the way for democratic procedures, and a failure to 
share authority with the IGC.  The US occupation force 
developed a representational body in Iraq - the IGC -- but 
in the course of time it did not take enough actions to 
prevent the IGC from weakening.  When significant authority 
was not shared with the IGC, the council came to look more 
American than Iraqi.  In the meantime, the whole process 
served to weaken America's hand.  There were other 
inconsistencies along the way, such as failing to maintain a 
Sunni-Shiite balance.  This created opportunities for Iran 
and Syria to exercise influence over Iraqi groups.  Last but 
not least, the Abu Ghraib torture constitutes a very serious 
and possibly fatal blow against the moral image of the Bush 
administration." 
 
 
"The US and its Lies" 
Zafer Atay opined in the economic-political Dunya (5/12): 
"The lies began with WMD, when we realized that the 
fundamental arguments justifying the war were not true.  Now 
we are witnessing the investigation of the Abu Ghraib case 
in Washington.  The Bush administration refers to 
`individual cases' and is trying to claim that the 
administration has nothing to do with the abuse and torture 
in Abu Ghraib.  In fact, such abuses and torture cannot be 
the action of a couple of soldiers.  It is a systematic 
policy with the involvement of the CIA and army 
intelligence.  The claim that the administration did not 
know about the torture is another big lie because - as the 
New Yorker has reported -- Washington had known about the 
problem since last January. . It is interesting to see that 
despite all of these colossal lies, Rumsfeld is keeping his 
job and Bush is not withdrawing from the presidential race." 
 
 
"The Caucasus in Turmoil" 
Sami Kohen commented in the mass appeal Milliyet (5/12): 
"The assassination of pro-Russian President Ahmet Kadyrov in 
Chechnya has eradicated all hopes for peace in the region. 
The death of Kadyrov, who rebelled against Russian 
domination at the beginning but was elected president after 
making his peace with Moscow, increases the risks of chaos 
and civil war in Chechnya.  While the violence continues in 
the country, the main concern is the course to be followed 
by Prime Minister Putin following this incident.  It is 
obvious that it is not possible to suppress the violence 
with military power only. However, it is also clear that a 
solution to this complicated problem through political 
channels is very unlikely.  In fact, the people of Chechnya 
are fed up with this situation.  The incident in Grozni 
brings this drama to a more serious level." 
 
 
EDELMAN