US embassy cable - 05ANKARA1315

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001315 
 
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 
THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2005 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Maskhadov Allegedly Killed for Wanting Peace - Hurriyet 
Maskhadov Killing Ends Hopes for Solution in Chechnya - 
Milliyet 
Russians' New Targets Basayev, Umarov - Aksam 
15 Bodies Found Decapitated Near Baghdad - Sabah 
Saddam Trial May Kick Off in October - Sabah 
Karamanlis Prefers Full Normalization of Ties With Turkey - 
Milliyet 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Chechens Vow to Continue Fighting Russia - Yeni Safak 
Maskhadov Killing Expected to Toughen Chechens - Zaman 
Lebanese Search for a Compromise - Radikal 
Robert Fisk: Pro-Syria Rally A Warning From Hizbullah - Yeni 
Safak 
Iraq a Field of Corpses: 45 Bodies Found in Two Days - 
Radikal 
New York Times: Information on Iran's Nuclear Capacity 
Insufficient - Cumhuriyet 
US Plans Development Aid for the Caucasus - Cumhuriyet 
Yushchenko to receive John F. Kennedy Award - Cumhuriyet 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
European Parliament Expected to Condemn Turkey:  The 
European Parliament is expected today to condemn the use of 
excessive force by Turkish police against women 
demonstrators marking International Women's Day last weekend 
in Istanbul.  The assembly will reportedly urge Ankara to do 
more to protect the rights of Turkish women, and will also 
express concern with regard to `honor killings' in Turkey. 
Meanwhile, PM Tayyip Erdogan described the incident in 
Istanbul as a `provocation' by demonstrators belonging to 
illegal terrorist organizations.  He also criticized the 
Turkish media for `informing' about misdoings at home to 
foreigners, saying it provided an exaggerated picture of the 
police violence. 
 
Dan Fried to Replace Beth Jones:  President Bush has 
appointed senior diplomat Dan Fried to replace Elizabeth 
Jones as Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs, 
"Radikal" reports.  In this position, Fried will be 
responsible for relations with Turkey. 
 
MFA: Iraq's New Regime Should Keep the Country United: 
Turkish MFA Spokesman Namik Tan said on Wednesday that 
Ankara would not object to a new political structure in Iraq 
as long as it is achieved through the approval of the Iraqi 
people.  Tan cautioned that a new political system in Iraq 
should preserve the territorial integrity and unity of the 
country.  `In the past, the Iraqi people have not had a 
chance for such a social compromise,' Tan said, noting that 
the newly elected Iraqi assembly now offered such an 
opportunity. 
 
Washington Institute Report on Turkey:  A report by the 
Washington Institute (WI) says the United States could 
remove the main irritant in relations with its ally Turkey 
by acting against PKK militants hiding in northern Iraq. 
The report advised the US to prevent Kurdish control over 
the oil-rich northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.  The report 
emphasized that Turkey needs American support in membership 
negotiations with the European Union, and stressed that 
Ankara should stand up against rising anti-American 
sentiment in Turkey. 
 
Ankara Shifts to Tbilisi for Dealing With Yerevan:  Turkey 
will try to reach out to Armenia through its embassy in 
Tbilisi, Georgia as part of a `strategic plan' to overcome 
Armenian claims of genocide by Ottoman forces during World 
War One, papers report.  Ankara has stopped carrying out 
relations with Yerevan through Moscow due to the close 
relationship between Armenia and Russia. 
 
Oskanyan Turns Down Offer for Historians' Investigation Into 
Armenian Claims:  Armenian FM Vardan Oskanyan rejected a 
proposal by PM Tayyip Erdogan and opposition leader Deniz 
Baykal for a joint deliberation of the Armenian genocide 
allegations by historians of the two countries.  `The 
historians said what they had to say a long time ago,' 
Oskanyan said, and he urged Turkey to `make clear its 
position.' 
 
FM Gul Due in Britain:  FM Abdullah Gul is to visit Britain 
next week for talks on a range of issues, including Turkey's 
drive for European Union membership, Cyprus, and the 
situation in Iraq, the Foreign Ministry announced on 
Wednesday.  Gul will arrive in London late Sunday and meet 
with his British counterpart Jack Straw on Monday.  Gul will 
deliver a speech at the London School of Economics the same 
day, and visit the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies on 
Tuesday before returning home. 
 
Turkish Military Delegation in Pakistan:  A Turkish military 
delegation led by TGS Chief General Hilmi Ozkok met today 
with President General Pervez Musharraf, PM Shaukat Aziz, 
and top military officials in Rawalpindi on an official 
visit to Pakistan, according to internet reports.  The sides 
discussed bilateral military ties, Turkish peacekeeping 
efforts in Afghanistan, and other issues. 
 
President Sezer Cancels Finland Trip:  President Sezer 
called off a long-scheduled trip to Finland because Helsinki 
had planned a dinner including the ambassadors of all 
European Union member states including Cyprus, which Turkey 
refuses to recognize, "Sabah" reports. 
 
"National View" Supporters Form the Majority in AKP:  A 
research poll conducted among 212 AK Party lawmakers shows 
that 42 percent of them had ties in the past with the 
fundamentalist "Milli Gorus" (National View) movement, 
championed by veteran Islamist leader Necmettin Erbakan, 
"Cumhuriyet" reports.  In the past, these politicians had 
been closely associated with Islamist-oriented parties such 
as the National Salvation Party (MSP), the Welfare Party 
(RP), and the Felicity Party (FP), all chaired by Erbakan. 
48.6 percent of AKP lawmakers believe the Turkish military 
is highly effective in determining the future of Turkey.  89 
percent said that the parliament should play the leading 
role in shaping the country's future, according to the 
survey. 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Anti-Americanism in Turkey 
 
"Edelman is Stirring Things Up" 
Yalcin Dogan commented in the mass appeal "Hurriyet" (3/10): 
"When Ambassador Edelman was assigned to Turkey, everyone 
said that `wherever he goes, things get stirred up.  The 
passage of time has proved this judgment true.  Now, it 
seems that he is successfully agitating the Turkey-US 
relationship.  Not a day passes without a new story  in the 
US press slamming articles that appear in the Turkish press. 
These reports are always far from reality.  The worst of 
these stories has now been published in "The Washington 
Times."  In effect, it says that some Turkish journalists 
are no different from Osama Bin-Laden.   Isn't this really 
accusing Turkish journalists of being terrorists just 
because of their anti-American beliefs?  Yet some of the 
names mentioned in the article are not even journalists.  I 
can't stop asking myself how much these kinds of journalists 
really represent the Turkish press, and how much the US 
authors of such articles know about the names they mention? 
Who is it that is informing Washington about these 
journalists and their columns?  If Ambassador Edelman is not 
responsible for all of these developments, who is?" 
 
"What Bothers the US?" 
Faruk Mangirci wrote in the conservative-sensational "Star" 
(3/10):  "Anti-Americanism in Turkey is increasing in 
parallel with the increase in blood and tears spilled in 
Iraq.  The BBC's latest survey shows that almost four out of 
five Turks oppose the US because of the killing of innocent 
people to achieve their dirty ambitions.  It is impossible 
to understand why the US is so bothered by this increase in 
anti-American feeling among the Turkish people.  The purpose 
of the visit of US Embassy deputy political counselor James 
Sopp to MHP headquarters in Ankara was to ask the MHP to 
open its doors to US officials.  When the MHP members 
challenged Sopp, saying `how can the US expect friendship 
from the Turkish people after the massacre in Fallujah and 
the Suleymaniye incident,' Mr. Sopp looked rather 
disappointed!  The US Administration's activities are not 
approved in Turkey.  The US administration should blame its 
own President for this, not its Turkish interlocutors.   But 
it is still not clear in my eyes why the US is so much 
bothered by the Turkish people's feelings.  One cannot stop 
thinking if the US Administration is establishing the 
infrastructure for a new threat in the region." 
 
EDELMAN