US embassy cable - 04ANKARA3108

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 003108 
 
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, 
FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 2004 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
US: PKK has never stopped terror - Milliyet 
Division within PKK - Turkiye 
Erdogan assails Sharon in Israeli newspaper - Aksam 
Erdogan reiterates Israeli `state terrorism' - Hurriyet 
9/11, Iraq war hit CIA chief - Aksam 
CIA director resigns - Hurriyet 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Ankara happy with Annan report on Cyprus - Yeni Safak 
Annan slams Papadopoulos for `fooling' Greek Cypriots - 
Zaman 
US State Department: PKK will be removed from northern Iraq 
- Yeni Safak 
Iran's Hamanei: New Iraqi government puppet of Americans - 
Yeni Safak 
Bush likens 9/11 to Pearl Harbor - Cumhuriyet 
Personal ties with Bush family cannot save Tenet - 
Cumhuriyet 
Kremlin: Putin to visit Turkey this fall - Yeni Safak 
EU urges Turkey to fully implement EU reforms - Zaman 
French socialists urge Turkey to recognize Armenian genocide 
- Radikal 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
PKK/Kongra-Gel:  PKK leaders Osman Ocalan, Nizamettin Tas 
and Hidir Yalcin have left the organization and sought 
shelter with the Patriotic Union Of Kurdistan (PUK), 
"Cumhuriyet" reports.  They are expected to form a new 
organization.  An unidentified US official from the State 
Department said the PKK declaration ending the unilateral 
cease-fire would not change the position of the US.  `In 
fact, the PKK has never stopped its terrorist activities, 
the official said, adding that `the organization will be 
eliminated in northern Iraq.'  PKK/Kongra-Gel leader Zubeyir 
Aydar told "Yeni Safak" that the organization supports 
Turkey's EU membership through implementation of the 
Copenhagen Criteria.  `The Kurds have waited patiently for 
six years, but Turkey has taken no step forward to resolve 
the Kurdish problem,' Aydar said.  `During that time,' he 
added, `Turkey has never ended military operations against 
us.'  Aydar welcomed AK Party policies on the EU and Cyprus, 
but said the government had failed to take positive steps 
forward on the Kurdish question.  `As with previous 
governments, the AK Party has left the solution of the 
Kurdish problem to the military,' Aydar concluded. 
 
 
PM Erdogan on "Haaretz":  In an interview with Israel's 
Haaretz daily on Thursday, PM Erdogan accused Israel of 
killing innocent Palestinians indiscriminately and failing 
to contribute to the peace process.  `The Jews were the 
victims during the Spanish inquisition, but today the 
Palestinians are the victims,' Erdogan said. `Unfortunately 
the people of Israel are treating the Palestinians as they 
were treated 500 years ago," he added.  Erdogan told Haaretz 
that he had no problem with the Israeli people, only with 
its present government.  `The government of Israel has not 
contributed to our efforts for peace,' Erdogan charged. 
 
 
Turkish lawmakers cancel trip to Palestine:  A parliamentary 
delegation has canceled its trip to Israel and Palestine 
after receiving a warning from the MFA that the visit would 
further strain ties between Turkey and Israel.  The 
delegation was scheduled to go to Tel Aviv to observe the 
final hearing in the trial of Palestinian lawmaker Marwan 
Barghouti on June 6 before moving on for meetings in 
Palestine. 
 
 
Cyprus:  UN Secretary-General Annan said after meeting Greek 
Cypriot President Papadopulos that the Greek Cypriot 
leadership owed an explanation to the world for the missed 
opportunity in Cyprus.  Annan urged Papadopulos to help the 
world to end the isolation of the northern Cypriots.  `Such 
a move will contribute to efforts for the reunification of 
the island in the future,' the UN Secretary General said. 
The Annan report praised the Turkish side for its 
constructive aapproach.  `TRNC PM' Talat welcomed the report 
as a significant move toward ending the international 
isolation of the Turkish Cypriots.  Meanwhile, the pro-EU 
Peace and Democracy Movement (BDH) led by Mustafa Akinci 
will likely join the coalition government led by Talat and 
Serdar Denktas. 
 
 
Kurdish broadcasts due soon:  Turkey's public broadcaster 
TRT will begin broadcasts in Kurdish on June 7, papers 
report.  TRT will air 30-minute morning programs of news and 
music from Monday to Friday in Kurdish, Arabic, Bosnian and 
Circasian.  Dailies regard the move as part of the AK Party 
government effort to implementation EU harmonization laws. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: Iraq/Terrorism/New Government 
 
 
"Test of US sincerity in fight against terrorism" 
Murat Birsel commented in the mass appeal Vatan (6/4): "One 
wonders how come the PKK is able to make calls from northern 
Iraq for a renewal of armed conflict even though US 
President Bush has defined the PKK as a terrorist 
organization.  Following the PKK announcement, a State 
Department official tried to answer this conundrum by noting 
the PKK's ongoing terror acts and underlining the US goal to 
eliminate the PKK from the north of Iraq. . The statement is 
nice and comforting.  However, isn't it time to question the 
gap between words and deeds?   During the Iraq war, the US 
asked Turkey to stay away from northern Iraq and made a 
pledge to fight against terrorist groups. . In fact, the PKK 
declaration of an end to the cease-fire is a declaration of 
war not only on Turkey but also on the US." 
 
 
"The PKK and the US" 
Yilmaz Oztuna commented in the conservative-mass appeal 
Turkiye(6/4):  "The PKK has recently intensified its 
activities.  The organization has changed its name twice, 
and both new names were added to the terrorist lists of the 
US and the EU.  The PKK established its headquarters on the 
top of a mountain in northern Iraq.  The US, in announcing 
its global war against terrorism, didn't do anything about 
the PKK, apparently believing that they might need their 
services some day.   Some of the terrorist organization 
members have already come down from the mountains and 
settled in Mosul and Kirkuk in an effort to scare away 
Iraqis of Turkish and Arab origin.  We don't believe that 
the PKK could have continued its activities and threats had 
the US intervened.  Washington should not be hurt by these 
criticisms. Instead, it should prove -- not with words, but 
with action -- that our perception on this issue is wrong. 
I feel sorry that I was compelled to put the superpower's 
name next to the officially accepted terrorist organization 
PKK as the title of this column.  If I am convinced that I 
am wrong, I will gladly change my headline for the next 
time." 
 
 
"The US did not keep its promise to Ankara" 
Sedat Ergin observed in the mass appeal Hurriyet (6/4): "The 
new interim government in Iraq constitutes an important step 
toward the political restructuring of the country. 
According to the calendar, the IGC is to end as of June 30 
and Ambassador Negroponte will be the US representative in 
Iraq.  It remains to be seen to what extent we will see a 
genuine transfer of authority from Americans to Iraqis.  The 
US occupation will continue. Therefore, the interim 
government will not have any control authority over US 
military forces. . The interim government is also a 
disappointment for the Turkmen.  British Prime Minsiter 
Blair acknowledged two weeks ago the need for a fair and 
comprehensive representation of Turkmen during the 
transition period.  Yet there has been no significant 
positive change in this direction.  More importantly, the 
Bush administration made a pledge to Ankara to increase the 
Turkmen representation in the new government, but did not 
keep its promise.  The only Turkmen representative in the 
cabinet is not even a member of the International Turkmen 
Front (ITF).  This shows the continuation of the US policy 
to keep the ITF out of the political scene.  The whole thing 
also shows how little credibility Turkey has with 
Washington." 
 
 
EDELMAN