US embassy cable - 04ANKARA3046

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 003046 
 
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, JUNE 2, 2004 
 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEALS 
Two Shiites, one Kurd, one Sunni to govern Iraq - Milliyet 
PKK terror team captured in Istanbul - Milliyet 
Bush and team coming with 230 limousines - Sabah 
US Iraq occupation toll: 802 US troops dead, 4,682 injured - 
Hurriyet 
Russia reacts to US, Azerbaijani exercise in Caspian Sea - 
Aksam 
Pakistan's Musharraf: Time for renaissance in Islam - Sabah 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Afghanistan the main topic of June NATO Summit - Zaman 
New Iraqi leader al-Yawer stresses full sovereignty - Zaman 
FM Gul warns against `playing' with Kirkuk - Yeni Safak 
US troops `loot' Iraqi homes - Radikal 
US soldiers steal Iraqis' personal belongings - Yeni Safak 
Pentagon launches investigation on `thefts' by US soldiers - 
Cumhuriyet 
Bloody day in Baghdad, 36 killed - Yeni Safak 
John Kerry: US security overrides democracy - Zaman 
Annan to present UNSC Cyprus report - Cumhuriyet 
Saudi Arabia pledges support for `TRNC' - Radikal 
Riyadh opposes `secular' Turkish candidate for OIC - 
Cumhuriyet 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
NATO's role in `GME' initiative:  Turkey and the US disagree 
over the role of NATO within the Greater Middle East (GME) 
project, "Cumhuriyet" claims.  Ankara believes that US 
support for a NATO role within the GME will `frighten' 
Middle Eastern countries.  The US wants to expand NATO's 
Mediterranean Dialogue to include the countries of the 
Greater Middle East.  Ankara is worried that such an attempt 
will make NATO seem like a military tool to force reforms in 
regional countries.  Ankara argues that the GME should not 
be imposed, but must be based on cooperation with the 
regional countries.  Areas of cooperation with these 
countries should include the struggle against terror, 
prevention of the proliferation of WMD, control of border 
passages, and the joint struggle against organized crime. 
 
 
Iraqi Deputy PM Salih visits Ankara:  The new Iraqi deputy 
Prime Minister, the PUK's Barham Salih, called on Turkish 
businessmen to make energy and infrastructure investments in 
northern Iraq.  Salih said after meeting with the MFA 
Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal that he would block all attempts 
to use Iraqi territory for terror attacks against 
neighboring countries.  Salih also proposed direct Turkish 
flights to the northern Iraqi town of Suleymaniye. 
Meanwhile, FM Gul warned northern Iraqi Kurdish groups 
against attempts to change the demographic structure of 
Kirkuk.  `Playing with Kirkuk will be very risky,' Gul said. 
 
 
Israel criticizes PM Erdogan:  Israel has criticized PM 
Erdogan for accusing the Israeli state of carrying out 
`state terrorism' against Palestinians.  In a diplomatic 
note to Turkey's ambassador to Israel, the Israeli ministry 
of foreign affairs said the main hurdle before the peace 
process between Israel and Palestine was Palestinian terror 
attacks which claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent 
Israelis over the past three years.  `We would have expected 
Turkey, a country victimized by terrorism, to show more 
understanding for Israel's position,' the Israeli MFA said. 
 
 
June NATO Summit in Istanbul:  Turkey is eager to deter 
violence during NATO's June 28-29 summit in Istanbul. 
Nearly 30,000 police will patrol the city. Concrete barriers 
will block vehicle and pedestrian traffic around the zone 
where NATO delegates will be meeting, an official said on 
Tuesday.  The summit is expected to host 46 world leaders, 
about 3,000 delegates and nearly 3,500 journalists.  The 
Istanbul governor's office has identified 19 places in 
Istanbul where legal protests can be held.  The security 
effort is expected to cost about $20 million, with Turkey 
contributing approximately $4 million.  Officials from the 
United States, which is sending a delegation of 1,000, have 
already started to arrive to inspect security conditions. 
 
 
PKK militants captured:  Two PKK/Kongra-Gel militants were 
captured in Istanbul on Tuesday before they had a chance to 
stage a `sensational' terror attack by using C-4, DNT and 
TNT explosives, papers report.  The terrorists were trained 
in PKK camps on the Iraq-Iran border and were sent to 
Istanbul to carry out bombing attacks in densely populated 
zones in the city.  Meanwhile, former DEP lawmaker Zubeyir 
Aydar, who was elected as chairman of the PKK/Kongra-Gel, 
announced on "Mezopotamya TV," a PKK mouthpiece, a recent 
decision to restart attacks against Turkey.  Aydar called 
for the release of the organization's imprisoned leader 
Abdullah Ocalan.  He claimed that the organization is not 
seeking to divide Turkey, but rather to enshrined Kurdish 
cultural and language rights in the Turkish constitution. 
 
 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Iraqi Council 
 
 
"Iraq for the Iraqis" 
Sami Kohen noted in the mass appeal Milliyet (6/2): "The 
administration of Iraq is going into the hands of Iraqis. 
The newly established Iraqi Governing Council is an 
important step toward the self-administration of Iraq. . The 
IGC seems to pave the way for a political restructuring in 
Iraq by Iraqis.  President Al-Yawer has already voiced his 
determination to end the current occupation regime and carry 
out a transition to a multi-national United Nations security 
force.  The new IGC has also set goals for a united and 
democratic Iraq.  Yet it is too early to talk about the 
achievement of these goals, because it remains to be seen 
whether the interim administration will be able to follow 
the vision outlined by the new Iraqi President and Prime 
Minister.  We must also wait and see whether the new Iraqi 
administration is going to have a full mandate or work under 
the US shadow after the formal handover of authority on June 
30." 
 
 
"People in Darkness" 
Fehmi Koru argued in the Islamist-opinion maker Yeni Safak 
(6/2): "It seems that Washington, having failed to bring 
democracy to Iraq, has now decided to redefine the concept. 
The efforts to establish an interim administration in Iraq 
are completely against democratic principles, to the point 
that even the staunchest supporters of the Iraq war might be 
amazed.  Those appointed to the new governing council are 
not the choices of the people.  In fact, nobody bothers to 
ask the Iraqis for their opinions.  A representative of the 
UN is working to `choose names' for Iraq under US 
authorization. . The whole process is a clear violation of 
democracy and stands as more proof of the failure of the 
argument that the occupation is about `bringing democracy' 
to Iraq.  This is not democracy, but rather a redefinition 
of it." 
 
 
"Towards A New Era in Iraq" 
Fikret Ertan opined in the Islamist-intellectual Zaman 
(6/2):  "Ghazi Al-Yawer was elected yesterday as Iraq's 
interim President.  Although Yawer has been assigned to a 
symbolic position with limited authority, I can already see 
that he will try to test the limits of his power.  In the 
past, Yawer has declared that he would never accept a 
symbolic position.  During his acceptance speech, Yawer did 
not hesitate to imply that in case of a delay in the UN 
Security Council decision on Iraq's full sovereignty, there 
might be a conflict between the US and Iraq after June 30. 
As a matter of fact, Yawer has been debating this issue with 
the US for a very long time.  He does not want the presence 
of US military power in Iraq after June 30.  I cannot tell 
yet if he can realize his aim, but I believe he will never 
stop fighting to take the country in this direction.  The 
new era in Iraq carries both immense dangers and great 
opportunities.  If the interim government can manage to keep 
a decent distance from the US, it will be able to gain 
public support and play an historic role during the 
transition from today's bloody and painful days." 
 
 
EDELMAN