US embassy cable - 04ANKARA7100

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 007100 
 
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, DECEMBER 21, 2004 
 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Nation's leaders bid farewell to Turkish policemen killed in 
Mosul - Hurriyet 
Erdogan wants US forces, IIG to capture killers of Turkish 
guards - Milliyet 
Claims that US is responsible for killing of Turks is `sheer 
nonsense' - Aksam 
Israel lauds EU decision for entry talks with Turkey - 
Hurriyet 
Erdogan says solution could be united Cyprus or two federal 
states - Sabah 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Erdogan weeps for Turkish policemen killed in Iraq - Yeni 
Safak 
France continues discussing Turkey - Zaman 
Greek Cypriots again threaten to veto Turkey's EU entry 
talks - Cumhuriyet 
Iraqi Shiite leaders blame al-Qaeda for attacks in Najaf, 
Karbala - Cumhuriyet 
Turkish truck driver killed in Tikrit - Yeni Safak 
Tunisian astrologer predicts Bush will be killed in 2005 - 
Yeni Safak 
Afghanistan makes first official accord with Turkey - Yeni 
Safak 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
Funeral for Turkish guards killed in Iraq:  Turkey's top 
leaders -- President Sezer, PM Erdogan, FM Gul and Chief of 
Staff General Ozkok -- attended a funeral ceremony on Monday 
at the interior ministry along with hundreds of soldiers and 
policemen for five Turkish policemen killed in an ambush 
near Mosul, Iraq.  The Turkish leaders promised to make 
every effort to capture and punish the attackers.  `Turkey 
should not have paid such a price -the lives of 80 of its 
citizens -- for supporting Iraq,' PM Erdogan said.  Erdogan 
called the attackers `terrorists and murderers' and promised 
to urge the US-led coalition forces and the Iraqi interim 
government to capture the assailants.  `Turkey is a country 
that values Iraq's territorial and political unity and 
extends it humanitarian aid more than any other country,' 
Gul said at the ceremony.  `Unfortunately, there are 
traitors and cowards who fail to appreciate Turkey's 
generosity.'  An official from the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) 
in Mosul told the Turkish press that security personnel who 
were en route to their embassy in Baghdad were killed in a 
gunfight that lasted about an hour.  One of the Turks was 
reportedly beheaded.  US forces who control the region 
killed two of the assailants, papers report.  "Radikal" 
reports that all signs pointed to groups affiliated with 
Zarkawi as the perpetrators of the attack.  Eyewitnesses 
reportedly saw Zarkawi's men checking the route that the 
Turks would takes.  Other papers, including the mainstream 
"Milliyet" and "Sabah," suggest the possibility of PKK 
involvement.  Yalcin Bayer, a columnist in "Hurriyet," 
claims the attack was carried out by a hit squad trained in 
Iraq by Israeli special forces.  "Hurriyet" report that a US 
official dismissed charges by Turkey's First Army Commander, 
General Hursit Tolon, implying that the US was responsible 
for the incident: `Holding the US responsible for such a 
tragic event is ridiculous,' said the official.  He added 
that `we have lost more than 1,200 US troops in Iraq so far. 
The US Administration and the American people are deeply 
saddened by the death of the Turkish policemen,' the 
official said.  Papers report that US Ambassador Edelman 
telephoned Turkish Interior Minister Aksu to express 
condolences to the Ministry and the families of the victims. 
A similar call was made by US Assistant Secretaryy of State 
Elizabeth Jones to the Turkish Ambassador in Washington, 
papers report. 
 
Cyprus a thorny issue in Turkey's dealings with EU:  Turkish 
papers continue to speculate on Cyprus as the key point of 
disagreement at the December 17 EU-Turkey accession talks in 
Brussels.  Ankara has given a verbal commitment to expand 
its accession accord with the EU in a way that would cover 
new member states.  Since such an agreement would imply 
indirect recognition of Nicosia by Ankara, the Turks want to 
put a derogation on the related clause that would allow 
Turkey to deny even an implicit recognition of the Greek 
Cypriot government.  Turkey will have to sign the accord 
before October 2005, the start date for EU-Turkey accession 
negotiations.  EU regulations are valid only in south 
Cyprus, and are not applied in the north, the Turks 
reportedly told European leaders at the summit, adding that 
Ankara's recognition of Nicosia would constitute a violation 
of international law.  Ankara wants US and UK help on the 
issue before moving ahead to ratify the accord.  `There is 
not yet a settlement on Cyprus, and this is the main reason 
why we will not recognize the Greek Cypriot administration,' 
FM Gul told the press on his return form the Brussels summit 
over the weekend. 
 
Erdogan suggests fresh efforts for Cyprus solution:  PM 
Erdogan announced on CNN-Turk Monday evening that 2005 could 
be a `year for solution' in Cyprus: `Next year, we may push 
the button for a settlement in Cyprus,' Erdogan said.  The 
Greek Cypriot press strongly expects the US and UK to act on 
the issue early next year, Turkish papers report.  "Radikal" 
urges the UN to renew its efforts for a solution in 2005, 
and points out the importance of US and UK mediation in 
efforts for reunification of the island. 
 
Roadside bomb kills Turkish truck driver in Iraq:  A 
roadside bomb killed a Turkish truck driver traveling to 
Tikrit in a US military convoy on Monday, papers report. 
The driver has not yet been identified. 
 
Erdogan due in Damascus:  PM Erdogan will begin a two-day 
official visit to Damascus on Tuesday.  Erdogan will discuss 
with the Syrians Iraq and the Middle East, and is expected 
to sign two trade agreements. 
 
ECHR head lauds Turkey's human rights improvement:  European 
Court of Human Rights (ECHR) President Luzius Wildhaber told 
a Swiss newspaper that Turkey's flawed legal practices are 
gradually approaching European standards.  `Much work 
remains to be done, but Ankara has modified its laws in 
crucial areas,' Wildhaber said.  `It is approaching our 
system of fundamental values, which it had strongly opposed 
before.  Today, there are no longer many serious cases of 
people who have disappeared under detention, or who have 
been executed or tortured.'  Turkey still has a long way to 
go, Wildhaber said, noting that it would be `absurd' to 
imagine that the country could change the practices of 
several generations in a short time. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: 
 
Cyprus 
The United States 
Attack Against Turkish Personnel in Mosul 
 
"How to Solve the Cyprus Issue" 
Muharrem Sarikaya commented in the mass appeal "Sabah" 
(12/21):  "The Turkish Parliament gathered yesterday to 
debate 2005 budget issues, but the deputies were more 
interested in the results of the EU summit.  Both the 
government and the opposition members agree on the need for 
a solution of the Cyprus issue.  The responsible State 
Minister, Abdullatif Sener, said that if a concrete solution 
is needed for Cyprus, it could be achieved only after Turkey 
becomes a full member of the EU.  The reality is that no 
viable plan has been developed for solving the Cyprus issue. 
State officials are aware that resurrecting the Annan plan 
would be rather dangerous.  The solution lies with the 
countries who can force the Greek Cypriots to resolve the 
problem.  The US and the UK are the most effective countries 
in this regard.  France is influential as well, but the 
French are clearly in opposition to Turkey's full EU 
membership.  In short, for the next ten months Turkey should 
stop acting so defiantly against the US, particularly 
regarding issues that came up in the recent past and on 
which other countries were seen to have remained silent." 
 
"Our Five Martyrs" 
Yilmaz Oztuna observed in the conservative, mass appeal 
"Turkiye" (12/21):  "The killing of  five Turkish police 
special forces is very serious, historic incident.  This was 
a vicious ambush.  Most likely the movements of the Turkish 
convoy were passed to the attackers by the PKK in Southeast 
Turkey.  Our intelligence should definitely find out the 
identity of the attackers.  They could be PKK members in 
Northern Iraq or Barzani's  peshmerge.  Turkey should be 
very careful in its approach to allegations that US forces 
in Iraq did not intervene to prevent the killings.  Surely 
there have been negative factors like the March 1 vote, the 
ecumenical Patriarch crisis, and criticism of the US on the 
operation in Fallujah.  However, accusing the US of 
deliberately not protecting our men will put Turkey into a 
dangerous and wrong position.  It would be healthier to 
approach the incident with the understanding that it was 
done as part of an effort to spoil our alliance with the US. 
Let us not fall into this trap.  It is Turkey's fate to have 
the challenge of keeping our relations with the US and the 
EU in balance.  If we fail to meet that challenge, we will 
be harmed more than anyone else." 
 
"Listen to Tolon Pasha" 
Hikmet Cetinkaya wrote in the opposition "Cumhuriyet" 
(12/21):  Who is behind the shooting of the five Turkish 
security personnel in Mosul?  While this is being debated, 
First Army Commander Hursit Tolon underlined a very 
important point - there are those in the region who will 
bite the hand that feeds them.  On November 29, five leaders 
of the PKK group responsible for Syria were killed between 
Kirkuk and Mosul.  Two days later, some in the PKK/Kongra- 
Gel accused Syrian intelligence of orchestrating the attack. 
But subsequent to that, Kongra-Gel vice chairman Duran 
Kalkan said that Turkey had killed the five PKK.He also said 
that the "Mosul attack would not go unanswered."  The 
vicious killing of five of our security personnel in Mosul 
causes us to think, because five PKK were killed in the same 
place 20 days earlier.  Was this action a case of the PKK 
taking revenge?  No announcement has been made yet, but it 
is something people are talking about.  The likelihood that 
other Kurdish groups and the United States had a hand in 
this as well is also gathering strength.  This confusing 
chain of relationships needs to be sorted out.  Ocuupiers 
who would put sacks over the heads of Turkish soldiers could 
be capable of all kinds of things.  The government needs to 
get to the bottom of this bloody incident.  The political 
leadership should be as sensitive and open about this as 
General Tolon. 
DEUTSCH