US embassy cable - 04ANKARA5482

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 005482 
 
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, SEPTEMBER 24, 2004 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Turkey's EU path opened - Hurriyet 
EU gate opens for Turkey - Milliyet 
Turkey moves closer to EU - Milliyet 
We are European - Sabah 
`Potential terrorist' Yusuf Islam returns home - DB-Tercuman 
Captive Briton in Iraq pleads for Blair's help - Sabah 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Erdogan persuades EU - Yeni Safak 
Erdogan backpedals in Brussels - Cumhuriyet 
Erdogan eases strain between Turkey, EU - Zaman 
No obstacle left on Turkey's EU path - Zaman 
Erdogan unties EU knot, markets back to normal - Referans 
Powell applauds Damascus - Radikal 
Syria withdraws from south of Beirut - Yeni Safak 
Musharraf: `Iron Curtain' between West, Muslim world - 
Radikal 
Arab intellectuals questioning Islamist terror - Cumhuriyet 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
EU-Turkey penal code dispute resolved:  The European 
Commission said Thursday it saw `no more obstacles' in 
starting EU entry talks with Ankara.   EU Enlargement 
Commissioner Gunther Verheugen, who is to publish a report 
on Turkey's progress on October 6, said his concerns over a 
disputed penal reform bill had been allayed in talks with PM 
Erdogan.  `There are no further conditions which Turkey must 
fulfill in order to allow the commission to make a 
recommendation,' Verheugen told reporters at a joint press 
conference with Erdogan after talks in Brussels.  Erdogan 
also expressed satisfaction after the talks.  PM Erdogan 
pledged to push through the delayed legislation at an 
extraordinary session of the Turkish parliament called for 
this Sunday.  Papers report that Erdogan promised Verheugen 
that the bill would be adopted without a controversial 
amendment aimed at criminalizing adultery  -- a move the EU 
said would seriously jeopardize Turkey's membership hopes. 
Erdogan recalled the reforms already passed by Turkey, and 
underlined Ankara's determination to implement the 
legislation.  European Commission President Romano Prodi, 
whom Erdogan met shortly after his talks with Verheugen, 
promised that the October report will be `fair and 
objective.'  Turkish papers hailed the outcome of the 
Brussels meetings as an historic `turning point' in Turkey's 
decades-long EU drive. 
 
Turkey opens bases to US:  Turkish daily "Birgun" claims 
that the AK Party government secretly put into effect a 
decree which gives the US access to seven Turkish harbors 
and six airports.  The decree was published in the Official 
Gazette September 1.  The US will be allowed to transfer 
troops and military equipment through Turkish airports in 
Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, Incirlik, Antalya and Dalaman, and 
harbors in Istanbul, Izmir, Iskenderun, Yumurtalik-Adana, 
Antalya, Aksaz-Karaagac and Agalar.  The opposition 
Republican People's Party (CHP) submitted a motion to 
parliament asking about the amount of US military equipment 
to be transferred through Turkey, and asking whether the US 
would use the military equipment and ammunition in Iraq. 
Turkey is turning into a `depot' in making the US `Greater 
Middle East Initiative' a reality, the CHP charged. 
(EDITOR'S NOTE:  When this story first appeared in early 
September, the Foreign Ministry Spokesman clarified that the 
regulation pertained to the transfer of equipment to the 
seismic research center at Belbasi, near Ankara.  The 
facility had been used during the Cold War to detect Soviet 
nuclear explosions, but was subsequently turned over to 
Turkey for civilian use.  END NOTE,) 
 
Turkmen doctors cite US `brutality' in TalAfar:  A front- 
page story in today's "Tercuman" features comments by two 
Turkmen doctors who recount tales of US `brutality' during 
the recent military operation there.  The doctors claim that 
US forces fired indiscrimately in the city streets during 
the operation, and 7 Turkmen police were killed by US forces 
on the first day of the operation.  Although the official 
death toll in the operation was 61, the doctors claim that 
many more were actually killed, including dozens of new- 
borns who had to be delivered in the desert after women were 
evacuated.  They further claim that US forces shot and 
killed 2 drivers and their assistants in cold blood.  The 
doctors charge that the operation in TalAfar began when 
local residents took a decision to carry out `jihad' against 
US forces who, they claim, had taken increasingly repressive 
measures against TalAfar over the past year. 
 
FM Gul meets Iraqi counterpart:  FM Abdullah Gul, in New 
York to attend the 59th session of the UN General Assembly, 
met with Iraqi FM Hoshyar Zebari on Wednesday.  Gul 
reiterated to Zebari Turkey's concerns over recent efforts 
to change the demographic structure in Kirkuk, activities of 
the outlawed PKK in northern Iraq, and the lack of security 
for Turkish companies working in Iraq.  Zebari asked for 
Turkey's support for the upcoming general elections in Iraq. 
The Iraqi FM also urged Turkey's help in turning the 
"'Regional Initiative on Iraq" into an international 
conference with the participation of the G-8, the EU, the 
Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), UN Security 
Council members, and Iraq's neighbors.  On Thursday, FM Gul 
also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Arab 
League Secretary General Amr Moussa.  The MOU envisages a 
consultation mechanism to be set up between Turkey and Arab 
countries. 
 
Security of Turks working in Iraq:  "Hurriyet" reports an 
unidentified Turkish diplomat in FM Gul's delegation in New 
York as saying that the US has pledged to provide a Hummer 
and a US security contingent for every 10 Turkish trucks 
going through the Habur border gate into Iraq.  The US 
military escort would be provided only for trucks carrying 
food and humanitarian supplies, "Hurriyet" reports. 
Meanwhile, an assembly of Iraq's Sunni scholars denounced 
the abduction of Turkish nationals working in Iraq, and 
demanded the release of those taken hostage. 
 
Local rivals for US Cargill:  The economic daily "Referans" 
reports on the looming competition between local sugar 
producers and the US firm Cargill.  The Cumra sugar factory, 
to be opened in Konya province tomorrow, will be the first 
Turkish company to produce liquid sugar, becoming a local 
rival for the global giant Cargill.  With sales amounting to 
$60 billion, Cargill is the `nightmare' of Turkish sugar 
beet producers, the paper stresses.  Cargill has been 
lobbying for removal of the 10-percent quota on starch-wheat 
based sugar production in Turkey. 
 
Uighur government in exile:  The `East Turkistan Government' 
in exile has been in Washington under the protection of the 
US, "Radikal" reports.  The government-in-exile, formed 
mainly of Uighur Turks, convened in the US Congress on 
September 14.  Beijing has closed all mosques and religious 
schools in East Turkistan, and arrested and executed tens of 
thousands of Uighur Turks over the past three years, 
according to Amnesty International. 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: 
"Turkey Cannot Afford More Mistakes in the EU Process" 
Selcuk Gultasli analyzed in the Islamist-intellectual 
"Zaman" (9/24):  "The last fifteen days were very stressful 
for Turkey.  All of Europe was discussing Turkey's future 
membership in light of the adultery controversy.  Most EU 
members emphasized that Turkey `showed its real face' in the 
adultery debate.  Meanwhile, Turkey tried to decipher what 
led to the Prime Minister's course of action on the adultery 
issue.  In the end, the problem was apparently resolved with 
Verheugen's comment that `there are no obstacles left for 
Turkey on its way to the EU.'  We have to evaluate this past 
15 days from both positive and negative angles to figure out 
what it all means..  As "The Financial Times" wrote the 
other day, PM Erdogan's strategy may have prevented the EU 
from presenting new conditions to Turkey.  The adultery 
crisis also has given us a chance to distinguish our 
supporters in Europe from those who oppose our membership. 
On the negative side, PM Erdogan's  reliability in the eyes 
of EU members has been severely harmed.  This damage will 
linger long after the current crisis passes.  Therefore, the 
next three months are very critical for Turkey, and it is 
clear that Turkey cannot afford any more crises on the road 
to the EU." 
 
"Turkey on the Washington-Brussels Fault Line" 
Hasan Mesut Hazar commented in the conservative-mass appeal 
"Turkiye" (9/24):  "The artificial crisis with the EU ended 
during with the Erdogan-Verheugen meeting.  This was an 
expected development, which was confirmed by Verheugen when 
he announced that there are no obstacles left on Turkey's 
path to the EU.  Washington is following closely the 
developments related to Turkey's EU accession talks.  Up to 
now, we have managed to overcome problems on the path to the 
EU through the visible and invisible support of the United 
States, we understand the close US interest in the matter. 
Turkey's EU venture always took place along the Ankara- 
Washington-Brussels fault line.  At every critical point, 
such as when Turkey entered the EU Customs Union, or when 
Turkey tried to implement the Copenhagen Criteria, Ankara 
always received Washington's strong support.  However, this 
support has not ended speculation that Turkey was being 
forced to `choose' between the US and the EU.  The validity 
of this scenario is matter for debate.  First of all, the US 
and the EU are not enemies but allies.  It is only natural 
that there will be differences on some policy issues.  But 
these differences never affect the strategic coordination 
between the United States and Europe.  Whether we like it or 
not, the fact is that we live in a world controlled by a 
single power - the US.  Moreover, the EU depends on the US 
as well.  The strength of the NATO-EU-US alliance is one of 
the most important pillars of the US standing as a 
superpower.  Many EU countries feel closer to the US than to 
the European Union. If it weren't like this, the US could 
not invaded Iraq in the face of strong opposition by France 
and Germany.  If we consider all these facts, we can see 
that Turkey has no problem in being `caught' between the US 
and the EU.  On the contrary, all of these arguments prove 
the value of the Ankara-Washington- Brussels line.  We can 
only hope that Turkey can show its potential more 
effectively as events move forward."  EDELMAN