US embassy cable - 04ANKARA6396

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 006396 
 
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, NOVEMBER 10, 2004 
 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Bloodiest day in Iraq - Aksam 
Bloodiest day for US troops in Iraq: 16 killed - Hurriyet 
US fury turns Fallujah into a ghost town - Sabah 
Fallujah cannot resist - Milliyet 
Fallujah weeps - Turkiye 
Arafat: dead or alive? - Milliyet 
Arafat: Dies, lives, in deep coma - Sabah 
Arafat to be Buried in Ramallah - Milliyet 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Fallujah is occupied again - Cumhuriyet 
Heavy street fighting in Fallujah - Zaman 
Americans still bloodthirsty - Yeni Safak 
100,000 civilians under fire in Fallujah - Yeni Safak 
FM Gul urges Powell to protect civilians in Fallujah - Zaman 
Iraqi Sunnis threaten to boycott upcoming elections - Zaman 
Resistance takes Ramadi - Radikal 
Powell: Bush's `aggressive' policies won't change - Zaman 
Palestine's $3-5 billion evaporates with `Abu Ammar' - 
Radikal 
Fundamentalists warn Dutch to end attacks on Muslims - 
Cumhuriyet 
Iran may bid farewell to nuclear program - Yeni Safak 
Al-Baradei wants Israel to be in nuclear non-proliferation 
program - Cumhuriyet 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
Secretary Powell calls FM Gul on Fallujah assault:  US 
 
SIPDIS 
Secretary of State Powell called FM Gul to brief Ankara on 
 
SIPDIS 
the impending US-led assault on Fallujah, "Radikal" reports. 
Gul urged Powell to minimize civilian casualties, and to 
establish order to ensure that upcoming Iraqi elections can 
be held throughout the country.  Gul also asked Powell to 
enhance the safety of Turkish truck drivers and to remove 
the terrorist presence in northern Iraq.  Papers report 
heavy street fighting in Fallujah overnight, with 16 US 
soldiers killed.  Papers claim that 40 members of the 
resistance and 15 civilians were also killed in the 
fighting.  Several reports criticized the timing of the 
operation, which fell on the holiest night of the year for 
Muslims. 
 
FM Gul Sees `Secret Aims' in Broader Middle East Initiative: 
Appearing before the Parliament's Budget Committee 
yesterday, FM Gul said that the Broader Middle East is a 
`sensitive issue' for Turkey.  The FM added that there could 
be `secret plans or secret ambitions' in the Broader Middle 
East Initiative.  It is important for Turkey to participate 
in the project, he said, so that many mistakes can be 
prevented.  On a separate issue, FM Gul said that Turkey 
would turn away from its EU aspirations if there was not a 
`satisfactory result' at the EU Summit on December 17. 
 
Greek Press: US plane lands in north Cyprus:  Turkish 
businessman Ali Sen flew on November 2 from the island of 
Rhodes to Ercan Airport in north Cyprus on a private, US- 
registered jet.  Greek Cypriot air control at Larnaka 
Airport in the south misidentified the aircraft as a US 
jetfighter, and warned Athens that the US was preparing to 
recognize the `TRNC,' "Hurriyet" claims.  Greek Cypriot 
intelligence warned the government before Nicosia presented 
a note of protest to Washington that the aircraft was a 
private US plane leased by a Polish firm being used by a 
Turkish businessman.  However, the Greek press reported that 
a US aircraft had landed at Ercan Airport.  Turkish 
businessman Ali Sen paid courtesy calls on outgoing Turkish 
Cypriot `PM' Talat and `FM' Serdar Denktas.  "Cumhuriyet" 
notes that the Greek daily "Etnos" repeated the claim that 
the US is preparing to establish a military base in north 
Cyprus. 
 
Chirac prefers `privileged EU partnership' for Turkey: 
French President Jacques Chirac is lobbying for a 
`privileged partnership' for Turkey if EU accession talks 
with Ankara fail.  According to a report in yesterday's 
"Financial Times," Chirac wants to add such a related 
provision to the EU summit final declaration to be issued on 
December 17. 
 
Mass grave found in southeast Turkey:  The remains of 11 
villagers have been found in a mass grave in the Kulp 
township of Diyarbakir, the largest city in Turkey's mainly 
Kurdish southeast.  The victims have been missing since 
1993, when their relatives applied to the European Court of 
Human Rights (ECHR), claiming there had been no trace of the 
villagers since they were detained by the Turkish military. 
The ECHR found in favor of the victims' families, and 
ordered Turkey to pay TL1 trillion to the relatives.  The 
remains will be sent to Ankara for forensic testing. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: Fallujah Offensive 
 
"Iraq is in a civil war" 
Mehmet Barlas wrote in the mass appeal "Sabah" (11/10): 
"Fallujah is one resistance point, but not the only one. 
There are many areas of resistance, but the US intends to 
crush the resistance movement in its current operation.  But 
the initial signs point in another direction.  After the 
Fallujah operation, the resistance might become even bigger 
and spread to other Iraqi cities.  Iraq is not only the 
scene of the American occupation, but also a possible stage 
for civil war. . Even if the Fallujah resistance is put to 
an end, uncertainty will remain.  Military experts are 
reminding us about what happened in Vietnam, for instance. 
After the `Tet Offensive' in 1968, the US army managed to 
gain full control over the city of Hue.  But in the end, it 
didn't prevent the US from failure in Vietnam by 1975.  The 
Fallujah crisis will not be finished easily." 
 
"War After War" 
Sami Kohen opined in the mass appeal "Milliyet" (11/10): 
"The US had no choice but to open a second front on the land 
it occupied, a year and a half after the war had supposedly 
finished.  Located in the center of the country, Fallujah 
and the Sunni Triangle had become the symbol and the center 
of the resistance.  In this area, rebels rather than 
coalition forces are in control.  While such a power vacuum 
exists, is it possible for elections to take place in 
January as planned, and for the administration to be 
transferred to the new government, and reconstruction of 
Iraq to begin within the framework of a new constitution? 
At this stage, the US could have either started this new 
military operation to clear the rebels from the area and 
establish stability, or simply accepted defeat and 
retreated.  Right at the beginning of his second term, 
President Bush decided in favor of the former. .Now the 
issue is whether the US can be successful in eliminating the 
rebels. Can peace and security be re-established in Fallujah 
and the Sunni Triangle?  Will Iraq hold elections in peace 
and be able to start the reconstruction process as a unified 
country?" 
EDELMAN