US embassy cable - 04ANKARA4489

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 004489 
 
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, 
TUESDAY AUGUST 10, 2004 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Patriarch blames Reuters for `exaggerated' reporting - 
Milliyet 
Al-Qaeda may stage `limousine' attacks - Aksam 
Rice's tough message on Iran - Aksam 
Rice signals `liberation' of Iran - Sabah 
Mullahs hunt `free' women in Iran - Milliyet 
Sadr defies Allawi - Aksam 
360 Sadr militants killed in Najaf - Milliyet 
Greek naval commander invites Turkish counterpart to 
Olympics - Hurriyet 
Heavy US pressure forces Sharon to halt security wall - 
Sabah 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Religious minorities want concessions - Cumhuriyet 
OSCE to observe US Presidential polls - Cumhuriyet 
US threatens Iran - Yeni Safak 
Tension rising between Washington, Tehran - Cumhuriyet 
Moktada es-Sadr takes Basra - Yeni Safak 
45 NATO officers to Iraq next week - Zaman 
Egypt, Hamas agree on Gaza - Yeni Safak 
Eurocorps take over ISAF command - Radikal 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
US wary of sending F-16s to Incirlik:  "Sabah"s new Ankara 
bureau chief, Asli Aydintasbas, writes today that the US 
Administration may shelve plans for transferring 48 F-16 
jetfighters currently deployed in Germany to Turkey's 
Incirlik Airbase.  The US Global Force Posture Review, a 
restructuring of US forces worldwide, had been discussed 
during the visit of U/S State Marc Grossman to Ankara last 
December.  Although President Bush was recently advised by 
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld against deployment of F- 
 
SIPDIS 
a6s at Incirlik, some military officials and diplomats still 
believe Incirlik to be the most strategically sound 
alternative, "Sabah" speculates.  A high-level US source 
told "Sabah" that the US presence at Incirlik would continue 
regardless of the final decision on F-16s, and noted that 
the final decision would be made by President Bush.  Turkish 
military officials want the jetfighters not to be used for 
an attack against another country, and further demand that 
the planes should be used in coordination with the Turkish 
military within the framework of the NATO treaty and the 
bilateral Defense and Economic Cooperation Agreement (DECA). 
Ankara is uneasy that the F-16s might be used in operations 
in Iraq or against other regional countries in the future, 
"Sabah" claims.  Ankara is also unhappy about the existing 
autonomy granted to northern Iraqi Kurdish groups by the US 
provisional authority in Iraq, and the lack of US military 
effectiveness against the PKK presence in the region, 
"Sabah" adds. 
 
Michael Rubin on US/PKK:  Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon 
official and an expert on the Middle East at the American 
Enterprise Institute (AEI), told "Hurriyet" in Washington 
that the deputy mayor of Marseille had given large amounts 
of money to the PKK during Saddam's rule in Iraq.  Rubin 
also said that some `unauthorized' US military officials in 
northern Iraq and civilian Americans in Baghdad met with 
representatives of the PKK, but stressed that the US 
Administration has ended all such contacts with the 
organization.  Rubin said that despite repeated pledges, the 
US has not displayed any determination on the PKK issue. 
Rubin confirmed that Osman Ocalan turned himself in to US 
military officials in Mosul earlier this year, "Hurriyet" 
reports. 
 
Iraqi President due in Turkey:  Iraqi Interim President 
Ghazi al-Yawar is to visit Turkey next week to discuss 
security issues following the abductions and killings of 
Turkish drivers in Iraq, Justice Minister and government 
spokesman Cemil Cicek said after a weekly cabinet meeting on 
Monday.  `We are trying to take all necessary measures to 
secure the safety of Turkish citizens in Iraq,' Cicek said. 
Al-Yawar and four Iraqi cabinet ministers are set to visit 
Ankara August 16-17.  Turkish officials estimate that 
Turkey's exports to Iraq will reach $1.8 billion in 2004. 
Several Turkish companies have pulled out of Iraq over the 
past few weeks because of the security situation. 
 
Hotel bombings in Istanbul:  Two bombs exploded at hotels in 
tourist areas of Istanbul late last night, and another one 
went off at a liquefied gas plant on the outskirts of the 
city.  Two persons were killed and seven others injured in 
what was described by officials as an apparent terrorist 
attack, the Anatolia news agency reported.  The blasts 
occurred almost simultaneously early Tuesday.  The 
nationality of the victims was not immediately known. 
 
Reuters corrects Bartholomeos report:  The Reuters news 
agency on Monday issued a correction to its reporting of 
comments attributed to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartolomeos. 
The Patriarch said he told Reuters that Turkey would agree 
to reopen the Halki Seminary, but he denied making reference 
to `EU pressure' on Turkey to do so.  An aide to the 
Patriarch said the Patriarch's message was that the church 
enjoyed `unrestricted' freedom of worship in Turkey, but 
that it also suffered from the absence of financial and 
administrative independence. 
 
Turkey's minority groups seek `concessions':  Turkish 
Armenian Patriarch Mesrob Mutafyan has sent FM Gul a letter 
asking for new `arrangements' with regard to the legal 
status, administration, and property rights of the Armenian 
Patriarchate, "Cumhuriyet" reports in a front-page story. 
The paper regards both the controversial remarks made by 
Patriarch Bartholomeos on the reopening of Halki Seminary 
and the requests put forward by Mutafyan as a sign of 
growing pressure by religious minority groups in Turkey to 
obtain concessions on the eve of the EU summit in December. 
 
Official investigation launched against Diyarbakir mayors: 
The governor's office in Turkey's mainly Kurdish province of 
Diyarbakir applied to a prosecutor on Monday to open a case 
against Diyarbakir mayor Osman Baydemir and four district 
mayors for paying a visit of condolence to the family of an 
alleged PKK militant killed in recent fighting with police 
in the region.  Commentators slammed Baydemir for not 
attending the funeral of a policeman killed in the same 
clash in late July. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
 
"While They Are on Holiday" 
Sami Kohen opined in the mass appeal Milliyet (8/10): 
"While the EU, with its commission and parliament, is on 
holiday, Turkey's accession date issue remains at the top of 
our agenda.  There is a generally positive expectation in 
Turkey on this issue.  Of course, the final test will be the 
EU progress report, which will be given its final shape by 
the commission in October. The signals being given by EU 
diplomatic sources on this issue are very encouraging. 
Although there are still some concerns about the views of 
Austria, Denmark, and even France, there is a strongly held 
opinion here that these countries will not obstruct Turkey's 
path to the EU.  Since all the officials in Brussels and 
other European capitals are on holiday, no one is paying 
attention to Turkey's worries at the moment.  But activity 
on this issue will intensify in September, and Turkish 
diplomacy is preparing a campaign to impress the EU.  If 
starting a public relations campaign abroad is one way to 
reach the target of EU membership, finalizing the  internal 
reform process at home is another must.  We have to express 
our determination on this issue, not only within the 
government but also among the Turkish public.  Let us then 
tune out meaningless rumors and intensify our efforts to 
achieve internal progress and get ready for the big push in 
Europe." 
 
"Where Do We Stand in the War Against Terrorism?" 
Yilmaz Oztuna commented in the conservative Turkiye ( 8/10): 
"Where is the super power US today in the war they have 
started globally against terrorism?  The US had to begin 
this global war following the horrific attacks from Middle 
East terrorist organizations against the US homeland and its 
embassies abroad.  Even less powerful countries than the 
United States would have been forced to respond in this way. 
The US began its response in Afghanistan, by taking on the 
Taliban, a very primitive and bloody terrorist organization. 
Then the US occupied Iraq, which was long ago declared as a 
terrorist country.  The occupation of both of these 
countries went perfectly from the military angle.  But the 
US began having problems once the military actions were 
over.   The Americans were in countries they didn't know 
very well.  Terrorism, under the leadership of Al-Qaeda, 
found a convenient home in Iraq and, with the help of some 
Iraqi opponents of the occupation, started a war against the 
global power.  In order to block support for the US, the 
terrorist organizations carried out terrorist activities in 
places like Turkey and Spain.  Now the US wants to pass 
responsibility for Iraq to the UN and NATO.  This plan 
cannot succeed.  The US has neither eliminated Al-Qaeda, nor 
arrested Bin-Laden.  Therefore it is inevitable that 
terrorist activities will spread to neighboring countries. 
The US was unable to eliminate terrorism, because terrorism 
was only a secondary goal in this war.  The first goal was 
to gain control of the oil, an aim from which the US will 
never back away." 
 
DEUTSCH