US embassy cable - 04ANKARA3631

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 003631 
 
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, JUNE 28, 2004 
 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER 
THREE THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
President Bush: We are proud to be Turkey's friend - 
Hurriyet 
Erdogan to Bush: Crush the PKK - Hurriyet 
PKK issue remains unresolved - Milliyet 
Istanbul capital of the world - Hurriyet 
NATO will call Islamic countries for cooperation against 
terror - Milliyet 
5 Requests, 5 Answers - Sabah 
FM Gul: "Bush Did Not Request Anything" - Sabah 
Istanbul was Secure and Quiet - Sabah 
Bush Passed the Ball to New Iraq Administration on PKK - 
Sabah 
Not Good Enough Mr. Bush - Posta 
Security Check by the Dogs - Posta 
Powell Intervenes on behalf of the Turkish Hostages - Posta 
 
INTELLECTUAL/OPINION MAKER 
Bush declines making promises - Cumhuriyet 
Bush renews promise on concrete steps for PKK - Referans 
US words, but not deeds - Radikal 
Ankara says `No' to conditional US loan - Yeni Safak 
NATO flag for Iraq - Cumhuriyet 
Istanbul ready for NATO guests - Yeni Safak 
Bush meets religious leaders - Yeni Safak 
Laura Bush likes Turkish coffee - Referans 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
President Bush visits Ankara:  Papers report that at his 
meeting with PM Erdogan, President Bush placed 
responsibility for removing the PKK presence in northern 
Iraq on the new Iraqi administration.  Bush drew parallels 
between Al-Qaida and the PKK.  However, President Bush did 
not elaborate on the method and timing for elimination of 
the PKK threat.  The Turkish side said it was not willing to 
accept a longstanding $8.5 billion loan due to the loan's 
condition blocking Ankara from taking unilateral military 
action in northern Iraq.  Both sides agreed to suspend the 
loan.  Ankara also asked Bush for direct US flights to 
northern Cyprus in this tourism season.  President Bush said 
a US package on Cyprus would be announced soon.  Ankara 
asked Bush that Kirkuk not be left to one single ethnic 
group.  President Bush said that the US and Turkey were in 
agreement on the future of Iraq.  Bush gave a concrete 
message on the EU, and promised to do everything possible to 
see that the EU gives Turkey a date for entry talks. 
Erdogan thanked Bush for US support on EU accession. 
President Bush declined to respond to an American 
journalist's question on the three Turks kidnapped in Iraq. 
Following his meeting with Erdogan, Bush visited Ataturk's 
mausoleum.  After laying a wreath at Ataturk's tomb, Bush 
wrote in the book of honor that he shares the deep respect 
of the Turkish nation for Ataturk.  After meeting with 
President Bush at Cankaya Palace, President Sezer expressed 
Turkey`s expectation that the US would work to eliminate the 
terrorist PKK organization from the region as soon as 
possible.  Sezer noted that bilateral relations with the US 
should be further improved.  Sezer expressed hope that 
Bush`s visit would yield positive results and contribute to 
regional peace and security.  Sezer also expressed Turkey`s 
expectation that U.S.-Turkish relations should not be 
negatively affected by `hostile' parties.  President Sezer 
thanked the U.S. administration for its support of Turkey`s 
EU membership and its efforts on the Cyprus issue. 
 
Turks abducted in Iraq:  Al-Zarkawi militants abducted three 
Turks in Iraq, and threatened to behead them if Turkish 
companies do not leave Iraq in 72 hours.  They also urged 
the Turkish people to hold mass protests against President 
Bush's visit to Turkey.  Secretary Powell said in Ankara 
that they were working for the release of Turks. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:   POTUS Visit & NATO Summit 
 
"Expectations from the NATO Summit" 
Ferai Tinc commented in the mass appeal "Hurriyet" (5/28): 
"The US-EU summit set the scene for the Istanbul summit. 
NATO is developing a new identity based on the emerging 
needs of the post-Cold War era.  The Istanbul summit is 
going to define this identity.  The new identity not only 
brings a variety of military and political missions to NATO, 
but also requires a greater contribution from the alliance's 
members.  As proven by the Afghanistan experience, the fight 
against terrorism requires NATO to assume both military and 
political roles and to increase its contribution of finance 
and supplies. ... President Bush expects to achieve 
collaboration between the US and Europe, particularly on 
Iraq.  That means NATO intervention in Iraq, which has been 
a goal of Washington for some time.  John Kerry has been 
accusing Bush of alienating the US in the international 
arena.  If NATO action in Iraq materializes, President Bush 
will be able to gain an important advantage in the upcoming 
elections against Kerry." 
 
"Enough of being a good boy" 
Gungor Mengi argued in the mass appeal "Vatan" (5/28): "The 
NATO summit is the venue where the alliance is to redefine 
itself.  Terrorism is a major issue at the summit, which 
brings Turkey to the frontline.  The redefinition of NATO 
will certainly bring some consequences with it, such as the 
fact that the Turkish 3rd Army Corps has already  become a 
NATO army and it is quite possible soon to be called for 
duty in Afghanistan.  Turkey, among all the NATO members, is 
the closest one to the `fire.'  Now is the time for us to 
stand up and make our dignified presence in the alliance 
felt.  Being a good boy is not a bad thing, but we should 
not be a stupid boy! ... Both Sezer and Erdogan brought up 
the PKK issue to President Bush and complained about unmet 
U.S. commitments.    President Bush, in return, noted the 
transfer of authority to the Iraqi government and talked 
about cooperation with the new government on this issue. 
This is not a respectful answer to Turkey's sensitivity, and 
not a realistic answer either.  UNSC resolution 1546 leaves 
the security issue in the hands of coalition forces.  Bush 
has been fooling Turkey on the fight against the PKK for the 
past 12 months and now he simply cannot say `this is not my 
issue any more.'  One wonders if the Bush administration 
plans to use the PKK issue as a trump card to establish a 
relationship between Turkey and the Iraqi government.  If 
that is the real intention, it is risky and very bad." 
 
"A Shadow Summit" 
Erdal Safak commented in the mass appeal "Sabah" (6/28): 
"The broader NATO Summit in Istanbul shelters another 
summit: the EU summit.  Istanbul hosts 19 of the 25 heads of 
state from the EC.  When ever again will we find so many EU 
leaders together?  I really wish the Turkish government had 
squeezed into the NATO summit a meeting with EU leaders in 
order to present the reform packages and their 
implementation in Turkey.  I wish it were possible to extend 
the leaders' stay one extra day to take them for a tour of 
the roots of Europe and the cradle of the Christianity. 
However, we still consider the Istanbul summit as a 
diplomatic good omen.  In November 1999, one month after the 
OSCE summit in Istanbul, during the EU's Helsinki summit, 
Turkey was given full OSCE membership.  We believe that five 
and half months after the NATO summit, during another EU 
summit, the doors will open for Turkey." 
"June Without People" 
Yasemin Congar opined in the mass appeal "Milliyet" (6/28): 
"Recently, wherever President Bush has traveled, the same 
measures were adopted as we have seen in Ankara and 
Istanbul.  Roads were closed to the people.  In Istanbul, we 
found ourselves in a NATO valley that is closed to the 
public.  The June series of summits, which will end with the 
Istanbul summit, sends the world the message that the 
conflict between the US and Europe over Iraq has been 
overcome and that the NATO alliance has started to 
coordinate again, including by putting the broader Middle 
East on its agenda.  However, the success is rather narrow. 
Even after 16 months, stability and security has not been 
established in Iraq.  And the violent threat against three 
Turkish hostages limits the success even more.  Yesterday, 
during Bush's visit to Ankara, the Turkish media stayed away 
from the Turkish hostage issue.  Terrorism was not 
eliminated by the process that started after 9/11 and was 
broadened by the Iraq War.  Another unsuccessful aspect of 
the June series of summits is that in his travels the 
President did not find people meeting and greeting him 
warmly.  Within this framework, President Bush's half-day 
Ankara visit did not meet Turkey's expectations.  Other than 
US support for Turkey's EU accession, our expectations on 
the issues of PKK and Cyprus were not fulfilled.  Bush left 
Ankara without telling the officials anything new, without 
making any new gestures, without taking any questions from 
the press, and without making himself visible to the 
public." 
 
EDELMAN