US embassy cable - 04ANKARA6541

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 006541 
 
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 23, 2004 
 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Outgoing Powell's peace efforts in Palestine - Sabah 
Palestinian elections Powell's main agenda item - Aksam 
`New Blood' needed in Palestine administration - Milliyet 
FM Gul: US has lost support of the Turkish people - Sabah 
Egypt summit a last chance for Iraq - Turkiye 
`Fallujah killer' shot wounded Iraqi, voiced regret to NBC 
cameraman - Aksam 
20 `slaughterhouses' found in Fallujah - Sabah 
EU says EU-Turkey entry talks an opportunity for Kurds - 
Milliyet 
EU to Kurds: Whoever uses violence will lose - Milliyet 
EOKA member confesses to killing, raping Turks in Cyprus in 
1974 - Hurriyet 
Secretary Snow: Wish US could vote for Turkey at EU summit - 
 
SIPDIS 
Hurriyet 
Washington orders tighter security for flights to US from 
Russia, Turkey - Milliyet 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Powell: US committed to Mideast road map - Cumhuriyet 
Mideast bids Powell farewell - Radikal 
Sharm-al Sheikh meetings a last chance for Iraq - Yeni Safak 
Fallujah a mass grave - Yeni Safak 
Iraqi, British officials: Iraq's occupation may go on for 
years - Cumhuriyet 
Iran officially halts uranium enrichment program - Zaman 
Former EOKA member admits state-backed killings - Zaman 
US urges Turkey, Russia to take tighter security measures on 
flights to US - Yeni Safak 
 
BRIEFING 
 
Iraq's neighbors meet at Sharm-al Sheikh:  Iraqi interim 
government (IIG) FM Hosyar Zebari said the insurgency in 
Iraq has become a growing threat that forced the government 
to launch security operations before the upcoming elections 
in January.  `We have fought against terrorists, not 
civilians, in Fallujah,' Zebari stressed.  Zabari added that 
Iraq is seeking border agreements with Turkey and Iran that 
would include measures to prevent the infiltration of 
foreign fighters into Iraq.  A group of four representatives 
of the Iraqi insurgents were blocked by the US and the IIG 
from attending the conference, papers report.  On Tuesday, 
Turkey's FM Abdullah Gul is expected to convey to Secretary 
of State Colin Powell Ankara's sensitivities with regard to 
Iraq.  Gul and Iran's FM Kemal Harrazi met briefly 
yesterday.  The two foreign ministers view Iraqi Kurdish 
demands for postponing the elections as `unacceptable.'  On 
Monday, Gul told Turkish journalists while en route to Egypt 
that the US has not asked again for Turkish peacekeepers in 
Iraq.  Gul said that US participation in the Sharm-al Sheikh 
conference was a significant development.  The FM charged 
that the United States ignored Turkey's advice before the 
war.  If that advice had been heeded, Gul said, `we wouldn't 
have this chaos.'  Specifically, Gul claimed that Turkey had 
advised US officials against disbanding the Iraqi army. 
Responding to a question on the PKK, Gul asked `how much 
longer can the US delay action against the PKK?'  He said 
that America's failure to move against the terrorist 
organization has caused the US to `lose' the Turkish people. 
`We are not the ones saying this,' Gul added, `just look at 
the opinion polls.' 
 
TGS Confirms Flares Fired From Turkish F-16s:  The website 
of the Turkish General Staff confirmed that Turkish F-16 
pilots fired warning flares after Greek fighter jets `locked 
on' to the F-16's with their radar.  The TGS website noted 
that the flares were a `natural' response to the Greek 
action and were `not a mistake.' 
Powell's peace efforts in Palestine:  All Turkish papers and 
TV gave extensive coverage to Secretary Powell's efforts to 
mediate between Israeli and Palestinian leaders.  Reports 
quote Sharon and Israeli FM Shalom as pledging help in an 
effort to facilitate the upcoming elections in Palestine. 
After meeting new PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas, Powell announced 
US support for the elections, signaling a `softening' of 
policy on Palestine, papers commented. 
 
EU holds conference on Turkey's Kurds:  The London-based 
"Kurdish Human rights Project," under the auspices of the 
EU, a conference on the Kurdish situation.  Some former DEP 
lawmakers, current DEHAP chairman Tuncer Bakirhan, 
International Human Rights Federation deputy chairman Akin 
Birdal, Turkish journalists, and representatives of several 
other NGOs attended the conference in Brussels on Monday. 
The conference voiced support for Turkey to be granted a 
date for accession talks, and said Ankara's EU entry process 
would provide a significant opportunity for the Kurds. 
Former DEP lawmaker Hatip Dicle said the Kurds in Turkey are 
gradually moving toward a solution based on dialogue without 
necessarily changing the borders of the Turkish state.  `The 
search for a solution has shifted from `kill or be killed' 
mentality to `live and let live,'' Dicle told the 
conference. 
 
Secretary Snow voices support for Turkey's EU drive in 
 
SIPDIS 
Berlin:  US Treasury Secretary John Snow told Turkey's state 
minister for economy Ali Babacan in Berlin over the weekend 
that Turkey's admission to the EU would cause significant 
global changes.  `I wish the US could vote on behalf of 
Turkey at the EU summit in December,' Snow reportedly said. 
In a separate meeting with Babacan, World Bank President 
Wolfenshon said a negative answer by the EU on Turkey's 
prospects for full membership would be an enormous mistake. 
 
AKEL leader will not object to 50,000 Turkish immigrants 
staying in north Cyprus:  Dimitris Hristofyas, leader of the 
Greek Cypriot Communist Party AKEL, told "Cumhuriyet" that 
the Cyprus problem should be resolved on a `bi-zonal and bi- 
communal' model before the EU kicks off entry talks with 
Turkey in 2005.  When Turkey becomes a full EU member, there 
won't be any need for Turkish or Greek troops in Cyprus, 
Hristofyas emphasized.  Both the fascist Greek junta and 
EOKA-B virtually `invited' Turkey to intervene in Cyprus in 
1974, he said.  Turkey had pledged a troop pullout after 
order was established on the island, `but now they have 
overstayed,' Hristofyas asserted. `We are not against 
guarantor agreements by third countries, but we prefer that 
Turkey not have the right to intervene again.'  The AKEL 
leader said he would accept a maximum of 50,000 immigrants 
from the Turkish mainland to remain in the north. 
Responding to a question, Hristofyas said he was ready to 
discuss with Mehmet Ali Talat possible changes to the Annan 
Plan for reunification of the divided island.  A meeting of 
with Talat would help Turkey's EU drive, but would not 
change EU conditions established for Turkey, he underlined. 
Hristofyas claimed that if Ankara had recognized Nicosia, he 
would have launched an EU tour in support of the Turks' full 
membership to the European bloc. 
 
Former EOKA militant acknowledges killing Turkish Cypriots: 
A former member of the EOKA (secret organization that worked 
for the unification of Greece with Cyprus), Andreas Dimitriu 
(67), confessed to the Greek Cypriot daily "Alithia" that he 
and his comrades had killed 89 Turkish Cypriots and raped 
women in "Taskent" (Tohni) village in north Cyprus on August 
14, 1974.  `We did it together with the legal forces of our 
state,,' Dimitriu disclosed. 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Iraq 
 
"How Much Will the US Listen" 
Sami Kohen opined in the mass appeal "Milliyet" (11/23): 
"Twenty countries and organizations, including the G-8 and 
China, the UN, and the Arab Union, are among the 
participants in the Iraq conference in Egypt this week. 
Given the unilateral US policy in Iraq to this point, US 
participation in such a broad platform increases the 
meeting's importance.  But how much will the American 
participation actually affect US policy in Iraq?  How much 
will the Bush Administration care about the voices that will 
be heard in Sharm-al-Sheikh?  President Bush's statements 
show that he has no intention to change his policies, but 
this conference reflects growing international pressure on 
Washington.  The basics of the communique that will be 
announced at the end of the conference have already been 
shaped.  The resolution highlights the political transition 
process in Iraq, and supports further steps for success. 
The elections in Iraq will be held on January 30, a new 
government will be established, and the elected parliament 
will give the final shape to the constitution.  The 
communique also insists that participation in the elections 
be wide enough to confer democratic legitimacy.  There is no 
doubt that this is the general hope.  But will people really 
be able to go to the ballot box in areas where the fighting 
continues?  Will Sunni leaders stop protesting against the 
elections?  What will the international committee do to 
guarantee free elections with broad participation?  The 
communique also includes concerns about the duration of the 
US-led occupation.  It says that the US military presence in 
Iraq should not be `open-ended.'  This seems rather non- 
committal.  France insisted on a definite date for a US 
pullout, but the Bush administration had no intention to 
give a definite date for withdrawal.  In light of this 
language, it is worth asking how much this statement will 
affect Washington's military plans." 
 
"Iran or Syria?" 
Yilmaz Oztuna averred in the conservative "Turkiye" (11/23): 
"At this point it requires blinded optimism to believe that 
the US will give up harassing Iran and Syria. 
Realistically, this is the time to think about the timing 
and the means of a US attack against those two.  The 
election process in Iraq is the current focus for the US. 
However shortly after the elections -- probably in February 
-- the US will begin imposing certain conditions upon Iran 
and Syria.  . Syria is expected to be cooperative in meeting 
the US demands, because it cannot afford a situation like 
Afghanistan or Iraq. . Things for Iran are not going to be 
easy.  Some cosmetic measures such as postponing nuclear 
research will not be enough for Washington.  The US might 
launch an attack against Iran in the end, but an Iraq-style 
invasion is unlikely.  The US most likely will station 
itself in strategic locations around the Gulf region and 
start pushing for the division of Iran." 
 
EDELMAN