US embassy cable - 05ANKARA1483

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 001483 
 
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, MARCH 15, 2005 
 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Edelman Calls on Turkey to Join International Consensus on 
Syria - Milliyet 
Sezer to Urge Syrian Pullback During Damascus Visit - 
Hurriyet 
US Embassy Denies Turk Released From Guantanamo - Hurriyet 
General Buyukanit: Turkey Has No Iraq Policy - Hurriyet 
Zarkawi Plans Attacks Against `Soft Targets' in US - Sabah 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Edelman Advises Turkey to Support UN Resolution on Syria - 
Zaman 
US Urges Turkey to Pressure Syria - Radikal 
Straw Reiterates UK Support for Turkey's EU Drive - Radikal 
Turkish Driver Killed in Iraq - Cumhuriyet 
Syria Leaves Northern Lebanon - Yeni Safak 
Lebanese Hold Mass Rally in Beirut - Cumhuriyet 
Sharon Rebuffs Palestinian Calls for Ceasefire - Cumhuriyet 
Palestinian Groups Ready for `Conditional' Ceasefire - Zaman 
Turkey Leads European Countries with 9.6 Percent Growth - 
Radikal 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
Ambassador Edelman on Syria, US/Turkey:  US Ambassador Eric 
Edelman called on Turkey to join the international call for 
a full and immediate Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon.  The 
Ambassador made the statement during his visit to the 
northwestern city of Bursa.  Responding to questions after 
calling on the Bursa governor, Edelman stressed the 
international consensus behind a UN Security Council 
resolution 1559: `We hope that Turkey will also join that 
international consensus, in supporting a thorough and 
immediate Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon.  A number of 
reports commented that the US views President Sezer's 
planned visit to Damascus in April as `untimely.'  On claims 
of anti-Americanism in the Turkish press, Edelman said he is 
aware of turkish concerns about the situation in Iraq and 
the US military presence in Iraq.  But he also stressed the 
need for accuracy in press reports: `What concerns us most 
is that much of the time news reports are based on 
conspiracy theories.  Ambassador Edelman also said the US 
wishes to have a long-term friendship with Turkey. 
Mainstream dailies regard the Edelman remarks as an official 
`warning' or even an `ultimatum' to Ankara.  Despite 
`warnings' by the United States, "Hurriyet" proclaims, 
President Sezer has not canceled his visit to Syria.  The 
Turkish President will likely urge Syrian president Assad to 
accede to demands by the US and EU to pull out of Lebanon, 
the paper speculates.  An unidentified US official told 
"Hurriyet" that Sezer's visit to Damascus could be positive 
if he were to clearly call on Assad to comply with the 
demands of the international community. 
 
FM Gul Visits Britain:  In a joint press conference after 
meeting with the British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw in 
London Monday, FM Abdullah Gul said that Turkey will sign an 
adaptation protocol with the EU for expanding Turkey's 
customs union agreement with the EU in a way to cover new 
member states, including Cyprus.  Gul stressed, however, 
that the signing will not amount to recognition of the Greek 
Cypriot administration.  Straw reiterated Britain's support 
for Turkey's bid to join the European union.  In earlier 
remarks the same day, Gul recalled the broad support given 
by the Turkish Cypriots to the UN-backed plan for 
reunification of Cyprus last year.  `Despite this fact, the 
isolation of the Turkish Cypriot side has continued, while 
the Greek Cypriots are being honored,' he added.  The 
Turkish foreign minister said relations between Turkey and 
Armenia have been improving in recent years, saying efforts 
are continuing to reach a compromise between Armenia and 
Azerbaijan.  Gul rejected claims that the AK Party is 
Islamist, or that it had a `hidden agenda.'  On Iraq, Gul 
said there is no alternative to a political solution, 
underlining the significance of the first general elections 
held in the war-torn country in January. 
 
US Denies Turkish Detainee Released From Guantanamo:  A US 
Ankara Embassy official denied on Monday that a Turkish man 
accused of ties with Al-Qaeda had been released from 
Guantanamo and handed over to Turkish authorities.  `There 
has been no release of a Turkish citizen in recent days,' 
the American official said, denying press reports claiming 
that 23-year-old German-born Murat Kurnaz had been released 
and flown to Incirlik Airbase in the southern city of Adana. 
 
General Points to PKK Efforts to Regroup in SE Turkey:  On 
Monday, Turkey's Land Forces Commander General Yasar 
Buyukanit said the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) 
has reformed itself in both Turkey and Iraq.  General 
Buyukanit said the position of Turkey in the struggle 
against the PKK has been weakened, whereas the armed 
strength of the terrorist organization in Turkey has reached 
a level not seen since 1999, when PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan 
was captured.  Buyukanit complained about  restrictions 
placed on military actions in southeast Turkey following the 
lifting of emergency rule in the region. 
 
MFA Criticizes HRW Report on Displaced Kurds:  Turkey's 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) criticized a report by 
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on the situation of displaced Kurds 
in Turkey, describing the report as `far from realistic.' 
The MFA statement claimed that the HRW report ignores 
ongoing efforts to enable Turkish citizens displaced in the 
1990s due to terrorism to return to their homes.  The 
statement noted that Turkey is cooperating with 
international organizations including the UN and EU in an 
effort to establish international standards with regard to 
this issue.  The HRW report had characterized figures 
provided by the Turkish Government on returns of displaced 
people to the southeast as `not credible.' 
 
Court Ruling Bans Foreigners From Purchasing Real Estate: 
Turkey's Constitutional Court on Monday annulled provisions 
of a law allowing foreign nationals to buy land and property 
in the country.  The law, adopted by the Turkish parliament 
in July 2003, had been strongly criticized by the opposition 
and Turkish nationalists.  A Court official said the ruling 
did not mean that `foreigners cannot buy anything in 
Turkey,' and called on the Parliament to pass modifications 
that would put certain controls on foreign real estate 
purchases.  Some recent reports in the Turkish press have 
claimed that companies from Israel have acquired large 
amounts of land in southeast Turkey.  "Zaman" says on its 
front page that foreign business and tourism representatives 
believe the court decision will mean a substantial loss of 
revenues for Turkey.  The Constitutional Court gave the 
government until a summer deadline to passs modified 
legislation. 
 
Turkish Truck Driver Killed in Iraq:  A truck driver in a 
Turkish convoy escorted by US troops was killed when his 
vehicle hit a roadside bomb near the village of Al-Hajaj, 
north of Baghdad.  Reports say the convoy was traveling 
south from the Turkish border and that the driver died 
shortly after being rescued from the burning truck by US 
soldiers.  A similar attack in the same area over the 
weekend killed an unidentified truck driver who was presumed 
to be Turkish. 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  Regional Foreign Policy 
 
"Beware of a Derailment on Foreign Policy" 
Ilter Turkmen wrote in the mass appeal "Hurriyet" (3/15): 
"The ruling party AKP have presented us with a series of 
confusing, if not horrifying, moves on foreign policy issues 
such as Cyprus, the EU, and the Middle East. . Turkish 
policy on the Middle East contains enough contradictory 
elements to confuse anyone.  While the entire world enthused 
about the Iraq elections, Turkey was busy questioning their 
legitimacy.  Turkey's support for the Iraq Turkmen Front 
(ITF) did not work very well, as we saw more Turkmen elected 
from the Shiite and Kurdish candidate lists than from the 
ITF.  Turkey has been reluctant to support the UNSC 
resolution calling for a complete Syrian pullout from 
Lebanon.  We somehow elevated the role of the Islamic 
Conference Organization out of all realistic proportion. 
Turkey has also given the impression that religious motives 
are playing a determinative factor in Turkish foreign policy 
making.  It seems that Turkish foreign policy has lost its 
sense of priorities. . A multi-faceted foreign policy, as 
AKP seems to prefer, is not a bad principle as long as it 
does not prevent us from focusing on our priorities.  As for 
a `rhythmic' foreign policy, I have no idea what that means. 
In any event, it appears that Turkish foreign policy is 
suffering from `arhythmic' symptoms, and that Turkish 
diplomacy has been reduced to a matter of internal 
rhetoric." 
 
"Questions for Edelman" 
Melih Asik argued in the mass appeal "Milliyet" (3/15): "US 
Ambassador Edelman has called on Syria to comply with UN 
resolution 1559 by withdrawing from Lebanon.  It is indeed a 
must for Syria to pull out.  Yet this issue brings some 
other questions to one's mind.  Why is the Ambassador not 
been making any comment regarding Israel's refusal to comply 
with UN resolutions?  Why is the US not pulling out of Iraq? 
How is the American occupation of Iraq compatible with UN 
resolutions?  And one last question: the US is provoking 
Israel against Iran -- how does this fit in with UN 
principles?" 
 
"Washington Report: Trust in Turkey Has Been Shaken" 
Sami Kohen observed from Washington in the mass appeal 
"Milliyet" (3/15):  "Turkey's credibility and its image in 
Washington have been weakened.  The US no longer views 
Turkey as the old, loyal ally.  Even if Turkey's reliability 
is not being questioned oublicly by the US administration, 
such doubts are being increasingly raised by researchers and 
journalists.   Growing anti-Americanism in Turkey and 
Ankara's direction in foreign policy are the main sources of 
skepticism and concern in Washington.  An official told me 
that although the US is being criticized in many allied 
countries, the criticism in Turkey is more like an `attack' 
that is bound to cause negative effects in bilateral 
relations.  It is noticeable that the Turkish government's 
recent policies on regional issues have been a huge 
disappointment and have created skepticism in Washington. 
The US' expectation from Turkey is that Ankara would make 
its differences known through diplomatic channels rather 
than through the press.  Both the US administration and the 
other circles related to Turkey share the common hope that 
the turbulence in the Turkish-US relations will be 
eliminated by good-faith efforts on both sides.  US 
observers stress that the US Administration's pro-Turkey 
stance depends on Turkey's behavior in its relations with 
the US.  The US has apparently passed responsibility to 
Turkey to improve the bilateral relationship." 
EDELMAN