US embassy cable - 04ANKARA6672

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 006672 
 
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, DECEMBER 1, 2004 
 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
US official warns Ankara: Powell not in US administration 
anymore - Vatan 
EU draft: Let entry talks start with Turkey - Hurriyet 
EU says a conditional `Yes' to entry talks with Turkey - 
Vatan 
Blair: Turkey should not be discriminated against - Hurriyet 
6,635 corpses in Fallujah morgue - Sabah 
FM Gul warns of confidence crisis with EU - Milliyet 
`TRNC' warns Ankara not to recognize Nicosia before December 
17 - Milliyet 
Gutierrez quits $7 million job, becomes Commerce Secretary - 
Hurriyet 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Boucher encourages EU to say `Yes' to entry talks - 
Cumhuriyet 
US asks EU to give Turkey a date for entry talks - Radikal 
PM Erdogan is awarded `European of the Year' - Yeni Safak 
ICRC accuses US of torture of Guantanamo inmates - Yeni 
Safak 
ICRC: US tortures Guantanamo inmates - Cumhuriyet 
ICRC: US conducts torture at Gitmo - Zaman 
US forces use WMD in Fallujah - Yeni Safak 
Iraqi Red Crescent denied access to injured in Fallujah - 
Yeni Safak 
Iraq's neighbors meet in Tehran on border security issues - 
Radikal 
Tom Ridge quits Bush team - Radikal 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
Washington seriously uneasy over Turkey:  "Vatan"s new 
Washington correspondent, Rusen Cakir, reports on a meeting 
with an unidentified American official who has a `key' role 
in shaping the US policy toward Turkey.  The American said 
he was `outraged' by official Turkish accusations that the 
US carried out `genocide' in Fallujah, and that US forces 
may have used nuclear weapons.  The American official traced 
the recent crisis between Ankara and Washington to the phone 
call between PM Erdogan and VP Cheney.  He rejected Ankara's 
claim that Washington has raised the issue of Armenian 
`genocide' charges in an effort to `blackmail' the Turks: 
`There is no blackmail, just plain facts,' the American 
said, adding: `From now on, how can you expect us to tell US 
senators not to associate Turks with `genocide' when the 
Turks are accusing the United States of genocide?  He also 
implied that Washington may not protect Turkey's as 
forcefully in the future: `We acted carefully, and even 
offered a $1 billion loan following the March 1 `crisis' 
over the parliament's rejection of deployment of Turkish 
troops in Iraq.  Now it's time for the Turks to display the 
same care regarding ties with the US.'  "Vatan" comments 
that the Americans seem not to tolerate even ordinary 
criticism over US conduct in Iraq on the grounds that nobody 
should interfere in the US fight against terrorism. 
Responding to a question about why Washington, under is 
under criticism by many Muslim nations over Iraq, is 
particularly angry with Turkey, the unnamed American said: 
`None of those countries is our strategic partner.'  He 
added that it would be impossible to heal the wounds unless 
a top-level Turkish government official denounces the worst 
allegations about the US military operation in Fallujah. 
`Ankara must remember that Powell is not in Washington 
anymore,' he warned. 
 
Turkish military uneasy over alleged US meetings with PKK: 
Turkey's Higher Military Council (YAS) reportedly conveyed 
concerns to PM Erdogan that the US has held over 100 
meetings with PKK/Kongra Gel representatives in northern 
Iraq since March 2003.  The PKK considers these meetings as 
another step forward in its efforts to become a political 
organization, "Cumhuriyet" claims.  The YAS believes that 
about 1,000 PKK members have infiltrated to Turkey from 
northern Iraq in the last two years, the paper reports. 
 
Meeting on Turkish truckers' safety in Iraq:  Turkish, 
American and Iraqi officials convened a tripartite meeting, 
under the heading of the "Trilateral Transport Security 
Forum," in Ankara Tuesday to discuss the security of Turkish 
truck drivers inside Iraqi territory.  The Turks urged US 
and Iraqi officials to provide aerial and ground escorts for 
Turkish convoys, and to enhance road security. 
 
"Ecumenical" crisis between GOT-US Ankara Embassy:  The 
Turkish government has grown `uneasy' about invitations from 
the US Embassy for a reception in honor of Archbishop 
Bartholomeus on December 2.  The invitations referred to the 
Patriarchate as the "Ecumenical Patriarchate."  Prime 
Ministry Undersecretary Omer Dincer ordered bureaucrats in 
all state institutions to refrain from attending the 
reception.  The Turkish MFA earlier warned the US Embassy on 
the issue, but the Americans refused to step down. 
 
European Parliament advises start of entry talks with 
Ankara:  Ahead of the EU decision about whether and when to 
start accession talks with Turkey, Ankara will try to change 
an EU summit draft which proposes tough conditions such as 
the immediate recognition of the Republic of Cyprus.  The EU 
foreign affairs committee endorsed by 50 votes to 18 a 
report urging EU leaders to open entry talks with Turkey 
`without undue delay.'  The y rejected a key amendment that 
would have offered Ankara a `privileged partnership.'  The 
European Parliament report stressed the need for further 
progress on human rights, curbing torture and withdrawing 
Turkish troops from Cyprus.  Ankara objects particularly to 
three issues outlined in the report -- Cyprus, permanent 
restrictions on movement of Turkish labor, and `conditions' 
put forth by EU before holding entry talks.  Turkish dailies 
say US Secretary of State Colin Powell will soon launch a 
tour of EU capitals in an effort to persuade European 
leaders to begin `unconditional' entry talks with Turkey. 
PM Erdogan and Gul are also preparing to visit European 
capitals. 
 
Turkish Cypriots worry Ankara may recognize Nicosia:  FM 
Abdullah Gul said Ankara would not offer any concessions on 
Cyprus.  The FM added that the problem on Cyprus was the 
Greek Cypriot rejection of a UN-backed plan for 
reunification in the  April referendum.  Outgoing `TRNC PM' 
Mehmet Ali Talat told the press he didn't expect Turkey to 
give any concession on Cyprus to get EU membership.  Talat 
has recently expressed concern that the Turkish Cypriots' 
bargaining position in any peace talks would be weaker once 
Turkey gains a date for EU accession talks.  Talat urged 
Ankara not to recognize Nicosia before December 17.  The 
opposition "Peace and Democracy Movement" (BDH) leader 
Mustafa Akinci said recognition of Nicosia would relegate 
the Turkish Cypriots to a minority status on the divided 
island. 
 
`Extrajudicial' killings in SE Turkey draw strong reactions: 
The Turkish government began an investigation Monday into 
the security forces' killings of a 12-year-old boy and his 
father, both accused of belonging to a separatist terrorist 
group.  Ahmet Kaymaz, 31, and his son Ugur were killed in 
the southeastern town of Kiziltepe, Mardin on November 21. 
Human rights activists said Kaymaz and his son were probably 
unarmed and may have been killed by mistake.  Kaymaz, who 
had no police record, made a living ferrying fuel to Iraq. 
Protesters demonstrated against the killings yesterday in 
Diyarbakir and last Sunday in Kiziltepe.  Kaymaz's brother 
told the press that `the death penalty has been scrapped, 
but Turkish citizens are still executed on the streets 
without  justification.'  The incident comes before the 
crucial December 17 EU summit.  Meanwhile, officials in the 
southeastern province of Hakkari began investigating claims 
that a 19-year-old shepherd had been killed Saturday by 
security forces.  Family members said the Turkish gendarme 
refused to hand over the body unless they signed papers 
confirming that he was a terrorist.  Yusuf Alatas, chairman 
of Turkey's Human Rights Association, said these examples 
show that the government fails to stand behind its pledges. 
 
`Glasnost' in Turkey's National Security Council:  Turkey's 
influential advisory body, the National Security Council 
(MGK) opened its doors for the first time to journalists and 
diplomats on Tuesday.  There are similar bodies in ten 
European member countries and in the United States, the MGK 
said.  Yigit Alpogan, a career diplomat and the MGK's first 
civilian secretary-general, said relations with the press 
will be open and transparent, adding that the MGK could now 
be described as an official "think-tank."  In response to a 
question about whether Turkey still sees Greece as a threat, 
Alpogan stressed the positive changes in bilateral ties 
since 1999, and noted that Athens firmly supports Ankara's 
drive to join the EU.  Alpogan noted that the MGK would 
continue to closely monitor events in Cyprus. 
 
ICRC charges US with prisoner abuse at Guantanamo:  Turkish 
dailies report that the International Committee of the Red 
Cross (ICRC) claim that the US military has used 
psychological and physical torture on inmates at Guantanamo 
prison.  The ICRC report asserted that some doctors at 
Guantanamo were participating in planning for 
interrogations.  Doctors at Gitmo conveyed information about 
prisoners' mental health to interrogators, the report 
alleged.  It was the first time that the Red Cross, which 
has been visiting Guantanamo since January 2002, claimed 
both physical and psychological torture of inmates. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Iraq 
 
"December, the Critical Month" 
Haluk Sahin noted in the liberal-opinion maker "Radikal" 
(12/1):  "This is a dangerous month.  The ruling AKP party 
will have to exercise great skill in managing the public's 
fury and disappointment over the Iraq issue. The rising anti- 
American sentiment and growing number of demonstrations 
protesting the Fallujah events is one of the risks.  The 
government cannot let these expressions of fury turn into 
action.   It is alarming to witness certain groups in Turkey 
using the same language as Al Qaida while protesting against 
the U.S.  The Bush administration faces criticism because of 
its Iraq policy in general and especially because of the 
Fallujah operation. Yet we should also remember the fact 
that half of American voted against President Bush and one 
of the places criticizing the operation in Fallujah most 
harshly is the U.S. itself.  Protesting the US actions in 
Fallujah is one thing, but this is not about making a choice 
between the US and Al Qaida. . As Iraq proceeds towards 
elections, the best approach is to stay calm and not be 
carried away just by taking account of one-sided 
information." 
 
"Blackmail" 
Husnu Mahalli commented in the economic-political Dunya 
(12/01):  "There is no limit to the American hypocrisy.  The 
US Embassy in Ankara responded to AKP parliamentarian 
Elkatmis' remarks about American genocide in Iraq by saying 
`the US did not massacre the Iraqis in Fallujah, and did not 
use the illegal weapons Elkatmis mentioned.  Also, the US 
carried out some operations in Iraq to eliminate the 
murderers of the Turkish truck drivers'.  I have never seen 
or heard of such a stupid defence in my life. . As if 
Elkatmis was criticizing only the operations in Fallujah. 
In a report issued a month ago, a group of American doctors 
stated that since the occupation, one hundred thousand 
people have died in Iraq .  Well, how can you refer to an 
action where one hundred thousand people were killed, other 
than massacre.  Of course, according to the Americans this 
is not a massacre.  In the past, Americans managed to 
eliminate the Indians.  They even killed millions of people 
during their civil war.  And 360 thousand people died in 
Hiroshima and Nagazhaki.  In Vietnam, the Americans used all 
kinds of weapons and killed three million people.  Maybe, 
Mr.Elkatmis spoke too soon.  He should have waited a little 
longer, until the death toll reached one million in Iraq. 
That is where the problem lies!" 
 
EDELMAN