US embassy cable - 05ANKARA1208

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001208 
 
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, MARCH 7, 2005 
 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
`Friendly Fire' Crisis Between Italy, US - Hurriyet 
Zarkawi Operation in Samarrah - Hurriyet 
Iraqi Assembly to Convene March 16 - Milliyet 
US, UK, France Urge Immediate Syrian Pullback - Milliyet 
Lebanese People Divided Over Syrian Withdrawal - Sabah 
Washington Post Claims Turkey Killed 1.5 Million Armenians - 
Aksam 
Turkish Truck Driver Killed in Iraq - Hurriyet 3/6 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Washington Post Lists Turkey Among `Criminal' Countries - 
Yeni Safak 
French Ruling Party Offers Privileged Partnership for Turkey 
- Cumhuriyet 
`TRNC PM' Talat Wants Presidency - Zaman 
US Launches Samarra Operation to Get Zarkawi - Radikal 
Venezuela's Chavez Accuses US of Using Nerve Gas in Fallujah 
- Cumhuriyet 3/6 
CIA Interrogated 9/11 Suspects Outside the US - Yeni Safak 
Powell: No Need to Use Military Force Against Iran - Yeni 
Safak 
Tehran Warns US Not to Play With Fire - Cumhuriyet 3/6 
Assad Signals Gradual Withdrawal From Lebanon - Radikal 3/6 
US Finds Assad's Pledges for Withdrawal `Ambiguous' - 
Radikal 
Hizbullah Calls for Support for Syria - Yeni Safak 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
US Treasury Praises Turkish Economy:  US Deputy Treasury 
Secretary John Taylor said that Washington is very pleased 
 
SIPDIS 
by the positive economic developments in Turkey, Monday 
papers report.  `Turkey has taken steps forward toward a 
better fiscal policy.  Those measures are working,' Taylor 
said. 
 
30,000 Turkmen Forced to Leave Tal Afar - Turkmen 
Representative:  Mahmut Kasapoglu, Chairman of the Iraqi 
Turkmen Solidarity Organization in Ankara, charged that 
ongoing joint American-peshmerge operations and `looting' in 
Tal Afar are aimed at removing the Turkmen presence that 
stands between the Syrian Kurds and the northern Iraqi 
region controlled by Barzani, "Yeni Safak" reported on 
Sunday.  Over 3,000 families have left Tal Afar since 
September of last year, Kasapoglu said.  Removing Turkmen 
from Tal Afar would cut off geographical contact between 
Turkey and the interior parts of Iraq, he added.  Kasapoglu 
called on Turkey to support the Turkmen population in Tal 
Afar. 
 
EU Encourages Ankara for More Reforms:  Turkey must do more 
to implement the political reforms it enacted before 
membership talks with the European Union begin in October of 
this year, European Commissioner for Enlargement Ollie Rehn 
said on Sunday.  Rehn stressed after talks with FM Abdullah 
Gul that it is important that Turkey maintain forward 
momentum on legal, political, and economic reforms.  He 
added that Turkey must do more to eradicate torture, expand 
cultural rights and the rights of women, and protect non- 
Muslim minorities.  Rehn also said he received assurance 
from FM Gul that Ankara would sign the EU protocol related 
to Cyprus before October 3.  Rehn said that signing the 
protocol would not amount to recognition of the Republic of 
Cyprus, and encouraged Ankara to move quickly on the issue. 
 
Turkey's Directorate of Foundations Blocks Return of 
Minorities' Assets:  The rights of Turkey's non-Muslim 
minorities have not been protected in a new law on religious 
foundations despite a warning from the MFA Reform Monitor 
Group, "Radikal" reported on Monday.  The MFA had asked the 
Directorate of Foundations to either return the assets of 
minorities or pay a compensation fee.  Otherwise, the MFA 
believes, Turkey will face lawsuits in the European Court of 
Human Rights (ECHR) and the issue will be viewed as a form 
of pressure against religious minorities.  However, the 
Directorate of Foundations opposed the change in its 
regulation, and decided that the return of assets to 
minority groups is not possible. 
Police Detain Women's Rights Protestors:  Turkish police on 
Sunday detained dozens of protesters after using pepper 
spray and batons to break up a demonstration by women's 
rights supporters in Istanbul.  A group of around 150 people 
gathered in Istanbul's Beyazit Square ahead of International 
Women's Day on March 8.  Police intervened to disperse the 
group and detained 59 people, including 29 women. 
Television footage showed police beating protesters, 
including women, with batons and kicking them as they lay on 
the ground. 
 
Turkish Cypriot Parties Agree to Form Coalition:  The two 
leading Turkish Cypriot parties - the CTP of Mehmet Ali 
Talat and the DP led by Serdar Denktas - have agreed to form 
a coalition government following parliamentary elections in 
north Cyprus last month.  The present cabinet will remain in 
place until the April 17 presidential elections that will be 
held in the enclave.  CTP leader Mehmet Ali Talat is 
expected to enter the presidential race. 
 
Another Turkish Driver Killed in Iraq:  A Turkish truck 
driver was killed by Al-Qaeda militants near Mosul in Iraq 
on Saturday.  The driver had been ferrying goods to US 
forces.  The identity of the driver was not immediately 
available. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Transatlantic Relations; Syria 
 
"The Show Staged by George Bush" 
Kamuran Ozbir observed in the nationalist "Ortadogu" (3/7): 
"President Bush spent a rather long time in the three 
countries that were against the war in Iraq.  He had 
meetings with French president Chirac, German PM Schroeder, 
and Russian President Putin.  The goal of President Bush's 
visits to the European Council and the EU Commission were to 
show that he believes in European integration.  There are 
many reasons for both sides to show their people that they 
are friends.  The first and main reason is that, whether 
people like it or not, George Bush will be in the White 
House for the next four years.  Another reason is that since 
US military forces are very much stretched in Iraq, the 
Europeans know that the US will not attack Iran or some 
other country in the near future.  Moreover, the Europeans 
think this is a good chance for them to defend the use of 
`soft power' in resolving the Iran crisis.  There is no sign 
in Bush's latest remarks that he is abandoning his `for us 
or against us' rhetoric which has so grated on the 
Europeans.  Germany, France, and the British have urged 
President Bush to support their continuing talks with Iran 
within the framework of UN Security Council resolutions. 
Bush should consider this position seriously.  Moreover, 
President Bush should consider Europe's view that the arms 
embargo against China should be lifted.  For their part, the 
Europeans should accept the US point of view that Hizbullah 
is a terrorist organization.  Europe should take a broader 
role in training Iraq's security units.  The era in which 
the US and Europe were under Soviet threat is now in the 
past.  Now, both sides perceive the threat in a different 
way, yet each side still needs the other.  European and US 
leaders should now demonstrate that the US and Europe can 
act like allies when it is necessary." 
 
"The Common Front Against Damascus, and Turkey's Position" 
Yasemin Congar wrote in the mass appeal "Milliyet" (3/7): 
"The US administration has adopted the language of democracy 
for the Middle East region.  This rhetoric has been given 
greater impulse after the elections in Afghanistan, 
Palestine, and Iraq, and, most recently, the anti-Syria 
demonstrations in Lebanon.  Washington's argument in favor 
of democracy highlights that the reality in this region is 
changing.  Therefore, every anti-democratic administration 
must take this fact into consideration.  What's more, 
democratization rhetoric is now being used by everyone in 
this region, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt.  Both 
President Bush and Secretary Rice are calling on capitals in 
the region not to be `out of step' with the trend toward 
democratization.  . Every step toward democracy, whether 
large or small, is positively noted.  Even local elections 
in Saudi Arabia, where women were not allowed to take part, 
were regarded as an `insufficient but important step for 
democratization.'  In Turkey, meanwhile, we see that a group 
of Turkish intellectuals and journalists has traveled to 
Damascus to `express solidarity' with the Syrians `against a 
US threat.'  The Turkish Foreign Minister said last week 
that President Assad is `beloved by his people and needs to 
be strengthened.'  If we read Turkish newspapers, we would 
assume that only the United States is pressuring the Syrians 
to withdraw from Lebanon. In fact, the Europeans, the 
Russians, and even the Arab League are calling for the same 
thing.  It will be interesting to see where Ankara will 
place itself on the democratization issue, and whether it 
will continue its `different line' on the Syrian issue." 
 
EDELMAN