US embassy cable - 04ANKARA7066

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 007066 
 
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, DECEMBER 20, 2004 
 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Turkey's engagement with the EU - Hurriyet 12/19 
Netherlands: Denial of Turkey's EU accession a strong 
possibility - Milliyet 
FM Gul says Turkey won't negotiate with Greek Cypriots - 
Sabah 
Karamanlis says Turkey's EU membership depends on Cyprus - 
Hurriyet 
"To Vima": Turkey's train to EU will pass through Nicosia - 
Zaman 12/19 
Greek Cypriots worry that Annan Plan might be `resurrected' 
- Aksam 
Arab press: Turkey will be our bridge to Europe - Hurriyet 
12/19 
Iranian reformist papers hail Turkey's `victory' with EU - 
Aksam 
Turkey's membership will cost EU 27.5 billion Euro - 
Hurriyet 12/19 
Bush vows new initiative for Israel-Palestine peace - 
Turkiye 
TIME chooses Bush person of the year - Hurriyet 
TIME picks `Sheriff' Bush as person of the year - Sabah 
Half of Americans want restriction on Muslims' rights in US 
- Hurriyet 12/19 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
World talks about a European Turkey - Zaman 12/19 
FM Gul: Turkey enters a new era - Radikal 
Erdogan `gives in' to Europe - Cumhuriyet 
EU grants Turkey date for talks in exchange for Cyprus - 
Cumhuriyet 12/19 
Netherlands: European referenda may block Turkey's EU 
accession - Zaman 
Papadopoulos: Greek Cypriot veto would harm efforts for 
solution in Cyprus - Zaman 
Papadopoulos: We achieved less than we aimed for at EU 
summit - Yeni Safak 
EU decision on Cyprus below Turkey's expectations - Radikal 
12/19 
Boucher: Annan Plan the departure point for progress on 
Cyprus - Cumhuriyet 12/19 
FM Gul: Killers of Turkish police in Iraq won't go 
unpunished - Radikal 
Shiites a target in Iraq: 60 killed in Najaf and Karbala - 
Zaman 
Rumsfeld angers US soldiers' families - Radikal 
Sharon decides to release 170 Palestinians - Cumhuriyet 
Vatican `hawks' back Bush and Blair, support attacks against 
Muslims - Yeni Safak 
IMF `proud' of  Turkey's success with economic reforms - 
Radikal 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
Turkey takes giant step forward in its EU bid:  EU leaders 
and Turkey agreed on Friday to grant Ankara `historic' 
membership talks with the bloc beginning next October, 
Turkish papers report.  Before the talks can begin, however, 
Ankara will have to take the difficult step of recognizing 
the Republic of Cyprus.  The United States warmly welcomed 
the EU deal with Turkey, but said much work remained to 
resolve the issue of Cyprus.  Secretary Powell called FM 
Abdullah Gul Friday to congratulate him on `very great 
victory for Turkey.'  Powell termed the deal `historic' and 
said it would benefit both Turkey and the European Union. 
`A Turkey that is firmly anchored in Europe and that shares 
European values will be a positive force for prosperity and 
democracy,' Powell said.  `This is good for Turkey, good for 
the broader European region, and good for the United 
States.'  EU term president Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Bot 
said on Sunday that there was a good chance that Turkey 
would not join the EU because of referenda to be held in 
France and Austria.  Bot said that the coming 10 years of 
talks would allow Europeans to better appreciate Turkey and 
would give Turks time to adapt to the European bloc. 
British PM Tony Blair, one of Turkey's strongest backers, 
said that offering a large Muslim democracy EU membership 
was a signal to the Islamic world: `It shows that claims of 
a fundamental clash in civilizations between Christians and 
Muslims are wrong, that we can work together and cooperate.' 
`There was a deal and everybody is happy with it,' German FM 
Joschka Fischer said.  The Greek government on Saturday 
welcomed the agreement to grant Turkey a date for EU entry 
talks as an important milestone towards normalizing 
relations between Athens and Ankara. 
 
PM Tayyip Erdogan was given a hero's welcome after attending 
the historic summit in Brussels.  Erdogan said: `This result 
will not spoil us.  We will not rest on our laurels.  Our 
aim now is to move forward,' he said at Istanbul Airport 
Saturday.  Erdogan had reportedly threatened to walk out of 
the negotiations over demands that Ankara recognize the 
Greek Cypriot government.  Some papers slam Erdogan for 
accepting `open-ended' negotiations, permanent safeguards on 
the free movement of Turkish labor, and other derogations. 
`Tomorrow's Turkey will be very different from today's 
Turkey, both politically and economically,' FM Abdullah Gul 
told the cheering crowd.  Gul said that entry talks with the 
European Union will bring Turkey higher democratic 
standards.  `Military coups are a thing of the past,' he 
said.  Former economy minister Kemal Dervis said that Turkey 
could be ready for EU accession within five or six years, 
adding that the country could draw $5 billion in foreign 
direct investment each year during the period of 
negotiations. 
 
Arab journalists told the conservative/intellectual "Zaman" 
that Turkey's membership will have crucial and positive 
effects on the region, particularly with regard to 
democratization.  The Arab world's popular daily "Sark-ul 
Avsat" reported an `historic deal for accession of the first 
Muslim state to Europe.'  London-based "Al-Hayat" said the 
`EU accepts Turkey's cultural significance.'  The Jordanian 
newspaper "Dustur" wrote: `We have written history in 
Brussels.  Turkey agreed on the start of accession talks 
with the EU.'  `The Islamic world should be happy,' FM Gul 
told "al-Jazeera."  `We won't just represent only Turks, but 
the whole Muslim world.'  But Khaled al-Maeena, editor of 
Saudi Arabia's leading English-language daily, "The Arab 
News" told "The Wall Street Journal" (WSJ): `We are appalled 
that the Turks are being treated as beggars, groveling just 
to get into Europe, where the majority doesn't want them.' 
The WSJ notes that Mr. Maeena brushed off the idea that 
Turkey's political and economic advances could be seen as an 
inspiration for change in the Middle East. 
 
Turkish security guards killed in Iraq:  Five Turkish 
security guards were killed in an ambush as they were en 
route to Baghdad, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on 
Saturday.  An MFA statement said that eight guards had 
entered Iraq through the Habur border crossing, and were on 
their way to the Turkish embassy in Baghdad when they were 
attacked around Mosul.  Five of the security guards and two 
Iraqi drivers were killed.  Two survivors reached Baghdad, 
while a third returned to the border at Habur, the statement 
said.  `Armed men made the passengers get out of the cars 
and lie on the ground.  They were then machine-gunned and 
one of them was beheaded,' an official of the Turkmen Front 
in Mosul told the Turkish press.  He also said that US 
forces controlling the region had killed two of the 
attackers.  All Turkish papers speculated over the weekend 
that the killings might have been perpetrated by the PKK in 
retaliation for the killing of five of their members in the 
same region on October 29. 
 
Turkey's First Army Commander, General Hursit Tolon, said 
that Turkey will not forget the killing of five Turkish 
policemen in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.  `This attack 
clearly indicates the hostility toward Turks by the regional 
people whom we have propped up for years,' Tolon said in 
remarks interpreted by papers as blaming KDP leader Barzani 
for the killings.  Tolon warned that more attacks would 
follow.  General Tolon also said that Turkey `took note of' 
the incident that occurred in a region controlled by a 
`country known to be a friend and ally of Turkey.'  Tolon 
was making a direct reference to the United States, and the 
fact that US State Department spokesman Boucher `took note 
of' the Government of Turkey's action to prohibit state 
employees from attending a US reception in honor of the 
`ecumenical' Patriarchate. 
 
Denktas sets date for early polls in `TRNC':  Turkish 
Cypriot leader Rauf Denktas set February 20 as the date for 
general elections in his breakaway enclave, putting an end 
to months of political uncertainty.  Turkish Cypriot `PM' 
Mehmet Ali Talat resigned in October in an apparent bid to 
boost his party's mandate.  Turkey gave an assurance at the 
EU summit in Brussels that it would sign an EU protocol that 
would effectively recognize Cyprus before entry negotiations 
with the EU in early October of  next year.  Before then, 
Ankara hopes the two sides will reach a comprehensive peace 
settlement on the island.  Papers report that the Greek 
Cypriots are expecting the UN to present the Cypriots with a 
new peace plan after the April presidential elections in 
north Cyprus next year.  Denktas has said he will not be a 
candidate in those elections. 
 
125,000 displaced Turks can't return home:  A parliamentary 
commission draft report advised the Turkish government to 
facilitate the return of displaced people to their villages 
in the mainly Kurdish area of southeastern Turkey, and thus 
prevent any possible damage to the image of the country, 
Monday's "Hurriyet" reports.  Statistics released by the 
Interior Ministry show that 930 villages and 2,018 hamlets 
had been evacuated during Turkey's struggle against 
separatist terrorism.  353,000 people left their villages 
from 12 provinces in the southeast, and only 130,000 had 
returned as of November 2004. 
 
Ankara eases work of minority foundations:  Turkey has 
transferred 296 pieces of real estate to non-Muslim 
foundations as its first move in continuing the reforms 
following the EU decision to begin entry talks with Ankara, 
"Hurriyet" reports.  Henceforth, minority foundations will 
be allowed to accept donations and sell assets.  Turkey has 
161 minority foundations, mostly owned by Greeks and 
Armenians. 
 
Iraqi war causes heavy psychological problems:  "Cumhuriyet" 
quotes international wire reports concerning the Iraq war's 
heavy psychological toll on US troops.  American soldiers 
fighting in Iraq suffer from severe depression, deep 
anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to 
research by the US military.  Experts expect about 100,000 
soldiers to require psychological therapy soon. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: 
 
"Worrying Aspects of the EU Decision" 
Sedat Ergin observed in the mass appeal "Hurriyet" (12/19): 
"Getting a definite date for the start of EU accession talks 
is a development of historic importance.  Nevertheless, this 
positive development doesn't stop us worrying about some 
parts of the decision adopted in Brussels.  The most 
controversial aspect of the report is that accession talks 
with Turkey would be `open ended,' and the outcome can not 
be guaranteed.  The report also states that full membership 
is not given, Turkey should be kept `closely anchored' to EU 
structures.  Naturally, Turkey has been disturbed by these 
phrases.  None of these conditions has been given to other 
candidate countries.  Moreover, the end of the process had 
been clouded right from the start by implying a `special 
status' for Turkey as an alternative to full membership. 
Similar problems are evident on the issue of free 
circulation as well.  Each EU country has been given the 
right to enforce its own rules that would restrict the free 
travel of Turks within the EU.  This will make it difficult 
for Turkey to become a part of the Schengen system.  It is 
only natural to apply temporary restrictions on free travel, 
as has been done with the ten new members.  However, 
permanent restrictions would give Turkey a kind of second 
class membership.  In addition to all of this, the opening 
of the negotiations - though announced for October 3, 2005 - 
will actually be delayed for six months until a `screening 
process' is completed.  This means that, in reality, the 
talks will not begin until April 2006 - assuming, of course, 
that the Cyprus issue is sorted out by then.  In short, one 
can say that Turkey has gained an additional nine months by 
freezing the Cyprus problem in Brussels.  The big fight with 
the EU will come next autumn." 
 
"What is Historic in this `Historic' Summit?" 
Selcuk Gultasli commented from Brussels in the Islamist- 
intellectual "Zaman" (12/20):  "What does the EU summit in 
Brussels mean for Turkey?  Are we getting closer to the end, 
or are we going to be stopped on the outskirts of Brussels? 
It is not possible to interpret the final communique from 
the summit as a victory or a great success.  Unfortunately, 
Ankara could not fend off the condition of a `privileged 
partnership' and permanent restrictions on free movement. 
Moreover, the October 3 negotiation date been connected with 
a resolution on the Cyprus issue.   Despite all of these 
negative elements, the summit does represent an historic 
turning point for Turkey.  If we leave the technical angle 
to one side and look at the big picture, we see that the 
flame of reform, which has been burning for the last two 
years in Turkey, has been strengthened.  Turkey will bring 
itself to contemporary standards.  This has great 
importance.  While the EU tries to keep Turkey anchored to 
its own structures during this process, Turkey will become a 
regional power through the application of these reforms.  In 
short, turning the EU's hesitant, reluctant decision into an 
historic one depends on Ankara.  Let's continue the 
reforms." 
 
EDELMAN