US embassy cable - 04ANKARA6329

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 006329 
 
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, NOVEMBER 9, 2004 
 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
America's Second Iraq War - Aksam 
PM Allawi orders Fallujah operation - Aksam 
Too late for Fallujah peace - Sabah 
US tanks in Fallujah - Milliyet 
Syrian FM Shara in Ankara for Iraq - Milliyet 
Majority of Americans want US troops in Iraq until peace - 
Hurriyet 
Palestinian banker: Arafat has $1 billion in personal 
deposits - Sabah 
Wife claims Palestinians want to bury Arafat alive - 
Milliyet 
Suha Arafat confuses Palestine - Turkiye 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Iraq war begins again - Radikal 
Operation to crush Fallujah resistance - Radikal 
Fear of civilians' massacre in Fallujah, a `mini-Vietnam' - 
Zaman 
Voices of `massacre' in Iraq - Cumhuriyet 
Fallujah a city of death - Yeni Safak 
Erdogan congratulates Bush on election victory - Cumhuriyet 
Erdogan warns Bush on Iraq - Yeni Safak 
`TRNC' seeks formula for early polls - Zaman 
Islam becomes a target in the Netherlands - Radikal 
Pressure on press, internet continues in Iran - Cumhuriyet 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
PM Erdogan congratulates President Bush on election victory: 
PM Erdogan called President Bush on Monday to congratulate 
him for winning a second term in the White House.  Erdogan 
reportedly also urged Bush to enhance security for Turks 
working in Iraq.  Erdogan noted that 60 Turkish nationals 
have lost their lives in Iraq so far.  The PM emphasized to 
President Bush that Turkey wants stability to be established 
in Iraq as soon as possible through participation by all 
groups in the country.  Some papers also report that Erdogan 
reminded the President about continuing Turkish concern 
about the PKK presence in Iraq and changes to the 
demographic balance in Kirkuk. 
 
Syrian FM Shara visits Ankara:  Syrian FM Faruk al-Shara 
arrived in Ankara Monday for two days of talks.  On Tuesday, 
al-Shara is to convey a message on regional developments 
from President Bashar Assad to his Turkish counterpart Ahmet 
Necdet Sezer.  Al--Shara will leave for Iran later on 
Tuesday.  Al-Shara discussed Iraq, Palestine, and other 
regional issues with FM Abdullah Gul on Monday.  Al-Shara 
and Gul discussed the possible shape of things to come in 
Palestine after Arafat.  Al-Shara voiced support for Turkish 
views with regard to the situation in Kirkuk, and the two 
foreign ministers stressed the importance of maintaining 
Iraq's territorial integrity.  Asked my journalists to 
comment on the reelection of President Bush, al-Shara said 
that there is `optimism all around the world' concerning the 
second Bush administration.  Al-Shara added that Syria is 
prepared to `take all necessary measures' for development in 
the Middle East.  FM Erdogan is expected to visit Damascus 
in late December, and President Sezer plans a trip to Syria 
in early 2005. 
 
Dutch court decides against deportation of PKK member:  A 
Dutch court blocked the extradition of PKK member Nuriye 
Kesbir to Turkey.  Kesbir, who has been in detention in the 
Netherlands since 2001, is accused of participation in 25 
terrorist actions in southeast Turkey between 1993 and 1995. 
Kesbir is accused of planning and carrying out armed attacks 
that resulted in 144 deaths.  The court reportedly agreed 
with Kesbir's lawyers that the defendant would not be given 
a fair trial in Turkey, and that torture is still used in 
Turkish prisons. 
 
Court rules out release of Agca:  A Turkish court on Monday 
turned down a request by Mehmet Ali Agca -- the far-rightist 
Turk who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981 -- for his early 
release from prison in light of recent legal amendments, 
papers report. 
 
Non-Muslim schools to be reformed:  Ankara is to remove a 
requirement that a Turkish-origin deputy headmaster must 
work in all non-Muslim minority schools, "Sabah" reports. 
Under the new law, to be finalized in the parliament's 
education committee on Wednesday, the post will now be open 
to any Turkish national, including a member of a religious 
minority. 
 
Greek PM to Nicosia:  Greece's PM Karamanlis is due in 
Nicosia this weekend to determine a joint policy with the 
Cypriots in advance of the December 17 EU summit at which 
European leaders will decide whether to open accession talks 
with Turkey.  A recent poll showed that 52 percent of Greek 
Cypriots want their government to veto accession talks with 
Turkey in an effort to force Ankara to recognize the 
Republic of Cyprus. 
 
Israeli Air Force commander in Ankara:  Israeli Air Force 
commander General Eliezer Shkedy paid a visit to his Turkish 
counterpart, General Ibrahim Firtina, in Ankara on Monday. 
The two commanders discussed ways to further cooperation 
between their air forces. 
 
Poll shows AKP still popular:  A public opinion poll 
conducted by the ruling AK Party shows 63 percent of Turks 
believe Turkey is not ready to join the EU, "Yeni Safak" 
reports.  56 percent think that Turkey should find a way to 
join the European bloc without meeting conditions that are 
`not appropriate' for Turkey.  37 percent of those surveyed 
said they would vote for AKP, while 15 percent prefer CHP. 
Pro-Kurdish DEHAP received 5.4 percent.  The poll was 
conducted in October in several Turkish provinces and 
included a sample of 2,503 Turks. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: Iraq; Iran 
 
"Fallujah" 
Haluk Ulman wrote in the economic-political "Dunya" (11/9): 
"The Fallujah war, in fact, is the first open battle between 
the US and Al-Qaeda.  The US soldiers will have to engage in 
a direct fight with Al-Qaeda militants.  The resistance 
groups consists of some former Saddam-era elements, yet 
according to American sources, the Fallujah case is about 
the Al-Qaida militants led by Al-Zarkawi. . The militants 
are fighting for `jihad' against the US.  So the Fallujah 
war can also be characterized as a battle between the 
holders of `supreme technology' and believers in the `jihad' 
against the west.  The former will undoubtedly be the 
winner, but the consequences of this triumph might be 
costly." 
 
"The Nuclear Crisis with Iran" 
Fikret Ertan wrote in the Islamist-intellectual "Zaman" 
(11/9): "The crisis over the Iranian nuclear program has 
almost reached its final stage, as the three big names in 
the EU -- the UK, France, and Germany -- have intensified 
their efforts to find a settlement before the issue goes to 
the UNSC. . Iran is obviously open to the EU initiative and 
is cooperating with the EU countries.  The three EU members, 
on the other hand, are trying to distance the US from the 
process.  It is very difficult to estimate the US reaction 
in the event that Iran reaches an interim agreement with 
France, Germany and the UK.  It remains to be seen whether 
the US will stay out of the process or express 
dissatisfaction about the terms of the agreement. 
Regardless of the US position, let's hope that the nuclear 
crisis with Iran is resolved before it reaches a critical 
stage that could pose a serious threat to the region." 
 
EDELMAN