US embassy cable - 05ANKARA1773

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001773 
 
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 28, 2005 
 
THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
HEADLINES 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Washington Post: No Evidence Against Turkish Detainee in 
Guantanamo - Sabah 
Turk Kept in Guantanamo Not Guilty - Milliyet 
Cheney's Daughter Organizes Syrian Opponents - Aksam 
Palestine, Israeli Radios Play Peace Songs - Hurriyet 3/27 
Kurdish Peshmerga Join Iraqi Army - Sabah 
Bishkek a Ghost City - Milliyet 3/27 
Akayev Under Putin's Protection - Aksam 3/27 
Germans Want Berlin Wall Back - Milliyet 
Annan, Depressed, May Resign - Hurriyet 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Washinton Times: AKP Government Shifts to Nationalism - 
Cumhuriyet 
Washington Post: Turkish Detainee Kurnaz Not Guilty - 
Cumhuriyet 
Washington Post: Kurnaz Kept in Guantanamo for No Reason - 
Zaman 
Kurds, Shiites Agree on Peshmerga - Cumhuriyet 
Torture in Iraq Wider Than Estimated - Yeni Safak 
Allawi Warns Sistani to Stay Away From Politics - Zaman 3/27 
US Administration Meets the Syrian Opposition - Radikal 
Cheney's Daughter Meets Syrian Dissidents - Yeni Safak 
Kyrgyzstan a Mess - Radikal 3/27 
Tough Days Ahead for Kyrgyzstan - Yeni Safak 
Chirac Shrugs Off US Warning, Reiterates Weapons Support for 
Beijing - Zaman 
Explosion in Afghanistan Kills 4 US Troops - Cumhuriyet 3/27 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
Turkish Detainee Kept in Guantanamo For No Reason:  Monday 
papers give extensive coverage to a "Washington Post" story 
reporting the conclusion reached by US and German 
authorities that there was no evidence that linked Murat 
Kurnaz, a Turkish German detained at Guantanamo Bay, to al- 
Qaeda or other terrorist organizations.  A US military 
tribunal has determined that Kurnaz, seized in Pakistan in 
2001, was a member of al-Qaeda and an enemy combatant. 
Kurnaz has been detained at Guantanamo Bay since January 
2002. 
 
US General Jones in Istanbul:  SACEUR General James L. Jones 
arrived in Istanbul Sunday to join a conference at the War 
Academy Monday, reports "Radikal" over the weekend.  The 
conference is closed to the press. 
 
Study Shows Strong Prejudice Among Turks, Armenians: 
According to an opinion poll conducted by Turkey's Economic 
and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) and Armenia's 
Sociological and Marketing Research Center (HASA) the people 
of both countries have strongly negative opinions of the 
other.  Neither side knows about the political system of the 
other, the study shows.  68 percent of Turks would not allow 
their daughter to marry an Armenian, while 94 percent 
Armenians say the same of Turks, says the study. 
 
Shiite Leader Wants Sunnis in Iraqi Administration:  Ammar 
al-Hakim of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in 
Iraq (SCIRI) said the council wants all sectors of society 
to be represented in the new Iraqi government, weekend 
papers report.  Hakim, visiting Istanbul and Ankara for 
talks last week, voiced the expectation that Sunnis will be 
appointed to the posts of Speaker of Parliament and Vice 
President. 
 
Paper Claims Incirlik Airbase Prepared for Attacks Against 
Iran, Syria: "Milli Gazete," mouthpiece of veteran Islamist 
leader Necmettin Erbakan's Felicity Party (SP), publishes a 
front-page report Saturday which quotes Recai Kutan, acting 
chairman of the SP, as saying that a new $30 million 
investment is being made in Incirlik Air Base as part of a 
plan to carry out operations against Iran and Syria. 
 
Syrians' `Black Money' in Turkey: "Yeni Safak" cites the 
Kuwaiti daily "as-Siyasa" as reporting that leading names in 
the Syrian army and intelligence units may have transferred 
their money in Lebanese banks to Turkey.  Fearing a collapse 
of banks in Lebanon, Syrians have drawn $400 million from 
Lebanese banks, says the report. 
 
Ankara Agrees to Include Cyprus in EU Agreement:  A 
protocol, which will include Cyprus in Turkey's Customs 
Union agreement with the EU, was sent to Ankara on Friday, 
weekend papers report.  Diplomatic sources said Ankara will 
inform Brussels early this week that it has accepted the 
final draft. 
 
`TRNC's Talat Invites Greek Cypriots for Renewed Cyprus 
Talks:  Turkish Cypriot `prime minister' Mehmet Ali Talat 
welcomed Greek FM Molyviatis's proposal for a solution to 
the Cyprus problem through changes to the Annan Plan.  `This 
is a very positive development,' Talat said to a private 
news channel last weekend, and called for international 
pressure to convince the Greek Cypriots to the come to the 
negotiating table.  Talat voiced belief that he will win the 
April 17 presidential elections in north Cyprus, adding that 
his goal is to put an end to the old status quo. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION: Kyrgyzstan; US-Turkey Relations 
 
"Hot Times in Central Asia" 
Zafer Atay wrote in the economic-political "Dunya" (3/28): 
"Being a neighbor of Iran, Afghanistan and Iran puts 
Kyrgyzstan in a strategically very important location. 
Akayev's leadership created a working balance between the 
world powers surrounding the country, which has both an 
American and a Russian military base.  It was important that 
security forces, just like in Georgia and Ukraine, did not 
intervene in the street demonstrations in Kyrgyzstan. 
Akayev did not use the option of asking Russia's help to 
stop the incidents.  Whether Russia would have been 
responsive to such a request, had it occurred, is another 
question.  Given the current circumstances, it is very hard 
to predict whether Kyrgyzstan will end up as a democracy. 
Looting still overshadows efforts for normalization. 
Everything seems to depend on the common sense of the Kyrgyz 
leaders.  Without that, the so-called `tulip revolution' 
could get completely out of hand." 
 
"Democracy in the Central Asia" 
Yilmaz Oztuna commented in the conservative "Turkiye" 
(3/28):  "The countries that freed themselves from USSR's 
merciless clutches now exert every effort to avoid falling 
into a similar hell ever again.  They tend to declare their 
commitment to NATO or the EU openly.  Those that haven't 
reached that level yet are running to the streets in order 
to bury their dilapidated regimes in the dirtiest pages of 
history.  That is what happened previously in Georgia and 
Ukraine.  Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan opened themselves by 
presenting the US broad privileges and military bases in 
their territory.  Kyrgyzstan, the poorest among the Turkic 
Republics, failed to adopt itself to the modern world in a 
timely fashion.  Moreover, it exerted efforts in order to 
get closer to Beijing and Moscow.  Democracy is a fire that 
burns the ones who defy it, and now the people of Kyrgyzstan 
have started to move in that direction." 
 
"The US, the EU and the AKP" 
Yasemin Congar wrote in the mass appeal "Milliyet" (3/28): 
"It looks as if the ruling AKP has come up with several 
steps to create closer bilateral relations with Washington. 
Those steps include the Prime Minister's visit to Israel, 
permission for the US to use Incirlik airbase on a 
relatively flexible basis and Turkey's support for 
democratization in the region.  While these are fine steps 
that will please Washington, a meaningful relationship with 
the Bush administration requires a policy with real vision, 
as opposed to measures to merely `save the day.'  In this 
regard, the words and the deeds of the AKP regarding its 
long term policy interests vis--vis the West and the region 
are the most important thing. . The current situation poses 
some critical questions.  Will the AKP government sincerely 
embrace the democratization movement in the region?  Will 
the AKP realize that such a movement fully serves Turkey's 
interests in the long run?  Apart from high-level Turkish 
visits to Israel to keep Washington content, will the AKP be 
able to eliminate question marks in its Israel policy and 
make it clear whether or not Ankara considers Israel a 
terrorist state?  Most important of all, will the AKP be 
able to see that the US and the EU are not alternates to one 
other.  A determined stance by the AKP on the EU process 
will directly and very positively effect Turkey's 
relationship with the US." 
 
EDELMAN