US embassy cable - 04ANKARA4946

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 004946 
 
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, SEPTEMBER 1, 2004 
 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEALS 
Putin: A Blue Cruise Changed My View of Turks - Hurriyet 
Putin: PM Erdogan is a man of his word - Sabah 
Putin: My Views Changed on my visit to Antalya - Aksam 
A New Era with Russia - Turkiye 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Islamic World Stands up for French Journalists - Zaman 
The Penal Code Debate - Yeni Safak 
Adultery Issue: What is the State's Business in Our Bedrooms 
- Radikal 
Credit Cards Become a Scapegoat for Current Account Deficit 
- Referans 
Bargaining with Russia - Ortadogu 
Putin comes with economic agenda - Dunya 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
Putin due in Turkey:  Turkey is getting ready to host a 
Russian leader for the first time in 32 years.  Russian 
President Putin is expected to arrive in Ankara on September 
2.  There will be a welcoming ceremony by Turkish President 
Sezer the same day.  Following talks between delegations of 
the two countries, a number of agreements and documents are 
expected to be signed.  Putin will later travel with PM 
Erdogan to the Aegean city of Izmir.  Putin will meet 
Turkish and Russian businessmen the same day and will depart 
from Turkey in a Russian warship.  Russian Foreign Minister 
Sergei Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov will 
accompany Putin on the visit.  Papers report that 
developments in the Caucasus and Central Asian republics 
will be discussed during the visit.  The issue of energy and 
shipping of Russian gas to Europe via the Blue Stream 
pipeline are other topics for discussion.  FM Gul said on 
Tuesday that Turkey is buying a significant amount of 
natural gas from Russia, and added that there would also be 
new pipelines.  Tanker traffic in the Straits will be one of 
the most important topics on the bilateral agenda.  Ankara 
is expected to remind the Russians that 135 million tons of 
oil pass through the straits each year, and note that this 
figure will increase by 50 percent in 2010 when Kazakh oil 
will also be sent through the straits.  Ankara will stress 
that alternatives must be found for delivering this oil to 
Western markets.  Chechen separatism and Russia's alleged 
support for the terrorist PKK/Kongra Gel will also be 
discussed.  Speaking to the Russian Interfax news agency 
ahead of Putin's visit, PM Erdogan said that Turkey wants `a 
fundamental solution to the Chechen question within the 
framework of Russia's territorial integrity, reached by 
peaceful means and with a consideration for human rights.' 
Both Moscow and Ankara support a broader role for the United 
Nations in Iraq.  Putin is also expected to press for 
Turkish agreement to purchase Russian-Israeli attack 
helicopters.  (Note: Turkish MFA spokesman Namik Tan told 
journalists this afternoon that the Putin visit is expected 
to go ahead as scheduled despite the continuing hostage 
situation in Russia.  End Note.) 
 
FM Gul on Iraq, PKK:  Speaking to the private news channel 
NTV, Turkish FM Gul said that Turkey is an important country 
in meeting the needs of the Iraqi people.  Harming Turks in 
Iraq had a cost, Gul said, stating that everyone should take 
this into consideration.  Gul said that the Iraqi people 
should not allow malicious acts against Turks.  Gul noted 
that nearly 3,000 trucks passed through from the Habur 
border crossing into Iraq every day.  Commenting on the 
PKK/Kongra-Gel, Gul said that Turkey would not transfer 
responsibility for the fight against terrorism to another 
country.  `Turkey knows how to deal with this problem,' he 
said  Gul added that the US has not yet carried out a 
military operation against the terrorist organization. 
Asked whether Turkish troops could launch a cross-border 
operation against the PKK, Gul said Turkey would `do what is 
necessary' for its own security. 
 
AKP delegation in Israel:  AK Party lawmakers Omer Celik, 
Egemen Bagis, Saban Disli, and Mevlut Cavusoglu are 
currently in Israel at the official invitation of the 
Israeli government.  AK Party delegation leader Disli said 
that there is no tension between Turkey and Israel. 
Replying to questions on the first day of the group's visit 
to Jerusalem, Disli said, '"this an ordinary visit -- it has 
no special purpose.'  `We will exchange views, and look for 
answers to questions that concern us.'  On Tuesday, Turkish 
lawmakers met with Israeli FM Shalom.  Omer Celik expressed 
the delegation's condolences for the families of those 
killed or wounded in the suicide bombings yesterday in 
Israel.  "Yeni Safak" speculates that the AK Party deputies 
have asked Israeli officials to allow Turkish observers 
during Israel's withdrawal from Palestinian land. 
Delegation members rejected allegations by the press that 
their visit to Israel had been undertaken because of 
warnings by President Bush to PM Erdogan on the need to 
repair the strain in Turkish-Israeli ties.  Turkish papers 
speculate that the visit is an effort to test the ground for 
a prospective visit to Israel by FM Gul.  The delegation is 
scheduled to hold talks with Palestinian officials before 
returning to Turkey. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Iraq/French Journalists; EU/Turkey 
 
"The Reason Iraq is not going to be a second Vietnam" 
Mine G. Kirikkanat argued in the liberal-intellectual 
"Radikal" (9/1): "The current situation in Iraq presents a 
very confused picture as far as tribes, ethnic groups and 
religious communities is concerned.  All of them -- with the 
exception of the Kurds, who support the US - are standing 
against the occupiers.  But a lack of unity and discipline 
has led to the development of a disorganized guerrilla 
movement.  Unlike Iraq, in Vietnam there was a solid 
ideological and national unity when the resistance fought 
against the American occupation. . From this point of view, 
Iraq is now being controlled by local and foreign terrorist 
organizations, including some who do not have any real goal 
or purpose other than the pursuit of violence for its own 
sake.  Terrorist organizations linked to al-Qaeda have the 
largest role in Iraq, but they don't really care about 
freeing Iraq from the occupation.  On the contrary, the 
growing chaos serves their interests to turn Iraq into a 
staging ground for international terrorism.  So Iraq is not 
going to be another Vietnam. . It seems that a better 
parallel may be Chechnya.  If the French journalists are 
murdered, and possibly even if they are not, the independent 
press will begin pulling out of Iraq.  In the long run, 
international opinion will become distant to the Iraq issue. 
This will lead to a number of consequences, including a 
silence about US actions in Iraq.  This will be similar to 
what Russia has been able to do in Chechnya, shielded from 
public view." 
 
"US support for the EU accession" 
Sami Kohen noted in the mass appeal Milliyet (9/1): "A 
recent report issued by Atlantic Council, an American think- 
tank organization, depicts very clearly the US position 
regarding Turkey's possible EU accession.  The report 
concludes that it would be very much Turkey's, EU's as well 
as the US's interests when EU gives a date for negotiations 
and starts the membership process for Turkey.  A negative 
decision about giving Turkey a negotiation date has serious 
potential consequences for all three sides.  As the report 
notes, Turkey's accession to the European Union will be an 
important development and not only for the EU, for the US as 
well.  . Turkey's EU membership is an exciting project for 
the US because Washington considers a strong and democratic 
Turkey in the region as part of its immediate interests. . 
The Atlantic Council's report provides a clear explanation 
about the reason for US support for Turkey's EU vision, and 
also provides a good guidance for both EU Commission as well 
as the US administration about the ways to achieve the goal 
in the right format." 
 
EDELMAN