US embassy cable - 05ANKARA1332

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 001332 
 
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 
FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2005 
 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
European Parliament Criticizes Turkish Police - Sabah 
Kurdish-Shiite Alliance for Kirkuk - Hurriyet 
Suicide Attack in Mosul: 50 Dead - Milliyet 
Lebanese Comedy: Karami Assumes PM Post Again - Milliyet 
US to Make Peace With Hizbullah - DB-Tercuman 
Armenian Lobby in US Kicks Off Campaign Before April 24 - 
Aksam 
Pentagon Clears Itself of Torture Charges - Sabah 
Georgia to Close Russian Bases - Aksam 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Chechen Attacks Expected After Maskhadov Killing - Zaman 
Basayev Vows to Continue `Jihad' - Yeni Safak 
`Cedar Revolution' Slows, US Signals Recognition of 
Hizbullah - Zaman 
US Winks at Hizbullah - Radikal 
US to Hand Over Abu-Ghraib to Iraqis - Zaman 
Armenians Launch `Genocide' Campaign in US - Cumhuriyet 
Bush Puts Vienna Protocol into Trash Can - Radikal 
Pentagon Strings Up CBS Anchorman Dan Rather - Yeni Safak 
Vietnam Celebrates 30th Anniversary of US Withdrawal - 
Cumhuriyet 
FBI `Crushes' Gambino Family - Radikal 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
European Parliament Slams Turkey for Police Violence:  The 
European Parliament slammed Turkey on Thursday for police 
violence against women demonstrators at a rally last weekend 
in Istanbul, warning that such brutality had harmed Turkey's 
image ahead of talks on Turkish accession to the European 
bloc.  EU parliamentarians voted overwhelmingly in favor of 
a resolution on women's rights, strongly condemning the 
violence, and called on the EU Commission to provide a 
detailed report on the incident.  Earlier this week, 
television footage showed policemen using pepper gas and 
batons against protesters in Istanbul on Sunday.  The police 
kicked some demonstrators, including women, in the head as 
they lay on the ground.  The crackdown shocked EU officials, 
who were in Turkey to prepare the way for Turkey's 
membership talks with the EU.  PM Tayyip Erdogan accused the 
Turkish media on Thursday of `exaggerating' the incident. 
`It's as if the Turkish media are serving the Europeans from 
here,' Erdogan told the press in Ankara Thursday before 
flying to Madrid for an international security conference. 
He said the protesters had `deliberately provoked' the 
police, knowing an EU delegation was arriving in Turkey the 
same day.  "Radikal" reports that Turkey's missions in 
several EU countries have sent messages to Ankara warning of 
problems with the EU if the policemen who beat the women 
demonstrators are not punished. 
 
PM Erdogan to Meet Annan in Madrid:  PM Erdogan, in Madrid 
to attend an international conference on terrorism, will ask 
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to declare that negotiations 
for a settlement in Cyprus will be restarted only if a 
positive result is guaranteed beforehand, "Zaman" reports. 
By doing so, Turkey will have shifted the Cyprus problem to 
the UN and will be able to avoid criticism by the European 
Union before the opening of entry talks with the bloc in 
early October. 
Force Commander Warns Against PKK Infiltrations:  Turkey's 
Land Forces Commander, General Yasar Buyukanit, said that 
the number of PKK militants inside the country has reached 
the level that existing when PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan was 
captured in 1999, the all-news channel NTV reported on 
Friday.  Gen. Buyukanit spoke to the press at a reception 
for the opening of this year's International Defense and 
Aviation Fair in Ankara.  Buyukanit claimed that most of the 
militants in northern Iraq have infiltrated into Turkey, and 
noted an acceleration in infiltrations over the past 4-5 
months. 
 
Georgian FM Points to `Fragile' Relations With Russia: 
Visiting Georgian FM Salome Zurabishvili told the press 
after talks with FM Abdullah Gul that his country's 
relations with Russia were at a `very fragile' stage, but he 
expressed hope that the two countries would succeed in 
resolving their disputes.  `We have the support of Turkey on 
the closing down of Russian military bases in Georgia, and 
we hope that we will make some progress on that question,' 
she said.  Zurabishvili said talks with the Russian FM 
Sergei Lavrov to resolve bilateral disputes would begin 
soon, and would include Georgia's demands for the closure of 
two Russian bases on its territory. 
 
Armenian Lobby Pushes for `Genocide' Resolution:  "Aksam" 
and "Cumhuriyet" report that the Armenian lobby group ANKA 
has sent a letter to President Bush urging the 
Administration to recognize the Armenian `genocide.'  A 
"Cumhuriyet" reporter in Washington quotes a high-level US 
official as saying that the Bush Administration will work to 
prevent such a resolution from being passed.  The official 
cautions, however, that `our job this year is very tough.' 
The official notes that statements by some AKP politicians 
concerning US operations in Iraq have strengthened the hand 
of the Armenian lobby and made it more difficult for the 
Administration to defend Turkey in Congress. 
 
MFA, NSC to Organize Armenian `Genocide' Symposium:  The 
Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National 
Security Council (NSC) are organizing a meeting of Turkish 
and foreign historians and other experts in Ankara on May 28 
for an impartial discussion of Armenian genocide claims, 
"Milliyet" reports.  Three Armenian researchers have been 
invited to the meeting.  Professor Halil Berktay, who has 
blamed the Turks for the forced emigration of Armenians by 
Ottomans in 1915, will not be invited. 
 
Another Lawmaker Quits AKP:  Another lawmaker quit the 
ruling AK Party on Thursday, the sixth in the last three 
weeks, bringing the number of seats held by the AKP down to 
361 in the 550-seat parliament.  Mehmet Sait Armagan, who 
resigned from AKP yesterday, is known to be close to former 
Culture and Tourism Minister Erkan Mumcu, who is expected to 
assume the leadership of the Motherland Party (ANAP) in 
coming days. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: 
 
US-Turkish Relations 
The Turkish Media and the Prime Minister 
 
"How Can Turkey Improve Relations With the US?" 
Mensur Akgun observed from Washington in the economic- 
political "Referans" (3/11):  "The main problem in Turkish- 
American relations is that the US doesn't consider Turkey's 
interests and expectations before it takes action.  Turkey 
is right in its expectations and demands.  On the one hand 
the government is trying to please the Turkish public, and 
on the other hand it is trying to defend its interests and 
continue its relations with the US.  Unfortunately, in 
trying to satisfy the public, the Turkish government has 
damaged the bilateral relationship with the US.  But in the 
end Turkey needs the US.  It is a must that Turkey have the 
US on its side at the UN, in  NATO, in the IMF and the World 
Bank, and in many other fora.  But at the same time we don't 
want the US to create instability in our region.  Therefore 
we have to try different methods in dealing with the United 
States.  We have to learn to look at problems from beyond 
our narrow window.  We can't be afraid of going out to learn 
about the way others looking at these problems.  We will get 
nowhere by cutting ourselves off.  Turkey must have relevant 
policies for global problems.  We can defend our interests 
only if we have something to say on global issues and can 
participate sensibly in the transatlantic debate.  This fact 
becomes clearer when you see these issues from Washington's 
point of view." 
"Analyzing the US" 
Mehmet Ali Kislali commented in the liberal-intellectual 
"Radikal" (3/11):  "Some of my American friends who know 
Turkey well objected strongly to my comment that `the US has 
started a campaign against Turkey'.  They object because 
they are unaware of developments in Turkey.  Former Foreign 
Ministry undersecretary and NATO Ambassador Onur Oymen 
evaluated the situation in this way: `if you read the 
Pollock article, the Feith remarks, and Rubin's article, you 
can start to see that the US has started a campaign against 
Turkey through the public.  Don't we all know who is passing 
the information to these journalists and authors?  An 
American journalist stays in Turkey for two days and writes 
details about Turkey in his column that none of us are aware 
of.  That means that a US official has given him all this 
information.  The US is stressing that the military in 
Turkey should not interfere in politics while at the same 
time criticizing the Turkish military for not supporting the 
March 1 resolution.  Another issue Turkey finds odd is that 
the US characterizes Turkey as a `moderate Islamic country' 
when Turkey has been a secular country for the last 80 
years.  Also, the US claims that the Patriarch is ecumenical 
and invites people to a dinner party given in his honor. 
The US is following developments closely in Ankara and other 
parts of Turkey through its huge staff.  But even with this 
large number of experts, it is not possible for them to see 
their mistakes.'  Onur Oymen stresses that Turkey holds many 
valuable cards and, because of its strategic location, is a 
very powerful country and a regional power.  Oymen notes 
that the important thing is not only to hold valuable cards 
in your hand but to know when and where to use them. 
Turkish diplomats say that in democracies nothing is given 
without receiving something in return. These same diplomats 
remind us that the US, during the last few years, has made 
continuous demands from turkey without giving anything in 
return." 
 
"What is the Crime of the Turkish Media?" 
Fatih Altayli writes in the mainstream daily "Hurriyet" 
(3/11):  "The Prime Minister has now accused the media of 
`espionage,' charging that the media has brought to Turkish 
television screens the scenes of police beating up 
demonstrators in Istanbul last week while ignoring similar 
incidents in Europe.  But the Prime Minister is obviously 
misinformed.  The other day on `Kanal D,' for example, we 
reported that `what was done is wrong, but the Europeans 
have made similar mistakes.'  We also gave specific examples 
from events in Italy, Ireland, France, and Sweden.  We 
showed scenes in which Italian police shot and killed a 
demonstrator and then a police car ran over his body.  I 
wrote about the same thing in my column the other day.  To 
correct a mistake, the nature of the mistake must first be 
shown to the public.  Since the Prime Minister has accepted 
that the police behavior was wrong, he shouldn't be bothered 
when it is reported on television.  Tayyip Erdogan has 
received a great deal of praise for his efforts to make 
Turkey an open and democratic society.  I wonder if the 
Prime Minister now regrets those efforts?  He has leveled a 
number of charges against the press in recent days. I know 
from experience that when politicians start blaming the 
press, it means they have started to lose their confidence. 
If this is what is happening to Prime Minister Erdogan, it 
has started to happen rather early." 
 
EDELMAN