US embassy cable - 05ANKARA44

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 000044 
 
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, JANUARY 4, 2005 
 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
Combined Issue 
January 3-4, 2004 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Ankara to ask Armitage about the PKK - Milliyet 1/3 
US signals tripartite security summit on PKK - Vatan 
FM Gul to Israel to offer mediation on Middle East peace - 
Aksam 1/3 
Ankara launches Middle East effort - Milliyet 
Gul to Israel on peace mission - Milliyet 1/3 
Mahmud Abbas, Hamas bargain on ending `intifadah' - Sabah 
Terrorist gunmen execute 5 Iraqi policemen - Sabah 
Iranian Press: US violates Iranian airspace - Aksam 
Bush's predecessors to lead US aid efforts in south Asia - 
Hurriyet 
US plans lifelong detention for terror suspects - Sabah 
Bush gives $1 billion to religious groups in US - Sabah 
Iraq war, Bush re-election make Americans more pessimistic - 
Aksam 
FM Gul to ask Jordan to extradite Uzans - Hurriyet 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Ankara warns Armitage on Kirkuk, Iraqi elections - Zaman 
FM Gul urges Armitage to maintain balances in Kirkuk - 
Cumhuriyet 
Gul to Israel to repair damage in bilateral relations - 
Cumhuriyet 1/3 
Gul on sensitive visit to Israel - Radikal 
Gul to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders - Zaman 
Gul: Peace in the Middle East a task for Turkey - Yeni Safak 
Papadopoulos rejects direct trade with Turkish Cypriots - 
Yeni Safak 
Gul: US should do more to force Greek Cypriots to compromise 
- Yeni Safak 
Iraq's election pains - Radikal 
Turkish Red Crescent sends aid and rescue team to Bangkok - 
adikal 
Annan says south Asia will recover in10 years - Radikal 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
Deputy SecState Armitage visits Ankara:  Visiting US Deputy 
Secretary of State Richard Armitage proposed trilateral 
 
SIPDIS 
security talks on the question of the PKK presence in 
northern Iraq, papers report.  US diplomats said the meeting 
would take place in January and would bring together Turkey, 
the United States and officials from the Iraqi interim 
government.   Papers commented that Armitage attempted to 
put US-Turkey relations back on track.  FM Abdullah Gul 
signaled that Ankara also wanted to turn a page in its 
relations with the United States: `The US-Turkey 
relationship is above everything,' Gul said.  `It is long- 
standing and broad,' he added.  The Turkish side reportedly 
warned Armitage over efforts to change the demographic 
structure of Kirkuk in advance of the Iraqi elections in 
late January.  Armitage told Gul that many Iraqis, including 
Turkmen and Kurds, had been disadvantaged by Arabization 
policies in the past.  He added that this situation must be 
corrected within the framework of Iraq's Temporary 
Administrative Law.  FM Gul noted that Turkey is speaking to 
all Iraqi groups to encourage them to take part in the 
election.  He said the most important group, the Sunni 
Arabs, should not be left out of the election process. 
Armitage reportedly agreed with this view and encouraged as 
wide a participation as possible in the election process. 
"Yeni Safak" reports that Armitage pressed Parliament 
Speaker Bulent Arinc on recent statements made by 
Parliamentary Human Rights Committee Chairman Mehmet 
Elkatmis in which the US operation in Fallujah was 
characterized as a `genocide.'  Arinc said that he did not 
agree with Elkatmis' statement, but said the Turkish people 
cannot understand how the United States occupation, which 
was intended to bring democracy to Iraq, had resulted in the 
deaths of 100,000 civilians.  Armitage reportedly asked 
Arinc why the Turks did not speak out more forcefully 
against Saddam's regime.  Arinc replied that the Turkish 
parliament `had not remained silent' after the massacre of 
Kurds in Halabja.  `We have always said that Saddam was a 
dictator,' Arinc noted.  "Milliyet" reports that FM Gul also 
urged Armitage to ensure additional US steps to break the 
isolation of Turkish Cypriots, especially on the issue of 
direct flights to Ercan airports.  Gul later noted that the 
US had `taken some positive steps' in this direction. 
 
FM Gul due in Israel, Palestine:  FM Abdullah Gul on Monday 
left for a four-day trip to Israel, Palestine and Jordan in 
an effort to discuss ways in which Ankara can help the 
stalled peace process.  The visit is aimed at mending ties 
harmed by Turkish PM Erdogan's strong criticism of Israeli 
policies against the Palestinians.  `It is an important duty 
for Turkey to contribute to the Middle East peace process,' 
Gul told the Turkish press before his departure.  `Turkey 
wants Syria and Lebanon to take part in the peace process as 
well,' Gul replied to a question about whether Turkey could 
play a mediating role.  Gul voiced hope that the January 9 
Palestinian elections will be `transparent, democratic and 
successful.'  Gul is scheduled to meet Israel's President 
Moshe Katsav, PM Ariel Sharon and FM Silvan Shalom on 
Tuesday and Palestinian leaders on Wednesday.  Papers expect 
Gul to focus on bilateral ties between Turkey and Israel, 
which cooled last year after PM Erdogan blamed the Israeli 
leadership for applying `state terrorism' against 
Palestinians.  After wrapping up talks with Israeli and 
Palestinian leaders, Gul will travel to Amman to attend a 
January 6 conference of Iraq's neighbors.  Before departing 
for Israel, Gul told "Hurriyet" that both Israel and 
Palestine have asked for a more proactive Turkish role in 
the peace process.  `There is a positive atmosphere for 
peace for the first time after Camp David - now is the time 
for everybody to work for peace,' Gul stressed.  Gul 
emphasized that his hopes were fueled by the Israeli 
decision to withdrawal from Gaza and the prospect that 
Shimon Peres will join the Israeli government. 
 
US-PKK `bargaining' in northern Iraq:  The pro-Kurdish 
"Newroz" webpage claimed that a US delegation met with 
members of the PKK in Kaladiza near Kandil Mountain in 
northern Iraq last week.  US soldiers reportedly flew to the 
meeting site in three US helicopters.  According to the 
website, the sides have held three meetings thus far.  The 
Americans reportedly asked the PKK not to harass American 
planes during reconnaissance flights over the region.  The 
website's report showed up as front-page news in today's 
left-leaning "Cumhuriyet." 
 
Turkey, Israel, US joint rescue exercise:  Turkey, Israel 
and the United States are to hold a joint naval search and 
rescue exercise in mid-January, Monday papers report.  As a 
result of the exercises, elements of the three naval forces 
that regularly operate in the Mediterranean will be able to 
provide humanitarian aid and more effective responses to 
actual maritime emergencies. 
 
Turkish military warns about `missionary' activities:  The 
Turkish military has prepared a report on missionary 
activities in Turkey, "Zaman" reported on December 31.  The 
report claims that Protestant missionaries aim to make the 
country 10 percent Christian by 2020, and are focusing their 
attention mainly on Kurds and Alevis in Turkey. 
 
Gul will ask Jordan to deport Uzans:  On the last stop of 
his current Middle East tour, FM Abdullah Gul will 
reportedly ask Jordan to deport Turkish businessmen Kemal 
Uzan and his son Hakan, who have allegedly taken refuge in 
Jordan.  Gul will ask Amman to hand the Uzans over to 
Turkey, where they face serious charges of corruption, 
fraud, and embezzlement in their dealings with the state and 
in the banking sector. 
 
Battle for CHP Leadership Heats Up:  The opposition CHP 
disciplinary board voted 8-7 yesterday to reject a proposal 
supported by party leader Deniz Baykal to expel Sisli 
(Istanbul) Mayor Mustafa Sarigul from the party.  Sarigul 
has been campaigning for months urging the CHP to replace 
Baykal as party leader.  Baykal charged that the vote in the 
disciplinary board had been the result of bribes paid to 
some of the members.  He said that the CHP would hold an 
extraordinary party conference before the end of January to 
determine the leadership of the party. 
 
Pharmaceutical giants press Turkey to comply with 
international rules:  Turkey is under growing pressure from 
the EU and the US over the generic production of medicines 
by Turkish firms, "Radikal" reports.  Turkish pharmaceutical 
firms believe that ending generic medicine production in 
Turkey, as the EU has called for, will result in 
skyrocketing prices and disruptions to Turkey's health 
system.  International pharmaceutical giants operating in 
Turkey suffer $140 million in losses every year, according 
to a 2003 study by McKinsey research. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: 
 
?    Iraq/Armitage Visit 
?    Ukraine 
 
 
"Problematic Relations with the US" 
Mustafa Balbay wrote in the social democrat-opinion maker 
"Cumhuriyet" (1/4): "Even though Armitage denied speculation 
that the US gave special assurances to northern Iraqi groups 
in a letter from Presidnet Bush, there are certain facts 
about northern Iraq which cannot possibly be ignored.  The 
north of Iraq constitutes the most secure area for the US, 
and American forces are now in the process of moving there. 
The work on the infrastructure for a military base near 
Kirkuk has been concluded.  Groups in northern Iraq have 
been helpful in encouraging the US to take such steps. 
Ensuring the safety of northern Iraq, from the US point of 
view, would mean rendering ineffective all groups except for 
the Kurds.  This is the basic reason behind recent American 
operations in and around Mosul.  The Armitage visit took 
place in this atmosphere.  .. Armitage made certain demands 
from Ankara.  He asked that Turkey exert its influence over 
Sunni groups for greater participation in the election 
process, and he wants Turkey to use its influence over other 
`neighbors' of Iraq.  The visit of the Turkish Foreign 
Minister to Israel and Palestine is a positive step that 
should be extended toward other neighbors as well.  All of 
this brings a worry to my mind.  For years Turkey has played 
a role in efforts to `decouple' northern Iraq from Baghdad. 
The US has used this opportunity to station its troops in 
northern Iraq.  Now Turkey has been asked to play a role to 
create a permanent structure for the American occupation. 
Turkey has saved itself by opting out of the occupation, and 
let's hope it can also save itself from being a caretaker 
for the United States." 
 
"The Winds of Separation in Ukraine" 
Fikret Ertan wrote in the Islamist-intellectual "Zaman" 
(1/4): "The election victory of Yushchenko brought back the 
long-standing issue of separatism in Ukraine.  The 
possibility of a newly emerging state remains a question. 
Along with Crimean separatism, which seeks reunification 
with Russia, there are separatist movements both in the 
south and the east. . Yushchenko will likely face strong 
opposition in his new term on a series of important 
political and economic issues.  The strong winds of 
separatism, particularly the push toward reuniting Crimea 
with Russia, may gradually diminish, but a stronger autonomy 
for certain regions in Ukraine remains a distinct 
possibility.  Crimea will most likely benefit from such an 
autonomous arrangement." 
 
EDELMAN