US embassy cable - 04ANKARA6513

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 006513 
 
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 
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2004 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
FM Gul: Americans make mistakes in Iraq - Hurriyet 
Gul warns Iraq's Sunnis - don't miss elections - Hurriyet 
Gul: Kurds won't have final word on postponing local 
elections in Kirkuk - Hurriyet 
Two more Turks killed in Iraq - Turkiye 
US strikes civilians again in Ramadi - Turkiye 
Iraqi official: Elections to be held despite ongoing 
violence - Aksam 
NATO envoy Hikmet Cetin a `brother' for Afghans - Sabah 
Cetin: Afghans want to make a living, not deal drugs - Sabah 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Powell in Middle East to revive the peace process - Zaman 
Powell presses for elections in Palestine - Cumhuriyet 
Commanders order US troops to shoot `everything that moves' 
- Cumhuriyet 
Report: Fallujah operation a `postmodern genocide' - 
Cumhuriyet 
Turkish civilian losses approach British military casualties 
in Iraq - Sabah 
People of Mosul concerned about Kurdish peshmerge - Milliyet 
Israel angered by EU's compromise with Tehran - Cumhuriyet 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
FM Gul on Iraqi elections, US conduct in Iraq:  Ankara 
attributes the highest importance to upcoming Iraqi 
elections, FM Gul told "Hurriyet" in an exclusive interview. 
Gul stressed that some Sunnis are resisting the election 
process, but said that Turkey's preference would be full 
participation by all Iraqis.  Gul added that he sees no 
problem with Shiites, Kurds or Turkmen in terms of election 
participation.  `We must make the Sunnis leave aside their 
anger and participate in the upcoming elections in Iraq,' 
Gul emphasized.  Gul said the best thing for the Sunni 
insurgents to do would be to help the `election train' move 
forward smoothly.  Gul said that the timing of the Iraqi 
elections is `not that significant.'  `The elections may be 
held a month earlier or two months later -- what matters is 
holding an election with the widest possible participation.' 
On Fallujah, Gul said that reports about resistance fighters 
taking shelter inside mosques or turning mosques into arms 
caches `may be true.'  `But it is also true,' he added, 
`that those shrines have deep symbolic meaning for the Arab 
nation and the entire Muslim world.'  Americans make big 
mistakes, Gul said, because they are `strangers' to the 
local culture and sensitivities. `This causes problems with 
the way Americans are seen in the Muslim world, and even 
with the future of America's relations with Muslims.'  Gul 
stressed that nobody in the Muslim world would benefit from 
being in permanent conflict with the world's most powerful 
country.  Gul also welcomed US participation in the Iraq 
conference to be held in Sharm-al Sheikh.  `The US was 
moving unilaterally in the beginning, but now it is 
listening to other international actors and showing that 
Washington is trying hard to resolve the Iraq problem 
through participation by everyone,' he commented. 
 
ATO issues strong Iraq warning in report:  The Ankara 
Chamber of Commerce (ATO) included recent events in Fallujah 
in a report on the `history of genocide.'  Sinan Aygun, 
President of the ATO, said that Iraq has become an `open air 
museum of genocide.'  The report claimed that the 
`postmodern genocide' being carried out in Fallujah is being 
blacked out by US pressure on the media.  `500 civilian 
corpses have been left out to decay, and most of them are 
being eaten by dogs,' the report claimed.  According to the 
report, more than 250,000 Fallujans have been exiled from 
the city.  Aygun characterized the occupation of Iraq as a 
war crime and compared it with atrocities at Auschwitz. 
`Democracy may eventually come to Iraq,' Aygun concluded, 
`but there will be nobody left to see it.' 
 
US allegedly uses `Napalm bomb' in Fallujah:  According to 
continuing reports in the Islamist-oriented "Yeni Safak," US 
forces in Fallujah used napalm and chemical weapons in the 
offensive to take control of the city.   An Iraqi witness of 
the `tragedy' in Fallujah said that the corpses of 73 Iraqis 
were buried before they could be identified.  Most of those 
killed were women and children scorched by napalm bombs, he 
said.  The article claims that thousands have deserted the 
town to avoid the fighting and are starving or suffering 
from a lack of electricity, water and shelter in refugee 
camps north of Fallujah.  The US army has reportedly blocked 
humanitarian aid access to Fallujah. 
 
Two more Turks killed in Iraq:  Unidentified attackers 
killed two Turkish truck drivers in Mahul, 20 km north of 
Beyci in Iraq.  "Sabah" notes that Turkish casualties are 
now approaching the number of Britons killed in Iraq. 
Britain has lost 74 troops, while Turkey has lost 66 
civilians in Iraq since the war began. 
 
Turkish government to establish fund for families of Turks 
killed in Iraq:  The GOT is to establish a fund for 
financial assistance to the families of Turkish truck 
drivers killed in Iraq, papers report.  Turkish insurance 
companies are refusing to insure local drivers shuttling 
between the two countries.  The MFA and Finance Ministry are 
currently looking for funds to implement the proposal. 
 
Columnist predicts killings that aim destabilization of 
Turkey:  "Cumhuriyet" columnist Emre Kongar claims today 
that a partial amnesty granted by the former coalition 
government headed by DSP's Bulent Ecevit allowed the release 
from prison of many murderers, criminals and terrorists, 
making Turkey more prone to `destabilization.'  Kongar 
opines on the significance of a statement by Islamist sect 
leader Fettullah Gulen issued last week from Pennsylvania, 
where he is currently residing.  Gulen warned that new 
assassinations would be carried out in Turkey, and that 
Islamists would be held responsible for those killings.  `It 
is well known by Turks that such statements by Gulen are not 
groundless,' Kongar wrote. Gulen's latest statement 
coincides with the release of criminals, he notes.  Whatever 
Gulen's intention may be, Kongar writes, developments show 
that Turkey is open to such attempts at destabilization. 
Kongar expresses concern for the safety of his colleagues at 
"Cumhuriyet," who, he claims, have been victimized by such 
attacks in the past. 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Rice; Iraq; Palestine 
 
"What's Going to Change with Rice? 
Yasemin Congar observed in the mass appeal "Milliyet" 
(11/22): "Unlike Colin Powell, Rice is expected to pursue 
more face-to-face diplomacy.  She will probably be making 
more trips abroad.  She will certainly intensify her efforts 
to rebuild America's bilateral relations with certain 
capitals.  It remains to be seen whether she will continue 
to pursue a Powell-style diplomacy based on realpolitik or 
actually turn the State Department into a mouthpiece for 
Rumsfeld and Cheney.  The answer to this question will also 
be the determining factor in her success during foreign 
trips.  There are two tests ahead:  the steps to be taken 
for an Israel-Palestine peace settlement, and dealing with 
the Iranian nuclear program.  These two issues will require 
creative diplomacy, something we haven't seen during the 
four years of the first Bush administration." 
"The Reasons of Terrorism" 
Gungor Mengi commented in the mass appeal "Vatan" (11/22): 
"The basic reasons for Islamic militancy lie in social and 
economic problems.  These problems are more prevalent in the 
Islamic world.  The economies of the Islamic world, from 
Morocco to Indonesia, are in very poor condition. 
Populations there are increasing rapidly.  University 
graduates are joining the army of the unemployed.  As 
unemployment increases and health and the housing problems 
grow in the large cities, the gap deepens between rich and 
poor.  The ongoing fight against terrorism cannot be solved 
by military power alone.  The Greater Middle East Initiative 
is an effort that gets its inspiration from these social and 
economic issues.  But the US, as a world power, should also 
bring an end to the unfair treatment of Palestinians in 
order to be more persuasive on the issue of democratization. 
It should also establish a stable Iraq as soon as possible 
and hand over the administration there to a democratic 
authority." 
 
 "The Signs of Tension in Palestine" 
Zafer Atay wrote in the economic-political "Dunya" (11/22): 
"Things are not going to work smoothly in Palestine.  That 
much has become obvious in developments following Arafat's 
death.  Arafat used to be the sole representative of the 
Palestinian leadership, and he never appointed a successor. 
For the upcoming Presidential elections on January 9, Abbas 
is among the strong candidates.  Abbas is a reformist and a 
moderate figure compared with Barguti, who is another 
leading name in the race.  Barguti is currently serving a 
sentence in an Israeli prison, but is supported by 
Palestine's militant youth. . As the time gets closer to the 
elections, there will certainly be more names to emerge.  I 
may be wrong, but I expect this to be a very tense election 
process that will also focus attention on speculation about 
Arafat's secret bank accounts." 
 
EDELMAN