US embassy cable - 05ANKARA1090

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001090 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS AID FOR TMEFFORD AND VKWOK 
TREASURY FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - ASHAH AND 
CPLANTIER 
NSC FOR BRYZA AND MCKIBBEN 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID, PREL, EFIN, KPAO, TU 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S ESF-LINKED SCHOOL VISIT GENERATES 
MORE POSITIVE NEWS COVERAGE 
 
REF: A. Ankara 912  B. 2004 Ankara 6213 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: The Ambassador and Minister of 
Education visited a primary school in a poor 
neighborhood of Ankara February 23.  The school visit 
was linked to the U.S. ESF grant to a project providing 
cash to poor families conditioned on their keeping 
their children in school.  There was widespread and 
favorable coverage in both print and televised media. 
The photos of smiling Minister and Ambassador side by 
side, surrounded by children and agreeing on the two 
countries' shared values, provided a positive contrast 
to recent coverage of strains in U.S.-Turkish 
relations.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
Ambassador Visits School in Poor Neighborhood 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
2. (SBU) On February 23, the Ambassador visited the 
Huseyin Gullu Ceylan Primary School in the Altindag 
municipality of Ankara. The immediate vicinity of the 
school, like many neighborhoods in Altindag, has a 
mostly low-income population, with many recent migrants 
from other provinces (see ref b for a description of a 
previous visit to another neighborhood school).  The 
visit was designed to highlight the U.S. $9 million 
dollar ESF grant through the World Bank to the Social 
Risk Mitigation Project which provides cash payments to 
poor families on condition they keep their children 
enrolled in school (ref a describes signing ceremony 
for the grant).  The visit to the Ceylan school -- 
selected because of the high number of project 
beneficiaries -- enabled the Ambassador to meet first- 
hand with students as well as with mothers who receive 
the cash payments. 
 
--------------------------- 
Education Minister Joins In 
--------------------------- 
 
3. (SBU) The day before the visit, Minister of 
Education Celik decided to join the Ambassador, thereby 
increasing press interest.  Moreover, the Minister's 
evident enthusiasm, both in being seen in the school 
milieu and in being there with the Ambassador, helped 
make it a more compelling story for Turkish mass media, 
and provided a visual image of US-Turkish friendship 
and cooperation. 
 
4. (SBU) The visit included a meeting between the 
Ambassador and Minister, a press conference, a chat 
with 5 mothers benefiting from the cash payments, a 
visit to a classroom, and a stop at the school's 
library where both Minister and Ambassador presented 
gift books. 
 
------------------- 
Improving the story 
------------------- 
 
5. (SBU) The classroom visit provided the best photo 
opportunity: the papers and TV featured a photo of the 
beaming Ambassador and Minister wedged into well-worn 
classroom benches, surrounded by children.  Mass- 
circulation Sabah even included some of the 
Ambassador's Q-and-A with the kids: "How many children 
do you have?" "When you were a kid, did you work hard?" 
This arguably does more for the U.S. image then 
exchanges with the press on bilateral relations, though 
during the press Q-and-A, the Ambassador was able to 
make the point that the U.S. and Turkey shared common 
values and ideals, a point that the Minister agreed 
with.  The Minister underlined the atmosphere of warm 
bilateral relations by volunteering that the Fulbright 
program in Turkey was expanding, noting that he would 
soon be going to the U.S. on a Voluntary Visitor 
program, and saying there were no tensions with the 
U.S.  Overall, the Minister's evident friendliness to 
the Ambassador, combined with the gusto with which he 
chatted with the project beneficiary mothers and the 
children, greatly added to the human interest angle for 
the press and conveyed an image of good bilateral 
relations. 
 
6. (SBU) As a result, there was widespread favorable 
coverage, in both print and televised media.  CNN-Turk, 
Channel 7, Channel D, TGRT, Channel B, and NTV all had 
footage of the classroom scene.  Channel D 
characterized the visit as the U.S. Ambassador's effort 
to improve relations despite recent tensions.  Mass- 
circulation newspapers Sabah, Hurriyet, Star, and 
Radikal carried photos with positive headlines. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
7. (SBU) The Education Minister's willingness to be 
seen to be friendly with the Ambassador was probably 
helped along by his upcoming Voluntary Visitor Program 
in the U.S. but also by an evident new desire on the 
part of GOT officials to downplay press reports of 
problems in the bilateral relationship since Secretary 
Rice's visit.  Whatever the motivation for the change 
in tone, the Minister of Education seemed willing to 
help make the school visit a good news story for 
bilateral relations.  As noted in reftel, ESF funding 
for this kind of project can go a long way in helping 
the U.S. image. 
 
EDELMAN